cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Synthetic Speech Perception in Individuals With and Without Disabilities.

Individuals with little or no functional speech frequently rely on non-speech communication systems to augment or replace natural speech. These systems include speech generating devices (SGDs), which provide synthetic speech upon activation. This paper comprises a summary of research conducted over the past 20 years on the perception of synthetic speech by nondisabled listeners and listeners with intellectual, language, and hearing impairments. A wide variety of perceptual studies have been conducted into how human listeners understand synthetic speech. Research has shown that perceptions of synthetic speech in individuals with intellectual and/or language impairments depend upon several general factors, including the acoustic-phonetic properties of the synthesizer, complexity of the perceptual task, and the experience of the listener. Additionally, individuals with intellectual and/or language impairments exhibit greater difficulties than nondisabled listeners with regard to processing synthetic speech s...
Proactive mediation in plan-based narrative environments

In interactive plan-based narrative environments, user's actions must be monitored to ensure that conditions necessary for the execution of narrative plans are not compromised. In the Mimesis system, management of user actions is performed on a reactionary basis by a process called mediation. In this paper, we describe an extension to this approach, proactive mediation, which calculates responses to user input in an anticipatory manner. A proactive mediation module accepts as input a plan describing the actions being performed by the user (generated by a plan recognition system) and identifies portions of that plan that jeopardize the causal structure of the overall narrative. Once these portions are identified, proactive mediation generates modifications to the narrative plan structure that avoid the unwanted interaction between user and story. This extension to the original mediation algorithm provides more responses to a user's actions and generates responses that are tailored to the user's actions.
HPV vaccine acceptability by Latino parents: a comparison of U.S. and Salvadoran populations.

Study Objective: To characterize and compare acceptability of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination by Latino parents at an urban medical center in the United States and a community hospital in El Salvador. Design: After reading an information sheet on HPV, 148 subjects at Bellevue Hospital in New York City and 160 subjects at Hospital Nacional de Santa Gertrudis in San Vicente, El Salvador, completed a survey. Results were analyzed using chi-square, Fisher's exact test, and Student's t-tests. Results and Conclusions: Parental acceptance of HPV vaccination was higher in a sample of Salvadoran subjects than in a sample of U.S. Latinas (P! 0.001 for daughters and sons). Reasons for objecting to HPV vaccination differ in the two locations. There are important differences between Salvadoran and U.S. subjects. Salvadorans are more accept- ing of HPV vaccination, and parental acceptance is unlikely to be a barrier to widespread vaccination in El Salvador. Tar- geted educational materials are needed in both locations.
Use of Sonography in Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Due to a Dystonic Pectoralis Minor

Objective. For patients with thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS), it is important to determine the location of the neurovascular compression to achieve effective intervention. Methods. The diagnostic workup for a 39-year-old man with TOS included a selective anesthetic block of the pectoralis minor muscle and duplex sonography before and after the block. Results. The subclavian artery peak systolic flow velocity decreased after the block from 208 to 63 cm/s when the arm was in the abduction and external rotation position, indicating a reduction in the severity of focal arterial compression. Also, the arterial diameter increased by 10% after the block (from 0.80 to 0.88 cm). His level of discomfort was reduced from 6 to 2 on a scale of 1 to 10 (66%). Conclusions. The pectoralis minor block resulted in an improvement in subclavian artery blood flow and symptoms and confirmed the diagnosis of pectoralis minor TOS. This suggests that selective anesthetic muscle blocks and duplex sonographic studies may be useful before chemodenervation and surgery. Key words: dystonia; electrodiagnostic studies; pectoralis minor; subclavian artery blood flow; thoracic outlet syndrome.
alphaSU2, an epithelial integrin that binds laminin in the sea urchin embryo.

At gastrulation in the sea urchin embryo dramatic cell adhesion changes contribute to primary mesenchyme cell ingression movements and to cell rearrangements during archenteron invagination. At ingression, quantitative adhesion assays demonstrated previously that primary mesenchyme cells (PMCs) change their affinity for neighboring cells, for a fibronectin-like substrate, and for the hyaline layer. To investigate the molecular basis for these and other differential cell affinities at gastrulation, we have identified an integrin that appears to be responsible for specific alterations in cell-substrate adhesion to laminin. During early cleavage stages blastomeres adhere poorly to laminin substrates. Around hatching there is a large increase in the ability of blastomeres to bind to laminin and this increase correlates temporally with the expression of an integrin on the basal surface all blastomeres. PMCs, after undergoing their epithelial-mesenchymal transition, have a strongly reduced affinity for laminin relative to ectoderm cells and, correspondingly, do not stain for the presence of the integrin. We identified the alpha integrin cDNA from Lytechinus variegatus by RT-PCR. Overlapping clones were obtained from a midgastrula cDNA library to provide a complete sequence for the integrin. The composite cDNA encoded a protein that was most similar to the alpha5 subgroup of vertebrate integrins, but there was not a definitive vertebrate integrin homolog. Northern blots and Western immunoblots showed that the sea urchin integrin, which we have named alphaSU2, is present in eggs and during all stages of development. Immunolocalization with specific polyclonal antibodies showed that alphaSU2 first appears on the basal cell surface of epithelia at the midblastula stage, at a time correlating with the increase in adhesive affinity for laminin. The protein remains at high levels on the basal surface of ectoderm cells but is temporarily reduced or eliminated from endoderm cells during their convergent-extension movements. To confirm integrin binding specificity, alphaSU2 was transfected into an alpha-integrin-deficient CHO cell line. alphaSU2-expressing CHO cells bound well to isolated sea urchin basal lamina and to purified laminin. The transfected cells bound weakly or not at all to fibronectin, type I collagen, and type IV collagen. This is consistent with the hypothesis that alphaSU2 integrin functions by binding epithelial cells to laminin in the basal lamina. In vivo, modulation of alphaSU2 integrin expression correlates with critical adhesive changes during cleavage and gastrulation. Thus, this protein appears to be an important contributor to the morphogenetic rearrangements that characterize gastrulation in the sea urchin embryo.
What Makes a Manipulated Agent Unfree

Incompatibilists and compatibilists (mostly) agree that there is a strong intuition that a manipulated agent, i.e., an agent who is the victim of methods such as indoctrination or brainwashing, is unfree. They differ however on why exactly this intuition arises. Incompatibilists claim our intuitions in these cases are sensitive to the manipulated agent’s lack of ultimate control over her actions, while many compatibilists argue that our intuitions respond to damage inflicted by manipulation on the agent’s psychological and volitional capacities. Much hangs on this issue because manipulation-based arguments are among the most important for defending incompatibilist views of free will. In this paper, I investigate this issue from a experimental perspective, using a set of statistical methods well suited for identifying the features of hypothetical cases people’s intuitions are responding to. Results strongly support the compatibilist view—subjects’ tendency to judge that a manipulated agent is unfree was found to depend on their judgments that the agent suffers impairments to certain psychological/volitional capacities that compatibilists say are the basis for free will. I discuss the significance of these results for the use of manipulation cases in the philosophical debate about free will.
Teaching the Devout Student: Faith and Scholarship in the Classroom

Increasing numbers of college students enrolling in religion courses in recent years are looking to develop their religious faith or spirituality, while professors of religion want students to use and appreciate scholarly tools to study religion from an academic perspective. Some scholars argue that it is not possible to satisfy both goals in the classroom, while authors in this journal have given suggestions on how to bridge the gap between faith and scholarship. I argue that such authors are correct and that, in my experience, historical-critical methods can help devout students understand the original texts in their own religion better, comprehend why changes in interpretation have occurred over time, and appreciate the values in religions other than their own. Not all devout students are comfortable with an academic study of religion, but many can attain a more mature faith by such an approach.
Some Considerations of Determination of Residual Stresses and Young's Moduli in Ceramic Coatings

Residual stresses that develop during cooling of a ceramic coating/substrate strip are considered. Bending occurs because of an asymmetric stress distribution in the strip. In the presence of residual stresses, strains induced on the surfaces of the coating and the substrate are analyzed when (1) the coating-substrate interface exhibits a transition from a bonded to a debonded state, and (2) a bending moment is applied to straighten the strip. The result shows that both the residual stress and Young's modulus in the ceramic coating can be determined from the surface strains due to either interfacial debonding or strip straightening, Young's modulus of the substrate, and the thicknesses of the coating and the substrate.
Circadian changes in cyclic AMP levels in synchronously dividing and stationary-phase cultures of the achlorophyllous ZC mutant of Euglena gracilis

Oscillations in adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP) level have been proposed to be part of the biochemical feed-back loop(s), or ‘clock(8)’, believed to underlie circadian rhythmicity. This possibility has been examined for a cellular circadian oscillator in synchronously dividing (or nondividing) cultures of the photosynthesis- deficient ZC mutant of the alga Euglena gracilis Klebs (Z). We have demonstrated a bimodal, autonomously oscillating, circadian variation of cyclic AMP content in this unicell. Rhythmic changes of the cyclic AMP level, which may reflect the transition of the cell population through the different phases of the cell division cycle (CDC) in division-phased cultures, also persisted after the culture medium had become limiting and the cells had stopped dividing. We have also shown that the free-running, circadian oscillation of cyclic AMP content displayed by nondividing cells in continuous darkness could be phase-shifted by a light signal (a property inherent to most circadian systems), in a manner that could be predicted from the phase-response curve previously obtained for the cell division rhythm in the ZC mutant. These results suggest a possible role for cyclic AMP, either as an element of the coupling pathway for the control of the CDC by the circadian oscillator, or as a ‘gear’ of the clock itself.
Infrared microspectroscopy of individual human cervical cancer (HeLa) cells suspended in growth medium.

We report for the first time the infrared spectra of individual human cervical cancer (HeLa) cells suspended in buffer or cell culture medium. Although we did not establish whether these cells were viable at the time of spectral data acquisition, we believe that the methodology used is applicable to the study of live cells. Data were collected either from entire cells, using 25- to 40-µm apertures, or via an imaging approach, where pixels measuring 6.25 × 6.25 µm were assembled to form a map of a cell in suspension. Measurements were carried out both in reflection/absorption and in transmission modes. The results reported here might have far-reaching implications for the use of infrared microspectroscopy to monitor cell proliferation, drug response, and other cell biological parameters in live cells.
Feline Panleukopenia: III. Development of Lesions in the Lymphoid Tissues

Germfree and specific pathogen-free cats were inoculated with feline panleukopenia virus. Cats were necropsied 2 to 6 days after inoculation and tissues from the thymus, lymph nodes and spleen taken for histological and immunofluorescence studies. Necrosis of lymphoid cells in the thymic cortex began 3 days after inoculation and continued for 5 to 6 days after inoculation when the thymus was nearly depleted of lymphocytes. Immunofluorescence studies showed the lesions to be caused by virus. There was gross and histological involution of the thymus in both germfree and specific pathogen-free cats. The lymph nodes and spleen of uninoculated germfree cats looked "inactive" and lacked well developed lymphoid follicles and paracortical areas. In both germfree and specific pathogen-free cats there was necrosis in both follicular and paracortical areas of the lymph nodes and follicular and periarteriolar areas of the spleen 3 to 4 days after inoculation. Immunofluorescence showed these areas had virus infection. By 5 to 6 days after inoculation, these areas were populated by many lymphoblastoic cells. Even though significant destruction of lymphoid cells occurred, subsequently, in cats that develop mild clinical illness, these lymphoid tissues seemed stimulated rather than depleted of lymphocytes.
Distributed instrusion prevention in active and extensible networks

The proliferation of computer viruses and Internet worms has had a major impact on the Internet Community. Cleanup and control of malicious software (malware) has become a key problem for network administrators. Effective techniques are now needed to protect networks against outbreaks of malware. Wire-speed firewalls have been widely deployed to limit the flow of traffic from untrusted domains. But these devices weakness resides in a limited ability to protect networks from infected machines on otherwise trusted networks. Progressive network administrators have been using an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) to actively block the flow of malicious traffic. New types of active and extensible network systems that use both microprocessors and reconfigurable logic can perform wire-speed services in order to protect networks against computer virus and Internet worm propagation. This paper discusses a scalable system that makes use of automated worm detection and intrusion prevention to stop the spread of computer viruses and Internet worms using extensible hardware components distributed throughout a network. The contribution of this work is to present how to manage and configure large numbers of distributed and extensible IPSs.
A sturm separation theorem for a linear 2nth order self-adjoint differential equation

For the 2nth order equation, (- 1)nv(2n)+ qv- O, with q continuous, we obtain a Sturm Separation theorem, involving n + 1 solutions of the equation, which is somewhat analogous to the classical result that the zeros of two linearly independent solutions of the second order equation separate each other.
Conformal Mapping on Parallel-Slit Domains

Classes of Normal Domains. Parallel-Slit Domains. As shown in Chapter I, every simply connected domain G in the plane (except the full plane or the plane with one point removed) can be mapped conformally on the unit circle; every doubly connected domain G (except the plane with two points removed) can be mapped onto a circular ring whose outer circle may be chosen as the unit circle, the inner circle depending on G and possibly degenerating to a point.
Bacterial responses to Cu-doped TiO2 nanoparticles

The toxicity of Cu-doped TiO(2) nanoparticles (NPs, 20nm), synthesized by a flame aerosol reactor, to Mycobacterium smegmatis and Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, is the primary focus of this study. Both doped and non-doped TiO(2) NPs (20nm) tended to agglomerate in the medium solution, and therefore did not penetrate into the cell and damage cellular structures. TiO(2) particles (<100mg/L) did not apparently interfere with the growth of the two species in aqueous cultures. Cu-doped TiO(2) NPs (20mg/L) significantly reduced the M. smegmatis growth rate by three fold, but did not affect S. oneidensis MR-1 growth. The toxicity of Cu-doped TiO(2) NPs was driven by the release of Cu(2+) from the parent NPs. Compared to equivalent amounts of Cu(2+), Cu-doped TiO(2) NPs exhibited higher levels of toxicity to M. smegmatis (P-value<0.1). Addition of EDTA in the culture appeared to significantly decrease the anti-mycobacterium activity of Cu-doped TiO(2) NPs. S. oneidensis MR-1 produced a large amount of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) under NP stress, especially extracellular protein. Therefore, S. oneidensis MR-1 was able to tolerate a much higher concentration of Cu(2+) or Cu-doped TiO(2) NPs. S. oneidensis MR-1 also adsorbed NPs on cell surface and enzymatically reduced ionic copper in culture medium with a remediating rate of 61microg/(liter x OD(600) x hour) during its early exponential growth phase. Since the metal reducing Shewanella species can efficiently "clean" metal-oxide NPs, the activities of such environmentally relevant bacteria may be an important consideration for evaluating the ecological risk of metal-oxide NPs.
Perception of visual illusions by novice and longer-term meditators.

Undergraduate volunteers were divided into Control (n= 18) and Novice Meditators (n = 8). Residents of an American Zen monastery who volunteered as subjects, having 1 year or more experience in meditation, formed a Longer-term Meditation group. All subjects were tested over five trials on the Poggendorff and Muller-Lyer illusions and completed the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. Significant mean differences were found only for algebraic errors on the Poggendorff illusion, and significant decrement in illusion was noted for all subjects. A significant interaction was also found as the Longer-term Meditators showed less initial illusion and less dramatic decrement over five trials than the other groups. Finally, Longer-term Meditators exhibited significantly less anxiety and depression than the other two groups.
Aperture Synthesis Observations of Cygnus A at 86.2 GHz

Recent observations of Cygnus A with the Hat Creek interferometer at 86.2 GHz limit the spectral curvature of the hotspots and show that the diffuse lobe emission has a spectral index of about 1.5. The central component is, at most, weakly variable and its spectrum shows a distinct break to a spectral index near 0.65 at about 20 GHz.
Superconductivity of cubic niobium carbo-nitrides

Abstract An investigation has been made of the superconductive properties of the niobiumcarbon-nitrogen ternary system. These compounds always have a range of composition, and previous investigators have often neglected the effect of stoichiometry. Both critical temperature (Tc) and upper critical field (Hc2) are dependent on composition, although not in the same way. The trend of Hc2 at 4.2°K with decreasing nitrogen content is always down. The maximum Tc (17.8°K) occurs for nearly stoichiometric compounds having a C/Nb ratio of about 0.3. The critical temperature of substoichiometric NbN, which contains a small amount of carbon rather than the more common impurity oxygen, is 17.2–17.3°K.
First-Trimester Human Fetal Pancreas Transplantation for Type 1 Diabetes Treatment An Alternative Approach for Achieving Long-Term Graft Survival?

Type 1 diabetes results from immune-mediated destruction of insulin-producing β-cells of the pancreas. The disease manifests itself symptomatically when the resident β-cells become unable to maintain normoglycemia. In human insulitis, mainly CD8 lymphocytes and B-cells, but also CD4 cells and activated antigen-presenting cells (APCs), are found (1–3). Strikingly, strong upregulation of MHC class I molecules and type 1 interferons have also been observed in noninfiltrated islets from human type 1 diabetic patients, making the involvement of a viral β-cell infection a feasible scenario in terms of disease pathogenesis (4). Among treatments that are currently being evaluated for stable reversal of type 1 diabetes, pancreas or islet transplantation holds promise, since it provides already diabetic patients with new functional β-cells. The routine clinical use of pancreas or isolated intrahepatic islet transplantation is, however, hampered predominantly by the lack of sufficient donor tissue. In addition, islets injected into the portal vein are often lost after 4–5 years, even under optimized immunosuppressive regimens (5), which renders whole pancreas or combined pancreas-kidney transplants important therapeutic alternatives (6). With this setting, human fetal pancreas derived from therapeutic termination of pregnancies as an alternative source of β-cells has increasingly become an attractive alternative. Potential advantages include its greater proliferative capacity and maturation potential in vivo, as …
Encapsulation of polyaniline in zeolite Y and mordenite

Synthetic strategies to encapsulate polyaniline in the crystalline channel system of faujasite (three-dimensional) and mordenite (one-dimensional) have been explored. The adsorption of anilinium precursor into the zeolite host and its successful oxidation to polyaniline have been studied utilizing FTIR, Fourier Transform Raman, and electronic spectroscopies. The dimensionality of the host channel system and the concentration of hydroxyl groups present influence the nature of the intrazeolite polymerization products.
Micro-valences: perceiving affective valence in everyday objects

Perceiving the affective valence of objects influences how we think about and react to the world around us. Conversely, the speed and quality with which we visually recognize objects in a visual scene can vary dramatically depending on that scene’s affective content. Although typical visual scenes contain mostly “everyday” objects, the affect perception in visual objects has been studied using somewhat atypical stimuli with strong affective valences (e.g., guns or roses). Here we explore whether affective valence must be strong or overt to exert an effect on our visual perception. We conclude that everyday objects carry subtle affective valences – “micro-valences” – which are intrinsic to their perceptual representation.
Enhancing Privacy Education with a Technical Emphasis in IT Curriculum.

The paper describes the development of four learning modules that focus on technical details of how a person’s privacy might be compromised in real-world scenarios. The paper shows how students benefited from the addition of hands-on learning experiences of privacy and data protection to the existing information technology courses. These learning modules raised students’ awareness of potential breaches of privacy as a user as well as a developer. The demonstration of a privacy breach in action helped students to design, configure, and implement technical solutions to prevent privacy violations. The assessment results demonstrate the strength of the technical approach.
Modeling of White Layer Formation in Electric Discharge Machining (EDM) by Incorporating Massive Random Discharge Characteristics

Abstract Electric discharge machining (EDM) is a competitive process to machine difficult-to-cut alloys. However, the rapid heating and cooling process in EDM may result in poor surface integrity such as white layer on the component surface. Complex phase transformations occur in both white layer and heat affected zone (HAZ) which are detrimental to product performance. This paper presents a numerical approach to predict and analyze the formation mechanisms of WL and HAZ and corresponding phase transformation in EDM of ASP 2023 tool steel. Massive random discharges on the machined surface are successfully simulated. The predicted transformed martensite in WL and HAZ matches the experimental data in reasonable accuracy. Also, the effects of EDM conditions on the thickness of WL and HAZ are investigated. By increasing the discharge duration and voltage, more thermal damage can be found in EDMed surface including thick WL and HAZ and thick martensite zone in particular.
Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis and Transmission Electron Microscopy of Elastomer Blends

Abstract Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis and transmission electron microscopy have been used to elucidate the structure of binary and ternary blends of NR, BIIR, and IM. Dynamic measurements at 10 Hz were able to resolve loss-tangent peaks into a major peak due to NR and a broad shoulder associated with BIIR and IM. Interpretation of these data in conjunction with electron micrographs indicate that the butyl polymers (BIIR and IM) form a second phase in a matrix of NR for compositions containing at least 67% NR. Dynamic mechanical properties and TEM micrographs of binary blends of NR with BIIR or IM show that the structure of these binary blends differ; IM forms larger, more distinct domains in the NR matrix. This difference in structure may result from the different molecular weights of the butyl polymers and the ability of BIIR to crosslink with NR. TEM micrographs of both binary blends indicate that carbon black is dispersed in the matrix material and is excluded from the isobutylene-rich domains, ...
Power Mean Pyramid Scores for Summarization Evaluation.

We present Power Mean Pyramid Scores (PMP), an evaluation metric that extends the Pyramid evaluation scheme for summarization by combining Sentence Content Units (SCU) scores using Power Mean. The Pyramid method generates a summarization score by linearly combining component SCU scores. We find that by combining SCU scores using Power Mean, we can optimize a single parameter, α, leading to significantly improved correlation with human judgements. We demonstrate this result through an empirical study based on TAC-08 evaluation.
War and Inflation in the United States from the Revolution to the Persian Gulf War

The institutional arrangements governing the creation of new money in the United States have changed dramatically since the Revolution. Yet beneath the surface the story of wartime money creation has remained much the same. During wars against minor powers, the government was able to fund the war by borrowing and levying taxes. During wars against major powers, however, the story was very different. In major wars there came a point when further increases in taxes could not be undertaken for administrative or political reasons, and further increases in borrowing could not be undertaken except at higher interest rates, rates that exceeded what was considered fair based on prewar norms. At those moments governments turned to the printing press. The result was substantial inflation.
Human Flourishing and a “Right to Education”

A renowned religious leader recently contrasted “the faith paradigm for human flourishing” with the “rights-based development paradigm.” He suggested that the contrast between the two accounts, inter alia, for misunderstandings, barriers in use of language, and broader social tensions.1
Microscale Repeatability of the Shape-Memory Effect in Fine NiTi Wires

An experimental investigation into microscale transformation characteristics of polycrystalline NiTi wires of 500 µm diameter during shape memory cycling is discussed, with emphasis on the characterization of a pronounced heterogeneity in the strain distribution evident during detwinning of the martensite phase upon application of load and its persistence throughout the actuation cycle. Using scanning electron microscopy-digital image correlation, full-field strain maps at the microscale were obtained during shape memory cycling. It was found that the strains induced by detwinning were quite heterogeneous at the microscale, and could display a large degree of similarity with thermo-mechanical cycling that tended to increase as cycling progressed. Residual strain concentrated at locations where strain accumulation from detwinning and plasticity were significant, indicating that martensitic detwinning and the associated plasticity that occurs with it is spatially correlated to the subsequent accumulation of residual strain at the microscale.
A portable and reconfigurable multi-organ platform for drug development with onboard microfluidic flow control

The drug development pipeline is severely limited by a lack of reliable tools for prediction of human clinical safety and efficacy profiles for compounds at the pre-clinical stage. Here we present the design and implementation of a platform technology comprising multiple human cell-based tissue models in a portable and reconfigurable format that supports individual organ function and crosstalk for periods of up to several weeks. Organ perfusion and crosstalk are enabled by a precision flow control technology based on electromagnetic actuators embedded in an arrayed format on a microfluidic platform. We demonstrate two parallel circuits of connected airway and liver modules on a platform containing 62 electromagnetic microactuators, with precise and controlled flow rates as well as functional biological metrics over a two week time course. Technical advancements enabled by this platform include the use of non-sorptive construction materials, enhanced scalability, portability, flow control, and usability relative to conventional flow control modes (such as capillary action, pressure heads, or pneumatic air lines), and a reconfigurable and modular organ model format with common fluidic port architecture. We demonstrate stable biological function for multiple pairs of airway-liver models for periods of 2 weeks in the platform, with precise control over fluid levels, temperature, flow rate and oxygenation in order to support relevant use cases involving drug toxicity, efficacy testing, and organ-organ interaction.
Lead Tightly Associates to Neuronal Calcium Sensor (NCS) Protein Dream and Promotes Structural Changes Analogous to Calcium Bound Dream

Downstream regulatory element antagonist modulator (DREAM), is a 29 kDa Ca2+ binding protein that controls several neurological processes including gene expression, apoptosis, and modulation of Kv4 voltage channels. Here we demonstrate that Pb2+ binds to EF-hands in DREAM with an equilibrium affinity higher than that determined for Ca2+. Pb2+ association triggers changes in the secondary and tertiary structure of the protein that are analogous to those observed in Ca2+ bound DREAM based on the Trp 169 emission data and CD spectra. Namely, Pb2+ binding to DREAM leads to a decrease of Trp169 emission intensity and decrease in the CD signal at 220 nm. The hydrophobic cavity in the C- terminal domain of DREAM is solvent exposed in the presence of Pb2+ as determined using a hydrophobic probe 1, 8-ANS. The Kd values for 1, 8-ANS binding to Ca2+ and Pb2+ bound DREAM were found to be similar; 73±10 μM and 103±10 µM, respectively. Pb2+ binding to DREAM also modulates DREAM interactions with intracellular partners. For example, titrations of presenilin-1 with DREAM in the presence of Ca2+ or Pb2+ showed that Pb2+ bound DREAM has a similar affinity for presenilin-1 (Kd = 2.44±0.19 μM) as Ca2+ bound DREAM (Kd = 6.23±1.60 μM). The impact of Pb2+ association on DREAM conformational dynamics was proved in time-resolved fluorescence studies and the thermodynamic parameters for Pb2+ association to EF-hands were obtained using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). Those results indicate that DREAM and likely other neuronal calcium sensors bind Pb2+ with a high affinity and Pb2+ association to neuronal calcium sensors may contribute to lead-induced neurotoxicity.
Ten-Year Visit

Ten-year-old Pat Masca is brought by his grandfather to the Indian Reservation’s pediatric clinic for his annual physical. His father is working on an oil rig. Pat’s mother is a domestic helper in the nearby town. Pat weighs 31.4 kg (69.25 pounds), and stands 137.5 cm (54.25 in.) tall, putting him in the 50th percentile for weight and height. His BMI is 16.6 (45th percentile). His blood pressure is 102/61. His tanner stage is 1. Pat’s grandfather is concerned about the way Pat rides his bike in the street. Pat doesn’t like wearing a helmet, and recently someone else on the reservation had a serious bike accident. His grandfather also sees other children using alcohol and drugs and he wants to know how to talk to his grandson about it before Pat is tempted to try this. Pat also sees other kids about his age smoking. His grandfather also thinks it is time to talk about becoming a man and the changes that are taking place in Pat’s body.
DNA copy number stratification of breast cancer samples identifies distinct biological mechanisms

B30 A number of published studies have suggested that DNA copy number and gene expression can be an important diagnostic and therapy determinant for cancer. In this study, a set of 58 FFPE breast cancer samples were hybridized on high-density oligonucleotide aCGH arrays. Using a novel hierarchical clustering algorithm the samples were stratified into three distinct clusters. One cluster was predominantly samples that had mostly a 1q gain event, the second cluster had 8p loss and 8q gain, and the third had both the 1q gain as well as the 8p loss and 8q gain. Performing survival analysis, we identified one cluster to have significantly better outcome than the other two. We have then integrated a set of gene expression profiles previously reported in the literature/databases as prognostic markers and identify distinct hot spots where changes in gene expression correlate with copy number change uniquely in each cluster. Using this analysis we were able to identify genomic structure and corresponding gene expression with pathological biological variables and outcome.
Divergent topologies in luminescent zinc and cadmium substituted isophthalate coordination polymers constructed from long-spanning dipyridylamide ligand precursors

Abstract Hydrothermal reaction of zinc or cadmium nitrate, a 5-position substituted isophthalic acid, and the long-spanning dipyridylamide ligand N,N′-(hexane-1,6-diyl)dinicotinamide (hdn) resulted in coordination polymers whose dimensionalities depend on the nature of the ring substituent and the metal coordination environment. The six new phases were characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. {[Zn2(hip)2(H2O)2(hdn)]·2H2O}n (1, hip = 5-hydroxyisophthalate) shows a 1D ladder topology with [Zn(hip)(H2O)]n uprights spanned by disordered hdn rungs. {[Zn2(nip)2(hdn)2]·2H2O}n (2, nip = 5-nitroisophthalate) displays a 1D ribbon motif with [Zn(nip)]n chains pillared by looped pairs of hdn ligands. [Zn3(tbip)2(nic)2]n (3, tbip = 5-tert-butylisophthalate, nic = nicotinate) shows trimeric [Zn3(OCO)2] clusters connected into a 3D 8-connected 42464 bcu net by tbip and in situ generated nic ligands. {[Cd2(ip)2(H2O)4(hdn)]·2H2O}n (4, ip = isophthalate) and {[Cd2(tbip)2(H2O)4(hdn)]·H2O}n (5) both show a ladder topology similar to that in 1. {[Cd(mip)(hdn)]·H2O}n (6, mip = 5-methylisophthalate) manifests a 2D (4,4) grid topology based on linked dimeric [Cd2(OCO)2] units. Luminescent properties were probed; compounds 4 and 6 showed good ability to detect nitrobenzene in ethanol suspension.
Lower Extremity Arterial Mapping: Duplex Ultrasound as an Alternative to Arteriography Prior to Femoral, Popliteal, and Infrapopliteal Reconstructions

In this chapter, our clinical experience with procedural duplex ultrasound used in over 3000 lower extremity open and endovascular arterial revascularization procedures is reviewed. The topics discussed include goals of preoperative duplex ultrasound arterial mapping (DUAM) for revascularization decision-making, detailed DUAM protocols, and comparison of DUAM with other imaging modalities such as contrast arteriography (XRA), computed tomographic arteriography (CTA), and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). The learning curve for duplex arterial testing is discussed as well as the limitations and pitfalls of this diagnostic technique including necessary components to be followed during the training phase for replacing other imaging modalities with DUAM.
A Cursed and Fragmented Island: History and Conflict Analysis in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea

This paper is a review piece examining the main factors responsible for the civil war, lasting from 1988 to 1998, on Bougainville island, an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea. History, economy,...
The importance of an underestimated grazer under climate change: how crab density, consumer competition, and physical stress affect salt marsh resilience

Climate change and consumer outbreaks are driving ecosystem collapse worldwide. Although much research has demonstrated that these factors can interact, how heterogeneity in top–down control intensity and physical forcing modulates ecosystem resilience to climate stress remains poorly understood. Here, we explore whether the nocturnal herbivorous crab Sesarma reticulatum can control spatially dominant cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) growth and how its top–down effects vary with crab density, drought stress, and large-scale disturbance in southeastern US salt marshes. In multiple field experiments and surveys, we show that Sesarma depresses cordgrass growth and that its effects increase in a saturating manner with increasing crab density, such that the highest naturally occurring densities of this consumer can trigger local cordgrass die-off. This top–down effect of Sesarma is similar in magnitude to what is thought to be the dominant grazer in the system, the marsh periwinkle snail Littoraria irrorata. In a drought stress by Sesarma density experiment, we further show that salinity stress and intensive crab herbivory additively suppress cordgrass drought resistance. After drought subsides, surveys and experiments reveal that Sesarma also stifles cordgrass re-growth into existing die-off areas. Together, these results show that multiple grazers powerfully regulate the productivity and drought resilience of these intertidal grasslands and that heterogeneity in physical stress and consumer density can dictate when and where top–down forcing is important. More generally, this work provides a rare, experimental demonstration of the critical role top–down control can play across the initiation and recovery stages of ecosystem die-off.
Reexamining Transformational Leadership in Complex Systems

We live in an increasingly complex, digitized, and globalized world. The two-dimensional, traditional concept of leaders transforming the organization or the followers is obsolete. Transformational leaders in modern organizations are required to be more cognizant of the power of asymmetric knowledge located in different parts of the organization, design thinking potential, and self-organizing capabilities with a need for urgency. This chapter explores how effective transformational leaders can respond to the challenges of the complexities in the world today through the lens of complex natural systems.
Importance of low frequency hearing for spatial release from masking

Listeners tend to achieve better speech understanding when the masking talker(s) are spatially separated from the target talker; an effect known as spatial release from masking. Here, we present data on spatial release from masking experiment where the target and maskers are high pass filtered with a three frequency audiometric pure-tone threshold equal to 20 dB HL. Young normal hearing listeners were presented with CRM sentences in anechoic and reverberant listening environments. The target speech was presented simultaneously with two maskers that were either colocated (0° azimuth) or symmetrically separated from the target in azimuth ( ±15°). Reverberant listening environments were simulated using techniques described in Zahorik (2009) and reverberation times (T60) of 1s and 2s were used. Preliminary results indicate that the amount of release from masking reduced for filtered speech and this reduction was greater for reverberant listening environments as compared to anechoic environment.
Vitreous domains in an aqueous ribose solution.

Aqueous solutions containing d-ribose demonstrate the ability to form more than one vitreous domain when exposed to low temperatures. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed two glass transitions (at Tgs of −63 and −43°C) upon cooling and warming at a constant rate of 5°C·min−1. The bulk water of the solution crystallizes at −18°C (Tc). Heat capacity and enthalpy changes, and the derivatives for each thermal event, are calculated. Relaxation studies on the observed Tgs produced anticipated overshoots characteristic of the presence of glassy states.
Tree Rings and Earthquakes

The lithosphere, earth’s rigid outer shell comprising crust and upper mantle rock, is broken into about 14 tectonic plates (Christopherson 2009) that move a few centimeters per year over superheated, pliable rock underneath. Forces within earth’s interior push, pull and twist the plates in different directions, producing three types of plate boundaries: convergent (colliding with one another), divergent (moving away from one another) and transform (sliding past one another). Earthquakes occur when plates become locked together, building strain between and within them that is suddenly released, sending a burst of seismic waves that cause shaking and displacement of the surface. Nearly 95% of earthquakes are due to movement along plate boundaries, particularly convergent boundaries surrounding the Pacific Ocean and a mix of transform and convergent boundaries extending southeast from the Mediterranean region of Europe to Indonesia (Wicander and Monroe 2009) (Fig. 1). However, faults can also develop within plates, and intraplate earthquakes strong enough to affect humans and to be recorded in tree rings have occurred (e.g. Sheppard and White 1995; VanArsdale et al. 1998; Carrara 2002; Bekker 2004).
Use of Multichannel Cochlear Implants in Obstructed and Obliterated Cochleas

Obstruction that occurs within the scala tympani (after meningitis or otosclerosis) has been considered a contraindication for placement of a multichannel cochlear implant electrode. Two patients who exhibited radiographic evidence of intracochlear narrowing and obliteration were implanted with multichannel electrodes. Implantation involved creation of a channel for the electrode to wrap around the modiolus. The middle ear cavity and the external auditory canal also had to be removed to gain access. The response of one of the patients was similar to that of patients with normal cochlear anatomy who use multichannel devices. These early experiences, along with one case in which a single-channel electrode was placed, is presented.
"Your Body Feels Better When You Drink Water": Parent and School-Age Children's Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Cognitions.

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are a leading source of added sugar in the American diet. Further, ingestion of added sugars from SSBs exceeds recommendations. Thus, interventions that effectively reduce SSB consumption are needed. Focus group discussions with parents (n = 37) and school-aged children between the ages of 6 and 11 years (n = 41) from Florida, New Jersey, and West Virginia were led by trained moderators using Social Cognitive Theory as a guide. Trends and themes that emerged from the content analysis of the focus group data indicated that both parents and children felt that limiting SSBs was important to health and weight control. However, parents and children reported consuming an average of 1.85 ± 2.38 SD and 2.13 ± 2.52 SD SSB servings/week, respectively. Parents and children were aware that parent behaviors influenced kids, but parents reported modeling healthy SSB behaviors was difficult. Busy schedules, including more frequent parties and events as children get older, were another barrier to limiting SSBs. Parents were most successful at limiting SSBs when they were not in the house. This qualitative research provides novel insights into parents’ and children’s cognitions (e.g., beliefs, attitudes), barriers, and facilitators related to SSB ingestion. Consideration of these insights during nutrition intervention development has the potential to improve intervention effectiveness in reducing SSB intake.
Empirically-derived response trajectories of intensive residential treatment in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A growth mixture modeling approach.

Abstract Background This study investigated distinct trajectories of treatment response in a naturalistic intensive/residential treatment (IRT) program for adults with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We hypothesized that: (1) distinct trajectories would emerge and (2) demographic variables, psychiatric comorbidity, OCD symptom subtype, level of insight, previous exposure and response prevention (ERP) treatment, and quality of life, would differentially predict assignment to these trajectories. Methods Participants included 305 individuals with primary OCD admitted for IRT. Results Two trajectories emerged over the course of the first eight weeks of treatment, with the vast majority of participants demonstrating treatment response. The first trajectory (96%, n = 292) showed a negative, linear treatment response (a.k.a. “linear responders”) and more severe OCD symptoms at admission. The second trajectory (4%, n = 13) had less severe OCD symptoms at admission and did not exhibit a significant overall change in symptoms over the course of treatment. More specifically, this second trajectory or “u-shaped responders” show a non-significant linear response through week four of treatment, followed by slightly increased symptoms in week five. Assignment to these classes was not differentially predicted by hypothesized predictor variables. Limitations Our final model had inconsistent fit indices and small class prevalance of the u-shaped responder group; therefore, model selection was based on both fit indices and substantive meaning. Conclusions This study emprically derived two distinct trajectories of OCD symptom severity over the course of IRT. These findings have the potential to refine IRT for patients with severe OCD, and to potentially guide future investigation into the optimal delivery of ERP treatment for OCD generally.
Effects of Varying the Benzannulation Site and π Conjugation of the Cyclometalating Ligand on the Photophysics and Reverse Saturable Absorption of Monocationic Iridium(III) Complexes

A series of monocationic iridium(III) complexes, [Ir(C^N)2(pqu)]+PF6– [pqu = 2-(pyridin-2-yl)quinoline, C^N = 2-phenylquinoline (1), 3-phenylisoquinoline (2), 1-phenylisoquinoline (3), benzo[h]quinoline (4), 2-(pyridin-2-yl)naphthalene (5), 1-(pyridin-2-yl)naphthalene (6), 2-(phenanthren-9-yl)pyridine (7), 2-phenylbenzo[g]quinoline (8), 2-(naphthalen-2-yl)quinoline (9), and 2-(naphthalen-2-yl)benzo[g]quinoline (10)], were synthesized in this work. These complexes bear C^N ligands with varied degrees of π conjugation and sites of benzannulation, allowing for elucidation of the effects of the benzannulation site at the C^N ligand on the photophysics of the complexes. Ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) absorption and emission of the complexes were systematically investigated via spectroscopic techniques and time-dependent density functional theory calculations. Their triplet excited-state absorption and reverse saturable absorption (RSA) were studied by nanosecond transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy and nonline...
Re-casting traditional organic experiments into green guided-inquiry based experiments: student perceptions

Green Chemistry principles can be used to re-cast traditional Organic chemistry experiments into more guided-inquiry based experiments. Inquiry questions related to green chemistry principles and m...