cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Timing and localization of reconnection signatures - Is there a substorm model problem?

[1] Observations place ionospheric substorm onset signatures on field lines that map to the near-Earth plasma sheet, and field-aligned currents (FACs) are observed before dipolarization, equatorward of open field lines. The near-Earth neutral line (NENL) model, however, appears to suggest perturbations to originate from the x-line on newly reconnected field lines, which map to much higher latitudes. Its order of dipolarization, FACs, and subsequent ionospheric signatures contradicts the observations. Using large-scale kinetic simulations, we demonstrate that these “flaws” of the NENL model are misconceptions and that the timing and location of signatures in the model are indeed consistent with observations. In a thinned current sheet, energetic ions are virtually unmagnetized, get further energized when passing through the neutral sheet, and travel earthward quickly and close to the neutral sheet, thus providing a pathway for early substorm signatures at relatively low latitudes.
Tidal and diurnal influence on food consumption of a salt marsh killifish Fundulus heteroclitus

Feeding patterns during four 24-h periods, sampled at 3-h intervals, were investigated for the mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus, in a Delaware, USA tidal marsh. Two factors potentially influencing feeding patterns, time of day and tide height, were examined. On 2 of the sampling periods a low tide occurred in the morning, while on the other 2 sampling periods a high tide occurred in the morning. Results are reported as g-dry wt. of food per g-dry wt. of fish. F. heteroclitus is primarily a daytime feeder that most actively feeds at high tide, regardless of whether or not the high tide inundates marsh surface areas. When tide height was sufficient to inundate the marsh surface, fish invaded these areas and consumed prey characteristic of the marsh surface. F. heteroclitus is an important link in energy transfers between the marsh surface and subtidal systems, enhancing its own energy supplies by consuming marsh surface prey whenever available.
Magnetic and superconducting properties of the electron-doped compounds Ln2−xMxCuO4−y (Ln = Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd: M = Ce, Th)

Abstract The variations in transport and magnetic properties as a function of annealing conditions are discussed for the Ln 2−x M x CuO 4−y compounds. A composition x∼0.15−0.16 and a small oxygen deficiency (y∼0.02) are required to optimize superconducting properties. For Nd 1.85 Ce 0.15 CuO 3.98 , critical current densities, inferred from magnetization measurements, are estimated to be as high as 10 6 A/cm 2 at 4.2 K in zero field. From resistive measurements of polycrystalline samples in fields up to 8 tesla, upper critical field H c2 slopes of −dH c2 /dT∼1.5T/K are obtained at low temperatures.
Erythrocyte alloantigen loci Ea-D and Ea-I map to chromosome 1 in the chicken.

Summary. A test cross was conducted to analyse some linkage relationships in the chicken. Pea comb (P), naked neck (Na), tardy feathering (t), four erythrocyte alloantigen loci (Ea-C, -D, -I, -P), and the rearrangement break point (RB) of the NM 7092 t(Z;1) chromosome translocation were tested. Significant linkages were found between P and Ea-I (32.9 ± 4.2), the RB and Ea-D (30.7 ± 4.3), and t and Ea-D (38 ± 4.8). The data suggest the linear order of t, Ea-D, and the RB, with t closest to the centromere. Significant linkage was also found between Na and Ea-P (32.4 ± 4.9), confirming earlier reports.
The performance of university spin-offs: an exploratory analysis using venture capital data

University spin-offs are defined as firms founded by university employees. Using a large database on venture-backed start-up companies, I describe the characteristics of university spin-offs and investigate whether they perform differently than other firms. I find that venture-backed university spin-offs are concentrated in the biotechnology and information technology industries. Moreover, a spin-off tends to stay close to the university, suggesting that technology transfer through spin-offs is largely a local phenomenon. Multivariate regression analyses show that university spin-offs have a higher survival rate but are not significantly different from other start-ups in terms of the amount of venture capital raised, the probability of completing an initial public offering (IPO), the probability of making a profit, or the size of employment.
Comment on Barbara Devaney's "An analysis of variations in U.S. fertility and female labor force participation trends".

Devaney presents an extension of the basic Easterlin relative income/fertility model incorporating wages (following Butz and Ward 1977) work experience and education as potential determinants of fertility but preserving the models underlying cohort approach and its essential indifference to period fertility behavior. In the Devaney model period effects occur principally with respect to the timing of fertility. When confronting a strong period effect such as the fertility decline across all cohorts in the 1960s Devaney gives it a cohort interpretation. The result is a series of highly significant regression coefficients that offer the appearance of new knowledge yet may have only traced historical coincidences. That the Easterlin relative income hypothesis and Devaney revision intended as predictors of cohort behavior are necessarily quantified on period data has implications neither Easterlin nor she addresses. The most important is that the measures juxtapose different economic periods. Thus the Easterlin relative income changes for males 20-24 derive from the slowly growing incomes at those ages during the 1950s (when they should have done better by Easterlin theory) more rapid but uneven increases in the 1960s and a downturn in the 1970s. Set against incomes for ages 45-54 at slightly earlier dates they produce a pattern of slippage after the mid-1950s recovery in the late 1960s and renewed slippage throughout the 1970s. The Devaney relative income measured by deviations from an exponential trend line for lifetime income produces a pattern of continuous slippage beginning somewhat earlier. One can speculate on the appearance these relative income measures would have assumed if the Eisenhower and Nixon to Carter economies had been moderately stronger or the Kennedy-Johnson economy weaker. The more salient fact is that there are no strong period income effects of an Easterlin or Devaney type that are not directly related to economic recessions. Devaneys inclusion of a period variable (wages) in her version of the model does not resolve the Easterlin paradox that distinct cohort behavior can be imputed from its absence.
TROFIMOVICH, PAVEL, & KIM MCDONOUGH. (Eds.). Applying Priming Methods to L2 Learning, Teaching and Research: Insights from Psycholinguistics. Philadelphia: Benjamins, 2011. Pp. ix, 254. $54, paper. ISBN 978–90–272–1302–0.

A review of the book "Applying Priming Methods to L2 Learning, Teaching, and Research: Insights From Psycholinguistics," part of the Benjamins Language Learning and Language Teaching monograph series, edited by Pavel Trofimovich and Kim McDonough, is presented.
Key problems in the management of sports fisheries

Abstract This article discusses issues associated with valuation of sports fishing activities for marine resource management. Since management decisions have effects on marine resource quality and activity levels of different groups of resource users, careful benefit‐cost evaluation of alternative management plans is essential to implement an efficient management system. Three important issues for measuring sports fishing benefits are discussed: (1) aspects of fishing experience enjoyed by recreationists, (2) congestion, and (3) recreational inputs purchased for fishing participation. The household production function framework is discussed as a plausible approach to incorporate a variety of recreational inputs for describing sports fishing demand. Throughout the article, data deficiency is emphasized. Individual microlevel data about recreationists’ socioeconomic characteristics and expenditures as well as fishing site quality variables are necessary to improve the sports fishing valuation task.
Velocity structure of North Brazil current rings

[1] High-resolution shipboard surveys of four North Brazil Current rings are presented, which are the first such dedicated surveys to be made of these features. Of the four rings surveyed, three fundamentally different types of ring structures are found: (1) a shallow, surface-trapped structure with velocities confined to the top 200 m (two rings), (2) a deep-reaching structure with significant swirl velocities (∼0.2 m/s) extending to 2000 m (one ring), and (3) a thermocline-intensified structure with almost no detectable surface signature (one ring). The results of this study indicate that North Brazil Current rings can have highly variable vertical structures, and that assessing their overall role in cross gyre exchange in the tropical Atlantic will require a careful combination of remote sensing and in-situ observations.
High-speed digital ellipsometer for the study of fiber optic sensor systems

The paper describes a high-speed digital ellipsometer, called 'discrete retardation modulation ellipsometer', designed for investigating fiber-optic sensor systems. The new device uses an electrooptic modulator to extract all four Stokes parameters and, thus, does not require lock-in amplifiers. The ellipsometer was used to measure the response of an optical fiber current sensor to test current at 4 kHz. The result was found to be within 10 percent from the expected value.
Effect of chlorpromazine and other drugs on the disposition of circulating melatonin.

THE mammalian pineal gland has the unique ability to synthesize methoxyindoles such as melatonin1,2 and methoxytryptophol3. It has been suggested that these compounds function as hormones4,5: melatonin is secreted into the circulation4,6 and efficiently extracted from the blood by most tissues7,8; both compounds inhibit gonad function4,5,9, and it has also been claimed that melatonin acts on the thyroid10,11, gut12, pituitary13, skin14 and brain15.
The Test Structure and Composition of the Foraminifer Rosalina floridana

SYNOPSIS. The composition of the test of Rosalina floridana (Cushman) was examined histochemically, and its structure was studied with the electron microscope by means of thin sections and carbon replicas. The test is composed of a thick organic lining overlain by one or more calcite layers bounded above and below by thin membranes. The membranes are fused to organic pore processes composed of coarse fibers that penetrate the calcite layers. The ***lining, consisting of coarse fibers matted into a laminated sheet, is considered a strengthening element of the test. The membranes covering each calcite layer are composed of fine, headed fibrils which in aggregate have a striated pattern; they are thought to be the crystal-nucleating agent during calcification and to form a protective covering for the previously deposited calcite layers. The pore processes, which are devoid of an internal entrance for cytoplasm, are considered to be points of attachment for the membranes; they tie the organic test components into a unified whole. The calcite layers and the chambers lack this unity, being separated from each other and from the preceding chambers by membranes so that there are no calcite-to-calcite boundaries between them. An organic, sievelike structure of undetermined function has been found in the foramina of chambers near the prolocular region of the test. Histochemical methods show that the lining contains proteins, polysaccharides, and unidentified substances; the membranes and the pore processes stain as a protein-polysaccharide complex free of other substances.
When detectors don't operate — A growing problem

Roughly one-fourth to one-third of fire detectors in U.S. homes are not operational. Based on studies in the late 1970s, dead or missing batteries are probably the principal reason for this growing problem. Within another decade, if trends continue, one-half of all U.S. home fire detectors are likely to be non-operational.
Molecular origins of crude oil interfacial activity. Part 3: Characterization of the complex fluid rag layer formed at crude oil-water interfaces

Rag layers formed at crude oil−water interfaces are micro-heterogeneous complex fluids. The continuous phase of the complex fluid rag layer is the crude oil. Dispersed in this continuous crude oil ...
The effect of lithium chloride on polybenzimidazole and polysulfone blend fibers

Poly[2,2'-(m-phenylene)-5,5'-bibenzimidazole] (PBI) and polysulfone (PS) [OPhC(Me) 2 PhOPhSO 2 Ph] n do not form miscible blends; however, the tensile properties of the polymer blend in fibers, and the fiber process window, are strongly dependent on the presence of LiCl. The addition of LiCl opens the molecular chains and reduces dope viscosity. As a result, LiCl increases the stiffness of PBI/PS fibers while making them brittle. The process window for fabricating useful fibers seems to be narrowed by the presence of LiCl. PBI /PS fibers spun from a dope that does not contain LiCl have a broad process window and their overall fiber performance is superior. LiCl also reduced the degree of sulfonation during the stabilization process
Three gonadotropin-releasing hormone genes in one organism suggest novel roles for an ancient peptide

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is known and named for its essential role in vertebrate reproduction. Release of this decapeptide from neurons in the hypothalamus controls pituitary gonadotropin levels which, in turn, regulate gonadal state. The importance of GnRH is underscored by its widespread expression and conservation across vertebrate taxa: five amino acids are invariant in all nine known forms, whereas two others show only conservative changes. In most eutherian mammals, only one form, expressed in the hypothalamus, is thought to exist, although in a recent report, antibody staining in developing primates suggests an additional form. In contrast, multiple GnRH forms and expression loci have been reported in many non-mammalian vertebrates. However, evidence based on immunological discrimination does not always agree with analysis of gene expression, since GnRH forms encoded by different genes may not be reliably distinguished by antibodies. Here we report the expression of three distinct GnRH genes in a teleost fish brain, including the sequence encoding a novel GnRH preprohormone. Using in situ hybridization, we show that this form is found only in neurons that project to the pituitary and exhibit changes in soma size depending on social and reproductive state. The other two GnRH genes are expressed in other, distinct cell populations. All three genes share the motif of encoding a polypeptide consisting of GnRH and a GnRH-associated peptide. Whereas the GnRH moiety is highly conserved, the GnRH-associated peptides are not, reflecting differential selective pressure on different parts of the gene. GnRH forms expressed in nonhypothalamic regions may serve to coordinate reproductive activities of the animal.
Experimental Study of the Diffraction Patterns Produced by Mirrors with Imperfect Surfaces

The diffraction patterns produced by mirrors that are not flat have been observed at wavelengths 0.546 μ and 2.05 μ, by means of an Ebert spectrometer optical arrangement with the imperfect mirrors in the place of the grating. It is shown that they have satellites caused by the periodic or random errors, much like Rowland ghosts of gratings. The observed diffraction intensity curves are compared with calculated curves.
Importance of platinum(II)-assisted platinum(IV) substitution for the oxidation of guanosine derivatives by platinum(IV) complexes.

Guanosine derivatives with a nucleophilic group at the 5′ position (G-5′) are oxidized by the PtIV complex Pt(d,l)(1,2-(NH2)2C6H10)Cl4 ([PtIV(dach)Cl4]). The overall redox reaction is autocatalytic, consisting of the PtII-catalyzed PtIV substitution and two-electron transfer between PtIV and the bound G-5′. In this paper, we extend the study to improve understanding of the redox reaction, particularly the substitution step. The [PtII(NH3)2(CBDCA-O,O′)] (CBDCA = cyclobutane-1,1-dicarboxylate) complex effectively accelerates the reactions of [PtIV(dach)Cl4] with 5′-dGMP and with cGMP, indicating that the PtII complex does not need to be a PtIV analogue to accelerate the substitution. Liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy (LC/MS) analysis showed that the [PtIV(dach)Cl4]/[PtII(NH3)2(CBDCA-O,O′)]/cGMP reaction mixture contained two PtIVcGMP adducts, [PtIV(NH3)2(cGMP)(Cl)(CBDCA-O,O′)] and [PtIV(dach)(cGMP)Cl3]. The LC/MS studies also indicated that the trans,cis-[PtIV(dach)(37Cl)2(35Cl)2]/[PtII(en)(35Cl)2]/9-...
Markers of inflammation and their clinical significance

Inflammation plays an important role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis and the development of atherosclerotic events. Understanding the molecular basis of inflammation has led to the identification of markers that may also serve as new targets of therapy in the management of atherothrombotic disease. Inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), have been shown to predict future cardiovascular events in individuals with and without established cardiovascular disease (CVD). Statins substantially reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and recently their anti-inflammatory properties have been investigated. In this paper, we discuss biomarkers implicated in the inflammatory process leading to atherothrombosis, including CRP, adiponectin, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), CD40 ligand and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A(2) (Lp-PLA(2)), and the effect of statins on these markers and their potential relationship to cardiovascular events.
Automated Analysis of 1 H Magnetic Resonance Metabolic Imaging Data as an Aid to Clinical Decision-Making in the Evaluation of Intracranial Lesions

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging ( 1H MRSI) is a noninvasive metabolic imaging technique that has emerged as a potentially powerful tool for complementing structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the clinical evaluation of neurological disorders and diagnostic decision making. However, the relative complexity of methods that are currently available for analyzing the derived multi-dimensional metabolic imaging data has slowed incorporation of the technique into routine clinical practice. This paper discusses this impediment to widespread clinical use of 1H MRSI and then describes an automated data analysis approach that promises to facilitate use of the technique in the evaluation of intracranial lesions, with the potential to enhance the specificity of MRI and improve clinical decision-making.
Advanced compiler optimizations for supercomputers

Compilers for vector or multiprocessor computers must have certain optimization features to successfully generate parallel code.
Hit 'em where it hurts: a live security exercise on cyber situational awareness

Live security exercises are a powerful educational tool to motivate students to excel and foster research and development of novel security solutions. Our insight is to design a live security exercise to provide interesting datasets in a specific area of security research. In this paper we validated this insight, and we present the design of a novel kind of live security competition centered on the concept of Cyber Situational Awareness. The competition was carried out in December 2010, and involved 72 teams (900 students) spread across 16 countries, making it the largest educational live security exercise ever performed. We present both the innovative design of this competition and the novel dataset we collected. In addition, we define Cyber Situational Awareness metrics to characterize the toxicity and effectiveness of the attacks performed by the participants with respect to the missions carried out by the targets of the attack.
Investigation of the Influence of Grain Size, Texture and Orientation on the Mechanical behavior of Freestanding Polycrystalline Gold Films

Polycrystalline gold thin films with thickness of 250nm, 500nm and 1000nm were deposited on Si substrates by means of both E-Beam evaporation and sputtering techniques. High-resolution SEM, including electron-backscattered diffraction (EBSD), was employed to provide a crystallographic analysis including grain orientation maps of the studied films. The Membrane Deflection Experiment (MDE) was employed to perform the microscale tensile testing. The Young’s modulus of gold films deposited by E-Beam evaporation was measured consistently in the range of 55–62 GPa while it increased to 68–72 GPa for sputtered films. Plastic yielding of the e-beam and sputtered films was contrasted due to varying microstructure of each deposition technique, which appears to assert a measure of control on the deformation mechanics.
Least Squares Models to Correct for Rater Effects in Performance Assessment

This study describes three least squares models to control for rater effects in performance evaluation: ordinary least squares (OLS); weighted least squares (WLS); and ordinary least squares, subsequent to applying a logistic transformation to observed ratings (LOG-OLS). The models were applied to ratings obtained from four administrations of an oral examination required for certification in a medical specialty. For any single administration, there were 40 raters and approximately 115 candidates, and each candidate was rated by four raters. The results indicated that raters exhibited significant amounts of leniency error and that application of the least squares models would change the pass-fail status of approximately 7% to 9% of the candidates. Ratings adjusted by the models demonstrated higher reliability and correlated slightly higher than observed ratings with the scores on a written examination.
Fathers' participation in infant‐care

Ordinary least squares multiple regression was used to model time spent in child-care by 107 fathers of infants, 3–10 months of age. Time in both physical and non-physical care activities was reported by fathers for a weekday. Number of years married, hours employed for pay the previous week, and fathers' stress score in the child domain were negatively related to time spent in infant-care.
High temperature alternatives to ball grid coplanarity measurements to improve correlation to surface mount quality

For many years the primary means of ensuring surface mount (SMT) quality of components has been monitoring outgoing coplanarity at the component factory. This method has been embodied in a collection of JEDEC and other standards. While this approach is successful in general it has one primary limitation, it is measured at room temperature. The lack of correlation to SMT quality leads to issues for false failure and false acceptance. The former issue can negatively impact component costs and can impede innovation in new packaging technology. The latter issue may lead to poor yields in board assembly and product delays. The trend toward lower profile or thin components often results in packages that inherently warp more than thicker components. Depending on the assembly methods and component design these packages can become very flat at reflow temperatures despite their high coplanarity values when measured at room temperature. In many cases component manufacturers have resorted to using stiffeners and heat spreaders as means of complying with room temperature coplanarity standards, despite the fact that this may not actually improve SMT and may degrade solder joint reliability. Alternately, there are many cases of false acceptance, due to packages that meet the room temperature requirement but fail to surface mount. In these cases, the components often increase in warpage during reflow. An alternative method is being proposed that would help to relieve the above issues. It involves several key elements. First, the component manufacturer should understand the warpage behavior of component with temperature. Second, provide alternative requirements in the standards. Third, provide means to adjust the coplanarity criteria for factory monitoring to suit the unique behavior of a specific device. In this paper the above elements are demonstrated with case studies. The first case study examines the correlation of coplanarity measurements to the high temperature warpage measurement. A novel temperature compensation method is proposed to set coplanarity monitoring requirements. These derived limits ensure that the factory process does not drift away from the characterized process and maintains the SMT quality. This method can be successfully implemented using existing factory equipment. The second case demonstrates the use of these new methods to establish the quality and reliability of a package with high room temperature warpage.
Dendritic sodium spikes are required for long-term potentiation at distal synapses on hippocampal pyramidal neurons

When we explore somewhere new, we activate a region of the brain that processes spatial information called the entorhinal cortex. This brain region stimulates the brain's memory-formation center, known as the hippocampus, which in turn forms a spatial memory of the new place. The process of forming these memories involves strengthening nerve connections, including those between the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus. Groups of neurons that produce synchronized electrical activity will naturally strengthen the nerve connections between them. This led scientists to predict that synchronized electrical activity between neurons in the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus may contribute to the formation of spatial memories. Previous research revealed that hippocampal neurons produced short bursts of electrical activity that are localized at specific sites along their branched nerve processes that extend out of the cell body and are where inputs from other neurons are received. These types of localized electrical activity have been associated with a strengthening of the nerve connections between the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampal neurons. Ion channels that allow calcium to flow through these neurons' cell membranes had been identified as a potential source of these local electrical activities, and calcium is responsible for the strengthening of nerve connections. But it remained unclear whether channels that allow only sodium ions to flow through might also be involved. Kim, Hsu et al. have now investigated this question by devising a way to selectively block the electrical activity produced by sodium ion channels on the branched nerve processes of hippocampal neurons. Slices of rat brain were collected and an inhibitor that specifically affected the sodium channels was delivered to the brain slices. Electrodes were used to stimulate the inputs from the entorhinal cortex, and to monitor the resulting electrical activity in the hippocampal neurons. Kim, Hsu et al. analyzed the results and reproduced them using computer simulations, which showed that sodium ion channels are essential for triggering brief electrical events within the individual branches of nerve processes. These local electrical events appeared to activate calcium channels to produce highly concentrated, short-lived calcium signals that are necessary for strengthening nerve connections. Future studies will determine whether local electrical activity mediated by sodium channels is also involved in strengthening nerve connections between other types of neurons, and how this mechanism affects the formation of memories.
Optimal Rate Control for Delay-Constrained Data Transmission Over a Wireless Channel

We study energy-efficient transmission of data with deadline constraints over a time-varying channel. Specifically, the system model consists of a wireless transmitter with controllable transmission rate, time-varying and stochastic channel state, and strict delay constraints on the packets in the queue. While the transmitter can control the rate, the transmission power required depends on the chosen rate and the prevailing channel condition. The objective is to obtain a rate control policy that serves the data within the deadline constraints while minimizing the total energy expenditure. Toward this end, we first introduce the canonical problem of transmitting B units of data by deadline T over a Markov fading channel, and obtain the optimal policy for it using continuous-time stochastic control theory. Using a novel cumulative curves methodology and a decomposition approach, we extend the above setup to consider extensions involving variable deadlines on the packets. Finally, utilizing the analysis we present a heuristic policy for the case of arbitrary packet arrivals to the queue with individual deadline constraints, and give illustrative simulation results for its performance.
Cell signaling pathways as control modules: Complexity for simplicity?

As biology begins to move into the “postgenomic” era, a key emerging question is how to approach the understanding of how complex biomolecular networks function as dynamical systems. Prominent examples include multimolecular protein “machines,” intracellular signal transduction cascades, and cell–cell communication mechanisms. As the proportion of identified components involved in any of these networks continues to increase, in certain instances already asymptotically, the daunting challenge of developing useful models—mathematical as well as conceptual—for how they work is drawing interest. At one extreme is the hope that fundamental relationships will emerge from essentially statistical analyses of large genomic and proteomic databases enumerating correlations among gene expression, protein level/state/location, and cell behavior. At another extreme is a view that sheer computational power can be harnessed to create comprehensive simulations of the full set of fundamental physicochemical molecular interactions. Recently, an intermediate concept suggests a “modular” framework, treating subsystems of complex molecular networks as functional units that perform identifiable tasks—perhaps even able to be characterized in familiar engineering terms (1). The idea of functional modules as an effective approach to modeling biomolecular systems is quite appealing, because, even in nonbiological applications, engineering design is generally carried out in hierarchical or “nested” fashion. That is, the behavior of a system at the highest (i.e., largest space scale and/or longest time scale) level is typically analyzed and predicted with a model involving properties of the next-lower space/time scales; these properties are then analyzed and predicted with another set of models involving further subdivided space and/or time scales and so forth to a most detailed level as limited by current data.
Salmonella typhimurium Infection in Mice Induces Nitric Oxide-Mediated Immunosuppression through a Natural Killer Cell-Dependent Pathway

Splenocytes isolated from C57BL/6J female mice 3 to 7 days after inoculation with an attenuated strain of Salmonella typhimurium produced high levels of nitric oxide (39 to 77 microM) and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma). Additionally, spleen cell cultures from Salmonella-inoculated mice were markedly suppressed in their ability to generate an in vitro plaque-forming cell (PFC) response to sheep erythrocytes. Depletion of natural killer (NK) cells from the immune splenocyte population markedly reduced nitric oxide production, prevented suppression of PFC responses, and completely abrogated IFN-gamma release. Treatment of NK cell-depleted immune cells with IFN-gamma restored nitric oxide production to levels comparable to those of intact immune cells and also restored the immunosuppression. These results suggest that NK cells regulate the induction of nitric oxide-mediated immunosuppression following infection with S. typhimurium through the production of IFN-gamma.
Molecular images of neovascularization: art for art's sake or form with a function?

Therapeutic modulation of vascular growth with growth factors or genes encoding for them is an attractive strategy for treating individuals afflicted with obstructive atherosclerotic coronary artery and peripheral vascular disease. Despite the initial promise of “therapeutic angiogenesis” in experimental animal models and small open-label clinical trials, recent larger blinded placebo-controlled trials in such patients have failed to demonstrate a clear-cut treatment benefit.1–3 The reasons for this are complex, incompletely understood, and the subject of controversy, the scope of which is beyond this editorial and is discussed in other excellent reviews.1,2 It is worth, however, considering some questions raised by the discordance between preclinical and clinical results because the articles on molecular imaging of neovascularization by Hua et al4 and Leong-Poi et al5 in the present issue of Circulation could ultimately shed useful light on this debate. See p 3248 and 3255 A question that has been raised in deliberations over why angiogenesis trials in humans have not demonstrated the robust therapeutic effects seen in earlier animal studies is whether the end points chosen for these trials were “correct”; ie, what is the definition of “successful” therapeutic neovascularization? Furthermore, were the measurement tools that were used to capture such end points adequately sensitive to detect them, even if they were present? Most scientists and clinicians would agree that successful neovascularization requires that new blood vessels be functional, supply the ischemic region with blood, and be stable over time. Our patients would emphasize that irrespective of whether the treatment makes them live longer, they would like to feel better, and hence quality of life is an important end point. Here, we consider whether the identification of molecular markers of neovascularization adds useful information and/or should be incorporated into the definition of “successful” neovascularization. An intuitively appealing approach to …
Food Sovereignty in Everyday Life: Toward a People-centered Approach to Food Systems

AbstractThis paper proposes a theoretical approach that de-centers ‘food’ in food-related research, placing social life as the point of departure for a critical analysis of food systems and the search for alternatives. Using a relational conception of food as a nexus of multiple, intersecting social-historical processes, a ‘people-centered’ approach illuminates the social elements that can inform resonant and locally inflected strategies for food sovereignty, particularly for urban communities in the USA. Building on theoretical concepts of primitive accumulation, articulation, and everyday life, as well as empirical work with the Chicago-based Healthy Food Hub, this paper explores the relationship between everyday food practices and historical processes of proletarianization as they are produced, reproduced, and contested at multiple conjunctures. In these spaces of contestation, the capacity for diverse communities to re-articulate social relations through everyday food practices could provide a potenti...
Near optimal lossy source coding and compression-based denoising via Markov chain Monte Carlo

We propose an implementable new universal lossy source coding algorithm. The new algorithm utilizes two well- known tools from statistical physics and computer science: Gibbs sampling and simulated annealing. In order to code a source sequence xn, the encoder initializes the reconstruction block as xn = xn, and then at each iteration uniformly at random chooses one of the symbols of xn, and updates it. This updating is based on some conditional probability distribution which depends on a parameter beta representing inverse temperature, an integer parameter k = o(logn) representing context length, and the original source sequence. At the end of this process, the encoder outputs the Lempel-Ziv description of xn, which the decoder deciphers perfectly, and sets as its reconstruction. The complexity of the proposed algorithm in each iteration is linear in k and independent of n. We prove that, for any stationary ergodic source, the algorithm achieves the optimal rate-distortion performance asymptotically in the limits of large number of iterations, beta, and n. We also show how our approach carries over to such problems as universal Wyner-Ziv coding and compression-based denoising.
Hybrid dysgenesis in Drosophila melanogaster: partial sterility associated with embryo lethality in the P-M system.

Variable frequencies of unhatched eggs were observed to be produced by a number of F1 interstrain hybrids. This type of partial sterility resulting from F2 embryo death was found to be associated with the P-M system of hybrid dysgenesis. Dysgenic hybrid progeny of crosses between M strain females and P strain males may therefore have reduced fertility due to the disruption of development at two different stages: early F1 gonadal development and early F2 embryo development. These disruptions result in the previously described F1 gonadal dysgenesis (GD sterility) and F2 embryo lethality (EL sterility) respectively. The two morphologically distinct types of P-M-associated sterility differ in their patterns of response to F1 developmental temperature, and the temperature-sensitive period for EL sterility occurs considerably later in F1 development than for GD sterility. EL sterility is similar to SF sterility, which is associated with the I–R system of hybrid dysgenesis in that both result from death during early F2 embryogenesis. However, EL sterility differs from SF sterility in not being restricted to hybrids of the female sex and in showing different patterns of response to temperature and ageing in the F1 generation. Some implications of the existence of EL sterility for methods of strain classification in the I–R system are explored.
On the Optimization of Two-Stage Rockets

Abstract : Equations useful in design studies are derived for determining the optimum weight distribution for two-stage tandem rockets for the case of different structural factors and propellant specific impulses in each stage. Minimization of gross weight for a given required burnout velocity and payload is the criterion of optimization used. For illustrative purposes an example is included in which the optimum distribution is found for a hypothetical chemically-boosted atomic rocket. (Author)
Successful treatment of in-stent restenosis of a covered stent graft with a paclitaxel-eluting stent

We present the case of a 58-year-old male with coronary artery disease and a significant stenosis of the left circumflex artery that was preceded by a coronary aneurysm. The stenosis and aneurysm were treated successfully with a coronary stent graft. The patient subsequently developed in-stent restenosis (ISR). The ISR was then successfully treated with a paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES). The patient has been followed clinically for 4-6 years without recurrence of his anginal symptoms. This is the first description in the literature of which we are aware of the successful treatment of an ISR of a coronary stent graft with a PES with persistent long-term clinical effectiveness.
Differentiation antigens associated with hairy cell leukemia

T HE LEUKEMIC HAIRY CELL has clearly been shown to be related to the B lymphocyte. Early studies by Fu et al’ and Haegert et al ’ showed the presence of membrane yM (IgM) and yD (IgD) on hairy cells, which was monoclonal and not Fc receptor-bound immunoglobulin. However, a more precise definition of the B lymphocyte representing the normal cell equivalent for the leukemic hairy cell is still unavailable. In order to study hairy cells we prepared monoclonal antibodies by immunizing with hairy cells and screening for antibodies with specificity for these cells.3 Preliminary results showed specificity for hairy cells with several antibodies. This report will summarize up to date results with two of these antibodies, (uHCI and aHC2. Immunoperoxidase studies have demonstrated an interesting cross-reactivity between hairy cells and endothelial cells detected by (uHC~;~ cuHC2, on the other hand, has helped to define a subpopulation of activated B cells.’
The Culture of Vengeance and the Fate of American Justice: Violence, Vengeance, and the Rudiments of American Theodicy

In a word, the old gods are growing old or are already dead, and others are not yet born. – Emile Durkheim What are we doing when we watch, over and over again, the image of the twin towers collapsing, and the TV returns us inexorably to ‘ground zero’? Is this the compulsion to repeat that Freud recognized in those who suffer mortal trauma? Perhaps, but why do we look within the scene to explain the terror or to find the meaning of ‘evil’? Why does the camera, at first uncertain, seem finally to fix its sights and the one image linger in memory? What is the obsession with the wound, the scarcely suppressed anger of the news coverage, the mournful celebrity telethons for the victims, the return to the scorched earth at the site for each commemorative event? Is this the rage in grief that is so difficult to express? Is it the beginning of our revenge – not of a simple, obvious kind, but the conflicted sort that we have discovered? A symptom, perhaps, of a society that denies vengeance as a matter of its formal justice, but is obsessed with it nonetheless, a secular society that now makes something almost religious of it? Surely it is an attempt to ‘make a memory’ in the way that Nietzsche called to our attention, and to make moral sense of suffering as Weber thought necessary.
Agile.edu: an agile undergraduate software engineering course

This paper describes the experiences of teaching a group-based, semester-long software engineering course at Westminster College using an Agile methodology. A specific course outline is provided as well as where adopted practices could be modified. Course materials are freely available to instructors wishing to adopt the course methodology.
Signal Decomposition Methods

Signal decomposition is in large part concerned with recovering the underlying structure of the signal of interest. This subject has been studied extensively in the literature and holds an important place in the biomedical signal processing field as most signal processing problems in this arena defy the simple signal plus AWGN model. When such a model is violated, one must be concerned with the recovery of multiple signals which may be present in an observed waveform. In the previous sections and chapters of this text, we have come to learn that biological signals very often are comprised of several signals, each perhaps of clinical significance. Hence, the ability to recover the individual components of the signal is of paramount importance here.
Abstract 126: Comparison of Flow Diversion and Coiling in Large Unruptured Intracranial Saccular Aneurysms

Background and purpose: Flow diversion has emerged as an important tool for management of intracranial aneurysms. The purpose of this study was to compare flow diversion and traditional embolization strategies in terms of safety, efficacy, and clinical outcomes in patients with unruptured, large saccular aneurysms (≥ 10 mm). Methods: Forty patients treated with the Pipeline Embolization Device (PED) were matched in a 1:3 fashion with 120 patients treated with coiling based on patient age and aneurysm size. Fusiform and anterior communicating artery aneurysms were eliminated from the analysis. Procedural complications, angiographic results, and clinical outcomes were analyzed and compared. Results: There were no differences between the 2 groups in terms of patient age, gender, aneurysm size, and aneurysm location. The rate of procedure-related complications did not differ between the PED (7.5%) and the coil group (7.5% p=1). At the latest follow-up, a significantly higher proportion of aneurysms treated with PED (86%) achieved complete obliteration compared to coiled aneurysms (41%, p<0.001). In multivariable analysis, coiling was an independent predictor of nonocclusion. Retreatment was necessary in fewer patients in the PED group (2.8%) than the coil group (37%, p<0.001). A similar proportion of patients attained a favorable outcome (mRS 0-2) in the PED group (92%) and the coil group (94%, p=0.8). Conclusion: The PED provides higher aneurysm occlusion rates than coiling, with no additional morbidity and similar clinical outcomes. These findings suggest that the PED is a preferred treatment option for large unruptured saccular aneurysms.
'There are No Enemies after Victory': The Laws Against Killing the Wounded

Louis Pictet, the influential and official commentator on the 1949 Geneva Conventions, described the principle of respect and protection for the battlefield wounded and sick as the "keystone" of the entire edifice of the Geneva Conventions. Despite the centrality of the principle in international humanitarian law (enacted as part of the first Geneva Convention of 1864) it is traditionally viewed as an "easy" principle and one to which scholars and practitioners have devoted little thought. No previous scholarship has traced how the principle slowly evolved from 1864 through three subsequent Conventions (1906, 1929, and 1949) until the Additional Protocol I of 1977 made clear that it was not the "wounded" who received protection but only the wounded "who refrain from any act of hostility" or the "hors de combat." This essay explores this legal evolution. It then looks at relevant modern American military training and doctrine and suggests that America has adopted the most expansive definition available under the law. Finally, this essay examines the impact of the law on the battlefield by examining case studies involving the alleged or possible targeting of the hors de combat in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
Abstract 3087: Regulation of p53 stability and activity by ribosomal protein S27a

Ribosomal proteins (RPs) play a critical role in tightly coordinating p53-dependent cell cycle checkpoint with ribosomal biogenesis. A number of RPs, including L5, L11, L23, L26, and S7, specifically bind to MDM2 and inhibit MDM2-mediated p53 ubiquitination and degradation, leading to p53 activation, in response to nucleolar stress triggered by the perturbation of ribosomal biogenesis. Here, we report S27a, a ribosomal protein from small subunit of ribosome and synthesized as an ubiquitin C-terminal extension protein (CEP80), as a novel MDM2 regulator. S27a interacts with MDM2 at the central acidic domain of MDM2 and suppresses MDM2-mediated p53 ubiquitination, leading to p53 activation and cell cycle arrest. Knockdown of endogenous S27a significantly attenuated p53 activation by treatment with a low dose (5 nM) of actinomycin D (Act D), which specifically inhibits RNA polymerase I activity leading to inhibition of rRNA synthesis and perturbation of ribosomal biogenesis, suggesting that S27a is a non-redundant MDM2 regulator in response to nucleolar stress. Interestingly, we also show that MDM2 ubiquitinates S27a, leading to protesomal degradation of S27a, in response to Act D treatment, suggesting that MDM2, in turn, controls S27a levels in response to nucleolar stress. Taken together, our results reveal that S27a regulates p53 activity in response to nucleolar stress via a novel and dynamic interplay between S27a and MDM2. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3087. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3087