cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stable over-expression of the 2-oxoglutarate carrier enhances neuronal cell resistance to oxidative stress via Bcl-2-dependent mitochondrial GSH transport.

Mitochondrial glutathione (GSH) is a key endogenous antioxidant and its maintenance is critical for cell survival. Here, we generated stable NSC34 motor neuron-like cell lines over-expressing the mitochondrial GSH transporter, the 2-oxoglutarate carrier (OGC), to further elucidate the importance of mitochondrial GSH transport in determining neuronal resistance to oxidative stress. Two stable OGC cell lines displayed specific increases in mitochondrial GSH content and resistance to oxidative and nitrosative stressors, but not staurosporine. Inhibition of transport through OGC reduced levels of mitochondrial GSH and resensitized the stable cell lines to oxidative stress. The stable OGC cell lines displayed significant up-regulation of the anti-apoptotic protein, B cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2). This result was reproduced in parental NSC34 cells by chronic treatment with GSH monoethylester, which specifically increased mitochondrial GSH levels. Knockdown of Bcl-2 expression decreased mitochondrial GSH and resensitized the stable OGC cells to oxidative stress. Finally, endogenous OGC was co-immunoprecipitated with Bcl-2 from rat brain lysates in a GSH-dependent manner. These data are the first to show that increased mitochondrial GSH transport is sufficient to enhance neuronal resistance to oxidative stress. Moreover, sustained and specific enhancement of mitochondrial GSH leads to increased Bcl-2 expression, a required mechanism for the maintenance of increased mitochondrial GSH levels.
Undescended testes: early versus late maldescent

A review of 468 orchidopexies was undertaken to ascertain the importance of a complete hernial sac extending to or beyond the testis. A hernial sac was present in 84% (171/202) of testes in patients under 5 years of age, in contrast to 23% (61/266) in patients over 5 years. It seems reasonable to presume that the failure of the hernial sac to close is secondary to failure of normal descent, which in turn is due to antenatal factors and may be classified as “early maldescent”. In the older age group maldescent is due to failure of the last stage of descent, which should occur in the 5- to 10-year prepubertal age period (“late maldescent”, or the “ascending” testis). The cause of late maldescent is not due to a short processus, as this increases in length with age (approximately 0.5 cm/year), unless the persistence of the processus itself is the cause. A classification of early or late maldescent is suggested.
Somatic embryos from cultured tissues of triploid plantains (Musa 'ABB').

Somatic embryos of two triploid plantain clones ABB ‘Saba’ and ‘Pelipita’ were produced in liquid from cells derived from multiplying shoot cultures. The medium consisted of a modified Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium with the auxins 2,4-D (1 mg/l) and 2,4, 5-T (1 mg/l) and the cytokinin BAP (0.1, 1 mg/l). Whereas proembryonic masses formed in each instance, green somatic embryos formed only in those treatments containing 2,4,5-T.
UHF Taboos-History and Development

This paper details the origin and application of the UHF "Taboos," mileage restraints that are the basis for allocation of TV channels in the UHF spectrum by the FCC.
Arrhythmias and Death After Coronary Artery Occlusion in the Rat Continuous Telemetric ECG Monitoring in Conscious, Untethered Rats

Background The onset of acute myocardial infarction (MI) is accompanied by a rapid increase in electrical instability and often fatal ventricular arrhythmias. The aim of this study was to assess the continuous arrhythmia profile during the initial 48 hours after coronary artery ligation in the rat in relation to time course, mortality, and infarct size. Methods and Results Continuous ECG recordings were obtained in 26 conscious, untethered rats for 24 hours before and 48 hours after coronary ligation by use of an implantable telemetry system. All episodes of ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation were counted and their durations summed. Infarct size was measured at 48 hours after MI or after spontaneous death. After ligation, two distinctly active arrhythmogenic periods developed (A1, 0 to 0.5 hours; A2, 1.5 to 9 hours), each followed by a quiescent phase of low ectopy (Q1, 0.5 to 1.5 hours; Q2, 10 to 48 hours). The total mortality rate of 65% was found within the two active periods, with 13 of 15 death...
The Popular Front in the American South: The View from Memphis

When I started organizing the CIO I was called a Communist anyhow, and one thing I noticed was that the Communists were the most dedicated union supporters. In 1939, I wasn't a Communist, just a militant young guy caught up in the class struggle … But I became acquainted with the Communists and I found myself defending them because they were the best organizers. I got caught up in the struggle, and at that time the big issue was black and white unity. I could see from experience that there was no way to achieve union organization without unity between black and white. It was a question of self interest on the part of whites, and the other white workers saw that too.
Short-course zidovudine for prevention of perinatal infection.

In 1994 the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group (PACTG) protocol 076 showed that a 6-week course of zidovudine given to the mother during pregnancy and labor and then to the neonate for 6 weeks reduced HIV transmission rates by almost 70%. The adoption of this regimen in the US and Europe has caused perinatal HIV transmission rates to decline to 6% or less while transmission rates of 2% have been reported when zidovudine prophylaxis is combined with elective cesarean delivery. However in absolute terms the impact of perinatal HIV transmission prevention measures will be greater in developing than in industrialized countries in part because the overall level of HIV infection among pregnant women in developing countries is far higher than the overall level in industrialized countries. While trials must continue to identify simpler and more cost-effective HIV prevention measures effort must still be given to implementing the already proven effective regimens in developing countries. To implement short-course HIV prophylactic regimens requires available and accessible antenatal care HIV testing and follow-up for pregnant women available and affordable zidovudine and patient compliance with the drug regimen. To ensure intrapartum zidovudine administration deliveries must be attended by professional birth attendants. Then to prevent postpartum HIV transmission there must be a safe and effective strategy for reducing the risk of HIV-1 transmission through breast milk.
Facial memory: Constructing familiar and unfamiliar faces

Sketch artists, the Identi-Kit, the Photofit, and the Field Identification System are law enforcement techniques for constructing facial images from a witness’s memory. Previous research has shown that these procedures typically do not result in good facial representations of a target person. An experiment explored the effects of memory for the target on quality of the image produced with the Field Identification System. Subjects constructed four images of white male faces; two images were of highly familiar faces (e.g., husband or roommate) and two images were of unfamiliar faces viewed live for 15 sec. While significantly more time was spent generating familiar-face images, there was no difference in the quality of images for familiar vs. unfamiliar faces. The results imply that the technique has serious limitations for achieving good facial representations.
Goal-Derived Categories: The Role of Personal and Situational Goals in Category Representations

Prior research often emphasized a stimulus-based or bottom-up view of product category representations. In contrast, we emphasize a more purposeful, top-down perspective and examine categories that consumers might construct in the service of salient (i.e., highly accessible) goals. Specifically, we investigate how the point of view imposed by salient consumer goals might affect category representations assessed by participants’ similarity judgments of food products. A key factor in our study is that we examine both individual and situational sources of variability in goal salience. In addition, we also vary the surface-level, visual resemblance of the stimulus pairs of foods used in the study. The results suggest that personal goals (e.g., health) and situational goals (e.g., convenience) act in conjunction and exert a systematic impact on category representations. Both types of goals, when salient, enhanced the perceived similarity of goal-appropriate products and reduced the similarity of product pairs when only one product was ideal for the particular goal. The similarity-enhancing effect was most pronounced when the surface resemblance between the products was low, and the similarity-diminishing effect was more apparent when surface resemblance was high. Implications are discussed for current theoretical assumptions regarding categorization in consumer research.
Age patterns of Chinese marital fertility, 1950-1981.

Coale and Trussell’s model of marital fertility is used to analyze data from China’s National One-per-Thousand Fertility Survey. Rural China experienced a regime of natural fertility until 1970, after which levels of fertility control rose with unprecedented speed and with an age pattern starkly dissimilar from that observed in other populations. Urban marital fertility was apparently under a modest level of deliberate control in the 1950s, with a sustained rise in control beginning in 1963. Natural fertility was low relative to other populations, with the urban level exceeding the rural.
Suppression of immunological memory in juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) from an urban estuary

In this present study, juvenile chinook salmon were collected from a contaminated urban estuary, the Duwamish Waterway, as well as from a non-urban estuary, the Nisqually River estuary, to determine if exposure to toxic chemicals affects immunocompetency. Juvenile chinook salmon were also sampled from the two hatcheries that release salmon into these estuaries. The ability of anterior kidney (AK) and splenic (SP) leucocytes from primed and unprimed juvenile salmon from the Duwamish Waterway, Nisqually River estuary, and their respective hatcheries to produce a primary and secondary in vitro plaque-forming cell (PFC) response to the hapten, trinitrophenyl (TNP) was examined. Trinitrophenyl-keyhole limpet haemocyanin (TNP-KLH) was added in vitro to AK leucocytes or as TNP-lipopolysaccharide (TNP-LPS) to both AK and SP leucocytes. The primary AK and SP plaque-forming cell response to TNP in salmon from the estuaries or hatcheries was not significantly different. Primed AK leucocytes from salmon collected from the hatcheries and the non-urban estuary were able to produce a heightened secondary response to TNP-KLH; in contrast, primed AK leucocytes from salmon collected from the urban estuary were unable to produce a secondary PFC response to TNP-KLH. Anterior kidney leucocytes from salmon collected from all four areas were able to produce a heightened secondary PFC response to TNP-LPS. However, the AKs plaque-forming cell response generated in primed chinook salmon collected from the urban estuary to TNP-LPS was significantly lower than that produced in salmon from the hatchery. This suppressed PFC response in primed AK cells to TNP-LPS was not observed in primed AK leucocytes from salmon collected from the non-urban estuary and its hatchery. These results suggest that the cells involved in generating immunological memory to TNP-KLH and TNP-LPS were affected in salmon exposed to contaminants in the urban estuary, with cells which generate memory to TNP-KLH being more affected. The PFC responses of primed SP leucocytes from salmon collected from the Duwamish Waterway and Nisqually River estuaries, stimulated in vitro with TNP-LPS were not significantly different. The consequence of suppressed immunological memory in disease resistance of juvenile salmon is currently unknown.
Dose characterization in the near-source region for two high dose rate brachytherapy sources

High dose rate (HDR) 192 Ir sources are currently used in intravascular brachytherapy (IVB) for the peripheral arterial system. This poses a demand on evaluating accurate dose parameters in the near-source region for such sources. The purpose of this work is to calculate the dose parameters for the old VariSource HDR 192 Ir source and the new microSelectron HDR 192 Ir source, using Monte Carlo electron and photontransport simulation. The two-dimensional (2D) dose rate distributions and the air kerma strengths for the two HDR sources were calculated by EGSnrc and EGS4Monte Carlo codes. Based on these data, the dose parameters proposed in the AAPM TG-60 protocol were derived. The dose rate constants obtained are 13.119±0.028 cGy h −1 U −1 for the old VariSource source, and 22.751±0.031 cGy h −1 U −1 for the new microSelectron source at the reference point (r 0 =2 mm , θ=π/2). The 2D dose rate distributions, the radial dose functions, and the anisotropy functions presented for the two sources cover radial distances ranging from 0.5 to 10 mm. In the near-source region on the transverse plane, the doseeffects of the charged particle nonequilibrium and the beta-particle dose contribution were studied. It is found that at radial distances ranging from 0.5 to 2 mm, these effects increase the calculated dose rates by up to 29% for the old VariSource source, and by up to 12% for the new microSelectron source, which, in turn, change values of the radial dose function and the anisotropy function. The present dose parameters, which account for the charged particle nonequilibrium and the beta particle contribution, may be used for accurate IVB dose calculation.
Structure and Kinematics of the Interstellar Medium in Front of SN 1987A

High-resolution (10 km s-1) [N II] echelle spectra, sampled every 13'' in a 6'×6' region around SN 1987A were obtained on the CTIO 4 m telescope. The map shows a complicated velocity structure consistent with that reported previously for the interstellar medium (ISM). Three components, Vhel=265, 277, and 285 km s-1 were identified as N157C (or the R1170 complex: see an earlier paper of Xu, Crotts, & Kunkel). The radius of this large superbubble was found to expand at 10 km s-1, with a lifetime of 6×106 yr and a total energy of 3×1051 ergs determined from its radius and velocity according to superbubble theory. The Vhel=235 km s−1 component corresponds to the near side of the 600 pc giant superbubble reported earlier. This bubble is over 107 years old, and has blown out of the Large Magellanic Cloud disk. Two other components, Vhel=255 and 245 km s-1 are identified as the inner major light echo ring (a double-shell structure) at about 130 pc in front of SN 1987A. There are also two high-velocity components, 300 and 313 km s-1, which are possibly the far side of a superbubble in which SN 1987A exploded. We also noticed that there are two components, at 279 and 301 km s-1, within 20'' of SN 1987A. These structures are probably due to the emission from the progenitor star's red supergiant wind. We find that the time it took the SN 1987A progenitor to move to the current location 300 pc behind N157C is comparable to the age of N157C as well as that of the progenitor itself.
TU-G-218-01: Lessons Learned from Misadministrations and Accidents in Radiation Therapy Part I: Teletherapy

The recent publicity received by the radiation oncology community regarding misadministrations, accidents and overdoses has renewed the medical physicists' focus on safety. However, many other accidents have preceded these. Are these recent incidents similar to older ones and could they have been prevented had the medical physics community applied the lessons learned from previous incidents? Certainly technology is more advanced, but adherence to established doctrines and recommendations from our professional societies could have prevented the majority of these accidents.In this presentation, recent and much older accidents and misadministrations in radiation therapy that have been reported in the media will be presented. These events serve as teaching moments for the clinical physicists and opportunities to assess our own strategies and clinical programs with the goal of providing safe and reliable treatment deliveries. The recommendations and QA that have been established in the literature will be presented in concert with events that have either been near‐misses or grave accidents. This presentation will focus on both conventional linac delivery and the more sophisticated treatments such as SRT and IMRT. Learning Objectives: 1. To review and understand the causes of various external beam treatment misadministrations and accidents reported in the media. 2. To review and understand corrective and preventative actions that should be in place in order to safely administer external beam RT. 3. To review and understand the recommendation for safety by the ASTRO, ACR, and AAPM and the ABS. 4. To review and understand the ASTRO Six Point Protection Plan.
SU-D-213CD-02: The Accuracy of AlignRT Guided Set-Up for Whole Breast and Chestwall Irradiation.

Purpose: To evaluate the ability of AlignRT (VisionRT Ltd., London, UK) to accurately position patients receiving whole breast or chestwall irradiation and the impact of AlignRT on portal imagedose.Methods and Materials: Twenty whole breast or chestwall cases set‐up using AlignRT at our site were compared to a series of 20 similar patients set‐up without the use of AlignRT over the same time span. All patients were set‐up head first supine, on a Quest Breastboard (Qfix, Avondale,PA). The AlignRT patients were positioned with an AlignRT region of interest that encompassed the ipsa‐lateral chest minus the breast tissue drawn on a surface created from the patient contour generated in treatment planning. Non‐AlignRT patients were positioned using skin marks added in simulation. Positional accuracy was verified by qualitative evaluation of portal imaging on the first treatment day, then once weekly. Results: The percentage of port images that were deemed unacceptable by therapists or radiation oncologists (> 3 mm deviation from simulation position) was 7.5 +/− 8.1% for the AlignRT group (with a range of 0 – 15%). In 14 of the 20 cases, one or fewer port images were unacceptable over the entire treatment. For the non‐AlignRT group 20 +/− 14% (0–45%) of the images were unacceptable. In only 6 of the 20 cases one or fewer port images were found to be unacceptable over the course of treatment.Conclusion: As judged by port images, AlignRT is able to provide a more accurate positioning of whole breast and chestwall patients, with a reduction in port dose and in set‐up time, compared to the use of lasers and skin marks. The reduced number of rejected port images strongly suggests that AlignRT gives a more consistent, reproducible set‐up on non‐ port days than skin marks alone.
The effects of trade exposure on technical efficiency: New evidence from the Turkish rubber industry

When a country's foreign trade regime becomes more open, international trade theory suggests that domestic firms face more competition and start to operate more efficiently to reduce their production costs. This proposition is empirically examined by using plant-level data from the Turkish rubber industry during a period of substantial trade liberalization: technical efficiency levels improved significantly when Turkey's trade regime shifted from a restrictive to a more liberalized one. Incumbent plants located closer to international markets improved technical efficiency more than the other plants. These findings suggest that the improvement in technical efficiency was due largely to trade liberalization.
Price concessions, time on the market, and the actual sale price of homes

This article examines the relationships between listing price concessions, time on the market, and the actual sale price of homes. The principal hypothesis that significant listing price concessions, usually the result of overpricing, can lead to real discounts on the final sale price is proven by our empirical results. We also found that the longer the time on the market, the higher the sale price, ceteris paribus. This finding is consistent with the theory that the longer a property remains on the market, the higher the probability is that a relatively superior selling price can be realized.
Hostility, anger, and depression predict increases in C3 over a 10-year period.

We examined the relation of hostility, anger and depression to 10-year changes in the third (C3) and fourth (C4) complement in 313, apparently healthy male participants enrolled in the Air Force Health Study (AFHS), a 20-year study designed to evaluate the health consequences of dioxin exposure. Hostility, depression and anger were assessed using subscales from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), which was administered in 1985. Given the high intercorrelations among these psychological scales, we used a principal component analysis to generate a composite score representing the linear combination of the hostility, anger and depression scales. The dependent variables, C3 and C4 levels, were determined from samples collected in 1992, 1997 and 2002. Regression analyses controlling for age, race, alcohol use, body mass index and cigarette use as well as onset of disease and use of lipid lowering and blood pressure medications during follow-up revealed a significant time X composite score interaction for C3 complement (p < .0003), but not C4. Post-hoc analyses revealed that high composite scores were associated with larger 10-year increases in C3. These observations suggest that men who are hostile and are prone to experience frequent and intense feelings of anger and depression show activation of the complement system, and specifically increases in C3, that may contribute to the development of coronary heart disease.
Characterization of the translocation process of vitamin D3 from the skin into the circulation.

The cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D3 and the subsequent translocation of vitamin D3 into the circulation are two key steps in the vitamin D endocrine system. To study the kinetic aspects of cutaneous synthesis and translocation of vitamin D3, both in vitro and in vivo chicken models have been developed. To assess the capacity of chicken skin to generate vitamin D3, the concentrations of 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC) in different skin areas were determined. It was found that the highest concentration of 7-DHC was in the leg skin (3524 +/- 937 ng cm-2), which was about 30 times greater than that in the back (120 +/- 62 ng cm-2). Whole body exposure of chickens to UV-B radiation (0.5 J cm-2) resulted in the production of previtamin D3 (preD3) in the skin of the legs and feet (43 +/- 7 and 54 +/- 17 ng cm-2, respectively), whereas no preD3 was detected in the back skin. In vitro, at 40 C, the forward (k1) and reverse (k2) rate constants of the preD3 vitamin D3 reaction in the leg skin were greatly increase...
Evaluating network serviceability

Abstract The capability to manage network operations on a day-to-day basis has become an important area of concern given the rapid expansion of computer networks. A related, but much less studied area, is the impact that the design of a network has on the ease with which it can be serviced. Evaluating the ease of servicing the network and its components does not concentrate on day-to-day operations of the network, but rather examines the network design over a longer term to identify problematic components, configurations and dependencies between components based on expert knowledge and historical data. This paper reports on our experience with a system to evaluate the ease of servicing a network—its serviceability—given a description of its design. The motivation for the work is that computer networks are more often “grown” than “designed” without concern for serviceability issues. The work also examines the impact of dependencies between components on the role of service and the potential disruption costs caused by these dependencies. This work is important because it is pro-active in explicitly considering the role of servicing a network when changing the components or configuration of a network. This approach is in contrast to network management, which is reactive in dealing with problems. The paper reports on a successful implementation of such as system and our experiences with it.
First trimester curtailment of iron absorption: Innate suppression of a teratogen?

In human pregnancies, maternal absorption of iron is markedly curtailed in the first trimester. In a murine model, iron was teratogenic in the analogous embryonic period. Although iron is a weak mutagen, it is a powerful oxidant and a catalyst of formation of hydroxyl radicals. Studies are needed to determine if there might be an association of first trimester iron supplementation with miscarriage/fetal abnormalities.
Preference of Tomicus piniperda (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) parent adults and shoot-feeding progeny adults for three pine species

Nous avons etudie le choix des hotes chez Tomicus piniperda (L.) au cours de tests de choix en laboratoire, en presence de pins rouges (Pinus resinosa Ait.) (Pinaceae), de pins gris (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) et de pins sylvestres (Pinus sylvestris L.). Pour evaluer les preferences des adultes parents, nous avons dispose des troncs de tailles egales dans un tunnel aerodynamique. Les adultes parents colonisent les pins sylvestres significativement plus souvent en presence des trois especes de pins, mais ne montrent pas de preference quand ils sont mis en presence de pins rouges et de pins gris. Les preferences des adultes de la progeniture ont ete testees en laboratoire sur des pousses de pins de l'annee. Ces adultes qui se nourrissent a meme les jeunes pousses font des galeries dans les pousses de pin gris significativement plus souvent que dans les pousses du pin rouge ou du pin sylvestre, et ils preferent le pin sylvestre au pin rouge. Quelle que soit l'espece, les pousses de 0,4 a 0,5 cm sont attaquees le plus souvent. Ces resultats indiquent que les deux pins nord-americains sont des hotes convenables, mais les scolytes T. piniperda peuvent etre plus enclins a coloniser le pin sylvestre, une espece europeenne. Pour reperer ou pour suivre les populations de T. piniperda dans la region des Grands Lacs ou dans le nord-est, il faut cibler surtout le endroits ou les insectes peuvent trouver des debris de pin sylvestre en abondance pour leur couvee. Cependant, la progeniture issue des couvees dans les debris de pin sylvestre risque de se nourrir autant de pousses de pin gris que de pousses de pin sylvestre.
Temporal semantics: An extended definition for neural morphisms

A category-theoretic account of neural network semantics has been used to characterize concept representation in neural memory. This involves categories of objects and morphisms representing the activity in connectionist structures at different stages of weight adaptation. The definition used in this previous work for the notion of a neural morphism does not allow temporal memories to be retrieved stepwise as event sequences—all events must be retrieved simultaneously. An extended definition is proposed that enables episodic information to be retrieved in time sequence.
Substructure of the Amidotransferase Domain of Mammalian Carbamyl Phosphate Synthetase

Abstract The amidotransferase or glutaminase (GLNase) domain of mammalian carbamyl phosphate synthetase (CPSase), part of the 243-kDa CAD polypeptide, consists of a carboxyl half that is homologous to all trpG-type amidotransferases and an amino half unique to the carbamyl phosphate synthetases. The two halves of the mammalian GLNase domain have been cloned separately, expressed in Escherichia coli, and purified. The 21-kDa carboxyl half, the catalytic subdomain, is extraordinarily active. The k is 347-fold higher and the K is 40-fold lower than the complete GLNase domain. Unlike the GLNase domain, the catalytic subdomain does not form a stable hybrid complex with the E. coli CPSase synthetase subunit. Nevertheless, titration of the synthetase subunit with the catalytic subdomain partially restores glutamine-dependent CPSase activity. The 19-kDa amino half, the interaction subdomain, binds tightly to the E. coli CPSase large subunit. Thus, the GLNase domain consists of two subdomains which can autonomously fold and function. The catalytic subdomain weakly interacts with the synthetase domain and has all of the residues necessary for catalysis. The interaction subdomain is required for complex formation and also attenuates the intrinsically high activity of the catalytic subdomain and, thus, may be a key element of the interdomain functional linkage.
Analysis of the Signaling Activities of Localization Mutants of β-Catenin during Axis Specification in Xenopus

In Xenopus embryos, beta-catenin has been shown to be both necessary and sufficient for the establishment of dorsal cell fates. This signaling activity is thought to depend on the binding of beta-catenin to members of the Lef/Tcf family of transcription factors and the regulation of gene expression by this complex. To test whether beta-catenin must accumulate in nuclei to establish dorsal cell fate, we constructed various localization mutants that restrict beta-catenin to either the plasma membrane, the cytosol, or the nucleus. When overexpressed in Xenopus embryos, the proteins localize as predicted, but surprisingly all forms induce an ectopic axis, indicative of inducing dorsal cell fates. Given this unexpected result, we focused on the membrane-tethered form of beta-catenin to resolve the apparent discrepancy between its membrane localization and the hypothesized role of nuclear beta-catenin in establishing dorsal cell fate. We demonstrate that overexpression of membrane-tethered beta-catenin elevates the level of free endogenous beta-catenin, which subsequently accumulates in nuclei. Consistent with the hypothesis that it is this pool of non-membrane-associated beta-catenin that signals in the presence of membrane-tethered beta-catenin, overexpression of cadherin, which binds free beta-catenin, blocks the axis-inducing activity of membrane- tethered beta-catenin. The mechanism by which ectopic membrane-tethered beta-catenin increases the level of endogenous beta-catenin likely involves competition for the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) protein, which in other systems has been shown to play a role in degradation of beta-catenin. Consistent with this hypothesis, membrane-tethered beta-catenin coimmunoprecipitates with APC and relocalizes APC to the membrane in cells. Similar results are observed with ectopic plakoglobin, casting doubt on a normal role for plakoglobin in axis specification and indicating that ectopic proteins that interact with APC can artifactually elevate the level of endogenous beta-catenin, likely by interfering with its degradation. These results highlight the difficulty in interpreting the activity of an ectopic protein when it is assayed in a background containing the endogenous protein. We next investigated whether the ability of beta-catenin to interact with potential protein partners in the cell may normally be regulated by phosphorylation. Compared with nonphosphorylated beta-catenin, beta-catenin phosphorylated by glycogen synthase kinase-3 preferentially associates with microsomal fractions expressing the cytoplasmic region of N-cadherin. These results suggest that protein-protein interactions of beta-catenin can be influenced by its state of phosphorylation, in addition to prior evidence that this phosphorylation modulates the stability of beta-catenin.
Presentation of the 2008 Paleontological Society Medal To Niles Eldredge

Thanks to the President, the Council, and the entire Society for allowing me the privilege of presenting Niles Eldredge to receive our highest honor, the Paleontological Society Medal. John Quincy Adams said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” True, the President who said that was almost impeached, but we are here today, honoring Niles Eldredge, because he is a leader in paleontology. A particularly impressive feature of Niles' career is the broad array of fundamental paleontological and evolutionary topics he has profoundly illuminated. These range from development of the concept of punctuated equilibria, the cornerstone of macroevolutionary theory, to further expansion of studies of macroevolution itself; from the evolution of trilobites to the history of the evolutionary synthesis; from pioneering work in phylogenetics to early and vigorous advocacy of biodiversity and conservation; and from combating creationist dogma to work as a Darwin scholar. The list literally goes on and on. Not only has he made major contributions in research, but also he has played an …
Can computer-aided detection be detrimental to mammographic interpretation?

Understanding of the limitations of computer-aided detection is important for those interpreting mammograms; this cautious approach to the use of computer-aided detection should help optimize this presently imperfect system and minimize the possible detrimental effects.
The Positively Aging® Teaching Materials Improve Middle School Students' Images of Older People

Purpose: The Positively Aging ® program is an innovative set of interdisciplinary teaching materials that uses examples from geriatrics and gerontology to teach sixth through eighth grade curricular elements. The purpose of this study was to determine if use of the Positively Aging ® teaching materials by regular classroom teachers could change middle school students’ images of elders. Design and Methods: At the beginning of the 1998‐1999 school year, students at two San Antonio, Texas, middle schools were asked to draw a typical older person. These drawings were coded as positive, neutral, or negative portrayals of elders. One school then used the Positively Aging ® materials as part of the curriculum; the other school served as the control. Second drawings were obtained from the students at the end of the school year and compared to those from baseline. Results: Both drawings were completed by 60% of students at the intervention school and 55% of students at the control school. Of the 782 paired drawings from the intervention school, 34% were more positive at Time 2 compared to 25% of 591 paired drawings from the control school ( � 2 � 13.9, p � .001). In addition, only 20% of the second drawings from the intervention school were more negative than the first drawing compared to 27% from the control school ( � 2 � 11.3, p � .001). Using a generalized logit model, we adjusted for each student’s baseline drawing (positive‐neutral‐negative), grade level, gender, ethnic group, and socioeconomic status. After adjustment, students in the intervention school were more likely to draw positive (odds ratio [OR] 1.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13, 1.94) or positive and neutral images (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.21, 2.19) at follow-up compared to the control school. Implications: This controlled study demonstrated that use of the Positively Aging ® teaching materials and activities moved middle school students toward a more positive view of elders. Interdisciplinary teaching materials based on geriatrics and gerontology can be successfully developed and tested in public school systems to affect attitudes about aging.
Addressing smoking cessation in tuberculosis control

New approaches to TB control may be necessary to curb this growing epidemic. We argue that these approaches might need to include both cognitive and pharmaceutical assistance for smoking cessation among TB patients.The International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases recently called for inclusion of brief smoking cessation advice in standard TB case management.
Physical unclonable function and true random number generator: a compact and scalable implementation

Physical Unclonable Functions (PUF) and True Random Number Generators (TRNG) are two very useful components in secure system design. PUFs can be used to extract chip-unique signatures and volatile secret keys, whereas TRNGs are used for generating random padding bits, initialization vectors and nonces in cryptographic protocols.This paper proposes a scalable design technique to implement both a delay-based PUF and a jitter-based TRNG using ring oscillators. By sharing and reusing a significant amount of hardware resources, we achieve nearly 50% area reduction as compared to discrete implementations. We also propose and demonstrate a co-processor-based design that renders the circuit portable across various embedded processor platforms on FPGAs. Multiple scaled designs using 32 to 128 ring oscillators have been implemented and verified on Xilinx Spartan3S500E FPGA. A representative design uses 32 3-inverter ring oscillators, 64 flip-flops/latches, 31 2-input XOR gates and control circuitry giving a 3.2Mbps truly random stream and 31-bit unique device signature.
Expression-based monitoring of transcription factor activity: the TELiS database

Motivation: In microarray studies it is often of interest to identify upstream transcription control pathways mediating observed changes in gene expression. The Transcription Element Listening System (TELiS) combines sequence-based analysis of gene regulatory regions with statistical prevalence analyses to identify transcription-factor binding motifs (TFBMs) that are over-represented among the promoters of up- or down-regulated genes. Efficiency is maximized by decomposing the problem into two steps: (1) a priori compilation of prevalence matrices specifying the number of putative binding sites for a variety of transcription factors in promoters from all genes assayed by a given microarray, and (2) real-time statistical analysis of pre-compiled prevalence matrices to identify TFBMs that are over- or under-represented in promoters of differentially expressed genes. The interlocking JAVA applications namely, PromoterScan and PromoterStats carry out these tasks, and together constitute the TELiS database for reverse inference of transcription factor activity. Results: In two validation studies, TELiS accurately detected in vivo activation of NF-κB and the Type I interferon system by HIV-1 infection and pharmacologic activation of the glucocorticoid receptor in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The population-based statistical inference underlying TELiS out-performed conventional statistical tests in analytic sensitivity, with parametric studies demonstrating accurate identification of transcription factor activity from as few as 20 differentially expressed genes. TELiS thus provides a simple, rapid and sensitive tool for identifying transcription control pathways mediating observed gene expression dynamics. Availability: http://www.telis.ucla.edu Contact: [email protected]
Trait Neuroticism, Depression, and Cognitive Function in Older Primary Care Patients

Objective Prior studies on the association of trait neuroticism and cognitive function in older adults have yielded mixed findings. The authors tested hypotheses that neuroticism is associated with measures of cognition and that depression moderates these relationships. Design Cross-sectional observational study. Setting Primary care offices. Participants Primary care patients aged ≥65 years. Measurements Trait neuroticism was assessed by the NEO-Five Factor Inventory. Major and minor depressions were determined by the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, and depressive symptom severity by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (Ham-D). Cognitive measures included the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Initiation-Perseveration subscale of the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, and Trail-Making tests A and B. Results In multiple regression analyses, neuroticism was associated with MMSE score independent of depression diagnosis (β = −0.04, χ 2 = 14.2, df = 1, p=0.0002, 95% confidence interval [CI] = −0.07 to −0.02) and Ham-D score (β = −0.04, χ 2 = 8.97, df = 1, p=0.003, 95% CI=−0.06 to −0.01). Interactions between neuroticism and depression diagnosis (χ 2 = 7.21, df = 2, p=0.03) and Ham-D scores (χ 2 = 0.55, df = 1, p=0.46) failed to lend strong support to the moderation hypothesis. Conclusion Neuroticism is associated with lower MMSE scores. Findings do not confirm a moderating role for depression but suggest that depression diagnosis may confer additional risk for poorer global cognitive function in patients with high neuroticism. Further study is necessary.
Water, Water Everywhere, But Why? Argument Against Free Water Protocols

Free water protocols have become common in the management of patients with dysphagia. Their popularity has blossomed in the near-complete absence of any empirical data regarding their safety, efficacy and effectiveness. Proponents point to anecdotal reports and opinion pieces, while recent peer-reviewed investigation shows a mixed bag of safety and efficacy outcomes. This paper presents the argument against administration of “free water” without consideration of numerous factors besides the presence of dysphagia, and strongly urges the developers of the method to submit their data to peer review.
Bayesian approach to sensor fusion in a multisensor land mine detection system

In the present study, the investigation by General Dynamics Canada, formerly Computing Devices Canada, into Bayesian Inference shows improved sensor fusion of multiple scanning sensors in the detection of buried anti-tank (AT) mines. This algorithm uses statistical data taken from trials and constructs conditional probabilities for individual sensors in order to better discern landmines.
Collective oscillations at a surface or in a thin film

A simple intuitive picture will be presented, that relates the resonance in the photoelectric yield with the multipole plasmon mode at a surface and the observed collective excitation in thin films.
The contribution to hydrology

Only one paper of purely hydrologic content was presented during the five days of the meeting. However, two technical sessions were held in which 20 papers of paleoclimatic and paleohydrologic interest were presented, and several of these dealt with the hydrologic conditions required for the formation and maintenance of Pleistocene lakes in the southwestern United States.
Minority-carrier lifetime measurements on silicon solar cells using I sc and V oc transient decay

Measurements of the transient decay of short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage of solar cells provide sufficient information, in principle, to determine both the effective back-surface recombination velocity S and the base minority-carrier lifetime τ. The practical use of the method is illustrated by an example, and the technique is applied to a variety of cells. Analysis of the effect of different cell thickness on the measurement is included. Finally, some limitations, both fundamental and experimental, are discussed.
Nonparameteric Regression Splines for Generalized Linear Measurement Error Models

In many regression applications both the independent and dependent variables are measured with error. When this happens, conventional parametric and nonparametric regression techniques are no longer valid. This is further complicated when one instead wants to fit a generalized linear model to the collected data. We consider two different estimation techniques. The first method is the SIMEX (SIMulation Extrapolation) algorithm which attempts to estimate the bias, and remove it. The second method is a structural approach, where one hypothesizes a distribution for the independent variable which depends on estimable parameters. For both methods, two different knot selection methods are developed.
Critical Literacy in Democratic Education: Responding to Sociopolitical Tensions in U.S. Schools

In a time when partisan sociopolitical ideologies determine what gets taught in U.S. schools, teachers concerned with preserving democracy must push students toward a nonpartisan political literacy. Language arts teachers are in the unique position to teach the language and techniques of sociopolitical interests as well as how to assess the potential consequences of such influences. If we believe that literacy moves toward and for something, then we must be clear on what that for is in order to help students understand the force of political ideologies. To understand the sociopolitical goals of literacy that have become synonymous with schools, we must understand the partisan and political tensions created whenever governments and legislators redesign literacy structures and redefine what it means to be educated. Tension lies not only in the preparation of students but also in what that preparation assumes. Given all there is to do in the classroom, it is easy to ignore sociopolitical issues. But if the right to aim particular sociopolitical statements at youth is assumed, then responsibility falls on the democratic educational system for teaching how to decode those statements' meanings.
Nonthermal Effects of Radiofrequency-Field Exposure on Calcium Dynamics in Stem Cell-Derived Neuronal Cells: Elucidation of Calcium Pathways

Abstract Rao, V. S., Titushkin, I. A., Moros, E. G., Pickard, W. F., Thatte, H. S. and Cho, M. R. Nonthermal Effects of Radiofrequency-Field Exposure on Calcium Dynamics in Stem Cell-Derived Neuronal Cells: Elucidation of Calcium Pathways. Radiat. Res. 169, 319–329 (2008). Intracellular Ca2+ spikes trigger cell proliferation, differentiation and cytoskeletal reorganization. In addition to Ca2+ spiking that can be initiated by a ligand binding to its receptor, exposure to electromagnetic stimuli has also been shown to alter Ca2+ dynamics. Using neuronal cells differentiated from a mouse embryonic stem cell line and a custom-built, frequency-tunable applicator, we examined in real time the altered Ca2+ dynamics and observed increases in the cytosolic Ca2+ in response to nonthermal radiofrequency (RF)-radiation exposure of cells from 700 to 1100 MHz. While about 60% of control cells (not exposed to RF radiation) were observed to exhibit about five spontaneous Ca2+ spikes per cell in 60 min, exposure of cells...
Convenience stores and routine activities in a summer tourist destination

In this paper we examine the effects of alcohol outlets, with particular attention to convenience stores, located in an East Coast Tourist City. Tourist City offered an opportunity to observe the interplay between convenience stores and robberies and assaults in the presence of large volumes of summer tourists. Guided by Routine Activities Theory, we focused on the convergence of potential victims, guardianship and offenders in the vicinity of convenience stores. The first part of our paper concerns the effects of convenience stores on assaults and robberies in block groups. Using grocery stores as a comparison to convenience stores, we found that the number of convenience stores was correlated with significantly higher levels of both robberies and assaults. The second part of our investigation employed small circular buffer areas focusing on the immediate area around the convenience stores. This analysis revealed that these small areas were associated with significantly higher assaults in the summer and ...
How people select their payment methods in online auctions? An exploration of eBay transactions

Online payments are a critical issue in electronic markets. This research investigates online payment choices using probit model based on the survey data we collected from eBay users. We discuss payment choices between the trader partners based on risk, convenience and cost dimensions. Then, we analyze how product attributes, traders' characteristics and payment attributes affect the payment choice. Our findings suggest that product attributes, especially uncertainties associated with the product quality, appear to have stronger effect in affecting payment choices than traders' characteristics. We also find that a seller's reputation rating does not have a significant effect on actual payment choices, but affects the payment options offered by a seller.