cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Litz wire in the MHz range: Modeling and improved designs

Although conventional litz-wire design and modeling indicates that it has little benefit for frequencies much beyond where skin depth equals the strand diameter, we investigate this region of operation more closely, including the effect of the effective complex permeability of the winding region with different winding and inductor geometries, and the effect of the configuration of strands within a litz bundle. We show that the benefit of litz wire extends to higher frequencies than was indicated by previous models with some field geometries and show that a “hollow” litz wire structure in which strands are confined to the outer perimeter of a dielectric core is superior to conventional litz in many high-frequency designs.
Raping Like a State

It is a remarkable fact that rhetorically the state is gendered male, while state-on-state violence is continually represented as sexual violence. This Article applies the insights of queer theory to examine this rhetoric of sexual violation. More specifically, it analyzes the injury of colonialism as a kind of homoerotic violation of non-Western states’ (would-be) sovereignty. The Article does so by taking seriously the legal fiction of the state as an “international legal person.” Historically, colonial violence is routinely described as rape. What does it mean to liken a state to a person, and its conduct to rape? How does a state rape? Whom does it rape, and under what conditions? This Article examines international legal rhetoric to illustrate the normative masculinity that is attributed to sovereign states, and it argues that non-Western states’ variously deviant masculinities, together with their civilizational and racial attributes, rendered them rapable. The Article uses China as a case study. As a historically recognized yet “effete” civilization, throughout the nineteenth century China occupied an unstable intermediate position between the colonizable and the fully sovereign, savage and civilized, Africa and Europe. International law provided a vocabulary for transforming China’s alleged economic and political isolation into a violation of a “right of intercourse,” which in turn justified the establishment of a non-territorial form of imperialism that fell short of colonialism proper: the practice of extraterritorial jurisdiction. In the end, the queer rhetoric of international law did not simply reflect China’s inherent weakness; it helped make it internationally weak. In sum, the Article illustrates some of the general processes by which international law excludes and includes subjects. Sexual, gendered, and racial metaphors continue to structure uneven global relations even today. Queer enemies of mankind are not history.
Anti-Racist Pedagogy In and Against Lynching Culture

This article assesses the methodology and content of a graduate seminar on the literature of lynching, focusing on the inclusion of works by Ida B. Wells and a recent graphic novel, Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece's Incognegro, as well as key assignments and discussion topics. After examining the events and history that inspired the course as well as its immediate cultural and social contexts, the article considers the questions that such literature raises for its readers and the next steps that it urges engaged students to take.
Osteopontin may be a driver of abdominal aortic aneurysm formation.

Abstract Objective Previous in vitro and animal studies have suggested that osteopontin (OPN), an inflammatory extracellular matrix protein, is involved in the formation and growth of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). However, the mechanism by which this occurs continues to be nebulous. The relationship between OPN and inflammation-suppressing lymphocytes present in the human AAA condition was investigated and presented herein. Methods Serum OPN concentrations were measured in healthy, risk factor-matched non-AAA and AAA patients by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Immunohistochemistry was used to determine the source of OPN secretion using aortic tissue collected from multiorgan donors and AAA patients undergoing open surgical repair. Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) were exposed to various inflammatory mediators, and OPN expression was evaluated by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and ELISA. The inflammatory nature of OPN and the aortic wall was determined using a TR1 suppressor cell induction assay as a surrogate and characterized by ELISA and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Results OPN was found to be elevated in both the plasma and aortic homogenate of AAA patients compared with controls. On immunohistochemistry, OPN localized to the tunica media of the diseased aorta but was minimally expressed in healthy aorta. In vitro, cigarette smoke extract was the most potent stimulator of OPN secretion by VSMCs and increased both messenger RNA and supernatant concentrations. OPN demonstrated an ability to inhibit the induction of interleukin 10-secreting TR1 lymphocytes, a depleted population in the AAA patient, from naive precursors. Last, neutralizing receptor targets of OPN in the setting of AAA homogenate coincubation abrogated the inhibition of TR1 induction. Conclusions OPN, secreted by the VSMCs of the tunica media, is elevated in the circulating plasma and aortic wall of patients with AAA. It can inhibit the induction of the TR1 suppressor cell, leading to an overall proinflammatory state contributing to progressive aortic wall breakdown and dilation.
Elliptocytes and tailed poikilocytes correlate with severity of iron-deficiency anemia.

This study examines the relationships between abnormal RBC morphology, RBC indices measured with an automated hematology analyzer, serum iron studies, and severity of anemia in patients with findings indicative of iron-deficiency anemia. Counts and morphologic classification of 1,000 RBCs from each of 22 patients were performed, and correlations were determined between parameters. The Student t test was used to determine the level of significance for correlations between parameters. Several significant relationships were found. As the percentage of elliptocytes increased, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, RBC concentration, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin level decreased (r = .48, .44, .40, and .49, respectively; P < .05). As the percentage of tailed poikilocytes increased, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, and RBC concentration decreased (r = .70, .77, and .71, respectively; P < .01) and RBC distribution width increased (r = .73; P < .01). Of significance, serum ferritin levels, long considered the best single indicator of iron deficiency, showed no correlation with the morphologic abnormalities assessed, severity of anemia, or any of the analyzer-generated indices. Our results indicate that microscopic evaluation of RBC morphology remains an important tool for the pathologist to evaluate the severity of anemia in patients with iron deficiency.
Developing Social Work Interviewing Skills through a Micro-Video Analysis Training Program

Effective interviewing techniques are required for successful social work practice. Consequently, mastering this relatively complex technology is vital for both social work students and agency professionals. This article will provide a descriptive analysis of the Micro-Video Analysis Training Program which may be operationalized in either an academic classroom or agency. Also discussed are the primary components of the training program and their inter-relationships within the context of the Micro-Video Analysis approach. Hopefully this material will assist those with social work education responsibilities to teach interviewing skills more effectively.
Kant’s Attitude Toward Human Perfection as a Moral Determinant

The purpose of this paper will be to study the attitude of Kant toward the principle of perfection as the basic moral principle. By perfection is meant here man’s internal perfection, not general perfection, nor external perfection in the sense of God or the will of God. By Kant’s attitude is meant first of all a brief historical sketch of the role of perfection in his pre-critical and critical ethics and secondly his criticisms of it. This paper will also attempt to evaluate Kant’s criticisms to see whether they are valid criticisms and to see whether or not his own principle of the categorical imperative can escape the criticisms which he made against the principle of perfection.
The Thom Class of Mathai and Quillen and Probability Theory

As we will explain in this talk, the construction by Mathai and Quillen of explicit differential form representatives of the Thom class and Euler class of a vector bundle [5] gives a framework for understanding in unified way a number of ideas in stochastic differential geometry. We will also show briefly how Witten’s topological quantum field theories fit into this formalism. For the moment, the picture that he envisages is inaccessible to rigourous methods; but even in the more humdrum world of Brownian motion, the point of view presented here illuminates quite a few of the other talks that were given at this conference.
Conceptualizing, Assessing, and Treating Parent-Adolescent Conflict

Parent-adolescent conflict is a universal phenomenon which transcends socioeconomic class, ethnic groups, family constellations, formal psychiatric diagnoses, or any other common schemas for classifying families or individuals within families. As used here, the term refers to predominantly verbal arguments between teenagers and their parents concerning a variety of specific issues such as curfew, chores, peers, and school. The arguments may be isolated disagreements or continual bursts of negative interaction and may occur either in the absence of other behavior disorders or as part of behavior problems such as the attention deficit disorder, conduct disorders, or affective disorders.
Similarity for a real-gas flow via a new group formalism

New results for an extensive class of real-gas compressible viscous flows are obtained by applying recent group theory techniques for reducing the number of independent variables in systems of partial differential equations. In particular, the results are obtained without assumptions about the functions of state which relate pressure, specific heat, viscosity, and thermal conductivity to the temperature and density.
Inguinal neuroanatomy: Implications for prevention of chronic postinguinal hernia pain

Inguinal hernia repairs represent one of the most common general surgery operations worldwide. Advances in the understanding of groin anatomy, operative technique, and prosthetics have improved the efficacy of these repairs with overall low recurrence rates and favorable outcomes. Chronic postherniorrhaphy inguinal pain has arguably become the most important and most frequent complication of inguinal hernia repair, with significant impact on patients' quality of life. Neuropathic inguinodynia may be caused by direct nerve injury, manipulation, entrapment, scarring, and interaction with mesh. Development of chronic postinguinal hernia repair pain is independent of the method of hernia repair as all inguinal hernia repair techniques may potentially cause injury. Understanding the neuroanatomy of the inguinal canal and the potential mechanisms for injury leads to lower rates of nerve injury and chronic pain and helps to guide prevention and treatment of inguinodynia. In this article, the neuroanatomy of the anterior inguinal canal and the prevention of nerve injury are addressed.
Rotating Shifts Negatively Impacts Health and Wellness Among Intensive Care Nurses.

The impact of shift work on sleep and health has been examined in the past, but most studies utilized cross-sectional designs relying on between-subject differences. The purpose this study was to e...
Geometric Pose Affordance: 3D Human Pose with Scene Constraints.

Full 3D estimation of human pose from a single image remains a challenging task despite many recent advances. In this paper, we explore the hypothesis that strong prior information about scene geometry can be used to improve pose estimation accuracy. To tackle this question empirically, we have assembled a novel $\textbf{Geometric Pose Affordance}$ dataset, consisting of multi-view imagery of people interacting with a variety of rich 3D environments. We utilized a commercial motion capture system to collect gold-standard estimates of pose and construct accurate geometric 3D CAD models of the scene itself. To inject prior knowledge of scene constraints into existing frameworks for pose estimation from images, we introduce a novel, view-based representation of scene geometry, a $\textbf{multi-layer depth map}$, which employs multi-hit ray tracing to concisely encode multiple surface entry and exit points along each camera view ray direction. We propose two different mechanisms for integrating multi-layer depth information pose estimation: input as encoded ray features used in lifting 2D pose to full 3D, and secondly as a differentiable loss that encourages learned models to favor geometrically consistent pose estimates. We show experimentally that these techniques can improve the accuracy of 3D pose estimates, particularly in the presence of occlusion and complex scene geometry.
Synthesis of Novel Heterocycles from 2-Amino-3-cyanomethyl-sulfonyl-4,5-dimethylfuran

The synthesis and selected reactions of the versatile heterocycle 2-amino-3-cyanomethylsulfonyl-4,5-dimethylfuran is reported. In particular, cyclization reaction of the aminofuran yielded a number of novel furo[3,2-b]thiazine 1,1-dioxides. Additionally, a novel tetracyclic system, namely a pyrrolo[2′,3′:5,6]-[1,4]thiazino[3,2-b]quinoline 4,4-dioxide, is prepared via an intramolecular triple-cyclization in which the furan ring is opened and reclosed as a pyrrole.
Immigrants’ Access to Financial Services and Asset Accumulation

Abstract This chapter investigates the financial behavior of immigrants using data from the United States and Italy. While the income and occupational mobility of immigrants have received attention, much less is known about their financial market participation. To explore this aspect of immigrant adaptation, we focus on financial asset ownership, housing market participation, and accumulation of durable goods. We find that immigrants in the US are less likely to participate in a broad array of financial markets than the native-born, even after taking into account differences in socio-economic and demographic factors. Some of the gaps in asset ownership diminish as immigrants accumulate host country experience. However, for forward-looking assets such as stocks and IRA/Keogh accounts, immigrant–native differences tend to persist over time. We find similar native–immigrant gaps with regards to savings accounts and home ownership in Italy. When we investigate the potential explanations for these gaps, we find that institutional characteristics of the country of origin (home country) affect financial participation in the host country. In addition, our results suggest that immigrant financial participation in the home country does not crowd out financial participation in the host country.
Gid10 as an alternative N-recognin of the Pro/N-degron pathway.

In eukaryotes, N-degron pathways (formerly “N-end rule pathways”) comprise a set of proteolytic systems whose unifying feature is their ability to recognize proteins containing N-terminal degradation signals called N-degrons, thereby causing degradation of these proteins by the 26S proteasome or autophagy. Gid4, a subunit of the GID ubiquitin ligase in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is the recognition component (N-recognin) of the GID-mediated Pro/N-degron pathway. Gid4 targets proteins by recognizing their N-terminal Pro residues or a Pro at position 2, in the presence of distinct adjoining sequence motifs. Under conditions of low or absent glucose, cells make it through gluconeogenesis. When S. cerevisiae grows on a nonfermentable carbon source, its gluconeogenic enzymes Fbp1, Icl1, Mdh2, and Pck1 are expressed and long-lived. Transition to a medium containing glucose inhibits the synthesis of these enzymes and induces their degradation by the Gid4-dependent Pro/N-degron pathway. While studying yeast Gid4, we identified a similar but uncharacterized yeast protein (YGR066C), which we named Gid10. A screen for N-terminal peptide sequences that can bind to Gid10 showed that substrate specificities of Gid10 and Gid4 overlap but are not identical. Gid10 is not expressed under usual (unstressful) growth conditions, but is induced upon starvation or osmotic stresses. Using protein binding analyses and degradation assays with substrates of GID, we show that Gid10 can function as a specific N-recognin of the Pro/N-degron pathway.
The Effect of a Low-Cost Body Weight-Supported Treadmill Trainer on Walking Speed and Joint Motion

Background and Objectives: Gait training with body weight-support has been shown to improve the walking speed of individuals with movement disorders. The AccesSportAmerica Gait Trainer is a low-cost, pre-market gait rehabilitation device that alters the stride characteristics of participants walking on a standard treadmill. The purpose of this study was to examine the biomechanical outcomes that training on this device has for people with brain injuries that affect motor functioning. It was hypothesized that there would be an increase in walking speed post-intervention, and that there would be an increase in step length and joint range-of-motion. Materials and Methods: An intervention study was conducted with 11 people with ambulatory difficulty caused by post-stroke hemiparesis (n = 7), traumatic brain injury (n = 3), and cerebral palsy (n = 1). The average time using the AccesSportAmerica Gait Trainer was 34.5 (SD = 6.0) minutes per session for 36.9 (SD = 21.8) sessions. Gait speed, step length and time, and joint flexion were measured during the 10 Meter Walk Test. Results: From pre- to post-intervention, there was a mean increase in walking speed of 0.19 m/s (SD = 0.06, p = 0.016, d = 0.40) and a decrease in step time of both affected and unaffected legs (affected: p = 0.011, d = 0.37; unaffected: p = 0.004, d = 0.67). There was no significant change in stride length or joint angles. Conclusions: The AccesSportAmerica Gait Trainer has the potential to improve the walking speed of people with ambulatory difficulty.
A Simple Method for Removing Bias From a Popular Measure of Standardized Effect Size: Adjusted Partial Eta Squared:

Accurate estimates of population effect size are critical to empirical science, for both reporting experimental results and conducting a priori power analyses. Unfortunately, the current most-popul...
Evolution of neural processing for visual perception in vertebrates

Visual perception requires both visual information and attention. This review compares, across classes of vertebrates, the functional and anatomical characteristics of (a) the neural pathways that process visual information about objects, and (b) stimulus selection pathways that determine the objects to which an animal attends. Early in the evolution of vertebrate species, visual perception was dominated by information transmitted via the midbrain (retinotectal) visual pathway, and attention was probably controlled primarily by a selection network in the midbrain. In contrast, in primates, visual perception is dominated by information transmitted via the forebrain (retinogeniculate) visual pathway, and attention is mediated largely by networks in the forebrain. In birds and nonprimate mammals, both the retinotectal and retinogeniculate pathways contribute critically to visual information processing, and both midbrain and forebrain networks play important roles in controlling attention. The computations and processing strategies in birds and mammals share some strikingly similar characteristics despite over 300 million years of independent evolution and being implemented by distinct brain architectures. The similarity of these functional characteristics suggests that they provide valuable advantages to visual perception in advanced visual systems. A schema is proposed that describes the evolution of the pathways and computations that enable visual perception in vertebrate species.
Ends and Means of Solidarity.

Solidarity has many historical meanings. It has been enlisted in support of illiberal ideals of social cohesion and order as well as in support for national liberation, individual emancipation, and...
Spectral Photon Counting CT: Imaging Algorithms and Performance Assessment

Photon counting X-ray detectors (PCDs) with spectral capabilities have the potential to revolutionize computed tomography (CT) for medical imaging. The ideal PCD provides accurate energy information for each incident X-ray, and at high spatial resolution. This information enables material-specific imaging, enhanced radiation dose efficiency, and improved spatial resolution in CT images. In practice, PCDs are affected by nonidealities, including limited energy resolution, pulse pileup, and cross talk due to charge sharing, K-fluorescence, and Compton scattering. In order to maximize their performance, PCDs must be carefully designed to reduce these effects and then later account for them during correction and post-acquisition steps. This review article examines algorithms for using PCDs in spectral CT applications, including how nonidealities impact image quality. Performance assessment metrics that account for spatial resolution and noise such as the detective quantum efficiency (DQE) can be used to compare different PCD designs, as well as compare PCDs with conventional energy integrating detectors (EIDs). These methods play an important role in enhancing spectral CT images and assessing the overall performance of PCDs.
Ne Me Quitte Pas: The Laws’ Argument in Plato’s Crito and Migrants’ Obligations to Their Political Communities:

This paper argues that in their criticism of Socrates’s prospective evasion, the Laws of the Crito make two arguments relevant to the discussion of the ethics of migration, labeled here the “Argume...
Mary Prince, Slavery, and Print Culture in the Anglophone Atlantic World

This study examines a network of writers that coalesced around the publication of The History of Mary Prince (1831), which recounts Prince's experiences as an enslaved person in the West Indies and the events that brought her to seek assistance from the Anti-Slavery Society in London. It focuses on the three writers who produced the text - Mary Prince, Thomas Pringle, and Susanna Moodie - with glances at their pro-slavery opponent, James MacQueen, and their literary friends and relatives. The History connects the Black Atlantic, a diasporic formation created through the colonial trade in enslaved people, with the Anglophone Atlantic, created through British migration and colonial settlement. It also challenges Romantic ideals of authorship as an autonomous creative act and the literary text as an aesthetically unified entity. Collaborating with Prince on the History's publication impacted Moodie's and Pringle's attitudes towards slavery and shaped their own accounts of migration and settlement.
Precarious Locations:: Streaming TV and Global Inequalities

Combining methods from TV studies, ethnic studies/American studies, and critical geography, this essay analyzes the contradictory relationship between setting and location in three streaming shows: Watchmen, Los Espookys, and Vida. Foregrounding state programs to attract media makers that redistribute wealth upward, from poor people of color to Hollywood, I analyze how TV production intervenes in the politics of place, making visible histories of white supremacy and racial inequality, as well as the popular movements that oppose them.
Response to Korley et al.: Progesterone Treatment Does Not Decrease Serum Levels of Biomarkers of Glial and Neuronal Cell Injury in Moderate and Severe TBI Subjects: A Secondary Analysis of the Progesterone for Traumatic Brain Injury, Experimental Clinical Treatment (ProTECT) III Trial (DOI: 10.1089/neu.2020.7072).

Korley et al. recently evaluated the relationship between progesterone treatment and serum levels of biomarkers of glial and neuronal cell death in the ProTECT III trial for progesterone in the tre...
A Case of Pembrolizumab-Induced Autoimmune Necrotizing Myopathy (P3.4-004)

Objective: To describe a case of pembrolizumab-induced autoimmune necrotizing myopathy. Background: Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICI), especially Programmed Death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors, are increasingly used for cancer immunotherapy treatment and been associated with various central or peripheral nervous system autoimmune disorders, in particular the neuromuscular system. This mechanism remains unclear due to insufficient studies related to this process. We present a case of pembrolizumab-induced autoimmune necrotizing myositis, to contribute to the growing literature. Design/Methods: Case report. Results: A 77 year-old man with a history of stage-IV melanoma presented progressive weakness, two weeks after receiving his first dose of pembrolizumab. He developed new onset of progressively worsening bilateral ptosis, dysarthria, ophthalmoplegia, facial diplegia, proximal > distal limb weakness, and respiratory insufficiency. Laboratory work-up revealed AST 492 U/L, ALT 256 U/L, and CPK 8284 U/L. His second dose of pembrolizumab was held. He was intubated and placed on mechanical ventilation, and was started on combined therapy with IVIg and IV methylprednisolone for five days, followed by four plasmapheresis treatments. He had negative acetylcholine receptor antibodies. Right vastus lateralis muscle biopsy revealed moderately severe necrotizing myopathy and mild type II fiber atrophy. CT of chest negative for thymoma; MRI of brain negative for ischemia. The patient started experiencing clinical and laboratory improvement (AST 36 U/L, ALT 130, CK 250 U/L), within 4 days of combined IVIg and steroid treatment. His hospital course was complicated by acute respiratory failure, altered mental status resulting in tracheostomy and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, and septic shock. Conclusions: Autoimmune myopathy appears to be the commonest neuromuscular disorder associated with ICI treatment. It is important to further characterize these myopathies, in terms of myopathology and serology. Rapid diagnosis is essential to initiate prompt therapy as well as discontinuation of the immune checkpoint inhibitor. Disclosure: Dr. Chen has nothing to disclose. Dr. Said-Said has nothing to disclose. Dr. Perez-Rosendahl has nothing to disclose. Dr. Mozaffar has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Amicus, Alexion, CSL and Genzyme. Dr. Mozaffar has received research support from Alexion, Amicus, aTyr, Genzyme, Grifols, Idera, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, and Ultragenyx.
How Free Can Religion Be

Randall P. Bezanson's "How Free Can Religion Be?" explores the Supreme Court's varied history of interpreting the religious guarantees outlined in the First Amendment. The book discusses eight provocative Supreme Court decisions to track the evolution of Free Exercise and Establishment Clause doctrine, focusing on the court's shift from strict separation of church and state to a position where the government accommodates and even fosters religion. Understanding the First Amendment as a complex stew of untested political theory, fear of unlimited central government, universal acceptance of Christianity, uncertain ideas about liberty, and the backbone of a secular democracy, Bezanson evaluates the way that the Supreme Court has invoked historical perspectives to follow the shifting threads of judicial theory through a series of detailed case studies. Beginning with cases in the latter half of the nineteenth century, the cases present new problems and revisit some old ones as well: the Mormon Church's claimed belief in polygamy; state support for religious schools; the teaching of evolution and creationism in public schools; Amish claims for exemption from compulsory education laws; comparable claims for Native American religion in relation to drug laws; and rights of free speech and equal access by religious groups in colleges and public schools. Historical but not a work of history, "How Free Can Religion Be?" invites readers into a rewarding examination of the contested and ever-changing role and meaning of religion in America. Rather than aiming at conclusions about whether the Court's varied enforcement of the First Amendment's ambiguously worded guarantees is right or wrong, Bezanson instead works to identify the principles underlying the changes. Using transcripts of oral arguments before the Supreme Court accompanied by his own editorial narration, he engages the reader in a revealing Socratic discussion of the issues and encourages them to draw their own conclusions.
Anticonvulsant-Convulsant Effects of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol

It is fairly well established that delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC), the major psychoactive constituent of marihuana, has anticonvulsant properties. A summary of the reported effects of delta-9-THC in laboratory animals for a variety of experimentally induced seizure paradigms is presented in Table 1. In general, behavioral seizures in rodents, frogs, and cats, and electrographic seizures in rats and cats produced by electrical stimulation are prevented by delta-9-THC. Additionally, auditory, tactile (reflex), and in some cases pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) induced seizures in rodents are also blocked by the cannabinoid.
Signaling through Tsc2-mTOR regulates memory CD8 T cell differentiation. (LYM4P.755)

Inhibition of the mTOR pathway with the pharmacological inhibitor rapamycin, can enhance the formation of virus-specific memory CD8 T cells. While mTOR signals through two separate protein complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2 the role of each in memory CD8 T cell differentiation remains unclear. The Tsc1/2 protein complex inhibits activation of mTORC1, and genetic deletion or inactivation of Tsc1/Tsc2 leads to hyperactivation of downstream mTORC1 targets. mTOR signaling is increased after T cell activation and presumably down modulated during transition to memory. In order to characterize the role of Tsc1/2-mTOR signaling in the formation of memory CD8 T cells, mice that express a dominant negative form of Tsc2 were first crossed with the OT-I transgenic mice (Tsc2-DN OT-I). Subsequently, wild-type or Tsc2-DN OT-I cells were adoptively transferred into naive congenic hosts that were then infected with Vesicular Stomatitis Virus expressing ovalbumin. We report that disruption of Tsc2 resulted in an impaired generation and/or maintenance of memory CD8 T cells. However, the number of effector Tsc2-DN OT-Is were increased compared to WT OT-Is. These data suggest that Tsc2 signaling controls the survival of effector CD8 T cells during contraction.
Detention Reform and Girls: Challenges and Solutions: JDAI Pathways to Juvenile Detention Reform #13

This report is part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) Pathways to Detention Reform Series. It describes the urgent need for juvenile justice systems to focus on their female populations and presents an overview of the pathways girls take into detention in the United States with a focus on justice system policies and practices that lead to unnecessary and disproportionate detention of girls. It then identifies promising policies, practices, and gender-responsive approaches drawn from JDAI sites, which can reduce girls’ detention and improve their outcomes. The report concludes with systemic strategies to eliminate gender bias and promote gender responsiveness.
The human β-globin locus control region

The human β-globin gene locus is the subject of intense study, and over the past two decades a wealth of information has accumulated on how tissue-specific and stage-specific expression of its genes is achieved. The data are extensive and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to formulate a comprehensive model integrating every aspect of what is currently known. In this review, we introduce the fundamental characteristics of globin locus regulation as well as questions on which much of the current research is predicated. We then outline a hypothesis that encompasses more recent results, focusing on the modification of higher-order chromatin structure and recruitment of transcription complexes to the globin locus. The essence of this hypothesis is that the locus control region (LCR) is a genetic entity highly accessible to and capable of recruiting, with great efficiency, chromatin-modifying, coactivator, and transcription complexes. These complexes are used to establish accessible chromatin domains, allowing basal factors to be loaded on to specific globin gene promoters in a developmental stage-specific manner. We conceptually divide this process into four steps: (a) generation of a highly accessible LCR holocomplex; (b)␣recruitment of transcription and chromatin-modifying complexes to the LCR; (c) establishment of chromatin domains permissive for transcription; (d) transfer of transcription complexes to globin gene promoters.
The Transformative Engagement Process: Foundations and Supports for University-Community Partnerships

This article describes one university’s approach to transformativeengagement: An engagement process based not ontransfer of expertise from university to community (technologytransfer), but rather on an interactive process in which all partnersapply critical thinking skills to complex community problems.Iterative in nature, it is informed by a university-widemodel of engagement built on the land-grant tradition and bygrounded principles from the literature. University Outreachand Engagement (UOE) provides several modes of connectingfor structural support. To be successful, partners must haveappropriate and multiple ways of making and sustaining connectionsto each other and to information that will help themmove through transformations. These modalities encompassindividual and systemic connections in both face-to-face andelectronic venues. The structures are designed to meet the needsof those engaged in partnerships while promoting evidencebasedbest practices in community agencies.
Green tea polyphenol, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, induces oxidative stress and DNA damage in cancer cell lines, xenograft tumors, and mouse liver

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 4896 (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the major polyphenol in green tea, has been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth and tumorigenesis in animal models. Our previous work has shown that the auto-oxidation of EGCG in the culture medium caused apoptosis and inactivation of growth factor receptors. In the present studies with superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase in the medium to stabilize EGCG, EGCG (20 or 50 μM) could still induce intracellular ROS in both esophageal squamous cell carcinoma KYSE 150 and non-small cell lung cancer H1299 cells determined by dichlorofluorescin staining. These signals can be greatly reduced by the presence of N -acetyl-cysteine, which can penetrate the cell membrane and reach the cytosol. As a consequence of ROS induction, 15 μM EGCG increased the level of phospho-H2A.X, a DNA double strand break marker, in H1299 cells in the presence of SOD and catalase after 48 h of incubation. This treatment also caused 50% inhibition on H1299 cell growth and 25% cells in early apoptotic state. This suggests that EGCG-induced ROS could damage DNA and possibly contribute to the growth inhibition effect. Utilizing the tissue and tumor samples from an H1299 xenograft study, we observed that EGCG administration to NCR nu/nu mice could induce the up-regulation of oxidative stress and DNA damage markers. In the mouse liver, i.p. injection of 40 or 80 mg/kg EGCG daily for 4 weeks led to the increase of phospho-H2A.X and metallothionein expression, suggesting the presence of oxidative stress. EGCG administration through diet (0.2%) or in drinking fluid (0.32%) did not have such effects. The growth of H1299 xenograft tumors was inhibited by 50% as a result of i.p. injection of 40 mg/kg EGCG daily for 4 weeks. Phospho-H2A.X level was significantly increased in tumors of the treatment group compared to those of control. EGCG is generally considered to be an antioxidant. More studies are needed to determine whether the pro-oxidative activities of EGCG can contribute to tumor growth inhibition and oxidative stress to the host animals (supported by NIH grants CA 88961 and CA 56673).
The Effects Of Current Market Forces On The Impact Of A TV Commercial In Creating Persuasion: Advertising Agencies Cannot Do It All Alone!

Abstract The present study investigates the extent to which extenuating factors (excluding those produced by the commercial) affect the extent to which an advertisement is both persuasive and eventually engenders persuasion. The authors collected data from over 5,000 television commercials in the United States, and identified the existing market structure (e.g., brand share, number of competing brands, brand loyalty) surrounding each item at the time the product was advertised, in an effort to separate the effects of the advertisement from the effects of pre-existing market forces on persuasiveness. The results demonstrate that the combined pre-existing market forces have a greater impact on a commercial's ability to persuade than does the message or creativity in the advertisement itself. However, when pre-existing market forces between two products were similar, a creative advertising campaign was still identified as important in producing persuasion. Marketing strategy implications are discussed.
Comparison of atomization processes: Trace element analysis using Ris of laserirradiated and ion-bombarded biological and metal surfaces

Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy (RIS) is becoming recognized as an emerging field with wide applications. RIS is an analytical technique providing extreme element sensitivity and selectivity by detecting ionization produced from lasers tuned to excited states of the analyte. The sensitivity and selectivity of the RIS process is especially valuable for ultra-trace element analysis in samples where the complexity of the matrix can be a serious source of interference. Using either SputterInitiated RIS (SIRIS) or Laser Atomization RIS (LARIS), it is possible to localize with high spatial resolution ultra-trace concentrations of a selected element to the parts per trillion level. We have compared both the SIRIS and LARIS techniques to determine their characteristics to localize and quantitate trace elements on biological and metal surfaces, and their different response as a function of atomization parameter, substrate and analyte. Using 266 nm, 10 ns atomization pulses on organic matrices, quantitation with the LARIS technique was identical to SIRIS, but yielded a factor of 100 greater signal. Quantitation on metallic matrices was not as good with LARIS (at 532 nm) than with SIRIS.
Subacute Imbalance in a Renal Transplant Patient

ily history was notable for her father having died of lung cancer and her mother had heart disease and DM. Social history did not reveal any unusual exposures. Physical examination results showed a transplant surgical scar and onychomycosis. Neurologic findings revealed reasonably preserved mental status, with bedside examination revealing normal attention, language, and orientation but mild memory deficits for short-term recall (2 of 3 words recalled at a 5-minute delay) and long-term fund of knowledge. Cranial nerve, motor, sensory, and reflex examination results were significant only for gait ataxia, with an inability to perform tandem gait. Blood test results were consistent with DM. Findings from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination included a white blood cell count of 9/μL, with differential examination showing 84% lymphocytes, 13% monocytes, and 3% neutrophils; red blood cell count of 1080/μL; protein level, 180 mg/dL; and glucoselevel,87mg/dL.FlowcytometryrevealedBandTlymphocytesbutnomonoclonalpopu
Correcting Time-Continuous Emotional Labels by Modeling the Reaction Lag of Evaluators

An appealing scheme to characterize expressive behaviors is the use of emotional dimensions such as activation (calm versus active) and valence (negative versus positive). These descriptors offer many advantages to describe the wide spectrum of emotions. Due to the continuous nature of fast-changing expressive vocal and gestural behaviors, it is desirable to continuously track these emotional traces, capturing subtle and localized events (e.g., with FEELTRACE). However, time-continuous annotations introduce challenges that affect the reliability of the labels. In particular, an important issue is the evaluators’ reaction lag caused by observing, appraising, and responding to the expressive behaviors. An empirical analysis demonstrates that this delay varies from 1 to 6 seconds, depending on the annotator, expressive dimension, and actual behaviors. Our experiments show accuracy improvements even with fixed delays (1-3 seconds). This paper proposes to compensate for this reaction lag by finding the time-shift that maximizes the mutual information between the expressive behaviors and the time-continuous annotations. The approach is implemented by making different assumptions about the evaluators’ reaction lag. The benefits of compensating for the delay is demonstrated with emotion classification experiments. On average, the classifiers trained with facial and speech features show more than 7 percent relative improvements over baseline classifiers trained and tested without shifting the time-continuous annotations.
A dipole pattern of the sea surface height anomaly in the North Atlantic: 1990s–2000s

[1] Despite a long-term trend of sea level rise continuing into the 2000s in the subpolar North Atlantic, variations in the sea surface height have behaved differently in both spatial and temporal domains. A dipole pattern, centered between the Northern Atlantic subpolar region and the region near the Gulf Stream, was observed in the linear trends of the sea surface height anomaly (SSHA). By applying the Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD), we found that this dipole pattern is mainly associated with the interannual to decadal SSHA oscillations of the two regions, which are 180° out of phase with each other over the time span of this study. The low-frequency variations of the SSHA in the subpolar region are strongly inversely correlated with the cumulative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index (r = −0.84), in contrast with the Gulf Stream region, which is positively correlated (r = 0.22). This therefore reveals an asymmetric response of the regional SSHA to the cumulative NAO-forcing, in which the subpolar variability leads that of the Gulf Stream region by 29 months. Moreover, there is a remarkable reversal of the SSHA trends from the 1990s to the 2000s, which is unexpected given a weak and fluctuating NAO behavior since mid-1990s. Such SSHA variations in the 2000s might be related to the lagged variations of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC).
CGRP receptor antagonists: A new frontier of anti-migraine medications

Migraine is a chronic pain condition that affects 12% of the population. Currently, the most effective treatments are the triptans, but they are limited in their efficacy and have potentially deleterious cardiovascular complications. On the basis of basic science studies over the past decade, a new generation of anti-migraine drugs is now being developed. At the forefront of these studies is a new calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist that is as effective as triptans in the acute treatment of migraines, without the cardiovascular effects. This review will address the likely mechanisms and therapeutic potential of CGRP receptor antagonists.
Airway smooth muscle: A modulator of airway remodeling in asthma

Asthma is a disease characterized, in part, by airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation. Although asthma typically induces reversible airway obstruction, in some patients with asthma, airflow obstruction can become irreversible. Such obstruction might be a consequence of persistent structural changes in the airway wall caused by the frequent stimulation of airway smooth muscle (ASM) by contractile agonists, inflammatory mediators, and growth factors. Traditional concepts concerning airway inflammation have focused on trafficking leukocytes and on the effects of inflammatory mediators, cytokines, and chemokines secreted by these cells. Recent studies suggest that ASM cells might modulate airway remodeling by secreting cytokines, growth factors, or matrix proteins and by expressing cell adhesion molecules and other potential costimulatory molecules. These ASM cell functions might directly or indirectly modulate submucosal airway inflammation and promote airway remodeling.
Ground-based measurement of cirrus cloud optical properties as validation to aircraft- and satellite-based cloud studies

Ground-based Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) and Raman Lidar measurements are used to infer cirrus cloud absorption optical depth and effective particle size. Our methodology will be discussed, and results shown for a number of contrasting cloud cases. The high spectral resolution AERI measurements allow inversion of the infrared radiative transfer equation between gaseous absorption lines (e.g., regions of minimal atmospheric emission), referred to as microwindows, to derive the cloud infrared absorption optical depth. Spectral variation in the cloud optical depth yields information on particle size and shape. A best fit of absorption optical depth to the measured absorption optical depth in each microwindow is used to determine the effective radius of particles within the cloud. Results will also be compared to simultaneous upwelling aircraft measurements.
Brain Response to Extracranial Acoustic Loads: Shear Wave Propagation Characterized by Vector Fields

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) due to blast are common in modern combat situations, and often lead to permanent cognitive impairment. Despite the prevalence and severity of blast-induced TBI, the condition remains poorly understood. Computer simulations of blast and blast injury mechanics offer enormous potential; however, computer models require accurate descriptions of tissue mechanics and boundary conditions in vivo. To gain insight into the mechanisms of blast injury, we applied direct (light) oscillatory pressure loading to the skulls of human volunteers, and measured displacement and strain fields using the methodology of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). MRE is a non-invasive imaging modality that provides quantitative spatial maps of tissue stiffness. MRE is performed by inducing micron-amplitude propagating shear waves into tissue and imaging the resulting harmonic motion with standard clinical MRI hardware. Shear waves are initiated by an MR-compatible actuator and detected by a specialized “motion-sensitive” MRI pulse sequence (software). Motion sensitized MR images provide displacement field data which can be inverted to estimate material stiffness by invoking a restricted form of Navier’s equation. Clinical interest in MRE has largely been driven by the empirical relationship between tissue stiffness and health. However, the “raw” MRE data (3-D displacement measurements) themselves can elucidate loading paths, anatomic boundaries and the dynamic response of the intact human head. In this study, we use the MRE imaging technique to measure in vivo displacement fields of brain motion as the cranium is exposed to acoustic frequency pressure excitation (45, 60, 80 Hz) and we calculate the resulting shear-strain fields (2-D). We estimate the Poynting vector (energy flux) field to illuminate the directions of internal wave propagation, and to identify the energy absorbing and reflecting regions within the brain.Copyright © 2011 by ASME