cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Atomic Layer Deposition Coating of TiO 2 Nano-Thin Films on Magnesium-Zinc Alloys to Enhance Cytocompatibility for Bioresorbable Vascular Stents

Background and purpose A coronary stent is a well-known cardiovascular medical device implanted to resolve disorders of the circulatory system due to bloodstream narrowing. Since the implanted device interacts with surrounding biological environments, the surface properties of a typical implantable stent play a critical role in its success or failure. Endothelial cell adhesion and proliferation are fundamental criteria needed for the success of a medical device. Metallic coronary stents are commonly used as biomaterial platforms in cardiovascular implants. As a new generation of coronary stents, bioresorbable vascular scaffolds have attracted a great deal of attention among researchers and studies on bioresorbable materials (such as magnesium and zinc) remain a target for further optimization. However, additional surface modification is needed to control the biodegradation of the implant material while promoting biological reactions without the use of drug elution. Methods Herein, precise temperature and thickness controlled atomic layer deposition (ALD) was utilized to provide a unique and conformal nanoscale TiO2 coating on a customized magnesium-zinc stent alloy. Results Impressively, results indicated that this TiO2 nano-thin film coating stimulated coronary arterial endothelial cell adhesion and proliferation with additional features acting as a protective barrier. Data revealed that both surface morphology and surface hydrophilicity contributed to the success of the ALD nanoscale coating, which further acted as a protection layer inhibiting the release of harmful degradation products from the magnesium-zinc stent. Conclusion Overall, the outcome of this in vitro study provided a promising ALD stent coating with unique nano-structural surface properties for increased endothelialization, and as a result, ALD should be further studied for numerous biomedical applications.
Microglial IRF5-IRF4 regulatory axis regulates neuroinflammation after cerebral ischemia and impacts stroke outcomes

Microglial activation plays a central role in poststroke inflammation and causes secondary neuronal damage; however, it also contributes in debris clearance and chronic recovery. Microglial pro- and antiinflammatory responses (or so-called M1-M2 phenotypes) coexist and antagonize each other throughout the disease progress. As a result of this balance, poststroke immune responses alter stroke outcomes. Our previous study found microglial expression of interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) and IRF4 was related to pro- and antiinflammatory responses, respectively. In the present study, we genetically modified the IRF5 and IRF4 signaling to explore their roles in stroke. Both in vitro and in vivo assays were utilized; IRF5 or IRF4 small interfering RNA (siRNA), lentivirus, and conditional knockout (CKO) techniques were employed to modulate IRF5 or IRF4 expression in microglia. We used a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion model to induce stroke and examined both acute and chronic stroke outcomes. Poststroke inflammation was evaluated with flow cytometry, RT-PCR, MultiPlex, and immunofluorescence staining. An oscillating pattern of the IRF5-IRF4 regulatory axis function was revealed. Down-regulation of IRF5 signaling by siRNA or CKO resulted in increased IRF4 expression, enhanced M2 activation, quenched proinflammatory responses, and improved stroke outcomes, whereas down-regulation of IRF4 led to increased IRF5 expression, enhanced M1 activation, exacerbated proinflammatory responses, and worse functional recovery. Up-regulation of IRF4 or IRF5 by lentivirus induced similar results. We conclude that the IRF5-IRF4 regulatory axis is a key determinant in microglial activation. The IRF5-IRF4 regulatory axis is a potential therapeutic target for neuroinflammation and ischemic stroke.
Correlation of the Effective Residual Vital (HPC) Dose with Engraftment Kinetics in Autologous Transplantation Amongst Myeloma and Lymphoma Patients

Introduction In clinical practice, a hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) dose of 2 million CD34+ cells/kg is the desired minimum needed for timely neutrophil and platelet (PLT) engraftment in autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Patients frequently receive higher HPC doses with the median pre-cryopreservation dose at our center being 5 million CD34+ cells/kg adjBW25%. Cryopreservation (CP) and thawing leads to cell loss through mechanisms including activation of the caspase pathway. The degree of loss in post-CP HPC doses can range from 20 to 85%; hence the cell dose that is able to effectuate engraftment is determined by the percentage of surviving cells in the initial pre-CP cell dose. This effective residual vital dose (ERVD) is the product of the pre-CP cell dose and the post thaw viability percentage. Objective Correlate viability, HPC cell dose and the ERVD to engraftment. Method We conducted a retrospective review of autologous HCT patients at our center to correlate the ERVD with engraftment. Twenty-five patients, ages 32 to 76, receiving 27 transplants had HPC infusions during 1 or 2 sessions within 3 days of each other. Diagnoses were multiple myeloma (MM) (n=20) and lymphoma (n=7). Engraftment of neutrophils and PLTs was defined using CIBMTR definitions. Viability was assessed by 7AAD on CD34+ cells. Data was analyzed with Excel Correlation Function which calculates the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient for 2 sets of values. Results The median neutrophil and PLT engraftment times were 11 and 16.5 days, respectively. Correlation of the HPC dose of the total population with neutrophil engraftment data, revealed the r value to be -0.31 for all patients, -0.20 for lymphoma patients, and -0.32 for MM patients. Cell dose correlation with PLT engraftment revealed the r value to be -0.43 for the total population (Figure 1), -0.52 for the lymphoma subset, and -0.55 for the MM subset. We found a moderately strong correlation of ERVD with PLT engraftment with an r value of -0.56 for the entire population, i.e. as ERVD increased, time to PLT engraftment decreased (Figure 2). When separated by diagnosis (MM vs lymphoma) the ERVD correlated moderately with PLT engraftment, r value of -0.57 amongst the MM subset and -0.88 for the lymphoma subset (Figure 3). Neutrophil engraftment had a weaker correlation with the ERVD, r value of -0.33 for the entire population, -0.41 for the MM subset, and -0.68 for the lymphoma subset. Conclusion Based on our data, the ERVD has a moderately strong correlation with PLT and neutrophil engraftment in a population of MM and lymphoma patients undergoing autologous HCT. The correlation was stronger for PLT engraftment and strongest amongst patients with lymphoma. To achieve our median engraftment times for neutrophils and PLTs the optimal ERVD of approximately 3 Million CD34/Kg adjBW25% is suggested.
Species Composition, Temporal Abundance and Distribution of Insect Captures Inside and Outside Commercial Peanut Shelling Facilities

Insect populations were studied within two commercial peanut shelling facilities located in the southeastern United States. Commercially available pheromone/kairomone-baited dome traps and pheromone-baited flight traps were deployed throughout processing and shipping portions of the shelling plants and serviced weekly over one year. Lasioderma serricorne, Tribolium castaneum, Typhaea stercorea, Carpophilus spp., Plodia interpunctella and Cadra cautella were the most common captures across locations. Lasioderma serricorne made up 87% and 88% of all captures in dome traps in plants one and two, respectively. While L. serricorne was not captured during the winter months in flight traps, it was captured with near 100% frequency in dome traps, suggesting that populations persisted throughout the year inside the facilities. Tribolium castaneum populations were active year round. Across insect species and trap type, temperature was a significant covariate for explaining variation in insect counts. After accounting for the effect of temperature, there were always more insects captured in the processing portions of the facilities compared to the shipping areas. A negative linear relationship was observed between captures of L. serricorne and T. castaneum and trap distance from in-shell peanuts entering the shelling facilities. Conversely, fungivores were more evenly distributed throughout all parts of the shelling plants. These data suggest that management efforts should be focused where in-shell peanuts enter to reduce breeding and harborage sites for grain feeding insects.
Inequality and Religiosity in a Global Context: Different Secularization Paths for Developed and Developing Nations

Drawing on data from the World Values Survey (1995–2014), and using a multilevel modeling technique, this article explores the relationship between social inequalities and religiosity for a sample ...
Does confirmation bias exist in judged events at the Olympic Games

Examining data for the 10 Olympic Games contested this century, we ask whether confirmation bias exists in judged events. We theorize that if such bias is present, then competitors in judged events should perform closer to predicted than competitors in non-judged events. Among a sample of over 5100 predicted medalists from the 10 Games, we find that, all else equal, the differences between ex-ante conventional wisdom and ex-post observed outcome are larger for competitors in timed events than for competitors in judged events. These results suggest that confirmation bias does potentially exist for judged events at the Olympic Games.
Numerical Simulation for Rock Fracture Viscoelastic Creep under Dry Conditions

In many rock engineering projects such as hydrocarbon extraction and geothermal energy utilization, the hydraulic and mechanical behavior of rock fractures significantly affects the safety and profitability of the project. In field conditions, the hydraulic and mechanical behavior of rock fractures changes with time (the rock fractures creep), and this creep is not negligible even under dry conditions. In addition, creep is strongly affected by the rock fracture surface geometry. However, there is not much literature systematically studying the effect of surface geometry on rock fracture creep under dry conditions. This paper presents the results of a numerical study considering the effect of surface geometry on rough fracture viscoelastic deformations. An in-house numerical code has been developed to simulate the viscoelastic deformation of rough fractures. In addition, another numerical code has been developed to generate synthetic rough fracture surfaces by systematically changing the surface roughness parameters: the Hurst exponent, mismatch length, and root mean square roughness. The results indicate that by increasing the Hurst exponent or decreasing the mismatch length or decreasing the root mean square roughness, the fracture mean aperture decreases, and the contact ratio (number of contacting cells/total number of cells) increases faster with time.
EGCG inhibits activation of the EGFR, HER2, and HER3 signaling pathways and inhibits expression of COX-2 in human colon cancer cells

1586 Increased expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) appears to play an important role in the development of colorectal cancer, and the level of COX-2 expression is regulated by various factors including activation of members of the EGFR family of receptor tyrosine kinases. We previously reported that (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the major biologically active component of green tea, inhibits activation of the EGFR and HER2 receptors, and multiple downstream signaling pathways in the HT29 colon cancer cell line (Shimizu, M. et al., Proc. AACR, 45, #4029, 931, 2004). In this study we examined the effects of EGCG on expression of COX-2 in the SW837 colon cancer cell line that expresses high levels of this protein. We found that these cells also express high levels and constitutive activation of the EGFR, HER2, and HER3 receptors. When treated for 48 hours, the IC50 value for growth inhibition of these cells was about 20 ?g/ml. Treatment of SW837 cells with this concentration of EGCG caused a decrease in the phosphorylated (i.e. activated) forms of the EGFR, HER2, and HER3 proteins within 6 hours after addition of this compound, and at 6 to 12 hours caused a decrease in the phosphorylated forms of the ERK and Akt proteins. Within 6 to 12 hours there was a decrease in cellular levels of both COX-2 protein and mRNA, and within 48 hours the cells displayed apoptosis. Reporter assays indicated that EGCG inhibited the transcriptional activity of the COX-2, AP-1, c-fos, and NF-?B promoters. EGCG also caused a decrease in production of PGE2, a major product of COX-2. With a longer incubation time, 96 hours, a very low dose (1.0 ?g/ml) of EGCG also caused inhibition of cell growth, inhibition of activation of the EGFR, HER2, and HER3 receptors, a decrease in the level of the COX-2 protein and apoptosis in SW837 cells. Taken together, our findings suggest that EGCG can inhibit expression of COX-2 and PGE2 production in colon cancer cells by inhibiting activation of members of the EGFR family and their downstream signaling pathways. These findings extend previous evidence that EGCG, when used alone or in combination with other agents, may be useful in the chemoprevention or treatment of colorectal cancer.
Toxic Shock Syndrome

Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is an acute, multisystem febrile illness caused by Staphylococcus aureus. The currently accepted criteria for confirming a case of Tss include fever, hypotension, a diffuse erythematous macular rash, subsequent desquamation, evidence of multisystem involvement, and lack of evidence of another likely cause of the illness (Table 1).
Necessary optimality conditions for nonstandard control problems

Because relaxed controls form a convex and compact subset of a normed vector space, it is generally much easier to derive controllability results and corresponding optimization results for such problems. For standard and nonstandard unrelaxed control problems, these properties of relaxed controls are used to divide the essential part of the derivation into two steps: (a) a general open mapping theorem for appropriate perturbations of the relaxed problem, and (b) the proof that the corresponding set of unrelaxed controls is an "abundant" subset of the corresponding relaxed set. Zhu has derived necessary conditions for minimum (generalizing both the Pontryagin and the more general Kaskosz maximum principle) for optimization problems defined by nonconvex differential inclusions with endpoint and unilateral constraints. The authors summarize these results. >
Hardware‐in‐the‐Loop Simulations

This chapter contains sections titled: Advantages and Disadvantages of HITL Approaches Network M&S HITL Approaches HITL Examples Common Pitfalls for HITL Approaches Network-Layer HITL-Ready Network Simulation Platforms HITL Conclusion
A novel low pHo-induced Cl- conductance in nodose ganglion neurons is neuroprotective during simulated ischemia: implication for vagal afferent activity in heart failure (667.9)

We found that vagal afferent neurons isolated from nodose ganglia exhibit a large and prolonged low pHo-conditioned Cl- current (25±5 pA/pF, n=60), when exposed to 3 brief pulse of low pHo (6.0) solution delivered at 20sec intervals. The current was similar to the one carried by the “Swell-Activated Cl- Channel” (SAC) during hypoosmolarity. The activation pathways of this Cl- conductance are through NADPH oxidase (NOX)-dependent production of ROS (dihydroethidine fluorescence). Since a similar Cl- conductance was found to be protective during ischemic preconditioning in cardiomyocytes (Draz et al 1999) we tested the hypothesis that the activation of this current may also be protective in cultured neurons exposed to “simulated ischemia” (low glucose, hypoxia and pH5.0). We measured the LDH release as an indication of cell injury. Without low pHo preconditioning the supernatant LDH concentration averaged 82±4 μU/ml and 441±62 μU/ml after exposure to 1 and 3 hours of simulated ischemia. In contrast, supernat...
An Approach to Some Problems of Secondary Production in the Western

It has been suggested by Pennak (1955) that tripton, rather than phytoplankton, is the main food of zooplankters in lakes. This concept is based upon his findings that the zooplankton biomass regularly exceeds the phytoplankton biomass, but that the mass of the tripton is greater than that of the zooplankton. In the present study samples of water were gathered from western Lake Erie and from several ponds. These were analyzed for dissolved organic matter, dissolved inorganic matter, volume of phytoplankton, volume of zooplankton, volume of µ-cells (mostly bacteria), and volume of organic and inorganic tripton. The phytoplankton biomass exceeded that of the zooplankton in nearly all samples. The average phytoplankton volume was 4.08 times greater than the average zooplankton volume. Furthermore, the phytoplankton volume usually was greater than that of the organic tripton, the ratio of the average volumes being 2.43 to 1. The reported results support the traditional concept that the zooplankton consumes primarily the phytoplankton. Consideration also is given of the bearing upon this problem of the dynamics of phytoplankton production and of grazing by zooplankters.
Dark-to-arc transition in field emission dominated atmospheric microdischarges

We study the voltage-current characteristics of gas discharges driven by field emission of electrons at the microscale. Particle-in-cell with Monte Carlo collision calculations are first verified by comparison with breakdown voltage measurements and then used to investigate atmospheric discharges in nitrogen at gaps from 1 to 10 μm. The results indicate the absence of the classical glow discharge regime because field electron emission replaces secondary electron emission as the discharge sustaining mechanism. Additionally, the onset of arcing is significantly delayed due to rarefied effects in electron transport. While field emission reduces the breakdown voltage, the power required to sustain an arc of the same density in microgaps is as much as 30% higher than at macroscale.
Constricted Flux through the Branched-Chain Amino Acid Biosynthetic Enzyme Acetolactate Synthase Triggers Elevated Expression of Genes Regulated by rpoS and Internal Acidification

The first common enzyme of isoleucine and valine biosynthesis, acetolactate synthase (ALS), is specifically inhibited by the herbicide sulfometuron methyl (SM). To further understand the physiological consequences of flux alterations at this point in metabolism, Escherichia coli genes whose expression was induced by partial inhibition of ALS were sought. Plasmid-based fusions of random E. coli DNA fragments to Photorhabdus luminescens luxCDABE were screened for bioluminescent increases in actively growing liquid cultures slowed 25% by the addition of SM. From more than 8,000 transformants, 12 unique SM-inducible promoter-lux fusions were identified. The lux reporter genes were joined to seven uncharacterized open reading frames, f253a, f415, frvX, o513, o521, yciG, and yohF, and five known genes, inaA, ldcC, osmY, poxB, and sohA. Inactivation of the rpoS-encoded sigma factor, ςS, reduced basal expression levels of six of these fusions 10- to 200-fold. These six genes defined four new members of the ςS regulon, f253a, ldcC, yciG, and yohF, and included two known members, osmY and poxB. Furthermore, the weak acid salicylate, which causes cytoplasmic acidification, also induced increased bioluminescence from seven SM-inducible promoter-lux fusion-containing strains, namely, those with fusions of the ςS-controlled genes and inaA. The pattern of gene expression changes suggested that restricted ALS activity may result in intracellular acidification and induction of the ςS-dependent stress response.
Dwell in possibility: PLAR and e-portfolios in the age of information and communication technologies

Emily Dickinson wrote, “I dwell in Possibility—A fairer House than Prose—More Numerous of Windows—Superior—for Doors” (p. 657). Dickinson’s simple yet profound reference to the expansive nature of poetry over prose may be taken as a metaphor for the possibilities of information and communication technologies (ICTs) over written modes of expression. Whether we identify with this analogy or not, what we can say today with some certainty is that the advent of ICTs has impacted prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) by expanding the potential for knowledge acquisition, expression, and delivery. The purpose of this article is to examine the potential of experiential learning e-portfolios to promote connections between several different types of learning – academic, workplace, and web-based. The author contends that this type of PLAR enables undergraduate adult learners to not only articulate and equate experiential learning to academic knowledge but also, and most importantly, to demonstrate knowledge visually and audibly through the utilization of ICTs. Two pilot case studies of e-portfolio development are described to support the author’s position.
Acid-Sensing Ion Channels in Pathological Conditions

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), a novel family of proton-gated amiloride-sensitive cation channels, are expressed primarily in neurons of peripheral sensory and central nervous systems. Recent studies have shown that activation of ASICs, particularly the ASIC1a channels, plays a critical role in neuronal injury associated with neurological disorders such as brain ischemia, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord injury. In normal conditions in vitro, ASIC1a channels desensitize rapidly in the presence of a continuous acidosis or following a preexposure to minor pH drop, raising doubt for their contributions to the acidosis-mediated neuronal injury. It is now known that the properties of ASICs can be dramatically modulated by signaling molecules or biochemical changes associated with pathological conditions. Modulation of ASICs by these molecules can lead to dramatically enhanced and/or prolonged activities of these channels, thus promoting their pathological functions. Understanding of how ASICs behave in pathological conditions may help define new strategies for the treatment and/or prevention of neuronal injury associated with various neurological disorders.
Glottal source models for speech coding and synthesis

An algorithm for simultaneously estimating the parameters of a glottal source model and the vocal tract filter is described. The five-parameter LF model is used for the glottal source, and the vocal tract filter is modeled as all-pole. The model parameters are assumed to be different in closed and open glottal phases to allow for the additional damping of the formants in the open phase. The analysis of steady vowel sounds from four speakers shows that the analysis method leads to an accurate estimate of accurate estimate of the glottal source waveform and the vocal tract formants. >
Temperature and diffusion effects in preferential sputtering of CrSi2

Abstract We found a marked variation with temperature of the composition of CrSi 2 under irradiation with 100 keV Xe + ions. At the same time the composition of material sputtered did not change significantly with temperature. Sputtered material was collected from some of the samples on carbon sheets. Both, carbon collectors and irradiated samples, were analyzed by backscattering spectrometry. Samples irradiated at room temperature and 100°C showed an enrichment of Cr through the implanted region, while samples irradiated at 280°C had a composition near that of unirradiated samples. The Si to Cr ratio in the sputtered material was slightly above that of the bulk composition at all temperatures measured. The results at lower temperatures can be explained by preferential sputtering of Si and enhanced diffusion in the irradiated region. to explain high temperature results, we assume that some process at the surface, probably formation of an equilibrium phase, limits atomic transport.
Stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastasis from renal cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND The authors evaluated results after stereotactic radiosurgery (SR) for brain metastases from renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and identified factors associated with improved survival and tumor control. METHODS The authors reviewed the management results from a total of 52 RCC brain metastases in 35 consecutive patients who underwent stereotactic radiosurgery (SR) during a 9-year interval. Twenty-eight patients also underwent whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT). The mean tumor volume was 2.4 mL (range, 0.1-14.1 mL). The mean dose delivered to the tumor margin was 17 gray (Gy) (range, 13-20 Gy). Univariate and multivariate testing was performed to determine significant prognostic factors. RESULTS The median survival was 11 months after SR and 14 months after brain tumor diagnosis. Only 2 patients (8%) died of progression of the irradiated tumor. Age < 55 years, lack of active systemic disease, and use of chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy after SR were significant favorable prognostic factors in multivariate testing. Post-SR imaging was evaluated in 26 patients (39 tumors). The local control rate from the 39 treated tumors imaged was 90% (tumor disappearance, 21%; tumor regression, 44%; and stable disease, 26%). Local recurrence developed in 3 patients (4 lesions) and remote brain disease in 12 patients. No patient developed a new focal neurologic deficit due to SR. Patients were classified into two groups: SR with and SR without WBRT. The addition of WBRT to SR did not improve survival. Distant failure occurred similarly in both groups (46% vs. 50%). WBRT combined with SR may contribute to local control, but did not prevent the development of new remote tumors. CONCLUSIONS SR for brain metastasis from RCC results in brain disease control in the majority of patients and was associated with few complications. Early detection of brain metastases and treatment with SR provides extended quality survival. Cancer 1998;83:344-353. © 1998 American Cancer Society.
Defect Studies of the Transparent/Translucent Plastic Products Ujith the Polarized Light

The applications of plastic products in the areas of medical science, computer technology and optics demand high quality and defect free products. The medical products such as implanted lenses to correct cataracts (opacity of the lens of the eye, causing partial or total blindness), contact lenses etc. need to be cmpletely defect free. The injection molded compact disc (CD) substrates of polycarbonate also require to be defect free as well as stress free. The retardation of the optical beam has to be less than 50 nm for single pass in the CD ROM and for erasable magneto-optical disk the retardation needs to be even lower in magnitude. Many optical components also require to be defect free and stress free. In this present investigation, a well known optical birefringence technique is used to study the stresses and microscopic defects such as foreign matter, voids, cracks, bubbles, inclusions, gels, etc. in these products using a commercially available polariscope.
Interaction of Childhood Maltreatment with the Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptor Gene: Effects on Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Reactivity

Background Variation in the corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor ( CRHR1 ) gene has been shown to interact with early life stress to predict adult depression. This study was conducted to determine whether CRHR1 polymorphisms interact with childhood maltreatment to predict hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity, which has been linked to both depression and early life stress. Methods One hundred twenty-nine White, non-Hispanic adults completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and the dexamethasone/corticotropin-releasing hormone (DEX/CRH) test, and provided blood samples for genotyping of two CRHR1 polymorphisms. Results Both rs110402 and rs242924 (which were in tight linkage disequilibrium, D' = .98) showed a significant interaction with maltreatment in the prediction of cortisol response to the DEX/CRH test ( p Conclusions Variation in the CRHR1 moderates the effect of childhood maltreatment on cortisol responses to the DEX/CRH test. Excessive HPA axis activation could represent a mechanism of interactions of risk genes with stress in the development of mood and anxiety disorders.
“Half Here, Half There”: Dialogical Selves Among Older Puerto Ricans of the Diaspora

Puerto Rican adults who moved from Puerto Rico to the U.S. mainland during their youth and have been living in the mainland for several decades provide a multifaceted case for analyzing cultural identity. Our article focuses on a group of Puerto Ricans living in Boston and their discussions of their own cultural identity, including their sense of belonging and home. The current study is based on semistructured interviews with a subsample of 26 participants from a large longitudinal cohort study of 1,500 respondents. We analyzed data collected through in-depth interviews and use dialogical self theory (DST) as a framework for understanding the multiple discourses in their responses. Three main I-positions that we identify include I-as-Puerto Rican, I-as-realist, and I-as-other. The dialogical process of these I-positions demonstrates the complex connections participants had to place. Findings can inform future studies of acculturation and assimilation among older Puerto Ricans of the diaspora.
Blood clot resolution in human cerebrospinal fluid: evidence of first-order kinetics

OBJECTIVETo determine the kinetics of blood clot resolution in human cerebrospinal fluid.METHODSComputed tomographic scans of 17 adult patients with intraventricular hemorrhages were analyzed. Intraventricular clot volume was determined and analyzed over time to determine both a standardized percent
248. Revealing the Role(s) of TNF-alpha in Early Alzheimer's Disease Via rAAV-Mediated Hippocampal Gene Transfer in a Triple Transgenic Mouse Model*

Top of pageAbstract Alzheimer's disease is a complex neurodegenerative disorder that drastically impairs intellectual and emotional functioning in afflicted individuals. The disease is characterized pathologically by a temporal and spatial progression of amyloid-beta (A|[beta]|) deposition, neurofibrillary tangle formation, and synaptic degeneration. Inflammatory mediators have long been proposed as being integral for initiating and/or propagating AD-associated pathologic processes within the brain. To this end, we assessed the expression of proinflammatory molecules in the recently described triple transgenic mouse model (3xTg-AD), which exhibits A|[beta]| deposition, neurofibrillary tangle formation, and synaptic dysfunction with regional specificity similar to human AD. We observed significant up-regulation of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, TNF-|[alpha]|, specifically within one of the earliest affected brain regions in AD, the entorhinal cortex, prior to the onset of overt amyloid pathology. Moreover, the 3xTg-AD entorhinal cortex, unlike the hippocampus, harbored an increased number of microglia/macrophages as determined by quantification of F4/80-positive cells, further implicating the entorhinal cortex in inflammatory processes at early stages of the disease. A recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vector expressing TNF-|[alpha]| to create a sustained focal inflammatory response was stereotactically delivered to 3xTg-AD mice prior to the appearance of pathological signatures. In ongoing studies, we have observed significant alterations in downstream TNF-|[alpha]| related signaling molecule expression in transduced brain tissues and concomitant modulation of memory/learning behaviors. This integrated biochemical, immunohistochemical, and behavioral approach will provide major insights into the involvement of TNF-|[alpha]| mediated inflammation in the temporal and spatial progression of early AD pathogenic events and carries the potential to reveal new therapeutic targets.
The economic impact of potato late blight on US growers

Potato growers have been able to control the fungus,Phytophthora infestans, that causes late blight with fungicides, but at an increasingly higher cost. A Delphi survey was conducted with thirteen experts to estimate the impact of late blight on potato yields, storage losses and fungicide use. It was estimated late-blight fungicides cost $77.1 million and lost revenue for US growers was an additional $210.7 million. These total costs, which average $507 per hectare, do not include non-fungicide control practices.
Difference in Response of Two Strains of Screw-Worm Flies to the Male Pheromone

Unmated females of the Florida strain of Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) that has been colonized for 11 years responded to male pheromone from that strain and from the laboratory-reared Mexican strain. Females from the Mexican strain did not respond to either pheromone. The selection pressures of mass rearing may have affected the responses of the 2 strains.
Thermal energy transport in harmonic systems

Abstract One and two-dimensional oscillator systems are constructed so that individual oscillators are bound to their home positions and coupled to nearest neighbors by linear forces; both systems are treated for the case of weak coupling. The two-dimensional system has a tensor binding force that does not permit it to be decoupled into two noninteracting systems. Segments and strips are treated as thermodynamic systems in contact with a heat bath and Gaussian initial probability densities are used to compute correlations. Expressions for entropy and “temperature” are computed by relating initial system and bath variances to equilibrium temperature. Asymptotic relations for “temperature” are found that show the degree of coupling between dimensions affects the rate of approach to equilibrium, but only through the coefficient of time and not its power. Both systems approach equilibrium as t−1 rather than t − 1 2 as predicted by continuum theory.
IMPROVED BLADDER FUNCTION AFTER PROPHYLACTIC TREATMENT OF THE HIGH RISK NEUROGENIC BLADDER IN NEWBORNS WITH MYELOMENINGOCELE

AbstractPurpose: High pressure dyssynergic voiding may result in irreversible damage to the urinary tract. Prophylactic therapy in the form of clean intermittent catheterization and anticholinergic medication may significantly decrease the incidence of upper urinary tract deterioration. Whether prophylactic therapy in high risk bladder may also lead to improved long-term bladder dynamics prompted us to study the effect of early versus late treatment of bladder hypertonicity and detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia on the ultimate need for bladder augmentation.Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed urological outcomes in patients with myelodysplasia who were at risk for urological deterioration within year 1 of life based on bladder sphincter dyssynergia and/or high filling or voiding pressure. We recorded the dates when high risk voiding dynamics were initially observed, and when intermittent catheterization and anticholinergic therapy were initiated. Patients in whom treatment began at the time a h...
Ecology of Brine Shrimp From Great Salt Lake, Utah, U.S.a. (Branchiopoda, Anostraca)

El ciclo estacional de Artemia del Gran Lago Salado (Utah, U.S.A.) fue estudiado durante 1978-1979, 1981 y 1985-1986. El ciclo empieza en la primavera con la salida del cascaron de los huevos invernales (quistes). La primera generacion de hembras hecha una nidada a finales de mayo, produciendo la segunda generacion de adultos a mediados de julio. El porcentaje sexual de los primeros adultos es casi igual. Empezando a mediados de julio, la segunda generacion de hembras forma el sexo dominante, sobrepasando a los machos de 66 a 91 % hasta mediados de agosto, despues del cual las hembras declinan hasta 38 % en septiembre. Analisis estadistico del porcentaje sexual entre los camarones juveniles revela que las hembras sobre pasan a los machos significantemente, sugeriendo que las hembras adicionales fueron derivadas partenogeneticamente. Tales hembras puedan acelerar la produccion de quistes para la siguiente primavera.
Maternal Control of Girls Versus Boys: Relations to Empathy and Persuasive Style with Peers

We investigated relations between maternal control and girls’and boys’ concern for others. Fifty-six pairs of children were separately interviewed, using a newly developed measure of empathy. While mothers completed a parenting inventory, we videotaped children as one child attempted to convince a friend to make greeting cards for hospitalized children. High maternal control was associated with lower empathy and less interpersonally sensitive verbal persuasion, but only in girls.
Crystallization and preliminary X-ray studies of HisJ and LAO periplasmic proteins from Salmonella typhimurium

Two periplasmic binding proteins, HisJ and LAO, which are involved in histidine and arginine transport, respectively, have been crystallized. Preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of the HisJ and LAO crystals show that both belong to the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) and have unit cell dimensions of a = 39.26 A, b = 66.17 A, c = 88.33 A and a = 36.08 A, b = 78.34 A, c = 102.02 A, respectively. Both HisJ and LAO crystals diffract beyond 2.0 A resolution.
Circumferential Ablation With Pulmonary Vein Isolation in Permanent Atrial Fibrillation

Each of the main approaches to catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF, segmental and circumferential) is associated with limited efficacy in patients with permanent AF. The objective is to report outcomes of circumferential ablation with pulmonary vein (PV) isolation, determined using a circular mapping catheter, in patients with permanent AF and determine relations between the duration of permanent AF and efficacy. The patient population was composed of 41 consecutive patients (34 men; age 58 ± 11 years) with permanent AF who underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation through circumferential ablation with PV isolation. They were in permanent AF for 2.3 ± 3.6 years, and 3.4 ± 2.2 cardioversion procedures and 1.9 ± 0.8 class I/III antiarrhythmic drugs had failed. After a follow-up of 11 ± 2 months, the single-procedure success rate was 36% (n = 15) with an additional 12% (n = 5) showing improvement. With repeat procedures in 19%, the success rate was 54% (n = 22) with an additional 12% (n = 5) showing improvement. All patients who underwent repeat ablations had recovered PV conduction. Single-procedure success was higher in patients who were in permanent AF for ≤1 year compared with those in permanent AF for >1 year (50% vs 20%, respectively, p = 0.05). A major complication occurred in 4 patients (8%), including 3 patients with vascular complications and 1 with stroke. In conclusion, study results suggest that circumferential ablation with PV isolation has moderate efficacy in patients with permanent AF. Efficacy is limited in those in continuous AF for >12 months.
Tailoring software development

In this research-in-progress we review existing studies and theories that focus on tailoring software development. Our purpose is to develop a more complete model of the tailoring process than is found in the current literature. In our theory, "tailoring" refers to the activities of selecting a set of standardized processes for a software development project prior to the start of the project, modifying those selected processes for the specific project as the development team begins its work, and monitoring and adjusting the processes and project goals and constraints over the course of the project. We present a model that allows us to understand what is involved in tailoring software development at key points in time relative to a specific software development project. We present the model as currently a work-in-progress and illustrate its use by presenting a few hypotheses based on relationships specified in the model and supporting literature.
Liberalizing British Defamation Law: A Case of Importing the First Amendment?

Regardless of whether American law tends to be too outlying to be relevant to the rest of the world, the U.S. free speech jurisprudence is more impactful than ever. Indeed, the United States remains a real-life laboratory for other countries in resolving clashes between press freedom and reputation. Jameel v. Wall Street Journal Europe and other recent English media libel cases are a good illustration. This article examines the liberalization of U.K. defamation law in connection with the U.S. actual malice rule while noting English courts' significant adoption of neutral reportage, which American courts consider to be less viable as a libel defense. The principle of functionality informs the article's analytical framework.
Fostering and managing innovation in the forest service

This article discusses innovation and recommends ways the USDA-Forest Service can foster and manage the process. It is based on an analysis of field observations, a broad literature survey, and discussions with nearly 200 Forest Service people and some outside innovation-management professionals. The recommendations, although couched mainly in Forest Service terms, are general and can be adapted to virtually any organization.
Layered approach to workstation design for medical image viewing

Software engineering principles suggest that complex software systems are best constructed from independent, self-contained modules, thereby maximizing the portability, maintainability and modifiability of the produced code. This principal is important in the design of medical imaging workstations, where further developments in technology (CPU, memory, interface devices, displays, network connections) are required for clinically acceptable workstations, and it is desirable to provide different hardware platforms with the ''same look and feel'' for the user. In addition, the set of desired functions is relatively well understood, but the optimal user interface for delivering these functions on a clinically acceptable workstation is still different depending on department, specialty, or individual preference. At the University of Washington, we are developing a viewing station based on the IBM RISC/6000 computer and on new technologies that are just becoming commercially available. These include advanced voice recognition systems and an ultra-high-speed network. We are developing a set of specifications and a conceptual design for the workstation, and will be producing a prototype. This paper presents our current concepts concerning the architecture and software system design of the future prototype. Our conceptual design specifies requirements for a Database Application Programming Interface (DBAPI) and for a User API (UAPI). The DBAPI consists of a set of subroutine calls that define the admissible transactions between the workstation and an image archive. The UAPI describes the requests a user interface program can make of the workstation. It incorporates basic display and image processing functions, yet is specifically designed to allow extensions to the basic set at the application level. We will discuss the fundamental elements of the two API''s and illustrate their application to workstation design.
Some novel applications of a continuous system simulation language

Abstract The primary application of a continuous system simulation language involves simulation of dynamic systems described by a set of coupled nonlinear differential (or difference) equations. The built in integration capability in addition to a predefined library of macro operators makes them particularly attractive for a wide range of computationally intensive applications independent of dynamic systems analysis. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the use of a block oriented continuous simulation language to implement solutions of problems in the field of applied math.
Natural convection on horizontal, inclined, and vertical plates with variable surface temperature or heat flux

Abstract An analysis is performed to study the flow and heat transfer characteristics of laminar free convection in boundary layer flows from horizontal, inclined, and vertical flat plates in which the wall temperature T w ( x ) or the surface heat flux q w ( x ) varies as the power of the axial coordinate in the form T w ( x ) = T ∞ + ax n or q w = bx m . The governing equations are first cast into a dimensionless form by a nonsimilar transformation and the resulting equations are then solved by a finite-difference scheme. Numerical results for fluids with Prandtl numbers of 0.7 and 7 are presented for three representative exponent values under each of the nonuniform surface heating conditions. It has been found that both the local wall shear stress and the local surface heat transfer rate increase as the angle of inclination from the horizontal γ increases or as the local Grashof number increases. An increase in the value of the exponent n or m enhances the surface heat transfer rate, but it causes a decrease in the wall shear stress. Correlation equations for the local and average Nusselt numbers are obtained for the special cases of uniform wall temperature (UWT) and uniform surface heat flux (UHF). Comparisons are also made of the local Nusselt numbers between the present results and available experimental data for the UHF case, and a good agreement is found to exist between the two.
WT UV-DDB Performs a 3D Search on DNA whereas the XP-E Mutant (K244E DDB2) Mutant Slides

The DNA damage binding protein complex (UV-DDB) recognizes ultraviolet light (UV) induced lesions such as 6-4 photoproducts (6-4PPs) and cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) in DNA and initiates human nucleotide excision repair in chromatin. Crystallographic studies have revealed that UV-DDB binds to damaged DNA as a heterodimer of DDB1 and DDB2 on short DNA substrates; however, its oligomeric state on longer, physiologically relevant substrates and on nucleosomes remains undetermined. Additionally, the question of how UV-DDB searches a sea of undamaged chromatin for UV-induced lesions remains unresolved. We assayed purified UV-DDB for binding to a 517 bp UV-irradiated, PCR fragment using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Volume analysis revealed that UV-DDB binds primarily as a dimer of heterodimers to UV damaged DNA, with 19% of these UV-DDB dimers binding simultaneously to two DNA molecules In order to study damage recognition in real time, we used a His-tag on UV-DDB (either DDB1 or DDB2) to conjugate quantum dots(QDs). QD-UV-DDB retained DNA damage binding activity, as assayed by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. To identify the search mode, we have employed an oblique angle fluorescence microscopy setup to track single molecules of QD tagged UV-DDB on UV-damaged DNA tightropes. We have identified that WT UV-DDB employs a 3D search to identify DNA damage, with a long residence time when bound to sites of damage. Consistent with several salt-bridges observed in the co-crystal structure, we have found that the mobility of UV-DDB on DNA is salt dependent. Further, we have assayed the disease causing K244E mutant of DDB2 and observed that the mutant retains DNA binding activity, but slides on DNA compared to the WT. Our results reveal the stoichiometry and search mechanism of UV-DDB in damage surveillance.