cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Tribute to Erika M. Plisetskaya: New Insights on the Function and Evolution of Gastroenteropancreatic Hormones. Introduction to the Symposium 1

Since the discovery of the first hormone, secretin, from the gastrointestinal tract by Bayliss and Starling in 1902, our knowledge of chemical mediators produced by the gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) system has grown considerably. The emergence of each new experimental approach ushered in a wave of new information. The latest developments in molecular biological approaches have and will continue to provide many important insights into hormone biology. Today, we know that the GEP cell feature of amine precursor uptake and decarboxylation (APUD) is shared by many other cell types (Norris, 1997); in fact, hormones secreted by the GEP also are secreted by cells of the nervous system, leading to the notion of a “brain-gut” distribution of hormones that makes the distinction between the endocrine system and nervous system no longer tenable (Thorndyke and Falkmer, 1985). We also now know that many GEP/neural hormones exist in a variety of molecular forms, sometimes co-localized with other factors, that modulate a vast array of functions in target cells that may be either distant or near to the site of secretion (see Holmgren, 1989). It is indeed interesting that the GEP system, the system that gave us the term “hormone” (Starling, 1905), now forces us to re-examine what a hormone is. This symposium was designed to advance such a re-examination by bringing together GEP researchers whose recent work has provided new information on several critical issues that face hormone biology; among this information includes insights into the following topics: 1) origins of hormones, 2) hormone biosynthesis—from gene to bioactive peptide, 3) hormone structure-function relationships, and 4) ligand-receptor interactions. The comparative approaches employed by the participants uniquely posture this symposium to provide an integrated, up-to-date view about the evolution of the GEP system in animals. This symposium was held in honor of Dr. Erika M. Plisetskaya. …
Cytosolic tyrosine dephosphorylation of STAT5. Potential role of SHP-2 in STAT5 regulation.

STAT5, a member of the signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs), is important in modulating T cell functions through interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptors. Like other STAT proteins, STAT5 undergoes a rapid activation and inactivation cycle upon cytokine stimulation. Tyrosine phosphorylation and dephosphorylation are critical in regulating STAT5 activity. A number of protein tyrosine kinases have been shown to phosphorylate STAT5; however, the phosphatases responsible for STAT5 dephosphorylation remain unidentified. Using CTLL-20 as a model system, we provide evidence that tyrosine dephosphorylation of STAT5 subsequent to IL-2-induced phosphorylation occurs in the absence of STAT5 nuclear translocation and new protein synthesis. Nevertheless, down-regulation of the upstream Janus kinase activity during the deactivation cycle of IL-2-induced signaling does involve new protein synthesis. These findings point to the constitutive presence of STAT5 tyrosine phosphatase activity in the cytosolic compartment. We further demonstrate that SHP-2, but not SHP-1, directly dephosphorylates STAT5 in an in vitro tyrosine phosphatase assay with purified proteins. Furthermore, tyrosine-phosphorylated STAT5 associates with the substrate-trapping mutant (Cys → Ser) of SHP-2 but not SHP-1. These results suggest a potential role for cytoplasmic protein-tyrosine phosphatases in directly dephosphorylating STAT proteins and in maintaining a basal steady state level of STAT activity.
Risk of birth defects among children conceived with assisted reproductive technology: providing an epidemiologic context to the data

Studies of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and birth defects must be scrutinized and appropriately interpreted in the context of their limitations. The recent findings reported by Klemetti et al. are compelling, given the study's many strengths, and add to the accumulating evidence suggestive of an association between ART and birth defects.
Identifying Potential Applications for Lamina Emergent Mechanisms Using Technology Push Product Development

The maturation of lamina emergent mechanism (LEM) technology allows for incorporation into new products. LEMs are defined by three basic, functional characteristics: they (1) are compliant; (2) are fabricated from planar materials; and (3) emerge from a flat initial state. The associated advantages, design challenges, and design tools of each of these characteristics are described. A discussion of opportunities for LEMs that are enabled by the advantages of the functional characteristics is also included. Technology push product development processes were employed in a LEM workshop where seventeen industry professionals helped identify over 200 potential applications for the technology. The most promising ideas are described for disposable LEMs, novel arrays of LEMs, scaled LEMs, LEMs with surprising motion, shock absorbing LEMs, and deployable LEMs.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Synaptic channel gating differences at snake twitch and slow neuromuscular junctions

Two readily distinguishable skeletal muscle fibre types are found in the muscles of lower vertebrates, including amphibians, birds, fishes and reptiles1: twitch and slow fibres. In response to membrane depolarisation the twitch fibre contracts briefly, whereas the slow fibre can develop and maintain tension for long periods. The slow fibres each have several endplates which differ anatomically from the twitch fibre's single endplate1,2 and may have a direct role in the maintained contractile behaviour. We report here studies of the synaptic conductance change mediated by acetylcholine (ACh, the natural chemical agonist) in these fibres and document a difference in the voltage dependence of endplate channel lifetime which correlates with muscle type. This difference may be mediated by an altered expression of the gating mechanism of the synaptic channel.
Bioinformatic Tools for Inferring Functional Information from Plant Microarray Data II: Analysis Beyond Single Gene

While it is possible to interpret microarray experiments a single gene at a time, most studies generate long lists of differentially expressed genes whose interpretation requires the integration of prior biological knowledge. This prior knowledge is stored in various public and private databases and covers several aspects of gene function and biological information. In this review, we will describe the tools and places where to find prior accurate biological information and how to process and incorporate them to interpret microarray data analyses. Here, we highlight selected tools and resources for gene class level ontology analysis (Section 2), gene coexpression analysis (Section 3), gene network analysis (Section 4), biological pathway analysis (Section 5), analysis of transcriptional regulation (Section 6), and omics data integration (Section 7). The overall goal of this review is to provide researchers with tools and information to facilitate the interpretation of microarray data.
Resonance due to a local spin rotator in high-energy accelerators.

A method of solving the spin equation in a large circular accelerator with a local spin rotator ("snake") is proposed and compared with a numerical simulation of the spin tracking. We found that (1) the envelope function of the snake structure plays an important role in the spin restoration in passing through the resonance, and (2) a new type of spin depolarization resonance, called snake resonance, appears.
Enforcing model network citizenship by remote administration

Higher education institutions have been striving to improve services and keep pace with new technologies. In a Higher education environment, the users utilize the available computing resources 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Although we cannot have the 24 by 7 uptime guaranteed, due to issues like budget constraints, we could certainly reduce the downtime by deploying a cost effective open source network monitoring solution such as Big Brother. Commercially available network management systems are complex and expensive systems with a steep learning curve associated with them. Network management systems are popular in organizations that maintain large and complex networks. Therefore, we enhanced Big Brother solution by extending its service to support SNMP based devices.
Ocular motor behavior of children with neurofibromatosis 1.

Patients with neurofibromatosis 1 show neurocognitive deficits including abnormal visuospatial performance, but oculomotor behavior has not been studied. We recorded saccades in neurofibromatosis 1 and normal children, ages 6 to 12 years. Patients showed increased latency and diminished amplitude to more eccentric targets for both visually guided and memory-guided saccades. Subtracting the latencies of visually guided saccades from memory-guided saccades produced no differences between groups. For predictive saccades (0.5 Hz), patients with neurofibromatosis 1 generated fewer anticipatory saccades than normal subjects, but patients with neurofibromatosis 1 made more direction errors in an antisaccade task. Patients with neurofibromatosis 1 show saccade abnormalities that are not easily ascribed to dysfunction within single cortical areas. Rather, the findings likely reflect (1) partial involvement of different components of a widely distributed cerebral network that controls saccades, (2) impaired visuomo...
An in vitro biomechanical comparison of an interlocking nail system and dynamic compression plate fixation of ostectomized equine third metacarpal bones.

Objective To compare the mechanical properties of two stabilization methods for ostectomized equine third metacarpi (MC3): (1) an interlocking nail system and (2) two dynamic compression plates. Animal or Sample Population Ten pairs of adult equine forelimbs intact from the midradius distally. Methods Ten pairs of equine MC3 were divided into two test groups (five pairs each): caudocranial four-point bending and torsion. Interlocking nails (6 hole, 13-mm diameter, 230-mm length) were placed in one randomly selected bone from each pair. Two dynamic compression plates one dorsally (12 hole, 4.5-mm broad) and one laterally (10 hole, 4.5-mm broad) were attached to the contralateral bone from each pair. All bones had 1 cm mid-diaphyseal ostectomies. Five construct pairs were tested in caudocranial four-point bending to determine stiffness and failure properties. The remaining five construct pairs were tested in torsion to determine torsional stiffness and yield load. Mean values for each fixation method were compared using a paired t-test within each group. Significance was set at P < .05. Results Mean (±SEM) values for the MC3-interlocking nail composite and the MC3-double plate composite, respectively, in four-point bending were: composite rigidity, 3,454 ± 407.6 Nm/rad and 3,831 ± 436.5 Nm/rad; yield bending moment, 276.4 ± 40.17 Nm and 433.75 ± 83.99 Nm; failure bending moment, 526.3 ± 105.9 Nm and 636.2 ± 27.77 Nm. There was no significant difference in the biomechanical values for bending between the two fixation methods. In torsion, mean (±SEM) values for the MC3-interlocking nail composite and the MC3-double plate composite were: composite rigidity, 124.1 ± 16.61 Nm/rad and 262.4 ± 30.51 Nm/rad; gap stiffness, 222.3 ± 47.32 Nm/rad and 1,557 ± 320.9 Nm/rad; yield load, 94.77 ± 7.822 Nm and 130.66 ± 20.27 Nm, respectively. Composite rigidity, gap stiffness, and yield load for double plate fixation were significantly higher compared with interlocking nail fixation in torsion. Conclusions No significant differences in biomechanical properties were identified between an interlocking nail and double plating techniques for stablilization of ostectomized equine MC3 in caudocranial four-point bending. Double plating fixation was superior to interlocking nail fixation in torsion. Clinical Relevance Double plate fixation is biomechanically superior to interlocking nail fixation in vitro in ostectomized equine MC3 bones.
Modular reasoning in the presence of subclassing

Considerable progress has been made in understanding how to use subtyping in a way that facilitates modular reasoning. However, using subclassing in a way that facilitates modular reasoning is not well understood. Often methods must be overriden as a group because of dependencies on instance variables, and the programmers of subclasses cannot tell which methods are grouped without looking at the code of superclasses. Also, the programmers of subclasses must look at the code of superclasses to tell what assumptions inherited methods make about the behavior of overriden methods.We present a systematic way to use subclassing that facilitates formal and informal modular reasoning. Separate specifications are given to programmers writing code that manipulates instances of a class and to programmers writing subclasses of the class. The specifications given to programmers of subclasses are divided, by division of labor specifications, into multiple parts. Subclasses may inherit or override entire parts, but not sub-parts. Reasoning about the implementation of each part is done independently of other parts.
Role of consumers' environmental views on purchases at wineries

The purpose of this research is to explore how winery consumers' sustainability attitudes and subjective norms influence their intentions to purchase wines from wineries which have adopted an environmental management program. We collected data in the naturalistic setting of winery tasting rooms. The wineries we researched receive a large number of visitors and a significant portion of total sales volume results from direct sales to consumers in their tasting rooms. Our findings indicate that both sustainability attitudes and subjective norms are significant predictors of intentions explaining over half of the variation in behavioral intentions to purchase wine from a winery participating in an environmental management program. In addition, environmental organization members were found to have higher levels of these antecedents to behavioral intentions and were more interested in receiving information about the environmental activities of wine producers.
Clinically meaningful biomarkers for psychosis: a systematic and quantitative review.

Despite five decades of search for clinically meaningful ‘biomarkers’ in schizophrenia there are still no common tests to inform diagnosis or treatment. Our aim was to understand why it has been so difficult to convert biological findings into clinical tests. We categorized all PubMed-indexed articles investigating psychosis-related biomarkers to date (over 3200). Studies showed an evident publication bias, a confusing array of terminology, and few systematic efforts at longitudinal evaluation or external validation. Fewer than 200 studies investigated biomarkers, longitudinally, for prediction of illness course and treatment response. These biomarkers were then evaluated in terms of their statistical reliability and clinical effect size. Only one passed our a priori threshold for clinical applicability. This is a modest record. In order to promote real progress, the field needs: (a) consistent use of terminology so that studies can be compared; (b) a system of standardized universal reporting to overcome the existing publication bias; and (c) practical criteria [a prototype is suggested here] for assessing the clinical applicability of the findings.
Atom-probe FIM studies of vanadium, rhenium, and a copper-beryllium alloy†‡

The atom-probe field ion microscope reveals the interaction of the imaging gas with the surface by field-induced adsorption and by the effect on field evaporation. An advanced design of an atom-probe FIM is described. As the image gas interaction is chemically specific, experimental facts must be collected for the variety of metals of interest to field ion microscopy. The multiplicity of charge of field evaporating metals is found to be 2 and less frequently 3 for V, 2, mostly 3, and sometimes 4 for Re, and 1 or 2 for Cu and Be. Neon and argon both desorb with single and double charges. A Cu—Be alloy also shows multiply charged CuBe2 molecule ions. Das Atom-Sonden-Feldionenmikroskop zeigt die Reaktion des Abbildungsgases mit der Oberflache durch feldbedingte Adsorption und den Einflus auf die Feldverdampfung. Eine verbesserte Konstruktion eines Atom-Sonden-Mikroskopes wird beschrieben. Da die Bildgasreaktion chemisch spezifisch ist, mussen experimentelle Erfahrungen fur alle Metalle gesammelt werden, die fur die Feldionenmikroskopie von Interesse sind. Die Ladung von feldverdampfenden Ionen von V ist 2 und seltener 3, von Re 2, meistens 3 und gelegentlich 4, und 1 und 2 fur Cu und Be. Neon und Argon desorbieren mit einfacher und zweifacher Ladung. Eine Cu—Be Legierung zeigt auch mehrfach geladene CuBe2-Molekulionen.
Integrating digital teaching-file systems with off-the-shelf presentation software to facilitate speaker-led conferences

Objective: Develop methods for automated transfer of images and associated text from a teaching-file repository into presentation material for speaker-led conferences.erials/Methods:Our institution uses a Microsoft Windows (Microsoft Corp, Redmond, WA) software application to maintain a digital teaching-file database that can store and retrieve content in a case-centric fashion. Virtually any number of images can be stored with any given case. Cases and their associated images can be retrieved via a module that supports searches by American College of Radiology (ACR) code and by free-text Boolean queries on the history, findings, diagnosis, and discussion components of a case. In addition to the software system serving directly as an interactive teaching tool, the digital teaching file itself serves as an image repository and resource for attending radiologists who create their own presentations and lectures. To better support this use, software modules were developed for interprocess communication and automated creation of Powerpoint slides. These modules are fully integrated with the teaching-file software application. A single image or a set of selected images can be automatically made into individual slides with two mouse clicks. Images are automatically centered and optimally sized. A slide title is automatically rendered from the user’s preference of the case history or diagnosis (stored with the case), or via the entry of freeform text. We describe the programming techniques that are used, as well as how several features of the operating system and Powerpoint itself can be integrated with a customized software application to facilitate this objective.Results: The creation of presentation-ready Powerpoint slides is fully automated from within our teaching-file application, and the time required to create a presentation compared to the conventional method of manually seeking and inserting files from within Powerpoint itself, on a per-slide basis, is drastically reduced. The benefits are magnified by having all imagery stored within an organized and searchable database system so that desired images can be easily located.Conclusion: A digital teaching-file system can serve as a useful image repository for purposes ancillary to direct computerized instruction. Software that supports these uses, such as the automated creation of presentation material for speaker-led conferences, facilitates the radiologist’s role as an educator.
Ultra-high velocity impacts: cratering studies of microscopic impacts from 3 km/s to 30 km/s

Abstract Cratering experiments performed under carefully controlled conditions at impact velocities ranging from 3 km/s to 30 km/s into a wide variety of target materials are presented. These impact experiments use the 6 MV vertical Van de Graaff accelerator of the Ion Beam Facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory to electrostatically accelerate highly charged iron micro-spheres. The sub-micron spheres, from a random size distribution, are shocklessly accelerated along an 8 m flight path. Ultra-sensitive charge detectors monitor the passage of the projectiles at a rate of up to 100 projectiles/second. An online computer records and displays in real time the charge, velocity and mass of the projectiles and provides cross correlation between the events observed by the several in-flight charge detectors and impact detectors. Real-time logic controls an electrostatic kicker which deflects projectiles of selected charge and velocity onto the target. Thus each experiment consists of an ensemble of 10 to 40 impacts onto a single target within a narrow window of the projectile parameter space, providing excellent statistical resolution of each data point. The target materials used include single crystal copper and single crystal aluminum, gold, and quartz as well as pyrolytic graphic and anoxy used in composite materials of interest to space applications. We also conducted impact experiments onto thin Mylar and nickel foils. This paper presents these experiments and summarizes the cratering characterization performed to date. Emphasis is placed on cratering results in several materials over a range of impact velocities.
Surface organometallic chemistry : formation of [Ir8(CO)22]2- on magnesium oxide

Abstract A sample prepared by adsorption of [Ir4(CO)12] on MgO powder was treated in CO at 100°C and 1 atm, whereupon the surface species was converted to [Ir8(CO)22]2− in high yield. The surface-bound cluster anion was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, and it could be extracted into solution by cation metathesis. The chemistry of the iridium carbonyls on the basic MgO surface in the absence of solvents is similar to the chemistry of the iridium carbonyls in basic solutions. The surface chemistry is an alternative method for preparation of [Ir8(CO)22]2−.
Integrated laser/phototransistor optoelectronic switching device by organometallic vapour phase epitaxy

Computer-controlled organometallic vapour phase epitaxy has been used to optimise AlGaAs/GaAs quantum well lasers and bipolar phototransistors separately. Here the two structures are combined In a single growth to realise a high-performance two-terminal optoelectronic switch. DC I/V characteristics are typical of an npnp structure; however, the feedback mechanism is optical rather than electronic. Threshold switching voltage is determined by the optical input in the range 1.3–23 V and sensitivity is 2.5 V/μW. Output is both optical (laser) and electrical current. Gain is provided by the phototransistor and optical feedback and exceeds 104. Switching speed is determined to be less than 1 ns.
Essential fatty acid dietary addition in hereditary neuropathy

A 10-20% decrease in the proportion of linoleic acid in serum and peripheral nerve myelin, described in the demyelinating hereditary neuropathy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), 9''° led to the dietary addition of oil of evening primrose seed (EFAMOL) for one year in 20 CMT patients. We hoped to restore this and other fatty acids to normal, and, in addition, possibly to augment remyelination of CMT peripheral nerves and to increase their functional ability. 2 Although specific enzyme defects have not been identified in this disease group, 6 variable decreases in the activity of the enzyme, phosphatidylcholine acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.43; LCAT), appear to be common in inherited neuropathies, t° Although it has been considered that biosynthesis of new membranes and myelin regeneration may reduce the serum linoleate pool, '° the basic biochemical mechanism in these demyelinating diseases has not been characterized.
The search for the lost graves of the Chinese miners in Hailey, Idaho, USA

Thousands of Chinese immigrants traveled to Idaho, USA during the gold mining boom in the latter half of the 19th century. In the former mining town of Hailey, a separate section of the cemetery was established to accommodate Chinese laborers. In the 1930's, a fire destroyed the wooden grave markers in the Chinese section of the cemetery. As part of an effort to establish a memorial recognizing the contributions of these workers, a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey was commissioned in 2009 to identify the graves so that permanent markers could be placed. Interpretation of the pseudo-3D GPR survey identified 120 unmarked graves in the Chinese section of the cemetery. Efforts are currently underway to place markers on these gravesites and to raise funds for a permanent memorial to the Chinese laborers.
Uncertainty factors in screening ecological risk assessments

The hazard quotient (HQ) method is commonly used in screening ecological risk assessments (ERAs) to estimate risk to wildlife at contaminated sites. Many ERAs use uncertainty factors (UFs) in the HQ calculation to incorporate uncertainty associated with predicting wildlife responses to contaminant exposure using laboratory toxicity data. The overall objective was to evaluate the current UF methodology as applied to screening ERAs in California, USA. Specific objectives included characterizing current UF methodology, evaluating the degree of conservatism in UFs as applied, and identifying limitations to the current approach. Twenty-four of 29 evaluated ERAs used the HQ approach; 23 of these used UFs in the HQ calculation. All 24 made interspecies extrapolations, and 21 compensated for its uncertainty, most using allometric adjustments and some using UFs. Most also incorporated uncertainty for same-species extrapolations. Twenty-one ERAs used UFs extrapolating from lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) to no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL), and 18 used UFs extrapolating from subchronic to chronic exposure. Values and application of all UF types were inconsistent. Maximum cumulative UFs ranged from 10 to 3,000. Results suggest UF methodology is widely used but inconsistently applied and is not uniformly conservative relative to UFs recommended in regulatory guidelines and academic literature. The method is limited by lack of consensus among scientists, regulators, and practitioners about magnitudes, types, and conceptual underpinnings of the UF methodology.
The transition to gender dimorphism on an evolutionary background of self-incompatibility: an example from Lycium (Solanaceae)

Populations of three North American species of Lycium (Solanaceae) are morphologically gynodioecious and consist of male-sterile (i.e., female) and hermaphroditic plants. Marked individuals were consistent in sexual expression across years and male sterility was present throughout much of the species' ranges. Controlled pollinations reveal that L. californicum, L. exsertum, and L. fremontii are functionally dioecious. Fruit production in females ranged from 36 to 63%, whereas hermaphrodites functioned essentially as males. Though hermaphrodites were mostly male, investigation of pollen tube growth reveals that hermaphrodites of all dimorphic species were self-compatible. Self-fertilization and consequent inbreeding depression are commonly invoked as important selective forces promoting the invasion of male-sterile mutants into cosexual populations. A corollary prediction of these models is that gender dimorphism evolves from self-compatible ancestors. However, fruit production, seed production, and pollen tube number following outcross pollination were significantly higher than following self-pollination for three diploid, cosexual species that are closely related to the dimorphic species. The data presented here on incompatibility systems are consistent with the hypothesis that polyploidy disrupted the self-incompatibility system in the gynodioecious species leading to the evolution of gender dimorphism.
Mechanisms of oxygen sensing: a key to therapy of pulmonary hypertension and patent ductus arteriosus

Specialized tissues that sense acute changes in the local oxygen tension include type 1 cells of the carotid body, neuroepithelial bodies in the lungs, and smooth muscle cells of the resistance pulmonary arteries and the ductus arteriosus (DA). Hypoxia inhibits outward potassium current in carotid body type 1 cells, leading to depolarization and calcium entry through L-type calcium channels. Increased intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca+ +]i) leads to exocytosis of neurotransmitters, thus stimulating the carotid sinus nerve and respiration. The same K+ channel inhibition occurs with hypoxia in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), causing contraction and providing part of the mechanism of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV). In the SMCs of the DA, the mechanism works in reverse. It is the shift from hypoxia to normoxia that inhibits K+ channels and causes normoxic ductal contraction. In both PA and DA, the contraction is augmented by release of Ca+ + from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, entry of Ca+ + through store-operated channels (SOC) and by Ca+ + sensitization. The same three 'executive' mechanisms are partly responsible for idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH). While vasoconstrictor mediators constrict both PA and DA and vasodilators dilate both vessels, only redox changes mimic oxygen by having directly opposite effects on the K+ channels, membrane potential, [Ca(++)]i and tone in the PA and DA. There are several different hypotheses as to how redox might alter tone, which remain to be resolved. However, understanding the mechanism will facilitate drug development for pulmonary hypertension and patent DA.
Discovering the Impact of Community Policing: The Broken Windows Thesis, Collective Efficacy, and Citizens’ Judgment

The main purpose of the present study is to demonstrate the structure, mechanisms, and efficacy of community policing and its impact on perceived disorder, crime, quality of life in the community, citizens’ fear, and satisfaction with the police. It compares traditional and community policing paradigms on three dimensions: goal, measurement of outcome, and approach to crime. It concludes that community policing has a comprehensive, community-oriented goal, targets both disorder and crime, and emphasizes both organizational and community measures in police evaluation. It also addresses the criticisms of community policing and tests the heatedly debated relationships concerning community policing, disorder, crime, citizen’s fear, and collective efficacy. The major findings of the study include (1) Harcourt’s falsification of Skogan’s findings is invalid because of the methodological flaws, and therefore does not negate the disorder-crime nexus; (2) Sampson and Raudenbush unintentionally demonstrate, through...
Mobile Robot Localization from Large Scale Appearance Mosaics

A new practical, high-performance mobile robot localization technique is described that is motivated by the fact that many man-made environments contain substantially flat, visually textured surfaces of persistent appearance. While the tracking of image regions is much studied in computer vision, appearance is still a largely unexploited localization resource in commercially relevant applications. We show how prior appearance models can be used to enable highly repeatable mobile robot guidance that, unlike commercial alternatives, is both infrastructure-free and free-ranging. Very large-scale mosaics are constructed and used to localize a mobile robot operating in the modeled environment. Straightforward techniques from vision-based localization and mosaicking are used to produce a field-relevant AGV guidance system based only on vision and odometry. The feasibility, design, implementation, and precommercial field qualification of such a guidance system are described.
N-to-2-space mapping for visualization of search algorithm performance

Visualization of a search process can be an effective way to verify the performance of a search algorithm, especially in terms of its coverage of the search space and behavior near local optima. Planar and 3D surface graphs provide the best intuition, e.g., for highlighting "nearest neighbor" solutions. However, they cannot be directly applied to most search and optimization problems because of the high dimensionality of the search space. Building on insights from space-filling curves and their application for combinatorial optimization problems, This work presents a technique for mapping the solution space of hundred-variable combinatorial optimization problems into two-dimensions. Experimental results for electronics assembly optimization are presented as an example of this technique. Mathematical properties of the proposed N-to-2-space transformation are discussed, and several sample visualizations are presented.
Automatic generation of rule-based software configuration management systems

We propose a model-driven methodology and toolset for automatic SCM system repository creation and feature composition using code generation and rule engine technologies. Software configuration management (SCM) systems provide control over the evolution of complex software systems.
Development of receptors for insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I in head and brain of chick embryos: autoradiographic localization.

In whole brain of chick embryos insulin receptors are highest at the end of embryonic development, while insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) receptors dominate in the early stages. These studies provided evidence for developmental regulation of both types of receptors, but they did not provide information on possible differences between brain regions at each developmental stage or within one region at different embryonic ages. We have now localized the specific binding of [125I]insulin and [125I]IGF-I in sections of head and brain using autoradiography and computer-assisted densitometric analysis. Embryos have been studied from the latter part of organogenesis (days 6 and 12) through late development (day 18, i.e. 3 days before hatching), and the binding patterns have been compared with those in the adult brain. At all ages the binding of both ligands was to discrete anatomical regions. Interestingly, while in late embryos and adult brain the patterns of [125I]insulin and [125I] IGF-I binding were quite distinct, in young embryos both ligands showed very similar localization of binding. In young embryos the retina and lateral wall of the growing encephalic vesicles had the highest binding of both [125I]insulin and [125I]IGF-I. In older embryos, as in the adult brain, insulin binding was high in the paleostriatum augmentatum and molecular layer of the cerebellum, while IGF-I binding was prominent in the hippocampus and neostriatum. The mapping of receptors in a vertebrate embryo model from early prenatal development until adulthood predicts great overlap in any possible function of insulin and IGF-I in brain development, while it anticipates differential localized actions of the peptides in the mature brain.
Presentation of the 2008 Morris F. Collen Award to Robert A. Greenes.

The American College of Medical Informatics is an honorary society established to recognize those who have made sustained contributions to the field. Its highest award, for lifetime achievement and contributions to the discipline now known more inclusively as biomedical informatics, is the Morris F Collen Award. Dr. Collen's own efforts as a pioneer in the field stand as the embodiment of creativity, intellectual rigor, perseverance, and personal integrity. At most once a year, the College gives its highest recognition to an individual whose attainments have, throughout a career, substantially advanced the science and art of biomedical informatics. In 2008, the College was proud to present the Collen Award to Robert A. Greenes, MD, PhD (Figure 1). ‘Bob’ Greenes, who like Dr. Collen himself was one of the pioneers in biomedical informatics, has had multiple achievements as a physician, computer scientist, researcher, educator, and eloquent spokesperson for the field. His career contributions make him most deserving of the recognition embodied in the Collen Award. Figure 1 Robert A. Greenes, M.D., PhD 2008 Collen Award Recipient. Bob was born on June 17, 1940 in Cleveland, OH. His parents owned a hardware store in the Polish neighborhood where he and his sister grew up. Upon graduation from Cleveland Heights High School, Bob did undergraduate work at the University of Michigan, where he majored in zoology and took a course in computing (Fig 2). He entered Harvard Medical School …
Vitamin A Regulates Genes Involved in Hepatic Gluconeogenesis in Mice: Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase, Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and 6-Phosphofructo-2-kinase/Fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase

We examined the effects of vitamin A deficiency and all-trans retinoic acid (RA) supplementation on regulation of three important genes in hepatic gluconeogenesis: the genes for phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (Fru-1,6-P2ase) and 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase (6-PF-2-K/Fru-2,6-P2ase). Mice were made vitamin A deficient in the second generation by initiating a vitamin A-deficient diet on d 10 of gestation. At 7 wk of age, vitamin A-deficient mice were treated with all-trans RA or vehicle alone and killed for RNA analysis. In liver, vitamin A deficiency resulted in PEPCK mRNA levels that were 74% lower and 6-PF-2-K/Fru-2,6-P2ase mRNA levels that were 42% lower than the respective mRNA measured in control mice. The Fru-1,6-P2ase mRNA abundance was not affected by vitamin A deficiency. The decrease in hepatic PEPCK and 6-PF-2-K/Fru-2,6-P2ase mRNA levels was reversed by treatment with all-trans RA within 3 h of administration. In mice fed the control diet, food deprivation for 15 h resulted in PEPCK mRNA levels that were 3.5-fold higher, Fru-1,6-P2ase mRNA levels that were 2-fold higher, and 6-PF-2-K/Fru-2,6-P2ase mRNA levels that were 3.4-fold higher than in fed mice. Vitamin A-deficient mice did not respond to food deprivation with induced PEPCK mRNA levels, whereas 6-PF-2-K/Fru-2,6-P2ase and Fru-1,6-P2ase mRNA levels were induced. The pattern of 6-PF-2-K/Fru-2,6-P2ase mRNA abundance with vitamin A deficiency and food deprivation was complex and different from that for either PEPCK or Fru-1,6-P2ase transcripts. The cAMP-responsiveness of the PEPCK gene in vitamin A-deficient mice was tested. Vitamin A deficiency caused a significant reduction in cAMP stimulation of PEPCK mRNA levels in liver. These results in the whole animal indicate that vitamin A regulation of the hepatic PEPCK gene is physiologically important; without adequate vitamin A nutriture, stimulation of the PEPCK gene by food deprivation or cAMP treatment is inhibited in the liver.
Micromachined low-mass RF front-end for beam steering radar

Sensors for autonomous small robotic platforms must be low mass, compact size and low power due to the limited space. For such applications, as the dimensions of the structures shrink, standard machining methods are not suitable because of low fabrication tolerances and high cost in assembly. Commonly, the structures show a high degree of fabrication complexity due to error in alignment, air gaps between conductive parts, poor metal contact, inaccuracy in patterning because of non-contact lithography, complex assemblies of various parts, and high number of steps needed for construction. However, micromachining offers high fabrication precision, provides easy fabrication and integration with active devices and hence is suitable for manufacturing high MMW and submillimeter-wave frequency structures. A radar design compatible with micromachining process is developed to fabricate a Y-band high resolution radar structure with a slot-fed patch array antenna. A multi-step silicon DRIE process is developed for the fabrication of the waveguide structure while the slots are suspended on a thin oxide/nitride/oxide membrane to form the top cover of the waveguide trenches and the patch elements are suspended on a thin Parylene membrane. Gold thermocompression bonding and Parylene bonding are used to assemble different parts of the antenna. These processes result in a compact (4.5 cm × 3.5 cm × 1.5 mm) and light-weight (5 g) radar.
Validity of scales measuring the psychosocial determinants of HIV/STD-related risk behavior in adolescents

We examined the content, construct and concurrent validity of scales to assess beliefs and self-efficacy related to adolescents’ sexual risk behavior. We addressed content validity in the scale development process by drawing on literature and theory, and by pre-testing items with focus groups. We used confirmatory factor analysis of two models, an intercourse involvement model and a condom use model, to assess construct validity. The final intercourse involvement model included three scales: norms about sexual intercourse, attitudes about sexual intercourse and self-efficacy in refusing sex. The final condom use model included five scales: norms about condoms, attitudes about condom use, self-efficacy in communicating about condoms, self-efficacy in buying/using condoms and barriers to condom use. After two alterations to the models, the c 2 and other indices indicated that the data fit the models well. Supporting the concurrent validity of the scales, high school students who had never had sexual intercourse had more negative attitudes toward sexual intercourse among teenagers, perceived norms toward sexual intercourse among teenagers to be more negative and expressed greater selfefficacy in refusing sex than did those who had experienced sexual intercourse. Consistent condom users had more positive attitudes and
Friendship and the Cultivation of Religious Sensibilities

In recent years, some scholars have argued that our field’s focus on society, discourse, and bodily practice has been insufficiently attentive to the power that personal relationships exert on the shaping of religious selves. Inspired by their insights, this article argues for the importance of friendship in understanding the cultivation of religious sensibilities. I also offer a further elaboration of how we came to sideline realms of personal intimacy in our approaches to religion. I then trace the bonds of friendship in my own area of research—a renewal movement in twentieth-century French Catholicism, or the renouveau catholique. There, friendship was the key to generating religious experience. But to analyze friendship, we must situate it within broader structures of discursive power, and it must include not only face-to-face bonds, but bonds that existed across a wide range of human experiences, including memory, dreams, fantasy, and imagination. The result is an intermediary category between the individual and society, and a richer understanding of the cultivation of religious sensibilities.
Predictability of Drifter Trajectories in the Tropical Pacific Ocean

Abstract Predictability of particle motion in the ocean over a timescale of one week is studied using three clusters of buoys consisting of 5–10 drifters deployed in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The analysis is conducted by using three techniques with increasing complexity: the center of mass of the cluster, advection by climatological currents, and a new technique that relies on the assimilation of both velocity and position data from the surrounding drifters into a Markov model for particle motion. A detailed mathematical description of the theory leading to this model is given. The predictability of drifter motion in these clusters is characterized using the data density Nd, defined as the number of drifters over an area scaled by the mean diameter of the cluster. The data density Nd decreases along the drifter trajectories due to the tendency of particles to disperse by turbulent fluid motion. In the first regime, which corresponds to the period after the release of drifters in a tight cluster when Nd ...
"Members’ Needs, Group Conflict, and Group Performance"

Focusing on “what people want in their groups” as a critical antecedent of conflict among them, the present research theorizes and empirically investigates the comprehensive relationship between wi...
Rigorous Link Between the Electrical and Mechanical Properties of Composite Materials

Cross-property relations that link rigorously the effective electrical conductivity (or dielectric constant) and the effective elastic moduli of two-phase, isotropic composite materials are discussed. The cross-property relations can be optimal in some cases, i.e., they are realized by particular microstructures. The relations are applied to specific two-phase composites as well as to cracked media.
Study on Demulsification and Repeated Using of Emulsion Liquid Membranes

An emulsion liquid membrane( ELM) process of Span80-TBP-NH3·H2O extract Nickel( Ⅱ) from waste water has been presented. The main purpose of this paper was to study on demulsification and repeated using of membrane phase. Ultrasonic demulsification,centrifugal demulsification,heating demulsification,and heating-centrifugal demulsification were used in our work. The result indicated that: by heating-centrifugal combined emulsion breaking,the emulsion breaking rate may reach 98%. Additionally,the membrane phase can be recovered,and the removing rate of Nickel( Ⅱ) was still up to 90% after being used for four times.
Clinical Significance of the Change of Serum Interleukin-8 and Interleukin-10 Level in Neonatal Hypoxic-ischemic Encephalopathy

Objective To study the change of serum interleukin8(IL-8)and interleukin-10(IL-10)level in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy(HIE).Methods The serum IL-8 and IL-10 were measured in 32 neonatal HIE with before and after treatment as case group and 24 neonatal without HIE as control group.Results Serum IL-8 and IL-10 level in the case group before treatment were high.There was no significant difference between the after-treatment case group and control group.Conclusion IL-8 and IL-10 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of neonatal HIE and be of value in our diagnosis and treatment.
Detection and analysis of cadmium content of common wild edible fungi from Yunnan province

Objective:To detect and analyze cadmium content of common wild edible fungi from Yunnan province,and provide data on the levels of cadmium content of wild edible fungi from Yunnan province.Methods:Collect common wild edible fungi species from fixed locations of different regions in Yunnan province,and then analysize their cadmium contents according to the standard method from GB/T 5009.15-2003 based on Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry.Results:172 samples of 36 fresh wild edible fungis were analyzed.The sample of Termitomyces clypeatus collected in Kunming exhibited the maximum content with 1.66 mg/kg.Among all sample,the cadmium contents of about 55.8% edible fungi samples are less than 0.2 mg/kg.Conclusion:The cadmium content of wild edible fungi in Yunnan is a little high.It maybe originate from the mental mineral in soil,or the increasingly aggravated environmental pollution.It still need further investigation to determine the specific reason.
The Problem of Allegiance

For the second time in less than a century a foreign prince had been translated to the English throne. In that sense only the events of 1603 provided a usable precedent for those of 1689. Despite the many misgivings about William’s right to be king, no one suggested that he was legally ineligible to receive the crown by virtue of his not being English. In every other way, however, William III’s accession confounded all that James I had sought to establish about the right to the throne of the next in blood. If the transition from Elizabeth to James had come to stand for the certainty of an indefeasible right of hereditary succession, the transition from James II to William and Mary left an immediate legacy of disagreement and confusion about the applicability, indeed the existence, of any rule at all. It seemed, therefore, that to extract a rule of succession from the recent Revolution would be impossible. Even to begin the effort meant ‘carrying men into such dark labyrinths of law and history, &c as very few know how to find their way out of again.’1 The result was that although England had a new king and queen, many people were not entirely sure why. A revolution that had been ostensibly begun in order to provide a free parliament had radically changed its course. When it was over, all that was certain was that James had gone from England and that William and Mary, now on the throne, had somehow taken his place.