cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effect of sterol structure upon clathrin-mediated and clathrin-independent endocytosis

Ordered lipid domains (rafts) in plasma membranes have been hypothesized to participate in endocytosis based on inhibition of endocytosis by removal or sequestration of cholesterol. To more carefully investigate the role of the sterol in endocytosis, we used a substitution strategy to replace cholesterol with sterols that show various raft-forming abilities and chemical structures. Both clathrin-mediated endocytosis of transferrin and clathrin-independent endocytosis of clustered placental alkaline phosphatase were measured. A subset of sterols reversibly inhibited both clathrin-dependent and clathrin-independent endocytosis. The ability of a sterol to support lipid raft formation was necessary for endocytosis. However, it was not sufficient, because a sterol lacking a 3β-OH group did not support endocytosis even though it had the ability to support ordered domain formation. Double bonds in the sterol rings and an aliphatic tail structure identical to that of cholesterol were neither necessary nor sufficient to support endocytosis. This study shows that substitution using a large number of sterols can define the role of sterol structure in cellular functions. Hypotheses for how sterol structure can similarly alter clathrin-dependent and clathrin-independent endocytosis are discussed.
Don't be short-sighted: cervical incompetence in a pregnant patient with acute appendicitis

Delay in diagnosis of cervical incompetence can be detrimental to the fetus. Up to 20-25% of miscarriages in the second trimester can be attributed to the incompetent cervix. Given the profound impact of cervical incompetence on obstetric outcomes, careful attention should be given to evaluation of the cervix on MRI studies in pregnant patients. We present a case of incompetent cervix diagnosed incidentally at the time of MRI performed to evaluate for acute appendicitis.
Dilemmas and hopes for human rights education: Curriculum and learning in international contexts

Human rights education (HRE), like the wider international human rights project, is a bold attempt to influence laws and state policies, while at the same time inspiring people to connect human rights to their everyday lives. In terms of incorporating HRE within the formal education sector, HRE is dependent upon the good will of state actors. To what extent are state actors deeply committed to HRE? As HRE is institutionalized within school and curriculum policies, is it able to retain its core emancipatory nature? As we examine the actual practice of HRE, we often see a gap between the theorists’ calling (back) for the emancipatory roots of HRE and the lived educational policies and practices of states and schools. This special issue explores this gap with examples from the Global South and Global North, reviewing recent theories, challenges, and solutions for enabling a transformative approach to HRE through and against the lens of state power.
Patterns in classroom facilitation for process oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL)

Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is an evidence-based instructional strategy used across Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. In POGIL, student teams work on classroom activities specifically designed to guide them to construct understanding of key concepts and to develop key process skills, with active facilitation by a teacher. A pattern language for POGIL should help the POGIL community to more easily create, review, and revise POGIL activities, and use them effectively in the classroom. A previous paper described POGIL, some advantages of using patterns with POGIL, and patterns for some of the structure and elements of POGIL activities, including models used in learning cycles. This paper describes nine patterns to help teachers organize teams, lead discussions, and guide students to learn and reflect. These patterns should help teachers to use POGIL more effectively, and to better understand elements of POGIL that can be adapted to other settings.
Capillary Electrophoresis of Short Tandem Repeat (STR) Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Products from a Commercial Multiplex Kit

Commercial multiplex kits capable of amplifying multiple DNA loci in a single tube reaction are essential to solving cases involving DNA evidence in crime labs. In a previous experiment, a selected commerical multiplex kit was used to amplify previously extracted DNA from buccal swabs and simulated evidence samples using the polymerase chain reaction following the manufacturer’s instructions. In this experiment, the allele profile of the amplified loci for the DNA-containing samples will be determined by separating the amplicons using capillary electrophoresis using a single or multiple capillary instrument. GeneMapperID or similar software will be used to make the allele calls and all calls will be verified. The amplified loci and allele ladder will be determined by the kit employed. The allele calls will be tabulated and reported for locus and each sample run.
Replying to a crisis: James Macpherson’s the rights of great britain asserted against the claims of America

The chaotic period of the American Revolution engaged many writers on both sides of the Atlantic arguing for and against the claims of the American colonists. One of the most popular and effective ...
Comparison between Single-file Rotary Systems: Part 1—Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Adverse Effects in Endodontic Retreatment

Abstract Introduction The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro the performance of 3 single-file systems: WaveOne Gold Primary (WOG; Dentsply Sirona, Ballaigues, Switzerland), Hyflex EDM “one file” (EDM; Coltene/Whaledent, Alstatten, Switzerland), and XP Shaper (XP; FKG, La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland), for nonsurgical endodontic retreatment on mandibular anterior teeth in regard to the amount of remaining filling material inside the canal, debris extrusion, and operation time. Methods Sixty extracted standardized mandibular incisors presenting with a single oval canal were prepared to size 30.04 and obturated using warm vertical condensation. After 30 days (37°C, 100% humidity), teeth were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 20) according to the file used for retreatment (WOG, EDM, or XP operated at 3000 rpm). During the retreatment procedures, preweighed vials were used to collect apically extruded debris, and the time required to remove the filling material was recorded in seconds. Cone-beam computed tomographic scans were taken before and after the retreatment to determine the amount of remaining filling material inside the root canal space. Statistical analysis was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, 1-way analysis of variance, and the Pearson test at a 5% significance level. Results There was a statistically significant difference among the groups regarding the instrumentation time (P .05). Conclusions XP was the most efficient in gutta-percha removal from the canals when operated at a higher speed (3000 rpm) followed by EDM and WOG.
Determining elastic modulus from dynamic mechanical analysis: A general model based on loss modulus data

Abstract Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) method is used to measure viscoelastic properties such as storage and loss moduli of materials. The present work is focused on developing a generalized model that allows transforming the storage and loss moduli obtained from DMA to time domain elastic modulus values. The model is capable of transforming the loss modulus data that may have multiple transition peaks in the test temperature range into elastic modulus over a wide range of temperatures and frequencies. In order to develop the model, the storage modulus is divided into frequency dependent and independent components, which are analyzed separately to build a general transform for strain rate sensitive and insensitive material properties. To test the accuracy of the model, the model is validated with experimental data obtained on ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA). The secant moduli obtained from tensile tests and loss modulus transform are compared and the average error is found to be 1.1% in the strain rate range of 10−6/s to 10−2/s, which provides validation for the model. The proposed method eliminates the need for conducting numerous tensile tests to obtain modulus over various temperatures and strain rates and replaces them with a single DMA experiment.
Foreign Currency Accounting

Foreign currency translation is used to convert the results of a parent company’s foreign subsidiaries to its reporting currency. This is a key step in the consolidation of financial statement. The functional currency in which a business reports its financial results should rarely change. A shift to a different functional currency should be used only when there is a significant change in the economic facts and circumstances.
Chapter 9 – Polymeric Biomaterials

Polymeric biomaterials encompass the most widespread usage of synthetic and hybrid materials being used in medicine today. The chapter presents general nomenclature about how polymers are classified, describes different synthetic protocols, and subtleties between different synthetic polymer repeat structures. Also presented are the general physical and mechanical properties of condensed polymers, and general areas of medicine where polymers of different structures have been proposed or used. The similarities between natural tissues, proteins, and polysaccharides and synthetic polymers with their long-chain architecture leads to the reasonable conclusion that synthetic polymers are better representations of natural tissue response compared with metals and ceramics, for example. It is also worth noting that the varying range of starting materials to yield polymers has led to a wide range of materials that could be ultimately deployed as elements in medical devices, and there have been efforts to identify ideal material characteristics in terms of blood coagulation capacity, platelet activation, bacterial attachment, etc., but at present, there are many different polymer structures that could be potentially used for a specific medical design. The reader is pointed to the extremely wide range of suture materials as examples. With sutures, any polymer that can be synthesized, extruded, draw, and braided has the potential to be a more valuable product than simply yarn. The capacity to synthesize and polymerize reactive monomers in situ through a range of chemistries has offered a much wider array of injectable polymers, some that are biodegradable, some that are permanently installed. It is the realm of radical chemistry in dentistry that has led to the production of dental sealants, other reactive resin bonding agents, etc. and the notion to deploy similar chemistry in other areas of medicine is very much of current interest. The use of other functional resins has evolved to include their use as carriers for drug delivery and as biodegradable scaffolds.
Nonlinear Electrical Equalization for Multimode Fiber Systems

The multimode fiber (MMF) system is widely used in data centers for short-haul communications. Current MMF systems in use rely on Forward Error Correction (FEC) code to guarantee a desired bit error rate (BER). In this article, using test data of a 25Gb/s MMF system, we demonstrate that a MMF system possesses a mild nonlinearity and can be better compensated by a nonlinear filter based decision feedback equalizer (DFE) whose forward path is a non-causal Volterra filter and feedback path is linear finite impulse response (FIR) filter. With this approach, the reach of the MMF system can be extended from 100m to 300m.
Attitudinal Acceptance of Intimate Partner Violence Among Adolescents and Young Adults in Nigeria and Tanzania: An Exploration Into Target Reference Groups Order and Affiliation of Authorship.

Abstract Purpose Attitudinal programming for the prevention of intimate partner violence (IPV) among adolescents and young adults often focuses on whom to target based on gender or age; yet other pivotal junctures may relate to when to intervene, such as critical events (e.g., marriage). Using data from the nationally representative Violence Against Children Survey in Nigeria and Tanzania, this study examines the gendered association of acceptance of IPV across 3 reference groups—age, marital status, and education attainment—for male and female adolescents and young adults. Methods Data were analyzed from a sample of 2,437 and 1,771 males in Nigeria and Tanzania, respectively, and 1,766 and 1,968 females in each respective country. Logistic regressions were used to estimate the odds of agreeing with at least one of 5 scenarios when it is acceptable for a husband to beat his wife. A second model examined how experience of IPV in the prior 12 months influences the attitudinal outcome for females. Results Age was not found to be a significant predictor for attitudinal acceptance of IPV in either country or for either gender. Level of schooling was found to be a significant predictor for decreased odds of attitudinal acceptance of IPV for males but not females in both countries. In contrast, being married was associated with IPV acceptance for females in Tanzania (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.56; confidence intervals [CIs]: 1.03–2.37) and Nigeria (aOR: 1.66; CIs: 1.19–2.30), but not for males. The significance of marriage for females in Nigeria remained (aOR: 1.67; CIs: 1.20–2.33), even adjusted for past 12-month IPV experience (aOR: 1.85; CIs: 1.11–3.07) and the interaction of IPV experience and marriage (aOR: 3.42, CIs: 1.72–6.80). Conclusions Among adolescents and young adults in Nigeria and Tanzania, there are gendered associations for attitudinal acceptance of IPV. Marriage appears to be a strong predictor for females, even adjusted for IPV experience, thus indicating that there is something unique to marriage among female adolescents and young adults that influences acceptance of IPV.
When migrant women return: Gender role re-configurations in Sri Lankan households

ABSTRACTThe earnings of Sri Lankan migrant women who work abroad as housemaids account for a significant proportion of overseas remittances to Sri Lanka. Literature on the “maid trade” of Sri Lanka...
Chapter 7 – Applications of Systems of Ordinary Differential Equations

As indicated in Chapter 5, an electrical circuit can be modeled with a linear ordinary differential equation (ODE) with constant coefficients. In this section, we illustrate how a circuit involving loops can be described as a system of linear ODEs with constant coefficients. This derivation is based on the following principles.
Auswirkungen der Digitalisierung auf die Wertschöpfungsakteure

Die digitale Transformation wird neben absehbaren Veranderungen wie der Vollautomatisierung bisheriger Produktionsprozesse auch solche Tatigkeiten grundlegend verandern, die heute noch grostenteils manuelle Arbeit erfordern. Anhand der Unternehmensbereiche Produktion und Lagerhaltung, Lieferkettenmanagement, Einkauf und Vertrieb wird in dem Beitrag analysiert, wie sich diese Unternehmensbereiche in den kommenden Jahren grundlegend verandern werden. Neben der Implementierung neuer Technologien und digitaler Fahigkeiten bedarf es auch einer auf die zunehmende Digitalisierung ausgerichteten Unternehmenskultur. Wichtige Bestandteile der Unternehmenskultur sind das vorherrschende Fuhrungsmodell sowie die Organisationsstruktur und die Art der Zusammenarbeit. Die bisherige Forschung belegt, dass das Modell der transformationalen Fuhrung angereichert um Elemente der leistungsabhangigen Belohnung der effektivste Fuhrungsstil ist. Um vorhandene Organisationsstrukturen und Formen der Zusammenarbeit aufzubrechen, Wissensverbreitung zu fordern und die Innovationskraft im Unternehmen zu starken, sind die Erhohung der Mitarbeitereigenverantwortung und die Einfuhrung selbstorganisierter Teams empfehlenswert. Zudem ist die fruhzeitige Einbindung des mittleren Managements als Brucke zwischen strategischer und operativer Ebene ein erfolgskritischer Einflussfaktor.
Race, Antiracism, and Youth Development: From Awareness to Sustained Action

After yet more vivid examples of how Black people are far too often treated unjustly in America and the enormous response worldwide, it is high time to recognize racism in our field and promote a strong and sustained commitment to antiracist approaches to research, publishing, practice, and policy in the youth development field. This essay begins to make the case for such efforts and calls for sustained action in many areas. These are things we can and must do as a field that supports the positive development of all youth.
Black Tea Theaflavin Detoxifies Metabolic Toxins in the Intestinal Tract of Mice

Scope This study is to determine the in vivo efficacy of black tea theaflavin (TF) to detoxify two metabolic toxins, ammonia and methylglyoxal (MGO), in mice METHODS AND RESULTS: Under in vitro conditions, TF is able to react with ammonia, MGO, and hydrogen peroxide to produce its aminated, MGO conjugated, and oxidized products, respectively. In TF-treated mice, the aminated TF, the MGO conjugates of TF and aminated TF, and the oxidized TF are searched using LC-MS/MS. The results provide the first in vivo evidence that the unabsorbed TF is able to trap ammonia to form the aminated TF; furthermore, both TF and the aminated TF have the capacity to trap MGO to generate the corresponding mono-MGO conjugates. Moreover, TF is oxidized to dehydrotheaflavin, which underwent further amination in the gut. By exposing TF to germ-free (GF) mice and conventionalized mice (GF mice colonized with specific-pathogen-free microbiota), the gut microbiota is demonstrated to facilitate the amination and MGO conjugation of TF. Conclusion TF has the capacity to remove the endogenous metabolic toxins through oxidation, amination, and MGO conjugation in the intestinal tract, which can potentially explain why TF still generates in vivo efficacy while showing a poor systematic bioavailability.
AAV-S: A versatile capsid variant for transduction of mouse and primate inner ear.

Gene therapy strategies using adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors to treat hereditary deafnesses have shown remarkable efficacy in some mouse models of hearing loss. Even so, there are few AAV capsids that transduce both inner and outer hair cells—the cells that express most deafness genes—and fewer still shown to transduce hair cells efficiently in primates. AAV capsids with robust transduction of inner and outer hair cells in primate cochlea will be needed for most clinical trials. Here, we test a capsid that we previously isolated from a random capsid library, AAV-S, for transduction in mouse and non-human primate inner ear. In both mice and cynomolgus macaques, AAV-S mediates highly efficient reporter gene expression in a variety of cochlear cells, including inner and outer hair cells, fibrocytes, and supporting cells. In a mouse model of Usher syndrome type 3A, AAV-S encoding CLRN1 robustly and durably rescues hearing. Overall, our data indicate that AAV-S is a promising candidate for therapeutic gene delivery to the human inner ear.
Atoms and Molecules

The dipole polarizability of atoms was the first quantity calculated using TDLDA. Almost simultaneous calculations were done by Stott and Zaremba (1980), Zangwill and Soven (1980), and Mahan (1980). The former two used the Green’s function method, while Mahan used the modified Sternheimer Method. All three groups obtained similar results. Mahan also calculated the quadrupole and octupole polarizabilities. Zangwill and Soven calculated the optical absorption, which is related to the imaginary part of the frequency-dependent polarizability. The finite frequency results are discussed in the next section. Since that initial work, many more calculations have been reported of static and dynamic polarizability.
A Bivalent Chromatin Controls Timing of Expression of Camalexin Biosynthesis Genes in Response to a Pathogen Signal in Arabidopsis

Abstract Temporal dynamics of gene expression underpins the responses to internal and environmental stimuli. In eukaryotes, regulation of gene induction includes changing chromatin states at the target genes, and recruitment of the transcriptional machinery that includes transcription factors. As one of the most potent specialized metabolites in Arabidopsis thaliana, camalexin can be rapidly induced by bacterial and fungal infections. Though several transcription factors controlling camalexin biosynthesis genes have been characterized, it remains unknown how the rapid activation of genes in this pathway upon a pathogen signal happens. By combining publicly available epigenomic data with in vivo chromatin mapping, we found that camalexin biosynthesis genes are marked with two epigenetic modifications with opposite effects on gene expression, H3K27me3 (repression) and H3K18ac (activation), to form a bivalent chromatin. Mutants with reduced H3K27m3 or H3K18ac showed that both modifications were required to determine the timing of gene expression and metabolite accumulation at an early stage of the stress response. Our study indicates that this type of bivalent chromatin, which we name a kairostat, plays an important role controlling the timely induction of gene expression upon stimuli in plants.
Promoting Culturally Tailored mHealth: A Scoping Review of Mobile Health Interventions in Latinx Communities

This scoping review of mHealth research focuses on intervention studies that utilize mobile technologies to promote behavior change and improve health outcomes in U.S. Latinx communities. 342 mHealth articles were reviewed using PRIMSA protocols; most did not include a majority Latinx study population or did not report on an intervention. The final sample resulted in 23 articles published between 2012 and 2020. Reviewed interventions focused on conditions such as: diabetes, depression, substance abuse, obesity, hypertension, maternal health, and farmworker safety. About one-third of mHealth interventions included mobile applications, the rest were limited to texting programs. Text message reminders can help improve medication adherence and care access, especially when coupled with support from community health workers. Bi-directional text message interventions with feedback loops and personalized treatment options can build user agency. Additionally, multi-modal applications that combine texting with self-guided interactive content show promise for culturally tailored mHealth.
Security Vulnerability and Mitigation in Photovoltaic Systems

Software and firmware vulnerabilities pose security threats to photovoltaic (PV) systems. When patches are not available or cannot be timely applied to fix vulnerabilities, it is important to mitigate vulnerabilities such that they cannot be exploited by attackers or their impacts will be limited when exploited. However, the vulnerability mitigation problem for PV systems has received little attention. This paper analyzes known security vulnerabilities in PV systems, proposes a multi-level mitigation framework and various mitigation strategies including neural network-based attack detection inside inverters, and develops a prototype system as a proof-of-concept for building vulnerability mitigation into PV system design.
Kinetics of Free and Bound Excitons in Semiconductors

With tunable short pulse laser sources it has now become possible to examine the kinetics of excitons in semiconductors with detail not possible previously. Here we illustrate the point in the case of excitonic phenomena at low densities for three compound semiconductors, Cu2O, GaSe, and Cd1−xMnxTe, the range of phenomena varying from energy-dependent free exciton collisions to thermalization processes characteristic of localized excitons.
Materials, Device and Circuit Properties of AlInAs-GaInAs HEMTs

GaInAs based HEMTs are superior for high frequency applications compared to GaAs based devices because of the better electronic transport properties in GalnAs. The electron mobility is 13,000 cm2V−1s−1, the peak velocity is 2.7 × 107cms−1 and the conduction band discontinuity between Al 48In 52As and Ga 47In 53As is 0.51 eV, all higher than the GaAs system. The large conduction band discontinuity coupled with the high doping possible in Al 48In 52As (ND > 1 × 1019cm−3) provides for large two-dimensional electron gas concentrations in modulation doped structures. Furthermore, as in the GaAs based system, the electronic properties can be enhanced by incorporating a strained In rich channel in device design. These materials properties have been utilized to produce discrete HEMTs with fT > 200 GHz, ring oscillators with room temperature gate delay of 4ps and frequency dividers operating at 26.7 GHz.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Reverse Transcriptase-associated RNase H Activity

Biochemical characteristics of the RNase H activity associated with immunoaffinity purified human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reverse transcriptase (RT) were examined. Glycerol gradient centrifugation of HIV RT resulted in a single peak of RNase H, associated with RT activity, with an apparent molecular weight of 110,000. HIV RNase H exhibited a marked substrate preference for poly(dC).[3H]poly(rG) compared to poly(dT).[3H]poly(rA). It did not hydrolyze single-stranded RNA or the DNA component of DNA.RNA hybrids. Products of the HIV RT-associated RNase H reaction consisted primarily of monomers, dimers, and trimers with 3' OH groups. This reaction was Mg2+ dependent, with greater than 90% of maximum activity at MgCl2 concentrations between 4 and 12 mM. The optimum KCl concentration for HIV RT catalyzed polymerization with a poly(rA).(dT)10 template. The optimum pH for HIV RNase H activity was between 8.0 and 8.5, in contrast to an optimum pH of 7.5 to 8.0 for HIV RT activity. The association of RNase H activity with the p66 component of HIV RT was demonstrated by activity gel analysis. These results indicate that HIV RT has an integral RNase H activity; however, some of its properties are different from those of RNase H associated with other retroviral RT's, and optimal assay conditions are different than those for HIV RT catalyzed DNA polymerization.
Biosynthesis of Pteridines and of Phenylalanine Hydroxylase Cofactor in Cell-free Extracts of Pseudomonas Species (ATCC 11299a)

Abstract A cell-free system for the synthesis of a phenylalanine hydroxylase cofactor from guanosine triphosphate was obtained from extracts of Pseudomonas species (ATCC 11299a). This preparation produced formic acid from the ureido carbon of labeled GTP. The preparation also made specific pteridines from GTP. Among the products, xanthopterin, neopterin, and a cyclic phosphate derivative of neopterin were tentatively identified. These were probably present in a reduced form in the reaction mixtures. The requirements for cofactor synthesis include GTP, Mg++, and a reduced triphosphopyridine nucleotide-generating system. Although the exact structure of the cofactor produced could not be determined, it was shown that a number of possible reduced pteridine products could serve as cofactors for the hydroxylase enzyme. Evidence is presented that the various reactions described are part of the over-all biosynthetic pathway for reduced pteridines which can serve as phenylalanine hydroxylase cofactors.
Influence of Vesicular Storage and Monoamine Oxidase Activity on [11C]Phenylephrine Kinetics: Studies in Isolated Rat Heart

UNLABELLED [11C]Phenylephrine (PHEN) is a radiolabeled analogue of norepinephrine that is transported into cardiac sympathetic nerve varicosities by the neuronal norepinephrine transporter and taken up into storage vesicles localized within the nerve varicosities by the vesicular monoamine transporter. PHEN is structurally related to two previously developed sympathetic nerve markers: [11C]-meta-hydroxyephedrine and [11C]epinephrine. To better characterize the neuronal handling of PHEN, particularly its sensitivity to neuronal monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity, kinetic studies in an isolated working rat heart system were performed. METHODS Radiotracer was administered to the isolated working heart as a 10-min constant infusion followed by a 110-min washout period. Two distinctly different approaches were used to assess the sensitivity of the kinetics of PHEN to MAO activity. In the first approach, oxidation of PHEN by MAO was inhibited at the enzymatic level with the MAO inhibitor pargyline. In the second approach, the two hydrogen atoms on the a-carbon of the side chain of PHEN were replaced with deuterium atoms ([11C](-)-alpha-alpha-dideutero-phenylephrine [D2-PHEN]) to inhibit MAO activity at the tracer level. The importance of vesicular uptake on the kinetics of PHEN and D2-PHEN was assessed by inhibiting vesicular monoamine transporter-mediated storage into vesicles with reserpine. RESULTS Under control conditions, PHEN initially accumulated into the heart at a rate of 0.72+/-0.15 mL/min/g wet. Inhibition of MAO activity with either pargyline or di-deuterium substitution did not significantly alter this rate. However, MAO inhibition did significantly slow the clearance of radioactivity from the heart during the washout phase of the study. Blocking vesicular uptake with reserpine reduced the initial uptake rates of PHEN and D2-PHEN, as well as greatly accelerated the clearance of radioactivity from the heart during washout. CONCLUSION These studies indicate that PHEN kinetics are sensitive to neuronal MAO activity. Under normal conditions, efficient vesicular storage of PHEN serves to protect the tracer from rapid metabolism by neuronal MAO. However, it is likely that leakage of PHEN from the storage vesicles and subsequent metabolism by MAO lead to an appreciable clearance of radioactivity from the heart.
Robin sequence: a retrospective review of 115 patients.

Summary Objectives Review a large series of patients with Robin sequence to document the incidence of (1) associated syndromic diagnoses; (2) co-morbid conditions; (3) frequency and type of operative management for airway compromise and feeding difficulties; and (4) possible differences in treatment between syndromic and nonsyndromic infants. Methods Retrospective case-review of 115 patients with Robin sequence managed between 1962 and 2002 at two tertiary-care teaching hospitals for evaluation of demographic information, clinical findings, and treatment interventions. Results Fifty-four percent (N = 63) of patients were nonsyndromic. Syndromic patients included: Stickler syndrome (18%), velocardiofacial syndrome (7%), Treacher-Collins (5%), facial and hemifacial microsomia (3%), and other defined (3.5%) and undefined (9%) disorders. There was no statistical difference between the syndromic and nonsyndromic patients with regard to need for operative airway management (Fisher's exact test, p = 0.264). Forty-two percent of patients required a feeding gastrostomy tube to correct feeding difficulties. Patients with a syndromic diagnosis were more likely to be developmentally delayed. Fifty-one (44%) patients underwent operative airway management: 61% underwent tongue–lip adhesion and 39% underwent tracheotomy. Fifteen percent of patients initially had tongue–lip adhesion subsequently required tracheotomy. While the preferred treatment for respiratory compromise differed between the two institutions, the percentage of patients requiring operative intervention was similar. Conclusions The pathogenesis of Robin sequence is multifactorial and syndromic in nearly half of the patients. Operative treatment of respiratory failure was required in 44% of infants; the rate was similar in both hospitals. The operative approach differed significantly between the institutions, however, based on the philosophy and training of the managing surgical specialty. Co-morbid factors such as baseline cardiopulmonary and neurologic status did not play a significant role in surgical decision making.
Eat, Play, Love Adolescent and Parent Perceptions of the Components of a Multidisciplinary Weight Management Program

BackgroundParticipants’ perceptions may be associated with the high attrition rates reported by weight management programs.ObjectiveTo explore participants’ perceptions of a weight management program.MethodsSemistructured interviews were performed (spring 2010) with past participants of the Michigan Pediatric Outpatient Weight Evaluation and Reduction program. Transcripts were reviewed and themes identified.ResultsParents (38) and adolescents (25) were interviewed separately; similar themes emerged. Theme 1: Support/encouragement—Participants emphasized the importance of a supportive environment with a positive, compassionate approach from providers. Theme 2: Exercise—Fun, achievable activities were a valued means of making exercise enjoyable and building self-efficacy. Theme 3: Nutrition—Hands on demonstrations and tangible suggestions were preferred over activities such as self-monitoring. Theme 4: Behavioral factors—Participants valued the opportunity to hear their peers’ experiences. However, individu...
Excitation-contraction uncoupling of striated muscle fibres by formamide treatment: evidence of detubulation.

A reportedly new technique for excitation-contraction uncoupling of frog skeletal muscle fibres was evaluated by low-frequency linear cable analysis and electron microscopy. Results indicate a similarity between the electrophysiological and ultrastructural effects of the formamide procedure and those obtained with conventional glycerol shock. Fibres in isolated frog sartorius muscles immersed in a frog Ringer's-formamide solution showed a rapid decline in twitch tension and a decrease in specific membrane capacitance, and disruption of the morphology of the transverse tubule system. These results are consistent with physical and electrical isolation of the transverse tubular network from the surface membrane of the muscle fibre (‘detubulation’). However, reduction of twitch tension is marked in the formamide solution. Complete paralysis is only achieved following the return to normal Ringer's. Probably due to the greater membrane permeability of formamide, the technique requires less time and may be more reliable than the standard glycerol shock procedure.
Knocking the Sox off EPO signaling

Comment on Dumitriu et al, page [1198][1] Sox6 cooperates with EPO in a cell-autonomous manner to enhance definitive erythropoiesis, a possible new target for therapy of anemias and erythrocythemias. In the current issue of Blood, Dumitriu and colleagues describe important functions for the Sry-
Rethinking human ethology: A response to some recent critiques

Abstract As Tinbergen pointed out a quarter of a century ago, ethology employs many levels of investigation. Studies of psychological adaptations, and of current fitness functions, are two of them. All of these investigations are valid, none is intrinsically most important, and each can be enhanced by the others.
Single Molecule Imaging of Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors

Biophysical Society Meeting 2014.The human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER/ErbB) family of receptor tyrosine kinases encompasses transmembrane signaling proteins important for cellular growth, differentiation, and survival. The four members of this family (EGFR, HER2, HER4 and the HER3 pseudokinase receptor) are able to bind to numerous different growth factor ligands, leading to their homo and hetero-oligomerization and subsequent activation. This combinatorial potential gives rise to a diverse signaling output, which is strongly affected by misregulation of any one receptor. For example, mutations in EGFR and HER2 overexpression are primary mechanisms driving lung and breast cancer, respectively. Under these conditions, heterodimerization of these receptors with the HER3 pseudokinase confers resistance to tumors treated with EGFR and HER2-targeted therapeutics. The molecular basis for these heterodimeric interactions and their regulation by growth factors remains poorly understood. HER receptor heterodimers have never been observed directly, and their existence remain inferred from the analysis of downstream signaling. To understand the scope and specificity of heterodimeric interactions between the HER3 pseudokinase receptor and its active HER homologs, we seek to directly investigate the underlying receptor activation mechanisms using high resolution fluorescence microscopy. We quantify the extent of heterodimeric interactions in response to ligand binding using both live cell single molecule tracking and stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM). These techniques allow us to probe the timescales of receptor interactions as a function of ligand binding, the dependence on receptor density at the membrane surface, and the specificity of heterodimer formation. This work aims to contribute to the fundamental understanding of the activation mechanism of HER receptors and to help advance development of new therapeutics targeting aberrant cross-talk among HER receptors in human disease.
Beamformer performance with acoustic vector sensors in air.

For some time, compact acoustic vector sensors (AVSs) capable of sensing particle velocity in three orthogonal directions have been used in underwater acoustic sensing applications. Potential advantages of using AVSs in air include substantial noise reduction with a very small aperture and few channels. For this study, a four-microphone array approximating a small (1cm3) AVS in air was constructed using three gradient microphones and one omnidirectional microphone. This study evaluates the signal extraction performance of one nonadaptive and four adaptive beamforming algorithms. Test signals, consisting of two to five speech sources, were processed with each algorithm, and the signal extraction performance was quantified by calculating the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the output. For a three-microphone array, robust and nonrobust versions of a frequency-domain minimum-variance (FMV) distortionless-response beamformer produced SNR improvements of 11to14dB, and a generalized sidelobe canceller (GSC) produ...
Shaping organizational image-power through images: Case histories of Instagram

Popular genres of social software increasingly act as regularized discourse within organizations. Recently, image-intensive social software applications have seen rapid adoption as another communicative genre within the ecology of the contemporary organization's social software strategy. These social software genre ecologies may help organizations actively shape what Faber calls image-power, the organization's self-conscious, self-reflective management of public perception and the concomitant shaping of patron identities. This paper proposes and then explores a qualitative coding schema for understanding organizational implementations of Instagram within a prominent news organization, a non-profit, and a for-profit retailer.
Demand for India's manufactured exports

Abstract Surprisingly few estimates exist of disaggregated world demand functions for LDC exports, despite the obvious policy importance of the inherent price elasticities. Time-series, simultaneous equation estimates are herein presented of world demand for 23 categories of manufactured exports from India. Tests for homotheticity, separability, whether price elasticity of demand differs during world recession, and for effects of foreign learning about India's exports are reported. Estimated price elasticities range from below unity to infinity, revealing important variations masked by aggregate studies. These results raise considerable doubts about policy design from a uniform small country assumption.
Biodiversity Dynamics and Conservation: The Freshwater Fish of Tropical Africa

By Christian Leveque. Cambridge University Press, New York. 1997. 438 pages. $84.95. This text is an exceptional synthesis of what is known about the products and processes of speciation within the...
Projections from the paraventricular nucleus to the zona externa of the median eminence of the rhesus monkey: an immunohistochemical study.

Abstract Immunoperoxidase techniques and light microscopy were used to investigate the origin of the fibers containing vasopressin, oxytocin and related neurophysins (neurohypophyseal peptides), in the zona externa of the median eminence of the rhesus monkey. Unilateral lesions were produced in the paraventricular nucleus using a modified Halasz-type knife. Complete destruction of the paraventricular nucleus resulted in a total depletion of all four neurohpophyseal peptides in the ipsilateral zona externa of the median eminence. Partial lesions of different segments of the paraventricular nucleus resulted in depletion in different parts of the zona externa. These observations indicate that the paraventricular nucleus in the source of vasopressin, oxytocin and neurophysin in axons which end in the zona externa of the median eminence. These projections are strictly ipsilateral and arranged topographically, so that the more caudal paraventricular neurons project to the dorsal part of the zona externa and the rostral ones to the ventral segment. The supraoptic nucleus does not appear to project to the zona externa, and sends the great majority of its fibers to the neurohypophysis.
Microsyntactic intergrowth in VnO2n−1

Abstract Characteristics of microsyntactic intergrowth of V 8 O 15 in V 9 O 17 prepared by a chemical transport method are investigated by transmission electron microscopy. There is observed a range of syntactic intergrowth that can be described as two phase coexistence down to that on a unit cell scale which supports the concept that the microsyntactic intergrowth is a syntactic intergrowth of different compounds on a unit cell scale. A note on the significance of microsyntactic intergrowth to the understanding of long periods in (electronically) insulating substances is added.
Syntheses, Crystal Structures and Photophysical Measurements of Phosphite‐Substituted Schiff Base and Azobenzene Li­gands

Organic chromophores with charge asymmetry may exhibit significant second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. Metal complexes have been used as the donor, the acceptor, or as the bridge in some of these chromophores. Metal complexes may also be useful in dipolar chromophore orientation and in the building of large molecular structures, but this approach remains largely unexplored. We herein report the syntheses and characterization of a novel class of phosphitecontaining chromophores, O2N-1-C6H4-4-CH=N-1-C6H4-4OP(OC6H4)2 (2) and O2N-1-C6H4-4-X=N-1-C6H4-4-OP(OC10H6)2 [X =C H (3), N (4)], and their transition-metal complexes, cis-Mo(CO)4(2)2 (5), PdCl2(2)2 (6), and cis-Mo(CO)4
Effects of estradiol on cardiac ion channel currents.

Steroids are known to exert direct and indirect effects on cardiovascular functions, and women have been found to be more susceptible to QT prolongation than men. Although many clinical studies have been performed, the effects of steroids on cardiac repolarization are not yet fully understood. We examined the effects of 17-beta-estradiol (estradiol) on the major cardiac currents that are correlated to clinical observations of arrhythmias. Effects on the two major currents responsible for repolarization of the cardiac action potential (mediated by the human ether-a-gogo related gene (HERG) product), and by the potassium channel Q1 (KCNQ1) co-expressed with the potassium channel accessory subunit E1 (KCNE1) were examined, as well as effects on the sodium inward current (mediated by the sodium channel 5A (SCN5A) and generating the rapid upstroke of the action potential). A concentration-dependent effect of estradiol on the KCNQ1/KCNE1-mediated potassium current was observed. The half-maximal inhibition concentration (IC(50)) of estradiol on the KCNQ1/KCNE1 ion channel was calculated to 1.13+/-0.23 microM. The HERG-mediated potassium and the SCN5A-mediated sodium currents, however, were only slightly reduced by estradiol at concentrations of up to 30 microM. This suggests that alterations of the cardiac action potentials by steroids may be mediated by interaction with the KCNQ1/KCNE1 ion channel.
BITS, NYBBLES, BYTES: A View of Electronic Grading

Commonly used essay grading procedures are subjective and suffer from incon sistency and instability. An objective procedure, described here, involves regressing a computer's measurements on grades assigned by an expert judge. Results of using the procedure on college freshman themes indicate some success for it.
Theoretical aspects of sex odor in swine.

Abstract An androstenol theory of sex odor and chemical communication in swine is proposed. This theory suggests a relationship between hormonal steroids and sex pheromones. Theoretical mechanisms to explain the biogenesis of the androst-16-en-3-ols are presented, and the effect of various metabolic inhibitors is related to the suppression of androstenol production and the normal development of sex odor as a communication system.
The Influence of Ground Contact and Visible Horizon on Perception of Distance and Size under Severely Degraded Vision

For low vision navigation, misperceiving the locations of hazards can have serious consequences. Potential sources of such misperceptions are hazards that are not visually associated with the ground plane, thus depriving the viewer of important perspective cues for egocentric distance. In Experiment 1, we assessed absolute distance and size judgments to targets on stands under degraded vision conditions. Normally sighted observers wore blur goggles that severely reduced acuity and contrast, and viewed targets placed on either detectable or undetectable stands. Participants in the detectable stand condition demonstrated accurate distance judgments, whereas participants in the undetectable stand condition overestimated target distances. Similarly, the perceived size of targets in the undetectable stand condition was judged to be significantly larger than those in the detectable stand condition, suggesting a perceptual coupling of size and distance in conditions of degraded vision. In Experiment 2, we investigated size and implied distance perception of targets elevated above a visible horizon for individuals in an induced state of degraded vision. When participants’ size judgments are inserted into the size-distance invariance hypothesis (SDIH) formula, distance to above-horizon objects increased compared to those below the horizon. Together, our results emphasize the importance of salient visible ground-contact information for accurate distance perception. The absence of this ground-contact information could be the source of perceptual errors leading to potential hazards for low vision individuals with severely degraded acuity and contrast sensitivity.