cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CpG Oligonucleotides Induce Anti-Leukemia Activity in a Syngeneic Murine Model of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) accounts for 80% of all pediatric leukemias and is the most common form of childhood cancer. While most children with ALL are cured by current therapies, refractory and relapsed ALL comprise a significant proportion of all pediatric cancers. Furthermore, nearly half of all ALL diagnoses occur in adults, who carry a much poorer prognosis, with the majority dying of relapsed disease. Relapsed ALL generally requires intensive therapy with significant associated morbidity and mortality. Development of novel therapies is essential to improving outcomes. DNA oligodeoxynucleotides containing CpG motifs (CpG ODN) stimulate anti-tumor immune activity via Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) activation and are currently in clinical trials for a variety of solid tumors. We have previously reported that CpG ODN stimulation alters antigen presentation by human ALL cells, enhancing allogeneic Th1 responses. In addition, we have shown that CpG ODN administration in vivo reduces the leukemic burden of primary human ALL xenografts in Nod-SCID mice, and that this activity is mediated in part by NK cells. To further the development of CpG ODN as a novel therapeutic agent for ALL, we have investigated the induction of anti-ALL activity by CpG ODN in a syngeneic ALL setting. CpG ODN did not exhibit direct toxicity against cell lines derived from leukemic Eμ-ret transgenic mice in vitro , nor did it alter CD40 or CD86 expression or cytokine production. However, using a flow cytometry-based in vitro killing assay we observed CpG ODN-induced elimination of leukemia cells when cultured with splenocytes or bone marrow cells from Eμ-ret transgene-negative mice ( P =0.0388). The difference between CpG ODN-treated and untreated controls became more pronounced with increasing effector:target ratios ( P P =0.0019), spleen ( P P =0.00028) of CpG ODN-treated mice. Cell-depletion and cytokine-neutralization assays are currently ongoing to define the mechanism of action of CpG ODN in these settings. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of CpG ODN-induced anti-ALL activity in a post-chemotherapy syngeneic model, suggesting that this agent has the potential to treat minimal residual disease and to reduce the incidence of relapse.
Endogenous disjoint change

Abstract Traditionally, models of macro-political change, like those of macro-economics, have been based on extremely unrealistic assumptions about human cognition, ranging from fully informed and rational to completely random. Following from the work of Herbert Simon and contemporaries, a new tradition has developed based on more realistic ideas of human cognition. This paper lays out the need for such models in understanding endogenously produced disjointed change in public policies. It documents the commonality of such changes at the macro-level and points to the contributions of many recent works in developing realistic models of human cognition providing the basis of a new and more fruitful literature.
Cerebrospinal Fluid Total Tau is Increased in Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus Patients who Undergo Successful Lumbar Drain Trials.

Background Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (INPH) is a neurologic disease that affects 65 years, but is difficult to distinguish from other diseases that present in this age group, such as Alzheimer's disease. Large volume lumbar puncture and an external lumbar drain trial (ELD) are used to make a clinical diagnosis of INPH, but the accuracy of ELD is suspected. Objective To investigate proteomic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker patterns in patients with INPH undergoing ELD to develop a quantitative diagnostic. Methods Twenty patients with suspected INPH underwent an ELD trial and the CSF biomarkers AB1-42, total tau, and tau phosphorylated at amino acid 181 (p-tau) were quantified with immunoassays in specimens taken prior to ELD placement, after the ELD trial, and from ventricular samples collected at the time of permanent ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement. Results CSF total tau was elevated, on average, in pre- and post-ELD samples from patients who failed to improve clinically during the ELD trial, but the findings were marginally significant after correction for multiple comparisons. AB1-42 and p-tau concentrations were not significantly different in patients who either did or did not clinically improve after the ELD. Conclusions CSF total tau is a potential novel biomarker for suspected INPH patients who will clinically improve, or have clinically improved, after an ELD trial. The small sample size of this study, which was due to the relative rarity of this condition, indicates that larger studies are needed to confirm the utility of this approach.
THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN SUPPORTING SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT AND SOCIAL SUPPORT AMONG OLDER ADULTS

Social isolation is prevalent among community dwelling older adults especially those who live in rural locations, have mobility restrictions and live alone. It is also common among older adults living in assisted living facilities or other types of residential institutions such as nursing homes. Technology applications such as the email, social media sites and online support groups hold promise in terms of enhancing engagement and providing support to older people in various contexts and enhancing their quality of life and ability to live independently. This paper will present findings from CREATE and other trials regarding the access to and use of these applications among older adults and the resultant impact on the social connectivity, loneliness and social support. Barriers to access and challenges regarding the use of these applications will also be discussed as well needed areas of future research to maximize the benefits for technology to enhance social engagement.
Monolithic photonic crystal fiber acoustic sensor

This paper describes an acoustic sensor based on a single-crystal silicon diaphragm with an integrated Photonic Crystal (PC) mirror, whose deflection is measured in a Fabry-Perot resonator formed between the PC mirror and a gold coated single-mode fiber. The sensors are fabricated on standard silicon wafers, yielding monolithic, low-stress sensing diaphragms. The packaged sensor exhibits a minimum detectable pressure of 17μPa/√Hz in the 8.5kHz to 18kHz frequency range.
Advocating for Muslim Students: If Not Us, Then Who?.

The acrimonious and hateful rhetoric dominating the public and political arenas and the tide of division and nationalism gaining support in many parts of the world (Arnova et al. 2013. Comparative ...
Body Mass Index, Falls, and Hip Fractures Among Nursing Home Residents.

Background To examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and the risk for falls and hip fractures among nursing home (NH) residents. Methods A cohort study of newly admitted NH residents, excluding those with a prior history of hip fracture. Using the Minimum Data Set 2.0 (2006-2010), we determined the occurrence of new falls and hip fractures among NH residents during their first 3 months of stay. Residents were categorized as underweight (BMI < 18.5), normal-to-overweight (18.5 ≤ BMI < 30), mildly obese (30 ≤ BMI < 35), and moderately-to-severely obese (BMI ≥ 35). Results Among newly admitted NH residents over the first 3 months, 51.1% of underweight residents, 53.1% of normal-to-overweight residents, 49.1% of residents with mild obesity, and 43.1% of residents with moderate-to-severe obesity experienced a fall; 3.1% of underweight residents, 2.5% of normal-to-overweight residents, 1.5% of residents with mild obesity, and 1.1% of residents with moderate-to-severe obesity experienced a hip fracture. In comparison with normal-to-overweight residents, after adjustment for resident-level and facility-level characteristics, mildly obese residents (odds ratio [OR] = 0.94, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.91-0.93]), and moderately-to-severely obese residents (OR = 0.84 [95% CI = 0.83-0.85]) were less likely to experience a fall; Mildly obese residents (OR = 0.65 [95% CI = 0.63-0.68]), and moderately-to-severely obese residents (OR = 0.84 [95% CI = 0.83-0.85]) were less likely, and underweight residents were more likely (OR = 1.22 [95% CI = 1.18-1.26]) to experience a hip fracture. Conclusion Obesity is associated with reduced risks for falls and hip fractures among newly admitted NH residents. Future studies are needed to explore possible explanations for these associations.
Emotion in ethics, rhetoric, and the creative process: The tragedy of Coetzee’s woman warrior

What is the social function of literature? What new relationships between the ivory tower and the surrounding world, between literature and ethics, are emerging? How do they affect the human/animal...
Inquisitive knowledge attribution and the gettier problem

A disjunctive belief cannot be described as knowledge if the subject does not justifiably believe a true disjunct, even if the whole disjunctive belief is true and justified (Gettier 1963). This phenomenon is problematic if the verb know semantically operates on a (classical) proposition, as standardly assumed. In this paper, I offer a solution to this problem using Inquisitive Semantics, arguing that know operates on the set of alternative possibilities expressed by its complement. It will also be shown that the proposed semantics for know provides a novel account of its compatibility with both declarative and interrogative complements.
Cloning PCR Products

Cloning PCR products into a stable vector is often desirable for subsequent analysis such as high quality DNA sequencing, hybridization studies, expression, modification or further subcloning. A wide variety of strategies have been employed and are available in commercially supplied kits (see Page 30 for a listing of manufacturers of PCR cloning kits or vectors). These approaches include simple but relatively inefficient blunt ligation schemes that rely on the 5′ to 3′ proofreading activities of some enzymes such as Pfu polymerase (Costa and Weiner 1994). These enzymes can be used to create blunt-ended PCR products or to remove the 3′ overhang generated by Taq polymerase, creating “polished ends”. A modification of this approach uses the restriction endonuclease Srf 1 to cleave the vector DNA and then supplies Srf 1 in the ligation buffer to provide a higher steady-state concentration of digested vector, which forces the reaction to proceed in the direction of ligation of the insert, as the ligated product is not digestible by Srf 1 (Simcox 1992). Other recent innovations include the addition of 5′ AATTC tails to PCR primers followed by amplification in a mix containing phosphorothioate dGTP. The PCR product is then digested with Exonuclease III, which removes bases from the 3′ end of the strand until it encounters the protected G, leaving an AATT “sticky end”, perfect for ligation into a vector’s Eco R1 site. Yet another method uses the Lambda phage recombination/integration system rather than ligation as a mechanism for cloning (reviewed in Landy 1989). In this approach, attB sites are incorporated into the PCR primers and attP sites are added to the vector. When the PCR product, vector, and Lambda phage integrase (Int) are combined, the PCR product is inserted into the vector in a site-specific manner. The same system can then be used with Lambda phage excisionase (Xis) to remove the insert for transfer to a different vector. Finally, restriction endonucleases, such as Earn 1104 I, which cuts at a defined distance from its recognition site (but not within its site) are used in PCR primers to allow specific “sticky ends” to be produced (Padgett and Sorge 1996). However, most of these approaches are either inefficient, or require the use of proprietary vectors, enzymes, or reagents and are often costly.
The Fake Factor Method

Identification is an important source of background for physics analyses using particle-level identification criteria.
ANODIC OXIDE INSULATORS ON InP AND InAs

The insulating properties of anodic oxides grown on InP and InAs have been investigated and the composition of these oxides were qualitatively correlated to the resistivity. The composition of the InP anodic oxide layers were found to be strongly dependent on the electrolyte and the pH. The resistivity of oxide layers containing a low concentration of P 2 O 5 was ~ 10 10 ohm-cm at 1 volt while those with high P 2 O 5 concentration had a resistivity of ~ 10 15 ohm-cm at 10 volts. The current through the high resistivity InP oxides appears to be controlled by a bulk mechanism. The composition of the InAs oxides did not change significantly with electrolyte and pH, however there appeared to be variation in the interface width. The current for InAs oxides appears to be electrode limited and the resistivitv ranges from 10 13 to 10 15 ohm-cm at 10 volts. All of the oxides are sensitive to exposure to air.
News on the fly: journalist-audience online engagement success as a cultural matching process

Looking at web analytics in newsrooms, journalism studies scholarship has explored the notion of success in using web analytics and metrics in measuring journalist-audience engagement. Scholars hav...
Male lures and male mating competitiveness in a genetic sexing strain of the melon fly (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) has been used to suppress or eradicate populations of the melon fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett), a pest of various fruits and vegetables throughout Asia, Africa, and South Pacific Islands. The success of the SIT depends largely on the ability of released, sterile males to compete successfully with wild males for copulations with wild females. Unfortunately, both the sterilization process (via gamma irradiation) and artificial selection under mass-rearing conditions generally reduce the biological competence, including the mating competitiveness, of the released males. However, previous data on Z. cucurbitae show that irradiation has minimal adverse effects and prolonged mass-rearing may or may not result in decreased mating ability. The present study first confirms that neither irradiation nor mass-rearing had deleterious effects on male mating ability of males from a pupal-color, genetic sexing strain (termed T1). Then, the influence of male lures (cue-lure and its natural analogue raspberry ketone) on the mating success of sterile T1 males was measured as a potential pre-release procedure to improve the effectiveness of SIT. Feeding on cue-lure enhanced male mating success, but the effect was short-lived (1 d but not 3 d post-feeding). Feeding on raspberry ketone boosted mating success over a longer time, i.e., at least 5 d but not 10 d post-feeding. However, mixing raspberry ketone into the adult diet had no detectable effect on male mating performance. The implications of these results for SIT against Z. cucurbitae are discussed.
Charlotte: Composable Authenticated Distributed Data Structures, Technical Report

We present Charlotte, a framework for composable, authenticated distributed data structures. Charlotte data is stored in blocks that reference each other by hash. Together, all Charlotte blocks form a directed acyclic graph, the blockweb; all observers and applications use subgraphs of the blockweb for their own data structures. Unlike prior systems, Charlotte data structures are composable: applications and data structures can operate fully independently when possible, and share blocks when desired. To support this composability, we define a language-independent format for Charlotte blocks and a network API for Charlotte servers. An authenticated distributed data structure guarantees that data is immutable and self-authenticating: data referenced will be unchanged when it is retrieved. Charlotte extends these guarantees by allowing applications to plug in their own mechanisms for ensuring availability and integrity of data structures. Unlike most traditional distributed systems, including distributed databases, blockchains, and distributed hash tables, Charlotte supports heterogeneous trust: different observers may have their own beliefs about who might fail, and how. Despite heterogeneity of trust, Charlotte presents each observer with a consistent, available view of data. We demonstrate the flexibility of Charlotte by implementing a variety of integrity mechanisms, including consensus and proof of work. We study the power of disentangling availability and integrity mechanisms by building a variety of applications. The results from these examples suggest that developers can use Charlotte to build flexible, fast, composable applications with strong guarantees.
Does Individualizing the Labor Contract Hurt Women

The twenty‐first century has been marked by a retreat of the collective bargaining rights of public employees throughout the United States. This study exploits the variation in legal environments resulting from these reforms to estimate the causal impact of different collective bargaining policies on public employee compensation. Using data from the American Community Survey, results show a modest wage penalty at the aggregate level for employees covered by constraints on collective bargaining. However, this wage penalty is differential and is concentrated on women in all but one case—a legal environment in which collective bargaining over wages has either been prohibited or directly constricted, allowing governments to periodically institute wage freezes and caps on raises for public employees. In this case, a pre‐existing wage gap in which men earned more than women is disappearing as male and female earnings converge at a lower wage. The paper suggests that the long‐term effects of restricting collective bargaining occur through the individualization of the labor contract and should be examined along individual‐level characteristics, such as gender.
How Administrative Data Collection and Analysis Can Better Reflect Racial and Ethnic Identities

Measuring race and ethnicity for administrative data sets and then analyzing these data to understand racial/ethnic disparities present many logistical and theoretical challenges. In this chapter, ...
An Innovative Formulation Tightening Approach for Job-Shop Scheduling

Job shops are an important production environment for low-volume high-variety manufacturing. Its scheduling has recently been formulated as an Integer Linear Programming (ILP) problem to take advantages of popular Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) methods, e.g., branch-and-cut. When considering a large number of parts, MILP methods may experience difficulties. To address this, a critical but much overlooked issue is formulation tightening. The idea is that if problem constraints can be transformed to directly delineate the problem convex hull in the data pre-processing stage, then a solution can be obtained by using linear programming methods without much difficulty. The tightening process, however, is NP hard because of the existence of integer variables. In this paper, an innovative and systematic approach is established for the first time to tighten the formulations of individual parts, each with multiple operations, in the data pre-processing stage. It is a major extension from our previous work on problems with binary and continuous variables to integer variables. The idea is to first link integer variables to binary variables by innovatively combining constraints so that the integer variables are uniquely determined by binary variables. With binary variables and continuous only, the vertices of the convex hull can be obtained based on the vertices of the linear problem after relaxing binary requirements with proved tightness. These vertices are then converted to tight constraints for general use. This approach significantly improves and extends our previous results on tightening single-operation parts without actually achieving tightness. Numerical results demonstrate significant benefits on solution quality and computational efficiency. This approach also applies to other ILP problems with similar characteristics and fundamentally changes the way how such problems are formulated and solved.
An Image Processing Method for Rapid Interpretation of Supine, Prone, and Attenuation Corrected Myocardial Perfusion SPECT.

1981 Objectives The accuracy of nuclear stress testing with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging is diminished in the presence of attenuation artifacts. Repeat imaging of the patient in prone rather than supine position, or reprocessing the data using computed tomography-based attenuation correction (AC) algorithms, often lessens these artifacts, but may create new ones as well. This leaves the onus on the reader to mentally integrate various data sets. To facilitate more accurate and rapid interpretation, a novel imaging processing method that generates a composite image of supine, prone, and AC datasets was developed and evaluated. Methods In this IRB-approved study, reconstructed stress myocardial perfusion SPECT images were obtained from patients for both supine and prone patient orientations without AC and supine with AC. Potentially abnormal studies with possible perfusion abnormalities on supine non-AC images underwent reprocessing to generate a composite image. The first step was image registration of the three datasets using a 3D rigid body transformation based on the computed center-of-mass of the myocardial image intensities. The next step was to normalize the image intensities across datasets. Two normalization methods were considered: one based on the slice-by-slice maximum intensity in the myocardium, the other based on the global maximum. Finally, average intensity and maximum intensity composite images were created by assigning an intensity to each pixel in the composite image that represented either the average or maximal intensity of that pixel across the three datasets. Results The method was evaluated using a preliminary set of five studies. Inferior defects attributable to diaphragmatic attenuation on supine non-AC images were generally resolved by prone non-AC imaging and supine AC imaging, although composite images were more consistent. Apical perfusion defects likely due to overcorrection on AC images were resolved by the composite images. Readers preferred the composite image format for interpretation. The processing method most effective was the slice-by-slice normalization method along with the maximal intensity composite image. Conclusions An image processing method that generates a composite image from the supine no AC, prone no AC and supine AC imaging protocols demonstrated the ability to resolve conflicting results from the individual protocols and was preferred by readers.
Seek Justice, Not Just Deportation: How to Improve Prosecutorial Discretion in Immigration Law

Bipartisan politics has prevented meaningful reform to a system in dire need of solutions: Immigration. Meanwhile there are eleven million noncitizens with no valid immigration status who currently reside in the United States and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not have the necessary resources to effect their removal. DHS does have the authority through prosecutorial discretion to prioritize these cases and provide relief to individuals with compelling circumstances that warrant humanitarian consideration; nonetheless, DHS’s exercise of prosecutorial discretion is underutilized, inconsistently applied and lacks transparency. This Article suggests a remedy – that the immigration prosecutor’s role should redefined to be one more akin to criminal prosecutors with a concomitant obligation to seek justice. Others have argued that DHS prosecutorial discretion should be subject to notice and comment rulemaking and a presumption of judicial review. However, if prosecutorial discretion is to remain a solidly executive branch prerogative to counter legislation painted with too broad a brush (a defect of almost all legislation) and a mechanism to prioritize individuals for deportation, such as violent repeat criminal offenders, it should be shielded from rulemaking and a presumption of judicial review.While immigration prosecutors are trained to support granting relief in cases where the evidence and law support a grant of relief, they do not see their role as separate from DHS agents and adjudicators, and as such do not see it as their role to seek justice. This Article contributes to the ongoing scholarship and dialogue calling for heightened ethical obligations, guidelines and principles for attorneys appearing before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), to meet the challenges of practicing immigration law, while promoting efficiency and fairness in an effort to restore confidence and justice to a system subject to much condemnation.
Tipping the Scale? The Workings of Monetary Policy Through Trade

Monetary policy entails demand augmenting and demand diverting effects, with its impact on the trade balance-and spillovers to other countries-depending on the relative magnitude of these opposing effects. Using US data, and a sign-restricted structural VAR identification strategy, we investigate how monetary policy shocks affects the trade balance, shedding light on the importance of the two effects. Overall, the results indicate that monetary policy has a meaningful impact on the trade balance. A monetary loosening (tightening) leads to a strengthening (weakening) of the overall trade balance, indicating that, on average, demand diversion dominates. This effect of monetary policy on trade is revealed in full when distinguishing between trading partners with fixed exchange rates-for which only demand augmenting operates-and flexible exchange rates-for which both effects operate. We also explore spillover differences between conventional and unconventional monetary policy, as well as changes in spillovers in the post crisis period (due to an impaired monetary transmission mechanism). While our results suggest that monetary policy comes with spillovers through trade, they should not be interpreted as evidence against the use of this policy instrument as such. From a global perspective, optimal monetary policy should be assessed in conjunction with deployment of other policy measures, including the ability of recipient countries to deploy their own policy measures to offset undesirable spillovers.
Perceptions of ASHA workers in the HOPE collaborative care mental health intervention in rural South India: a qualitative analysis.

Objective The main objective of this exploratory study was to investigate the overlooked perspectives and beliefs of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA workers) regarding a collaborative care mental health intervention (HOPE: Healthier Options through Empowerment), mental illness and the health of their rural communities. Design Semi-structured, one-on-one, qualitative interviews. Setting Seven primary health centres (PHCs) in rural Karnataka, India. All PHCs had previously completed the HOPE study. Participants 15 ASHA workers, selected via purposive sampling. ASHAs are high school-educated village women trained as community health workers. ASHAs were included if they had previously participated in the HOPE intervention, a collaborative-care randomised controlled trial that aimed to integrate mental healthcare into existing primary care systems in rural Karnataka. Interventions No interventions were introduced. Results ASHA workers mostly had positive interactions with patients, including encouraging them to attend sessions, helping to explain the topics and techniques, and checking on the patients frequently. ASHA workers were able to identify key barriers to treatment and facilitators to treatment. ASHAs claimed that their knowledge about mental illness improved because of the HOPE study, though gaps remained in their understanding of aetiology and treatment. Several expressed interest in receiving additional mental health training. Overall, ASHAs viewed the HOPE study as a necessary and effective intervention, and requested that it expand. Conclusions This paper discusses the perspectives of ASHAs who participated in a novel effort to extend the collaborative care model to their own communities. ASHA workers help maintain relationships with patients that encourage participation, and the efforts of ASHAs often aid in mitigating common barriers to treatment. ASHA workers' beliefs and knowledge regarding mental illness can be changed, and ASHAs can become effective advocates for patients. Future collaborative care interventions would likely benefit from involving ASHA workers in community outreach efforts.
Forecasting vehicular traffic flow using MLP and LSTM

This work presents an analysis of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) based forecasting models for vehicular traffic flow. The forecasting was performed for three periods of time: 1 week, 1 month and 1 year. The vehicular traffic flow data analysed were collected from Interstate 87, a highway located within the U.S. state of New York. Temporal and climate information, such as weekday, time of day, precipitation, visibility and temperature, were provided to the ANNs. Two different architectures were implemented to forecast vehicular traffic flow: Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM). The performance was evaluated using the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and comparing the predicted flow with the real data in the evaluated period. The MLP resulted in RMSE of 113.96, 185.98 and 201.19, and MAP of 9.56%, 15.49% and 16.95% for a forecasting interval of 1 week, 1 month and 1 year, respectively. Similarly, the LSTM network resulted in RMSE of 122.20, 179.55 and 203.63 and MAPE of 14.66%, 17.89% and 24.10% for the same time periods. Additionally, the two developed ANNs were evaluated to perform a forecasting vehicular traffic flow for another highway, the Interstate 88. The results from the two ANNs are similar, the MLP network resulted in MAPE of 17.15%, 25.65% and 19.76% for a forecasting interval of 1 week, 1 month and 1 year, respectively. On the other hand, the LSTM network presented RMSE of 19.14%, 31.87% and 22.97%. The results obtained come close to the similar work results when considered shorter prediction periods. The results for longer prediction time could not be compared to the literature due to the lack of work in this area, being a novelty of the current work. Moreover, the models implemented in this paper were precise and stable and can be used as strategy information to help road and cities planning. In addition, results have shown that the model can be replicated for other roads in the same region or either from other states or countries.
4 Axonal Guidance from Retina to Tectum in Embryonic Xenopus

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the early development of the retinotectal system of the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis. Early work on the Xenopus retinotectal projection was done by manipulating the embryo and assaying the effects after metamorphosis, but, over the past decade, attention has shifted to embryonic assays. Embryonic experiments have the practical advantage of taking days instead of months, and they also have a great conceptual advantage. Postmetamorphic studies show the distant shadows of initial development. Embryonic experiments, on the other hand, allow direct observation of the processes of initial development. Amphibians have long been favored for embryological studies because their external fertilization and development make them easy to observe and manipulate. Xenopus are especially useful because they are easily raised in captivity, can be induced to breed by hormonal injection, produce hundreds of embryos per mating, and develop very quickly during embryonic stages.
NKAP is required for invariant natural killer T cell development and generation of ROR-γt expressing iNKT17 (LYM2P.738)

iNKT cells differentiate into functional subsets defined as NKT1, NKT2 and NKT17, characterized by their expression of transcription factors, T-bet, GATA3 and ROR-γt and production of IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-17, respectively. In our earlier studies, we showed that the transcriptional repressor NKAP is required for positive selection of DP thymocytes into the iNKT lineage, using CD4-cre NKAP conditional knockout (cKO) mice. To study the role of NKAP in subsequent stages of iNKT cell development and differentiation, we generated PLZF-cre NKAP cKO mice. In these mice, NKAP deletion occurs after entry into the iNKT lineage at stage 0, bypassing the requirement for NKAP in iNKT development at the DP stage. PLZF-cre NKAP cKO mice have a significant reduction in the absolute number of iNKT cells starting at Stage 1. This block in development is not due to defect in cell homeostasis or increased cell death, but is due to decreased rate of proliferation. PLZF-cre NKAP cKO mice have very few T-bet expressing NKT1 cells with similar amount of IFN-γ production to WT, whereas there was almost no ROR-γt expressing NKT17 cells with no IL-17 production. There is a decrease in the absolute number of NKT2 cells; however, IL-4 production by NKAP-deficient NKT2 cells is similar to WT. Thus, NKAP is required for proliferation of iNKT cells early in development, and is required for the differentiation of iNKT cells into the NKT17 lineage.
Financial Liberalization, the Wealth Effect, and the Demand for Broad Money in Japan

This paper examines the demand for broad money in Japan from 1975 to 1994. In spite of the large shocks resulting from financial liberalization and the subsequent "boom and bust" of the "bubble" economy, the paper confirms that a stage money demand function can still be set up by taking proper account of financial liberalization and the wealth effect, and by adopting an adequate econometric strategy. In addition, a super exogeneity test is conducted, and its implication is considered in the context of the monetary transmission mechanism.
Topoisomerase IIα controls the decatenation checkpoint

Separation of intertwined sister chromatids, mediated by topoisomerase II, is essential for mitosis. In a separate mechanism, phosphorylation of topoisomerase II at Ser 1524 during the G2/M phase of the cell cycle recruits MDC1 to activate the decatenation checkpoint required for genomic stability. Topoisomerase II (Topo II) is required to separate intertwined sister chromatids before chromosome segregation can occur in mitosis1. However, it remains to be resolved whether Topo II has any role in checkpoint control. Here we report that when phosphorylated, Ser 1524 of Topo IIα acts as a binding site for the BRCT domain of MDC1 (mediator of DNA damage checkpoint protein-1), thereby recruiting MDC1 to chromatin. Although Topo IIα–MDC1 interaction is not required for checkpoint activation induced by DNA damage, it is required for activation of the decatenation checkpoint. Mutation of Ser 1524 results in a defective decatenation checkpoint. These results reveal an important role of Topo II in checkpoint activation and in the maintenance of genomic stability.
Biological pathways discriminating susceptible from resistant mouse strains to radiation induced lung damage

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 4399 A limiting factor in the treatment of cancers of the thorax, particularly lung cancer and esophageal cancer is radiation induced alveolitis and pulmonary fibrosis both of which are multi-faceted pathologic processes leading to loss of lung function, morbidity and death. Current therapies aimed at treating alveolitis have had limited success in the clinic and there are no effective therapies to treat pulmonary fibrosis. The purpose of our study was to identify biological pathways and susceptibility genes underlying radiation-induced lung injury. The whole thorax of fibro sis prone C57BL/6 mice and fibrosis resistant but alveolitis prone C3H mice was irradiated with 16Gy single dose and sacrificed one month after irradiation for lung RNA isolation and hybridized to Affymetrix mouse arrays. We compared gene expression in irradiated vs. age-matched non-irradiated mice of each strain. Genes with at least 66% concordance among all possible pairwise comparisons and at least one two-fold change were used for pathway and network analysis. The data was imported into a web-delivered Ingenuity Pathway Analysis program to systematically analyze the data in the context of biological pathways to establish functional relationships amongst genes. Global functional analysis identified cellular movement, hematological system development and function, and immune response as the top level functions for the genes significantly altered in C3H after radiation. For C57BL/6, the top three functions that were significant were identified as cancer, cell cycle, and cell death. The signaling pathways identified in C3H after irradiation, include integrin signaling, p38 MAPK signaling, PI3K/AKT signaling, and IL-6 signaling, while in C57BL/6 this includes folate biosynthesis, p38 MAPK signaling, Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and T cell receptor signaling. In conclusion, we identified biological functions and pathways that may be associated with specific radiation-induced lung injury. Supported by NIH NCI grants RO1 CA64193 and P30 CA16672.
A Better Choice for Sensor Sleeping

Sensor sleeping is a widely-used and cost-effective technique to save energy in wireless sensor networks. Protocols at different stack levels can, either individually or simultaneously, make the sensor sleep so as to extend the application lifetime. To determine the best choice for sensor sleeping under different network conditions and application requirements, we investigate single layer and multi-layer sleeping schemes at the routing and MAC layers. Our results show that routing layer sleeping performs better when there is high network redundancy or high contention, while MAC layer sleeping performs better when there is low contention or in small networks. Moreover, multi-layer sleeping requires cross-layer coordination to outperform single layer sleeping under low contention. Therefore, our conclusions can not only guide the implementation of practical sensor networks, but they also provide hints to the design of cross-layer power management to dynamically choose the best sleeping scheme under different network and application scenarios.
North Brazil Current rings and transport of southern waters in a high resolution numerical simulation of the North Atlantic

Abstract Output from a very high resolution (1/12 deg.) North Atlantic simulation with the Miami Isopycnic Coordinate Ocean Model (MICOM) is analyzed in a region of the Tropical Atlantic characterized by the presence of the North Brazil Current (NBC) retroflection and North Brazil Current rings. The model mean and seasonal circulations present a good qualitative agreement with observations. Quantitatively, the modeled NBC in summer and fall does not completely retroflect into the North Equatorial Counter Current, and the model upper 100 m NBC is more intense than the observed values by 3-4 Sv. The modeled NBC generates a variety of rings, which we classify as ‘shallow’, ‘intermediate’, ‘deep’, and ‘subsurface’. An average of 8.3 rings of all types are generated per year, of which 6 are surface intensified, in good agreement with altimetry (5.7 rings per year, Goni and Johns, 2001). The transport of southern origin water by the the rings was estimated using two methods. First, the transport was computed kinematically from the rings' volume, resulting in an average transport of 6.6 Sv. Second, an estimation of southern water transport based on an explicit calculation of water mass content was done, resulting in an average transport of 7.5 Sv. The rings' contribution represents 0% of the total meridional transport from the surface to the intermediate water layers. Possible mechanisms operating in the model ring generation are briefly discussed.
ANNUAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY OF GLACIERS IN NORTHWEST NORTH AMERICA: HOW IT ALL BEGAN AND ITS GOLDEN AGE

(1995). ANNUAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY OF GLACIERS IN NORTHWEST NORTH AMERICA: HOW IT ALL BEGAN AND ITS GOLDEN AGE. Physical Geography: Vol. 16, Glaciers and Late Quaternary Environments of Alaska: I; Essays in Honor of William O. Field, pp. 15-26.
Glutamate Receptor Modulation Is Restricted to Synaptic Microdomains

A diverse array of neuromodulators governs cellular function in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) via the activation of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). However, these functionally diverse signals are carried and amplified by a relatively small assortment of intracellular second messengers. Here, we examine whether two distinct Gαi-coupled neuromodulators (norepinephrine and GABA) act as redundant regulators of glutamatergic synaptic transmission. Our results reveal that, within single dendritic spines of layer 5 pyramidal neurons, alpha-2 adrenergic receptors (α2Rs) selectively inhibit excitatory transmission mediated by AMPA-type glutamate receptors, while type B GABA receptors (GABA(B)Rs) inhibit NMDA-type receptors. We show that both modulators act via the downregulation of cAMP and PKA. However, by restricting the lifetime of active Gαi, RGS4 promotes the independent control of these two distinct target proteins. Our findings highlight a mechanism by which neuromodulatory microdomains can be established in subcellular compartments such as dendritic spines.
Photoproteins as Reporters in Whole‐cell Sensing

Originally published in: Photoproteins in Bioanalysis. Edited by Sylvia Daunert and Sapna K. Deo. Copyright © 2006 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA Weinheim. Print ISBN: 3-527-31016-6 The sections in this article are Introduction Biosensors Using Intact Cells Reporter Genes in Genetically Engineered Whole-cell Sensors The Luciferases Bacterial Luciferases luxAB Bioreporters luxCDABE Bioreporters Naturally Luminescent Bioreporters Eukaryotic Luciferases Firefly Luciferase Sea Pansy Luciferase Aequorin Fluorescent Proteins Green Fluorescent Protein Red Fluorescent Protein Multiplexing Applications Stress Factors and Genotoxicants Environmental Pollutants Quorum-sensing Signaling Molecules Antibiotics Technological Advances Acknowledgments Keywords: photoproteins in bioanalysis; photoproteins as reporters in whole-cell sensing; luciferases; aequorin; fluorescent proteins; multiplexing; applications; technological advances
String paradigm in nonimaging optics

Conversely to the common way, geometrical optical in free-space and two dimensions is deduced from black body radiation transfer. This is obtained from the only hypothesis of energy conservation, reciprocity and that the emission of convex bodies is proportional to their perimeter. The analysis of an abstract relay element will lead to deduce the reflection law in an unconventional form and new properties of the elliptical mirror as an ideal radiation transfer device.
Directional Dependence of Genes Using Survival Truncated FGM Type Modification Copulas

A multivariate distribution can be represented in terms of its underlying margins by binding these margins together using a copula function (Sklar, 1959). Here, we propose a new class of survival FGM-type modification truncated copulas which quantify dependency and incorporate directional dependence. In addition, we apply our proposed methods to the analysis of directional dependence relationships between genes. Finally, we employ the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) to check the goodness of fit for our proposed copula models.
Exact Transformation Equations for Fuller's World Map

A brief overview of R. Buckminster Fuller's world maps is presented. Exact transformation equations for Fuller's icosahedron-based world map are derived. These equations are differentiable and therefore suitable for standard area distortion analysis. Such distortion analysis has been carried out, and the results are compared to the familiar gnomonic projection onto an icosahedron. In addition to the exact forward unit sphere to XY-plane transformation equations, a relation in one parameter, which must be satisfied by the inverse transformation, is given. Les equations de transformation exacte pour la carte du monde de Fuller On presente un bref survol des cartes du monde de R. Buckminster Fuller. On derive ensuite les equations de transformation exacte pour la carte du monde de Fuller basee sur un icosaedre. Ces equations sont differentielles et conviennent donc a l'analyse normale de distortion des aires. Une telle analyse a ete effectuee et l'on compare les resultats a la projection gnomonique familiere...
Peripheral Artery Disease in the Elderly: Prevalence, Clinical Implications, and Therapy

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a progressive atherosclerotic occlusive disease associated with aging that affects 8 million Americans. Approximately 20% of Americans older than 70 years of age are affected by PAD. This disease is associated with increased morbidity, reduced quality of life and functional capacity, and premature mortality. Treatment of PAD includes pharmacologic and therapeutic lifestyle changes to improve functional capacity and to modify cardiovascular disease risk factors such as smoking cessation, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. Despite tremendous advances in our understanding of PAD and its associated outcomes, PAD remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. Further research is needed to fully understand the pathophysiology of PAD and to optimize recognition and treatment of PAD in older patients.
Effects of the picosecond neodymium:YLF laser on poly(methyl methacrylate) intraocular lenses during experimental posterior capsulotomy

Abstract We evaluated the effect of the neodymium:YLF picosecond laser on intraocular lenses (IOLs) during experimental posterior capsulotomy and established the minimum damage threshold for lathe-cut poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) IOLs. Single-piece, biconvex, lathe-cut PMMA lenses were placed in a model eye chamber against a latex membrane with a central area of lens-capsule touch. Energy levels from 40 µJ to 360 µJ pulse (0.4 mJ to 3.6 mJ) with a 0.5 mm line and a spot pattern were tested using different focal offsets. Threshold damage level was determined under the scanning electron microscope after observing the minimal energy level that did not cause damage to or pits in the IOLs. Lenses were then analyzed for size and type of damage. The 0.5 mm line pattern at 160 µJ using 350 µm offset was safe and effective for posterior capsulotomy in vitro. The spot pattern caused IOL damage in the form of small pits at much lower energy levels of 80 µJ using 400 µm offset than the line pattern.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a coal tar standard reference material—SRM 1597a updated

SRM 1597 Complex Mixture of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Coal Tar, originally issued in 1987, was recently reanalyzed and reissued as SRM 1597a with 34 certified, 46 reference, and 12 information concentrations (as mass fractions) for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polycyclic aromatic sulfur heterocycles (PASHs) including methyl-substituted PAHs and PASHs. The certified and reference concentrations (as mass fractions) were based on results of analyses of the coal tar material using multiple analytical techniques including gas chromatography/mass spectrometry on four different stationary phases and reversed-phase liquid chromatography. SRM 1597a is currently the most extensively characterized SRM for PAHs and PASHs.
Graph whose edges are in small cycles

Abstract Paulraja (1987) conjectured the following: 1. (i) If every edge of a 2-connected graph G lies in a cycle of length at most 4 in G , then G has a dominating closed trail. 2. (ii) If, in addition, δ( G )⩾3, then G has a closed spanning trail. Collapsible graphs are defined and studied by Catlin (1988). Catlin showed that if H is a collapsable subgraph of G , then G has a spanning closed trail if and only if G/H , the graph obtained from G by contracting H , has a spanning closed trail. Catlin (1987) conjectured that a graph satisfying the hypothesis of (ii) is collapsable. In this paper, all three conjectures are proved.