cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Linking the past: discovering historical social networks from documents and linking to a genealogical database

Historical social networks (HSNs) can be used to inform historical research, including family history and genealogy. In some cases, clues about the structure of an HSN can be found in artifacts of family history such as personal diaries or autobiographical sketches. However, manual inference of such networks can require significant time and effort, including pooling and cross-referencing many different data sources. We present our current research into facilitating that process by automatically finding names in document transcriptions, relating those names to the names found on a roster/list of people who may be talked about in the documents, and automatically generating a social network graph from the result. We link individuals in the social network to a global genealogical database so that people researching their own family histories can easily find their ancestors within the HSNs created in this manner. We also provide examples of how the linked HSNs may be used to inform research about people and situations even when direct information is scarce.
Dynamic electrophoretic mobility of concentrated dispersions of spherical colloidal particles. On the consistent use of the cell model.

This paper outlines a complete and self-consistent cell model theory of the electrokinetics of dense spherical colloidal suspensions for general electrolyte composition, frequency of applied field, ζ potential, and particle size. The standard electrokinetic equations, first introduced for any given particle configuration, are made tractable to computation by averaging over particle configurations. The focus of this paper is on the systematic development of suitable boundary conditions at the outer cell boundary obtained from global constraints on the suspension. The approach is discussed in relation to previously published boundary conditions that have often been introduced in an ad hoc manner. Results of a robust numerical calculation of high-frequency colloidal transport properties, such as dynamic mobility, using the present model are presented and compared with some existing dense suspension models.
Glucose Metabolism in Cancer IMPORTANCE OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR-DNA INTERACTIONS WITHIN A SHORT SEGMENT OF THE PROXIMAL REGION OF THE TYPE II HEXOKINASE PROMOTER

A common signature of many cancers is a high glucose catabolic rate frequently dependent on the overexpression of Type II hexokinase (HKII), a mitochondrial bound enzyme that also suppresses cell death. As the tumor HKII promoter plays a significant role in HKII overexpression, studies reported here were undertaken to identify both the major regions and transcription factors involved under tumor-like conditions. Reporter gene assays following transfection of hepatoma cells with decreasing segments of the HKII promoter traced its known strength to the proximal region (-281 to -35). Mutational analyses showed that in this short region GC boxes 1, 2, 5, and 6, a CCAAT box, an inverted CCAAT box, and CRE are involved in promoter activation. Other studies demonstrated binding of transcription factors Sp1, Sp2, and Sp3 to GC boxes 1 and 6, Sp1 and Sp2 to GC boxes 2 and 5, NF-Y to CCAAT boxes, and CREB, ATF1, and CREM to CRE. In addition, transfection studies involving Sp1, Sp2, Sp3, CREB, and NFY (dominant negative form) provided evidence that these proteins are promoter activators. Finally, alignment of available HK proximal promoters showed strong conservation only among HKII sequences. These findings implicate signaling pathways directed to a short segment of the proximal region of the HKII promoter as major contributors to HKII overexpression in many cancers.
The STO-3G transition structure of the diels-alder reaction

Abstract A transition structure with CS symmetry for the Diels-Alder reaction of butadiene with ethylene has been obtained with the STO-3G basis set. Stereochemical consequences are discussed.
Novel immunophenotypic features of marrow lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma and correlation with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia.

Lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma involving the bone marrow can be difficult to diagnose, and pathological features that predict the presence of associated Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia have yet to be identified. To address these issues, marrow histology, immunohistochemistry, and flow cytometry were studied from 35 lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma cases that had comprehensive clinical assessment for Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia. In all cases, the plasma cells were analyzed by a novel 6-color flow method. Both immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry were useful in identifying the lymphoid and plasmacytic disease components. In 19 cases, immunohistochemistry revealed an earlier unrecognized pattern of plasma cell infiltration in which they were physically separate from the lymphoid infiltrates. B-cell flow cytometry revealed monotypic cells in 96% of the cases. Approximately half of these were CD5 and/or CD23 positive, although none had features of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and none of the B cells had flow cytometric features suggesting plasmacytic differentiation. In contrast, highly sensitive 6-color plasma cell flow cytometry revealed monotypic cells in 32 of the 35 cases; in 20 cases, the pattern of CD38 and CD138 coexpression detected was identical to that seen in plasma cell malignancies such as multiple myeloma. In 18 of these 20 lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma cases, these plasma cells were CD19 positive, distinguishing them from those of true plasma cell neoplasms, which are CD19 negative. It is interesting that the two lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma cases with CD19-negative plasma cells had an IgG isotype serum paraprotein. Apart from this, no other pathological correlates of the clinical or laboratory features of symptomatic Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia were identified.
Experimental assessment of liquid-wall contacts in post-CHF convective boiling

Abstract Convective boiling in the post critical-heat-flux regime is of interest for analysis of LOCA scenarios in nuclear reactor safety. Most models for post-CHF heat transfer concentrate on cooling of the superheated channel walls by vapor convection. The possibility of additional cooling by direct liquid droplet impingement has been a matter of debate. The present work is an attempt to experimentally assess whether contacts between entrained liquid droplets and the superheated walls occur in convective-post-CHF flows. A micro-thermocouple probe, capable of detecting liquid-induced cooling by tracking transient temperatures approximately 0.016 mm beneath the surface, was used in reflood experiments with vertical upflow of water in a superheated tube. Liquid contacts were detected at wall superheat temperatures up to 380°C.
Can elderly patients without risk factors be discharged home when presenting to the emergency department with syncope

Abstract Age is often a predictor for morbidity and mortality. Although we previously proposed risk factors for adverse outcome in syncope, after accounting for the presence of these risk factors, it is unclear whether age is an independent risk factor for adverse outcomes in syncope. Our objective was to determine whether age is an independent risk factor for adverse outcome following a syncopal episode. We conducted a prospective, observational study enrolling consecutive patients with syncope. Adverse outcome/critical intervention included hemorrhage, myocardial infarction/percutaneous coronary intervention, dysrhythmia, antidysrhythmic alteration, pacemaker/defibrillator placement, sepsis, stroke, death, pulmonary embolus or carotid stenosis. Outcomes were identified by chart review and 30-day follow-up. We found that of 575 patients, adverse events occurred in 24%. Overall, 35% with risk factors had adverse outcomes compared to 1.6% without risks. Age ≥ 65 were more likely to have adverse outcomes: 34.5% versus 9.3%, p p 65 and risk factors. Although the elderly with syncope are at greater risk for adverse outcomes overall and in patients with risk factors, age ≥ 65 alone was not a predictor of adverse outcome in syncopal patients without risk factors. Based on this data, it may be safe to discharge home from the ED patients with syncope, but without risk factors, regardless of age.
An approximate maximum likelihood algorithm for direction finding with diversely polarized arrays

Improved direction-finding (DF) performance may be realized by employing a diversely polarized antenna array. However, maximum likelihood (ML) DF algorithms for such an array have greater computational complexity than those for a uniformly polarized array with the same number of antenna elements. In particular, the dimension of the nonlinear search embedded in ML estimation of azimuth and elevation is twice as large with a diversely polarized array as with a uniformly polarized array. While ML is a practical and powerful technique for small search dimensions, it rapidly becomes intractable as the dimension increases. The authors propose a new approximate maximul likelihood (AML) algorithm for reduced-complexity direction finding with diversely polarized arrays. The AML algorithm eliminates the polarization dimensions by incorporating a suboptimal but effective polarization estimate into the exact likelihood function. Optimization of the resulting approximate likelihood function requires half the search dimension of the exact likelihood function. To assess the performance of the AML algorithm, the authors develop an approach for measuring the sensitivity of the estimator to errors in the sensor covariance matrix; these errors may result from model mismatch, finite integration time, or other factors. The approach is applicable to a large class of parameter estimators that maximize a differentiable objective function of the parameters and the data. The authors derive numerically a sensitivity matrix that maps perturbations of the covariance matrix onto perturbations of the estimated directions. They analyze the sensitivity matrix to compare the performance of Schmidt's MUSIC method, the exact ML method, and the AML method for a simulated scenario with two sources of arbitrary correlation and polarization. The results show that the proposed AML algorithm typically performs as well as ML and, that both ML and AML often perform much better than MUSIC. The AML algorithm is an attractive alternative to ML, obtaining comparable DF performance from a diversely polarized array with reduced computational complexity. >
Scalable Optimized Composition of Web Services with Complexity Analysis

This paper addresses a fundamental issue of web service composition. We present a simple but powerful conceptual model that leads to a scalable approach to automatically constructing a composite web service to meet its requirements by using as few services as possible. Our approach is based on a state space model that has a monotone property to allow efficient search along with efficient algorithms for pruning and simple parallelization. We provide both empirical and theoretical analyses of the proposed approach and show that it has time complexity of O(n^2), for a repository with n services. However, the approach takes linear time for sequential compositions when service applicability is performed by service discovery and thus, it is shown to give asymptotically optimal performance. Although optimality in the number of services deployed is not guaranteed, our experiments on public benchmark data sets show correct optimized solutions 100% of the time, with a reduction in the average running time, compared to a well-performed planning-based system, of better than 35% over 207 composition problems.
The effect of structure on hydrogen bonding: Hydrogen bonded lactam dimers in CCl4

We have used both solution IR and NMR spectroscopies to investigate the hydrogen bonding of lactam dimers in CCl4. A series of lactam rings, from four- to eight-membered were investigated. Equilibrium constants for the formation of the cyclic hydrogen bonded dimer were obtained as a function of temperature in order to examine the effect of lactam ring size upon the enthalpy and entropy changes upon complexation. The resulting thermodynamic values for complexation do not follow the same trend with ring size as the equilibrium constants. It is also found that entropy plays an important role in determining the relative stability of a complex for a given ring size.
Relaxation and Dynamics in Granular Superconductors and Superconducting Arrays

The high-temperature ceramic superconductors have exceptionally broad resistive transitions which are highly sensitive to even very weak magnetic fields1. Their magnetization shows strong hysteresis, and decays very slowly with time, often changing over a period of hours or even days2. They show a strong nonresonant microwave absorption which is magnetic-field dependent, nonlinear in the incident intensity, and hysteretic3. At lower frequencies, they show strong generation of higher harmonics when they are disturbed by radiofrequency pulses4.
Grape Juice, Berries, and Walnuts Affect Brain Aging and Behavior

Numerous studies have indicated that individuals consuming a diet containing high amounts of fruits and vegetables exhibit fewer age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Research from our laboratory has suggested that dietary supplementation with fruit or vegetable extracts high in antioxidants (e.g. blueberries, strawberries, walnuts, and Concord grape juice) can decrease the enhanced vulnerability to oxidative stress that occurs in aging and these reductions are expressed as improvements in behavior. Additional mechanisms involved in the beneficial effects of fruits and vegetables include enhancement of neuronal communication via increases in neuronal signaling and decreases in stress signals induced by oxidative/inflammatory stressors (e.g. nuclear factor kappaB). Moreover, collaborative findings indicate that blueberry or Concord grape juice supplementation in humans with mild cognitive impairment increased verbal memory performance, thus translating our animal findings to humans. Taken together, these results suggest that a greater intake of high-antioxidant foods such as berries, Concord grapes, and walnuts may increase "health span" and enhance cognitive and motor function in aging.
Unified solution for procurement integration and B2B stores

Enterprise suppliers are faced with increasing complex tasks of enabling B2B stores to serve their enterprise customers for direct purchases and to support a large number of protocols in order to interoperate with various procurement systems. In this paper, we present a unified B2B solution that separates the integration process into two protocol-dependent and independent tasks with a 2-tier architecture to simplify the support of commerce functions for diverse access points. The first tier B2B gateway system handles all protocol related tasks such as handshaking with external networks and message format conversion. The second tier commerce engine executes commerce related tasks and provides protocol-independent shopping and ordering support for the B2B stores. Using a single sign-on mechanism and a unified shopping cart format in the commerce engine, our solution has streamlines the administrative processes associated with supporting and boarding new B2B buyers into the commerce engine.
The STAT5b Pathway Defect and Autoimmunity.

The signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 5b is a universal transcription factor that plays key biological roles in allergic diseases, immunodeficiencies, autoimmunities, cancers, hematological diseases, growth disorders, and lung diseases. The identification of distinct pathological manifestations of STAT5b deficiency in humans has highlighted the critical role of the STAT5b pathway. Proper gene transcription at IL-2Ra, FOXP3, Bcl-2, and growth hormone associated loci are thought to be associated with normal STAT5b transcriptional activity. These genes are thought to play important roles in allergy/autoimmunity, immunodeficiency, cancer/anemia, and growth, respectively. The STAT5A and STAT5B genes are collocated on 17q21. Although these two monomeric proteins exhibit peptide sequence similarities of >90%, it is known through observations of STAT5b deficient subjects that STAT5a and STAT5b are not fully redundant in humans. Patients with STAT5b deficiency have decreased numbers of regulatory CD4+CD25high T cell (Treg) despite their STAT5a levels being normal. Prior studies on STAT5b deficient subjects have revealed immunological aberrations associated with the following disease phenotype: modest lymphopenia and decreased populations of Treg, γ-δ T cells, and natural killer (NK) cells. Most subjects with STAT5b deficiency show severe eczema, and autoimmune disease (juvenile idiopathic arthritis, autoimmune thyroiditis, idiopathic thrombocytic purpura) which are thought to be associated with Treg dysfunction. We will review the likely pathophysiological mechanisms associated with STAT5b deficiency.
Airborne measurements of CO2 column absorption using a pulsed wavelength-scanned laser sounder instrument

We have demonstrated airborne measurements of CO2 column absorption at 1571.4 nm from 10 km altitudes with a wavelength-scanned lidar using a pulsed diode-seeded EDFA transmitter and a photon counting receiver.
A video study of pain relief during newborn male circumcision

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the effectiveness of dorsal penile nerve block and topical lidocaine–prilocaine anesthesia techniques for pain relief during circumcision. In total, 18 healthy term newborn males were divided based on anesthesia. The topical lidocaine–prilocaine group had six males undergoing circumcision and three males undergoing a sham procedure. The dorsal penile nerve block group had six males undergoing circumcision and three males undergoing a sham procedure. The procedures were videotaped and viewed by 90 noninvestigator reviewers who scored the infants' pain using the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale and a numeric pain scale. Statistical analysis utilized a P-value of <0.05 as significant. The median Neonatal Infant Pain Scale and numeric pain scores were significantly lower in the dorsal penile nerve block group than in the topical lidocaine–prilocaine group or the sham group (Neonatal Infant Pain Scale: 1.0 (range 0–6) versus 6.0 (range 2–6) versus 4.0 (range 0–6), P<0.001, respectively; numeric pain scale: 2.0 (range 0–10) versus 8.0 (range 1–10) versus 4.0 (range 0–10), P<0.001, respectively). In the sham group, procedures with the dorsal penile nerve block had significantly lower pain scores than those with topical lidocaine–prilocaine (Neonatal Infant Pain Scale: 1.0 (range 0–6) versus 5.0 (range 2– 6), P<0.001; numeric pain scale: 1.0 (0–8) versus 6.0 (range 0–10), P<0.001). When reviewers were divided by medical background, gender or parental status, no differences in pain scores were observed. The dorsal penile nerve block anesthesia technique for newborn male circumcision was significantly more effective for pain relief than topical lidocaine–prilocaine.
Laterality Errors in Radiology Reports Generated With and Without Voice Recognition Software: Frequency and Clinical Significance

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence, types, and clinical implications of laterality errors and the effect of voice recognition software on the frequency of laterality errors. Methods: All radiology reports generated between January 2007 and April 2011 were retrospectively evaluated to identify revised reports containing laterality errors. Type of error was catalogued with regard to modality, body part, type of discrepancy (major or minor, with discrepancies considered major if the potential existed to affect patient management), duration of time between report finalization and corrected report, clinical significance, and use of voice recognition. The rate of errors causing major and minor discrepancies between voice recognition‐generated reports and nonvoice recognition‐generated reports was compared. Results: Among 2,923,094 reports, 1,607 (0.055%) contained corrected laterality errors, and 56 (0.0019% of the total report volume) were major. A total of 584,878 (20%) were generated using voice recognition. The rate of laterality errors leading to major discrepancies in voice recognition‐generated reports was 0.00188%, compared with 0.00192% in nonvoice recognition‐generated reports (P .9436). None of the errors led to wrong-sided surgery. However, there were potential adverse effects due to laterality errors in 3 patients with major discrepancies (0.000103% of the total report volume). Conclusions: Rates of laterality errors were low and, in our population, did not result in wrong-sided surgeries. Rates of laterality errors in reports with major discrepancies were unaffected by voice recognition software, but voice recognition was associated with a significant reduction in the duration of time between report finalization and the issuing of a corrected report.
The capillary membrane and calcium kinetics in perfused hearts: independence of force decay on heart rate

Earlier studies have indicated there is no correlation between heart rate (HR) and force decay during Ca depletion. However a compelling hypothesis states that because the sarcolemma is in an intrinsically different state during the action potential than between action potentials, the release of Ca, and hence the decay of force, during Ca depletion should depend on the proportion of time spent in the depolarised state and hence should depend on HR. In each of ten Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts we measured the exponential rate constant for the decline of activity developed force at two different heart rates. Heart rates were in the range of 48 to 142 beats . min-1. Application of the t test to the pairs of rate constants showed the difference within pairs to be not different from zero (P greater than 0.10). In order to explain this contradiction of the hypothesis, we considered that the capillary membrane limits Ca washout and hence force decay. To examine this, advantage was taken of the variation in rate constants between hearts (0.023 to 0.114 s-1). Linear regression of force decay rate constants with resistance to flow (perfusion pressure/flow rate), upon which capillary exchange area might be expected to depend, yielded a correlation coefficient of -0.494, on application of the t test, significant at P = 0.05. This correlation, we believe, supports the concept that the capillary membrane limits Ca washout and therefore that Ca-kinetic events related to force development (eg, HR dependence) are "hidden" behind the capillary membrane.
Validity and Reliability issues in Objective Monitoring of Physical Activity

(2000). Validity and Reliability issues in Objective Monitoring of Physical Activity. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport: Vol. 71, No. sup2, pp. 30-36.
The liquid–liquid transition in supercooled ST2 water: a comparison between umbrella sampling and well-tempered metadynamics

We investigate the metastable phase behaviour of the ST2 water model under deeply supercooled conditions. The phase behaviour is examined using umbrella sampling (US) and well-tempered metadynamics (WT-MetaD) simulations to compute the reversible free energy surface parameterized by density and bond-orientation order. We find that free energy surfaces computed with both techniques clearly show two liquid phases in coexistence, in agreement with our earlier US and grand canonical Monte Carlo calculations [Y. Liu, J. C. Palmer, A. Z. Panagiotopoulos and P. G. Debenedetti, J Chem Phys, 2012, 137, 214505; Y. Liu, A. Z. Panagiotopoulos and P. G. Debenedetti, J Chem Phys, 2009, 131, 104508]. While we demonstrate that US and WT-MetaD produce consistent results, the latter technique is estimated to be more computationally efficient by an order of magnitude. As a result, we show that WT-MetaD can be used to study the finite-size scaling behaviour of the free energy barrier separating the two liquids for systems containing 192, 300 and 400 ST2 molecules. Although our results are consistent with the expected N2/3 scaling law, we conclude that larger systems must be examined to provide conclusive evidence of a first-order phase transition and associated second critical point.
Non-reporting and inconsistent reporting of race and ethnicity in articles that claim associations among genotype, outcome, and race or ethnicity

Background: The use of race as a category in medical research is the focus of an intense debate, complicated by the inconsistency of presumed independent variables, race and ethnicity, on which analysis depends. Interpretation is made difficult by inconsistent methods for determining the race or ethnicity of a participant. The failure to specify how race or ethnicity was determined is common in the published literature. Hypothesis: Criteria by which they assign a research participant to racial or ethnic categories are not reported by published articles. Methods: Methods were reviewed for assigning race and ethnicity of research participants in 268 published reports reporting associations among race (or ethnicity), health outcome and genotype. Results: Of the 268 published reports reviewed, it was found that 192 (72%) did not explain their methods for assigning race or ethnicity as an independent variable. This was despite the fact that 180 (67%) of those reports reached conclusions about associations among genetics, health outcome and race or ethnicity. Conclusions: More attention needs to be given to the definition of race and ethnicity in genetic studies, especially in those diseases where health disparities are known to exist.
Tinnitus: clinical measurement

Clinical measurement of tinnitus is necessary for (1) establishing adequate diagnostic information, (2) selection of appropriate treatment, and (3) quantitative documentation of treatment effects. This article describes standardized methods for measuring tinnitus pitch, loudness, maskability, and residual inhibition. These methods have been used in the Tinnitus Clinic, Oregon Health & Science University, since the 1970s. Summary data for all four measures, obtained from over 1600 Tinnitus Clinic patients, are presented here in tabular form to demonstrate the nature and range of variability within the tinnitus patient population.
Meta-analysis of three randomized controlled trials comparing coronary artery bypass grafting with percutaneous coronary intervention using drug-eluting stenting in patients with diabetes

Objectives Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) was found to be the preferred strategy of revascularization in patients with diabetes in the bare-metal stent (BMS) era. The introduction of drug-eluting stents (DESs) led to a significant reduction in the rates of repeat revascularization (RRV) when compared with BMSs. We did a collaborative analysis of data from randomized controlled trials in the contemporary era to compare CABG versus percutaneous coronary intervention using DESs in diabetic patients. Methods We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis from randomized trials in the contemporary era comparing PCI with DESs with CABG in diabetic patients with multivessel disease. A comprehensive literature search (1 January 2003 to 18 May 2013) identified randomized controlled trials that reported long-term outcomes comparing PCI using DESs with CABG in 2974 diabetic patients. Results At 1 year, PCI was associated with a significant increase in the incidence of RRV [2.48 (1.56-3.94); P ≤0.0001], lower incidence of stroke [relative risk (RR) = 0.43 (0.19-0.81); P = 0.017], and no difference in death or myocardial infarction (MI). At 5 years, PCI was still associated with a lower incidence of stroke, but was associated with a significant increase in the incidence of death [RR = 1.36 (1.11-1.66); P = 0.0033] and MI [RR = 2.01 (1.54-2.62); P ≤0.0001]. Conclusions In patients with diabetes, PCI was associated with no difference in death and MI at 1 year. However, at 5 years, PCI was associated with a higher incidence of death and MI. PCI was associated with a higher incidence of RRV but a lower incidence of stroke.
Stream hydrology limits recovery of riparian ecosystems after wolf reintroduction

Efforts to restore ecosystems often focus on reintroducing apex predators to re-establish coevolved relationships among predators, herbivores and plants. The preponderance of evidence for indirect effects of predators on terrestrial plant communities comes from ecosystems where predators have been removed. Far less is known about the consequences of their restoration. The effects of removal and restoration are unlikely to be symmetrical because removing predators can create feedbacks that reinforce the effects of predator loss. Observational studies have suggested that the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park initiated dramatic restoration of riparian ecosystems by releasing willows from excessive browsing by elk. Here, we present results from a decade-long experiment in Yellowstone showing that moderating browsing alone was not sufficient to restore riparian zones along small streams. Instead, restoration of willow communities depended on removing browsing and restoring hydrological conditions that prevailed before the removal of wolves. The 70-year absence of predators from the ecosystem changed the disturbance regime in a way that was not reversed by predator reintroduction. We conclude that predator restoration may not quickly repair effects of predator removal in ecosystems.
Single fiber light scattering matrix: an experimental determination.

The entire light scattering matrix is experimentally determined for two fused silica cylinders illuminated at normal incidence (λ441.6 nm). Radii of 0.960 ± 0.002 and 3.091 ± 0.003 μm are determined by comparison with Mie theory indicating that micron-sized fiber radii can be determined to within a few nanometers by polarized light scattering techniques. The single fiber provides a good calibration source for polarization nephalometers, being free from problems inherent with spheres in solution. The fiber is a well-known geometry which is amenable to perturbation toward irregular shapes, and as such it provides the starting point for studying scattering from irregular particles.
Delivery of the immunosuppressive antigen Salp15 to antigen-presenting cells by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium aroA mutants.

A Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium aroA-deficient delivery system was used to target the immunosuppressive protein Salp15 to antigen-presenting cells. In vitro and in vivo infections with Salp15-containing Salmonella resulted in an impaired CD4+-T-cell activation, suggesting that the protein was produced by antigen-presenting cells in a physiologically active form.
Changes in the mitochondrial proteome from mouse hearts deficient in creatine kinase

Creatine kinase (CK) is an abundant enzyme, important for maintenance of high-energy phosphate homeostasis in many tissues including heart. Double-knockout CK (DbKO-CK) mice missing both the muscle (MM) and sarcomeric mitochondrial (ScMit) isoforms of CK have recently been studied. Despite a large change in skeletal muscle function in DbKO-CK mice, there is little functional change in the heart. To investigate whether there are specific changes in cardiac mitochondrial proteins associated with the loss of MM- and ScMit-CK isoforms, we have used difference gel electrophoresis (DIGE) to compare mitochondrial proteins from wild-type and DbKO-CK mice. Mass spectrometry fingerprinting was used to identify 40 spots as known mitochondrial proteins. We have discovered that the loss of MM- and ScMit-CK isoforms did not cause large scale changes in heart mitochondrial proteins. The loss of ScMit-CK was readily detected in the DbKO-CK samples. We have also detected a large decrease in the precursor form of aconitase. Furthermore, two mitochondrial protein differences have been found in the parent mouse strains of the DbKO-CK mice.
Designing an over-the-counter consumer decision-making tool for older adults

Display Omitted We describe the design of an OTC medication tool for older adults.We used an iterative design process to get feedback on the prototype.Feedback helped us revise our model of how to help older adults.We present a new model of technology support mechanisms for OTC decision-making.Older adults preferred options for more flexibility including personalization. PurposeOlder adults are at increased risk of adverse drug events due to medication. Older adults tend to take more medication and are at higher risk of chronic illness. Over-the-counter (OTC) medication does not require healthcare provider oversight and understanding OTC information is heavily dependent on a consumer's ability to understand and use the medication appropriately. Coupling health technology with effective communication is one approach to address the challenge of communicating health and improving health related tasks. However, the success of many health technologies also depends on how well the technology is designed and how well it addresses users needs. This is especially true for the older adult population. This paper describes (1) a formative study performed to understand how to design novel health technology to assist older adults with OTC medication information, and (2) how a user-centered design process helped to refine the initial assumptions of user needs and help to conceptualize the technology. MethodsAn iterative design process was used. The process included two brainstorming and review sessions with human-computer interaction researchers and design sessions with older adults in the form of semi-structured interviews. Methods and principles of user-centered research and design were used to inform the research design. Two researchers with expertise in human-computer interaction performed expert reviews of early system prototypes. After initial prototypes were developed, seven older adults were engaged in semi-structured interviews to understand usability concerns and features and functionality older adults may find useful for selecting appropriate OTC medication. ResultsEight usability concerns were discovered and addressed in the two rounds of expert review, and nine additional usability concerns were discovered in design sessions with older adults. Five themes emerged from the interview transcripts as recommendations for design. These recommendations represent opportunities for technology such as the one described in this paper to support older adults in the OTC decision-making process. DiscussionThis paper illustrates the use of an iterative user-centered process in the formative stages of design and its usefulness for understanding aspects of the technology design that are useful to older adults when making decisions about OTC medication. The technology support mechanisms included in the initial model were revised based on the results from the iterative design sessions and helped to refine and conceptualize the system being designed.
Behavioral modeling of the IGBT using the Hammerstein configuration

The Hammerstein model configuration, which includes a nonlinear static block followed by a linear dynamic block, is applied to model the static and dynamic characteristics of the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). Using least-squares methods, the parameters in the behavioral model can be extracted from the electrical measurements of physical devices or from the circuit simulations of physics-based models. A single set of extracted parameters has been found to yield satisfactory efficiency and accuracy for the tested hard- and soft-switched converters under prescribed ranges of operating conditions.
Fabrication of Low-Fouling Ultrafiltration Membranes Using a Hydrophilic, Self-Doping Polyaniline Additive

A simple, scalable method for fabricating fouling-resistant ultrafiltration membranes is described. A self-doped, sulfonated form of polyaniline was blended into polysulfone (PSf) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes to enhance hydrophilicity and fouling resistance. Polyaniline in its base form was sulfonated with fuming sulfuric acid, yielding sulfonated polyaniline (SPANi) with a degree of sulfonation of ∼0.5 confirmed by XPS. The SPANi polymer was dedoped and dissolved in a solution of polysulfone in N-methylpyrollidone at varying concentrations. During phase inversion to form membranes, SPANi is redoped and precipitated within the PSf membrane films in a facile one-step process. Composite membranes containing increasing amounts of SPANi were compared to the pure PSf membranes to determine changes in performance, hydrophilicity, and antifouling characteristics. The composite membranes exhibit fluxes similar to those of the pure PSf membrane and maintain rejection properties similar to those of current UF mem...
A race against time: habitat alteration by snow geese prunes the seasonal sequence of mosquito emergence in a subarctic brackish landscape

Species compositions in highly seasonal habitats often exhibit predictable patterns through time. However, the roles that ecological interactions play in shaping the sequence of species phenologies through a season are largely unexplored. Across the tundra on the Hudson Bay Lowlands, extensive foraging by lesser snow goose populations has been driving alterations to the landscape. Here, I show that this widespread and dramatic disturbance increases evaporation rates of ephemeral ponds and consequently constricts the temporal availability of seasonal aquatic habitats for larval mosquitoes. I also show that this constriction decreases the temporal diversity of closely related univoltine mosquito species that have varying emergence schedules. Three species of mosquitoes emerged through the season from four sampled ephemeral ponds associated with no goose grubbing; only one species emerged, early in the season, from the four ponds that experienced heavy grubbing. This study demonstrates a mechanism for temporal composition change in a ubiquitous and abundant group of arthropods on the tundra. It does not show life history evolution of emergence time of mosquitoes; however, it highlights the rather unexplored role of ecological interactions in altering the diversity of phenologies across seasonal time.
A Top-Down Solution

A story circulates in the small circle of aid workers who spend their lives working in various war environments. Depending on whether I was in Kosovo, the Congo, or Afghanistan, I heard different versions of it applied to the World Bank, the United Nations (UN), or the International Monetary Fund, but its basic components remained the same. In the Congo, for example, the story ran along the following lines. The UN recently published a report on its action in the country. Surprisingly enough, entire sections of this document focused on East Timor. The organization launched an internal inquiry to determine the reasons behind this puzzling discrepancy. It discovered that the staff member who had prepared the report had just been redeployed from East Timor to the Congo. On arrival in his new position, he implemented the exact same strategies in the exact same way he had done in all his previous postings. As usual, when reporting time arrived, he took his template report, hit “search and find,” and replaced “East Timor” with “the Congo.” This time, he simply missed a few occurrences. This anecdote encapsulates a complaint that I frequently heard while conducting fieldwork in the Congo. In the words of a local peacebuilder, “there is a tendency for foreign interveners at different levels to arrive with their baggage, their methodology; sometimes they call it their ‘toolkit.’”
From Angel to Much Ado: Cross-Textual Catharsis, Kinesthetic Empathy and Whedonverse Fandom

“Don’t give people what they want, give them what they need,” media auteur Joss Whedon has famously stated (Whedon in Robinson, 2011: 31). To fans of his many texts — from television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) to web series Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (2008), from graphic novel Fray (2003) to film Serenity (2005) — his principle of offering them what is necessary rather than what is desired has become a justification for emotionally destroying them by “killing” beloved characters, such as Buff’s Joyce Summers and Serenity’s Hoban “Wash” Washburne, among others. Like real life, these character losses can be profoundly affective for viewers and take months or years for them to recover from. In some cases, gaping emotional wounds remain open for a fan’s lifetime. Unlike real life, the death of a character does not usually mean the death of an actor. As a result, it is striking that some fans have read across two of Whedon’s texts — one an original creation, one an adaptation — to create their own sense of catharsis and narrative resolution in the aftermath of two major characters’ deaths on the Buffy spin-off Angel (1999–2004), characters played by the same actors. To examine this occasion of cross-textual catharsis, I first provide a context for the relationship between Angel characters Winifred Burkle, played by Amy Acker, and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, played by Alexis Denisof.
Application of Ultrafast Broadband Infrared Spectroscopy to Measurement of Metal-Carbonyl Dynamics

Population lifetimes and energy transfer dynamics obtained from transient multichannel infrared spectra of CO and NO(v=1) vibrations for gas and liquid phase metal-carbonyl systems are presented.
Percutaneous transhepatic holmium laser lithotripsy of a large common bile duct stone

A 58-year-old woman presented with a 4 cm obstructing choledocolith within the proximal common bile duct. She had an extensive operative history resulting in common bile duct to jejunum anastomosis after cholecystectomy. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) removal was unsuccessful, and surgical exploration was contraindicated due to multiple comorbidities. Interventional radiologist placement of bilateral transhepatic ureteral access sheaths allowed Urologist evaluation of the biliary tract by ureteroscope. Holmium laser lithotripsy was performed with successful fragmentation of the stone and clearance of the obstruction, without complication. The case is relevant to the growing literature on the management of refractory biliary stones after failed ERCP.
Determination of the half-life of circulating leptin in the mouse.

The adipokine hormone, leptin, is a major component of body weight homeostasis. Numerous studies have been performed administering recombinant mouse leptin as an experimental reagent; however, the half-life of circulating leptin following exogenous administration of recombinant mouse leptin has not been carefully evaluated. Exogenous leptin was administered (3 mg leptin per kg body weight) to 10-week-old fasted non-obese male mice and plasma was serially collected at seven time points; plasma leptin concentration was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at each time point to estimate the circulating half-life of mouse leptin. Under the physiological circumstances tested, the half-life of mouse leptin was 40.2 (±2.2) min. Circulating leptin concentrations up to 1 h following exogenous leptin administration were 170-fold higher than endogenous levels at fasting. The half-life of mouse leptin was determined to be 40.2 min. These results should be useful in planning and interpreting experiments employing exogenous leptin. The unphysiological elevations in circulating leptin resulting from widely used dosing regimens for exogenous leptin are likely to confound inferences regarding some aspects of the hormone’s clinical biology.
Stress History Dependent Localization and Failure Using Continuum Damage Mechanics Concepts

Since the notion of damage was introduced by Kachanov and Rabatnov in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the paradigm to better capture the physics of the internal state of a material has been realized in developing macroscale constitutive relationships for monolithic and composite materials. For ductile metals, damage occurs mainly in the form of void nucleation, growth, and coalescence. Localization and failure occur at two different stages in the deformation history and are very much functions of the void (porosity) evolution, which can be interpreted as the damage evolution, and the stress state history. The damage evolution of a polycrystalline metal is fully coupled to the stress history. In this study, different initial material properties are varied in four different boundary value problems to reflect the stress state and deformation history effects. Special attention is paid to three internal state variable evolution equations; one represents scalar damage, and the other two represent isotropic (scalar) hardening and kinematic (tensorial) hardening. Internal state evolution equations that capture history effects are necessary when trying to solve complex boundary value problems. This constitutive framework is embedded into a finite element formulation to solve such boundary value problems. Mesoscale analyses of A356-T6 aluminum under different stress states and initial material states are used to give insight into the void nucleation, growth, and coalescence issues that arise when formulating an internal state porosity evolution rule within a macroscale framework. This work was based on previous studies related to the four boundary value problems. Numerical calculations were performed to compare to 6061-T6 aluminum notch tension tests with different notched radii. The various notch radii induce different levels of stress triaxiality and allow for correlation of different void growth rules. Numerical calculations of forming limit diagrams for 6061-T6 aluminum compared favorably to experimental results. Finally, penetration analyses were performed with 6061-T6 aluminum disks as targets.
The role of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 in mechanical and chemical visceral hyperalgesia following experimental colitis

The transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 receptor (TRPV1) is an important nociceptor involved in neurogenic inflammation. We aimed to examine the role of TRPV1 in experimental colitis and in the development of visceral hypersensitivity to mechanical and chemical stimulation. Male Sprague-Dawley rats received a single dose of trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) in the distal colon. In the preemptive group, rats received the TRPV1 receptor antagonist JYL1421 (10 mumol/kg, i.v.) or vehicle 15 min prior to TNBS followed by daily doses for 7 days. In the post-inflammation group, rats received JYL1421 daily for 7 days starting on day 7 following TNBS. The visceromotor response (VMR) to colorectal distension (CRD), intraluminal capsaicin, capsaicin vehicle (pH 6.7) or acidic saline (pH 5.0) was assessed in all groups and compared with controls and naive rats. Colon inflammation was evaluated with H&E staining and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. TRPV1 immunoreactivity was assessed in the thoraco-lumbar (TL) and lumbo-sacral (LS) dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons. In the preemptive vehicle group, TNBS resulted in a significant increase in the VMR to CRD, intraluminal capsaicin and acidic saline compared the JYL1421-treated group (P /=30 mm Hg) but had no effect on the VMR to chemical stimulation. TRPV1 immunoreactivity in the TL and LS DRG was no different from vehicle or naive controls. These results suggest an important role for TRPV1 channel in the development of inflammation and subsequent mechanical and chemical visceral hyperalgesia.
New Insight into Transient Contrast Enhancement on Computed Tomography after Endovascular Treatment of Stroke

Transient contrast enhancement on computed tomography following endovascular treatment of stroke is a recognized entity that has been previously reported. Technological advances in brain imaging now have the potential to explore and refine its proposed etiology. We describe three patients in whom the location of contrast enhancement correlates with decreased cerebral blood volume on pre-therapeutic CT perfusion studies and with restricted diffusion on MRI. In this regard, contrast enhancement demarcated areas of completed cerebral infarction. The diagnostic and etiological implications are discussed.