cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Understanding the Exchange of Systemic HDL Particles Into the Brain and Vascular Cells Has Diagnostic and Therapeutic Implications for Neurodegenerative Diseases

High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) are complex, heterogenous lipoprotein particles, consisting of a large family of apolipoproteins, formed in subspecies of distinct shapes, sizes, and functions and are synthesized in both the brain and the periphery. HDL apolipoproteins are important determinants of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology and vascular dementia, having both central and peripheral effects on brain amyloid-beta (Aβ) accumulation and vascular functions, however, the extent to which HDL particles (HLD-P) can exchange their protein and lipid components between the central nervous system (CNS) and the systemic circulation remains unclear. In this review, we delineate how HDL's structure and composition enable exchange between the brain, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) compartment, and vascular cells that ultimately affect brain amyloid metabolism and atherosclerosis. Accordingly, we then elucidate how modifications of HDL-P have diagnostic and therapeutic potential for brain vascular and neurodegenerative diseases.
Organizing in the digital age: digital macro practice is here…to stay

The articles in this special issue illustrate how digital technologies, including social media, have impacted the ways individuals, groups, and communities come together to advocate and effect soci...
Cystic Fibrosis-Related Diabetes: The Patient Perspective

Abstract Cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD) affects nearly 20% of adolescents and 40-50% of adults. However, the impact on patients and their families is poorly understood. Here, we examine how patients perceive CFRD and identify gaps in our understanding of the patient experience. Despite its relatively high prevalence, data suggest that many individuals are not aware of the possibility of developing CFRD or compare it to other types of diabetes. Annual oral glucose tolerance testing (OGTT) may serve as an opportunity to provide education and prepare individuals for the possibility of developing abnormalities in glucose tolerance. Many cite lack of awareness of CFRD as the most difficult part of the diagnosis. While factors such as older age and a strong support system promote acceptance, most individuals view the diagnosis negatively and struggle to balance the demands of diabetes with other obligations, including airway clearance, nebulizer therapies, supplementation nutrition, and administration of vitamins and medications. Relatively few people with CFRD monitor their blood glucoses consistently, which is attributed to time constraints or an attempt to avoid pain. In addition, many feel that they are not prone to hypoglycemia and are not concerned with long-term complications, anticipating that they will succumb to their pulmonary disease before these become problematic. The adolescent period presents unique challenges for adherence as children work to develop autonomy. Factors that promote CFRD adherence include incorporating management into daily CF routines and the support of knowledgeable providers to help develop an individualized approach to management. Diabetes technology has the potential to reduce treatment burden and improve glycemic control, but data in CFRD are limited, and additional study is needed. Given that CFRD is associated with a decline in health-related quality of life, it is critical that providers understand patients’ perspectives and address gaps in understanding and barriers to management.
Sex and Gender Bias in Covid-19 Clinical Case Reports

Clinical case reports circulate relevant information regarding disease presentation and describe treatment protocols, particularly for novel conditions. In the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, case reports provided key insights into the pathophysiology and sequelae associated with Covid-19 infection and described treatment mechanisms and outcomes. However, case reports are often subject to selection bias due to their singular nature. To better understand how selection biases may have influenced Covid-19-releated case reports, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of Covid-19-releated case reports published in high impact journals from January 1 to June 1, 2020. Case reports were coded for patient sex, country of institutional affiliation, physiological system, and first and last author gender. Of 494 total case reports, 45% (n=221) of patients were male, 30% (n=146) were female, and 25% (n=124) included both sexes. Ratios of male-only to female-only case reports varied by physiological system. The majority of case reports had male first (61%, n=302) and last (70%, n=340) authors. Case reports with male last authors were more likely to describe male patients [X2 (2, n=465) = 6.6, p=0.037], while case reports with female last authors were more likely to include patients of both sexes [OR=1.918 (95% CI=1.163-3.16)]. Despite a limited sample size, these data reflect emerging research on sex-differences in the physiological presentation and impact of Covid-19 and parallel large-scale trends in authorship patterns. Ultimately, this work highlights potential biases in the dissemination of clinical information via case reports and underscores the inextricable influences of sex and gender biases within biomedicine.
Evaluation of Design Performance through Regional Environmental Simulation

Computational building simulation tools have historically viewed buildings as artefacts isolated and disconnected from their contexts. At most, the external environmental conditions have been viewed as outside influences or stressors encapsulated in, for example, weather files for energy simulation or sky models for lighting simulation. In the field of environmental assessment, life cycle analysis (LCA) has followed a similar path of isolating the artefact under analysis from its context. Modeling the building artefact as a participant in multiple contexts over time so that the interactions and dependencies between the regions and the building can be adequately explored in the design process requires support for the modeling of regional areas, as well as the artefact and the related life cycle processes. Using computational design and evaluation tools can provide the computing capability required for effective design decision support. This paper presents the implementation of the affordance impact assessment method and the regional environmental simulation in Ecologue. Ecologue is the computational tool for life cycle environmental impact assessment in the SEMPER integrated building design and simulation system. Ecologue contains a building model and an environmental model. The building model is automatically derived from the shared building model of the SEMPER system. The environmental model is a combination of a representation of the processes and emissions occurring in the life cycle of buildings and an impact assessment model. The impact assessment model is a combination of a context model of the physical characteristics of a region and a sub-regional fate and transport model based on the fugacity concept.
How to fail well

The semester I failed three of my four classes was the most important of my university career. I didn't fail those subjects, let it be recorded, because I was partying too hard—in fact, I don't thi...
Commentary: Faith and Skepticism in Memory Research

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a commentary on a study related to faith and skepticism in memory research. In his chapter, Conway writes in the tone of an ecclesiastical historian. Conway's purpose is to suggest a rigidity and orthodoxy among the followers/disciples of Ebbinghaus. By the time Underwood and Schulz published their book Meaningfulness and Verbal Learning (1960) the integration of laboratory habits with what we would now call world knowledge was absolutely central to the dominant theoretical fabric of the times, the interference theory of memory. Conway chooses to designate, who uphold the commonplace standards for any science, as followers of “the verbal learning” (VL) tradition. Conway's derisive preoccupations with the “three commandments” of emerging science are: (1) first, the methods employed must not be ambiguous, (2) second, the findings must be replicable, and (3) the data collected must be quantitative data. The heart of Conway's brief against the effort to develop a natural science of memory is the philosophical problem of “intentionality.” The possibility that human memory, as a field of study, might one day be taken away from intuitive speculation bothered Conway. He finds himself quoting the philosopher Wittgenstein repeatedly. Creationism today is a vestigial trace of that resistance in biology.
Heat Shock Response

Increased synthesis of heat shock proteins (hsps) was seen in response to physical and chemical stresses and during developmental transitions. Other stresses, particularly oxidative stress and osmotic stress, elicit characteristic changes in gene expression that overlap with one another and with heat stress. The same regulatory factors may be involved in multiple stress responses. These include the heat shock transcription factor and the stress mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) Hog1 and Slt2 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and their orthologs in other organisms. The importance of ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis to the heat shock response is shown by the restorative effect of over-expressing UBI4 on survival of cells that are deficient in hsp synthesis. Heat shock transcription factor (HSF) binds as a trimer to heat shock elements (HSEs) within target gene promoters. The fundamental unit of the HSE is nGAAn repeated in tandem on alternating DNA strands (perfect HSE), with a minimum of three pentanucleotides being required in S. cerevisiae for activity and a five-nucleotide gap between two of the pentanucleotides still supporting induction (gapped HSE). If stress responses were unregulated, they would be detrimental, rather than helpful, as seen when there is a buildup of trehalose, particular sphingolipids, Hsp90, or a hyperactivated Hog1 MAPK.
Post-Adoption Switching Between Technology Options: Research in Progress

Researchers have studied extensively the factors leading to individuals’ adoption of technology products, usually under the assumption that these products are innovations without direct competitions. However, in practice users often have to choose among products that are similar in functionality and highly substitutable, and the decision to use a specific technology product is accompanied by reduction or discontinuance of usage of a product that was adopted and carries similar functions. This study thereby proposes and empirically tests a theoretical model in explaining users’ post-adoption decisions to switch between highly substitutable technology products.
A PK/PD and Systems Biology Approach for Anti-angiogenic Drug Discovery

CN06-02 Angiogenesis is one of the key biological processes in tumor growth and metastasis. Clinical validation of angiogenesis as a therapeutic target fueled the burgeoning pipeline of small molecule and biologics which target this mechanism. Yet, we are still at the beginning of understanding the diverse ligands and receptors involved in this process. We are interested both in developing novel therapeutics based on our targeted PK/PD strategy and novel systems biology approaches to better understand the angiogenic process and its role in tumor progression. We have developed a systems biology approach involving a co-culture assay of endothelial cells and fibroblasts. High content image analysis allows discrimination of complex morphological features during in vitro angiogenesis. ECs form cord like capillary structure when co-cultured with fibroblasts in vitro over 9 to 12 days. The EC competence and the fibroblast supportiveness of cord formation are highly cell passage dependent. We performed complementary gene expression analysis on both EC and fibroblasts under optimal and suboptimal conditions to model angiogenesis control in vitro. We established an interactome from differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in this co-culture system. The interactome consists of 26000 interactions and represents a scale free network. Major signaling pathways involved in angiogenesis regulation are mapped in this network along with feedback and resistance mechanisms and oncogene and tumor suppressor genes. A phenotypic drug discovery effort has been initiated to identify novel small molecule inhibitors of angiogenesis utilizing the co-culture system and efforts are underway to enable in vivo characterization of the molecular mechanisms of anti-angiogenesis of compounds identified in this screen. Details of our chemo- and bio-informatic approach to studying angiogenesis will be presented.
Efficiency and Reliability of Semantic Retrieval in DNA-Based Memories

Associative memories based on DNA-affinity have been proposed. Here, the efficiency, reliability, and semantic capability for associative retrieval of three models of a DNA-based memory are quantified and compared to current conventional methods. In affinity-based memories[1], retrievals and deletions under stringent conditions occur reliably (98%) within very short times (100 milliseconds), regardless of the degree of stringency of the recall or the number of simultaneous queries in the input. In a more sophisticated type of DNA-based memory B proposed and experimentally verified by Chen et al. [2] with three genomes, the sensitivity of the discrimination ability remains unchanged when used on a library of 18 plasmids in the range of 1-4kbps and does appear to grow exponentially with the number of library strands used, even under simultaneous multiple queries in the same input. Finally, using a new type of memory compaction mechanism for data mining in vitro, DNA-based semantic retrieval compares favorably with statistically-based Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA), one of the best performers for semantic associative-based retrieval on text corpora.
On-line Learning of Linear Systems

We consider the problem of learning/identification of a linear system by sampling its frequency response. A cumulative prediction error type criterion is used to describe the learnability of classes of (continuous- or discrete-time) linear systems with may have discontinuous frequency responses but of bounded variation. Upper and lower bounds are obtained for three input frequency sampling schemes: worst-case, random, and worst-case with small noise on the input frequency. Bounds are also obtained for the random sampling scheme with l 1 noise or i.i.d. noise corrupting the frequency response samples.
The Non-Linear Effect of Wealth on Crime

Although theory suggests the relationship between crime and wealth is ambiguous, most empirical analyses estimate a monotonic relationship and find that wealth has negative effect on crime. Using two proxies for wealth (median income and poverty rate) and two types of crime (property and violent), we find a quadratic relationship is the best fit for our four crime-wealth groups. In general, the expected negative effect of wealth on crime only applies to wealthier counties. In poorer counties, wealth has an unexpected positive effect on crime. This result may be theoretically consistent, or an unintended byproduct of the Uniform Crime Reports data, which do not include unreported crime.
Indicators To Determine Winning Renewable Energy Technologies with an Application to Photovoltaics

Several forms of renewable energy compete for supremacy or for an appropriate role in global energy supply. A form of renewable energy can only play an important role in global energy supply if it fulfills several basic requirements. Its capacity must allow supplying a considerable fraction of present and future energy demand, all materials for its production must be readily available, land demand must not be prohibitive, and prices must reach grid parity in the nearer future. Moreover, a renewable energy technology can only be acceptable if it is politically safe. We supply a collection of indicators which allow assessing competing forms of renewable energy and elucidate why surprise is still a major factor in this field, calling for adaptive management. Photovoltaics (PV) are used as an example of a renewable energy source that looks highly promising, possibly supplemented by solar thermal electricity production (ST). We also show why energy use will contribute to land use problems and discuss ways in which the right choice of renewables may be indispensible in solving these problems.
Sodium perborate: A convenient reagent for benzylic hydroperoxide rearrangement

Abstract Sodium perborate in boron trifluoride etherate has been found to be an effective reagent for the hydroperoxide rearrangement of electron rich and highly substituted benzylic tertiary alcohols to phenols in good yields.
Prediction of Protein Function by Discriminant Analysis

Approximately 53% of the protein sequences in the National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF) database can be allocated to one of 26 functional classes, each of which can be characterized by the joint occurrence of four or fewer attributes. The attributes reflect collective physicochemical properties of the sequences in a class, ranging from simple characteristics of composition, such as average hydrophobicity and net charge, to amphipathicity and the propensities of various residues to be in certain preferred configurations. In some, though not all instances, these variables can be related in a general way to topological or other structural features of the particular class they characterize. We show that the attributes permit 17 of the 26 groups to be filtered from all other proteins in the database with a misclassification error of less than 2%, and that the remaining 9 groups can be filtered with errors not exceeding 13%. Thus for a given functional class, the results point to the existence of relatively few characteristic variables which capture most of the intraclass similarity and interclass variability that is common and peculiar to members of that class.
Effects of prolonged stretch of flexor muscles upon excitability of an extensor reflex arc.

Prolonged steady stretch of flexor muscles inhibits the monosynaptic response evoked by maximal stimulation of Group I extensor afferent fibers. However, the amplitude of the monosynaptic response tends to recover control values as a function of time. No temporal correlation between adaptation of inhibiting receptors and adaptation of inhibition has been found. As a consequence, it seems that the disinhibiting mechanism must be located mainly within the spinal cord. Usually, enhanced excitability of extensor primary afferent endings in monosynaptic contact with homonymous motoneurons occurs as long as the stretch of flexor muscles is maintained, but it dwindles to a relatively steady value, and so paralleling the changes of the monosynaptic responses, with opposite sign.
The Effect of Mass Injection on Heat Transfer from a Partially Dissociated Gas Stream

Hydrogen and helium injection effect on local heat transfer to porous surface from dissociated turbulent boundary layer
Association Patterns of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Galveston Bay, Texas

Resightings of photographically identified bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus ) were used to calculate association indices for a population of free-ranging individuals occurring in the Galveston Bay system, Texas, and the adjacent Gulf of Mexico. Thirty-five individual dolphins with four or more sightings per year were included in the analyses to ensure likelihood of identification and comparability in 1990 and 1991. The patterns of association were weak, with few strong associations between individuals. The average association indices for 1990 and 1991 were similar; however, the magnitude of individual association indices changed drastically between the years. The low number of detectable, long-term affiliations indicates high group fluidity.
AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON AND PSYCHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF EXPLANATIONS FOR UNEMPLOYMENT

A replication of the descriptive statistics and factor structure of perceived explanations of unemployment discerned by researchers with 468 subjects from Barbados and 379 from New Zealand and Great Britain was attempted using 114 subjects from the USA. A seven-factor structure was generated, which with incongruent descriptive statistics indicated a lack of agreement as to perceived causes of unemployment across countries. The influence of the local unemployment rate was supported as a stronger explanation of results than the cultural dimension of individualism.
The Motivational Orientation of Army Aviators

This study examined the motivational orientation of U.S. Army aviators as well as their preferences and expectations for future flight experience. A sample of 116 aviators-in-training enrolled in t...
Derivatives of 8-hydroxy-2-methylquinoline are powerful prototypes for zinc sensors in biological systems.

The recent emphasis on understanding the myriad roles of zinc in both normal and diseased cells and tissues has placed an ever increasing demand on methods for sensitive and selective methods for real-time monitoring of free Zn^(2+) in complex biological samples. Chelation-enhanced fluorescent sensors for zinc, based on fluorophores such as quinoline, dansyl, fluorescein, and anthracene, have been reported. While each of these agents has unique advantages, there remain issues with sensitivity, selectivity, and specificity that may be addressable with an alternate chromophore that is readily amenable to synthetic manipulation. Herein we report the systematic chemical modification of the 8-hydroxy-2-methylquinoline (Oxn) unit as a building block for the development of new sensors employing chelation-enhanced fluorescence. In particular, improvements in quantum yield from 0.004 to 0.70 and stepwise blue shifts in fluorescence emission wavelengths (to a total of over 70 nm) are reported.
Lung biopsy in immunocompromised hosts

Abstract Ninety-five lung biopsy procedures in 78 immunocompromised patients yielded treatable diagnoses in 35 per cent of the needle aspirates, 46 per cent of the cutting needle biopsies and 65 per cent of the open thoracotomies. Complication rates of bleeding or pneumothorax were comparable to those previously described in nonimmunocompromised patients. In patients with coagulation defects, the risk of having bleeding complications was high. Among 44 patients with primary lymphoma, 22 (50 per cent) had a lymphomatous infiltrate in the lung. Twenty-two patients with severe hypoxemia were studied and their mortality, although significantly greater than that in the patients without hypoxemia, was marginally improved when a treatable lung lesion was found. The over-all recovery rate was 70 per cent when a treatable diagnosis was made in contrast to 25 per cent when there was no specific diagnosis. Hence lung biopsy, particularly by thoracotomy, appears to be a valuable procedure in immunocompromised patients who have otherwise undiagnosable lung lesions.
On-line process-model-based control of a plasma etcher

Ideally, the desired output of any process should be monitored directly during the process for closed loop feedback control. Unfortunately, for most processes in the semiconductor industry the output is difficult to monitor. Plasma etching is one such process with the additional complexity of being a nonlinear, multiple input, multiple output system. A phenomenological model can predict process behavior over a wide range of operating conditions and hence can be used for the design and control of plasma reactors. By contrast, empirical models are highly unreliable outside the range of operating conditions over which they are parameterized. A phenomenological process model for the etch rate of SiO2 in CF4 and CF4/O2 plasmas is presented. Direct process measurements including gas flow, chamber pressure, wafer temperature, RF power, optical spectroscopy and charge density are incorporated into the model to predict the etch rate. The model is used in conjunction with a previously developed, generalized, PC-based, controller to provide control of the process.
Monoaminergic compensation in the neuropeptide Y deficient mouse brain

Abstract Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is an important central regulator of food consumption and energy expenditure via the hypothalamus. NPY containing neurons have a broad central distribution and are often colocalized with norepinephrine (NE). However, NPY deficient mice do not exhibit any substantial changes in food consumption, body weight or body composition when compared to wild type mice. Since NE and serotonin (5HT) are also important regulators of appetite and metabolism, we evaluated these systems in NPY deficient mice. Brain sections from NPY deficient and wild type mice were labeled with either 3 H-nisoxetine for the NE transporter (NET) or 3 H-citalopram for the 5HT transporter (SERT). Tyrosine hydroxylase expression was evaluated by radioimmunohistochemistry. Brain monoamines and metabolites were evaluated using HPLC. NPY deficient mice exhibited a substantial decrease in NET binding in most brain regions examined. NET binding was less than 50% of control binding in the cerebral cortex and subregions of the thalamus with the greatest decrease seen in the hypothalamus. In contrast, more modest and regionally variable changes were observed in the SERT binding with decreases in regions such as the accessory olfactory nucleus, glomerular layer of the olfactory bulb and the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Measurement of NE and 5HT content as well as the primary metabolites revealed increased NE turnover and decreased 5HT content in the hypothalamus. Therefore, developmental compensation by the NE and 5HT systems may contribute to the absence of a body weight phenotype in NPY deficient mice.
Role of Hydrophobic Clusters in the Stability of α-Helical Coiled Coils and Their Conversion to Amyloid-like β-Sheets

We designed a library of short peptides using standard rules for coiled-coil assembly. Depending on the composition of amino acids in the non-interacting region of the coiled coil (positions b, c, and f) these peptides are able to convert from α-helical to β-sheet secondary structure. This type of transition is observed in amyloid-like proteins and is a key feature associated with many types of neurodegenerative diseases. Studies on peptides that are 14 amino acids in length indicated that positioning hydrophobic amino acids at an f position within a heptad repeat accelerated the rate of conformational conversion as compared to that at a c position. We believe that this occurs because of the formation of a hydrophobic pocket that preferentially stabilizes β-sheets over α-helices. This effect was also observed in longer 21 amino acid peptides. Our study shows that the relative rates of structural conversion correlate with the formation of a continuous three-amino-acid hydrophobic patch consisting of amino ...
Echocardiographic Characterization of Postnatal Development in Mice with Reduced Arterial Elasticity

Decreased expression of elastin results in smaller, less compliant arteries, and high blood pressure. In mice, these differences become more significant with postnatal development. It is known that arterial size and compliance directly affect cardiac function, but the temporal changes in cardiac function have not been investigated in elastin insufficient mice. The aim of this study is to correlate changes in arterial size and compliance with cardiac function in wildtype (WT) and elastin haploinsufficient (Eln +/−) mice from birth to adulthood. Ultrasound scans were performed at the ages of 3, 7, 14, 21, 30, 60, and 90 days on male and female WT and Eln +/− mice. 2-D ultrasound and pulse wave Doppler images were used to measure the dimensions and function of the left ventricle (LV), ascending aorta, and carotid arteries. Eln +/− arteries are smaller and less compliant at most ages, with significant differences from WT as early as 3 days old. Surprisingly, there are no correlations (R 2 < 0.2) between arterial size and compliance with measures of LV hypertrophy or systolic function. There are weak correlations (0.2 < R 2 < 0.5) between arterial size and compliance with measures of LV diastolic function. Eln +/− mice have similar cardiac function to WT throughout postnatal development, demonstrating the remarkable ability of the developing cardiovascular system to adapt to mechanical and hemodynamic changes. Correlations between arterial size and compliance with diastolic function show that these measures may be useful indicators of early diastolic dysfunction.
Optimal decay rates for solutions of a nonlinear wave equation with localized nonlinear dissipation of unrestricted growth and critical exponent source terms under mixed boundary conditions

Abstract This article investigates optimal decay rates for solutions to a semilinear hyperbolic equation with localized interior damping and a source term. Both dissipation and the source are fully nonlinear and the growth rate of the source map may include critical exponents (for Sobolev’s embedding H 1 → L 2 ). Besides continuity and monotonicity, no growth or regularity assumptions are imposed on the damping. We analyze the system in the presence of Neumann-type boundary conditions including the mixed cases: Dirichlet–Neumann–Robin. The damping affects a thin layer (a collar) near a portion of the boundary. To cope with the lack of control on the remaining section we develop a special method that accounts for propagation of the energy estimates from the dissipative region onto the entire domain. The Neumann system does not satisfy the Lopatinski condition in higher dimensions, hence the study of energy propagation in the absence of damping near the Neumann segment requires special geometric considerations.
Suppression of natural killer-cell function in humans following thermal and traumatic injury

Depressed cell-mediated and humoral immune functions have been reported to occur following severe thermal and traumatic injury. In this study we have questioned whether another immune function, natural killing (NK), is also disturbed in these injured patients. Twenty-two thermally injured patients with burns ranging from 5 to 75% of the total body surface area and 15 traumatically injured patients with injury severity scores ranging from 9 to 56 were followed postinjury and compared to 29 age-matched controls. NK activity was measured as the percentage cytotoxicity in chromium-51 release assays with K562 target cells. The more severely burned patients had significantly depressed NK activity for the 40-day period following injury that remained reduced for the duration of the study. Patients with lesser burns had reduced NK-cell function for the initial 10-day period postburn that returned slowly to the normal range. Traumatically injured patients had depressed NK-cell function during the 3- to 6-day period postinjury. The percentage of cells bearing phenotypic markers for the groups in which NK cells are found was either normal or elevated in these patients. A correlation was found between NK activity and interleukin 2 generation by mononuclear cells from these patients. In order to investigate the mechanism of NK suppression in these patients, NK-cell function was studied following the infusion of cortisol, epinephrine, and glucagon into volunteer subjects in amounts known to reproduce serum levels seen following injury of moderate severity. NK-cell function was reduced an average of 66% following infusion, suggesting that the inhibition of NK-cell function seen in patients may be mediated by the stress response to injury.
The custody orientation of correctional officers: An international comparison

Correctional officers are the most numerous of staff in correctional institutions, and thus an important component in the functioning of the prison. Previous research has identified a subgroup of correctional officers who have been termed “custody oriented.” These officers value the security and supervison aspect of corrections work, and many times hold negative attitudes towards inmates. In order to ascertain the variables that may give rise to a custody orientation and to determine if these variables operate cross‐culturally, the attitudes of American (n = 229) and Canadian (n = 339) correctional officers were examined. The custody orientation of both groups was virtually identical, but the determinants of this custody orientation were quite different for the two groups of officers.
Color difference weighted adaptive residual preprocessing using perceptual modeling for video compression

In this paper, we investigate a method for selectively modifying a video stream using a color contrast sensitivity model based on the human visual system. The model identifies regions of high variance with frame-to-frame differences that are visually imperceptible to a human observer. The model is based on the CIE LAB color appearance model and the CIE Δ E 94 color difference formula, taking advantage of the nature of frame-based progressive video coding. The use of a color contrast sensitivity model alone was not sufficient. Therefore, it was important to also incorporate perceptual saliency and spatial activity information from the scene. The method has been implemented in the JM 18.0 H.264/AVC encoder reference software and resulted in an average gain of 37% in data compression without perceptible degradation of the video quality. As expected, the amount of compression improvement obtained is dependent on the type of video content being compressed. The imperceptibility of the changes was confirmed through psychophysical evaluation. HighlightsWe investigate a method for video compression using a human visual system model.We use color appearance, saliency, and spatial activity information from the scene.The method has been implemented in the JM 18.0 H.264/AVC encoder reference software.Significant improvements in compression are obtained without perceptible degradation.The imperceptibility of the changes was confirmed through psychophysical evaluation.
Structure-activity relationships in the oxidation of para-substituted benzylamine analogues by recombinant human liver monoamine oxidase A.

Monoamine oxidase A (MAO A) plays a central role in the oxidation of amine neurotransmitters. To investigate the structure and mechanism of this enzyme, recombinant human liver MAO A was expressed and purified from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Anaerobic titrations of the enzyme require only 1 mol of substrate per mole of enzyme-bound flavin for complete reduction. This demonstrates that only one redox-active group (i.e., the covalent FAD cofactor) is involved in catalysis. The reaction rates and binding affinities of 17 para-substituted benzylamine analogues with purified MAO A were determined by steady state and stopped flow kinetic experiments. For each substrate analogue that was tested, the rates of steady state turnover (kcat) and anaerobic flavin reduction (kred) are similar in value. Deuterium kinetic isotope effects on kcat, kred, kcat/Km, and kred/Ks with α,α-[2H]benzylamines are similar for each substrate analogue that was tested and range in value from 6 to 13, indicating that α-C−H bond cleavage ...
The primary process of photosynthesis: An interpretation of the Emerson effect and of the light-induced spectral changes at 7,000 A☆

Abstract The Franck, and the semiconductor, theories of the primary process of photosynthesis are reviewed and discussed. In addition, an extension of the electron transfer theory of photosynthesis is presented and a new interpretation of the Emerson effect and of the light-induced spectral changes observed in algae at 7,000 A is given in terms of this extended theory.
Bilateral Wilms' tumor. A review.

Three of five children with bilateral Wilms' tumor are alive and free of evidence of disease 21/2, 7, and 9 years from the time of their original diagnosis. One child (9-year survival) had metastasis to five different anatomic sites. The prognosis for bilateral Wilms' tumor is guarded, but aggressive multimodal therapy may improve survival in these children.
Abstract 3410: Regulation of pluripotency and lineage differentiation in human male germ cell tumors

Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL Pluripotent embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells derived from germ cell tumors (GCTs) are an excellent model system to study the interface between malignancy, pluripotency, and lineage differentiation. We previously characterized the gene expression profile (GEP) of a panel of 135 germ cell tumor (GCT) biopsies comprising all described differentiation lineages and 6 normal testes as controls, using the Affymetrix U133A+B arrays (Korkola et al. Cancer Res., 66: 820-7, 2006 and J. Clin. Oncol., 27: 5240-7, 2009). We applied the ARACNE reverse engineering algorithm to this GEP to obtain the first de novo and context-specific transcriptional interactome (GCTNet) comprising 1,310 transcription factors (TFs). GCTnet recapitulated 830 regulatory targets together of POU5F1, NANOG, and SOX2, the core pluripotency TFs. ChIP-seq and ChIP-PCR analysis of NT2/D1 embryonal carcinoma and H9 ES cells provided significant validation of ARACNe-inferred targets, besides providing the first detailed mapping of DNA binding sites of these 3 genes in human cells. Functional validation of ARACNe-inferred targets by stable knockdown of the POU5F1, NANOG and SOX2 in NT2/D1 cells also showed a significant enrichment of ARACNe targets. Analysis of GEP in a time-course of SOX2 knockdown by principal component analysis (PCA) identified 3 orthogonal gene expression programs: (1) genes with monotonic change (PC1), (2) genes showing a strong and focal gene expression at day 5 (PC2), and (3) genes which show oscillatory pattern of expression (PC3). Ingenuity and GO annotation analysis of PCA provided new insights into the pathways regulated by this TF. Our results provide a novel, comprehensive, and accurate regulatory networks responsible for pluripotency and lineage differentiation in GCTs. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3410. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3410
Fractionation and analysis of fluorescent products of lipid peroxidation

The fluorescence excitation spectrum of model conjugated Schiff base compounds that arise from the reaction of malonaldehyde with amino acids was shown to contain a maximum at 260–280 nm in addition to the previously observed maximum at 350–390 nm. Excitation at either maximum results in emission at a single maximum at 440–480 nm. The excitation and emission maxima of the model fluorescent compounds, together with the characteristic reductions in fluorescence intensity caused by alkaline pH or heavy metal coordination, provide criteria with which to examine lipid peroxidation products for the presence of the conjugated Schiff base fluorophore. Silicic acid column chromatography and silica gel thin layer chromatography were employed to fractionate the fluorescent products of model lipid peroxidation systems and of rat testicular lipid soluble extracts. These products contained large families of compounds whose fluorescence characteristics were the same as those of the Schiff base floorophores. The fractionation methods used enabled more thorough fluorescence characterization of many of the products of lipid peroxidation, but the fluores-cence criteria available do not provide definitive proof of structure.
Monte Carlo determination of SU(3) lattice wave functionals

Abstract An approximate form for the ground state wave functional of four-dimensional euclidean SU(3) lattice gauge theory is determined using Monte Carlo simulation. Two independent techniques are used, with reasonable agreement between them. While the approximate wave functionals reproduce the local structure of the vacuum well, they fail to reproduce correctly the expectation values of moderately sized Wilson loops. Possible remedies and extensions are discussed.
Multipacting-free transitions between cavities and beam-pipes

Abstract Recently multipacting (MP) has been experimentally found in two superconducting cavities to the surprise of experimenters. Computer simulation showed that the MP has occurred in transition regions between a cavity and a beam-pipe, [R.L. Geng, et al., Fabrication and performance of superconducting RF cavities for the Cornell ERL injector, in: Proceedings of the PAC 2007, Albuquerque, NM, 2007; Y. Morozumi. RF structure design and analysis XXXIII, 〈 http://lcdev.kek.jp/ILC-AsiaWG/WG5notes/ 〉, 18 May 2007]. Our analysis offers an insight into which electromagnetic field configuration is necessary to support MP in such geometries. Namely, a minimum of the electric field along the cavity profile line, associated with the RF potential well, attracts electrons and thus creates conditions favorable for multipactor. Choosing geometries without a minimum of the electric field allows MP-free beam-pipe transitions. Simulation results confirming this conclusion are presented.
Spirituality, patients' worry, and follow-up health-care utilization among cancer survivors.

BACKGROUND Spirituality may aid cancer survivors as they attempt to interpret the meaning of their experience. OBJECTIVE We examined the relationship between spirituality, patient-rated worry, and health-care utilization among 551 cancer survivors with different malignancies, who were evaluated prospectively. METHODS Baseline spirituality scores were categorized into low and high spirituality groups. Patient-rated worries regarding disease recurrence/progression, developing new cancer, and developing complications from treatment were collected at baseline and at 6 and 12 months. Follow-up health-care utilization was also examined at 6 and 12 months. RESULTS Among the survivors, 271 (49%) reported low spirituality and 280 (51%) reported high spirituality. Of the cohort, 59% had some kind of worry regarding disease recurrence/progression, development of new cancers, and treatment complications. Highly spiritual survivors were less likely to have high levels of worries at both 6 and 12 months. Highly worried survivors were significantly more likely to place phone calls to their follow-up providers and had more frequent follow-up visits at 6 and 12 months. No interactions between spirituality and level of worry were noted to affect follow-up health-care utilization. CONCLUSION Given spirituality's effect on anxiety, spirituality-based intervention may have a role in addressing cancer survivors' worries but may not improve health-care utilization.
Communication of leaf suitability by gregarious eastern tent caterpillars (Malacosoma americanum)

. 1. Previous work has shown that leaf age affects recruitment trail marking by eastern tent caterpillars (Malacosoma americanum Fabr.). Young leaves of host plants elicit trail marking to a greater degree than mature leaves. 2. Experiments were conducted to establish the relationship between the differential behavioural responses of larvae to young and mature leaves and the suitability of foliage for larval growth and survival. Foliage of black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.), a typical rosaceous host plant, was used for this comparison. 3. Larvae preferred young leaves to mature leaves in choice tests, and marked more to young leaves than to mature leaves in no-choice tests. 4. Mature leaves supported adequate growth through two larval instars of rearing, but thereafter were unsuitable for growth. Larvae fed mature leaves had lower pupal weight, poorer survival, and grew less efficiently than larvae fed young leaves. 5. The results support the hypothesis that the trail communication system of eastern tent caterpillars is an adaptation to efficiently locate leaves which are favourable for larval growth and survival.
Visual cortex and the Retinex algorithm

Optical imaging has revealed that the visual cortex is the site of numerous functional maps associated with visual objects such as their position in the visual field, the local orientation of their contours, their texture and surface properties, and some aspects of their color. We show how such functional or feature maps may be used to analyze how visual objects may be represented by integrated neural population activity, and how such activity may embody algorithms similar to the Retinex algorithm.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The Culture of Nature through Mississippian Geographies

The paper's first interest is in re-forming exploitive human-environment relations. It shows that culture/nature dichotomies are not only false, but obscure the commonality of culture to humans and nonhuman beings and processes. The paper draws upon the Roman genesis of "culture" to describe its function in finding appropriateness among co-evolving human and nonhuman projects. Culture, thus, is the process through which co-eval projects are brought together. The study argues that through dialectic interrelationships, culture works to move biospheric relations towards mutualism and away from parasitism (or exploitation). This is evident among nonhuman beings and processes as well as cultures in which humans are more central. The paper draws upon various interrelationships in the Mississippi watershed to illustrate these points. It then briefly explores the usefulness of a culture of nature perspective in planning and managing development projects.
The action of dantrolene on transmitter mobilization at the rat neuromuscular junction

Abstract Dantrolene sodium (20 μM) was found to decrease transmitter mobilization and the apparent available store of acetylcholine at frequencies of nerve stimulation of 50 and 100 Hz at the neuromuscular junction of the rat hemidiaphragm preparation treated with 2 μM (+)-tubocurarine. This effect of dantrolene sodium was not as marked at frequencies of nerve stimulation of 25 Hz or less, also no significant effect of the drug was observed on the amplitude of endplate potentials (EPPS) at any frequency of nerve stimulation. No effect of dantrolene sodium (20 μM) on mean miniature EPP amplitude or frequency qas observed. It is suggested that the action of dantrolene sodium on mean EPP quantal content may be due to an action on stores of bound calcium within the motor nerve terminal. This effect of the drug is unlikely to be of physiological consequence in vivo, since it was only observed at high frequencies of nerve stimulation and did not cause a significant reduction of EPP amplitude during trains of stimuli.