cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhancement of the ovarian ascorbic acid depletion response during estrogen-prolonged pseudopregnancy. An improved bioassay for LH.

A modified OAAD method, using PMS-HCG primed rats maintained in an extended pseudopregnant-like state with estrogen treatment, is described. Accumulated evidence is presented to show that the estrogen treatment improves the assay by 1) increasing OAAD responsiveness over a range of low doses of LH, 2) prolonging (from 2–5 days to 2–3 weeks) the period during which assay rats can be used and 3) allowing the quality of a given assay to be anticipated with reasonable assurance. The specificity of the OAAD response does not appear to be altered, in comparison with the parent method. (Endocrinology 81: 1104, 1967)
New Organic Polymers And Molecules With Very High Spin States

Abstract A number of new organic tetraradicals with quintet ground states have been prepared. Along with their intrinsic significance, these structures provide valuable tests of certain design principles for the construction of organic magnetic materials. The tetraradicals all follow the “bis(TMM)” approach, which promises to provide a wealth of information on spin preferences in organic structures. Efforts to prepare prototypes of the polaronic ferromagnet are also described. Current work is aimed at evaluating the role of bipolaron formation in such systems, in an effort to increase the absolute spin concentration.
Entropy Production as a Predictive Performance Measure for Turbomachinery

It is proposed that consideration be given to an alternative, streamlined manner for mathematical modeling of the performance of energy conversion and transfer equipment. We make the case, here, by application to compressors. It is advocated that, instead of using an expression for efficiency as one of the governing equations, performance can be accounted for directly, with entropy production. It is shown that: (1) the modeling is more straightforward, using fewer relations, and (2) that compressor performance (e.g., maps) can be represented equally well.
Trapping of excitation in the averageT-matrix approximation

We investigate the trapping of excitation by a random array of acceptor ions embedded in an assembly of donors. The problem is formulated in terms of coupled rate equations. Exact results for the fraction of excited donors are obtained in the zero and rapid donor-donor transfer limits for arbitrary ratios of the donor to trap concentration. The averageT-matrix approximation (ATA) is introduced to interpolate between these limits in situations where the concentration of traps is much less than the concentration of donor ions. In three-dimensional systems the ATA reproduces the results of earlier calculations in appropriate limits. The extension of the theory to higher trap concentration is discussed, as are problems connected with the application to one- and two-dimensional arrays.
Iron and Nickel Solubilities in Heavily Doped Silicon and their Energy Levels in the Silicon Band Gap at Elevated Temperatures

We have directly measured the solubility of iron and nickel in high and low boron-doped silicon using Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis. Boron doping levels were 1.5×1019 and 6.5× 1014 atoms/cm3. Iron and nickel impurity concentrations were measured after extended indiffusions at 800, 900, 1000 and 1100°C for iron and 600, 700 and 800°C for nickel. We have measured a significant enhancement of Fe and Ni concentrations in high boron-doped silicon as compared to low boron-doped silicon. Based on these measurements, we show the iron donor energy level shifts towards the valence band with increased temperature, e.g. at 900°C the donor level is 0.24eV above the valence band as opposed to 0.39eV at room temperature. These results demonstrate that the impurity energy level shift with temperature must be accounted for in any prediction of segregation gettering of metal impurities into heavily doped substrates and heavily implanted doping layers. Additionally, our results suggest that either Ni solubility is greatly enhanced and/or the Ni diffusivity is greatly decreased with high boron doping of silicon.
Perceived Family Impact of Preschool Anxiety Disorders

Objective We examined the perceived impact of child anxiety disorders on family functioning, because such impact is a key predictor of mental health service receipt. In addition, we examined the relative impact of preschool anxiety compared to that of other early childhood disorders, and whether this impact persisted after accounting for the effects of comorbidity, or varied by child age and sex. Method Drawing from a pediatric primary-care clinic and oversampling for children at risk for anxiety, 917 parents of preschoolers (aged 2–5 years) completed a diagnostic interview and reported on child psychiatric symptom impact on family finances, relationships, activities, and well-being. Results After accounting for comorbid disorders, families of children with anxiety were 3.5 times more likely to report a negative impact of their child’s behavior on the family relative to nondisordered children. Generalized and separation anxiety had an impact on family functioning similar to that of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and disruptive disorders. There was a significant family impact for girls with social phobia, whereas there was no impact for boys. Conclusions Preschool anxiety has a significant, unique impact on family functioning, particularly parental adjustment, highlighting the family impairment linked with early anxiety, and the need for further research on barriers to care for these disorders.
Atomic Spectroscopy with Squeezed Light for Sensitivity Beyond the Vacuum-State Limit

A frequency tunable source of squeezed light has been developed which is suitable for a variety of spectroscopic applications. In initial experiments continuous tunability over a range of 2 GHz has been achieved with a directly observed nonclassical noise reduction of 6 dB relative to the vacuum-state limit in a balanced homodyne detector. A process of light-induced absorption in the nonlinear crystal has been identified as the principal loss mechanism which prevents the observation of yet larger degrees of squeezing. Although our source is potentially broadly tunable over the range of wavelengths from 840 to 970 nm, the current research centers on the performance at 852 nm for spectroscopy of the D 2 line of atomic cesium. For frequency-modulated (FM) saturation spectroscopy in a vapor cell, an improvement of 3.1 dB in sensitivity relative to the usual quantum limit is demonstrated for the detection of Doppler-free resonances. When corrected for the thermal noise of the detector, the enhancement in signal-to-noise ratio brought by the squeezed field is 3.8 dB relative to the shot-noise limit set by the vacuum fluctuations of the probe field.
Pointed irreducible bialgebras

It is well-known [5, p. 274, Theorem 13.0.11 that a pointed irreducible cocommutative bialgebra B over a field of characteristic zero is isomorphic as a bialgebra to U(P(B)), the universal enveloping algebra of the Lie algebra P(B) of primitives of B. One method of proof is first to show that B and U@‘(B)) are each coalgebra-isomorphic to the cofree pointed irreducible cocommutative coalgebra on the vector space P(B), and then to use these coalgebra isomorphisms to induce a bialgebra isomorphism. In this paper we prove a dual version of the above. Let B be a pointed irreducible commutative bialgebra over a field of characteristic zero. Write I for its augmentation ideal, and Q(B) = l/r2. Then B is isomorphic as a bialgebra to the appropriate universal object UIC(Q(B)). We first show that each is isomorphic as an algebra to Sym(Q(B)), and then use these algebra isomorphisms to induce a bialgebra isomorphism. The algebra isomorphism B q Sym(Q(B)) that we obtain is well-known, at least in the atline case. When B is affine, B represents a unipotent algebraic group scheme G. The Lie algebra L of G defines an atie scheme L, , which is represented by Sym(L*). There is a natural scheme isomorphism exp: L, % G [2, IV, Sect. 2, no. 4.11, and thus a natural isomorphism B SI Sym(L*). The naturality allows the passage to the pro-affine case via direct limits, and the isomorphism so obtained is the same as the one we give here. The corresponding bialgebra isomorphism exhibited in [5] for the cocommutative case is not natural. We sketch at the end of Section 2 how a natural isomorphism could be given in that case as well. M. And& has given in [l] a proof of the main result of this paper for the case in which B is graded, with B, the field. Th e methods of that paper are quite different from ours; the gradation facilitates inductive arguments.
Development of engineered structural barriers for nuclear-waste packages

The development of structural barriers for nuclear waste packages involves selection of candidate materials, their screening by mechanical and corrosion testing, rigorous accelerated testing, and evaluation and comparison with other package elements. This document presents results from work conducted on titanium and ferrous alloys.
Stress-Strain Analyses for Aquifer-System Characterization

Subsidence data historically have been collected using costly extensometers. Recent advances in InSAR and GPS technology may provide noninvasive methods for collecting these data, which can be used in conjunction with hydrograph information to estimate the skeletal specific storage and hydraulic conductivity values of compressible units. Numerical analysis is used to evaluate the conditions affecting nonrecoverable (inelastic) and recoverable (elastic) skeletal specific storage and to investigate the affects of horizontal strain on the extensometer record. Stress-strain diagrams represented as subsidence-drawdown plots are one-dimensional in scope, yet are typically used for estimating specific storage. Simulation results indicate that nonrecoverable specific can be estimated from these diagrams even when the storage contribution from horizontal strain is significant. Hysteresis effects are common during recovery and recompression of cyclically pumped confined aquifers. Several factors were found to affect the shape of the hysteresis loops; these include (a) the hydraulic diffusivity of the confining unit, (b) the distance from the pumped well, (c) length of the recovery cycle, (d) the ratio of confined aquifer to confining unit hydraulic conductivities, and (e) the thickness of the confining unit. Stress-strain analyses can supplement classical time-drawdown data to yield valuable parameter estimation of the confining unit that would be otherwise difficult to quantify.
Sex differences in cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease

Studies have shown differences in specific cognitive ability domains and risk of Alzheimer’s disease between the men and women at later age. However it is important to know that sex differences in cognitive function during adulthood may have their basis in both organizational effects, i.e., occurring as early as during the neuronal development period, as well as in activational effects, where the influence of the sex steroids influence brain function in adulthood. Further, the rate of cognitive decline with aging is also different between the sexes. Understanding the biology of sex differences in cognitive function will not only provide insight into Alzheimer’s disease prevention, but also is integral to the development of personalized, gender-specific medicine. This review draws on epidemiological, translational, clinical, and basic science studies to assess the impact of sex differences in cognitive function from young to old, and examines the effects of sex hormone treatments on Alzheimer’s disease in men and women.
Left double-lumen tubes: Clinical experience with 1,170 patients

MODERN DISPOSABLE plastic double-lumen tubes (DLTs) are generally safe and easy to use.1,2 However, a misplaced or improperly used DLT can jeopardize any procedure and even injure the patient. This article reviews considerations for the selection and placement of left-sided DLTs based on data collected from a large series of patients undergoing thoracic procedures requiring one-lung ventilation (OLV) at this institution. Although the information presented represents the authors’ experience at a single center, others can apply many of the lessons in their own practices. With the permission of the Human Subjects Committee at Stanford University Medical Center, over an 8-year period from 1993 and 2001, 1,170 consecutive patients undergoing anesthesia for noncardiac, general thoracic surgical procedures were studied. All patients were anesthetized by anesthesia residents under the supervision of one of the authors (JBB). At the time of operation, patient sex, height, weight, site, and type of surgical procedure were recorded. When the patient’s chest radiograph (CXR) was available the width of trachea, and in some patients the width of the left bronchus, were measured. The size of the DLT selected, the depth of placement of the DLT in the bronchus, and the volume of air used to inflate the bronchial cuff were recorded. Data are reported as the mean standard deviation unless indicated otherwise. Relationships between parameters were analyzed using regression analysis. Any difficulties encountered, complications, or changes in tube position during the procedure were also noted. Data for measured parameters were not complete for some patients.
The risk of food challenges

Abstract Rationale Little has been reported regarding the risks of performing food challenges in children with suspected food allergy. The purpose of this study was to examine the risks inherent to food challenges. Methods Chart review was performed on children who underwent food challenges to milk, egg, peanut, soy and/or wheat in a university based pediatric allergy clinic over a seven-year period. Results Of the 570 challenges completed, 238 (42%) experienced an allergic reaction. Failure rates were egg 50/130 (38%), milk 88/162 (54%), peanut 65/157 (41%), soy 21/76 (28%), and wheat 14/45 (32%). Of those who failed, 121 (51%) had a reaction involving 1 organ system (egg 50%, milk 51%, peanut 45%, soy 62%, wheat 64%), 90 (38%) had 2 system involvement (egg 34%, milk 40%, peanut 46%, soy 24%, wheat 22%), and 27 (11%) had 3 system (skin, gastrointestinal, and respiratory) involvement (egg 16%, milk 9%, peanut 9%, soy 14% and wheat 14%). No patients experienced hypotension. All reactions were reversible with diphenhydramine +/− epinephrine and corticosteroids. No children required hospitalization and there were no deaths. Conclusions There are risks associated with food challenges and the risks are similar for each of the foods studied. One half of the reactions involved only 1 organ system and only 11% involved 3 organ systems. Given the benefits that result from a negative challenge, these risks are reasonable when challenges are performed under the guidance of an experienced practitioner in a properly equipped setting.
An Analysis of Major League Baseball Attendance, 1969 - 1987

A myriad of issues relating to professional sports require knowledge about the determinants of attendance. As sports expand as a cultural phenomenon, legal battles over franchises, player compensation and rights, and public subsidies for sports stadiums will intensify. While attendance at sporting events plays a crucial role in deciding sports controversies such as these, there is a paucity of theory explaining attendance at professional sporting events. Even though baseball is considered the national pastime, relatively little is known about the determinants of baseball attendance. This paper is an attempt to fill that gap through building on the baseball attendance research of Roger Noll.
The Pooling Principle

A key insight of basic inventory models and of the G/G/m queueing model is the effect of “pooling.” That is, these models suggest that pooling of customer demands, along with pooling of the resources used to fill those demands, may yield operational improvements. While there are many research papers that articulate and quantify the benefits of pooling, a review of popular texts in operations management suggests that most texts lack simple examples that illustrate this important concept. This note is intended to fill this void by articulating the “pooling principle” in an intuitive, straightforward fashion. This note is comprised of a brief instructor's note, followed by a note that can be included in a course pack or handed out to students. Earlier versions of the note have been used successfully in core operations courses at both the undergraduate business and MBA levels.
Clinical decision support improves quality of telephone triage documentation - an analysis of triage documentation before and after computerized clinical decision support

Clinical decision support (CDS) has been shown to be effective in improving medical safety and quality but there is little information on how telephone triage benefits from CDS. The aim of our study was to compare triage documentation quality associated with the use of a clinical decision support tool, ExpertRN©. We examined 50 triage documents before and after a CDS tool was used in nursing triage. To control for the effects of CDS training we had an additional control group of triage documents created by nurses who were trained in the CDS tool, but who did not use it in selected notes. The CDS intervention cohort of triage notes was compared to both the pre-CDS notes and the CDS trained (but not using CDS) cohort. Cohorts were compared using the documentation standards of the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN). We also compared triage note content (documentation of associated positive and negative features relating to the symptoms, self-care instructions, and warning signs to watch for), and documentation defects pertinent to triage safety. Three of five AAACN documentation standards were significantly improved with CDS. There was a mean of 36.7 symptom features documented in triage notes for the CDS group but only 10.7 symptom features in the pre-CDS cohort (p < 0.0001) and 10.2 for the cohort that was CDS-trained but not using CDS (p < 0.0001). The difference between the mean of 10.2 symptom features documented in the pre-CDS and the mean of 10.7 symptom features documented in the CDS-trained but not using was not statistically significant (p = 0.68). CDS significantly improves triage note documentation quality. CDS-aided triage notes had significantly more information about symptoms, warning signs and self-care. The changes in triage documentation appeared to be the result of the CDS alone and not due to any CDS training that came with the CDS intervention. Although this study shows that CDS can improve documentation, further study is needed to determine if it results in improved care.
Subgrain boundary formation in single and polycrystalline CoO

Subgrain boundaries were observed in creep-tested samples of single and polycrystalline CoO. The structure of the subgrain boundary was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In single crystal CoO, subgrain boundaries are formed typically by two sets of a0/2 〈1 1 0〉 dislocations on nonorthogonal {1 1 0} slip planes. In polycrystalline CoO, either single tilt boundaries or hexagonal networks formed by three sets of a0/2 〈1 1 0〉 dislocations were observed. These observations suggest that dislocation climb is the predominant creep mechanism in single and polycrystalline CoO.
Extending the range of dose-effect curves for irradiated mice.

A simple method is presented for combining information on radiation dose- effect responses measured in different units at different parts of the dosage scale. Application of the method is reported in a study on the effect of colchicine and its derivatives in irradiated mice. (C.H.)
Characterization of the uptake and toxicity of a fluorescent thiol reagent

3-(4-Maleimidylphenyl)-4-methyl-7-diethylamino coumarin (CPM), is a fluorescent thiol-binding agent. CPM is nontoxic to Chinese hamster V-79 cells (2 x 10(5) cells/ milliliter) exposed to 2.5 micrograms/milliliter for 30 minutes. However, both toxicity and cellular binding were directly dependent on the drug:cell ratio. Using flow cytometry, cellular binding of CPM correlated with inhibition of DNA synthesis. In cells pretreated with the thiol binding drugs N-ethylmaleimide, diamide and diethylmaleate or the carcinogens 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide and AF-2 (furylfuramide), the subsequent binding of CPM was reduced by 40% or more.
Organic liquid scintillation detectors for on-the-fly neutron/gamma alarming and radionuclide identification in a pedestrian radiation portal monitor

Abstract We present new experimental results from a radiation portal monitor based on the use of organic liquid scintillators. The system was tested as part of a 3He-free radiation portal monitor testing campaign at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy, in February 2014. The radiation portal monitor was subjected to a wide range of test conditions described in ANSI N42.35, including a variety of gamma-ray sources and a 20,000 n/s 252Cf source. A false alarm test tested whether radiation portal monitors ever alarmed in the presence of only natural background. The University of Michigan Detection for Nuclear Nonproliferation Group’s system triggered zero false alarms in 2739 trials. It consistently alarmed on a variety of gamma-ray sources travelling at 1.2 m/s at a 70 cm source to detector distance. The neutron source was detected at speeds up to 3 m/s and in configurations with up to 8 cm of high density polyethylene shielding. The success of on-the-fly radionuclide identification varied with the gamma-ray source measured as well as with which of two radionuclide identification methods was used. Both methods used a least squares comparison between the measured pulse height distributions to library spectra to pick the best match. The methods varied in how the pulse height distributions were modified prior to the least squares comparison. Correct identification rates were as high as 100% for highly enriched uranium, but as low as 50% for 241Am. Both radionuclide identification algorithms produced mixed results, but the concept of using liquid scintillation detectors for gamma-ray and neutron alarming in radiation portal monitor was validated.
Impact of sample acquisition and linear amplification on gene expression profiling of lung adenocarcinoma: laser capture micro-dissection cell-sampling versus bulk tissue-sampling

The methods used for sample selection and processing can have a strong influence on the expression values obtained through microarray profiling. Laser capture microdissection (LCM) provides higher specificity in the selection of target cells compared to traditional bulk tissue selection methods, but at an increased processing cost. The benefit gained from the higher tissue specificity realized through LCM sampling is evaluated in this study through a comparison of microarray expression profiles obtained from same-samples using bulk and LCM processing. Expression data from ten lung adenocarcinoma samples and six adjacent normal samples were acquired using LCM and bulk sampling methods. Expression values were evaluated for correlation between sample processing methods, as well as for bias introduced by the additional linear amplification required for LCM sample profiling. The direct comparison of expression values obtained from the bulk and LCM sampled datasets reveals a large number of probesets with significantly varied expression. Many of these variations were shown to be related to bias arising from the process of linear amplification, which is required for LCM sample preparation. A comparison of differentially expressed genes (cancer vs. normal) selected in the bulk and LCM datasets also showed substantial differences. There were more than twice as many down-regulated probesets identified in the LCM data than identified in the bulk data. Controlling for the previously identified amplification bias did not have a substantial impact on the differences identified in the differentially expressed probesets found in the bulk and LCM samples. LCM-coupled microarray expression profiling was shown to uniquely identify a large number of differentially expressed probesets not otherwise found using bulk tissue sampling. The information gain realized from the LCM sampling was limited to differential analysis, as the absolute expression values obtained for some probesets using this study's protocol were biased during the second round of amplification. Consequently, LCM may enable investigators to obtain additional information in microarray studies not easily found using bulk tissue samples, but it is of critical importance that potential amplification biases are controlled for.
The hERG N-Terminal eag Domain Directly Interacts with the C-Terminal Cyclic Nucleotide-Binding Homology Domain

Human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG) voltage-gated potassium channels exhibit unusually slow deactivation kinetics that are regulated by the N-terminal eag domain. The mechanism by which the eag domain regulates deactivation remains unclear. Recently we showed that the cyclic nucleotide-binding homology domain (CNBHD) in the C-terminal region is required for eag domain regulation of gating, and the two domains directly interact in a biochemical pull-down interaction assay. Here we sought to investigate the CNBHD as a putative binding site for the eag domain by using a combination of electrophysiology and Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) in HEK293 cells. Whole-cell patch clamp analysis revealed that channels lacking either the eag domain (Δeag), the CNBHD (ΔCNBHD), or both domains (Δeag ΔCNBHD) exhibited similarly fast deactivation kinetics. Co-expression of an eag domain gene fragment (N-eag) slowed deactivation in Δeag channels, but not in channels lacking a CNBHD (ΔCNBHD or Δeag ΔCNBHD). FRET analysis revealed that N-eag-CFP was in close proximity to Δeag channels tagged with a Citrine (Δeag-Citrine), but not with Δeag ΔCNBHD-Citrine channels, suggesting the CNBHD is required for the eag domain to bind to the channel. We found that co-expression of Δeag-CFP channels with ΔCNBHD-Citrine channels restored WT-like channel gating, and revealed a positive FRET signal, suggesting an intersubunit interaction between the eag domain and CNBHD. To test for a direct interaction between the eag domain and CNBHD, we utilized the FRET Two-Hybrid Peptide Hybridization Assay in which we co-expressed fluorophore-tagged eag domains and CNBHDs and measured FRET. We observed a positive and significant FRET signal between isolated eag domains and CNBHDs, suggesting a direct and specific interaction between the two domains. Together these findings suggest that eag domain directly binds the CNBHD in order to regulate channel gating.
Multiple loop structures critical for ligand binding of the integrin α4 subunit in the upper face of the β-propeller mode 1

A non-I-domain integrin, α4β1, recognizes vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) and the IIICS portion of fibronectin. To localize regions of α4 critical for ligand binding, we swapped several predicted loops within or near the putative ligand-binding site of α4 (which spans repeats 2–5 of the seven N-terminal repeats) with the corresponding regions of α5. Swapping residues 112–131 in repeat 2, or residues 237–247 in repeat 4, completely blocked adhesion to immobilized VCAM-1 and connecting segment 1 (CS-1) peptide. However, swapping residues 40–52 in repeat 1, residues 151–164 in repeat 3, or residues 282–288 (which contain a putative cation binding motif) in repeat 5 did not affect or only slightly reduced adhesion to these ligands. The binding of several function-blocking antibodies is blocked by swapping residues 112–131, 151–164, and 186–191 (which contain previously identified residues critical for ligand binding, Tyr-187 and Gly-190). These results are consistent with the recently published β-propeller folding model of the integrin α4 subunit [Springer, T. A. (1997) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94, 65–72], in which seven four-stranded β-sheets are arranged in a torus around a pseudosymmetric axis. The regions of α4 critical for ligand binding are adjacent to each other and are located in the upper face, the predicted ligand-binding site, of the β-propeller model, although they are not adjacent in the primary structure.
Preserving the History of the American Poultry Industry

Abstract Those of us meeting here today would agree that we are working in the most dynamic of all agricultural industries. Many major changes have occurred in the poultry industry in our lifetime. Most of those changes have been recorded, but much of our history has been lost. Fortunately, our libraries have stored the written history in books and other publications where students may read the recorded history of our industry. Unfortunately, most of the public and many of our students have never taken advantage of this opportunity. However, much of the equipment used 50 or 100 years ago has been lost even to museums, and many of the rare breeds may become extinct in the near future. There was very little organized interest in preserving the history of the American Poultry Industry until the American Poultry Historical Society was organized in 1952. The Society has been limited in its programs . . .
Proteolysis of Cell-Surface Tissue Transglutaminase by Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 Contributes to the Adhesive Defect and Matrix Abnormalities in Thrombospondin-2-Null Fibroblasts and Mice

Thrombospondin (TSP)-2-null dermal fibroblasts display an attachment defect that results from increased matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 levels in their conditioned media. To investigate the molecular mechanisms responsible for this defect, we analyzed the activity of tissue transglutaminase (tTG) in TSP-2-null dermal fibroblasts and in tissues of TSP-2-null mice. tTG functions as a co-receptor for β1 and β3 integrins and stabilizes extracellular matrix proteins by introduction of isopeptide cross-links. Cell-surface tTG activity was reduced in TSP-2-null cells (0.50 ± 0.05 arbitrary units versus 0.84 ± 0.07 for wild type; P ≤ 0.05), and addition of MMP-2 to the culture medium of wild-type cells caused a 35% reduction in cell-surface tTG activity. tTG was susceptible to proteolysis by MMP-2 in vitro, and addition of the MMP inhibitor TIMP-2 to TSP-2-null cells restored tTG activity (0.3 ± 0.08 for untreated cells; 0.71 ± 0.09 with TIMP-2). TSP-2-null mice had reduced tTG activity in skin, as measured by incorporation of fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled cadaverine, and a threefold increase in acetic acid-extracted dermal collagen. Furthermore, isopeptide cross-links were reduced in both uninjured skin and in excisional wounds of TSP-2-null mice, as determined by morphometric immunohistochemical analysis, indicating that isopeptide cross-links are important for the stabilization of the collagenous matrix in dermis. These findings provide a mechanism for the reduced adhesion of TSP-2-null fibroblasts and an explanation for the increased collagen solubility and fragility of TSP-2-null skin.
Why does living donor liver transplantation flourish in Asia

The success of liver transplantation worldwide has brought increased demand for the liver graft. Western and Asian countries have coped differently with the problems of the shortages in organ donation. In the West, efforts have focused on promoting deceased donor organ donation, whereas in Asia the focus has been on living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), as this procedure is more acceptable in most Asian cultures. LDLT, which was initially devised for paediatric liver transplant patients, has evolved from using a left lobe graft to a right lobe graft for an adult recipient. To widen the donor pool, dual grafts for a single recipient have been used in LDLT, and donors with hepatitis B core antibody positivity have been accepted, as well as ABO incompatible donors and recipients. The great advances in the field of LDLT have been dictated by the needs and the norms of Asian society. In this Perspectives article, we outline the reasons why LDLT flourishes in Asia.
DIRECT OVERWRITE MAGNETO-OPTICAL DISK AND HIGH DATA DENSITY RECORDING

MO disks have the thermal response functions to laser heating. Those thermal response functions have finite, not zero, values of time constant (τ). Thermal interference between the heat which forms recording marks, accordingly, causes thermal build-up shifts of mark edges, leading edges and trailing edges. We report how to measure the thermal response functions. Direct overwrite (DOW) MO disks, as compared to current MO disks which have an Aluminum layer, have more suitable thermal response functions for high data density recording with mark edge recording. The Aluminum layer would cause a phenomenon of thermal echo with a larger τ. The thermal interference should be precompensated for, or made uniform (i. e. not dependent on the data pattern recorded on the disk), or made small enough, so that the thermal build-up shifts should not make narrow window margins in reproducing recorded data and discriminating the locus of mark edges. When a technique, the pattern dependent adjustment to timing of laser pulse edges precompensating for the thermal interference is applied for high data density (0.54 μm/bit) recording on the DOW-MO disk, the window margin is 21 % of the channel clock period, 15.9 nsec, at B.E.R. = 10-6.
Patient-reported outcomes in patients with nonmelanomatous skin cancers of the face treated with orthovoltage radiation therapy: a cross-sectional survey.

Patients confronted with various treatment options for the treatment of nonmelanomatous skin cancers in visible areas of the face may not be fully informed of the expected outcomes associated with treatment. Radiation therapy may be particularly advantageous in treating lesions in which surgical resection would risk poor cosmetic outcomes. Results from several large series demonstrate local recurrence rates of <10% with the use of radiation therapy (1-4). Despite reports of local control rates comparable to those associated with surgical resection, few studies have addressed cosmetic endpoints following radiation therapy. No studies have assessed patient-reported outcomes. The purpose of the survey was to evaluate patient-reported outcomes following orthovoltage radiation therapy for skin cancers of the face (SCF).
Transforming the way we teach laboratories: a student data acquisition system

As part of our Summer Field Session, we have developed an electronics kit for all our 240 of our Engineering Division Sophomore students to learn about, build and use a highly functional data acquisition system. Beginning next fall, we have the opportunity to change the way we teach electronics laboratory and project classes. Instead of being dependent upon limited laboratory space and equipment setups, in many cases we can have the students check our small hardware sensor/system modules to do "the experiment" with their data acquisition system. By allowing the students flexibility to experiment and discover new uses for their system, we involve them more deeply in their education resulting in a higher level of enjoyment and learning.
Understanding the adult moralist requires first understanding the child scientist

Children learn from people and about people simultaneously; that is, children consider evidentiary qualities of human actions which cross traditional domain boundaries. We propose that Knobe's moral asymmetries are a natural consequence of this learning process: the way “child scientists” gather evidence for causation, intention, and morality through early social experiences.
International Human Rights, Gender-Based Violence, and Local Discourses of Abuse in Postconflict Liberia: A Problem of "Culture"?

In this article we draw on three years of ethnographic observation of postconflict humanitarian intervention in Liberia to consider the process whereby global efforts in the areas of gender-based violence (GBV) and human rights are interacting with local debates over kinship, entitlement, personal rights, and social responsibility. This article draws upon Liberian narratives, complaints, and efforts to regulate, in a national context, social norms and behavior in regard to gender-based violence issues in postconflict life while also engaging with an ongoing international human rights discourse on the subject of GBV. Our ethnography takes a multiscalar approach to give a sense of the process, multiple discourses, and dialectics of power involved in this issue, and to demonstrate how the definition of “the GBV problem” in Liberia, the target of complex GBV interventions, is different from the conception held by agencies, governmental ministries, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that are responsible for implementing global mandates.
Top-k publish-subscribe for social annotation of news

Social content, such as Twitter updates, often have the quickest first-hand reports of news events, as well as numerous commentaries that are indicative of public view of such events. As such, social updates provide a good complement to professionally written news articles. In this paper we consider the problem of automatically annotating news stories with social updates (tweets), at a news website serving high volume of pageviews. The high rate of both the pageviews (millions to billions a day) and of the incoming tweets (more than 100 millions a day) make real-time indexing of tweets ineffective, as this requires an index that is both queried and updated extremely frequently. The rate of tweet updates makes caching techniques almost unusable since the cache would become stale very quickly.We propose a novel architecture where each story is treated as a subscription for tweets relevant to the story's content, and new algorithms that efficiently match tweets to stories, proactively maintaining the top-k tweets for each story. Such top-k pub-sub consumes only a small fraction of the resource cost of alternative solutions, and can be applicable to other large scale content-based publish-subscribe problems. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach on realworld data: a corpus of news stories from Yahoo! News and a log of Twitter updates.
Accuracy of Predicting Axillary Lymph Node Positivity by Physical Examination, Mammography, Ultrasonography, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Background. Axillary lymph node status continues to be among the most important prognostic variables regarding breast cancer survival. We were interested in our ability to accurately predict axillary nodal involvement by using physical examination and standard breast imaging studies in combination. Methods. A retrospective review was performed of 244 consecutive patients diagnosed with invasive breast carcinoma between May 2008 and December 2010 who underwent physical examination of the axilla, digital mammography, axillary ultrasonography, and contrastenhanced breast magnetic resonance imaging and who had subsequent histopathologic evaluation of one or more axillary lymph nodes. Results. A total of 62 (25%) of 244 women were found to have positive axillary lymph nodes on final histopathologic examination, 42% of whom were able to be identified preoperatively. The sensitivity for predicting axillary metastasis if any one or more examination modalities were suspicious was 56.5%. The specificity for predicting axillary metastasis if any three or more modalities were suspicious was 100%. Of the patients who had all four modalities negative, 14% were ultimately found to have histologically positive nodes at the time of surgery. Conclusions. Physical examination and multimodal imaging in combination are useful for preoperative axillary staging and treatment planning. However, they remain inadequate definitive predictors of axillary lymph node involvement.
Computer Visualization of Flow Patterns for Prosthetic Heart Valves

Flow patterns for commonly used aortic valve prostheses were formed with the aid of fluid dynamics equations, numerical analysis techniques and computer graphics. Simulations of velocities, vorticity, pressure and certain stress values were developed by a computer and displayed for man-machine interaction. The ball, disc and tilting-disc occluders were of interest. The displays comprised both contour and perspective patterns; the latter permitting semi-quantitative evaluation of particular parameters. Comparisons between the computer simulations and those flow visualizations formed by Bjork and co-workers were assessed. Although the methodology was of prime concern for presentation, the capability of the tilting-disc prosthesis for presenting a more natural flow regime was shown. Thoughts of future studies were entertained.
Progress towards ignition on the National Ignition Facility

The National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was formally dedicated in May 2009. The hohlraum energetics campaign with all 192 beams began shortly thereafter and ran until early December 2009. These experiments explored hohlraum-operating regimes in preparation for experiments with layered cryogenic targets. The hohlraum energetic series culminated with an experiment that irradiated an ignition scale hohlraum with 1 MJ. The results demonstrated the ability to produce a 285 eV radiation environment in an ignition scale hohlraum while meeting ignition requirements for symmetry, backscatter and hot electron production. Complementary scaling experiments indicate that with ~1.3 MJ, the capsule drive temperature will reach 300 eV, the point design temperature for the first ignition campaign. Preparation for cryo-layered implosions included installation of a variety of nuclear diagnostics, cryogenic layering target positioner, advanced optics and facility modifications needed for tritium operations and for routine operation at laser energy greater than 1.3 MJ. The first cyro-layered experiment was carried out on 29 September 2010. The main purpose of this shot was to demonstrate the ability to integrate all of the laser, target and diagnostic capability needed for a successful cryo-layered experiment. This paper discusses the ignition point design as well as findings and conclusions from the hohlraum energetics campaign carried out in 2009. It also provides a brief summary of the initial cryo-layered implosion.
Comparison of Traditional and Plethysmographic Methods for Measuring Pulsus Paradoxus

Background In the evaluation of patients with acute asthma, pulsus paradoxus (PP) is an objective and noninvasive indicator of the severity of airway obstruction. However, in children PP may be difficult or impossible to measure. Indwelling arterial catheters facilitate the measurement of PP, but they are invasive and generally reserved for critically ill patients. Objective To determine the utility of the plethysmographic waveform (PP pleth ) of the pulse oximeter in measuring PP. Methods Patients from the pediatric intensive care unit, emergency department, and inpatient wards of a tertiary care pediatric hospital were eligible for the study. A total of 36 patients (mean age [SD], 11.2 [4.7] years) were enrolled in the study. Pulsus paradoxus was measured using the traditional auscultatory (PP ausc ) method with a sphygmomanometer. Pulsus paradoxus was then measured using a blood pressure cuff observing for the disappearance and reappearance of the (PP pleth ) on the pulse oximeter. Mean difference and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for each method. The 2 methods were also analyzed for correlation and agreement using the Pearson product moment correlation and a Bland and Altman plot. Results Patients with status asthmaticus had higher PP ausc and PP pleth readings compared with nonasthmatic patients. Pulsus paradoxus measured by plethysmography in patients with and without asthma was similar to PP ausc readings (mean difference, 0.6 mm Hg; 95% confidence interval, −0.6 to 2.1 mm Hg). Individual PP pleth readings showed significant correlation and agreement with PP ausc readings in patients both with and without asthma. Conclusion Measurement of PP using the pulse oximeter–pulse plethysmographic waveform offers a simple and noninvasive method for evaluating patients with airway obstruction.
Internal Spatial Modes and Local Propagation Properties in Optical Waveguides Measured Using Near-Field Scanning Pptical Microscopy

Near-field scanning optical microscopy has been used to measure the internal spatial modes and local properties controlling optical wave propagation in glass/silica buried waveguides. The period of the observed standing modes provides a direct measure of the effective index, which combined with the measured transverse modal shape and decay constants, determines the values of all spatial components of the wave vector. Typically, small fluctuations in the material properties of structures can prevent proper operation as well as accurate diagnostic device modeling. The NSOM local probe measurements provide a means of detailed characterization, and defects in processing and their affects on performance are readily identified. We have also developed a technique that can obtain information about the locations of remote dielectric interfaces based upon the rate of change in the phase of the standing wave as a function of wavelength. Finally, experimental results addressing the issue of perturbation of the NSOM probe on the measurement of the local field shows a weak but measurable perturbation, and the dependence on aperture and material parameters will be discussed.
Signal to symbol converters: Overview, opportunities and challenges

Signal to symbol converters (SSCs) are an emerging class of integrated microsystems aimed at an informed and intelligent conversion of signals to symbols. We present an architecture overview for signal to symbol converters, discuss related prior work and outline future opportunities and challenges.
Acclimatization to long-term hypoxia: gene expression in ovine carotid arteries

Exposure to acute high-altitude hypoxia is associated with an increase in cerebral blood flow (CBF) as a consequence of low arterial O2 tension. However, in response to high altitude acclimatizatio...
Effects of cannabinoid treatment on Chagas disease pathogenesis: balancing inhibition of parasite invasion and immunosuppression

Summary Trypanosoma cruzi invades heart cells via a calcium- dependent, G protein-mediated mechanism, leading to severe cardiac inflammation considered by some to be autoimmune in nature. Cannabinoids inhibit calcium flux and G protein signalling; as potent immunosuppressive agents, they are effective in the treatment of autoimmune disease but contraindicated for the treatment of infections. We compared the action of the synthetic cannabinoid R( + + + )WIN55,212 and its inactive isomer S(-)WIN55,212 on cardiac myoblast invasion: R( + )WIN55,212 inhibited invasion by over 85%. We then tested for efficacy in modulating patho- genesis in mice by assaying parasite burden in heart and blood, cellular and humoral immunity to parasite and self antigens, and mortality. R( + + + )WIN55,212 sig- nificantly reduced cardiac inflammation but led to considerably increased parasitaemia. Cardiac parasi- tosis and mortality were not significantly different in treatment and control groups. We conclude that can- nabinoids can block cardiac cell puncture repair mech- anisms, thereby inhibiting trypanosome invasion as predicted by the mode of drug action, but, also inhibit immune cell effector functions, offsetting the benefit of inhibition parasite cell invasion. Refined use of cannabinoids may prove therapeutic in the future, but