cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Time out based discipline strategy for children's non-compliance with cystic fibrosis treatment.

Purpose. To evaluate a time out based discipline strategy designed to decrease treatment avoidance in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) who displayed non-compliant behaviour to their parents' treatment requests.Method. A single-subject reversal design was used to compare baseline compliance when a time out based discipline strategy was in effect. Outcome measures included observational assessments of compliance, parent ratings of child treatment-related behaviour problems and parent reported preference for the time out strategy.Results. Greater compliance was demonstrated when the time out strategy was in place. Parents reported fewer treatment-related behaviour problems and desired less professional help for these problems upon completion of the study and reported preferring the time out discipline strategy to their typical child management strategy.Conclusions. This discipline strategy represents a practical and appealing brief intervention that is shown to help parents maximise their children's partic...
Oxytocin binding by myoepithelial cell membranes from involuted mammary tissue.

Abstract Oxytocin binding activity of myoepithelial cell membranes from mammary tissue was measured under a variety of different experimental conditions. Mammary tissue from non-lactating rats bound oxytocin with a Kd of 9.2 ± 1.6 nM (±S.E.) and indicates that receptors are retained by the myoepithelial cells in a non-lactating state. Ovariectomy of non-lactating rats did not depress the binding activity of the membranes. Administration of the estrogenic compounds estradiol-17β and diethylstibestrol at doses which affect uterine weight and are known to increase uterine oxytocin binding did not influence the binding activity of the myoepithelial cells. This indicates that the oxytocin receptors of the mammary gland are not under the same endocrine control as the uterine receptors.
Ultracold neutron depolarization in magnetic bottles

We analyze the depolarization of ultracold neutrons confined in a magnetic field configuration similar to those used in existing or proposed magnetogravitational storage experiments aiming at a precise measurement of the neutron lifetime. We use an extension of the semiclassical Majorana approach as well as an approximate quantum mechanical analysis, both pioneered by Walstrom et al. [Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A 599, 82 (2009)]. In contrast with this previous work we do not restrict the analysis to purely vertical modes of neutron motion. The lateral motion is shown to cause the predominant depolarization loss in a magnetic storage trap. The system studied also allowed us to estimate the depolarization loss suffered by ultracold neutrons totally reflected on a nonmagnetic mirror immersed in a magnetic field. This problem is of preeminent importance in polarized neutron decay studies such as the measurement of the asymmetry parameter $A$ using ultracold neutrons, and it may limit the efficiency of ultracold neutron polarizers based on passage through a high magnetic field.
Efficacy of Laser Punctal Occlusion

Dry eye is a common problem and in its more severe form may be treated with punctal occlusion. Photothermal coagulation of the puncta with the argon laser has recently been advocated to occlude the lacrimal puncta. Its long-term efficacy has not been investigated. The authors examined 22 puncta that had been occluded with the argon laser an average of 16 months before this study. Of the 22 puncta, 19 (86%) were patent. The results of our retrospective studies suggest that argon laser punctal occlusion is not an efficacious method for producing long-term punctal closure. The authors also used an animal model to investigate the effect on tissue of thermal cauterization and argon laser photothermal coagulation and found that thermal cauterization resulted in more widespread coagulative necrosis.
Biological applications of dendrimers.

Abstract In the past year, significant advances have been made in the synthesis and study of glycodendrimers and peptide dendrimers. Application of these dendrimers to the study of carbohydrate–protein and protein–protein interactions has facilitated the understanding of these processes. In addition, dendrimers show great promise as DNA- and drug-delivery systems.
Effects of chronic low‐dose exposure of rat fetuses to methylmercury hydroxide

Near-term fetal rats were examined for possible pathological changes produced by multiple low-dose subcutaneous injections of methylmercury hydroxide during pregnancy. The near-term maternal liver content of mercury served as an index of body content. At liver contents below 15 μg/g maternal and fetal mortality and fetal size were unaffected. The threshold of effect occurred at 15 μg/g maternal liver. From the threshold level to 75 μg/g (maternal toxic level) there was generally a dose-response relation characterized by increasing maternal death, prenatal resorption, and fetal death, and decreasing fetal weight. Generalized fetal edema occurred at the maternal toxic dose level. No gross or microscopic malformations were found in the fetuses. Electron microscopy of samples of near-term fetal lacrimal, submandibular, and parotid glands revealed no ultrastructural changes or necrosis. The development of behavioral characteristics in offspring of rats exposed to comparable levels of methylmercury was similar to the controls throughout 21 days of observation.
Fluorescent Nanoparticles Stabilized by Poly(ethylene glycol) Containing Shell for pH-Triggered Tunable Aggregation in Aqueous Environment

Fluorescent silica nanoparticles decorated with a responsive shell, a mixed polymer brush, were synthesized. Specifically, a poly(2-vinylpyridine), P2VP, and poly(ethylene glycol), PEG, binary polymer brush was synthesized on silica nanoparticles via the "grafting to" technique. The selection of the components (PEG and P2VP) for the responsive brush shell was motivated by potential biomedical applications. Poly(glycidyl methacrylate), PGMA, labeled with Rhodamine B, RhB, was used to form a reactive and fluorescent shell on the nanoparticle surface. The interaction between the particles themselves and the particles and their environment can be precisely tuned by a change in pH. At lower pH, aqueous dispersions of the particles are stable, since PEG and P2VP are water-soluble, extended and contribute to the steric and electrostatic mechanisms of colloidal stability. An increase of pH to 6 causes a slow aggregation as a consequence of the hydrophobic attraction between the collapsed and almost nonprotonated P2VP macromolecules. The aggregation was well controlled and occurred within 90-120 min of the pH change. The aggregation was fully reversible after the decrease in pH. The pH variation did not quench the fluorescence of the colloidal suspensions. The pH-tunable aggregation of the fluorescent nanoparticles could find diverse applications for labeling and contrasting of cells and tissues when the size of the label and the intensity of the optical signals can be tuned by and related to the pH of the host environment.
Trenton Formation (Middle Ordovician) of Northwestern Ohio: Possible Target for Petroleum Mining

Interest in mining petroleum has been renewed recently as prices climb, supplies decrease, and the need to improve recovery is recognized. The Trenton Formation in northwestern Ohio is a carbonate reservoir which was developed during the 1880s and depleted shortly after the turn of the century. The formation appears to satisfy at least the minimum requirements of significant past production, relatively shallow depth, and associated competent rock to support shafts, and therefore a detailed analysis may be justified.
An Evaluation of the Adults and Children Together (ACT) Against Violence Parents Raising Safe Kids Program

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Adults and Children Together (ACT) Against Violence Parents Raising Safe Kids program, developed by the American Psychological Association in collaboration with the National Association for the Education of Young Children, as an economical primary prevention intervention for child maltreatment. Using an experimental design with random assignment to groups, program impact on participating parents' knowledge, behavior, and attitudes compared to those of a comparison group of parents receiving standard community-based support services was examined. As hypothesized, the ACT Parents Raising Safe Kids program achieved positive results in several areas related to effective parenting, including a reduction in the use of harsh verbal and physical discipline and an increase in nurturing behavior. Positive results were observable both at the conclusion of the ACT program and at three-month follow-up. Results further indicated a positive impact on parent expectations and social support for those parents with the greatest need in these areas. Qualitative data collected through focus groups demonstrated that parents themselves perceived numerous benefits to the ACT program, including assistance in controlling their anger, learning and implementing better parenting and discipline strategies, and recognizing when their child's behavior is developmentally appropriate. Overall, findings suggest that the ACT Parents Raising Safe Kids program is a promising primary prevention strategy that can be implemented across diverse community settings.
Dipole-dipole excitation and ionization in an ultracold gas of Rydberg atoms.

In cold dense Rydberg atom samples, the dipole-dipole interaction strength is effectively resonant at the typical interatomic spacing in the sample, and the interaction has a $1/{R}^{3}$ dependence on interatomic spacing $R$. The dipole-dipole attraction leads to ionizing collisions of initially stationary atoms, which produces hot atoms and ions and initiates the evolution of initially cold samples of neutral Rydberg atoms into plasmas. More generally, the strong dipole-dipole forces lead to motion, which must be considered in proposed applications.
Failure Analysis of Discrete Damaged Tailored Extension-Shear-Coupled Stiffened Composite Panels

The results of an analytical and experimental investigation of the failure of composite is tiffener panels with extension-shear coupling are presented. This tailored concept, when used in the cover skins of a tiltrotor aircraft wing has the potential for increasing the aeroelastic stability margins and improving the aircraft productivity. The extension-shear coupling is achieved by using unbalanced 45 plies in the skin. The failure analysis of two tailored panel configurations that have the center stringer and adjacent skin severed is presented. Finite element analysis of the damaged panels was conducted using STAGS (STructural Analysis of General Shells) general purpose finite element program that includes a progressive failure capability for laminated composite structures that is based on point-stress analysis, traditional failure criteria, and ply discounting for material degradation. The progressive failure predicted the path of the failure and maximum load capability. There is less than 12 percent difference between the predicted failure load and experimental failure load. There is a good match of the panel stiffness and strength between the progressive failure analysis and the experimental results. The results indicate that the tailored concept would be feasible to use in the wing skin of a tiltrotor aircraft.
Some characteristics of microwave type IV radio bursts and the acceleration of solar cosmic rays.

The relationships between some characteristics of microwave type 4 radio bursts and solar cosmic ray protons of MeV energy are discussed. It is shown that the peak flux intensity of those bursts is almost linearly correlated with the MeV proton peak flux observed by satellites near the earth. The rise times of type 4 microwave emissions are, however, independent of the proton peak fluxes. Using these results, discussion is given on the acceleration process and duration for both protons and electrons.
Identifying P factors in Drosophila by means of chromosome breakage hotspots

A syndrome of germline abnormalities in Drosophila melanogaster called hybrid dysgenesis is thought to be caused by transposable genetic elements known as P factors. Several lines of evidence presented here show that the chromosomal positions of at least some P factors can be identified as points of frequent chromosome breakage (hotspots). Starting with a strain (pi 2) in which four hotspots had been identified on the X chromosome, we found individual hotspots vanished when their part of the chromosome was replaced by the homologous part from a strain known to lack P factors. All hotspots in the non-substituted parts of the chromosome remained functional, indicating that they can act autonomously. We also observed a new breakage site coinciding with the appearance of an unstable mutation at the singed bristle locus (snW). This mutation was dysgenesis-induced, and previous genetic evidence suggested that it was caused by the insertion of a P factor at that locus. We also present preliminary evidence for rapid scrambling of the positions of hotspots under certain conditions, and we describe a new procedure for efficiently determining the positions of hotspots on a given chromosome.
Angiolymphoid Hyperplasia with Eosinophilia: A Previously Unreported Complication of Ear Piercing

Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia is a rare, benign vascular lesion characterized by discrete, painful papules. Although the exact etiology is unknown, trauma precedes many cases. We present a case of angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia in the earlobes of a 15-year-old girl after ear piercing.
Quantum-mechanical impulse approximation for single ionization of hydrogenlike atoms by multicharged ions

A quantum-mechanical approximation is developed for ionization of one-electron targets by charged-ion impact. The model is based on the nonrelativistic distorted-wave formalism valid for impact velocities larger than the electron orbital velocity in the initial state. The exact impulse wave function is used to describe the initial state, thus incorporating the projectile potential to all orders. The final state is represented by a product of continuum Coulomb wave functions around both centers, providing the correct asymptotic conditions and the projectile and target cusps. The theory is thought to be valid for large projectile charge, even larger than the ion velocity. The impulse approximation developed here is expensive in computing time, but it is probably one of the few models to deal with high projectile charges. Double-differential cross sections are computable in the forward and backward ejection angles. Comparisons with the experiments in different regions of interest are presented, including the binary sphere, capture to the continuum cusp, ridge electrons, and backward ejection angles. The theory proves to be quite successful, and it does not seem to deteriorate with increasing projectile charge.
Hematopoietic stem cell mobilization: updated conceptual renditions.

Despite its specific clinical relevance, the field of hematopoietic stem cell mobilization has received broad attention, owing mainly to the belief that pharmacologic stem cell mobilization might provide clues as to how stem cells are retained in their natural environment, the bone marrow ‘niche’. Inherent to this knowledge is also the desire to optimally engineer stem cells to interact with their target niche (such as after transplantation), or to lure malignant stem cells out of their protective niches (in order to kill them), and in general to decipher the niche’s structural components and its organization. Whereas, with the exception of the recent addition of CXCR4 antagonists to the armamentarium for mobilization of patients refractory to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor alone, clinical stem cell mobilization has not changed significantly over the last decade or so, much effort has been made trying to explain the complex mechanism(s) by which hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells leave the marrow. This brief review will report some of the more recent advances about mobilization, with an attempt to reconcile some of the seemingly inconsistent data in mobilization and to interject some commonalities among different mobilization regimes.
NMR diffusion analysis of surfactant–humic substance interactions

Surfactants can be introduced into the environment through wastewater or by direct contamination. Understanding the fate and transport of surfactants in the environment is important in assessing their role as pollutants. Humic substances are complex heterogeneous mixtures of decomposition products of natural organic materials. They are environmentally important because they are known to solubilize and transport organic pollutants. Therefore humic substances are likely to affect the environmental fate of surfactants. Diffusion coefficients measured with pulsed-field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy are used in this study to examine the intermolecular interactions of the surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) in the presence of various humic substances. These results indicate that humic substances enhance the aggregation of SDS prior to micellization with a more pronounced effect observed for the more hydrophobic humic materials. The positively charged surfactant CTAB forms stable ion pairs with the humic substances.
Saúde Ocupacional na região central do estado de Nova York: um ambulatório de doenças ocupacionais com financiamento público 25 anos depois

To address the problem of the under-recognition of occupational disease, New York State used public funds to create a network of occupational health clinical centers (OHCN) in 1987. New York State's OHCN remains the only project of its kind in the United States. The mission of the network centers was the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of occupational illness. Public funding was necessary to sustain the network and to allow it to function independently and to be universally accessible. This paper reports on the experiences of the Occupational Health Clinical Centers (OHCC) over the last 25 years. The OHCC is part of the OHCN serving a large portion of central New York State. Over this time period the OHCC has built an experienced multidisciplinary team and a multi faceted program including clinical activities, training and education, technical assistance, and research. The OHCC has achieved considerable success in establishing itself as a resource for injured workers in the region, and as an advocate for injured workers medically, in their workplaces, and in the Workers' Compensation system. As the OHCC moves into its next phase, considerable challenges remain, particularly in identifying and reaching high risk and under-served workers.
Interactive e-learning modules for teaching secure: a pilot study (abstract only)

Addressing the crucial need for cybersecurity learning materials, the Security Injections @ Towson project (towson.edu/securityinjections) has developed modules for CS0, CS1, CS2 and Computer Literacy courses that target key secure coding concepts including integer overflow, buffer overflow, and input validation. Assessment results indicate that these modules have led to an increase in students' security-awareness and their ability to apply secure coding principles. Each security injection module includes four sections - background, code responsibly (includes methods to avoid security issues), laboratory assignment with a security checklist, and discussion questions. In this study, we are proposing to enhance these modules by incorporating e-learning strategies including lesson segmentation, instant feedback, and self-paced lessons to increase student learning. In addition, we are designing a system with auto-grading functionality and dashboards to encourage adoption by instructors. Segmenting modules into smaller sections and including --gatekeeper questions will facilitate learning and reduce cognitive overload. Providing feedback on incorrect answers encourages students to revisit relevant sections. The goal of this feedback based approach is to improve student learning and content retention. The nature of the enhanced modules allows for self-paced learning which is applicable for online learning environments. We conducted a pilot study using a module in CS0 undergraduate computer science class that included 60 in-class and 9 online students. The results of the pilot study indicated increased attention towards the content and possible improvement in retention of concepts. This project is partially supported by NSF under grant DUE-1241738
Relation of mammary tumors to mammotropes. II. Hormone responsiveness of 3-methylcholanthrene induced mammary carcinomas.

This study investigates the role of mammotropic hormone (MtH) on the growth of primary mammary tumors (MT) induced in 33 rats with 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MCA). Tumor-bearing rats of the same group were matched in trios: 1 was hypophysectomized 1 ovariectomized and 1 left untreated as control. 2 strains of MtT (a functional mammotropic tumor) were used: F4 and W2. MtH secretion was greater by F4 as indicated by degree of mammary gland stimulation of tumor-bearing hosts. Estrogens greatly stimulated the growth of both strains. Ovariectomy and hypophysectomy inhibited respectively about 72% and 86% of primary 3-MCA induced mammary carcinomas to varying degrees. Most inhibited tumors remained minute a few resumed progressive growth and a moderate number could not be identified at autopsy. Grafts of functional mammotropic tumors on hypophysectomized animals whose mammary tumors markedly decreased in size following ovariectomy or hypophysectomy caused tumor growth as well as the appearance of numerous new mammary tumors. The findings suggest that MtH can unfold latent neoplastic potentialities.
A Culture-Free Intelligence Test I

Psychologists dealing with the application of intelligence tests seem to pass through alternating phases of uncritical overconfidence and cynical despair with regard to the validity of their measurements. To judge by recent utterances the fashionable phase at the moment is disillusionment; the tests do not measure any constant characteristic of the individual, and no two tests measure the same thing.1
Polyglycerol-bound phosphotriesterase enzyme model complexes for detection and hydrolysis of phosphorus species in aqueous solution

Abstract Phosphotriesterase models incorporating di(2-picolyl)amino ligands supported by m-xylylene or 2-hydroxy-m-xylylene scaffolds have been tethered to the periphery of a water-soluble hyperbranched polyglycerol (PG). In aqueous solution buffered at pH 7.4, the polymeric complexes of Zn2+ are useful receptors for polymeric indicator displacement assays for phosphate and pyrophosphate employing commercial complexometric indicators. Under the same conditions, the Co3+ effectively hydrolyze p-nitrophenylphosphate with approximately five orders of magnitude rate enhancement versus uncatalyzed hydrolysis. These systems offer promising results as mixed-metal dual detect-decontaminate materials for organophosphorus toxins under mild, neutral aqueous conditions.
Etiologic heterogeneity of the psychoses : Is there a dopamine psychosis?

The distribution of drug-free plasma homovanillic acid (pHVA) concentrations was studied in a sample of psychotic patients, some of whom were selected for good prognostic features. Baseline pHVA was bimodally distributed, suggesting two different patient populations. The high-pHVA patients showed periods of better functioning and/or fewer symptoms 5 years before admission (p < .05) and had a more rapid (p < .05) and complete (p < .001) subacute neuroleptic response than lower-pHVA psychotics. High-pHVA psychotics did not differ in other aspects of demographics or clinical presentation from lower-pHVA psychotics. Compared to the general population, there were more psychotics in the families of high-pHVA patients (p < .005). Rapid antipsychotic response by high-pHVA psychotics is consistent with blockade of the effects of excess synaptic dopamine at D2 receptors for these patients. Results are discussed in the context of the syndromic heterogeneity of the psychoses.
Low‐temperature photoluminescence studies of chemical‐vapor‐deposition‐grown 3C‐SiC on Si

Low-temperature photoluminescence studies of 26 cubic SiC films, ranging in thickness from 600 A to 25 microns, grown by CVD on (100)Si are presented. It is suggested that the G band near 1.90-1.92 eV and its phonon side bands G1 and G2 are related to dislocations and extended defects. Formulas for the band-gap shift due to an axial stress have been obtained and applied to the CVD 3C-SiC/Si system. The results indicate that a 1-3-micron transition layer greatly reduces the interface misfit strain, and that biaxial stress in the SiC/Si system depresses the intensity of the no-phonon line.
Evaluation of Sexual Harassment Training Instructional Strategies

This field experiment study evaluated a commercially produced online sexual harassment training program used in educational settings. Manipulation of instructional strategies (online, instructor, reading) examined effects on knowledge and behavioral identifications in sexual harassment training for college students. Training did not produce an immediate gain in knowledge scores regardless of training condition. However, reading and face-to-face training conditions predicted the correct answer of case-related questions on the posttest; reading and online training conditions predicted knowledge retention 3 weeks after the training. On video scenarios, participants correctly identified 54% of verbal and 30% of nonverbal sexual harassment cues. Participants overidentified 19% of verbal cues and 16% of nonverbal cues as sexual harassment.
“Time Shared Flyback Converter” Based Regenerative Cell Balancing Technique for Series Connected Li-Ion Battery Strings

A cell voltage equalizer circuit for future plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) or renewable energy storage is proposed in this paper. This topology has fewer passive components compared to the conventional topologies found in the literature, and therefore, it could reduce implementation complexity. This circuit is based on a time shared flyback converter, and any number of series connected cells in a string could be used without any apparent issues ensuring good modular architecture. Each cell in a module shares a single converter during its allocated time slot allocated by a low-power microcontroller. In addition, dynamic allocation of time slots is possible to achieve a faster cell balancing, and the circuit dynamically distributes depleted charge among the cells in a regenerative fashion. The operating principles and design procedures of the proposed topology have been presented in the paper. The prototype of a four-cell lithium-ion battery balancer circuit with the proposed topology has been constructed, and the test results have been included.
Transition to Employment: Role of the Family in Career Development

This study investigated the role of the family in career development and postschool employment outcomes for young adults with learning disabilities. Using a multiple-case study design, the authors examined a set of family structural and process variables. Fifty-nine in-depth interviews were conducted with young adults, parents, and school staff. Family structure was not directly linked to employment outcomes, but family socioeconomic status was related to initial career decision making and vocational identity development. Family process variables, including family relationships, involvement, support and advocacy, career aspirations, and intentional career-related activities worked in combination to form 3 patterns of family interaction labeled (a) advocates, (b) protectors, and (c) removed. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
The spectrum for 2-perfect 6-cycle systems

Abstract Recently, the spectrum problem for 2-perfect m -cycle systems has been studied by several authors. In this paper we find the spectrum for 2-perfect 6-cycle systems with two possible exceptions. The connection between these systems and quasigroups satisfying some 2 variable identities is discussed.
Tunable optical filter using long-range surface plasmons

A long-range surface plasmon resonance-based tunable optical filter is described. An attenuated total reflection device can be configured so that the reflected intensity of light is a maximum when the resonance condition is achieved. When the device is illuminated with polychromatic light at a fixed angle, the wavelength at which resonance is achieved shows a transmission maximum, with a full width at half maximum of less than 3 nm. By using an appropriate electro-optic material in the device, the wavelength of maximum transmission can be varied. Numerical results are presented.
Production of 1‐11C‐acetoacetic acid

Interest in labeled compounds which can be studied as brain metabolites and can be detected in vivo has led to production of carbon-11 labeled acetoacetic acid (1-11C-acetoacetic acid). This synthesis, which was designed specifically for use with short-lived isotopes, utilizes a solution of the stable enolate anion of acetone, generated by the reaction of CH3Li and isopropenyl acetate, to which the 11CO2 is added to produce the labeled acetoacetic acid in ∼55% yield with a synthesis time of only 40 minutes from the end of bombardment.
Population genetic structure of North American Ophiactis spp. brittle stars possessing hemoglobin

With the discovery of previously unreported populations of hemoglobin-possessing Ophiactis from the Texas coast in the Gulf of Mexico, an investigation into its population structure, including populations of O. simplex from the Pacific coast of California and O. rubropoda from the Atlantic coast of Florida, was undertaken using DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial COI gene. The reconstructed haplotype network suggests that California populations contain the ancestral source of mtDNA variation, and there is no evidence of recent introductions into Texas. Population genetic analyses reveal the California, Florida, and Texas Ophiactis populations to each be significantly differentiated from one another. Sequence divergence among the three areas is shallower than would be predicted given biogeographic history. Texas and Florida populations are equally genetically diverged from California populations as they are to one another, despite the greater potential for gene flow between these areas. The genetic distinctiveness of the Texas populations and the concordance of this pattern with phylogeographic patterns in other brittle star systems indicate an isolated and independent evolutionary history and we hypothesize that the three geographic regions included in this study each serve as hypotheses of population-level lineages that remain to be tested with independent sources of data.
Global Transcriptional Response of Macrophage-Like THP-1 Cells to Shiga Toxin Type 1

Shiga toxins (Stxs) are bacterial cytotoxins produced by the enteric pathogens Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1 and some serotypes of Escherichia coli that cause bacillary dysentery and hemorrhagic colitis, respectively. To date, approaches to studying the capacity of Stxs to alter gene expression in intoxicated cells have been limited to individual genes. However, it is known that many of the signaling pathways activated by Stxs regulate the expression of multiple genes in mammalian cells. To expand the scope of analysis of gene expression and to better understand the underlying mechanisms for the various effects of Stxs on host cell functions, we carried out comparative microarray analyses to characterize the global transcriptional response of human macrophage-like THP-1 cells to Shiga toxin type 1 (Stx1) and lipopolysaccharides. The data were analyzed by using a rigorous combinatorial approach with three separate statistical algorithms. A total of 36 genes met the criteria of upregulated expression in response to Stx1 treatment, with 14 genes uniquely upregulated by Stx1. Microarray data were validated by real-time reverse transcriptase PCR for genes encoding early growth response 1 (Egr-1) (transcriptional regulator), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2; inflammation), and dual specificity phosphatase 1 (DUSP1), DUSP5, and DUSP10 (regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling). Stx1-mediated signaling through extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and Egr-1 appears to be involved in the increased expression and production of the proinflammatory mediator tumor necrosis factor alpha. Activation of COX-2 is associated with the increased production of proinflammatory and vasoactive eicosanoids. However, the capacity of Stx1 to increase the expression of genes encoding phosphatases suggests that mechanisms to dampen the macrophage proinflammatory response may be built into host response to the toxins.
Stochastic electrochemistry with electrocatalytic nanoparticles at inert ultramicroelectrodes—theory and experiments

Collisions of several kinds of metal or metal oxide single nanoparticles (NPs) with a less catalytic electrode surface have been observed through amplification of the current by electrocatalysis. Two general types of current response, a current staircase or a current blip (or spike) are seen with particle collisions. The current responses were caused by random individual events as a function of time rather than the usual continuous current caused by an ensemble of a large number of events. The treatment of stochastic electrochemistry like single NP collisions is different from the usual model for ensemble-based electrochemical behaviour. Models for the observed responses are discussed, including simulations, and the frequency of the steps or blips investigated for several systems experimentally.
Tropical Ecosystems and Ecological Concepts: The tropical environment and climate

Alphonse de Candolle in 1855 proposed that the boundaries to major plant formations were set by climate. He suggested that the limits to deserts and grasslands were set by moisture, but that the latitudinal arrangement of the other plant formations indicated temperature as the dominant factor. Koppen (1884, 1931) developed climate maps based on vegetation types. In this way, he was able to produce a climate map of the world even though he had very little climatic data from many parts of it. He assigned to each plant formation the climate that seemed appropriate to it. Since his climate map was based on the global distribution of vegetation types, it is not surprising that climate and vegetation maps were similar. It has subsequently been shown that the distribution of the world’s climatic regions is indeed closely related to vegetation and Koppen’s vegetation-derived climate map has now been verified through climatic measurements. Clearly climate plays a major role in determining the global distribution of plants and animals and Figures 1.1 and 1.2 show the close relationship between rainfall and vegetation in Africa. This chapter describes climate in the tropics and how it differs from that found in temperate regions. It describes how the world’s climate is changing through an enhancement of the greenhouse effect (global warming), and how this climate change is impacting tropical ecosystems. Variations in climate regime and soil type mainly determine the regional distribution of vegetation types and, hence, animal communities, and these patterns are studied by biogeographers. An explanation of these plant and animal distributions also requires an understanding of the theory of plate tectonics.
Flying Fast and Low Among Obstacles

Safe autonomous flight is essential for widespread acceptance of aircraft that must fly close to the ground. We have developed a method of collision avoidance that can be used in three dimensions in much the same way as autonomous ground vehicles that navigate over unexplored terrain. Safe navigation is accomplished by a combination of online environmental sensing, path planning and collision avoidance. Here we report results with an autonomous helicopter that operates at low elevations in uncharted environments some of which are densely populated with obstacles such as buildings, trees and wires. We have recently completed over 1000 successful runs in which the helicopter traveled between coarsely specified waypoints separated by hundreds of meters, at speeds up to 10 meters/sec at elevations of 5-10 meters above ground level. The helicopter safely avoids large objects like buildings and trees but also wires as thin as 6 mm. We believe this represents the first time an air vehicle has traveled this fast so close to obstacles. Here we focus on the collision avoidance method that learns to avoid obstacles by observing the performance of a human operator.
Microstructure and magnetic properties of thin-film Co-Ni-Pt for longitudinal recording

The dependence of microstructure and magnetic properties of RF-sputtered thin films of Co-Ni-Pt deposited on NiP/Al and Cr/NiP/Al substrates was studied as a function of platinum composition, Ar pressure, and sputtering power. Transmission electron microscopy and electron and X-ray diffraction were utilized to determine the correlation between the observed coercivity, remanence squareness behavior, and microstructure. It has been found that in the case of films on NiP/Al substrates, the coercivity is controlled by the grain size, whereas it is dominated by the relative amount of the HCP and FCC cobalt phases for the films deposited on a 300-nm Cr underlayer. An increase in the Ar pressure leads to a further increase in coercivity for both substrates. This behavior was attributed to an increase in the grain size and a more favorable c-axis orientation of the HCP cobalt phase for Cr and NiP underlayers, respectively. >
Energy-efficient compressed address transmission

To realize energy-efficient buses in current nanometer-scale technologies, techniques like compression or encoding that exploit information redundancy have been explored. However, available compression techniques for buses do not always ensure energy-efficient transmission of compressed information. In this work, we present various techniques that can be used with compression schemes for buses to ensure high energy efficiency. Our best scheme, applied to a stream of 38-bit addresses issued in a typical microprocessor, yields about 14.7% energy reduction on the average across a wide range of compressed bus widths ranging and over many SPEC CPU2000 benchmarks. Our proposed techniques especially perform better - up to 28.8% energy reduction is obtained - for narrower bus widths in the range 8-16 bits.
S100A9 is not essential for disease expression in an acute (K/BxN) or chronic (CIA) model of inflammatory arthritis.

Objective: S100A8 (calgranulin A, MRP8) and S100A9 (calgranulin B, MRP14) are calcium-binding proteins highly expressed by activated myeloid cells and thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. Circulating levels of S100A8/S100A9 are elevated in both human and experimental models of autoimmune disease, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods: Mice deficient in S100A9 (S100A9 − /−) and wild-type controls were immunized using standard techniques for the K/BxN serum transfer or the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model.Results: S100A9 − /− animals, with defective expression of both S100A8 and S100A9 proteins, had similar arthritis and histopathology to that of wild-type controls in both mouse models.Conclusion: S100A8 and S100A9 are not essential for disease expression in either the K/BxN serum transfer or the CIA model of inflammatory arthritis.
Disciplining Corpulence The Case of Plus-Size Fashion Models

In this ethnographic study of plus-size fashion models in New York City, I build on previous research that has only examined the staged performance of fat and, instead, focus attention on the “back...
Thoughts from the transition zone.

A young life is lost in a motor vehicle accident and a teenager is on life support awaiting a heart transplant. In this essay, Dr. J. Terrance Davis describes his experience recovering a heart from...
A NEW ROUTE TO 2H-(1,2,4) TRIAZINO(3,4b) BENZOTHIAZOLE-3(4H)-ONE1 (4)

Abstract The reaction of 3-(carbethoxymethyl) benzothiazoline-2-thione (1) with excess hydrazine in an aqueous medium at 25–30° or 95–100°C afforded the hydrazide (3) in 99% yield and the titled heterocyclic compound (4) in 63% yield, respectively. Under the same reaction conditions and replacing the above electrophile with 3-(carbethoxymethyl)-2-benzothiazoline furnished the hydrazide (5) in 45% yield and a 6% yield of 5 plus a high yield of a resinous mixture, respectively. Possible mechanism and supporting NMR and mass spectral data are discussed.
fMRI Evidence for the Role of Recollection in Suppressing Misattribution Errors: The Illusory Truth Effect

Misattribution refers to the act of attributing a memory or idea to an incorrect source, such as successfully remembering a bit of information but linking it to an inappropriate person or time [Jacoby, L. L., Kelley, C., Brown, J., & Jasechko, J. (1989). Becoming famous overnight: Limits on the ability to avoid unconscious influences of the past. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 326–338; Schacter, D. L. (1999). The seven sins of memory: Insights from psychology and cognitive neuroscience. American Psychologist, 54, 182–203; Schacter, D. L. (2001). The seven sins of memory: How the mind forgets and remembers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin]. Cognitive studies have suggested that misattribution errors may occur in the absence of recollection for the details of an initial encounter with a stimulus, but little is known about the neural basis of this memory phenomenon. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the hypothesized role of recollection in counteracting the illusory truth effect, a misattribution error whereby perceivers systematically overrate the truth of previously presented information. Imaging was conducted during the encoding and subsequent judgment of unfamiliar statements that were presented as true or false. Event-related fMRI analyses were conditionalized as a function of subsequent performance. Results demonstrated that encoding activation in regions previously associated with successful recollection—including the hippocampus and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC)—correlated with the successful avoidance of misattribution errors, providing initial neuroimaging support for earlier cognitive accounts of misattribution.
Cdc1 and the Vacuole Coordinately Regulate Mn2+ Homeostasis in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The yeast CDC1 gene encodes an essential protein that has been implicated in the regulation of cytosolic [Mn2+]. To identify factors that impinge upon Cdc1 or the Cdc1-dependent process, we isolated second-site suppressors of the conditional cdc1-1(Ts) growth defect. Recessive suppressors define 15 COS (CdcOne Suppressor) genes. Seven of the fifteen COS genes are required for biogenesis of the vacuole, an organelle known to sequester intracellular Mn2+. An eighth gene, COS16, encodes a vacuolar membrane protein that seems to be involved in Mn2+ homeostasis. These results suggest mutations that block vacuolar Mn2+ sequestration compensate for defects in Cdc1 function. Interestingly, Cdc1 is dispensable in a cos16delta deletion strain, and a cdc1delta cos16delta double mutant exhibits robust growth on medium supplemented with Mn2+. Thus, the single, essential function of Cdc1 is to regulate intracellular, probably cytosolic, Mn2+.
Monitoring volcanic eruptions with a wireless sensor network

This paper describes our experiences using a wireless sensor network to monitor volcanic eruptions with low-frequency acoustic sensors. We developed a wireless sensor array and deployed it in July 2004 at Volcan Tingurahua, an active volcano in central Ecuador. The network collected infrasonic (low-frequency acoustic) signals at 102 Hz, transmitting data over a 9 km wireless link to a remote base station. During the deployment, we collected over 54 hours of continuous data which included at least 9 large explosions. Nodes were time-synchronized using a separate GPS receiver, and our data was later correlated with that acquired at a nearby wired sensor array. In addition to continuous sampling, we have developed a distributed event detector that automatically triggers data transmission when a well-correlated signal is received by multiple nodes. We evaluate this approach in terms of reduced energy and bandwidth usage, as well as accuracy of infrasonic signal detection.
Comparisons between cationic polyelectrolytes and nonionic polymers for the protection of palladium and platinum nanocatalysts

Several palladium and platinum nanocatalysts protected by cationic polyelectrolytes were prepared by the in-situ reduction of palladium chloride, PdCl2, and dihydrogen hexachloroplatinate, H2PtCl6. The particle sizes and size distributions were determined by transmission electron microscopy, and the colloids were further characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy. The catalytic activity of these nanoparticles was qualitatively investigated by the hydrogenation and conversion of cyclohexene as a model reaction and compared to palladium and platinum colloids protected by a selection of water-soluble, nonionic polymers. The results show that the catalytic activity is strongly influenced by the protective polymer chosen, as well as particle size and morphology. The use of cationic polyelectrolytes decreases the catalytic activities significantly, in comparison to several water-soluble, nonionic polymers investigated. The effects depend strongly on the particular metal, as illustrated in this case by differences observed between palladium and platinum. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 3151–3160, 1997
Dendritic Cells in Transplant Tolerance

Dendritic cells (DCs) are a heterogeneous family of professional APCs involved in priming adaptive immune responses. Donor DCs (direct pathway of allorecognition) and recipient DCs presenting processed donor major histocompatibility complex (MHC) as peptides (indirect pathway of allorecognition) participate actively in graft rejection by stimulating recipient T cell responses following organ transplantation. Recent studies have shown that DCs also play a central role in inducing and maintaining tolerance to self antigens (Ags) through deletion, anergy, and regulation mechanisms. It is easy to see how the remarkable functional plasticity of DCs renders them attractive therapeutic targets for immune modulation. Indeed, in the past few years, successful outcomes in rodent models have built the case that DC-based therapy may provide a novel approach to transplant tolerance. Ongoing research into our understanding of the mechanisms whereby DCs promote tolerance in the steady-state, together with development of biologically, pharmacologically and genetically manipulated ex vivo DCs to mimic/enhance their natural tolerogenicity, should warrant the success of these experimental DCs in establishing long-term allograft survival.