cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Correlated patterns of tracheal compression and convective gas exchange in a carabid beetle

SUMMARY Rhythmic tracheal compression is a prominent feature of internal dynamics in multiple orders of insects. During compression parts of the tracheal system collapse, effecting a large change in volume, but the ultimate physiological significance of this phenomenon in gas exchange has not been determined. Possible functions of this mechanism include to convectively transport air within or out of the body, to increase the local pressure within the tracheae, or some combination thereof. To determine whether tracheal compressions are associated with excurrent gas exchange in the ground beetle Pterostichus stygicus, we used flow-through respirometry and synchrotron x-ray phase-contrast imaging to simultaneously record CO2 emission and observe morphological changes in the major tracheae. Each observed tracheal compression (which occurred at a mean frequency and duration of 15.6±4.2 min –1 and 2.5±0.8 s, respectively) was associated with a local peak in CO2 emission, with the start of each compression occurring simultaneously with the start of the rise in CO2 emission. No such pulses were observed during intercompression periods. Most pulses occurred on top of an existing level of CO2 release, indicating that at least one spiracle was open when compression began. This evidence demonstrates that tracheal compressions convectively pushed air out of the body with each stroke. The volume of CO2 emitted per pulse was 14±4 nl, representing approximately 20% of the average CO2 emission volume during x-ray irradiation, and 13% prior to it. CO2 pulses with similar volume, duration and frequency were observed both prior to and after x-ray beam exposure, indicating that rhythmic tracheal compression was not a response to x-ray irradiation per se. This study suggests that intra-tracheal and trans-spiracular convection of air driven by active tracheal compression may be a major component of ventilation for many insects. Supplementary material available online at http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/full/211/21/3409/DC1
Detection of Chromosomal Aberrations in Clinical Practice: From Karyotype to Genome Sequence

Since the inception of clinical cytogenetics in the late 1950s, the field has witnessed the evolution of multiple methodologies for the evaluation of chromosomal imbalances and rearrangements. From the replacement of solidly stained chromosomes by Giemsa banding (G-banding) to in situ hybridization and microarrays, each technique has sought to detect smaller and smaller chromosomal aberrations across the genome. Microarray analysis has revealed that copy-number variants—a class of mutation resulting from the loss (deletion) or gain (duplication) of genomic material that is >1 kb in size—are among the significant contributors to human disease and normal variation. Here, we evaluate the history and utility of various methodologies and their impact on the current practice of clinical cytogenetics.
Single-shot photometric stereo by spectral multiplexing

We propose a novel method for single-shot photometric stereo by spectral multiplexing. The output of our method is a simultaneous per-pixel estimate of the surface normal and full-color reflectance. Our method is well suited to materials with varying color and texture, requires no time-varying illumination, and no high-speed cameras. Being a single-shot method, it may be applied to dynamic scenes without any need for optical flow. Our key contributions are a generalization of three-color photometric stereo to more than three color channels, and the design of a practical six-color-channel system using off-the-shelf parts.
Menopausal hormone therapy and sleep-disordered breathing: evidence for a healthy user bias.

Abstract Purpose Observational studies suggest that menopausal hormone therapy protects against sleep-disordered breathing, but such findings may be biased by a “healthy user effect.” When the Women's Health Initiative Study reported in 2002 that estrogen-progestin therapy increases heart disease risk, many women discontinued hormone therapy. We investigate healthy user bias in the association of hormone therapy with sleep-disordered breathing in the Sleep in Midlife Women Study. Methods A total of 228 women aged 38 to 62 years were recruited from the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study. They underwent polysomnography to measure apnea-hypopnea index, at home semiannually from 1997 to 2006, and in the sleep laboratory every four years ( n = 1828 studies). Hormone therapy was recorded monthly. Linear models with empirical standard errors regressed logarithm of apnea-hypopnea index on hormone use with a pre- or post-July 2002 interaction, adjusting for menopause and age. Results The association of hormone therapy and sleep-disordered breathing was heterogeneous ( P Conclusions Hormone therapy was negatively associated with sleep-disordered breathing only until the Women's Health Initiative results were publicized. Hormone therapy may have been a marker for healthfulness in the early period, creating a spurious association with sleep-disordered breathing.
Fuzzy controller for wall-climbing microrobots

This paper presents a fuzzy control system that incorporates sensing, control and planning to improve the performance of the wall-climbing microrobots in unstructured environments. After introduction of the robot system, a task reference method is proposed which is based on a fuzzy multisensor data fusion scheme. The method provides a novel mechanism to efficiently integrate task scheduling, action planning and motion control in a unified framework. A robot gait generation method is described which switches the robot locomotion between different motion modes with the help of a finite state machine driven by sensory information. A fuzzy motion controller is designed to improve control performance and reduce power consumption by the suitable selection of fuzzy sets and inference methods, as well as the definition of corresponding membership functions and control rule bases. A fuzzy logic compensator is developed to compensate the gravitational effects according to different robot configurations and task situations. Experimental results prove the validity of the proposed methods.
Something old, something new….

In this issue of Therapeutic Advances in Endocrinology and Metabolism (TAE), recent developments in the use of several older, well-established drugs are explored. In addition, a newly recognized disease and its treatment are discussed.
Podocyturia Predates Proteinuria and Clinical Features of Preeclampsia Longitudinal Prospective Study

Podocyturia, the shedding of live podocytes, is present at delivery in women with preeclampsia. The aim of this study was to test whether podocyturia is present earlier in pregnancy and predicts for preeclampsia. We also aimed to compare test characteristics of podocyturia with those of angiogenic factors previously implicated in the pathogenesis of this disorder. We prospectively enrolled 315 women who provided blood and urine samples at the end of the second trimesters of their pregnancies (median, 27 gestational weeks) and within 24 hours of their deliveries (median, 39.5 gestational weeks). Blood samples were analyzed for angiogenic markers, including placental growth factor, the soluble receptor fms-like tyrosine kinase receptor-1 for vascular endothelial growth factor, and endoglin. The urine sediments were analyzed for podocytes, identified by staining for podocin after culturing the urinary sediments for 24 hours. This analysis included all women who developed preeclampsia (n=15), gestational hypertension (n=15), and a subsample of women who remained normotensive throughout pregnancy (n=44), matched for maternal age and number of previous pregnancies to those who developed preeclampsia. At the second trimester collection, all women who developed preeclampsia had podocyturia, compared with none of those who remained normotensive or were diagnosed with gestational hypertension. Podocyturia in the second trimester had a significantly greater sensitivity and specificity for the subsequent diagnosis of preeclampsia than any single angiogenic marker or a combination thereof. Screening for podocyturia at the end of the second trimester may allow for accurate identification of pregnant women at risk for preeclampsia.
Explaining Environmental Activism Across Countries

This article tests a model of pathways to environmental activism across 16 nations using structural equation modeling. Given previous research, a model is proposed articulating individual resources, knowledge, awareness of consequences, attitudes, willingness to contribute, and efficacy as factors influencing environmental activism. The mediating effect of willingness to make environmental contributions is investigated in detail based on expectations from prior studies. Results from analysis of International Social Survey Program data are broadly supportive of the model across 16 countries individually, as education, awareness of consequences, and attitudes combined affect environmental activism. Moreover, mediating tests demonstrate a prominent but not exclusive role of willingness to contribute in promoting activism across nations, uncovering relationships that are masked in previous cross-national research.
Ultrasonic Characterization of Fiber-Matrix Interphasial Properties in Ceramic Matrix Composites

The major role of the fiber-matrix interphase in ceramic matrix composites (CMC) is to increase the composite fracture resistance; thus the properties of these materials are dominated by the interphase. To achieve this, the interphase is designed to provide friction sliding contact between fiber and matrix, which prevents fracture of fibers due to matrix cracking [1,2]. Due to the relatively low stiffness of the fiber-matrix interphase compared to fiber and matrix, the interphase also has a dominant effect on the transverse and shear stiffnesses of CMC materials [3]. Therefore, to obtain optimal performance in CMC materials quantitative characterization of the fiber-matrix interphase is necessary.
Variation of Approximal Tooth Contact Tightness with Postural Change

In order to investigate the role played by posture in determining posterior dental contact tightness, we measured contact tightness of maxillary and mandibular posterior teeth in ten adult subjects, while each was initially seated upright, after each had assumed a supine posture for two h, and finally after each had returned to an upright posture for two h. The technique used for measurement of contact tightness was based on frictional force concepts and consisted of the recording of the force required to withdraw a 0.038-mm-thick stainless-steel strip that had been slipped into each contact. A decreased mean tightness of all maxillary and mandibular contacts followed the change from an upright to a supine posture. The most significant decrease (-32%) occurred at the mandibular first molar-second premolar contact, and the smallest decrease (-10%) occurred at the mandibular first premolar-canine contact. An increased mean tightness of all maxillary and mandibular contacts followed a return to an upright po...
Contextual Variation of Correspondences among Measures of Play and Developmental Level of Preschool Children.

Convergent assessment in a multicontext design was used to extend what is known about the development of preschool children with cognitive delays. Twenty-two children were observed during both an independent-play condition at home and a group free-play condition at school. Both categorical and sequential play activity were coded. Cognitive and communicative performance levels were established through the administration of the Battelle Developmental Inventory. Data were examined for patterns of association within and across contexts. Differential patterns of association among play variables emerged across contexts. Assessed developmental age was more predictive of play behaviors demonstrated in the independent play condition than in the classroom free-play condition. The findings highlight the need to consider contextual variation associated with play-based assessment and program development.
Use of an axial nose-tip cavity for delaying ablation onset in hypersonic flow

A forward-facing cavity is examined as a means of reducing the severe heating and delaying ablation onset at the nose-tip of a hypersonic vehicle. Whereas previous studies have concentrated on the nature of flow-induced Hartmann-whistle oscillations or on heating rates alone, the present study addresses the effect of the cavity on ablation onset times through experiments and coupled flow field/heat conduction simulation. Using our previously developed experimental technique, a parametric study is undertaken to optimize the forward-facing cavity geometry for the most delayed ablation onset. The geometric parameters of cavity length, lip radius and diameter are independently optimized for a given nose-tip diameter. Then using benchmarked linked flow field/heat conduction simulations, numerical simulations are conducted for each parametrically optimized configuration in order to investigate the flow physics. The impact of the forward-facing cavity on aerodynamic drag is also considered.
Scalable non-square blind source separation in the presence of noise

Few source separation and independent component analysis approaches attempt to deal with noisy data. We consider an additive noise mixing model with an arbitrary number of sensors and possibly more sources than sensors (the "degenerate separation problem") when sources are disjointly orthogonal. We show how disjoint orthogonality can be viewed as a limit of a stochastic voice modeling assumption. This is the basis for our approach to noisy model estimation by maximum likelihood, under the direct-path far-field assumptions. The implementation of the derived criterion involves iterating two steps: a partitioning of the time-frequency plane for separation followed by an optimization of the mixing parameter estimates. The solution is applicable to an arbitrary number of microphones and sources. Experimentally, we show the capability of the technique to separate four voices from two, four, six and eight channel recordings in the presence of strong noise.
People make the difference: the influence of the coaching staff's human capital and diversity on team performance.

In following the resource‐based view of the firm, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of coaching staff characteristics on team performance. Specifically, the effects of codified knowledge, previous playing experience, previous coaching experience, and racial diversity were examined. Data were collected from members of Division I‐A football coaching staff (N = 323) and aggregated to the staff level (n = 77). Hierarchical regression analysis with a stepwise process indicated that, after controlling for the previous season's success, collective collegiate coaching experience, collective professional coaching experience, and racial diversity all held significant associations with team performance, accounting for 14% unique variance. The findings have implications for human resource professionals and athletic administrators, particularly in the areas of hiring decisions and organizational culture.
Th2 Responses to Inactivated Influenza Virus Can Be Converted to Th1 Responses and Facilitate Recovery from Heterosubtypic Virus Infection

Immunization with live influenza virus expands Th1 memory cells and facilitates more rapid recovery after heterosubtypic virus challenge. Immunization with inactivated virus generates a Th2 response and does not lead to heterosubtypic immunity. Creation of a Th1 priming environment by the inclusion of interleukin (IL)-12 with antibodies to IL-4 converted the response against inactivated virus to a Th1 response that was able to facilitate virus clearance upon heterosubtypic virus challenge. Evaluation of memory responses of mice immunized by the various protocols demonstrated that the type of immunization imprints T cell memory, dictating the nature of the response to subsequent infection. After live virus challenge, expansion of Th1 cells seems to facilitate the generation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes from naive precursors. This latter finding may be the mechanism by which inactivated virus immunization in a Th1 cytokine context mediates heterosubtypic immunity.
CONTINUOUS PROFILING OF FLEXIBLE AND RIGID HIGHWAY AND AIRPORT PAVEMENTS WITH THE ROLLING DYNAMIC DEFLECTOMETER

The rolling dynamic deflectometer (RDD) is a relatively new tool for assessing the condition of pavements. The RDD measures continuous deflection profiles rather than deflections at discrete points. This paper discusses the operating parameters for RDD testing and presents the results of RDD testing on rigid and flexible pavements. Additionally, measurement of deflection basins "on the fly" and measurement of frequency response spectra at discrete locations with the RDD are discussed and illustrated.
A Comparison of Volunteering Data in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the Current Population Survey

This article compares the volunteering data in the Center on Philanthropy’s Philanthropy Module of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, generally referred to as Center on Philanthropy Panel Study (C...
Atomic Force Microscopy in Imaging of Viruses and Virus-Infected Cells

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) can visualize almost everything pertinent to structural virology and at resolutions that approach those for electron microscopy (EM). Membranes have been identified, RNA and DNA have been visualized, and large protein assemblies have been resolved into component substructures. Capsids of icosahedral viruses and the icosahedral capsids of enveloped viruses have been seen at high resolution, in some cases sufficiently high to deduce the arrangement of proteins in the capsomeres as well as the triangulation number (T). Viruses have been recorded budding from infected cells and suffering the consequences of a variety of stresses. Mutant viruses have been examined and phenotypes described. Unusual structural features have appeared, and the unexpectedly great amount of structural nonconformity within populations of particles has been documented. Samples may be imaged in air or in fluids (including culture medium or buffer), in situ on cell surfaces, or after histological procedures. AFM is nonintrusive and nondestructive, and it can be applied to soft biological samples, particularly when the tapping mode is employed. In principle, only a single cell or virion need be imaged to learn of its structure, though normally images of as many as is practical are collected. While lateral resolution, limited by the width of the cantilever tip, is a few nanometers, height resolution is exceptional, at approximately 0.5 nm. AFM produces three-dimensional, topological images that accurately depict the surface features of the virus or cell under study. The images resemble common light photographic images and require little interpretation. The structures of viruses observed by AFM are consistent with models derived by X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM.
Bullying update: are we making any progress?

1. Gwen M. Glew, MD, MPH* 2. Karin S. Frey, PhD† 3. William O. Walker, MD§ 1. *Assistant Professor, University of Washington School of Medicine; Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genetics and Developmental Medicine, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Wash. 2. †Research Associate Professor, Educational Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash. 3. §Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine; Chief, Division of Developmental Medicine, Director, Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Fellowship, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Wash. After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Discuss the research definition of bullying, how it differs from what laypersons consider bullying, and how having two definitions can be problematic. 2. Identify recognized risk factors for bullying, especially those identified as such in the past 10 years. 3. Describe how to advise parents of children who bully as well as children who are victimized by bullying at school. 4. Understand the school's role in identifying bullying behaviors and their prevention. 5. Know the evidence-based school-wide interventions that have been effective in decreasing bullying. In 2000, my colleagues and I (GMG) at the University of Washington wrote an article for Pediatrics in Review to provide research-based information about the phenomenon of childhood bullying. (1) The purpose of that article was to enhance clinicians' understanding of bullying and to suggest how they might help their patients and families deal with it. Since that time, a substantial amount of research has been conducted. This review summarizes a subset of that literature from the last decade to answer this important question: Are we making any progress toward decreasing bullying among children? Cases presented are not real, and any resemblance to actual persons is coincidental. Rather, these cases are composites of characteristics and scenarios derived from our work designed to illustrate key concepts. The term bullying is problematic. The layperson, the medical practitioner, and the researcher on the subject of bullying may have different concepts of what bullying is. Bullying, for research purposes, is defined as repeated negative behavior by one or more individuals aimed at a person who is perceived as being weaker or more vulnerable. Bullying …
Modulation of 6-Thioguanine Activity by Guanine in Human Promyelocytic Leukemia HL-60 Cells

The effects of guanine coadministration on the metabolism and biological activity of 6-thioguanine (6-TG) were studied in human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60). Cell growth, cytotoxicity (cloning assay), and cell differentiation were measured, along with nucleotide metabolism. Guanine was efficiently salvaged by HL-60 cells; at 200 microM, guanine suppressed the formation of 6-TG mononucleotides and abolished 6-TG incorporation into nucleic acids. Similarly, guanine antagonized 6-TG cytotoxicity in a dose dependent fashion. Furthermore, guanine (200 microM) fully suppressed the 6-TG (10 microM) induced HL-60 cell differentiation, which suggests that cell differentiation at pharmacological 6-TG concentrations is dependent on the anabolism of the drug to active nucleotides. 6-TG given alone reduced GTP levels and DNA synthesis rates in HL-60 cells, while a major intracellular 6-TG metabolite, 6-thioguanosine 5'-monophosphate, accumulated to high levels (approximately 100 microM). It is suggested that accumulation of 6-thioguanosine 5'-monophosphate and a resultant partial block of the de novo biosynthesis of guanine nucleotides is responsible for 6-TG induced cell differentiation in HL-60 cells.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION AND INTERTIDAL POPULATION STATUS FOR THE OLYMPIA OYSTER, OSTREA LURIDA CARPENTER 1864, FROM ALASKA TO BAJA

ABSTRACT Despite the recently renewed interest by ecologists and government agencies to reestablish historical populations of the Olympia oyster, focus has been limited to projects located at the north of this species' range, with little or no attention to southern California and Baja populations. In addition, historical information on the status of natural populations across the range has been mainly qualitative in nature, with no comprehensive information on the current status of natural populations. The focus of this study was to conduct the first large-scale quantitative biogeographic survey of remnant populations of the Olympia oyster and to identify suitable sites in southern California for future restoration projects. We surveyed intertidal populations at 24 historical sites during spring and summer 2005 and summer 2006, established presence/absence and collected data on densities and percent cover. Average maximum densities ranged from 0.0–36.7 ± 12.1 oysters per 0.25 m2. In southern California, i...
Learning from Performance: Banks, Collateralized Debt Obligations, and the Credit Crisis

This article investigates how firms in competitive markets use external examples to assess the value of novel practices, focusing on the substantively important case of collateralized debt obligation (CDO) underwriting among US investment and commercial banks, 1996–2007. Diffusion researchers have struggled to adjudicate between competing mechanisms of social contagion, including imitation and learning. I use event-history methods to examine how banks responded to the activities and results of other CDO underwriters. I show that banks learned superstitiously from the share price performance of other CDO underwriters; as the popularity of CDO underwriting increased, banks became even more attentive to confirmatory evidence on this dimension. These findings suggest important refinements to theories of social contagion, especially neoinstitutional theory. By focusing on ordinary organizational processes in an extraordinary context, I uncover an alternative explanation for the rise of complex securitization, with implications for current understandings of the credit crisis.
Replication of a Common Fragile Site, FRA3B, Occurs Late in S Phase and is Delayed Further Upon Induction: Implications for the Mechanism of Fragile Site Induction

The FRA3B at 3p14.2 is the most highly expressed of the common fragile sites observed when DNA replication is perturbed by aphidicolin or folate stress. The molecular basis for chromosome fragility at FRA3B is unknown. In contrast to the rare fragile sites, including FRAXA, no repeat motifs, such as trinucleotide repeats, have been identified within FRA3B. Several lines of evidence suggest that fragile sites are regions of DNA whose replication is unusually sensitive to interference. We have used fluorescence in situ hybridization to determine the relative timing of replication of FRA3B sequences. Our studies revealed that FRA3B sequences are late replicating. Exposure to aphidicolin, an inhibitor of both DNA polymerase alpha and delta, results in a reproducible delay in the timing of replication, and some cells enter G2without having completed replication of FRA3B sequences. Our results support a model in which common fragile sites are sequences that initiate replication late in S phase or are slow to replicate, and the chromosomal breaks and gaps observed in metaphase cells are due to unreplicated DNA.
A Cloud-Resolving Simulation of Hurricane Bob, 1991: Storm Structure and Eyewall Buoyancy

A numerical simulation of Hurricane Bob (1991) is conducted using the Penn State University-National Center for Atmospheric Research mesoscale model MM5 with a horizontal grid spacing of 1.3 Km on the finest nested mesh The model produces a realistic hurricane that intensifies slowly during the period of fine-scale simulation. Time-averaged results reveal the effects of storm motion. vertical shear, beta gyres and deformation forcing on the structure of radial inflow, vertical motion, and precipitation. Instantaneous model fields show that radial inflow in the eyewall is very intense near the surface but transitions to strong low-level outflow near the top of the boundary layer. The low-level structure is modulated by a wavenumber 2 disturbance that rotates around the eyewall at half the speed of the maximum tangential winds and is consistent with a vortex Rossby edge wave. The statistical distribution of vertical velocity in the eyewall indicates that the eyewall is composed of a small number of intense updrafts that account for the majority of the upward mass flux rather than a more gradual and symmetric eyewall circulation, consistent with the concept of hot towers. Tongues of high equivalent potential temperature, Theta(sub e), are seen along the inner edge of the eyewall updraft and within the low-level outflow. This air originates from outside of the eyewall with the highest theta(sub e) air coming from the layer closest to the surface after penetrating closest to the center. Occasionally, high Theta(sub e), air within the eye is drawn into the eyewall updrafts. The high Theta(sub e), air rising within the eyewall is shown to be associated with positive eyewall buoyancy with sufficient convective available potential energy along its path to produce relatively strong convective updrafts. Although the requirements for conditional symmetric instability are met within the eyewall and the air parcel trajectories follow slanted paths, the radial displacement of air parcels in the low-level outflow moves the air parcel sufficiently far away from the upper- warm core that the air becomes unstable to vertical displacements. Hence, convective instability rather than symmetric instability accounts for the stronger updrafts in the eyewall.
Health Effects of Nitrogen Dioxide

“Given the patterns of exposure to NO2in schools and homes in some regions of Australia, we suggest that NO2exposure be considered as a determinant of respiratory illness in Australian children with persistent and unexplained symptoms or unstable asthma. Although further research is needed to prove the association, prudence about NO2exposure is warranted.” (Pilotto et al, 1997).
Quantitative Study on the Chemical Solution Deposition of Zinc Oxysulfide

Zinc Oxysulfide (ZnOS) has demonstrated potential in the last decade to replace CdS as a buffer layer material since it is a wide-band-gap semiconductor with performance advantages over CdS (Eg = 2.4 eV) in the near UV-range for solar energy conversion. However, questions remain on the growth mechanisms of chemical bath deposited ZnOS. In this study, a detailed model is employed to calculate solubility diagrams that describe simple conditions for complex speciation control using only ammonium hydroxide without additional base. For these conditions, ZnOS is deposited via aqueous solution deposition on a quartz crystal microbalance in a continuous flow cell. Data is used to analyze the growth rate dependence on temperature and also to elucidate the effects of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) when used as a co-solvent. Activation energies (EA) of ZnOS are calculated for different flow rates and solution compositions. As a result, the measured EA relationships are affected by changes in the primary growth mechanism when DMSO is included.
A limit on dose reduction possible with CT reconstruction algorithms without prior knowledge of the scan subject

Purpose: To find an upper bound on the maximum dose reduction possible for any reconstruction algorithm, analytic or iterative, that result from the inclusion of the data statistics. The authors do not analyzenoise reduction possible from prior knowledge or assumptions about the object. Methods: The authors examined the task of estimating the density of a circular lesion in a cross section. Raw data were simulated by forward projection of existing images and numerical phantoms. To assess an upper bound on the achievable dose reduction by any algorithm, the authors assume that both the background and the shape of the lesion are completely known. Under these conditions, the best possible estimate of the density can be determined by solving a weighted least squares problem directly in the raw data domain. Any possible reconstruction algorithm that does not use prior knowledge or make assumptions about the object, including filtered backprojection (FBP) or iterative reconstruction methods with this constraint, must be no better than this least squares solution. The authors simulated 10 000 sets of noisy data and compared the variance in density from the least squares solution with those from FBP. Density was estimated from FBP images using either averaging within a ROI, or streak-adaptive averaging with better noise performance. Results: The bound on the possible dose reduction depends on the degree to which the observer can read through the possibly streaky noise. For the described low contrastdetection task with the signal shape and background known exactly, the average dose reduction possible compared to FBP with streak-adaptive averaging was 42% and it was 64% if only the ROI average is used with FBP. The exact amount of dose reduction also depends on the background anatomy, with statistically inhomogeneous backgrounds showing greater benefits. Conclusions: The dose reductions from new, statistical reconstruction methods can be bounded. Larger dose reductions in the density estimation task studied here are only possible with the introduction of prior knowledge, which can introduce bias.
Hypothyroid heart: myxoedema as a cause of reversible dilated cardiomyopathy

Hypothyroidism may cause several cardiac manifestations including conduction abnormalities, pericardial effusion, decreased myocardial contractility and accelerated coronary atherosclerosis. Although cardiac output is reduced in hypothyroidism, frank heart failure (HF) is relatively rare because of the low peripheral oxygen demand. Several mechanisms have been postulated in hypothyroid-induced HF, including genomic as well as non-genomic actions of thyroid hormone. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) of other aetiologies is usually progressive, and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We report a case of DCM associated with severe hypothyroidism with marked improvement on restoration of euthyroid state. Our case is unique in that the patient had no known risk factors for cardiac disease and experienced marked improvement despite being on minimal doses of HF medications, illustrating the relationship between hypothyroidism and development of left ventricular dysfunction, and its reversible nature with restoration of euthyroid status.
The Cytokine Profile of Human Umbilical Cord Blood (P02.015)

Objective: To determine the cytokine profile of human umbilical cord blood (hUCB). Background Several preclinical studies reported a beneficial effect of hUCB transplantation on models of diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer9s disease. Modulation of neuroinflammation is one of the mechanisms proposed to explain the hUCB effect. Design/Methods: We analyzed the cytokine profile of 8 plasma-derived hUCB samples, and compared them to plasma samples from 8 adult healthy subjects, using the MILLIPLEX MAP High Sensitivity Human Cytokine Panel immunoassay (Millipore, Billerica MA 01821). We analyzed the sample for 3 anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10, IL-13, IL-4) and 11 pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-1β, TNF-α, MCP-1, IFN-γ, GM-CSF). Results: The concentrations of the following cytokines were significantly higher in the hUCB samples, compared tothe samples from healthy subjects: GM-CSF (4.26 pg/ml, versus 4.006 pg/ml; p 0.05). The concentration level of the following cytokines was not significantly different between the two groups: IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-12, IL5, IL6, IL7. Conclusions: Our data demonstrated that hUCB mononuclear cells have an inherent ability to produce pro-inflammatory, as well as anti-inflammatory, cytokines. Depending on host cues, we hypothesize that the mechanism of the beneficial effect of hUCB mononuclear cell transplantation is not limited to the reduction of host neuroinflammation, but can extend to the stimulation of inflammatory pathways. Supported by: Talecris investigator initiated award. Ende Foundation. Disclosure: Dr. Souayah has received personal compensation for activities with Walgreens as a consultant. Dr. Souayah has received research support from Talecris. Dr. Ende has nothing to disclose. Dr. Chen has nothing to disclose.
Abstract A173: Inhibition of the STING pathway by the AIM2 inflammasome

Recognition of tumor-derived DNA by the cGAS/STING pathway in the cytosol of antigen-presenting cells leads to production of type I IFN, facilitating adaptive immunity against tumors. But cytosolic DNA is also recognized by AIM2, leading to the assembly of the AIM2 inflammasome and the production of mature IL-1 and IL-18. As stimulation of the STING pathway by endogenous tumor-derived DNA or exogenous therapeutic agonists have shown to trigger an immune response against tumors, a key question was whether the AIM2 inflammasome would have a positive or negative regulatory role, given the sharing of the same ligand by both pathways. In vivo, sorted CD45+ cells from implanted B16 tumors in AIM2-/- animals showed a higher IFN-β expression than the same cells sorted from WT mice, suggesting that AIM2 plays a negative role in the induction of type I IFN in vivo. Experiments in vitro confirmed that macrophages and dendritic cells from AIM2-, ASC-, or caspase-1-deficient mice produced substantially higher IFN-β in response to tumor-derived DNA. Biochemical analysis revealed that all steps in the STING pathway were enhanced in the inflammasome deficient cells: generation of cGAMP, aggregation of STING, and phosphorylation of TBK1 and IRF3. Studies investigating the biological mechanism by which activation of the AIM2 inflammasome inhibits the STING pathway revealed that pyroptosis induced by activation of the AIM2 inflammasome was critically involved. Pre-incubation with a caspase-1 inhibitor abolished cell death, and recovered a significant proportion of phosphorylation of TBK1/IRF3 and production of IFN-β. Our data suggest that the activation of AIM2 inflammasome inhibits the STING pathway mainly by cell death derived from the activation of the inflammasome. This crosstalk may have potential consequences for anti-tumor immunity which should be explored in vivo. Citation Format: Leticia Corrales, Seng-Ryong Woo, Thomas F. Gajewski. Inhibition of the STING pathway by the AIM2 inflammasome. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; September 16-19, 2015; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A173.
Thoughts on peer (paraprofessional) support in the provision of mental health services.

Abstract Whether providing emergency mental health services or traditional counseling, the rapid establishment of credibility and rapport represent a significant challenge for the interventionist in the development of the therapeutic relationship. The provision of "peer" psychological support represents an intuitively compelling mechanism for meeting such a challenge, especially when dealing with recipients who are unfamiliar with, or are otherwise resistant to, mental health intervention. If cautiously applied and generously supervised, the use of peer psychological support may allow the provision of psychological support services to those who might otherwise avoid such support.
Dependence of the driving force of the sodium pump on rate of transport.

The driving force for active transport of Na+ in the isolated toad bladder, ENa, was measured as the reciprocal slope of the change in conductance with change in short-circuit current after stimulation with antidiuretic hormone. The base-line short-circuit current was altered by change in ambient Na+ concentration or addition of amiloride, maneuvers which alter availability of Na+ at the site of active transport. In the absence of a chemical gradient for Na+ across the bladder, ENa was found to be inversely related to the rate of Na+ transport, a finding incompatible with the simple electrical analogue that has been proposed for the system. The results provide additional support for the view that ENa measured in this way has both energetic and kinetic components. membrane transport; active transport; sodium transport; ENa Submitted on April 23, 1976
How the Immune System Works

The primary function of the immune system, to say it in the most elemental (and oversimplified, but not altogether untrue) terms, is to distinguish between what is self and what is non-self, and then to eliminate the non-self. Thus, whenever a non-self substance breaks the normal skin and membrane barriers of the body and gets “inside the walls,” the immune system shifts into gear to meet the challenge. If the invader is a microbe, such as a bacterium or virus, macrophage cells seek it out, surround it, and try to ingest and absorb it. They then transport portions of it over to another cell in the system, the T4 cell, the cell that oversees and regulates the entire cellular and humoral immune response, and present the surface of that invader to the surface of the T4 cell for recognition. “See what I have here?” it seems to say. “Well, there are more out there just like this one, and they have the same coat this one has. Let’s gear up for them, train our troops to recognize them, and fight them off. What say? Should we get to battle stations?”1
Neuroelectromagnetic Source Imaging of Brain Dynamics

Neuroelectromagnetic source imaging (NSI) is the scientific field devoted to modeling and estimating the spatiotemporal dynamics of the neuronal currents that generate the electric potentials and magnetic fields measured with electromagnetic (EM) recording technologies. Unlike functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which is indirectly related to neuroelectrical activity through neurovascular coupling [e.g., the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal], EM measurements directly relate to the electrical activity of neuronal populations. In the past few decades, researchers have developed a great variety of source estimation techniques that are well informed by anatomy, neurophysiology, and the physics of volume conduction. State-of-the-art approaches can resolve many simultaneously active brain regions and their single trial dynamics and can even reveal the spatial extent of local cortical current flows.
Polyphosphate-mediated release of iron from transferrin. A possible mechanism for acquisition of iron from transferrin by Neisseria gonorrhoeae

A hypothetical model for removal of iron from transferrin by N. gonorrhoeae, mediated by the polyphosphate capsule on the cell surface, is presented.
GD2/GD3 expression: Companion diagnostic for ganglioside-targeted immunotherapy against pediatric solid tumors.

10567Background: Gangliosides GD2 and GD3 are the tumor-associated glycolipid antigens found in a broad spectrum of human cancers, including pediatric embryonal tumors (neuroblastoma, retinoblastom...
Calibration of Six-Port Network Analyzers at Low Frequencies by TRT - A Variation of TRL Technique

These results demonstrate the efficacy of the TRT technique for calibrating a D6PNA at frequencies too low to use an air line standard as required by the TRL technique.
Medical Care, Medical Costs: the Search for a Health Insurance Policy

(1988). Medical Care, Medical Costs: the Search for a Health Insurance Policy. Journal of Economic Issues: Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 902-905.
“(S)he Conquers Who Endures”: Theodora DeWolf Colt and the Birth of a New Cultural Elite

ABSTRACTThis essay explores the intersection of gender and class in the making of the new “high brow” culture of the late nineteenth century, represented by the matriarch of Bristol, Rhode Island, Theodora Goujaud DeWolf Colt. Through her poetry and salons, Theodora, like other wealthy women of the time, helped fashion a new bourgeois culture, which, though centered in New York and Boston, radiated outward to the smaller cities of the U.S., such as Bristol. Although the gendered norms and practices of the time excluded her from participation in much of public life, Theodora represented a new model of autonomy for upper-class women, for she was unmarried, not dependent on a man, and an independent intellectual. Her work also demonstrated the gendered tensions inherent in the formation of this new culture, as she developed a distinctive literary perspective that subtly criticized the paternalism and bourgeois values of that era.
Advances in Therapeutic Approaches to Extend Healthspan: a perspective from the 2nd Scripps Symposium on the Biology of Aging

The 2nd Scripps Florida Symposium on The Biology of Aging entitled 'Advances in Therapeutic Approaches to Extend Healthspan' was held on January 22nd -25th , 2017 at The Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida. The meeting highlighted a variety of therapeutic approaches in animal models of aging that either are or soon will be in clinic trials. For example, drugs targeting senescent cells, metformin, rapalogs, NAD precursors, young plasma, mitochondrial-targeted free radical scavengers, stem cells, and stem cell factors all have shown significant preclinical efficacy. This perspective, based on presentations and discussions at the symposium, outlines the current and future state of development of therapeutic approaches to extend human healthspan.
Alterations in adult hippocampal neurogenesis, aberrant protein s-nitrosylation, and associated spatial memory loss in streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus type 2 mice.

Objective(s): Epidemiological and biochemical studies conducted over the past two decades have established a strong link between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the exact mechanisms through which aberrations in insulin signaling associated with T2DM contribute to cognitive decline are not yet known. Materials and Methods: In an effort to explore possible molecular links between T2DM and AD, the present study investigated the status of neurodegeneration, adult hippocampal neurogenesis, and nitrosative stress induced protein S-nitrosylation in streptozotocin (STZ) induced mice models of T2DM. Morris water maze task and subsequent histological and immunohistochemical assessment were conducted. Expression of neurogenesis markers (Ki67, DCX, and NeuN) and APP 770 was determined by qRT-PCR. Results: A significant decline in spatial learning and reference memory was observed with consequent neurodegeneration in brain cortex and hippocampus in the diabetic group as compared to the control group. A subsequent increase in expression of APP 770 was also observed in T2DM brain regions. Moreover, a significant decrease in transcriptional expression of Ki67, DCX, and NeuN was also evident in T2DM brain regions, which indicated possible aberrations in adult hippocampal neurogenesis in T2DM. Furthermore, an increased immunohistochemical signal for S-nitrosylation was also observed in T2DM, which also suggested its potential contribution in T2DM associated neuronal deterioration. Conclusion: It is suggested that these identified aberrations in the diabetic brain may communally increase the susceptibility of developing AD in patients with T2DM. Further studies of the underlying molecular mechanisms may help to strategize a combination therapy for these debilitating disorders.
Accelerating Web Performance with ISA 2006 Caching Capabilities

This chapter describes the acceleration of web performance with ISA 2006 caching capabilities. Forward Web caching has the advantage of creating a faster access for internal users as they retrieve the Web objects over a fast Local Area Network (LAN) connection. Forward caching takes place when a user on a network protected by the ISA 2006 firewall makes a request for Web content. The primary bottom line benefit of ISA 2006's forward caching is cost savings realized by reduced bandwidth usage on the Internet connection. Reverse caching reduces traffic on the internal network and speeds access for external users when the company hosts its own Web sites. Reverse caching reduces bandwidth usage on the internal network when cached content is served directly from the ISA 2006 machine. It is observed that when a request for an object on the company Web server comes in from a user over the Internet, the ISA firewall checks its cache for the object. It is found that the content download feature is used to schedule ISA 2006 to download new content from the Internet at predefined times so that, when Web Proxy clients request those objects, updated versions will be in the cache.