cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High energy density science with high peak power light sources

High energy density (HED) science is a growing sub-field of plasma and condensed matter physics. I will examine how recent technological developments in high peak power, petawatt-class lasers and x-ray FELs have impacted research in HED physics.
The Role of the Mitochondrial Apoptosis Induced Channel MAC in Cytochrome c Release

Permeabilization of the mitochondrial outer membrane is a crucial event during apoptosis. It allows the release of proapoptotic factors, like cytochrome c, from the intermembrane space, and represents the commitment step in apoptosis. The mitochondrial apoptosis-induced channel, MAC, is a high-conductance channel that forms during early apoptosis and is the putative cytochrome c release channel. Unlike activation of the permeability transition pore, MAC formation occurs without loss of outer membrane integrity and depolarization. The single channel behavior and pharmacology of reconstituted MAC has been characterized with patch-clamp techniques. Furthermore, MAC’s activity is compared to that detected in mitochondria inside the cells at the time cytochrome c is released. Finally, the regulation of MAC by the Bcl-2 family proteins and insights concerning its molecular composition are also discussed.
Conversion of protein kinase C from a Ca2+-dependent to an independent form of phorbol ester-binding protein by digestion with trypsim

Tryptic fragments of protein kinase C containing the kinase (45 KDa) and phorbol ester-binding activity (38 KDa) were separated by Mono O column chromatography. The purified phorbol ester-binding fragment exhibits a higher affinity for phosphatidylserine than the native enzyme but comparable Kd for (/sup 3/H)phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate as the native enzyme. This proteolytic fragment binds phorbol ester equally efficient either in the presence or absence of Ca/sup 2 +/ and the addition of the kinase fragment did not restore the Ca/sup 2 +/-requirement for the binding. These results indicate that protein kinase C is composed of two functionally distinct units which can be expressed independently after limited proteolysis with trypsin.
Forgotten Roots of the Green City: Subsistence Gardening in Columbus, Ohio, 1900-1940

Subsistence gardens were a significant land use in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area from 1900 to 1940. Their existence, however, was materially erased from the city and discursively erased from its history after that period. This paper investigates the processes of that erasure, particularly in the American Addition neighborhood of Columbus, concentrating on the articulation of an urban normative that made such land uses appear contrary to "modern" urban development. At the same time, the existence of such practices and landscapes in the city was explained away by a crisis narrative of the garden that helped to support the idea that such practices did not produce "normal" urban spaces. The simultaneous material and discursive colonization of subsistence gardens as "relief" measures during the Great Depression left these landscapes and areas dependent on the City of Columbus, under whose control they were transformed into more "appropriate" cityscapes.
Uncooled long-wave infrared small pixel focal plane array and system challenges

There is a strong motivation for smaller pixels based on end-user demand for lower-cost, higher-resolution camera systems both for military and commercial applications. Uncooled detector technology fits the need for a low size, weight, and power system. We explore the tradeoffs and challenges to achieving pixel designs smaller than the current 17-μm state-of-the-art detectors without loss in sensitivity or resolution. For illustration we consider a 12-μm design. We also address modulation transfer function issues as the pixel size shrinks, and examine the difference between the performance of present devices and the theoretical performance limit for uncooled detectors.
Proteinase requirements of epidermal growth factor-induced ovarian cancer cell invasion.

Aberrant expression or activity of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor family of tyrosine kinases has been associated with tumor progression and an invasive phenotype. In this study, we utilized 4 ovarian cancer cell lines, OVCA 432, DOV 13, OVEA6 and OVCA 429, to determine the effects of EGF on the regulation of proteolytic enzymes and their inhibitors, cellular migration and in vitro invasion. Induction of urinary-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) activity and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 was observed in all 4 cell lines. OVCA 432 cells showed strong PAI-1 induction; however, the other 3 lines displayed substantial baseline PAI-1 expression that was not induced by EGF. EGF-dependent stimulation of migration and induction of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 (gelatinase B) was observed in OVEA6 and OVCA 429 cells only. Upon EGF receptor activation, DOV 13, OVEA6 and OVCA 429 cells were induced to invade through an artificial basement membrane (Matrigel); however, no invasion was detected in OVCA 432 cells. Cell lines displaying induction of migration and MMP-9 (OVEA6 and OVCA 429) demonstrated robust EGF-induced invasion (5- to 20-fold), and cell invasion was substantially reduced in the presence of anti-catalytic MMP-9 antibody. Addition of anti-catalytic u-PA antibody inhibited the modest (F2-fold) EGF-induced invasion in a cell line that did not express MMP-9 (DOV 13) and in OVEA6 cells that displayed the highest baseline u-PA activity. Together, our findings indicate that multiple proteinases are important in ovarian cell invasion and implicate EGF induction of MMP-9 and migration as key components of more aggressive ligandinduced invasion. Int. J. Cancer 78:331‐337, 1998. r 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Analysis of age of onset of accessory pathway-mediated tachycardia in men and women☆

diated tachycardia. 1‐4 However, a detailed analysis of the inter-relationships between gender, accessory pathway location, and the age of onset of accessory pathway-mediated tachycardia has been lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the interactions between gender, accessory pathway location, and the age of onset of accessory pathwaymediated tachycardia. ••• The subjects of this study were 910 patients who underwent an electrophysiologic study at the University of Michigan Medical Center and met the following selection criteria: a history of symptomatic paroxysmal tachycardia; the ability to recollect the age of onset of the tachycardia; a single accessory pathway; an inducible accessory pathway-mediated tachycardia in the electrophysiology laboratory; and successful radiofrequency ablation of the accessory pathway. Patients who had 1 mechanism of tachycardia or 1 accessory pathway were excluded from the study. There were 536 men (59%) and 374 women (41%), and their mean age at the time of the electrophysiologic study was 37 15 years ( SD; range 10 to 84 years). The location of the accessory pathways was classified as being left sided, right sided, or septal, according to the site at which successful radiofrequency ablation was achieved. Among the 910 accessory pathways, 541 (59%) were left sided, 131 (14%) were right sided, and 238 (26%) were septal. In 328 patients (36%), the accessory pathway was concealed and capable only of retrograde conduction, and in the remaining 64% of patients, the accessory pathway was manifest and conducted in the anterograde direction. Continuous variables are expressed as mean 1 SD. Student’ s t test was used to compare 2 groups. Analysis of variance was used when comparisons involved 2 groups. When group differences were found, 1-way analysis of variance was followed by the
H(n=2 and 3) density matrices resulting from low- to intermediate-energy collisions of H + ions with He atoms: The atomic-orbital-molecular-orbital matching approach

The density matrices of excited H atoms (n=2 and 3 manifolds) resulting from electron capture in collisions of ${\mathrm{H}}^{+}$ ions with He atoms in the energy region from 1 to 100 keV/amu are investigated on the basis of the atomic-orbital--molecular-orbital matching approach. Two electrons in the system are explicitly included in the calculation. The present results for the electric dipole moment, electron current density distributions, and alignment parameters compare favorably with recent measurements by Cline (unpublished), Hippler et al. [Phys. Rev. A 43, 2587 (1991)], and Ashburn et al. [Phys. Rev. A 41, 2407 (1990)] in the entire energy regions studied, and reveal similarities of these quantities for n=2 and n=3. Some insights of the similarities are discussed.
Rho1 regulates adherens junction remodeling by promoting recycling endosome formation through activation of myosin II

Once adherens junctions (AJs) are formed between polarized epithelial cells they must be maintained because AJs are constantly remodeled in dynamic epithelia. AJ maintenance involves endocytosis and subsequent recycling of E-cadherin to a precise location along the basolateral membrane. In the Drosophila pupal eye epithelium, Rho1 GTPase regulates AJ remodeling through Drosophila E-cadherin (DE-cadherin) endocytosis by limiting Cdc42/Par6/aPKC complex activity. We demonstrate that Rho1 also influences AJ remodeling by regulating the formation of DE-cadherin–containing, Rab11-positive recycling endosomes in Drosophila postmitotic pupal eye epithelia. This effect of Rho1 is mediated through Rok-dependent, but not MLCK-dependent, stimulation of myosin II activity yet independent of its effects upon actin remodeling. Both Rho1 and pMLC localize on endosomal vesicles, suggesting that Rho1 might regulate the formation of recycling endosomes through localized myosin II activation. This work identifies spatially distinct functions for Rho1 in the regulation of DE-cadherin–containing vesicular trafficking during AJ remodeling in live epithelia.
Factors Related to Aggressive and Violent Behavior among Preadolescent African-American Boys.

ABSTRACT This study investigates factors that are related to aggressive behavior, violent behavior, and aggressive and violent attitudes among African-American preadolescent boys. These factors include exposure to verbal aggression in the home, exposure to community violence, family structure, and peer behavior. Two analyses are performed. The first is based on the behavior ratings of group leaders who were conducting after-school groups with the boys. The findings revealed that leaders' ratings were unrelated to the boys' self-reported behavior or attitudes, as well as the family, community, and peer variables. The second analysis focuses on the effects of family arguments, exposure to community violence, family structure, and peer behavior on self-reported aggressive and violent behavior and attitudes. All of the variables except peer behavior affected self-control. Peer behavior, exposure to community violence, and family arguments affected aggressive and violent behavior. When multivariate analyses we...
A graphical user interface for the study of heart rate variability

A truly windows-based graphical user interface (GUI) for heart rate variability (HRV) is an easy-to-use, educational, and valuable research tool. The development of such a GUI is not a trivial endeavor. The document-view architecture of the Microsoft Visual Studio (MSVS), which is based upon the Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) written in C++, is utilized. A dynamic splitter-window is included to provide 4 simultaneous views. The GUI allows 720 various segment lengths. A total 270 different 4-paned views are possible, and 59 adjustable parameters are available. One view contains an interactively editable heart-rate-arousal and duration detector. The Lomb periodogram, the fast-Fourier transform (FFT), Poincarepsila plots, HRV in text format, phase-plane plots, multi-line heart-rate tachograms, and 2-minute-averaged Lomb and FFT power spectral amplitude plots are available.
Parallel 3D Poisson solver for a charged beam in a conducting pipe

In this paper, we present a parallel three-dimensional Poisson solver for the electrostatic potential of a charged beam in a round or rectangular conducting pipe with open-end boundary conditions. This solver uses an eigenfunction expansion in the transverse direction and a finite difference method in the longitudinal direction. The computational domain in the longitudinal direction contains only the beam since only the potential inside the beam will be calculated. The potential on both ends of the beam is matched into the source-free region for each eigenmode. This method avoids the use of a large computational domain outside the beam to implement the open boundary condition. This saves unnecessary computational time and memory storage that would be required if a large computational domain was used to simulate the open boundary. Parallel implementation using a two-dimensional domain decomposition approach and a message passing paradigm shows good scalability on both distributed memory machines and distributed shared-memory machines. This solver has important applications in accelerator physics studies that involve modeling high-intensity beam dynamics. As a specific example, we present results from large-scale simulations of beam halo formation in a linear accelerator.
Comparison of water-based foam and carbon dioxide gas emergency depopulation methods of turkeys

Recommended response strategies for out- breaks of avian influenza and other highly contagious poultry diseases include surveillance, quarantine, de- population, disposal, and decontamination. The best methods of emergency mass depopulation should maxi- mize human health and safety while minimizing disease spread and animal welfare concerns. The goal of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of 2 mass de- population methods on adult tom turkeys. The meth- ods tested were carbon dioxide gassing and water-based foam. The time to unconsciousness, motion cessation, brain death, and altered terminal cardiac activity were recorded for each bird through the use of an electro- encephalogram, accelerometer, and electrocardiogram. Critical times for physiological events were extracted from sensor data and compiled in a spreadsheet for statistical analysis. A statistically significant difference was observed in time to brain death, with water-based foam resulting in faster brain death (µ = 190 s) than CO2 gas (µ = 242 s). Though not statistically signifi- cant, differences were found comparing the time to un- consciousness (foam: µ = 64 s; CO2 gas: µ = 90 s), mo- tion cessation (foam: µ = 182 s; CO2 gas: µ = 153 s), and altered terminal cardiac activity (foam: µ = 208 s; CO2 gas µ = 242 s) between foam and CO2 depopula- tion treatments. The results of this study demonstrate that water-based foam can be used to effectively de- populate market size male turkeys.
Ataxin-3 With an Altered Conformation That Exposes the Polyglutamine Domain Is Associated With the Nuclear Matrix

Spinocerebellar ataxia type-3 or Machado-Joseph disease (SCA3/MJD) is a member of the CAG/polyglutamine repeat disease family. In this family of disorders, a normally polymorphic CAG repeat becomes expanded, resulting in expression of an expanded polyglutamine domain in the disease gene product. Experimental models of polyglutamine disease implicate the nucleus in pathogenesis; however, the link between intranuclear expression of expanded polyglutamine and neuronal dysfunction remains unclear. Here we demonstrate that ataxin-3, the disease protein in SCA3/MJD, adopts a unique conformation when expressed within the nucleus of transfected cells. The monoclonal antibody 1C2 is known preferentially to bind expanded polyglutamine, but we find that it also binds a fragment of ataxin-3 containing a normal glutamine repeat. In addition, expression of ataxin-3 within the nucleus exposes the glutamine domain of the full-length non-pathological protein, allowing it to bind the monoclonal antibody 1C2. Fractionation and immunochemical experiments indicate that this novel conformation of intranuclear ataxin-3 is not due to proteolysis, suggesting instead that association with nuclear protein(s) alters the structure of full-length ataxin-3 which exposes the polyglutamine domain. This conformationally altered ataxin-3 is bound to the nuclear matrix. The pathological form of ataxin-3 with an expanded polyglutamine domain also associates with the nuclear matrix. These data suggest that an early event in the pathogenesis of SCA3/MJD may be an altered conformation of ataxin-3 within the nucleus that exposes the polyglutamine domain.
Modulation of startle and the startle-elicited P300 by the conditions of the cued continuous performance task in school-age boys.

Abstract Objectives : This study compares the modulation of the startle response by conditions requiring response preparation, production, and inhibition during a cued continuous performance task (CPT) in children to the results of previous studies in adults and evaluates the modulation of the startle-elicited P300 under the same conditions. The latter variable, reflecting the cognitive processing of the startling stimulus (SS), has not been studied under these conditions. Methods : Normal boys completed a cued CPT in which the cue was the letter T, the go condition requiring a button press was an X following the T, and the no-go condition requiring response inhibition was a letter other than X following the T. SS were presented 450ms following the letter of interest in each condition. The amplitudes of the startle-elicited P300 at Fz, Cz, and Pz and the startle blink were compared in the different CPT conditions. Results : The startle blink, measured by orbicularis oculi electromyography, was not inhibited by the no-go CPT condition as is the case in adults. The vertical electro-oculogram was actually largest in the no-go condition. The startle-elicited P300 showed a central predominance and was significantly larger in the no-go condition and in the cue condition than in the go condition. Conclusions : The absence of inhibition of the startle response during the no-go condition probably reflects a relative inefficiency of prefrontal cortical mechanisms that mediate response inhibition in children compared to adults. The enhanced startle-elicited P300 in the no-go and cue conditions of the CPT reflects cognitive processing of the SS that has been influenced by response inhibition or its anticipation.
When Words Hurt: The Effects of Perceived Intentionality on Interpersonal Relationships

Why is it that some hurtful messages have a greater impact on relationships than others? Theorists suggest that the way people interpret another individual's negative behavior can influence how close or distant they feel from that person, as well as the emotions they experience. The first study reported in this article was conducted to examine how judgments of intent affect individuals' tendency to distance themselves from someone who hurt them and how such judgments impact people's experience of hurt. Results indicated that people who judged something an individual said to them as intentionally hurtful felt the comment had more of a distancing effect on their relationship with the individual than did those who perceived the message as unintentionally hurtful. Furthermore, those who viewed the comment as intentionally hurtful tended to be less satisfied with the relationship they had with the person who hurt them and felt less close to the person than did those who saw it as unintentional. The findings al...
IUE observations of eight OB stars in NGC 2244 - Ultraviolet continua and extinction

Low-resolution IUE ultraviolet continuum observations of O and B stars in the young open cluster NGC 2244 are presented. When only relative energy distributions are considered, thereby eliminating any dependence on reddening corrections or absolute energy calibrations, it is found that the ultraviolet energy distributions of the O stars have significantly cooler ultraviolet color temperatures than the cluster early B stars. The effect is not considered a property of the B stars because their observed continua can be well represented by model atmospheres and ultraviolet extinction characteristic of the local interstellar medium. The effect is thus thought to originate with the O star continua and can be due to either interstellar effects (the cluster O stars suffer additional extinction which has an anomalous wavelength dependence) or stellar effects (the physics incorporated into current O star model atmospheres is inadequate). It is noted that current data do not allow a definitive distinction to be made between these two alternatives, and the possible origins and consequences of each are considered.
Sociosexuality and Romantic Partner Choice

ABSTRACT In three studies, we explored how individual differences in sociosexual orientation systematically relate to the types of attributes people prefer in romantic partners. In Investigation 1, individuals rated the importance of 15 partner attributes. Two factors emerged: personal/parenting qualities and attractiveness/social visibility. Individuals who possessed a restricted sociosexual orientation rated attributes that loaded highly on the former factor as being more important than those that loaded highly on the second one, whereas the reverse was true for unrestricted individuals. In Investigation 2, individuals evaluated two prospective romantic partners, one who was described as highly attractive and socially visible but less desirable in terms of personal/parenting qualities and one who had the opposite set of attributes. Unrestricted individuals tended to select the former partner, whereas restricted individuals chose the latter one. Investigation 3 examined the attributes actually possessed by their romantic partners. Unrestricted individuals were dating partners who were more socially visible and attractive, whereas restricted individuals were dating partners who were more responsible, faithful/loyal, and affectionate. Results are discussed in terms of an evolutionary model that links sociosexuality to mate selection.
Used Motor Oil as a Source of MTBE, TAME, and BTEX to Ground Water

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), the widely used gasoline oxygenate, has been identified as a common ground water contaminant, and BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes) have long been associated with gasoline spills. Because not all instances of ground water contamination by MTBE and BTEX can be attributed to spills or leaking storage tanks, other potential sources need to be considered. In this study, used motor oil was investigated as a potential source of these contaminants. MTBE in oil was measured directly by methanol extraction and gas chromatography using a flame ionization detector (GC/FID). Water was equilibrated with oil samples and analyzed for MTBE, BTEX, and the oxygenate tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME) by purge- and-trap concentration followed by GC/FID analysis. Raoult's law was used to calculate oil-phase concentrations of MTBE, BTEX, and TAME from aqueous-phase concentrations. MTBE, TAME, and BTEX were not detected in any of five new motor oil samples, whereas these compounds were found at significant concentrations in all six samples of the used motor oil tested for MTBE and all four samples tested for TAME and BTEX. MTBE concentrations in used motor oil were on the order of 100 mg/L. TAME concentrations ranged from 2.2 to 87 mg/L. Concentrations of benzene were 29 to 66 mg/L, but those of other BTEX compounds were higher, typically 500 to 2000 mg/L.
Effects of Coleus Forskohlii Supplementation on Body Composition and Hematological Profiles in Mildly Overweight Women

This study investigated the effects of Coleus Forskohlii (CF) on body composition, and determined the safety and efficacy of supplementation. In a double blind and randomized manner, 23 females supplemented their diet with ForsLean™ (250 mg of 10% CF extract, (n = 7) or a placebo [P] (n = 12) two times per day for 12-wks. Body composition (DEXA), body weight, and psychometric instruments were obtained at 0, 4, 8 & 12 weeks of supplementation. Fasting blood samples and dietary records (4-d) were obtained at 0 and 12-wks. Side effects were recorded on a weekly basis. Data were analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA and are presented as mean changes from baseline for the CF and placebo groups, respectively. No significant differences were observed in caloric or macronutrient intake. CF tended to mitigate gains in body mass (-0.7 ± 1.8, 1.0 ± 2.5 kg, p = 0.10) and scanned mass (-0.2 ± 1.3, 1.7 ± 2.9 kg, p = 0.08) with no significant differences in fat mass (-0.2 ± 0.7, 1.1 ± 2.3 kg, p = 0.16), fat free mass (-0.1 ± 1.3, 0.6 ± 1.2 kg, p = 0.21), or body fat (-0.2 ± 1.0, 0.4 ± 1.4%, p = 0.40). Subjects in the CF group tended to report less fatigue (p = 0.07), hunger (p = 0.02), and fullness (p = 0.04). No clinically significant interactions were seen in metabolic markers, blood lipids, muscle and liver enzymes, electrolytes, red cells, white cells, hormones (insulin, TSH, T3, and T4), heart rate, blood pressure, or weekly reports of side effects. Results suggest that CF does not appear to promote weight loss but may help mitigate weight gain in overweight females with apparently no clinically significant side effects.
Cartesian parametrization of anisotropic traveltime tomography

Summary A new method for inverting P-wave traveltimes for seismic anisotropy on a local scale is presented and tested. In this analysis, direction-dependent seismic velocity is represented by a second- or fourth-order Cartesian tensor, which is shown to be equivalent to decomposing a velocity surface using a basis set of Cartesian products of unit vectors. The new inversion method for P- and S-wave anisotropy from traveltime data is based on the tensor decomposition. The formulation is formally derived from a Taylor series expansion of a continuously extended, 3-D velocity function originally defined on the surface of the unit sphere. This approach allows us to solve a linear inversion instead of the standard non-linear method. The resultant, linearized, fourth-order traveltime equation is similar to a previous fourth-order result (Chapman & Pratt 1992), although our representation offers a natural second-order simpli-fication. Conventional isotropic traveltime tomography is a special case of our tensorial representation of velocities. P-wave velocity can be represented by a second-order tensor (matrix) as a first approximation, although S-wave traveltime tomography is intrinsically fourth order because of S-wave solution duality. Differences between isotropic and anisotropic parametrizations are investigated when velocity is represented by a matrix A. The trade-off between isotropy and anisotropy in practical tomography, which differs from the fundamental deficiency of anisotropic traveltime tomography (Mochizuki 1997), is shown to be ~ 1; that is, their effects are of the same order. We conclude that anisotropic considerations may be important in velocity inversions where ray coverage is less than optimal. On the other hand, when the ray directional coverage is complete and balanced, effects of anisotropy sum to zero and the isotropic part gives the result obtained from inverting for isotropic variations of velocity alone. Synthetic test data sets are inverted, demonstrating the effectiveness of the new inversion approach. When ray coverage is fairly complete, original anisotropy is well recovered, even with random noise introduced, although anisotropy ambiguities arise where ray coverage is limited. Random noise was found to be less important than ray directional coverage in anisotropic inversions.
From Verification to Synthesis

One of the most significant developments in the area of design verification over the last decade is the development of of algorithmic methods for verifying temporal specification of finite-state designs [2]. A frequent criticism against this approach, however, is that verification is done after significant resources have already been invested in the development of the design. Since designs invariably contains errors, verification simply becomes part of the debugging process. The critics argue that the desired goal ought to be the use of the specification in the design development process in order to guarantee the development of correct designs. This is called design synthesis [1,4]. In this talk I will review 50 years of research on the synthesis problem and show how the automata-theoretic approach can be used to solve it [3,4,5].
The effect of breastfeeding on breast aesthetics.

Background: The health benefits of breast milk for infants are well documented, but breastfeeding is avoided by many women because of concerns about a negative effect upon breast appearance. However, there is very little objective data to either support or refute this view. Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify risk factors for the development of breast ptosis after pregnancy and to determine whether breastfeeding has an adverse effect on breast shape. Methods: Charts were reviewed of all patients seeking consultation for aesthetic breast surgery between 1998 and 2006. History of pregnancies, breastfeeding, and weight gain were obtained via telephone interview. Degree of breast ptosis was determined from preoperative photos. Nulliparous women were excluded. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of postpregnancy breast ptosis. Results: Ninety-three patients met the study criteria. Fifty-four patients (58%) reported a history of breastfeeding. The mean age at surgery in the breastfeeding group was 41 years, compared to 37 years in the nonbreastfeeding group. An adverse change in breast shape following pregnancy was described by 51 respondents (55%). Greater age, higher body mass index, greater number of pregnancies, larger prepregnancy bra size, and smoking were identified as significant independent risk factors for postpregnancy breast ptosis ( P < .05). Breastfeeding was not found to be an independent risk factor for ptosis. Conclusions: The risk of breast ptosis increases with each pregnancy, but breastfeeding does not seem to worsen these effects. Expectant mothers should be reassured that breastfeeding does not appear to have an adverse effect upon breast appearance.
Treasurer's Report: New Initiatives (and a Balanced Budget) Mark Successful 2005

As we approach the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006, the American Political Science Association is financially sound, able to support a wide range of professional programs and projects to serve the membership. This strong condition arises from a solidly positive balance of assets against liabilities, and an operating budget well-matched to APSA's current scope and activities.
Quetiapine monotherapy for bipolar depression.

Bipolar depression is more common, disabling, and difficult-to-treat than the manic and hypomanic phases that define bipolar disorder. Unlike the treatment of so-called “unipolar” depressions, antidepressants generally are not indicated as monotherapies for bipolar depressions and recent studies suggest that -even when used in combination with traditional mood stabilizers – antidepressants may have questionable value for bipolar depression. The current practice is that mood stabilizers are initiated first as monotherapies; however, the antidepressant efficacy of lithium and valproate is modest at best. Within this context the role of atypical antipsychotics is being evaluated. The combination of olanzapine and the antidepressant fluoxetine was the first treatment to receive regulatory approval in the US specifically for bipolar I depression. Quetiapine was the second medication to be approved for this indication, largely as the result of two pivotal trials known by the acronyms of BOLDER (BipOLar DEpRession) I and II. Both studies demonstrated that two doses of quetiapine (300 mg and 600 mg given once daily at bedtime) were significantly more effective than placebo, with no increased risk of patients switching into mania. Pooling the two studies, quetiapine was effective for both bipolar I and bipolar II depressions and for patients with (and without) a history of rapid cycling. The two doses were comparably effective in both studies. Although the efficacy of quetiapine monotherapy has been established, much additional research is necessary. Further studies are needed to more fully investigate dose-response relationships and comparing quetiapine monotherapy to other mood stabilizers (lithium, valproate, and lamotrigine) in bipolar depression, both singly and in combination. Head-to-head studies are needed comparing quetiapine to the olanzapine-fluoxetine combination. Longer-term studies are needed to confirm the persistence of response and to better gauge effects on metabolic profiles across months of therapy. A prospective study of patients specifically seeking treatment for rapid cycling and those with a history of treatment-emergent affective shifts also is needed. Despite the caveats, as treatment guidelines are revised to incorporate new data, the efficacy and tolerability of quetiapine monotherapy must be given serious consideration.
Bounds on the number of samples needed for neural learning

The relationship between the number of hidden nodes in a neural network, the complexity of a multiclass discrimination problem, and the number of samples needed for effect learning are discussed. Bounds for the number of samples needed for effect learning are given. It is shown that Omega (min (d,n) M) boundary samples are required for successful classification of M clusters of samples using a two-hidden-layer neural network with d-dimensional inputs and n nodes in the first hidden layer. >
Pro-Permeability Factors After Dexamethasone Implant in Retinal Vein Occlusion; the Ozurdex for Retinal Vein Occlusion (ORVO) Study.

Purpose To correlate aqueous vasoactive protein changes with macular edema after dexamethasone implant in retinal vein occlusion (RVO). Design Prospective, interventional case series. Methods Twenty-three central RVO (CRVO) and 17 branch RVO (BRVO) subjects with edema despite prior anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment had aqueous taps at baseline and 4 and 16 weeks after dexamethasone implant. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and center subfield thickness were measured every 4 weeks. Aqueous vasoactive protein levels were measured by protein array or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results Thirty-two vasoactive proteins were detected in aqueous in untreated eyes with macular edema due to RVO. Reduction in excess foveal thickness after dexamethasone implant correlated with reduction in persephin and pentraxin 3 (Pearson correlation coefficients = 0.682 and 0.638, P = .014 and P = .003). Other protein changes differed among RVO patients as edema decreased, but ≥50% of patients showed reductions in hepatocyte growth factor, endocrine gland VEGF, insulin-like growth factor binding proteins, or endostatin by ≥30%. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 18 eyes (12 CRVO, 6 BRVO) showed baseline levels of hepatocyte growth factor and VEGF of 168.2 ± 20.1 pg/mL and 78.7 ± 10.0 pg/mL, and each was reduced in 12 eyes after dexamethasone implant. Conclusions Dexamethasone implants reduce several pro-permeability proteins providing a multitargeted approach in RVO. No single protein in addition to VEGF can be implicated as a contributor in all patients. Candidates for contribution to chronic edema in subgroups of patients that deserve further study include persephin, hepatocyte growth factor, and endocrine gland VEGF.
A blinded prospective study comparing four current noninvasive approaches in the differential diagnosis of medical versus surgical jaundice

Abstract A prospective study was undertaken to compare the diagnostic accuracy of clinical evaluation, ultrasound, computed tomography, and technetium 99m-HIDA or -PIPIDA biliary scans in distinguishing between intrahepatic and extrahepatic jaundice. A final diagnosis was established in each of the 50 patients who completed the study, among whom 29 had intrahepatic cholestasis and 21 had extrahepatic obstruction. In the diagnosis of extrahepatic obstruction, the sensitivities of clinical evaluation, ultrasound, computed tomography, and nuclear medicine biliary scan were 95%, 55%, 63%, and 41%, respectively; the specificities were 76%, 93%, 93%, and 88%; and the overall accuracies were 84%, 78%, 81%, and 68%. These data support the conclusion that when the clinical evaluation is carefully performed, it is the single most effective noninvasive means of detecting extrahepatic biliary obstruction in a jaundiced patient. Although ultrasound, computed tomography, and radionuclide biliary scan are less sensitive, they are highly reliable if they indicate that extrahepatic obstruction is present. A flow chart of invasive and noninvasive approaches for evaluation of the jaundiced patient is presented.
Primal-dual meets local search: approximating MST's with nonuniform degree bounds

We present a new bicriteria approximation algorithm for the degree-bounded minimum-cost spanning tree problem: Given an undirected graph with nonnegative edge weights and degree bounds Bv > 1 for all vertices v, find a spanning tree T of minimum total edge-cost such that the maximum degree of each node v in T is at most Bv. Our algorithm finds a tree in which the degree of each node v is O(Bv + log n) and the total edge-cost is at most a constant times the cost of any tree that obeys all degree constraints.Our previous algorithm[9] with similar guarantees worked only in the case of uniform degree bounds (i.e. Bv=B for all vertices v). While the new algorithm is based on ideas from Lagrangean relaxation as is our previous work, it does not rely on computing a solution to a linear program. Instead it uses a repeated application of Kruskal's MST algorithm interleaved with a combinatorial update of approximate Lagrangean node-multipliers maintained by the algorithm. These updates cause subsequent repetitions of the spanning tree algorithm to run for longer and longer times, leading to overall progress and a proof of the performance guarantee.
Internet Poker: Examining Motivations, Behaviors, Outcomes, and Player Traits using Structural Equations Analysis

Hypotheses explaining outcomes from internet poker were tested by using structural equations modeling: Personal characteristics and traits were proposed to influence motivation, leading to gaming behavior and then to outcomes. One hundred ninety-four participants from an internet poker forum completed online assessment. Three separate outcomes were supported: social-emotional gains, monetary winnings/losses, and negative experiences. One third of the participants reported some negative outcomes and 12% said these were significant; two thirds indicated no negative outcomes. Problems were most linked to the trait of Neuroticism, younger age, and more hours played, but unrelated to amounts won or lost. Gaming for social-emotional benefits mediated fewer negative outcomes. Financial gain motivation was a key mediator for gaming behavior. Findings were consistent with research showing negative emotionality and youth to be associated with poor gambling outcomes. The model suggests concrete actions that can be taken to minimize problem gaming while maximizing healthier involvement with online poker.
Towards Automatic Detection of Narrative Structure

We present novel computational experiments using William Labov’s theory of narrative analysis. We describe his six elements of narrative structure and construct a new corpus based on his most recent work on narrative. Using this corpus, we explore the correspondence between Labovs elements of narrative structure and the implicit discourse relations of the Penn Discourse Treebank, and we construct a mapping between the elements of narrative structure and the discourse relation classes of the PDTB. We present first experiments on detecting Complicating Actions, the most common of the elements of narrative structure, achieving an f-score of 71.55. We compare the contributions of features derived from narrative analysis, such as the length of clauses and the tenses of main verbs, with those of features drawn from work on detecting implicit discourse relations. Finally, we suggest directions for future research on narrative structure, such as applications in assessing text quality and in narrative generation.
Abstract WP297: A Mouse Model of Cerebral Microbleeds

Cerebral microbleeds are microscopic hemorrhages with deposits of blood products in the brain that can be visualized with MRI. Microbleeds are increased with age and in diseases such as cerebral amyloid angiopathy, hypertension, and stroke. There are few studies of either a) pathological correlates of cerebral microbleeds or b) imaging microscopic hemorrhage in brain tissue. The existing animal models of cerebral microbleeds involve transgenic mice (e.g. Tg2576) that spontaneously over-express β-amyloid, mimicking cerebral amyloid angiopathy. However, these models have limited use due to the fact that a) microbleeds may develop independent of amyloid deposition and b) the transgenic animals may require two years to fully develop microbleeds. In the current study, we used lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce cerebral microscopic hemorrhages over the course of several days. In this model, adult C57B6 mice (3 months of age) were injected with LPS (5mg/kg ip) or vehicle (phosphate buffered saline) at baseline and at 24 hr, and animals were sacrificed two days after initial injection. Mouse brains were analyzed for fresh hemorrhage using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, iron deposition using Prussian blue staining, and blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability by measuring sodium flouorescein (NaF) content. H&E staining revealed small fresh hemorrhages visible grossly and microscopically in all animals treated with LPS, but not in control animals. Prussian blue staining revealed markedly increased iron deposition with LPS treatment, with positive stains in cerebral cortex, midbrain, and hippocampus regions. Quantification of Prussian blue staining revealed that LPS induced more than four-fold increase in number of positive stained foci (p
Manifest leadership styles in a Caribbean cross-sector network

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the leadership styles emerging within a cross-sector national disaster management network in the Caribbean. Design/methodology/approach – Since little empirical research exists on leadership styles within multi-agency systems, particularly those focussed on disaster management, this exploratory study relied on a qualitative research design. In-depth interviews with the network’s participants allowed for a better understanding of group dynamics and members’ leadership approaches. Findings – The analysis identified what and when certain leadership styles manifest themselves in the network based on the stages of the disaster management cycle. The findings also underscored the need for a combination of transactional and transformational leadership in a disaster management context. Research limitations/implications – Although qualitative methods do not afford generalizability beyond the case study, they do provide depth of knowledge of an under-researched pheno...
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair

This section introduces the reader to the topic of abdominal aortic aneurysms, including the pathophysiology, symptoms, evaluation, and treatment options. The techniques of both open and endovascular approaches are described in detail, as are the most common postoperative complications of these operations. A classic case of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm is described and questions are provided for review.
Practical Surgical Neuropathology: A Diagnostic Approach

A Volume in the Pattern Recognition Series, Expert Consult: Online and Print A. Perry, D. J. Brat Elsevier, Copyright © 2010, 620 pages, Hardcover Practical Surgical Neuropathology: A Diagnostic Approach is the latest offering in the “Pattern Recognition Series"-practical but comprehensive specialty texts aimed at trainees and practicing pathologists. A useful feature of this series is online access to the full text, including the many excellent figures. This volume is edited by Arie Perry and Daniel Brat, with contributions from numerous recognized experts in surgical neuropathology. The introductory chapters provide basic neuroanatomy as it relates to pathology that is particularly useful for nonneuropathologists and trainees whose encounters with the brain and spinal cord may be uncommon and anxiety-provoking. The use of a number of tables to illustrate differential diagnoses based on gross and microscopic patterns of growth, age, location, and imaging characteristics …
The Proportionality Problem in Cross-Border Reproductive Travel

Many, perhaps most, of the Europeans who engage in cross-border reproductive travel do so because of laws that bar their access to assisted reproduction in their home countries. This chapter examines whether the doctrine of proportionality found in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights might play a role in dismantling these laws and in thus curbing the demand for European cross-border reproductive travel. Recent pronouncements of the Court indicate a commitment to protecting traditional family relationships forged by biological connections. As long as member-states' restrictions on reproduction assisting techniques do not place these relationships in peril, the Court grants a wide margin of appreciation to the regulation of assisted reproduction. Despite this conservative tendency in the Court's jurisprudence, this chapter predicts that proportionality review will begin to assume, in the near term, a position of greater importance in the judicial review of restrictive reproductive laws in Europe.
Twitching motility and cAMP levels: signal transduction through a single methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein.

The Pseudomonas aeruginosa Chp chemosensory system regulates twitching motility, intracellular cAMP levels and is postulated to be involved in directional twitching towards phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Because PilJ is the only MCP identified in the Chp system, we determined the role of PilJ in mediating signal transduction for the distinct outputs of this system. Mutants that lack the periplasmic domain of PilJ ( pilJΔ74-273 ) showed lower levels of cAMP but retained directional twitching towards PE. While initial studies revealed reduced twitching motility by PilJΔ74-273, this was due to decreased cAMP levels. Our data illustrate the importance of the periplasmic domain of PilJ in regulating cAMP. This is the first time a defined domain within PilJ has been identified as having a distinct role in signal transduction.
Surveillance on swimming pool water quality in Jianggan district of Hangzhou city from 2009 to 2012

Objective:To learn the sanitary quality of swimming pool water of Jianggan district in Hangzhou,so as to ensure the health of swimmers and provide the scientific evidence for hygienic management of swimming pools.Methods:"Hygiene standard test method in public places"and"Hygienic standard of swimming places"were applied to test and evaluate the water quality respectively. Results:A total of 554 swimming pool water samples were detected from 2009 to 2012 and the total qualified rate was 48. 2%. The pass rate was lower in July and August,as well as in swimming pool of living quarters. The free residual chlorine had the lowest pass rate. The differences had no statistical significance in the total qualified rates during diffrent years. The differences had statistical significance in qualified rates among different types of swimming pools,different items and different months. Conclusion:The sanitary quality of swimming pool water is not good in Jianggan district,especially in July and August,so the disinfection of swimming pool water should be improved,especially strengthening the hygiene supervision of free residual chlorine. It is important to change the water regularly and prevent the feces' pollution.