cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stem Cells and Stroke Recovery

Those patients who are fortunate enough to survive a stroke, leave the hospital, complete acute rehabilitation therapy, and return home enter a chronic phase of the disorder in which improvement may continue for weeks to months. Improvement proceeds via mechanisms that are poorly understood, but its occurrence implies continued plasticity of the nervous system, which might be exploited in treatment. One approach that could enhance long-term recovery from stroke is based on partial reconstitution of the damaged portion of the nervous system from endogenous or exogenous cellular sources. …
A corner finder for visual feedback.

In visual-feedback work often a model of an object and its approximate location are known and it is only necessary to determine its location and orientation more accurately. The purpose of the program described herein is to provide such information for the case in which the model is an edge or corner. Given a model of a line or a corner with two or three edges, the program searches a TV window of arbitrary size looking for one or all corners which match the model. A model-driven program directs the search. It calls on another program to find all lines inside the window. Then it looks at these lines and eliminates lines which cannot match any of the model lines. It next calls on a program to form vertices and then checks for a matching vertex. If this simple procedure fails, the model-driver has two backup procedures. First it works with the lines that it has and tries to form a matching vertex (corner). If this fails, it matches parts of the model with vertices and lines that are present and then takes a careful look in a small region in which it expects to find a missing line. The program often finds weak contrast edges in this manner. Lines are found by a global method after the entire window has been scanned with the Hueckel edge operator.
Between Theory and Practice: A Dilemma for the Morawetz‐Wittgenstein View of Law

Drawing deeply from Wittgenstein's later works, Thomas Morawetz has articulated a vision of legal decision making according to which it is not a defect, but inherent in the very nature of law, for there to be disagreement among judges regarding their legal decision-making strategies. Central to Morawetz's account is the notion of a legal grammatical proposition. This essay argues that because legal grammatical remarks lack any truth-value, they cannot play a justificatory role. This would imply that the rule of law is no more justifiable than the violent alternatives used by anarchists and religious fanatics.
Development and Characterization of Recombinant Human Fc:OX40L fusion protein linked via a coiled-coil trimerization domain

OX40 (CD134) is a potent costimulatory molecule found on the surface of activated CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. Immunotherapy with OX40 agonists administered in vivo has demonstrated efficacy in several murine tumor models. A phase I clinical trial is currently underway in patients with advanced cancer using a mouse anti-CD134 monoclonal antibody. Therapy with this antibody will likely be limited to one cycle because patients develop neutralizing human anti-mouse antibody (HAMA). Therefore, we developed a humanized OX40 agonist that links the extracellular domain of human OX40L to the Fc domain of human IgG(1) via a trimerizing isoleucine zipper domain (ILZ). Physical characterization by velocity sedimentation revealed that this novel construct, hFcILZOX40L, was assembled into hexamers in which the Fc domains formed three disulfide-bonded dimers and the ILZ-OX40L domains formed two trimers. Trimerization of the ILZ domain was necessary to achieve appropriate assembly. In vitro biologic activity of the hFcILZOX40L hexamer was equivalent to the activity of agonist antibodies in plate-bound assays and was superior when the agonists were tested as soluble agents. Our ultimate goal is to use this recombinant molecule in a future clinical trial, and we feel that the OX40L hexamer will have equivalent or superior agonist activity in vivo when compared to an anti-OX40 antibody.
Representing Potential Energy Functions by Expansions in Orthogonal Polynomials. Generalized SPF Potentials

It long has been known that advantages attend employing, as a basic internuclear coordinate for determining a molecular potential energy surface, a variable S = 1 − R0/R, where R0 is a reference distance near to half of an equilibrium distance. For a diatomic molecule, starting from numerical or analytical representations of the energy, W(R) = W(S), it is shown how to generate the analytical series, W(S) = σ(S)∑n bnPn(S), where Pn(S) are orthogonal polynomials with weight function σ(S) over the range (−1,1) for S. By rearrangement, there result the series for W(R) in inverse powers of R. For neutral diatomics, the Jacobi polynomials, (S) with weight function (1 + S)(1 − S)6, seem particularly appropriate when the potential for large R is of special interest.
COMPUTATIONAL MODELING OF COLD-FORMED STEEL

The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of computational modeling, both elastic buckling and nonlinear collapse analysis, for cold-formed steel members. Recent research and experiences with computational modeling of cold-formed steel members conducted within the first author's research group at Johns Hopkins University are the focus of the presented work. This admittedly biased view of computational modeling focuses primarily on the use of the semi-analytical finite strip method and collapse modeling using shell finite elements. Issues addressed include how to fully compare finite strip and finite element solutions, and the importance of imperfections, residual stresses, material modeling, boundary conditions, element choice, element discretization, and solution controls in collapse modeling of cold-formed steel. Examples are provided to demonstrate the expected range of sensitivity in cold-formed steel collapse modeling. The paper concludes with a discussion of areas worthy of future study that are within the domain of cold-formed steel modeling.
Biological rhythm development in preterm infants: does health status influence body temperature circadian rhythm?

Twenty-six preterm infants, postconceptional age from 28 to 35 weeks and postnatal age approximately 14 days, were included in a study of the development of temperature circadian rhythm. Insulated abdominal skin temperature and incubator air temperature were recorded continuously at 1-min intervals for 24 hr. Using cosinor analysis, cycle mesor, amplitude, and acrophase were determined. Initial results from regression analysis did not confirm a predicted linear relationship between postconceptional age and amplitude; however, dividing the sample according to health status into sick (N = 15) and not sick (N = 11) groups revealed differing regression models. For not sick infants, amplitude increased with postconceptional age (R2 = .405), whereas no relationship was found between postconceptional age and cycle amplitude in sick infants (R2 = .069). These results indicate that healthy preterm infants demonstrate emergence of circadian temperature rhythm. Implications include potential time-based periods of vulnerability, overheating and hyperthermia, and management of incubator operation. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Res Nurs Health 24: 170–180, 2001
Fur rubbing behavior in free‐ranging black‐handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) in Panama

Members of the population of black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, use the leaves of three Rutaceae species in a behavior that resembles fur rubbing in the white faced capuchin (Cebus capucinus). This behavior has not been reported from other sites where Ateles has been studied. During more than 1,200 hours of observation, 30 episodes of this behavior were recorded ad libitum. Adult males engage in this behavior more than adult females. Season did not impact the frequency of the behavior. The behavior described here differs in many respects from that reported for Cebus capucinus, and does not fit the hypotheses that the behavior functions in repelling insects or other antiseptic purposes. It is proposed that fur rubbing in this group of spider monkeys is a modification of a behavior previously recorded in Ateles and may function in scent marking.
Metal Oxide Chemistry in Solution: The Early Transition Metal Polyoxoanions

Many of the early transition elements form large polynuclear metal-oxygen anions containing up to 200 atoms or more. Although these polyoxoanions have been investigated for more than a century, detailed studies of structure and reactivity were not possible until the development of modern x-ray crystallographic and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic techniques. Systematic studies of small polyoxoanions in inert, aprotic solvents have clarified many of the principles governing their structure and reactivity, and also have made possible the preparation of entirely new types of covalent derivatives such as CH(2)Mo(4)O(15)H(3-), C(5)H(5)TiMo(5)O(18)(3-), and (OC)(3)Mn(Nb(2)W(4)O(19))(3-). Since most early transition metal polyoxoanions have structures based on close-packed oxygen arrays containing interstitial metal centers, their chemistry offers a rare opportunity to study chemical transformations in detail on well-defined metal oxide surfaces.
Guest Editor’s Introduction: India’s Economy: Growth, Governance, and Reform

This introduction provides the context for, summarizes, and connects the articles in the special issue.
Computations of Evolutions for Isothermal Viscous and Viscoelastic Flows in Open Domains

This paper presents numerical computations of evolutions described by the initial value problems (IVPs) in isothermal incompressible viscous and viscoelastic flows in open domains using a space-time finite element model in hpk framework with space-time variationally consistent (STVC) integral forms. The mathematical models for viscous and viscoelastic liquids include the continuity and momentum equations in terms of the total stress tensor and the velocity vector. The second law of thermodynamics, namely the Clausius-Duhem in-equality, forms the basis for the constitutive equations for all matters including the ones considered here. For the liquids considered here, it becomes necessary to decompose the total stress tensor into equilibrium stress tensor and the deviatoric stress tensor. Determination of equilibrium stress using the Clausius-Duhem inequality with incompressibility constraint yields mechanical pressure as a function of temperature in the case of thermofluids otherwise constant but a function...
Passion in politics and the science of politics

Abstract The article was delivered as the Presidential Address at the Fourth Annual International Conference of The Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics, University of California, Irvine, March 28, 1992. It expresses some concerns about the way academic research approaches contemporary politics, and concludes that economics, political science, and psychology are in some ways poorly equipped to analyze passion in public life.
Immunoglobulin deficiency syndromes and therapy.

Article de synthese sur les syndromes d'immunodeficits primaires en immunoglobulines: immunodeficit hereditaire de Bruton, immunodeficit commun variable, immunodeficit en IgA secretee, en sous classes d'IgG, en IgM, diagnostic et traitement
Effect of NaCl on the in vitro Activity of Malate Dehydrogenase in Salt Marsh Halophytes of the U.S.

The in vitro effect of NaCl on NAD-malate dehydrogenase (E.C. 1.1.1.37; MDH) from desalted extracts of roots and leaves of six salt marsh halophytes was investigated. The plants, all native and important constituents of the salt marshes of the east coast of the U.S., included Spartina alterniflora Loisel., Spartina patens (Aiton) Muhl., Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene, Juncus roemerianus Schleele, Salicornia virginica L., and Borrichia frutescens (L.) DC. In the leaf extracts of all species except Borrichia frutescens, the MDH activity was slightly stimulated by NaCl at concentrations around 0.05 M at optimal pH (8.0–8.5) and was reduced by NaCl in higher concentrations. MDH activity in the leaf extract of Borrichia frutescens was more salt-tolerant and maximal activity occurred around 0.25 M NaCl at optimal pH (7.0). Even though similar pH optimums for activity were exhibited in the root and leaf extracts of each species, the MDH activity in the root extract was more salt-tolerant than that in the leaf extract. NaCl at concentrations up to 0.1 M stimulated the MDH activity in the root extracts of all species except that of Borrichia frutescens, which had an optimal activity in 0.5 M NaCl. In the root and leaf extracts of Borrichia frutescens, the activity of cytosol MDH was much more salt-tolerant than that of the mitochondrial MDH. A shift of the optimal pH to more acidic values with increasing concentrations of NaCl was noted in the extracts of all the species except Borrichia frutescens. The action of NaCl on MDH activity appeared to be a general ionic effect as judged by the response of the enzyme activity in the presence of iso-ionic concentrations of other salts and isoosmotic mannitol. Thus, the response of the MDH from five of the salt marsh plants to NaCl is similar to that of glycophytes. However, Borrichia frutescens possesses a salt-tolerant MDH that has optimal activity in a salt concentration as high as that of the environment.
Short- and long-term growth characteristics associated with tree mortality in southwestern mixed-conifer forests

Continued increases in global temperatures and incidences of drought have been implicated in elevated tree mortality in many regions, prompting interest in better understanding tree mortality proce...
Role of temperature and nutrients in extinction of turritelline gastropods: Cenozoic of the northwestern Atlantic and northeastern Pacific

Abstract Turritelline gastropods (Mesogastropoda, Turritelline) are common to abundant components in many fossil (Cretaceous, Cenozoic) and Recent marine benthic communities, but the environmental factors affecting their evolution and extinction are poorly understood. This is in large part because today they occur most abundantly in cooler waters associated with upwelling or other high-nutrient conditions, but thermal tolerances and preferences are unclear for extinct turritelline species. Turritellines were diverse and abundant throughout the New World for much of the Cenozoic. Beginning in the early Neogene, through both extinction and range contraction, however, they started to disappear from higher latitudes on both Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North and Central America. The highest rate of extinction took place in the western Atlantic in the Plio-Pleistocene, when almost all turritelline species in this area became extinct. Preliminary comparison of the available stratigraphic record suggests that this paleobiogeographic pattern is not an artefact of the record. This biogeographic shift coincides with a postulated regional mass extinction among all marine mollusks in the western Atlantic at around the same time. Causes for turritelline extinction, however, appear to be more complex than the decline in temperature that is cited most often as the probable cause of the western Atlantic molluskan extinction event. Neogene turritellines in the western Atlantic appear to have been adversely affected by collapse and/or major reorganization of oceanic productivity associated with the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. Nutrients thus may have been more important than temperature change in controlling extinction probability in this group.
THe localization, metabolism and effects of drugs and toxicants in lung.

(1975). The Localization, Metabolism, and Effects of Drugs and Toxicants in Lung. Drug Metabolism Reviews: Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 33-87.
Differential gene expression of extracellular matrix components in dilated cardiomyopathy

Extracellular matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are activated in dilated cardiomyopathic (DCM) hearts [Tyagi et al. (1996): Mol Cell Biochem 155:13-21]. To examine whether the MMP activation is occurring at the gene expression level, we performed differential display mRNA analysis on tissue from six dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) explanted and five normal human hearts. Specifically, we identified three genes to be induced and several other genes to be repressed following DCM. Southern blot analysis of isolated cDNA using a collagenase cDNA probe indicated that one of the genes induced during DCM was interstitial collagenase (MMP-1). Northern blot analysis using MMP-1 cDNA probe indicated that MMP-1 was induced three- to fourfold in the DCM heart as compared to normal tissue. To analyze posttranslational expression of MMP and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP) we performed immunoblot, immunoassay, and substrate zymographic assays. TIMP-1 and MMP-1 levels were 37 ± 8 ng/mg and 9 ± 2 ng/mg in normal tissue specimens (P < 0.01) and 2 ± 1 ng/mg and 45 ± 11 ng/mg in DCM tissue (P < 0.01), respectively. Zymographic analysis demonstrated lytic bands at 66 kDa and 54 kDa in DCM tissue as compared to one band at 66 kDa in normal tissue. Incubation of zymographic gel with metal chelator (phenanthroline) abolished both bands suggesting activation of neutral MMP in DCM heart tissue. TIMP-1 was repressed approximately twentyfold in DCM hearts when compared with normal heart tissue. In situ immunolabeling of MMP-1 indicated phenotypic differences in the fibroblast cells isolated from the DCM heart as compared to normal heart. These results suggest disruption in the balance of myopathic-fibroblast cell ECM-proteinase and antiproteinase in ECM remodeling which is followed by dilated cardiomyopathy. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Some observations on the surface coat and intercellular matrix material of the amphibian ectoderm.

Abstract An intercellular membrane-like matrix has been isolated from the ectoderm of Rana pipiens embryos and larvae. Initially structureless, by Stage 18 it becomes filled with osmotically sensitive fibrils. The surface coat or intercellular substance appears to be largely mucopolysaccharide in character and probably contains basic amino acids, but no sulphur-containing amino acids. The surface coat and intercellular matrix seem cytochemically and structurally indistinguishable.
Padmaśrī’s Nāgarasarvasva and the World of Medieval Kāmaśāstra

This essay focuses on a neglected and important text, the Nāgarasarvasva of Padmaśrī, as an index to the changing contours of kāmaśāstra in the early second millennium (1000-1500) CE. Focusing on a number of themes which linked Padmaśrī’s work with contemporary treatises, the essay argues that kāmaśāstra incorporated several new conceptions of the body and related para-technologies as well as elements of material and aesthetic culture which had become prominent in the cosmopolitan, courtly milieu. Rather than seeing this development as an attenuation of the earlier science as constituted by Vātsyāyana’s Kāmasūtra, it is possible to see that kāmaśāstra actually developed closer relations with fields of knowledge that had long developed alongside it.
Equity and the allocation of health care resources: Proposition or oxymoron?

The rate of changes in the allocation of health care resources has escalated in the past decade in an attempt to provide for cost containment and a more equitable distribution while retaining quality of care. In this issue, economists, physicians, psychologists, and sociologists examine the current health care environment for evidence relevant to the effect of these changes and provide a guideline for future direction.
Mother nature meets mother nurture

Using prenatal and postnatal cross-fostering methods in mice, a new experiment shows that the intrauterine environment and postnatal care cooperate to influence behavior in adulthood.
Knockdown of GluR1 expression by RNA interference inhibits glioma proliferation

High-grade gliomas release excitotoxic concentrations of glutamate which contributes to their malignant phenotype. To improve our understanding of the mechanisms by which glutamate enhances tumor growth and invasion, we examined α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA)-mediated signaling in glioma cell lines. shRNA was used to stably knockdown GluR1, the most abundant AMPA receptor subunit in glioma, to evaluate its role in tumor signaling, proliferation and tumorigenicity. In a tissue array, there was a statistically significant increase in GluR1 expression in glioblastoma samples compared to anaplastic astrocytoma and low-grade tumors. In vitro, we observed a time and dose-dependent increase in MAPK phosphorylation following exposure to AMPA, which was blocked with AMPA receptor antagonists and the MEK1 inhibitor PD98059. Retroviral delivery of GluR1 shRNA in U251 and U87 glioma cells reduced GluR1 protein expression, inhibited AMPA-mediated increases in MAPK phosphorylation, and decreased glioma proliferation in vitro. U251 and U87 shGluR1 cells implanted into the flanks of nude mice grew slower than controls, which correlated with a decrease in proliferation measured by Ki-67 staining and an increase in apoptosis. These results suggest that AMPA receptors are abundantly expressed in high-grade gliomas and gene silencing of the GluR1 AMPA receptor subunit results in abrogation of AMPA-mediated signaling and tumor growth.
Performance Prediction for an Axial Flow Hydraulic Transmission

An axial flow hydraulic transmission is being investigated when using such a transmission in conjunction with ship propulsion driving a propeller. The investigation covers the procedure to discern the theoretical and predicted operating points for an axial flow hydraulic transmission. Theoretical performance characteristics of the primary and secondary units are determined and actual performance is predicted based on design and fluid losses. The performance curves of each component are then overlayed, and the intersection of these curves represents the transmissions' operating point. Since actual performance curves are highly non-linear, graphic representations provide the best way to predict actual operating points.
Noncontact thickness measurement of dielectric coatings using millimeter waves

wave reflectometry offers a noncontact means of measuring the thicknesses of individual layers withinmulti-layer dielectric coatings on metallic substrates. Complex reflection coefficients of both TM and TE/TM wavesincident on coated materials are measured over a range of frequencies and grazing angles of incidence. The sensitivityof the apparatus is such that single-layer coatings differing by 0.2 microns can be distinguished.Keywords: nondestructive evaluation, millimeter waves, reflectometer, coating thickness, dielectric1. INTRODUCTIONThe variety of techniques available for measuring coating thickness reflect the wide diversity of coatings
Isocurvature Perturbations and Non-Gaussianity of Gravitationally Produced Nonthermal Dark Matter

Gravitational particle production naturally occurs during the transition from the inflationary phase to the noninflationary phase. If the particles are stable and very weakly interacting, they are natural nonthermal dark matter candidates. We show that such nonthermal dark matter particles can produce local non-Gaussianities large enough to be observed by ongoing and near future experiments without being in conflict with the existing isocurvature bounds. Of particular interest is the fact that these particles can be observable through local non-Gaussianities even when they form a very small fraction of the total dark matter content.
Exposure to pro-tobacco messages and smoking status among Mexican origin youth.

Though several studies have found a positive relationship between exposure to tobacco advertising and/or promotional marketing and smoking status among youth, few have examined these relationships specifically for youth of Mexican origin. The current analysis examines the relationship between perceived exposure to pro-tobacco messages and progression through the smoking continuum from trying to repeated use in a cohort of Mexican origin youth ages 14–19. Data were collected via personal in-home interviews at two time points—in 2008–2009 and 2010–2011 (N = 942). Smoking status, exposure to pro-tobacco messages from five major media sources, demographic variables and established risk factors for adolescent smoking were measured at both waves. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s Chi square tests, ANOVA, and multinomial logistic regression. Adolescent perception of the number of pro-tobacco messages seen in 2008–2009 was unrelated to smoking less than one cigarette assessed in 2010–2011. However, having seen a higher number of pro-tobacco messages was significantly associated with being more likely to have smoked more than one cigarette (OR = 1.21; 95 % CI 1.03–1.42) controlling for demographic factors and known psychosocial risk factors of smoking behavior. Results suggest that the more pro-tobacco messages Mexican origin youth are able to recall, the further their progression through the smoking trajectory a year later. These youth are clearly susceptible to pro-tobacco messaging, and our results underscore the need to restrict all forms of messaging that promote tobacco use.
Digging for Jane and Finding Yorrick

“The search for descent is not the erecting of foundations: on the contrary, it disturbs what was previously considered immobile; it fragments what was thought unified; it shows the heterogeneity o...
Comparative ammonia toxicity

Abstract 1. 1. Intravenous and intraperitoneal ld 50 and ld 99·9 values for ammonium acetate were determined in a uricotelic species ( Gallus domesticus ) and in a ureotelic species ( Mus musculus ). 2. 2. The intravenous ld 50 and ld 99·9 values were 2·72 ± 0·101 and 4·87 ± 0·101 m-mole/kg body weight for chicks and 5·64 ± 0·083 and 7·67 ± 0·083 m-mole/kg body weight for mice. 3. 3. The intraperitoneal ld 50 and ld 99·9 values were 10·44 ± 0·405 and 26·2 ± 0·405 m-mole/kg body weight for chicks and 10·84 ± 0·203 and 18·0 ± 0·203 m-mole/kg body weight for mice. 4. 4. Intravenously, the ammonium acetate was twice as toxic in the chick as in the mouse, indicating in the chick a critical organ more sensitive to the ammonium ion. 5. 5. Intraperitoneally, the ammonium acetate did not differ significantly in tolerance by mice and chicks, indicating that in the avian liver some other pathway may be as efficient for detoxifing exogenous ammonia as the urea cycle in the mouse liver.
Factors affecting information utilization and change: The case of recreation research and river management in the public sector

This research looked at the information transfer process between recreation researchers and managers. The objective was to identify personal and organizational constraints to managers' efforts to use new information and, consequently, to positively change resource management practices. It suggests some ways to eliminate or reduce constraints.
A Simple Scalable Association Hypothesis Test Combining Gene-wide Evidence From Multiple Polymorphisms

AIMS In single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) scans, SNP-phenotype association hypotheses are tested, however there is biological interpretation only for genes that span multiple SNPs. We demonstrate and validate a method of combining gene-wide evidence using data for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC). METHODOLOGY In a family based study (N=1782 from 482 families), we used 1000 phenotype-permuted datasets to determine the correlation of z-test statistics for 592 SNP-HDLC association tests comprising 14 genes previously reported to be associated with HDLC. We generated gene-wide p-values using the distribution of the sum of correlated z-statistics. RESULTS Of the 14 genes, CETP was significant (p=4.0×10-5 <0.05/14), while PLTP was significant at the borderline (p=6.7×10-3 <0.1/14). These p-values were confirmed using empirical distributions of the sum of χ2 association statistics as a gold standard (2.9×10-6 and 1.8×10-3, respectively). Genewide p-values were more significant than Bonferroni-corrected p-value for the most significant SNP in 11 of 14 genes (p=0.023). Genewide p-values calculated from SNP correlations derived for 20 simulated normally distributed phenotypes reproduced those derived from the 1000 phenotype-permuted datasets were correlated with the empirical distributions (Spearman correlation = 0.92 for both). CONCLUSION We have validated a simple scalable method to combine polymorphism-level evidence into gene-wide statistical evidence. High-throughput gene-wide hypothesis tests may be used in biologically interpretable genomewide association scans. Genewide association tests may be used to meaningfully replicate findings in populations with different linkage disequilibrium structure, when SNP-level replication is not expected.
Chickens and eggs—the interrelationship of systems and theory

This paper describes a personal perspective of the kinds of contributions that systems research and theoretical research make to one another particularly in the database area. Examples of each kind of contribution are given, and then several case studies from the author a personal experience are presented. The case studies illustrate database systems research where theoretical work contributed to systems results and vice versa. Areas of database systems which need more contributions from the theoretical community will also be presented.
Preterm labor associated with subclinical amniotic fluid infection and with bacterial vaginosis.

Maternal genital infection, particularly subclinical amniotic fluid infection, may cause preterm labor and a premature delivery. The prevalence of subclinical amniotic fluid infection was studied in 54 consecutive afebrile women in preterm labor with singleton gestations and intact fetal membranes. Microorganisms were recovered from the amniotic fluid by transabdominal amniocentesis in 13 (24%) of 54 patients. Bacteria or Candida albicans were recovered from six (11%), and genital mycoplasmas from seven (13%). Compared with women with sterile amniotic fluid, patients whose amniotic fluid contained bacteria or Candida organisms had a shorter interval from onset of preterm labor until delivery (0.6 versus 34.3 days, P less than .01), were less responsive to tocolytic therapy (0 versus 81% success rate, P less than .005), and more frequently developed subsequent intrapartum fever (83 versus 2.4%, P less than .005). In contrast, women whose amniotic fluid contained genital mycoplasmas did not differ in these parameters from those with sterile fluid. Also compared was cervical-vaginal infection among these patients in preterm labor with matched control subjects without preterm labor. In this analysis, bacterial vaginosis was identified in 43% of patients with and 14% of women without preterm labor (P = .02), yielding a relative risk of preterm labor for patients with bacterial vaginosis of 3.8. These data underscore the importance of amniotic fluid bacterial infections in preterm labor and premature delivery, and suggest that bacterial vaginosis is associated with prematurity.
Tsunami hazard from submarine landslides on the Oregon continental slope

The morphometric analysis of submarine landslides on the continental slope of Oregon provides insight into tsunami hazard, including the locations of mass movements, the sizes of mass failures, their relative importance to the structure of a given margin, and the potential for landslide-generated tsunami hazards. Numerous, often overlapping failures, including two super-scale slumps in the southern Oregon margin, may have had the capacity to produce very large tsunamis, and should be considered when assessing earthquake and tsunami hazard in the Cascadia Subduction Zone. We use various aspects of the slides, including the mean water depth, width, run-out distance, and thickness, along with the slope gradient in the scar and adjacent slopes (and radius of curvature of the failure plane for slumps) to predict maximum tsunami amplitudes directly above the failure. Cohesive landslides tend to have higher headscarps than the slides that lose cohesion, suggesting that they occur in stronger sediment, and have the potential to produce larger tsunamis. On other continental margins (California, Texas/Louisiana, and New Jersey/Maryland), landslides tend to occur on slopes less than 4°, however offshore Oregon, most of the landslides occur on slopes over 15°; the failures on the steeper slopes tend to produce larger tsunamis. There are surprisingly few large failures along the seismically active northern margin, implying that strong shaking maybe limited in this region, and tsunami generation may be due to coincident movement along faults on the upper plate.
Scalloped and Planar Erosion Surfaces, Middle Ordovician Limestones, Virginia: Analogues of Holocene Exposed Karst or Tidal Rock Platforms

ABSTRACT Scalloped and planar erosion surfaces are developed at numerous stratigraphic levels above prograded tidal flat fenestral limestones and beneath more open marine skeletal limestones in the Middle Ordovician limestone sequence, Virginia. Scalloped surfaces consist of smooth curved basins (10 cm to over 1 m wide) with intervening steep, locally overhanging walls and sharp ridges. Relief is up to 30 cm. The scalloped surfaces pass laterally into planar erosional contacts. Erosional surfaces truncate grains and cements and rare incipiently brecciated (vadose) fabrics. Fossiliferous breccias occur rarely above contacts. Some contacts are bored locally and encrusted by calcareous algae and bryozoans. Erosional contacts between fenestral limestones and overlying skeletal beds are extremely s arp and there is no burrowing across the contacts. Locally, submarine hardgrounds converge onto scalloped/planar erosional contacts. The erosion surfaces are believed to have formed initially as exposed karst on supratidal, prograded, early lithified tidal flat limestones, as indicated by vadose features beneath some contacts. Further erosion in tidal rock platform environments is indicated by position of erosion surfaces beneath open marine carbonates, organic encrustation of contacts, local marine cements beneath some contacts, local bored contacts, and by reported higher rates of tidal erosion compared to subaerial erosion in the Recent. These surfaces do not appear to have been documented to any extent in ancient carbonate sequences. However, the abundance of such surfaces along modern coasts and in karst terrains, and in the Middle Ordovician limestones of Virginia, suggests that they might be more abundant elsewhere. Finally, these surfaces might be useful in defining paleoshorelines in the absence of tidal flat deposits.
Structural Sources of Post-Communist Market Reform: Economic Structure, Political Culture, and War

Why did some post-communist countries implement more thorough market reforms than others? Four different structural explanations are considered: (1) relative size of economic interest group coalitions hurt by market reform; (2) predominant religious traditions, which may incorporate norms and institutions more or less favorable to market reform; (3) variation in historically based national economic and political expectations, in which greater pre-communist political and economic achievements may create collective rationales for more aggressive institutional and policy reforms; and (4) duration of large-scale military conflict, which may distract and undermine reformist governments. These explanations are tested both directly, and mediated through plausible process predictors—democratization, party ideological moderation or extremism, strength of the presidency, and party system concentration. The 28 post-communist countries are examined over shorter and longer time spans—2 years after the fall of the old regime and a decade or so after the fall. The two political culture variables—predominant religious tradition and national economic and political expectations—provide the most statistically significant and powerful predictors. War is also a significant and powerful predictor. Relative size of economic interest group coalitions is estimated to have little impact. Among the process variables, democratization and party ideological moderation have the most consistently significant and powerful impacts. One implication is that middle-range theories of political culture, which can be more firmly grounded in rational calculation and historical context, may be a promising way to remedy the weaknesses of political culture theories operating at the broader level of religion or civilization.
Single-layer-coated surfaces with linearized reflectance versus angle of incidence: application to passive and active silicon rotation sensors

A transparent or absorbing substrate can be coated with a transparent thin film to produce a linear reflectance-versus-angle-of-incidence response over a certain range of angles. Linearization at and near normal incidence is a special case that leads to a maximally flat response for p-polarized, s-polarized, or unpolarized light. For midrange and high-range linearization with moderate and high slopes, respectively, the best results are obtained when the incident light is s polarized. Application to a Si substrate that is coated with a SiO2 film leads to novel passive and active reflection rotation sensors. Experimental results and an error analysis of this rotation sensor are presented.
Hospital Room Sterilization Using Far-Ultraviolet Radiation: A Pilot Evaluation of the Sterilray Device in an Active Hospital Setting

Environmental contamination of hospital rooms is well recognized as a reservoir for highly resistant nosocomial pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureu (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), which can be transferred to patients through contact with healthcare providers and contaminated surfaces. Numerous studies dedicated to environmental cleaning and disinfection have found promising results with several novel technologies, including vaporized hydrogen peroxide and ultraviolet over-head lighting or wands. We conducted a pilot study of one such device, the Sterilray Disinfection Wand (Healthy Environment Innovations), a handheld ultraviolet (UV) room decontamination wand. The Sterilray device claims to generate UV radiation in the far-UV spectrum (185-230 nm), resulting in the rapid killing of contaminant bacteria. The goal of this pilot was to collect preliminary data on the efficacy of this device in reducing surface contamination, particularly of common nosocomial pathogens, in an active hospital setting.
Competitive balance of intrabulge BMP/Wnt signaling reveals a robust gene network ruling stem cell homeostasis and cyclic activation

Hair follicles facilitate the study of stem cell behavior because stem cells in progressive activation stages, ordered within the follicle architecture, are capable of cyclic regeneration. To study the gene network governing the homeostasis of hair bulge stem cells, we developed a Keratin 15-driven genetic model to directly perturb molecular signaling in the stem cells. We visualize the behavior of these modified stem cells, evaluating their hair-regenerating ability and profile their molecular expression. Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-inactivated stem cells exhibit molecular profiles resembling those of hair germs, yet still possess multipotentiality in vivo. These cells also exhibit up-regulation of Wnt7a, Wnt7b, and Wnt16 ligands and Frizzled (Fzd) 10 receptor. We demonstrate direct transcriptional modulation of the Wnt7a promoter. These results highlight a previously unknown intra-stem cell antagonistic competition, between BMP and Wnt signaling, to balance stem cell activity. Reduced BMP signaling and increased Wnt signaling tilts each stem cell toward a hair germ fate and, vice versa, based on a continuous scale dependent on the ratio of BMP/Wnt activity. This work reveals one more hierarchical layer regulating stem cell homeostasis beneath the stem cell–dermal papilla-based epithelial–mesenchymal interaction layer and the hair follicle–intradermal adipocyte-based tissue interaction layer. Although hierarchical layers are all based on BMP/Wnt signaling, the multilayered control ensures that all information is taken into consideration and allows hair stem cells to sum up the total activators/inhibitors involved in making the decision of activation.
Improved Myocardial Function Using a Na+/H+ Exchanger Inhibitor During Cardioplegic Arrest and Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Introduction: We have demonstrated that a component of post-cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB)/ cardioplegic arrest (CPA) myocardial dysfunction is related to myocardial edema. Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion that occurs with CPB/CPA activates the Na/H exchanger to normalize intracellular pH, with intracellular Na (and water) accumulation. We hypothesized that Na/H exchanger inhibition with a selective inhibitor (EMD 87580) would decrease myocardial edema and improve myocardial performance after CPB/CPA. Methods: Anesthetized dogs (n 14) were instrumented with myocardial ultrasonic crystals, and left ventricular (LV) micromanometer, to study myocardial function. Myocardial tissue water (MWC) was determined using microgravimetry. Treated animals (n 5) received EMD 87580 (5 mg/kg IV pretreatment and 10 mol/L cardioplegia); control animals (n 9) received a saline vehicle. After baseline, hypothermic CPB/CPA was initiated for 2 h, followed by reperfusion/ rewarming for 45 min and separation from CPB. Myocardial function parameters and MWC were measured at 30 min, 60 min, and 120 min after CPB. Results: Preload recruitable stroke work did not decrease from baseline in EMD 87580-treated animals, and was significantly greater in EMD 87580-treated animals than control animals at 120 min after CPB. At a similar LV end-diastolic volume, the maximal rate of rise of LV pressure (dp/dtMAX) was significantly decreased from baseline at all time points in control animals, and unchanged in EMD 87580-treated animals. MWC increased with CPB/CPA in both groups, with no difference between groups. There was no difference in dp/dtMAX or slope of the enddiastolic pressure-volume relationship. Conclusion: Na/H exchanger inhibition improves systolic but not diastolic function after CPB/CPA. This is not due to a reduction in MWC. (CHEST 2003; 123:187–194)
Plasma prolactin levels in incubating turkey hens during pipping of the eggs and after introduction of poults into the nest.

Plasma levels of prolactin (Pri) associated with incubation and maternal behavior were compared in turkey hens allowed to incubate JOfertile eggs (Group!, n = 9) or JO infertile eggs (Group II, n = 7) in open nest boxes. At the end of the day that the first egg hatched, all unhatched eggs were removed from Group I hens and each hen was given JO poults. At the end of the following day, infertile eggs were removed from Group II hens and each hen was given JO poults. Although pipping of the eggs changed the incubation behavior of Group I hens, it had no effect on plasma Pr!. Subsequent hatch of the eggs and/or presence of poults resulted, within 24 h, in a sharp fall in Pr! levels,
Lessons from biodiversity--the value of nontraditional species to advance reproductive science, conservation, and human health.

SUMMARY Reproduction is quintessential to species survival. But what is underappreciated for this discipline is the wondrous array of reproductive mechanisms among species—variations as diverse as the morphology of the species themselves (more than 55,000 vertebrate and 1.1 million invertebrate types). We have investigated only a tiny fraction of these species in reproductive science. Besides the need to fill enormous gaps in a scholarly database, this knowledge has value for recovering and genetically managing rare species as well as addressing certain reproductive issues in humans. This article provides examples, first to advise against oversimplifying reproduction and then to show how such knowledge can have practical use for managing whole animals, populations, or even saving an entire species. We also address the expected challenges and opportunities that could lead to creative shifts in philosophy and effective actions to benefit more species as well as a future generation of reproductive scientists.
The design of clutter-resistant radar waveforms with limited dynamic range

The problem of designing radar signals and receivers that are optimum for detecting a point target masked by thermal noise and clutter returns is considered. In a previous paper, the authors described an iterative algorithm for designing such signals subject to an energy constraint. This paper describes an algorithm for the case where the energy constraint is replaced by a dynamic-range constraint, that is, the ratio of maximum to minimum signal amplitude is limited. The signal to which the algorithm converges satisfies the Kuhn-Tucker conditions, which are necessary for optimality. Examples of the application of both algorithms to radar signal design problems are given.
The Exa Volt Antenna

The Exa Volt Antenna is an ultra-high energy (UHE) particle observatory under development for NASA's suborbital super-pressure balloon program in Antarctica. Radio impulses are emitted via the Askaryan effect when UHE neutrinos interact in the ice, and from geomagnetic emission from UHE cosmic ray interactions in the atmosphere above Antarctica. The design utilized part of the balloons surfaces as a reflector which collimates the incoming radiation to a feed-array mounted on a surface inside the balloon. In this way, an ultra-large radio antenna system with a synoptic view on the Antarctic ice sheet below is created. The instantaneous aperture is estimated to be several hundred m2 within the frequency rang between 150–600MHz.
Post-Thaw Survival of Bovine Spermatozoa Frozen by Different Methods in Buffered-Yolk and Skimmilk Extenders

Abstract Semen samples were extended in citrate-yolk-glycerol (CYG), Tris-yolk-glycerol (TYG), and skimmilk-glycerol (SMG), frozen in a dry ice-alcohol bath and transferred to liquid nitrogen for storage at −196 C. Glycerol levels (v/v) of 4.0, 5.6, and 7.2% in CYG, 6.4, 8.8, and 11.2% in TYG and 9.0, 13.0, and 17.0% in SMG, the addition of 1.0% fructose, equilibration times of 1, 6, and 18 hr, freezing rates requiring 4, 8, 16, and 34 min, and storage for 1, 7, or 40 days were studied. The TYG extender consistently resulted in a higher percentage of sperm surviving freezing than did the CYG or SMG extenders (P
Jet Physics at the LHC and the Tevatron

We present a summary of recent jet measurements from the CERN Large Hadron Collider and the Fermilab Tevatron.
Cyclin A downregulation and p21(cip1) upregulation correlate with GATA-6-induced growth arrest in glomerular mesangial cells.

Abstract—The GATA-6 transcription factor is reported to be expressed in vascular myocytes. Because glomerular mesangial cells (GMCs) and vascular myocytes have similar properties, we examined whether GATA-6 was expressed in cultured GMCs and whether overexpression of GATA-6 induced cell cycle arrest in GMCs, using a recombinant adenovirus that expresses GATA-6 (Ad GATA-6). GATA-6 expression in GMCs was downregulated when quiescent GMCs were stimulated by serum to reenter the cell cycle. [3H]thymidine uptake was inhibited in GMCs infected with Ad GATA-6 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The expression of cyclin A protein was decreased and that of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21cip1 was increased in GMCs infected with Ad GATA-6. Although the expression of p21cip1 transcripts did not change remarkably, p21cip1 protein was stabilized in GMCs infected with Ad GATA-6, suggesting a post-transcriptional regulation of p21cip1 expression. Northern blot analysis showed that expression of the cyclin A t...