cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Conversing dyads explain the unexpected: Narrative and situational explanations for unexpected outcomes

This research examined how unexpected outcomes elicit situational and narrative causal explanations in conversing dyads. Although it is well known that unexpected outcomes elicit spontaneous explanatory activity in individuals, the relation between unexpected outcomes and the type of explanations (e.g. dispositional vs. situational) and the ways in which dyads construct causal explanations remain largely unspecified. We proposed that unexpected outcomes would prompt conversing dyads to spend more time discussing situational explanations, to invoke more original situational explanatory factors and to construct more narrative explanations. Moreover, because these explanations were wrought within a conversational context, evidence of dyadic inter-subjectivity should be found in that dyad members faced with unexpected outcomes should build each other's explanations and ask each other questions of interpretation and verification. Having formed target-based impressions of a positively or negatively described target, previously acquainted dyads learned of an outcome that was either expected or unexpected with respect to their impressions. Dyads discussed their impressions of the target in front of a video camera, without explicit instructions to construct causal explanations. Predictions were supported, and results are discussed in terms of communication dynamics as well as the spontaneity of situational explanations for unexpected outcomes.
A method for reliable voluntary oral administration of a fixed dosage (mg/kg) of chronic daily medication to rats

Stress can influence a number of physiological processes including adult neurogenesis, metabolism, cardiovascular function, immune function, neurophysiological function, endocrine function and inflammatory processes following injury. In testing drugs which may be used to treat various diseases or injuries, reducing stress associated with chronic drug delivery to animal models should then be an imperative, which led us to design a reliable voluntary oral drug delivery method. Various drug combinations were tested versus vehicle controls in four different rat stocks or strains (Wistar, Fisher, Long Evans and Sprague Dawley) with our voluntary oral delivery system. Oral medications were placed into a store-bought sugar cookie dough ball (� 4 g), thoroughly integrating the dry drugs with the dough. This method has worked consistently to deliver the medication (complete ingestion) in four different stocks or strains of rats, with reliabilities ranging from 98.6% to 100%. The percentage of rats in each stock or strain that have at any time during the study had incomplete ingestion of the drugs ranged from 1% in Sprague Dawley, approximately 4% in Wistar and Fisher, to approximately 16% in Long Evans. Both serum and brain samples were analysed for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) detection of one of our administered drugs: 5m g/kg fluoxetine. HPLC analysis shows that serum levels are detectable 2‐4 h after ingestion, but not 24 h after ingestion. Brain samples however, showed detectable levels of both fluoxetine and norfluoxetine more than a week following ingestion of a single dose, with higher norfluoxetine levels seen following a month of daily administered drugs.
Evaluation of a new fluorescent dye method to measure urinary albumin in lieu of urinary total protein.

Urinary total protein (UTP) determinations are notoriously inaccurate, poorly reproducible, and difficult to interpret in early renal disease, causing many investigators to measure urinary albumin instead. In this study, we compare a new nonimmunologic fluorescent dye (AB-dye) for measuring albumin with the more expensive and cumbersome radioimmunoassay. We tested 207 urine specimens from patients with variable protein concentrations and divided the results into five arbitrary ranges (0 to 20, 21 to 50, 51 to 100, 101 to 200, and 201 to 400) for chi-square analysis. There was a high degree of correlation between the two methods (chi-square = 260.8 with 16 degrees of freedom; P < 0.001). The correlation was also high when analyzed by linear regression (R = 0.86; F < 0.01). Based on our comparison of total protein and albumin concentration in the same urine samples, we hypothesized that patients with mild proteinuria may not necessarily have microalbuminuria. Urine samples with UTP between 150 and 400 μg/mL were tested for albumin by the AB-dye. Of 41 samples in this range, 18 (44%) had normal albumin levels. We conclude that measuring urinary albumin with the AB-dye is comparable in performance to radioimmunoassay and could replace UTP determinations, especially for patients with borderline elevations of UTP, many of whom do not have microalbuminuria.
Fuzzy supervisory control of flotation columns

Abstract The application of fuzzy logic to supervise a distributed basic control in a flotation column is discussed. The control strategies were studied and tested in a dynamic simulator of the process. Two control strategies were developed and tested to manage three basic distributed controllers: an expert supervisor, mainly based on rules following a binary logic, and a fuzzy supervisor. The objective function to be optimized was to keep the concentrate grade in a high band, subject to maintaining the process recovery over a minimum value. The supervisor takes into account the present state of the gas flowrate, the froth depth and the wash water fiowrate, to make a decision. Simulated results are discussed.
Comment on "Monopoles on strings."

A Comment on the Letter by M. Hindmarsh and T.W.B. Kibble, Phys. Rev. Lett. 55, 2398 (1985).
Development of the NKT—A general nutrition knowledge test for teachers

Abstract This paper describes the development of a 40-item test for assessment of basic nutrition knowledge within the concepts of the 1969 White House Conference. The project staff included experts in nutrition and in educational measurement. This team reviewed existing curriculum materials, developed test specifications, wrote and revised items, ensured content validity, administered tryout tests, conducted item analyses, determined reliability, and constructed the final form of the test. The test discriminates between groups that possess basic knowledge in nutrition and those that do not.
Viewing odors in the mushroom body of the fly

Abstract Central processing of olfactory information has been analyzed in the mushroom body of Drosophila by Ca 2+ imaging, extending such analysis of odor coding to the second relay of the olfactory system. Different odors, and different concentrations of a particular odor, yield distinct spatial patterns of activity. Mutations that affect odor receptors and odorant-binding proteins affect these spatial patterns.
States of anyon matter

The basic definition and elementary properties of anyons are briefly reviewed. Average field theory is introduced as a method to roughly assess the qualitative properties of aggregates of anyons, and is argued to be reliable in certain limits. The basic mechanism of anyon superconductivity is discussed in simple physical terms. The mechanism is argued to be fundamentally different from spontaneous symmetry breaking, and specifically from BCS pairing. The formal principle involved, previously discussed under the rubric "spontaneous fact violation", is given a new more precise mathematical formulation: it is the spontaneous projectivization of a linear symmetry. Tight conceptual connections are made between the fractional quantized Hall effect and anyon superconductivity, basically by inverting the average field procedure. Values of the quantum statistical parameter are identified at which anyon superconducting states are likely to occur. Values of the filling fractions are identified, as a function of the quantum statistics parameter, at which anyon quantized Hall states are likely to occur. The existence of a new state of matter, the anyon metal, is suggested, and some of its properties are roughly assessed. Possible generalizations of the ideas to cases involving inhomogeneous, three-dimensional or finite systems are discussed in a preliminary but reasonably definite fashion.
PREOPERATIVE PULMONARY HYPERTENSION HAS AN ADVERSE EFFECT IN PATIENTS WITH FUNCTIONAL MITRAL REGURGITATION UNDERGOING THE MITRACLIP PROCEDURE

MitraClip (Abbott Vascular, Menlo Park, California) is an effective low risk transcatheter treatment option for the treatment of functional mitral regurgitation (FMR). Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a predictor of adverse outcome following mitral valve surgery. However, the prognostic implications
Long-term, topical insulin administration increases the severity of retinal vascular pathology in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Abstract Background We previously reported that insulin accumulated in the retina of diabetic rats after topical insulin eye drop treatment. In light of insulin’s reported benefits to the retina, we hypothesized that the delivery of insulin to the retina by eye drop application might be efficacious in preventing diabetic retinopathy. Methods We applied daily, uni-ocular porcine insulin drops (0.75%) to diabetic rats for 14 months and then analyzed their retinas for vascular pathology. Results Our data showed that high-dose insulin eye drop treatment increased the number of retinal acellular capillaries, with many of these capillaries exhibiting a degenerated, threadlike appearance. The retinas also showed extensive capillary obliteration and had tangled masses of vascular cells. The glycated hemoglobin levels of eye drop–treated rats were similar to those found in control, vehicle-treated diabetic animals at sacrifice. Retinal insulin levels remained elevated after a 2-week regimen of daily insulin eye drops, suggesting that our treatment protocol resulted in the pooling of insulin in the retina. A similar treatment regimen was also found to have no effect on retinal glucose concentration. Conclusion Our results showed that treatment of diabetic rats with daily, high-dose insulin eye drops intensified their retinal pathology.
An analytical framework for particle and volume data of large-scale combustion simulations

This paper presents a framework to enable parallel data analyses and visualizations that combine both Lagrangian particle data and Eulerian field data of large-scale combustion simulations. Our framework is characterized by a new range query based design that facilitates mutual queries between particles and volumetric segments. Scientists can extract complex features, such as vortical structures based on vector field classifications, and obtain detailed statistical information from the corresponding particle data. This framework also works in reverse as it can extract vector field information based on particle range queries. The effectiveness of our approach has been demonstrated by an experimental study on vector field data and particle data from a large-scale direct numerical simulation of a turbulent lifted ethylene jet flame. Our approach provides a foundation for scalable heterogeneous data analytics of large scientific applications.
Control of flexible structures with spillover using an augmented observer

Modern modal control methods for flexible structures have control and observation spillover that can degrade performance and reduce the stability margin of the closed-loop controlled structure. The sensor output is often filtered to reduce observation spillover, however, the filter introduces signal distortion and perturbs the closed-loop system eigenvalue locations. This perturbation can reduce the stability margin and jeopardize convergence of a deterministic observer. If the filter equations are not explicitly included in the observer design, then the separation principle between the controller and the observer states no longer holds when present in the unfiltered system. A new method is presented where the observer equations are augmented to include a first-order filter dynamics. The separation principle, controllability, and observability of the unfiltered system are invariant to the filter dynamics in this new method, resulting in no perturbation of controlled system eigenvalue locations. The filter cutoff frequency can be located even within the bandwidth of the system, thereby increasing the filter effectiveness in reducing observation spillover. Spillover-generated errors in closed-loop eigenvalues of these control methods are compared using a numerical example.
Human Immunoglobulin G and Immunoglobulin G Subclasses: Biochemical, Genetic, and Clinical Aspects

AbstractHuman IgG consists of two identical heavy (H) chains and two identical light (L) chains joined by interchain disulfide bridges. Heterogeneity in the amino acid sequences of the H and L polypeptides results in at least three types of IgG variants at the structural and genetic levels. The four isotypic forms are IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4, which share extensive homologies in the primary structure of their H chains. As a result, the subclasses cross-react antigenically, but they can be differentiated on the basis of subtle architectural dissimilarities. The biological and effector properties of the IgG isotypes have been associated, in part, with their structural differences. Genes determining the synthesis of human IgG heavy chains are located on chromosome 14. In several clinical situations the isotypes appear to be regulated or expressed in patterns reflecting the gene arrangement. The numeric designations of the subclasses correspond to the order of their proportional amounts in healthy adult ser...
The recall of historical events

This investigation explores the extent to which psychological analyses allow us to reconstruct the history of individuals, their social environments, and society. The first study reports on the free recall of persons (relatives, friends, acquaintances) and compares the data with potential changes in social contingencies in the life of college subjects. In the second study, college students recollect the names of historical figures (politicians, scientists, artists). These data are compared with interpretations of the course of political intellectual history. In the third study, a report (recall) of the history of psychology by one eminent historian of the behavioral sciences, Professor Boring, is analyzed and the results compared with those of the first two studies.
Nicotine-alcohol interactions and attentional performance on an operant visual signal detection task in female rats.

Nicotine and alcohol are very often co-used and co-abused. Thus, it is important to understand their interactions. In many ways, nicotine and alcohol have opposing effects. This can be clearly seen in terms of their effects on cognitive function. Nicotine effectively improves attention while alcohol impairs it. The current study was conducted to determine in a rat model the interaction of nicotine and alcohol on attention using an operant visual signal detection task. It is hypothesized that nicotine would reverse the alcohol-induced impairment in accuracy of performance in this task. Female Sprague-Dawley rats (N=35) were trained on a visual operant signal detection task for food reinforcement with 300 trials/session in three equal time blocks. The rats were divided into poor and good performers according to their predrug baseline performance accuracy. The first experiment examined the dose-effect function of alcohol (0, 0.375, and 0.75 g/kg i.p.) on this task. The lower alcohol dose significantly impaired percent correct rejection in the high-performing rats but not the low-performing rats. The higher alcohol dose significantly impaired percent hit performance during the first two thirds of the session in both high- and low-performing groups. The second experiment examined alcohol (0.75 g/kg i.p.) interactions with nicotine (0, 12.5, 25, and 50 microg/kg s.c.) on attentional performance. The 25 and 50 microg/kg nicotine doses caused a significant (P<.05) improvement in hit accuracy. Alcohol blocked this nicotine-induced improvement, even though at this later time it no longer had an effect of its own. In the high baseline group, the 25 microg/kg nicotine dose also caused a significant (P<.025) improvement in hit accuracy. As in Experiment 1, the high baseline group was not significantly impaired by 0.75 g/kg of alcohol. However, this alcohol dose did eliminate the nicotine-induced improvement. These results suggest that alcohol, when given alone, impairs sustained attention and blocks nicotine-induced attentional improvements even when it does not cause impairments on its own.
Multiple plant hormones and cell wall metabolism regulate apple fruit maturation patterns and texture attributes

Global transcriptional regulation during apple fruit maturation and associated texture changes were assessed by transcriptome profiling and systematic characterization of maturation progression of two cultivars, ‘Honeycrisp’ (HC) and ‘Cripps Pink’ (CP). A high-density long-oligo apple microarray consisting of duplex 190,135 cross-hybridization-free 50–70-mer isothermal probes, representing 23,997 unigenes, was designed for and manufactured on a NimbleGen array platform. Cortex tissues from both HC and CP at three maturation stages, i.e., 4, 2, and 0 week(s) before physiological maturity, were utilized for transcriptome profiling. A total of 1,793 and 1,209 differentially expressed unigenes, 7.47 % and 5.04 % of all unigenes deposited on the array, were identified from HC and CP, respectively. Unigenes associated with ethylene biosynthesis and response, auxin homeostasis and transport, gibberellin reception and metabolism as well as degradation of hemicelluloses may contribute to the observed phenotypic variations in apple maturation patterns and texture attributes such as fruit firmness and crispness. Microarray data validation indicated that more than 85 % of randomly selected unigenes showed consistent expression patterns with qRT-PCR results. Physiological characterization demonstrated substantial differences in maturation progression between these two cultivars, and a remarkable transformation in fruit texture occurred from week −4 to week 0.
Incidence of exacerbations in the first 90 days of treatment with recombinant human interferon β‐1b in patients with relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis

Interferon beta-1b (IFNbeta-1b) is effective in reducing the frequency of exacerbations in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Recently, a study suggested that treatment with IFNbeta-1b may place MS patients at risk of exacerbations by increasing interferon-gamma (IFNgamma)-secreting cells in the blood early after onset of treatment. We conducted a retrospective study in 192 RRMS patients treated with IFNbeta-1b. We did not observe an increase in the frequency of exacerbations early after the onset of treatment and suggest that the IFNgamma-secreting cell surge linked to the onset of treatment with IFNbeta-1b may not be clinically significant.
Partition Coefficients of Organic Compounds in New Imidazolium and Tetralkylammonium Based Ionic Liquids Using Inverse Gas Chromatography

Partition coefficients of 51 organic compounds in two ionic liquids (IL), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide and trimethylhexylammonium bis((trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl)amide, were measured using inverse gas chromatography from (322.5 to 352.5) K. These partition coefficients were converted into water-to-IL partition coefficients using the corresponding gas-to-water partition coefficients. Both sets of partition coefficients were analyzed using the Abraham solvation parameter model with cation-specific and anion-specific equation coefficients. The derived equations correlated the experimental gas-to-IL and water-to-IL partition coefficient data to within (0.12 and 0.14) log units, respectively.
Deposition of amyloid proteins in the epicardial coronary arteries of 58 patients with primary systemic amyloidosis

Abstract Introduction We sought to determine the distribution and the effect of amyloid on epicardial coronary arteries in patients with primary cardiac amyloidosis. Methods We reviewed pathologic specimens taken after autopsy or cardiac transplantation from 58 patients with primary cardiac amyloidosis. Patients were seen from 1981 to 2000. Multiple sections of epicardial coronary arteries (left anterior descending artery, left circumflex artery, and right coronary artery) were examined to determine the degree of amyloid deposition in the intima, media, adventitia, and vasa vasorum (vasa vasorum are nutrient arteries for the coronary arteries themselves). Results In 56 of 58 patients (97%), amyloid was present in epicardial coronary arteries. Amyloid was identified in all artery layers (intima, media, and adventitia), and more patients had amyloid in the adventitia. However, amyloid did not cause intraluminal obstruction of epicardial coronary arteries in any patient. The vasa vasorum had considerable deposits and, in many patients, were obstructed by amyloid. Patients with obstruction of the vasa vasorum were significantly more likely to have obstructive intramural coronary amyloidosis than patients without vasa vasorum obstruction ( P =.002). Conclusions The epicardial coronary arteries of patients with primary cardiac amyloidosis had extensive amyloid deposition. This deposition, however, did not lead to obstruction of epicardial coronary arteries and therefore did not contribute to ischemic syndromes observed in these patients. Obstruction of the vasa vasorum was associated with obstructive intramural coronary amyloidosis.
Reproductive parameters of clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa)

Reproductive data compiled from the International Clouded Leopard Studbook revealed that 75% of all litters were born to females between one and five years of age. Sixty-three percent of the males had sired litters by four years of age with reproduction declining after six years of age. Sixteen zoological institutions surveyed worldwide contributed estrous cycle data from 28 clouded leopards. Sexual maturity (age at first estrus) for these females ranged from 17 to 28 months of age with a mean estrous cycle length of 29.9 ± 13.8 days. The mean length of estrus was six days. Gestation length ranged from 85 to 121 days (X = 93.4 ± 6.3). There was a significantly higher incidence of estrus in fall and winter compared with spring and summer over latitudes ranging from 36°–45° and 51°–55° (P < .005). Mating occurred in all months except June and October, and cubs were produced in all months except December. The highest frequency of mating occurred during the month of December corresponding with a birth peak in March.
EFFECT OF A MINIMAL FLUORIDE DIET ON RATS.

SummaryThe feeding of a minimal fluoride (< 0.005 ppm F) diet for a 10-week period to weanling rats demonstrated significantly lower levels of bone fluoride compared to the control group receiving the minimal diet plus 2 ppm fluorine. Serum and liver enzymes activities were determined, and the only significant differences noted were an increase in serum isocitric dehydrogenase and a decrease in activity of this enzyme in the liver.
On Canonical Concurrent Flows, Crossing Number and Graph Expansion

We define and efficiently compute the canonical flow on a graph, which is a certain feasible solution for the concurrent flow problem and exhibits invariance under the action of the automorphism group of the graph. Using estimates for the congestion of our canonical flow, we derive lower bounds on the crossing number, bisection width, and the edge and vertex expansion of a graph in terms of sizes of the edge and vertex orbits and the average distance in the graph. We further exhibit classes of graphs for which our lower bounds are tight within a multiplicative constant. Also, in cartesian product graphs a concurrent flow is constructed in terms of the concurrent flows in the factors, and in this way lower bounds for the edge and vertex expansion of the power graphs are derived in terms of that of the original graph.
Formation waters from Mississippian-Pennsylvanian reservoirs, Illinois basin, USA: Chemical and isotopic constraints on evolution and migration

We have analyzed a suite of seventy-four formation-water samples from Mississippian and Pennsylvanian carbonate and siliciclastic strata in the Illinois basin for major, minor, and trace element concentrations and for strontium isotopic composition. A subset of these samples was also analyzed for boron isotopic composition. Data are used to interpret origin of salinity and chemical and Sr isotopic evolution of the brines and in comparison with a similar data set from an earlier study of basin formation waters from Silurian-Devonian reservoirs. Systematics of Cl-Br-Na show that present Mississippian-Pennsylvanian brine salinity can be explained by a combination of subaerial seawater evaporation short of halite saturation and subsurface dissolution of halite from an evaporite zone in the middle Mississippian St. Louis Limestone, along with extensive dilution by mixing with meteoric waters. Additional diagenetic modifications in the subsurface interpreted from cation/Br ratios include K depletion through interaction with clay minerals, Ca enrichment, and Mg depletion by dolomitization, and Sr enrichment through CaCO3 recrystallization and dolomitization. Ste. Genevieve Limestone (middle Mississippian) formation waters show 87Sr86Sr ratios in the range 0.70782–0.70900, whereas waters from the siliciclastic reservoirs are in the range 0.70900–0.71052. Inverse correlations between 87Sr86Sr and B, Li, and Mg concentrations suggest that the brines acquired radiogenic 87Sr through interaction with siliciclastic minerals. Completely unsystematic relations between 87Sr86Sr and 1/Sr are observed; Sr concentrations in Ste. Genevieve and Aux Vases (middle Mississippian) waters appear to be buffered by equilibrium with respect to SrSO4. Although there are many similarities in their origin and evolution, these formation waters are distinguished from Silurian-Devonian brines in the basin by elevated ClBr and NaBr ratios and by unsystematic Sr isotope relationships. Thus waters from these two major segments of the Illinois basin stratigraphic column form distinct geochemical regimes which are separated by the New Albany Shale Group (Devonian-Mississippian) regional aquitard. Geochemical evolution appears to have been influenced significantly by Paleozoic and Mesozoic hydrologic flow systems in the basin.
KLF8 and FAK cooperatively enrich the active MMP14 on the cell surface required for the metastatic progression of breast cancer

Kruppel-like factor 8 (KLF8) regulates critical gene transcription associated with cancer. The underlying mechanisms, however, remain largely unidentified. We have recently demonstrated that KLF8 expression enhances the activity but not expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2), the target substrate of MMP14. Here, we report a novel KLF8 to MMP14 signaling that promotes human breast cancer invasion and metastasis. Using cell lines for inducible expression and knockdown of KLF8, we demonstrate that KLF8 promotes MMP14 expression at the transcriptional level. Knocking down KLF8 expression inhibited the breast cancer cell invasion both in vitro and in vivo as well as the lung metastasis in mice, which could be rescued by ectopic expression of MMP14. Promoter reporter assays and oligonucleotide and chromatin immunoprecipitations determined that KLF8 activates the human MMP14 gene promoter by both directly acting on the promoter and indirectly via promoting the nuclear translocation of β-catenin, the expression of T-cell factor-1 (TCF1) and subsequent activation of the promoter by the β-catenin/TCF1 complex. Inhibition of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) using pharmacological inhibitor, RNA interference or knockout showed that the cell surface presentation of active MMP14 downstream of KLF8 depends on FAK expression and activity. Taken together, this work identified novel signaling mechanisms by which KLF8 and FAK work together to promote the extracellular activity of MMP14 critical for breast cancer metastasis.
Modeling the 3-D radiation of anisotropically scattering media by two different numerical methods

Abstract An original model and code for 3-D radiation of anisotropically scattering gray media is developed where radiative transfer equation (RTE) is solved by finite volume method (FVM) and scattering phase function (SPF) is defined by Mie Equations (ME). To the authors’ best knowledge this methodology was not developed before. Missing the benchmark, another new 3-D model and code, which solve the same problems, based on a combination of zone method (ZM) and Monte Carlo method (MC), as a solution of RTE, is developed. Here SPF is also calculated by Mie Equations. The conception ZM + MC is numerically expensive and is used and recommended only as a benchmark. The 3-D rectangular enclosure and the spherical geometry of particles are considered. The both models are applied: (i) to an isotropic and to four anisotropic scattering cases previously used in literature for 2-D cases and (ii) to solid particles of several various coals and of a fly ash. The agreement between the predictions obtained by these two different numerical methods for coals and ash is very good. The effects of scattering albedo and of wall reflectivity on the radiative heat flux are presented. It was found that the developed 3-D model, where FVM was coupled with ME, is reliable and accurate. The methodology is also suitable for extension towards: (i) mixture of non-gray gases with particles and (ii) incorporation in computational fluid dynamics.
A Singular Perturbation Approach to Pitch-Loop Design

It is shown that it is possible to construct a controller for the inner loop which is consistent with the performance index used in shaping the trajectory. Although the complete analysis has been carried out only for a model without an RCS, the resulting pitch-loop control is of interest. The gains depend on the system only through the parameter Omega and do not depend on the outer performance index in any way.
Concentrations of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in human milk after in vitro simulations of digestion.

Human milk contains proteins that survive digestion in the neonatal gastrointestinal tract. Our group and others have reported that granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), a hematopoietic cytokine that influences neutrophil proliferation and differentiation, is present in human milk. We also reported that specific receptors for G-CSF are expressed on the villous enterocytes of neonates. However, the physiologic role of milk-borne G-CSF is not known. Thus, we sought to evaluate the capacity of human milk to protect G-CSF against proteolytic degradation after exposure to gastric secretions obtained from preterm (PT) and term (T) neonates at pH concentrations of 3.2, 5.8, and 7.4. Specifically, we examined degradation of 1) endogenous G-CSF in PT (n= 15) and T (n= 15) human milk;2) recombinant human G-CSF (rhG-CSF) added to a protein-free buffer (n= 10, 5 PT and 5 T); and 3) rhG-CSF added to human milk (n= 12, 6 PT and 6 T), various commercially prepared infant formulas (n= 15), and cow's milk (n= 5). Endogenous G-CSF and rhG-CSF added to human milk resisted degradation at 1 and 2 h. However, when rhG-CSF was added to commercial formulas, >95% was degraded at 1 and 2 h at each pH level. Similarly, approximately 60% of rhG-CSF added to cow's milk was degraded at 1 and 2 h. We conclude that 1) endogenous G-CSF and rhG-CSF added to human milk are protected from degradation after exposure to gastric secretions at physiologic pH levels, 2) rhG-CSF added to infant formulas is not protected from degradation, and 3) it is likely that the G-CSF present in human milk is biologically available to the neonate.
USING PROBLEM SETS IN CALCULUS

ABSTRACT Over the past two decades, calculus reformers have called for the use of alternative pedagogical techniques to promote student learning. Some mathematics instructors have responded by developing a set of student projects intended to hone thinking skills and improve the mathematical writing skills of calculus students. Drawbacks to this strategy may include the class time required to use these projects effectively, both on the part of the students and the instructor, as well as tightly packed syllabi, especially in those “engineering” calculus classes. Another reform approach promotes the use of laboratory experiences in calculus. However, there may be logistical and technological problems here. Not all of us have computer facilities with easy access for all students or a supply of mediated classrooms for use in all sections of calculus. I have found that the use of calculus problem sets is an effective way to give students some of the benefits of working on non-routine problems without devoting q...
Memory for People and Their Actions : Further Evidence for an Age-Related Associative Deficit

The associative deficit hypothesis (M. Naveh-Benjamin, 2000) attributes age-related memory deficits to the inability to encode and retrieve bound units of information. The present experiment extended this deficit to a new form of stimuli, dynamic displays of people and their performance of everyday actions. Older and younger adults viewed a series of brief video clips, each showing a different person performing a different action, and were tested over memory for individual people, individual actions, and the person-action combinations. Older adults did exhibit an associative deficit, and this was related to an increased proportion of false alarms on the associative test.
Direct NMR Measurement of the Folding Kinetics of a Trimeric Peptide

Direct NMR measurements of the folding kinetics are performed on a collagen-like triple helical peptide. The triple helical peptide was designed to model a biologically important region of collagen and has the sequence (POG)3ITGARGLAG(POG)4. Triple helical peptides were synthesized with specifically labeled 15N amino acid residues in key positions, and the kinetics of folding of the individual residues were monitored directly by measuring the loss of monomer intensity and the increase in trimer intensity. The residues at the terminal ends and central region could be followed independently and quantitated directly. Residues located at the terminal ends have rates and kinetics of folding that are distinct from residues in the central region of the peptide. This allows the monitoring of different steps in the folding mechanism and the postulation of the existence of a kinetic intermediate. The NMR data are consistent with a mechanism of association/nucleation and propagation. Hereditary connective tissue diseases are associated with mutations that result in abnormal folding of collagen, and the NMR folding experiments on a collagen-like peptide provide a basis for characterizing the molecular defect in folding mutations.
Urinary calculi matrices and urine polyelectrolytes.

SummaryThe amino acid composition of the calculus matrix of various types from different species and the two fractions of urine polyelectrolytes were analyzed by gas chromatography. All matrices and the urine polyelectrolytes had more acidic amino acids than basic amino acids, and, thus, are negatively charged. Nevertheless, there were variations of amino acid compositions between individual calculi and among calculi from different types and species. Apparently, calculus matrix is not composed of preformed compounds.Immunoelectrophoretic tests revealed that part of the calculus matrix was common to the high-molecular-weight urine polyelectrolytes. Because of the readily available carboxyl groups of aspartic acid and glutamic acid in the small-molecular-weight urine poly-electrolytes for cation binding, they could initiate the aggregation of the charged molecules. Therefore, the participation of the aggregated urine polyelectrolytes, including the high-and the low-molecular-weight fractions, in the formati...
Is There a Role for Bowel Preparation and Oral or Parenteral Antibiotics In Infection Control in Contemporary Colon Surgery

The numbers of unanswered questions are many. Can intraoperative application, such as topical antimicrobial use in pulsed lavage, reduce the microbial burden on the wound interface before closure? Can closed suction drains within the closed surgical incision reduce infection rates, especially in patients with a large body mass index? What is the role of delayed primary closure or secondary closure in the wound where obvious contamination has occurred, or in the circumstance of emergent colonic resection where considerable contamination is encountered from preexistent perforation? Should immediate negative-pressure wound dressings be applied in the open contaminated wound? These and many other questions still confront the surgeon in the challenge of the surgical wound in major colorectal surgery.
A sequential equilibrium for the army's targeted selective reenlistment bonus program

Wecompute a sequential equilibrium for the U.S.Army'sTargeted Selective Reenlistment Bonus Program in whichtheArmy offers a bonus, soldiers with a low cost of serving in an undesirable location accept the bonus and are sent to an undesirable location, and soldiers with a high cost of serving in an undesirable location reenlist but decline the bonus.Wefind that this program benefits both theArmy and soldiers, increases retention, increases the number of soldierswho serve in an undesirable location, and better matches soldiers to assignments.We discuss implications of our model on human resource management practices for theArmy in its administration of the bonus program and its application to other large organizations that set wages through a rules-based mechanism. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Approximate Privacy: PARs for Set Problems

In previous work (arXiv:0910.5714), we introduced the Privacy Approximation Ratio (PAR) and used it to study the privacy of protocols for second-price Vickrey auctions and Yao's millionaires problem. Here, we study the PARs of multiple protocols for both the disjointness problem (in which two participants, each with a private subset of {1,...,k}, determine whether their sets are disjoint) and the intersection problem (in which the two participants, each with a private subset of {1,...,k}, determine the intersection of their private sets). We show that the privacy, as measured by the PAR, provided by any protocol for each of these problems is necessarily exponential (in k). We also consider the ratio between the subjective PARs with respect to each player in order to show that one protocol for each of these problems is significantly fairer than the others (in the sense that it has a similarly bad effect on the privacy of both players).
Pathophysiology of Restenosis: Interaction of Thrombosis, Hyperplasia, and/or Remodeling

In response to arterial injury, a series of intravascular changes take place that lead to restenosis: thrombosis, neointimal hyperplasia, and remodeling of the vessel. Neointima formation involves thrombosis, recruitment (migration), and recruitment/cell proliferation. To determine the source of neointimal cells that accumulate at the site of injury, pig models of stented and catheterized arteries were examined. The phases of neointima formation can each be seen in the pig in which neointimal cells come from nearby arterial tissue. The pig model was also employed to assess the effect of different degrees of force exerted by self-expanding stents on the arterial wall. In this model, the luminal area increased in response to chronic stent force. Slow expansion may help prevent neointimal hyperplasia and maintain luminal patency without causing damage to the artery.
Pantothenate and Pantetheine Antagonize the Antitubercular Activity of Pyrazinamide

Pyrazinamide (PZA) is a first-line tuberculosis drug that inhibits the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis via an as yet undefined mechanism. An M. tuberculosis laboratory strain that was auxotrophic for pantothenate was found to be insensitive to PZA and to the active form, pyrazinoic acid (POA). To determine whether this phenotype was strain or condition specific, the effect of pantothenate supplementation on PZA activity was assessed using prototrophic strains of M. tuberculosis. It was found that pantothenate and other β-alanine-containing metabolites abolished PZA and POA susceptibility, suggesting that POA might selectively target pantothenate synthesis. However, when the pantothenate-auxotrophic strain was cultivated using a subantagonistic concentration of pantetheine in lieu of pantothenate, susceptibility to PZA and POA was restored. In addition, we found that β-alanine could not antagonize PZA and POA activity against the pantothenate-auxotrophic strain, indicating that the antagonism is specific to pantothenate. Moreover, pantothenate-mediated antagonism was observed for structurally related compounds, including n-propyl pyrazinoate, 5-chloropyrazinamide, and nicotinamide, but not for nicotinic acid or isoniazid. Taken together, these data demonstrate that while pantothenate can interfere with the action of PZA, pantothenate synthesis is not directly targeted by PZA. Our findings suggest that targeting of pantothenate synthesis has the potential to enhance PZA efficacy and possibly to restore PZA susceptibility in isolates with panD-linked resistance.
Cubature Kalman filters for continuous-time dynamic models Part I: Solutions discretizing the Langevin equation

The dynamics of many physical systems (maneuvering aircraft, satellites, etc.) are most easily described using nonlinear continuous-time differential equations, to which a stochastic process noise is added to handle unknown perturbations. Often, the magnitude of the process noise in a system depends upon the state, rendering the noise non-additive. This paper presents a variant of the cubature Kalman filter that handles the nonlinear continuous-time dynamics through stochastic discretization of the Langevin equation. A solution based on the Euler-Maruyama expansion for general noise is given, as well as a solution using an order 1.5 stochastic Runge Kutta method for additive noise. Only derivative-free techniques are considered, simplifying the utilizing of the algorithms. Additionally, only square-root filtering techniques are considered to provide good numerical stability.
Un-globalised Politics: The Primacy of Domestic Factors in the Downfall of Iran's ‘Theocratic Left’ During Ahmadinejad's Second Term

For a country so important to international affairs, Iran's politics are strikingly misunderstood. In the face of the inadequacy of explanations for the downfall of Iran's former President Ahmadinejad and other members of Iran's ‘Theocratic Left,’ this paper seeks to provide an explanation for this phenomenon that is both coherent and consistent with primary evidence. Global media, especially, has excessively emphasised global and international factors when looking at Ahmadinejad's second term, unable to notice Khamenei's need to compromise at home despite his seemingly total control of Iran's foreign policy and convinced that international sanctions caused Ahmadinejad's downfall. This paper instead places the focus on domestic political factional dynamics that emerged after the 2009 ‘Green Movement’ protests, emphasising how crucial factions and forces in Iran's domestic political landscape came together to check the power of the seemingly ascendant ‘Theocratic Left,’ thereby creating conditions that wou...
The importance of county context in the measurement of sentence disparity: The search for routinization

Abstract Using felony court cases from three Florida counties, this article examines the hypothesis that sentence disparity results from the contextual routinization of courtroom behavior and not necessarily differential treatment of similar offenders. When different contexts are analyzed, it is believed that courtroom actors will treat similar offenders in similar ways as much as possible. Sentence reformers have attempted to alleviate disparity with sentencing guidelines that usually do not take into account the tendency of courtroom actors to make decisions in routine ways. The analysis reveals the routinization of sentencing behavior within each county which appears to be sentence disparity when county context is not isolated. Because the routinization of sentencing behavior is not a singular part of the courtroom process, the routinization of arrest charge, bail, arraignment charge, and conviction charge decisions are analyzed in conjunction with the sentence decisions for each county. If disparity is not occurring within counties, but across counties, the concern over disparity needs to be reexamined. Isolating county context indicates how courts make decisions. These are the patterns of routinization that have developed in each court's attempt to determine who should receive more severe sentences. These patterns suggest the degree to which warranted and unwarranted disparity takes place from one jurisdiction to another. The analysis of these patterns is used to recommend the elements necessary in the proper measurement of sentence disparity. Implications for sentence reform and future disparity research are discussed.
Conformational changes in guanylate cyclase-activating protein 1 induced by Ca2+ and N-terminal fatty acid acylation.

Summary Neuronal Ca 2+ sensors (NCS) are high-affinity Ca 2+ -binding proteins critical for regulating a vast range of physiological processes. Guanylate cyclase-activating proteins (GCAPs) are members of the NCS family responsible for activating retinal guanylate cyclases (GCs) at low Ca 2+ concentrations, triggering synthesis of cGMP and recovery of photoreceptor cells to the dark-adapted state. Here we use amide hydrogen-deuterium exchange and radiolytic labeling, and molecular dynamics simulations to study conformational changes induced by Ca 2+ and modulated by the N-terminal myristoyl group. Our data on the conformational dynamics of GCAP1 in solution suggest that Ca 2+ stabilizes the protein but induces relatively small changes in the domain structure; however, loss of Ca +2 mediates a significant global relaxation and movement of N- and C-terminal domains. This model and the previously described "calcium-myristoyl switch" proposed for recoverin indicate significant diversity in conformational changes among these highly homologous NCS proteins with distinct functions.
Classical S matrix: numerical applications to classically allowed chemical reactions

Abstract The classical S matrix theory (a theory in which all degrees of freedom are treated semiclassically) developed by Miller and Marcus is applied to the collinear H + H2 reaction on a model potential energy surface. The classical, primitive, and uniform approximations and the initial value representation integral expression for the classical S matrix are calculated for total energies in the range 15–30 kcal/mole and compared to the exact quantum mechardeal calculations of Diestler. We choose a potential energy surface for which the quasiclassical reaction probability is unity over an energy range of 6 kcal/mole in order to make the test of theory particularly meaningful. It is seen that the classical S matrix theory is in very poor agreement with the quantum mechanical results for the reaction probabilities, although the semiclassical results for reactions producing vibrationally excited products are better behaved than those for reactions producing ground state products. The collision lifetimes and the stationary trajectories show no indication at all that the semiclassical calculations include a mechanism which could account for the 75% oscillation in the quantum mechanical PR0-0