cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
α- and β-Substituted phosphonate analogs of LPA as autotaxin inhibitors

Autotaxin (ATX) is an attractive pharmacological target due to its lysophospholipase D activity which leads to the production of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). Blockage of ATX produced LPA by small molecules could be a potential anticancer chemotherapy. In our previous study, we have identified the two β-hydroxy phosphonate analogs of LPA (compounds f17 and f18) as ATX inhibitors. With this work, we investigated α- and β-substituted phosphonate analogs of LPA and evaluated them for ATX inhibitory activity. The stereochemistry of β-hydroxy phosphonates was also studied.
Optical stimulation of the auditory nerve: effects of pulse shape

It has been demonstrated that spiral ganglion cells in the cochlea can be stimulated with infrared radiation (IR). The potential benefits of infrared neural stimulation (INS) include the possibility of stimulating the neurons without direct physical contact between the stimulation source and the neural tissue and the improved spatial selectivity. In order to determine how INS can be best incorporated in both research and in neural interfaces, it is critical to identify the optimal stimulation parameters for the laser. This study focuses on direct comparison of amplitudes of neural responses evoked by various IR pulse shapes and durations. With the present experiments, the results indicate that the peak power is an important variable for stimulating auditory neurons. While the radiant energy has little effect on amplitudes of compound potentials (CAP) evoked by infrared pulses shorter than 70 μs, it impacts the amplitudes for pulses 80 μs and longer. In addition, we show that the shape of the infrared pulse is important and varying the shape may allow an expansion of response dynamic range while stimulating neurons. The results indicate that square pulses were the most effective pulse shape to evoke CAPs.
Enhanced expression of neurotensin/neuromedin N mRNA and products of NT/NMN precursor processing in neonatal rats.

Intestinal levels of immunoreactive neurotensin (iNT) and neuromedin N (iNMN), as well as mRNA for the NT/NMN precursor, were elevated during the suckling period in rats. While transient expression of NT/NMN was observed at 1-5 days of age in the proximal small intestine and colon, NT/NMN levels in the ileum increased to peak at 10-20 days of age and then decreased to adult levels. The levels of these peptides were not elevated in the central nervous system and pituitary over this time period. Chromatographic analyses of jejunoileal extracts indicated that large molecular forms of iNT and iNMN were present, constituting approximately 1.3% of total iNT and approximately 56% of total iNMN, respectively. Treatment of the large forms with pepsin, which is known to generate the fully immunoreactive peptides, NT(3-13), NT(4-13), and NMN, increased immunoreactivity tenfold (iNT) and 1.2-fold (iNMN). Thus, large forms actually constituted approximately 13% (iNT) and approximately 60% (iNMN). Based upon its physicochemical properties, large molecular iNMN was tentatively identified as a 125 residue peptide with NMN at its C-terminus [i.e., rat prepro-NT/NMN(23-147)]. The properties of large molecular iNT were most similar to those predicted for the entire precursor [i.e., rat prepro-NT/NMN(23-169)]. These results indicate a) that enhanced expression of NT/NMN occurs in a tissue-specific manner in rats during the suckling period; b) that the pattern of precursor processing in intestine yields primarily NT and a large molecular form of NMN.
A measurement of the absolute NMR frequencies of CCl3F and C6F6 relative to TMS

Abstract The 19 F frequencies of C 6 F 6 and the two most intense members of the CCl 3 F multiplet in a mixture of 10% CCl 3 F (vol %), 10% C 6 F 6 , 5% TMS, and 10% C 6 H 6 in CCl 4 have been measured as 94,078,736.489 ± 0.005 Hz, 94,091,847.287 ± 0.009 Hz, and 94,091,846.866 ± 0.009 Hz, respectively, relative to the proton signal of TMS as 100,000,000.000 Hz. The digital-sweep dual-frequency (100 and 94 MHz) spectrometer employed derived all its frequencies from four synthesizers that were driven from the same frequency source.
A fully nonlinear theory of curved and twisted composite rotor blades accounting for warpings and three-dimensional stress effects

Abstract A new approach is used to develop a geometrically exact nonlinear beam model for naturally curved and twisted solid composite rotor blades undergoing large vibrations in three-dimensional space. A combination of the new concepts of local displacements and local engineering stresses and strains, a new interpretation and manipulation of the virtual local rotations, an exact coordinate transformation, and the extended Hamilton principle is used to derive six fully nonlinear equations of motion describing one extension, two bending, one torsion, and two shearing vibrations of composite beams. The formulation is based on an energy approach, but the derivation is fully correlated with the Newtonian approach and provides a straightforward explanation of all nonlinear structural terms without using complex tensor operations or asymptotic expansions. The theory accounts for in-plane and out-of-plane warpings due to bending, extensional, shearing and torsional loadings, elastic couplings among warpings, and three-dimensional stress effects by using the results of a two-dimensional, static, sectional, finite element analysis. Also, the theory fully accounts for extensionality, initial curvatures and geometric nonlinearities. The equations display linear elastic couplings due to structural anisotropy and initial curvatures and nonlinear geometric couplings. The theory contains most of the existing beam theories as special cases, and the final equations of motion are put in compact matrix form.
Debating Affirmative Action: Politics, Media, and Equal Opportunity in a “Postracial” America

This article explores how race-conscious education policy is interpreted in the political landscape of a “postracial” America. Based on a qualitative media analysis of the press coverage surrounding Amendment 46, an antiaffirmative action initiative, we examine language, statistics, and messages leveraged by advocates and critics of the ballot measure. We argue that despite using some of the same data sources, terms, and concepts, proponents and opponents of Amendment 46 proposed divergent policies. We analyzed this phenomenon vis-a-vis the framework of conflicting racial projects (Omi & Winant, 1994), moral paradigms of race (Loury, 2002), and interpretations of equality of educational opportunity (Howe, 1997). Arguably, the public's understanding of race-conscious education policies relies in part on opportunities for researchers, journalists, and the public to deliberate about issues related to race. We conclude with some recommendations for fostering more communication and understanding based in delib...
An Exceptional Power Equity in Thomas Hobbes’s Dialogue on the Common Law

In a late dialogue on English common law, Hobbes addressed a perennial problem: how to allow exceptions to general rules without amplifying divisive claims of sovereign arbitrariness. His solution extended Leviathan’s arguments against lawyers but also relied heavily on a conception of equity that the earlier treatise tended to obscure. For Hobbes, equity was not only a mode of sovereign adjudication, but also an instrument for molding dispositions conducive to “Civill Amity.” Long-term stability therefore demanded that the sovereign power to make exceptions be limited by a general human capacity to treat others fairly.
Mode choice prediction using attitudinal data: A procedure and some results

A procedure is presented for using data on travelers' attitudes to predict changes in choice of transportation mode accompanying changes in the characteristics of the modes. The characteristics typically include such qualitative attributes as “opportunity to relax” and “security from undesirable acts of others” as well as quantitative attributes such as “travel time.” The procedure involves the following steps: Statistical results from a case-study application of the first five steps of the procedure indicate satisfactory goodness-of-fit in describing choices between automobile and bus as examples.
Crack surface displacement coupling due to material anisotropy

Abstract It is found that unlike in isotropic materials, there is Crack surface displacement coupling (CSDC) for cracks in anisotropic solids, i.e. crack surfaces will distort even under the influence of a symmetrical load, likewise, crack surface shear stress will cause crack surfaces to open or interfere. By considering a crack in an anisotropic medium subjected to symmetrical or skew symmetrical load, the behavior of the CSDC is analyzed, the minimum conditions that the material should satisfy in order to eliminate the CSDC are derived. It is shown that the CSDC stems from the dislocation coupling. Numerical results of CSDC are obtained for cracks in the carbon-fiber-epoxy-matrix composites. Since under some circumstances, the crack surface shear stress will cause the interference of the crack surfaces, we have to consider the occurrence of the crack surface contact for those cases.
Morphometry of the canine prostate vasculature.

Abstract Morphometric data of the tissue vasculature are fundamental to the development of models for blood perfused tissue mass and heat transfer. Vascular casts of six canine prostates were made and morphometry was performed on 14 transverse sections. The region sampled was restricted to the midsection within the parenchyma. General vascular features that were observed include the radially arranged arteries and veins within the parenchyma, the axially oriented periurethral venous plexae, and the parenchymal arteries ramifying less than the veins. The arterial and venous lumen diameters (mean ± SD) are 84 ± 31 ( N = 42) and 125 ± 51 ( N = 117), respectively. The lengths for a single vessel generation are 2147 ± 1196 μm ( N = 14) and 1265 ± 693 μm ( N = 39) for the arteries and veins, respectively. Intervessel distances are 4056 ± 2350 μm ( N = 33) between arteries, 1526 ± 982 μm ( N = 330) between veins, and 1498 ± 874 μm ( N = 108) between arteries and veins. A simple vasculature model of evenly distributed vessels imbedded in tissue for heat transfer analysis was developed. The artery–artery distance being about three times that of the vein–vein distance suggested a rete-like configuration of arteries surrounded by veins. An effective distance of 1519 μm between vessels was used. Based upon this vasculature model, the vessel density was calculated to be 5.6 arteries/cm 2 and 44.5 veins/cm 2 .
Cytochalasin B Reversibly Inhibits Melanin Granule Movement in Melanocytes

AGENTS which cause metaphase arrest have been found to affect the rapid reversible darkening of frog skin under the influence of melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH)1,2. Darkening is caused largely by the dispersion of melanin granules in dermal melanocytes. After subsequent washing, the skin lightens and the melanin granules aggregate. In this system, preincubation with colchicine, colcemid, vinblastine or vincristine produces a slight increase in darkening induced by MSH, and a dosage-dependent inhibition of the subsequent lightening.
Nutrients, Nuclear Receptors, Inflammation, Immunity Lipids, PPAR, and Allergic Asthma

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) belong to the larger superfamily of steroid/thyroid nuclear receptors. PPARgamma is expressed in a number of hematopoietic cells, including dendritic cells, eosinophils, macrophages, and T cells. A number of lipids and synthetic compounds interact with PPARgamma, that, depending on the cell type, results in the regulation of specific genes. There is now a large body of data indicating that allergic asthma is the result of a predominant type-2 helper T cell immune response including IL-4, -5 and -13, eosinophilic inflammation in the lungs, mucous production, and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). Targeting the production of these type-2 helper T cell mediated cytokines has been proposed as a way to regulate this disease. Because PPARgamma ligands can affect T cell cytokine production in vitro, we have examined whether these ligands affect symptoms of allergic asthma in a murine model of this disease. We discuss data showing that ciglitazone and GW1929, two agonistic ligands for PPARgamma, significantly inhibited airway inflammation during allergic asthma induction. Oral treatment with ciglitazone and GW1929 inhibited airway inflammation, with less of an effect on AHR. By contrast, intranasal exposure to GW1929 significantly reduced AHR following exposure to allergen, while GW9662, a PPARgamma antagonist, had no effect. In vitro, T cells from ciglitazone-treated mice secreted significantly less IL-4 and IFN-gamma in response to restimulation. These data suggest that PPARgamma agonists may be useful for the treatment of allergic asthma.
Predator exposure leads to a short-term reversal in female mate preferences in the green swordtail, Xiphophorus helleri

Ecological factors have been shown to influence mate choice, resulting in the alteration, loss, and even reversal of mate preference. One such factor is the presence of a predator during mate choice, because females that associate with conspicuous males may experience a higher risk of mortality in high-predation environments. Despite accumulating studies demonstrating predator-induced plasticity in female preferences, it is still unclear how these changes affect the strength or direction of selection. Additionally, even though the temporal dynamics of female plasticity (and the cues that induce it) have important implications for the evolutionary dynamics of sexual selection, little is known about this temporal aspect of mate preferences. Here, we addressed this gap using female green swordtails, Xiphophorus helleri, which typically prefer males with long swords. We first examined mate preference in the control (no predator) treatment and asked whether the preference changes immediately following predator exposure. In this experiment, females preferred long-sworded males in the control treatment and short-sworded males in the predator treatment. This suggests that natural and sexual selection may act synergistically in high-predation environments, with both favoring this shorter sword length. We then asked whether females still prefer short-sworded males 24 h after exposure to the predator. Our results demonstrate that the reversal in female mate preference does not persist after 24 h, suggesting that the effect of predators on mating behavior may be more complex than previously thought. Predator encounter rate may thus have the potential to influence sexual selection dynamics in natural populations.
Recording Pressure and Melt Temperature in Extrusion

Analyzing single screw extrusion performance is usually a practice of watching the results at the exit end of the machine and guessing as to what is taking place inside the barrel. Pressure transducers, melt thermocouples, and high speed analysis equipment have been used for years by some extrusion engineers, but this practice is not universally understood. The data can be quite useful for op timizing or troubleshooting extruder problems and is invaluable to screw design efforts, but the method of the measurements are important to the results. Extrusion supervisory systems often measure the data from transducers and thermocouples of trending and reporting functions. These devices must use data acquisition rates that are capable of adequately defining the process.This paper will discuss the method for gathering the data along the extruder barrel and in the die system and show some of the conclusions that are possible when proper attention is paid to the data acquisition rates.
Topographic Class Grouping with applications to 3D object recognition

The cerebral cortex uses a large number of top-down connections, but the roles of the top-down connections remain unclear. Through end-to-end (sensor-to-motor) multilayered networks that use three types of connections (bottom-up, lateral, and top-down), the new topographic class grouping (TCG) mechanism shown in this paper explains how the top-down connections influence (1) the type of feature detectors (neurons) developed and (2) their placement in the neuronal plane. The top-down connections boost the variations in the neuronal between class directions during the training phase. The first outcome of this top-down boosted input space is the facilitation of the emergence of feature detectors that are purer, measured statistically by the average entropy of the neuronspsila development. The relatively purer neurons are more ldquoabstract,rdquo i.e., characterizing class-specific (or motor-specific) input information, resulting in better classification rates. The second outcome of this top-down boosted input space is the increase of the distance between input samples that belong to different classes, resulting in a farther separation of neurons according to their class. Therefore, neurons that respond to the same class become relatively nearer. This results in TCG, measured statistically by a smaller within-class scatter of responses when the neuronal plane has a fixed size. Although these mechanisms are potentially applicable to any pattern recognition applications, we report quantitative effects of these mechanisms for 3D object recognition of center-normalized, background-controlled objects. TCG has enabled a significant reduction of the recognition errors.
Modular Mahler Measures I

We relate Boyd’s numerical examples, linking the Mahler measure m(P k ) of certain polynomials P k to special values of L-series of elliptic curves, to the Bloch-Beilinson conjectures. We study m(P k ) as a function of the parameter k and find a relation to modular forms and certain formal similarities with the expansions of mirror symmetry of physics.
Pre‐screening acoustic and other natural signatures for use in noninvasive individual identification

Summary 1. Common ecological tasks, such as wildlife monitoring, adaptive management, and behavioural study, often make use of natural signatures (e.g. animal calls or visual markings) to identify individual animals noninvasively. However, there is no accepted method for pre-screening candidate natural signatures to select which signatures are the best-suited for this purpose. In this paper, we suggest a pre-screening checklist and focus on the challenge of assessing a candidate signature’s individuality. 2. Individuality is critical, as the use of low-individuality natural signatures can lead to misidentification of individuals and therefore bias estimation of population parameters and population response to management actions. An information-based metric of individuality could assist researchers with selecting suitable signatures by allowing comparison among candidate signatures and providing an estimate of how many individuals may be reliably discriminated using a particular signature. 3. Before an individuality metric can be used to pre-screen natural signatures, the metric must first be calculated from preliminary sampling and must be robust to typical sampling concerns. We used field-collected animal vocalizations as well as simulations to test how robust the metric is to variation in sampling design. 4. We found that the metric is fairly robust to the number of animals sampled and the number of sessions (e.g. calling bouts) analysed, but that it is sensitive to the number of observations per session. 5. Synthesis and applications. Managers and researchers could save time and energy and improve the accuracy of estimates (such as abundance, survival, or population response) based on individual identification by first pre-screening candidate natural signatures for their individuality. As long as the number of observations per session is controlled, the relative values of the individuality metric can be meaningfully compared. The metric can thus be used as a tool to estimate relative individuality and so facilitates a difficult step in choosing a natural signature for noninvasive individual identification. We include instructions on how to calculate and interpret the individuality metric.
Ekho: bridging the gap between simulation and reality in tiny energy-harvesting sensors

Harvested energy makes long-term maintenance-free sensor deployments possible; however, as devices shrink in order to accommodate new applications, tightening energy budgets and increasing power supply volatility leaves system designers poorly equipped to predict how their devices will behave when deployed.This paper describes the design and initial FPGA-based implementation of Ekho, a tool that records and emulates energy harvesting conditions, in order to support realistic and repeatable testing and experimentation. Ekho uses the abstraction of I-V curves---curves that describe harvesting current with respect to supply voltage---to accurately represent harvesting conditions, and supports a range of harvesting technologies. An early prototype emulates I-V curves with 0.1mA accuracy, and responds in 4.4μs to changes in energy conditions.
Convergência e divergência na conexão entre gênero e letramento: novos avanços

Este artigo examina as hipoteses teoricas e os resultados empiricos de tres perspectivas distintas que orientam a pesquisa em alfabetizacao de adultos. E baseado em uma revisao da literatura recente sobre o tema, cuja maior parte apareceu em livros e periodicos em lingua inglesa. As perspectivas sao: alfabetizacao como uma habilidade basica descontextualizada; alfabetizacao como pratica social imersa em condicoes locais (letramento); e alfabetizacao (letramento) como ferramenta para o empowerment individual e coletivo, especialmente de mulheres. As divergencias encontradas referem-se: ao conceito de alfabetizacao/letramento, ao potencial atribuido a alfabetizacao para o desenvolvimento nacional e melhoria das condicoes sociais, a possibilidade de uma medida padronizada valida das habilidades de alfabetizacao, ao papel dos mediadores no processo de alfabetizacao e ao poder do contexto na determinacao do letramento como uma pratica estavel. As convergencias existem ao se considerar os programas de alfabetizacao como de dificil implementacao e carentes de comprometimento politico a longo prazo, de capacitacao adequada de professores e de recursos financeiros apropriados aos objetivos declarados de alfabetizacao. Da perspectiva do empowerment de mulheres, o conteudo das mensagens letradas e a necessidade de suporte multissetorial sao cruciais. Taxas de analfabetismo estao decaindo lentamente em todo o mundo, mas o numero absoluto daqueles incapazes de ler ou escrever esta aumentando. Mulheres continuam a representar dois tercos dos analfabetos. Condicoes atuais de pobreza e os mecanismos implantados para conter suas manifestacoes trabalham contra a participacao dos alunos de programas de alfabetizacao e contra a subsequente aplicacao das habilidades de alfabetizacao a vida cotidiana.
A note on eorðscræf/eorðsele and current interpretations of the wife's lament

(1977). A note on eorðscraef/eorðsele and current interpretations of the wife's lament. English Studies: Vol. 58, No. 3, pp. 204-208.
Conceptualizing the challenge of reducing interpersonal violence.

Interpersonal violence (IV) has many forms including child maltreatment, domestic violence, sexual assault, gang activity, elder abuse, and others. These are well studied areas often conceptualized, discussed, and investigated separately, in large part to give the fine-grained attention each has shown to warrant as a social problem and area of research. This paper discusses IV more generally, draws on the notion of wicked problems, and applies characteristics of such problems to violence. The broader view as a complement to the more molecular focus on individual areas draws attention to slightly different challenges, including multiplicity of views in formulating the problem or even seeing violence as a "problem," the need to act in the absence of sufficient data, and fragmentation in research, services, and training in IV. Better integration across areas of IV is warranted in part because different forms of victimization often go together, challenges among the individual areas often overlap, and interventions at societal and cultural levels might have direct and indirect impact on multiple forms of violence. The shared goal is to reduce the incidence and prevalence of violence. Much is to be gained by unifying current efforts with a focus on commonalities that the different types of violence share. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)
Inflatable and Warpable Wings for Meso-scale UAVs

The paper presents work on testing of inflatable wings for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Design and construction of inflatable wings is discussed, along with ground and flight testing. Predictions and correlations of the forces required to warp (twist) the wings to a particular shape and the aerodynamic forces generated by that shape change are presented. The focus is on characterizing the deformation of the wings and development of a system to deform the wings inflight. Relations between wing stiness and internal pressure and the impact of external loads are presented. Mechanical manipulation of the wing shape on a test vehicle is shown to be an eective means of roll control. Finally, damage resistance is shown from results of flight tests.
In-vitro activity of ramoplanin (a novel lipoglycopeptide), vancomycin, and teicoplanin against Gram-positive clinical isolates from cancer patients

The in-vitro activities of ramoplanin, vancomycin, and teicoplanin against Gram-positive organisms isolated from cancer patients were determined. Ramoplanin was the most active agent tested inhibiting all isolates at a concentration of < or = 0.5 mg/L. Although all isolates were also susceptible to vancomycin and teicoplanin, their activities were surpassed by that of ramoplanin. The activity of teicoplanin was moderately better than that of vancomycin against Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus faecium, Listeria monocytogenes, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and most streptococcal isolates, and was comparable to vancomycin for the remainder of the isolates tested.
A novel strategy for detecting multiple loci in Genome-Wide Association Studies of complex diseases

Large-scale Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) for complex diseases are increasingly common, due to recent advances in genotyping technology. Gene-gene interactions play an important role in the etiology of complex diseases and have to be addressed in GWAS. In this paper, an efficient strategy based on two-stage analysis is proposed. It combines a single-locus approach with a Goodness-Of-Fit (GOF) test in stage one, and selects a promising subset of SNPs to be modelled using a full interaction model in stage two. Extensive simulations using different disease models with different levels of epistasis demonstrate that it achieves higher power than existing approaches.
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Produces Antidepressant Effects in Behavioral Models of Depression

Previous studies demonstrated that antidepressant treatment increases the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in rat hippocampus. The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that BDNF in the hippocampus produces an antidepressant effect in behavioral models of depression, the learned helplessness (LH) and forced swim test (FST) paradigms. A single bilateral infusion of BDNF into the dentate gyrus of hippocampus produced an antidepressant effect in both the LH and FST that was comparable in magnitude with repeated systemic administration of a chemical antidepressant. These effects were observed as early as 3 d after a single infusion of BDNF and lasted for at least 10 d. Similar effects were observed with neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) but not nerve growth factor. Infusions of BDNF and NT-3 did not influence locomotor activity or passive avoidance. The results provide further support for the hypothesis that BDNF contributes to the therapeutic action of antidepressant treatment.
The Role of Identity Styles and Academic Possible Selves on Academic Outcomes for High School Students

The authors examined linkages among identity styles, academic possible selves, and grades for 1,137 public high school students across a southern state in the United States. The measurement model revealed a positive association for the informational style and a negative association for the diffuse style with academic possible selves. There were positive associations for the informational style, normative style, and academic possible selves with grades, but negative associations for the diffuse style with grades. The structural model showed academic possible selves mediated the relationship between the informational and diffuse styles and grades. Moderation tests indicated that the association between academic possible selves and grades was stronger for girls, and that the normative style was related to academic possible selves only for European Americans.
The Concept of Agrarian Reform and its Role in Development: Some Notes on Societal Cause and Effect*

The concept of agrarian reform and its role in economic development have been crucial issues among scholars concerned with Third World problems. However, some clarity with regard to the cause and effect nature of agrarian reform is desirable. The purpose of this article is to critically assess past and current literature dealing with agrarian reform and its impact on agricultural development and social, political, and economic change. We will proceed by surveying the literature to determine: (1) where a consensus exists among scholars and officials regarding the concepts of agrarian reform and agricultural development; (2) the role assigned to agrarian reform in social and political development.
Myocardial matrix degradation and metalloproteinase activation in the failing heart: a potential therapeutic target

A fundamental structural event in the progression of heart failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy is left ventricular (LV) myocardial remodeling. The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are an endogenous family of enzymes which contribute to matrix remodeling in several disease states. The goal of this report is to summarize recent findings regarding the myocardial MMP system and the relation to matrix remodeling in the failing heart. In both experimental and clinical forms of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), increased expression of certain species of myocardial MMPs have been demonstrated. Specifically, increased myocardial levels of the gelatinase, MMP-9 has been identified in both ischemic and non-ischemic forms of human DCM. In addition, stromelysin or MMP-3 increased by over four-fold in DCM. The increased levels of MMP-3 in DCM may have particular importance since this MMP degrades a wide range of extracellular proteins and can activate other MMPs. In normal human LV myocardium, the membrane type 1 MMP (MT1-MMP) was detected. These MT-MMPs may provide important sites for local MMP activation within the myocardium. In a pacing model of LV failure, MMP expression and activity increased early and were temporally associated with LV myocardial matrix remodeling. Using a broad-spectrum pharmacological MMP inhibitor in this pacing model, the degree of LV dilation was attenuated and associated with an improvement in LV pump function. Thus, increased LV myocardial MMP expression and activity are contributory factors in the LV remodeling process in cardiomyopathic disease states. Regulation of myocardial MMP expression and activity may be an important therapeutic target for controlling myocardial matrix remodeling in the setting of developing heart failure.
SEM studies on vessels in ferns. 17. Psilotaceae

Perforation plates are reported in aerial and subaerial axes of Psilotum nudum and in aerial axes of Tmesipteris obliqua. In Psilotum, both perforations lacking pit membranes and perforations with pit membrane remnants were observed. Perforation plates in Psilotum may consist wholly of one type or the other. In Tmespteris, perforations have threadlike pit membranes or consist of porose pit membranes. Wide perforations alternating with narrow pits, a conformation observed in various ferns, were observed in Psilotum (subaerial axes). In Psilotum, perforations are more common in metaxylem than in protoxylem; perforations in protoxylem consist of primary wall areas containing small circular porosities or relatively large circular to oval perforations. There are no modifications in the secondary wall framework of protoxylem or metaxylem in Psilotum or Tmesipteris that would permit one to distinguish presence of perforations or perforation plates with light microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is required for demonstration of porose walls or perforations. The tracheary elements of the Psilotaceae studied have no features not also observed in other ferns with SEM.
IDEM: an Internet delay emulator approach for assessing VoIP quality

Network emulations are imitations of real-time network behavior that help in testing and assessing protocols, and other network related applications in a controlled hardware and software environment. Most of the emulators existing today are hardware implemented emulators. There is a rising demand to emulate the network behavior using a software tool. Our Internet delay emulator (IDEM) is a software tool that captures the network details and reproduces an environment useful for research oriented projects. IDEM is based on bouncers that are distributed over the Internet. The concepts of firewall routing are used in designing IDEM. IDEM supports both TCP and UDP applications. Rigorous testing shows that actual delay in data sent is accurately modeled by IDEM. Advantages of IDEM especially for delay sensitive applications like VoIP are discussed.
DJoin: differentially private join queries over distributed databases

In this paper, we study the problem of answering queries about private data that is spread across multiple different databases. For instance, a medical researcher may want to study a possible correlation between travel patterns and certain types of illnesses. The necessary information exists today - e.g., in airline reservation systems and hospital records - but it is maintained by two separate companies who are prevented by law from sharing this information with each other, or with a third party. This separation prevents the processing of such queries, even if the final answer, e.g., a correlation coefficient, would be safe to release.We present DJoin, a system that can process such distributed queries and can give strong differential privacy guarantees on the result. DJoin can support many SQL-style queries, including joins of databases maintained by different entities, as long as they can be expressed using DJoin's two novel primitives: BN-PSI-CA, a differentially private form of private set intersection cardinality, and DCR, a multi-party combination operator that can aggregate noised cardinalities without compounding the individual noise terms. Our experimental evaluation shows that DJoin can process realistic queries at practical timescales: simple queries on three databases with 15,000 rows each take between 1 and 7.5 hours.
Actigraphy validation with insomnia.

Study Objective: Actigraphy, a method of inferring sleep from the presence or absence of wrist movement, has been well validated against polysomnography in trials with people without insomnia. However, the small amount of literature on validation with insomniacs has revealed an actigraphy bias toward overscoring sleep. The current validation trial with insomniacs used the largest number of subjects to date in such research and attracted participants with diverse demographic characteristics. Design: People with insomnia slept 1 night in the laboratory while simultaneously being monitored by polysomnography, actigraphy (high-sensitivity algorithm of the Mini Mitter AW64 Actiwatch™), and morning sleep diary. Setting: Sleep disorders center. Participants: Participants were 57 volunteers from the community, 26 men and 31 women, ranging in age from 21 to 87 years. All participants satisfied conservative criteria for insomnia. The sample included subjects with primary insomnia, subjects with comorbid insomnia, and hypnotic users with current insomnia complaints. Interventions: N/A. Measurements and Results: Actigraphy was successfully validated on 4 measures of sleep pattern—number of awakenings, wake time after sleep onset, total sleep time, and sleep efficiency percentage—based on nonsignificant mean differences and significant correlation between actigraphy and polysomnography. Sleep-onset latency with actigraphy was not significantly different from polysomnography but was weakly correlated with polysomnography. Hypnotic use contributed to actigraphic overscoring of sleep. Conclusions: Actigraphy proved to be a satisfactory objective measure of sleep on 4 of 5 sleep parameters, but these results are specific to this particular instrument using this particular algorithm and should not be construed as a blanket endorsement of actigraphy for measuring insomnia.
Role of Affect in Cognitive Processing in Academic Contexts

With the exception of the plethora of research on test anxiety (Hill & Wigfield, 1984), the link between affect and cognitive processing in academic contexts has been largely ignored (Pekrun, Goetz, Titz, & Perry, 2002). Thus, although there are recent theoretical advances in our understanding of the relation between affect and cognitive processing generally (e.g., Forgas, 2000c), we know very little about how affect influences cognitive processing for specific academic tasks. Therefore, in this chapter, we apply current social psychological theories linking affect and cognition to the academic context. We begin by providing an overview of general theories linking affect to cognitive processing. We then review the limited research linking affect and cognitive processing in academic contexts, focusing in particular on our work in the areas of conceptual change in science understanding as well as learning mathematics, and apply the more general theories to academic contexts using the empirical research as a guide for our suggestions about directions for future research.
A Survey of Phytophthora spp. Associated with Abies in U.S. Christmas Tree Farms.

Multiple Phytophthora spp. are known to cause Phytophthora root rot (PRR) on Abies spp. Varying host susceptibilities and regional differences in Phytophthora community compositions complicate disease avoidance and management for Christmas tree growers and conifer nurseries. A survey of 32 Christmas tree farms in seven U.S. states representing four major Christmas tree production regions was conducted in 2012 to 2013 to characterize current distributions of root-rotting Phytophthora spp. and assess host responses to disease. Symptomatic tissues from lesion margins on roots and crowns were plated on selective medium to recover Phytophthora Cultures were identified by DNA sequencing of the nuclear internal transcribed spacer and mitochondrial cox I regions. Phytophthora cambivora was the prominent PRR species in western Washington and Oregon, while P. cinnamomi was prevalent in California and North Carolina. In the eastern United States, the undescribed P. taxon kelmania was isolated frequently and was capa...
Eggshell Conductance and Other Functional Qualities of Ostrich Eggs

Eggshell conductance was measured and eggshell conductance constants were calculated for eggs from ostriches. In addition, egg water, yolk, albumen, shell, and total solids were measured in an effort to determine the maternal investment of ostrich eggs. The results of the study suggest that the optimal incubator humidity for ostrich eggs is less than 25% to allow a 15% loss of initial egg mass during the 45-d incubation period. This low humidity does not preclude increasing humidity during the actual hatching process. In addition, incubation temperatures need to be adjusted to allow a longer development time for the embryo to attain an adequate level of maturity to survive the plateau stage in oxygen consumption or to prevent the use of limited energy of the yolk to survive the anoxia of tucking and internal pipping. The optimal incubation temperature of ostrich eggs appears to be between 36.1 and 36.9 C.
Firstborns, only children, sex and field independence.

Recent critiques of research on birth order (Sampson, 1965; Warren, 1966) have questioned the practice of including only children in the category of oldest or firstborn. Also, many investigators combine scores for males and females despite a growing concern with sex differences. The purpose of this study was to determine the comparability of only and firscborns, of both sexes, with respect to the traic of field independence which has previously been linked to effects of birth order (Stewart, 1967). A 2 by 2 factorial design involving sex and birth order (only versus oldest) was utilized with rod-and-frame scores as the dependent variable. Oldest Ss were selected from volunteers from two-sibling families to control for family size. Each S was tested individually and a field independence score was derived by compucing the mean deviation from the upright over 8 trials. An analysis of the data showed both effects of birth order and sex nonsignificant (Fs < 1.00), however, the birth X sex interaction was significant (F = 4.60, df = 1/36, p < .05 ), with mean rod-and-frame scores of 9.67 and 8.32 for males and 7.44 and 10.85 for females for only and firstborn classifications respectively. These results support previous criticisms (e.g., Sampson, 1965) of combining data for only and firscborns at least for field independence. These data also lend support to the finding of differential birth order-field independence effects (Stewart, 1967).
Use of Rheumatology Laboratory Studies Among Primary Pediatricians

Rheumatology laboratory tests are often inappropriately ordered in situations for which they are of low diagnostic utility. We surveyed pediatricians to investigate reasons for ordering these tests. The response rate was 15.3% (93/609). The most commonly ordered tests were antinuclear antibody (ANA), anti-double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) antibody, and rheumatoid factor (RF). Of the 89% (83/93) who ordered an ANA, 86% ordered it for correct/possibly correct reasons; of the 73% (68/93) who ordered RF, 80% did so for correct/possibly correct reasons; and among the 59% (54/92) who had ordered anti-dsDNA antibody, 34% ordered it for correct reasons. A positive relationship was seen between years since residency completion and correct use of ANA. However, positive associations were not seen between measures of pediatric rheumatology experience and correct use of other tests. Interventions are needed to improve pediatricians' utilization of rheumatology tests.
Systemics for Mite Control on Roses

Several systemic compounds were added to the nutrient solution of hydroponically grown roses and broadcast over beds of field-grown roses. UC 21149 [2-methyl-2-(methylthio) propionaldehyde O -(methylcarbamoyl)oxime] was the only compound that provided control without phytotoxicity. In addition, plants treated with UC 21149 responded with a considerable increase in growth and flower production.
Dynamics of Polyatomic Molecules in Porous Silica

The liquid-solid phase transition of cyclohexane in small pores of sol-gel glass is studied by computer simulation. A cavity model is obtained by placing silica clusters at the corners of a cubic box. A molecule inside the cavity is approximated by an assembly of six Lennard-Jones (LJ) potentials. Translational and rotational motions of C6H12 are studied in the temperature range from 190 K to 333 K. Supercooling is observed and the freezing temperature is depressed in comparison to the bulk phase.
Oxygen Sensing and Homeostasis

The discovery of carotid bodies as sensory receptors for detecting arterial blood oxygen levels, and the identification and elucidation of the roles of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) in oxygen homeostasis have propelled the field of oxygen biology. This review highlights the gas-messenger signaling mechanisms associated with oxygen sensing, as well as transcriptional and non-transcriptional mechanisms underlying the maintenance of oxygen homeostasis by HIFs and their relevance to physiology and pathology.
Shipborne Long Range Acoustic System Design Based on Operating Distance

The shipborne long range acoustic system utilizes ship as the platform. It can broadcast at long range and drive out people at close quarters. For the system,it is important to analyze the distance of broadcasting and driving out. In allusion to mission's require of the shipborne long range acoustic system,the minimum sound pressure level for effective voice broadcasting and driving out is established. On the basis of these research results,the method for the technical indexes such as maximum at 1 meter and maximum power of the system is established,which is very important for the system design.
T-bet promotes the accumulation of encephalitogenic Th17 cells in the CNS

T-bet enhances the encephalitogenicity of myelin-reactive CD4+ T cells, however its mechanism of action is unknown. In this study we show that T-bet confers a competitive advantage for the accumulation of IL-23 conditioned Th17 effector cells in the central nervous system (CNS). Impaired migration of T-bet deficient Th17 cells to the CNS is associated with altered expression of adhesion molecules and chemokine receptors on their cell surface. Our data suggest that therapeutic targeting of T-bet in individuals with Th17-mediated autoimmune demyelinating disease may inhibit inflammatory infiltration of the CNS and, hence, clinical exacerbations.
[Study on the epidemiological characteristics and incidence trend of scarlet fever in Shanghai, 2005-2012]

Objective To systemically analyze the epidemiological characteristics,molecular markers of circulating group A Streptococcus (GAS) isolates and the incidence trend of scarlet fever in Shanghai from 2005 to 2012 as well as to explore the practice of GAS isolates surveillance program and the combined mathematical model in the early warning of scarlet fever.Methods The morbidity series of scarlet fever were retrieved to analyze and fit the combined mathematical model which comprised an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model and a neural network.GAS isolates surveillances programs were implemented on community healthy population,using the emm typing and superantigens detecting method in Shanghai during the epidemic period of scarlet fever in 2008,2010 and 2012.The standardized prevalence of GAS isolates was estimated with the demographic data.Results From 2005 to 2012,there were a total of 9410 scarlet fever cases reported in Shanghai including local registered residents and immigrant population,showing that the distribution of patients as sporadic.The morbidity kept rising with seasonal and periodical variations and the peak was in 2011.The average morbidity was 6.012 per 100 000 persons.Morbidity in the the suburban was significantly higher than that in the urban areas.Children at 4 to 8 years old were easy to be involved.The mean error rate of single ARIMA model,ARIMA-GRNN and back propagation artificial neural network combined model were 0.268,0.432 and 0.131 respectively.The predicted incidence of scarlet fever in 2013 would keep fluctuating within a narrow range from 0.446 to 3.467 per 100 000 persons.A total number of 4409 throat swab samples were collected through the GAS isolates surveillance programs in 2008,2010 and 2012.The standardized prevalence of GAS isolates in each year were 0.000％,0.000％ and 1.092％.18 GAS isolates were identified and 15 isolates (83.33％) belonged to emm 12.0.Conclusion The morbidity of scarlet fever would continue to maintain an upward trend in Shanghai and the techniques used in GAS isolates surveillance program and in the combined mathematical model could be applied for the early warning system on scarlet fever. Key words: Scarlet fever; Group A Streptococcus; Epidemic characteristics; Combined mathematical model