cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A software system for automated identification and retrieval of moth images based on wing attributes

Manually collecting, identifying, archiving and retrieving specimen images is an expensive and time-consuming work for entomologists. There is a clear need to introduce fast systems integrated with modern image processing and analysis algorithms to accelerate the process. In this paper, we describe the development of an automated moth species identification and retrieval system (SPIR) using computer vision and pattern recognition techniques. The core of the system is a probabilistic model that infers Semantically Related Visual (SRV) attributes from low-level visual features of moth images in the training set, where moth wings are segmented into information-rich patches from which the local features are extracted, and the SRV attributes are provided by human experts as ground-truth. For the large amount of unlabeled test images in the database or added into the database later on, an automated identification process is evoked to translate the detected salient regions of low-level visual features on the moth wings into meaningful semantic SRV attributes. We further propose a novel network analysis based approach to explore and utilize the co-occurrence patterns of SRV attributes as contextual cues to improve individual attribute detection accuracy. Working with a small set of labeled training images, the approach constructs a network with nodes representing the SRV attributes and weighted edges denoting the co-occurrence correlation. A fast modularity maximization algorithm is proposed to detect the co-occurrence patterns as communities in the network. A random walk process working on the discovered co-occurrence patterns is applied to refine the individual attribute detection results. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is evaluated in automated moth identification and attribute-based image retrieval. In addition, a novel image descriptor called SRV attribute signature is introduced to record the visual and semantic properties of an image and is used to compare image similarity. Experiments are performed on an existing entomology database to illustrate the capabilities of our proposed system. We observed that the system performance is improved by the SRV attribute representation and their co-occurrence patterns. HighlightsA species identification and retrieval system for moth images.Semantically related visual (SRV) attributes and signatures.An algorithm to detect the co-occurrence patterns of SRV attributes.Attribute signature based image identification and retrieval framework.Performance improvement with SRV attributes and their co-occurrence patterns.
Measurement Error Adjustment Using the SIMEX Method: An Application to Student Growth Percentiles

Growth models are used extensively in the context of educational accountability to evaluate student-, class-, and school-level growth. However, when error-prone test scores are used as independent variables or right-hand-side controls, the estimation of such growth models can be substantially biased. This article introduces a simulation-extrapolation (SIMEX) method that corrects measurement error induced bias. The SIMEX method is applied to quantile regression, which is the basis of Student Growth Percentile, a descriptive growth model adopted in a number of states to diagnose and project student growth. A simulation study is conducted to demonstrate the performance of the SIMEX method in reducing bias and mean squared error in quantile regression with a mismeasured predictor. One of the simulation cases is based on longitudinal state assessment data. The analysis shows that measurement error differentially biases growth percentile results for students at different achievement levels and that the SIMEX method corrects such biases and closely reproduces conditional distributions of current test scores given past true scores. The potential applications and limitations of the method are discussed at the end of this paper with suggestions for further studies.
Motion propagation detection association for multi-target tracking in wide area aerial surveillance

We propose a novel approach to track multiple targets with weak appearance in low frame rate wide area aerial videos. In real world scenarios, non-linear motion such as sharp turns after slowing down or U-shape trajectories occur. Performing accurate matching without introducing undesired trajectories is very challenging. To tackle various motion patterns, we sequentially optimizing an objective function and propagating motion information at each time step in a sliding temporal window. We show how to exploit an optimal short track (tracklet) for each detection in the first frame of each window using dynamic programming. Tracklets obtained in the window are then associated with existing tracks iteratively to form final tracks. We reduce false alarms in background subtraction motion detection with the aid of optical flow. Our system is tested on two challenging datasets. The quantitative evaluation on a long annotated aerial video sequence shows that the proposed approach outperforms state-of-the-art detection and tracking methods in all common axes of evaluation metrics.
False Consciousness of Kind: Pluralistic Ignorance among the Aged.

This article examines the misconceptions of the elderly regarding the severity of problems experienced by most of the aged. Using data taken from the National Council on the Aging's 1974 national survey, the analysis shows (1) that the elderly greatly overestimate the seriousness of problems encountered by most elderly individuals; (2) that the more serious a problem is personally for respondents, the more likely they are to attribute it falsely to the majority of other elderly; and (3) that many of the aged without very serious problems mistakenly perceive themselves as different from most of the other aged. The data also show that these findings hold regardless of the elderly respondents' positions in the social structure. These patterns of pluralistic ignorance constitute a false consciousness of kind that is strikingly similar to that reported in studies of the misperceptions of racial values.
Maximum Likelihood Postprocessing for Differential Privacy under Consistency Constraints

When analyzing data that has been perturbed for privacy reasons, one is often concerned about its usefulness. Recent research on differential privacy has shown that the accuracy of many data queries can be improved by post-processing the perturbed data to ensure consistency constraints that are known to hold for the original data. Most prior work converted this post-processing step into a least squares minimization problem with customized efficient solutions. While improving accuracy, this approach ignored the noise distribution in the perturbed data.In this paper, to further improve accuracy, we formulate this post-processing step as a constrained maximum likelihood estimation problem, which is equivalent to constrained L1 minimization. Instead of relying on slow linear program solvers, we present a faster generic recipe (based on ADMM) that is suitable for a wide variety of applications including differentially private contingency tables, histograms, and the matrix mechanism (linear queries).An added benefit of our formulation is that it can often take direct advantage of algorithmic tricks used by the prior work on least-squares post-processing.An extensive set of experiments on various datasets demonstrates that this approach significantly improve accuracy over prior work.
Inner wall coated hollow core waveguide SERS probe

A hollow core waveguide (HCW) with silver nanoparticles (SNPs) coated on the inner wall has been demonstrated for molecular detection based on surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). With rhodamine 6G (R6G) as an analyte molecule and two types of silver nanoparticles (SNPs) as double SERS substrates, the inner wall coated HCW (IWCHCW) exhibits significantly higher sensitivity than previous fiber SERS probes with only one SERS substrate. Two kinds of HCW are used in the experiment, liquid core photonic crystal fiber (LCPCF) and hollow silica waveguide (HSW). SERS signal obtained with either an LCPCF or a HSW IWCHCW is over ten times that obtained in direct detection using a single SERS substrate. The improvement of the SERS sensitivity is attributed to the additional enhancement of the electromagnetic field by the double SERS substrate "sandwich" structure with one substrate coated on the inner wall of the HCW and the other mixed in the sample solution. Furthermore, With an LCPCF IWCHCW, the SERS signal is around 100 times as strong as that in direct detection when measured from the processed fiber tip. This is attributed to the additional R6G/SNPs solution in the fiber pit, increased coupling efficiency due to surface plasmon resonance in the SNPs in the same region, and further increased electromagnetic field in the same region due to nano-structures introduced during the collapse of the cladding holes. The simple architecture and high sensitivity of the inner wall coated HCW make it promising for molecular detection in various analytical and sensing applications.
Anatomical localization and expression pattern for the NMDA-2D receptor subunit in a rat model of neuropathic pain.

The N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) has been implicated in the etiology of chronic pain. In this regard, this study sought to characterize the localization and expression pattern for the NMDAR-2D subunit in a rat model of neuropathic pain. To this end, one group of rats, 3 weeks post-dorsal root rhizotomy (DRR) and a second group, 3 weeks post-spinal nerve ligation (SNL) and sham surgery, were generated. Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and/or lumbar spinal cord were excised from DRR, naive, SNL and sham rats. Both immunohistochemical and real-time PCR analysis confirmed discrete NMDAR-2D subunit expression within the DRG and dorsal horn. However, no overt differences in staining intensity or expression were noted between DRG and spinal cord sections obtained from the different surgical groups. Results also demonstrated that the NMDAR-2D subunit was present within Neu N+ cells in the spinal cord and DRG, but excluded from cells labeled with the astrocytic marker, GFAP, and the microglial maker, OX-42. Lastly, the NMDAR-2D subunit was not co-expressed within neurokinin-1 (NK-1)+ or neurofilament-52 (N-52)+ neurons, but the antibody did co-label a number of isolectin B4+ (IB4) DRG cells. Together, these findings seem to suggest that the NMDAR-2D receptor subunit is present within the cell body region of a population of small diameter sensory afferents and post-synaptically within second order dorsal horn neurons. Although these data suggest that the NMDAR-2D subunit is well poised anatomically to modulate pain neurotransmission, the expression pattern for this subunit is not altered in rats demonstrating the presence of neuropathic-like pain behavior.
Alzheimer's Aβ42 and Aβ40 peptides form interlaced amyloid fibrils

Deposition of amyloid β (Aβ) in the brain is a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. There are two major isoforms of Aβ: the 42-residue Aβ42 and the 40-residue Aβ40. The only difference between Aβ42 and Aβ40 is that Aβ42 has two extra residues at the C-terminus. The amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's brains consist of mostly Aβ42 and some plaques contain only Aβ42, even though Aβ40 concentration is several-fold more than Aβ42. Using electron paramagnetic resonance, we studied the formation of amyloid fibrils using a mixture of Aβ42 and Aβ40 in vitro. We show that Aβ42 and Aβ40 form mixed fibrils in an interlaced manner, although Aβ40 is not as efficient as Aβ42 in terms of being incorporated into Aβ42 fibrils. Our results suggest that both Aβ42 and Aβ40 would be present in amyloid plaques if in vivo aggregation of Aβ were similar to the in vitro process. Therefore, there must be some mechanisms that lead to the preferential deposition of Aβ42 at the extracellular space. Identifying such mechanisms may open new avenues for therapeutic interventions to treat Alzheimer's disease.
Corey-Chaykovsky Epoxidation of Twisted Amides: Synthesis and Reactivity of Bridged Spiro-epoxyamines

The first example of a Corey-Chaykovsky epoxidation employing amides as substrates is described. Medium-bridged twisted amides serve as precursors to a family of isolable aminoepoxides. The reactivity of bridged spiro-epoxyamines is also investigated.
Development and application of Voronoi diagrams in the assessment of roundness error in an industrial environment

Abstract This paper discusses a robust, computational geometry based technique to establish the roundness error of a measured workpiece in an industrial environment. For evaluating the roundness error, a mathematical formalization has been developed. The properties of a convex hull and the nearest and farthest Voronoi diagrams have been exploited to establish the ideal geometric features required in the assessment problem as per the standards. The methodology has been implemented and the examples have been presented to validate the computational effectiveness of the approach. The proposed method can be easily adopted and installed in the Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMMs) and other computer aided measuring instruments for ready industrial applications.
Designing a Hypermedia Tool for Learning about Children's Mathematical Cognition:

We designed a hypermedia tool for helping preservice teachers learn about the growth and development of children's mathematical reasoning. Design of the tool was guided by a small set of design principles derived from consideration of research in cognitive science. These included “criss-crossing” the conceptual landscape and developing navigational tools that made this landscape visible. We compared learning in text and hypermedia environments by employing a novel single-subject methodology that afforded an economical means of assessment. Results indicated that participants learned significantly faster using the hypermedia system than they did using text-based materials. Secondary analyses suggest that this finding could be attributed to several elements of the design, including the learners' access to examples, an interface that was flexible enough to meet readers' changing experience and goals, and the conceptual criss-crossing embedded in the structure of the system.
OPTICAL EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY OF GERMANE PLASMA PRODUCED IN AN ECR REACTOR

Plasma deposition using silane and germane is extensively used for depositing amorphous (Si,Ge) films and devices, and has the potential of also being used for making crystalline films. In this paper, we report results on the electrical and optical characterization of germane plasmas using a Langmuir probe set-up and optical emission spectroscopy. The plasma studied was an electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma. For the first time ever, we have detected the characteristic 246 nm GeH emission peak in the plasma. The GeH emission peak is suppressed significantly when small quantities of hydrogen are added as a diluent gas. We have also studied the effect of adding a voltage bias to the substrate on the plasma properties. We find that adding voltage bias does not simply change the effective ion energy impinging on the substrate, as is usually assumed, but also changes all the plasma properties, including the density of neutral, excited H radicals arriving at the growing surface.
Persistent differences in asthma self-efficacy by race, ethnicity, and income in adults with asthma.

AbstractObjective: The objective of this population-based study was to determine if and to what extent there are differences in asthma self-efficacy by race/ethnicity and income, and whether health status, levels of acculturation, and health care factors may explain these differences. Methods: We conducted a secondary data analysis of asthma self-efficacy using the 2009 and 2011–2012 California Health Interview Survey, in adults with asthma (n = 7874). In order to examine if and how the effect of race/ethnicity and income on asthma self-efficacy may have been altered by health status, acculturation, and health care factors, we used staged multivariable logistic regression models. We conducted mediation analyses to evaluate which of these factors might mediate disparities in self-efficacy by race/ethnicity and income. Results: 69.8% of adults reported having high asthma self-efficacy. Latinos (OR 0.66; 95% CI 0.51–0.86), African-Americans (OR 0.50; 95% CI 0.29–0.83), American Indian/Alaskan Natives (OR 0.5...
Ternary Diffusion: Restrictions on the ( 2 D) Matrix

An analysis has been made of ternary diffusing systems to determine the possibility that individual diagonal interdiffusion coefficient elements of thek(2D) (k = 1,2,3) interdiffusion coefficient matrices can be negative. It is shown that in ternary diffusing systems, in which the concentration-penetration curves are monotonic, as many as three of the six diagonal coefficients can be negative. It is further shown that several ternary diffusing systems having a negative diagonal interdiffusion coefficient matrix element have already in fact been determined experimentally.
Parallel interpretation of logic programs

Logic programs offer many opportunities for parallelism. We present an abstract model that exploits the parallelism due to nondeterministic choices in a logic program. A working interpreter based on this model is described, along with variants of the basic model that are capable of exploiting other sources of parallelism. We conclude with a discussion of our plans for experimenting with the various models, plans which we hope will lead eventually to a multi-processor machine.
Fabrication and testing of very lightweight composite mirrors

We report progress in the development of very lightweight uv-vis-ir mirrors for space- and ground-based applications. The mirrors are made by replication using spaceflight qualified graphite cyanate ester composite materials. We have developed a process that successfully overcomes the problems of fiber print-through, vacuum instability, and appearance of bond lines on the surface. These problems have thwarted previous attempts in the development of composite optics. We describe our process and present some recent results. These include the fabrication of mirrors with highly smooth surfaces, low mid-frequency ripple, and areal density 2 kg/m2 at 60 cm aperture. We also present data on bond lines and active optical figure control.
A Secure User Interface for Web Applications Running Under an Untrusted Operating System

Many security-critical web applications, such as online banking and e-commerce, require a secure communication path between the user and a remote server. Securing this endto- end path is challenging and can be broken down into several segments. The network part between the user’s machine and the server is usually well protected, using secure communication protocols, such as the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol. However, the user’s sensitive inputs (such as password and credit card number) are handled by the operating system (OS) and the web applications before being encrypted and passed on to the network; also some sensitive information from the server (such as private account balance and transaction confirmation) is handled by OS/applications before being displayed to the user. This user interface part of the communication path, which includes the OS and web applications, is often untrusted because of possible malware (virus, rootkits, spyware, etc.) and vulnerabilities within the client. In this paper, a secure user interface running under an untrusted OS is proposed, which is independent of the OS/applications and has a very small code base size. This secure user interface attests itself to the remote server and then handles the sensitive input and output by itself, bypassing the OS kernel and web applications. It utilizes network software stacks in the OS, however, the sensitive information is cryptographically protected before being revealed to the potentially malicious OS. This ensures the confidentiality and integrity of the sensitive information. Using this secure user interface, even while running under untrusted OS/applications, the user’s sensitive input, private output, and transaction integrity can be protected.
Formation Mechanism of the Secondary Building Unit in a Chromium Terephthalate Metal–Organic Framework

A detailed mechanism, based on density functional theory calculations and simulation, is presented outlining the formation of the secondary building unit (SBU) of MIL-101, a chromium terephthalate metal organic framework (MOF). Formation of the metal core and of the SBU is key to MOF nucleation, the rate-limiting step in the synthesis process of many MOFs. A series of reactions that lead to the formation of the SBU of MIL-101 is proposed in this work. The highest barrier (∼35 kcal/mol) involves the formation of a dimetal-linker intermediate and high to low spin transition as a third Cr-linker moiety joins to form a three metal-linker group joined by a central oxygen. The terephthalate linkers play an important, key mechanistic role with the carboxylates first joining chromium atoms prior to the formation of bridging oxygens. Subsequent to metal core formation, stepwise linker addition reactions generate different assembly pathways due to structural isomers that are limited by the removal of water molecule...
Interaction energies and dynamics of acid-base pairs isolated in cavitands.

The use of capsules and cavitands in physical organic chemistry is briefly reviewed, and their application to the study of salt bridges is introduced. Carboxylate/ammonium ion pairs are generated within an environment that more or less surrounds the functional groups within a synthetic fixed introverted solvent sphere. This is provided by cavitands that fold around amines and present them with a carboxylic acid function. Both organic and water-soluble versions were prepared, and their equilibrium affinities with quinuclidine bases were determined by NMR methods. The association constants range from approximately 103 M−1 in water to more than 105 M−1 in organic solvents. Studies of nitrogen inversion and tumbling of [2.2.2]-diazabicyclooctane within the introverted acids also illustrate the strength of the acid−base interactions. The barriers to in−out exchange of several amine guests were determined to be in the range from 15 to 24 kcal mol−1. Some parallels with enzymes are drawn: the receptor folds arou...
Intraoperative radiation therapy using a mobile electron linear accelerator: field matching for large-field electron irradiation

Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) consists of delivering a large, single-fraction dose of radiation to a surgically exposed tumour or tumour bed at the time of surgery. With the availability of a mobile linear accelerator in the OR, IORT procedures have become more feasible for medical centres and more accessible to cancer patients. Often the area requiring irradiation is larger than what the treatment applicators will allow, and therefore, two or more adjoining fields are used. Unfortunately, the divergence and scattering of the electron beams may cause significant dose variations in the region of the field junction. Furthermore, because IORT treatments are delivered in a large single fraction, the effects of underdosing or overdosing could be more critical when compared to fractionated external beam therapy. Proper matching of the fields is therefore an important technical aspect of treatment delivery. We have studied the matching region using the largest flat applicator available for three different possibilities: abutting the fields, leaving a small gap or creating an overlap. Measurements were done using film dosimetry for the available energies of 4, 6, 9 and 12 MeV. Our results show the presence of clinically significant cold spots for the low-energy beams when the fields are either gapped or abutted, suggesting that the fields should be overlapped. No fields should be gapped. The results suggest that an optimal dose distribution may be obtained by overlapping the fields at 4 and 6 MeV and simply abutting the fields at 9 and 12 MeV. However, due to uncertainties in the placement of lead shields during treatment delivery, one may wish to consider overlapping the higher energy fields as well.
Analogue methods for turbojet thrust instrumentation

MEASUREMENT of the thrust of a turbojet engine during flight presents a typical application of analogue techniques for automatic measurement, computation, and actuation. Effective operation of military aircraft requires instrumentation which includes an indication of engine performance. With the introduction of turbojet aircraft came the demand for instrumentation which involves measuring the engine's thrust. However, the components of thrust are not directly measurable during flight. Therefore, thrust must be computed according to the thermodynamic parameters of engine operation.
On barrelling instabilities in finite elasticity

Etude de la stabilite d'un cylindre circulaire solide compose d'un materiau elastique non lineaire isotrope homogene (compressible) soumis a des forces de compression aux extremites dans la direction axiale. Le chargement conduit a un renflement du cylindre en forme de tonneau. On etudie cette instabilite
Craniotomy procedures are associated with less analgesic requirements than other surgical procedures

The conventional wisdom that neurosurgical patients experience minimal postoperative pain and require little analgesia has been challenged. To address this, we reviewed our anesthesia and postanesthesia care unit (PACU) records for 1995 and compared pain management in patients undergoing major intracranial and selected extracranial procedures. We recorded patient weight, operative time, time in the PACU, intraoperative and postoperative opioid use, PACU pain scores, and level of consciousness in patients who had undergone open fixation of mandible or maxilla (Group E), clipping of aneurysms or excision of tumors (Group I), or lumbar laminectomy (Group L). Group I (n = 78) patients received less fentanyl in the operating room (0.016 μg. kg -1 . min -1 versus 0.023 μg. kg -1 . min -1 for Group E [n = 134] and 0.023 μg. kg -1 . min -1 for Group L [n = 21]; P < 0.05), received less morphine in the PACU (0.0004 vs 0.0013 vs 0.0015 mg. kg -1 min -1 ; P < 0.005), reported lower pain scores (0.76 vs 2.5 vs 2.4; P < 0.05), and spent less time in the PACU (89.5 vs 109 vs 105 min; P < 0.05) than Group E or L patients. Our results were similar when only patients with Glasgow Coma Scale scores ≥ 14 were used in a subset analysis. We conclude that patients suffer less pain and use fewer opioids in the PACU after intracranial surgery than after facial reconstruction or lumbar laminectomy. Our results confirm that the average craniotomy patient has less postoperative pain than patients who undergo other surgical procedures, although patients who undergo frontal craniotomy may require more aggressive pain management. Implications: This study compares the pain report and analgesic use in patients after intracranial versus extracranial surgery. The results confirm the commonly held but recently challenged belief that neurosurgery patients suffer less pain postoperatively than other patients. In this study, we found that most patients report minimal pain after intracranial surgery but that a small subset of patients, many of whom have undergone frontal craniotomies, require aggressive treatment of postoperative pain.
Electrical evaluation of wafer level fan out (WLFO) package using organic substrates for microwave applications

In this paper, developments of wafer level fan-out (WLFO) technology using organic substrates, ajinomoto build-up film (ABF) with laser ablation process and buried pattern PCB, are introduced for low cost and high electrical performance not only on low frequency ranges but also microwave applications. WLFO technology using organic substrates can enhance routing density and provide smaller form factor than flip-chip chip scale packages (fcCSP). Moreover, short signal routing paths from die out to package out can be realized to improve overall electrical performance in WLFO, In this paper, the process of WLFO using ABF with laser drilling and buried-pattern PCB substrate are explained. In addition, measurements of coplanar waveguide (CPW) structure on WLFO and interconnection models from die I/O pad to balls using 3D EM simulation are conducted to estimate effectiveness in microwave ranges.
Macroeconomic implications of search theory for the labour market

‘While the usual job search problem is a microeconomic one, this paper applies labour market data to a standard search model to extract macroeconomic implications. A theoretical relationship between the minimum wage, subsistence wage and reservation wage is posited and found to be violated in the data. The paper raises several issues of public policy. It finds that the minimum wage offered is low. It provides a measure of the ‘quality’ of the labour market, and discusses how it may be improved, by increasing the minimum wage, reducing bargaining between the supply and demand sides of the labour market, and curbing wage volatility.
A Champagne Glass Illusion

The high hat illusion found in Professor Carr's Psychology: A Stitdy of Mmtd Life (1925, pp. 157-158) strudc me at first sight as a very effective fusion of MiillerLyer's "paradox" ( 1889) and William Wundt's horizontal-vertical illusion ( 1859). On second thought, I realized that it was not only the best textbook illustration I had ever come across on that subject, bur it was much more than just a case of peripheral fusion of illusions, for the central factor of mental set or expectancy plays a predominant role there. We all have seen so many felt or straw hats in the past that we are accustomed to their standard low level on the top. So in contrast to our stereotyped memory image, the high hat pictured in the illustration produces an impressive effect of looking indeed very much taller than usual. For the same reason, a concave facial mold displayed on an optician's counter once looked like a real convex face to me at a distance. We tend to see what we expect to see. When the figure stays clear in the open, our memory image may magnify the difference by contrast as in the case of the high hat. But when the exposure is too brief or when the object is too far away to permit a clear look or close examination, are may ignore reality and interpret the ambiguity according to our expecrancy, as in the case of the concave facial mold. Ever since my Chicago days (1926-31), I have been looking for a perhaps less central and more peripheral illustration of combining the two famous illusions among familiar objects. Finally, I hit upon the idea of a wine vessel which is depicted in the following figure. Hold the figure upright and compare the relative length of the brim and the stem. Which appears longer' Are they equal? In fact, the brim is longer.
Fuzzy decision making with multiple objectives and discrete membership functions

Abstract A multiple objective decision making problem in which fuzzy sets are used to represent the decision maker's valuations of the objectives is addressed. A method presented by Yager is demonstrated to be inconsistent with a more general approach suggested by Baldwin & Guild. An alternative model which is consistent with the Baldwin & Guild model is presented. This model is shown to be consistent with the Standard non-fuzzy approach when the associated preferences are no longer vague.
A dominant negative Cx43 mutant differentially affects tumorigenic and invasive properties in human metastatic melanoma cells

Previous reports have implicated connexin 43 (Cx43) as a tumor suppressor in early stages of tumorigenesis and in some cases as an enhancer of cell migration in later stages. To address the role of Cx43 in melanoma tumor progression, we utilized two melanoma cell lines derived from the same patient in pre-metastasis (WM793B) and following isolation from a lung metastasis in nude mice (1205Lu). Our results demonstrate a strikingly increased expression of Cx43 in both the pre-metastatic and metastatic melanoma cell lines that were actively migrating compared to non-migrating cells. To further investigate the role of Cx43 in these melanoma cells, we overexpressed wild type (wt) Cx43 as well as a mutant dominant negative Cx43 mutant that causes closed channels (T154A). The metastatic 1205Lu cells expressing Cx43-T154A showed a twofold decrease in colony formation on soft agar while the nonmetastatic WM793B cells showed no significant change. In invasion assays through a collagen matrix, the same Cx43-T154A 1205Lu cells demonstrated a three- to fourfold increase in the invasion index compared to either wt Cx43 or vector control cells. The increase in invasiveness was eliminated by migration towards media with charcoal-stripped serum, suggesting that migration may be directed towards a lipophilic compound(s). Our findings demonstrate that a dominant negative Cx43 mutant deficient in channel formation exhibits a dual pattern of regulation in metastatic melanoma cells with a decrease in anchorage-independent growth and an increase in invasive potential.
On Determining the Primordial Helium Abundance from the Spectra of H II Galaxies

A data set of 53 H II galaxies and giant H II regions whose observed abundances have reliable formal uncertainties reveals that the O/H-He/H relation used to determine the primordial helium abundance (PBA) has a highly significant physical dispersion. Consideration of possible sources of scatter indicates that it is almost certainly one-sided, i.e., upward from a minimum value of He/H at each O/H. The presence of an asymmetric dispersion casts doubt on values of PBA obtained by extrapolating ridge-line fits to the O/H-He/H relation. The loss of oxygen in SN explosions will lead naturally to a positive dispersion in He/H. The observed dispersions in He/H can be explained by chemical evolution models in which 0-95 percent of the newly synthesized oxygen is lost. It is concluded that in H II galaxies and giant H II regions PBA can be reliably determined only by fitting to the lower envelope of the O/H-He/H relation.
Catabolism of asialo-GM2 in man and mouse. Specificity of human/mouse chimeric GM2 activator proteins.

Tay-Sachs disease is an inborn lysosomal disease characterized by excessive cerebral accumulation of GM2. The catabolism of GM2 to GM3 in man requires β-hexosaminidase A (HexA) and a protein cofactor, the GM2 activator. Thus, Tay-Sachs disease can be caused by the deficiency of either HexA or the GM2 activator. The same cofactor found in mouse shares 74.1% amino acid identity (67% nucleotide identity) with the human counterpart. Between the two activators, the mouse GM2 activator can effectively stimulate the hydrolysis of both GM2 and asialo-GM2 (GA2) by HexA and, to a lesser extent, also stimulate HexB to hydrolyze GA2, whereas the human activator is ineffective in stimulating the hydrolysis of GA2 (Yuziuk, J. A., Bertoni, C., Beccari, T., Orlacchio, A., Wu, Y.-Y., Li, S.-C., and Li, Y.-T. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 66–72). To understand the role of these two activators in stimulating the hydrolyses of GM2 and GA2, we have constructed human/mouse chimeric GM2 activators and studied their specificities. We have identified a narrow region (Asn106–Tyr114) in the mouse cDNA sequence that might be responsible for stimulating the hydrolysis of GA2. Replacement of the corresponding site in the human sequence with the specific mouse sequence converted the ineffective human activator into an effective chimeric protein for stimulating the hydrolysis of GA2. This chimeric activator protein, like the mouse protein, is also able to stimulate the hydrolysis of GA2 by HexB. The mouse model of human type B Tay-Sachs disease recently engineered by the targeted disruption of the Hexa gene showed less severe clinical manifestation than found in human patients. This has been considered to be the result of the catabolism of GM2 via converting it to GA2 and further hydrolysis of GA2 to lactosylceramide by HexB with the assistance of mouse GM2 activator protein. The chimeric activator protein that bears the characteristics of the mouse GM2 activator may therefore be able to induce an alternative catabolic pathway for GM2 in human type B Tay-Sachs patients.
Shell Cross-Linked Nanoparticles Designed To Target Angiogenic Blood Vessels via αvβ3 Receptor−Ligand Interactions

The design, synthesis, and characterization of a novel polymeric nanostructured material bearing surface-attached integrin antagonists are demonstrated. The covalent coupling of a complex and biologically active small molecule to a well-defined nanostructured material combines the elegance of synthetic organic chemistry with the state-of-the-art polymer chemistry. This unique material offers potential in targeting to tumor neovasculature and delivery of diagnostic and therapeutic agents.
Use of the multifocal electroretinogram in the evaluation of a patient with central areolar choroidal dystrophy

Abstract PURPOSE: To assess the multifocal electroretinogram and full-field electroretinogram findings in a patient with advanced central areolar choroidal dystrophy. DESIGN: Observational case report. METHODS: A 53-year-old man with central areolar choroidal dystrophy underwent multifocal electroretinogram and full-field electroretinogram testing. RESULTS: The multifocal electroretinogram demonstrated relative preservation of foveal function compared with the severely depressed retinal function of the perifoveal macula corresponding to the location of the retinal and retinal pigment epithelium atrophy. The full-field electroretinogram was normal for both photopic and scotopic responses. CONCLUSION: Despite a normal full-field electroretinogram, the multifocal electroretinogram demonstrated significant macular dysfunction with relative preservation of foveal function in a patient with central areolar choroidal dystrophy.
Smoothness of the density of states in the Anderson model at high disorder

We prove smoothness of the density of states in the Anderson model at high disorder for a class of potential distributions that include the uniform distribution.
Symmetric yet organic: Fourier series as an artist’s tool

The domain-colouring algorithm for visualizing complex-valued functions, when used with complex Fourier series, offers novel techniques to produce mathematical art. Using a photograph instead of th...
Prenatal PCBs disrupt early neuroendocrine development of the rat hypothalamus

Neonatal exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can interfere with hormone-sensitive developmental processes, including brain sexual differentiation. We hypothesized that disruption of these processes by gestational PCB exposure would be detectable as early as the day after birth (postnatal day (P) 1) through alterations in hypothalamic gene and protein expression. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were injected twice, once each on gestational days 16 and 18, with one of the following: DMSO vehicle; the industrial PCB mixture Aroclor 1221 (A1221); a reconstituted mixture of the three most prevalent congeners found in humans: PCB138, PCB153 and PCB180; or estradiol benzoate (EB). On P1, litter composition, anogenital distance (AGD) and body weight were assessed. Pups were euthanized for immunohistochemistry of estrogen receptor α (ERα) or TUNEL labeling of apoptotic cells, or quantitative PCR of 48 selected genes in the preoptic area (POA). We found that treatment with EB or A1221 had a sex-specific effect on developmental apoptosis in the neonatal anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV), a sexually dimorphic hypothalamic region involved in the regulation of reproductive neuroendocrine function. In this region, exposed females had increased numbers of apoptotic nuclei, whereas there was no effect of treatment in males. For ERα, EB treatment increased immunoreactive cell numbers and density in the AVPV of both males and females, while A1221 and the PCB mixture had no effect. PCR analysis of gene expression in the POA identified nine genes that were significantly altered by prenatal EDC exposure, in a manner that varied by sex and treatment. These genes included brain-derived neurotrophic factor, GABAB receptors-1 and -2, IGF-1, kisspeptin receptor, NMDA receptor subunits NR2b and NR2c, prodynorphin, and TGFα. Collectively, these results suggest that the disrupted sexual differentiation of the POA by prenatal EDC exposures is already evident as early as the day after birth, effects that may change the trajectory of postnatal development and compromise adult reproductive function.
Host-derived angiogenesis maintains bone blood flow after withdrawal of immunosuppression.

A novel method of living bone allotransplantation combining microvascular repair of the nutrient circulation, implantation of host-derived arteriovenous (AV) bundles, and short-term immunosuppression is described. We hypothesized that neoangiogenesis from the implanted vessels would maintain graft viability and circulation after withdrawal of FK506 (Tacrolimus) immunosuppression. Vascularized femoral transplantation was performed between DA and PVG rats. In addition to microsurgical pedicle anastomoses, a saphenous AV bundle from the recipient animal was implanted in the medullary space. Ninety-seven rats were randomly allocated to groups differing in immunosuppression and AV bundle patency. Implanted vessels significantly improved capillary density and bone blood flow in nonimmunosuppressed and immmunosuppressed groups, respectively. A lower incidence of spontaneous AV bundle thrombosis was found with Tacrolimus treatment. More viable osteocytes were seen at 4 weeks when the AV bundle was patent. Further investigations may confirm host-derived neoangiogenesis as an alternative to tolerance induction or immunosuppression in bone allotransplantation. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Microsurgery, 2007.
Communalities for rates of diaphyseal elongation of short bones of the hand of children with Down syndrome

Communality indices for rates of elongation of diaphyses of short bones of the hand were computed from serial data for children with Down syndrome, 7 to 14 years of age. Communalities were larger for adjacent than for nonadjacent bones and also larger for bones grouped in rows rather than rays of the hand. This pattern is similar to that reported for normal children. Communality indices for rates of diaphyseal elongation for girls with Down syndrome were lower than those of boys with Down syndrome and normal children.
Depression of immunoglobulin-G (IgG) levels associated with Diazoxide therapy

Abstract Five of seven children with severe persistent hypoglycemia of infancy demonstrated a significant decrease in serum immunoglobulin-G (IgG) levels while on Diazoxide therapy. Three of these children continue to have IgG concentrations greater than 2 standard deviations below the normal for their age. Preliminary studies reveal that the mechanism of the IgG depression is not related to release of a serum factor or to nonspecific complexing. Diazoxide caused inhibition of lymphocyte mitosis to phytohemagglutinin stimulation in cell culture. Although no increase in intercurrent infections has been noted in the children under study, investigators should be aware of this significant side effect.
The convergence of general products of matrices and the weak ergodicity of Markov chains

Abstract We determine a sufficient condition for the convergence to 0 of general products formed from a sequence of real or complex matrices. Our result is applied to obtain a condition for the weak ergodicity of an inhomogeneous Markov chain. We make some remarks comparing coefficients of ergodicity and we give a method for constructing these.
Association of fibronectin-like antigens in chromatin preparations from rat hepatoma cells.

Abstract High molecular weight hepatoma-associated nonhistone chromosomal proteins (NHPs) in transplantable rat hepatoma cells were reported previously from this laboratory. A cDNA library prepared from Morris hepatoma 7777 cells was screened with the polyclonal antibodies against hepatoma NHPs and a positive cDNA clone (λP2A1) was isolated. DNA sequence analysis revealed that the cDNA clone was identical to that of rat fibronectin (FN). The polyclonal antibodies against hepatoma NHPs were shown to bind specifically to both rat plasma FN and the fusion proteins encoded by λP2A1. A monoclonal antibody specific to rat plasma FN also recognized high molecular weight antigens of hepatoma NHPs in a pattern similar to that demonstrated with the polyclonal antibodies. These results suggest the existence of FN or FN-like antigens in the chromatin preparations from rat hepatoma cells. The antigenic proteins are localized in the nuclei of neoplastic foci of liver undergoing hepatocarcinogenesis.
Silver negative pressure dressing with vacuum-assisted closure of massive pelvic and extremity wounds.

Background Massive soft tissue loss involving the pelvis and extremities from trauma, infections, and tumors remains a challenging and debilitating problem. Although vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) technology is effective in the management of soft tissue loss, the adjunct of a silver dressing in the setting of massive wounds has not been as well tested.
Developing fluency in the mathematical register through conversation in a tenth-grade classroom

The purpose of this study was to identify the interactional strategies that one teacher used in a discourse-rich tenth-grade classroom to develop her students’ facility with the mathematical register. Viewing the mathematical register as multi-semiotic and having a specific grammatical patterning, we used discourse analysis (Sinclair & Coulthard, 1975) to examine the teacher’s initiation and feedback moves that supported students in using symbolic and natural language in mathematical ways during three consecutive lesson episodes. Our findings suggest that, while teacher interactional strategies which focus or probe student thinking are effective for supporting students’ learning of the mathematical register, strategies that funnel or lead student contributions towards predetermined answers may also serve that purpose through creating opportunities for meaningful language practice.
Bounds on neutron-star moments of inertia and the evidence for general relativistic frame dragging

Recent x-ray variability observations of accreting neutron stars may provide the first evidence for frame dragging effects around spinning relativistic objects. Motivated by this possibility and its implications for neutron-star structural properties, we calculate new optimal bounds on the masses, radii, and moments of inertia of slowly rotating neutron stars that show kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs). These bounds are derived under minimal assumptions about the properties of matter at high densities and therefore are largely independent of the unknown equation of state. We further derive a semi-analytical upper bound on the neutron-star moment of inertia without making any assumptions about the equation of state of matter at any density. We use this upper bound to show that the maximum possible nodal precession frequency of an inclined circular orbit around a slowly spinning neutron star is ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\mathrm{NP}}\ensuremath{\simeq}45.2({\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\mathrm{s}}/300 \mathrm{Hz})$ Hz, where ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\mathrm{s}}$ is the spin frequency of the neutron star. We conclude that the nodal-precession interpretation of low-frequency QPOs in accreting neutron stars is inconsistent with the beat-frequency interpretation of the kHz QPOs or the identification of the highest-frequency QPO with that of a circular Keplerian orbit in the accretion disk.