cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Preparation and high-performance size-exclusion chromatographic (HPSEC) analysis of fluorescein isothiocyanate-hydroxyethyl starch: macromolecular probes of the blood-lymph barrier

A procedure is described for the preparation of fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled hydroxyethyl starch (FITC-HES). Chromatographic techniques for the purification and analysis of FITC-HES that include the development of a high-performance size-exclusion chromatographic (HPSEC) technique with a fluorescence spectrophotometer-computer detection system are described. FITC-HES macromolecules have a wide range of hydrodynamic radii (ae greater than 120- less than 10 A) and the substitution ratio of FITC to the size-selected HES macromolecules remains constant throughout the chromatographic range. The predominant isoelectric point (pI) of the multiple acidic isomers of FITC-HES is 4.6. In vitro, the very large FITC-HES macromolecules (greater than 100 A) are rapidly degraded (15 sec) by alpha-amylase in control dog plasma. While most of the large molecules (100-20 A) remain intact for greater than 24 hr, this degradation is not associated with the loss of FITC from HES. In vivo, the rate of this reaction appeared to be accelerated and the degradation of FITC-HES between 0.1 and 12 hr was small. Illustration of the HPSEC quantitation of the spectrum of FITC-HES macromolecules in "near steady-state" lymph (L) and plasma (P) samples and the L/P ratio show that this technique can be used to describe the size selectivity of the blood-lymph barrier under conditions of unaltered capillary pressure. We propose that the size-selected solvent-drag reflection coefficient (sigma f) curves for the anionic FITC-HES under conditions of elevated capillary pressure is a measure of macromolecular convective permeability of the blood-lymph barrier.
The BTeV silicon pixel and microstrip detectors

The status of the BTeV pixel vertex detector and the forward silicon microstrip tracker are presented, with some highlights on the recent achievements in our R&D effort.
Lordosis-disrupting tectal lesions alter midbrain unit somatosensory responsiveness in hamsters ☆

Abstract Previous research has shown that bilateral deep tectal lesions in golden hamsters abolish the lordosis response, whereas unilateral lesions selectively impair lordosis elicitation by contralateral flank stimulation. The present study analyzed the neural basis of these lesion effects by assessing the somatosensory responsiveness of midbrain neurons in three groups of urethane-anesthetized hamsters: animals with lordosisabolishing bilateral tectal lesions, animals with lordosis-impairing unilateral lesions, and intact animals. Animals with bilateral lesions differed from the other groups in three aspects of unit sensory responsiveness by showing: 1. (1) the highest percentage of neurons responsive to somatic stimulation, 2. (2) the highest incidence of unit responsiveness to flank stimulation, and 3. (3) the greatest proportion of responsive neurons in the ventral tegmentum. Hamsters with unilateral lesions showed basically normal unit responsiveness apart from elevated unit response to face stimulation. The results suggest that bilateral tectal lesions may eliminate lordosis by the combined effects of enhanced ventral tegmental somatosensory responsiveness and tectal destruction. Unilateral lesions appear to impair lordosis without changing the somatosensory excitability of remaining midbrain neurons.
The purine nucleosides adenosine and guanosine delay axonal degeneration in vitro.

Axonal degeneration is a key component of many neurodegenerative diseases. Injured axons undergo a program of self-destruction termed Wallerian degeneration that is an active, well-regulated process. The pathways leading to axon fragmentation are uncharacterized, but experiments with wlds mutant mice led to the discovery that over-expression of NMN adenylyltransferase 1 or treatment with NAD+ can inhibit axonal degeneration. In this study, we show that the purine nucleosides adenosine and guanosine, but not inosine, inhibit injury-induced axonal degeneration in cultured dorsal root ganglia neurons. Axons can be preserved by adding adenosine within 6 h of the axonal injury. The presence of adenosine was required continuously after the injury to maintain axonal protection. Together these results suggest that adenosine does not alter the neuronal response to injury, but instead inhibits a local axonal pathway necessary for the commitment and/or execution of the axon destructive program.
Whole Genome Association Study on Tissue Tropism Phenotypes in Group A Streptococcus

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) has a rich evolutionary history of horizontal transfer among its core genes. Yet, despite extensive genetic mixing, GAS strains have discrete ecological phenotypes. To further our understanding of the molecular basis for ecological phenotypes, comparative genomic hybridization of a set of 97 diverse strains to a GAS pangenome microarray was undertaken, and the association of accessory genes with emm genotypes that define tissue tropisms for infection was determined. Of the 22 nonprophage accessory gene regions (AGRs) identified, only 3 account for all statistically significant linkage disequilibrium among strains having the genotypic biomarkers for throat versus skin infection specialists. Networked evolution and population structure analyses of loci representing each of the AGRs reveal that most strains with the skin specialist and generalist biomarkers form discrete clusters, whereas strains with the throat specialist biomarker are highly diverse. To identify coinherited and coselected accessory genes, the strength of genetic associations was determined for all possible pairwise combinations of accessory genes among the 97 GAS strains. Accessory genes showing very strong associations provide the basis for an evolutionary model, which reveals that a major transition between many throat and skin specialist haplotypes correlates with the gain or loss of genes encoding fibronectin-binding proteins. This study employs a novel synthesis of tools to help delineate the major genetic changes associated with key adaptive shifts in an extensively recombined bacterial species.
Microcirculation in the Ventricle of the Dog and Turtle

Phasic red cell velocity and diameters of coronary arterioles, capillaries, and venules were measured in the beating turtle and dog heart using high-speed cinematography with transillumination of the left ventricle. In the turtle, arteriolar red cell velocity was diminished during systole, but during diastole arteriolar inflow increased, especially during the rapid and the slow filling period. Capillary and venule red cell velocity was increased during systole, particularly at the time of ejection; however, during diastole red cell velocity declined and the lowest values occurred during isovolumic relaxation. In dog arterioles, capillaries, and venules, the pattern of red cell velocity was similar. Thus, in the turtle and dog, the peak arteriolar red cell velocity occurred in unison with left coronary artery inflow, and the capillary and venule flow pattern followed that of the coronary sinus. The diameters of arterioles, capillaries, and venules in the turtle ventricle all declined about 34% during systole; similar results were obtained in the dog. Capillary arrangement appeared to be predominantly parallel and cocurrent; however, capillary loops with countercurrent flow were occasionally observed. The data on microvascular phasic red cell velocity are consistent with the macroobservations of reduced coronary artery inflow and enhanced coronary sinus outflow during ventricular contraction. The results demonstrate that the shift in the flow pattern occurs at the transition from arterioles to capillaries.
Using structural characteristics of community coalitions to predict progress in adopting evidence-based prevention programs

The study examined the relationship between six characteristics of community coalitions (size of region covered, structure, professional representation, resource sharing, size, and breadth of prevention stakeholder representation) and community organizational progress in adopting drug prevention programs. The study utilized baseline data from community leaders (n=533) in 24 cities from Step Towards Effective Prevention (STEP), a multi-state, multi-city randomized trial that is evaluating the effects of a television-based prevention training intervention on adoption of evidence-based drug prevention programs. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a measurement model with a good fit to the data on four of the characteristics. Structural equation modeling showed that these characteristics had significant positive relationships to organizational progress, with the exception of size of the region covered. Results suggest that coalitions which have a clear structure, professional focus, resource sharing, and a smaller service region are likely to show the most progress in adopting evidence-based drug prevention programs.
Efficient Nutrition Screening in an Inpatient Substance Abuse/Stress Recovery Program

Abstract LEARNING OUTCOME: To describe an efficient nutrition screening tool for use by the admitting practitioner on a substance abuse/stress recovery unit. The 1996 Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAHO) requires that nutrition screening be completed within 24 hours of admission. At the medical center, the routine nutrition screening was completed by a dietetic technician within 48 hours of admission on all inpatients, requiring 15minutes per patient. Nutrition screening covered 7 criteria (subjective parameters, diagnosis, weight, % Ideal Body Weight, weight change, albumin, total lymphocyte count) with 20 parameters. Data was gathered through a patient interview and medical record review; the form was then completed. To meet JCAHO standards, a new screening tool was developed by the interdisciplinary team. Criteria were reduced to five. A 60 day pilot program was initiated to test the new parameters for reliability and validity. Thirty seven patients were screened using the new tool. It was administered by the admitting practitioner during the admission history and physical, in the first 24 hours of admission. Subsequently, the same patients were rescreened by a Registered Dietitian using the existing screening tool. Results showed that the new tool agreed with the traditional tool 94% of the time. Other results were: 1. JCAHO nutrition screening requirements were met; 2. Diet technician time was reduced from 15minutes per patient to none, and the technician was reassigned; 3. Interdisciplinary team awareness of nutrition screening criteria was increased; 4. Duplicate questions were not asked of patient by nursing and dietetics.
Communications Security for Electronic Funds Transfer Systems

This paper focuses on selected aspects of communications security for electronic funds transfer systems that may not be present in classical security-oriented communications systems. 1) An EFT security system should be able to pinpoint the site responsible for any financial loss resulting from a penetration. 2) An EFT security system should not allow false rejections, i.e., should not deny any legitimate transaction. 3) An EFT security system should not employ draconian methods to restore communications security after a penetration. 4) Simultaneous accesses to an EFT account should be synchronized to ensure that improper transactions are not authorized. 5) Traditional access-control methods applied to secure commumcations equipment are not applicable to EFT networks. 6) Traditional manually oriented techniques used to distribute encryption keys may not be practicable in a large scale EFT network. 7) Techniques used in providing communications security, especially those involving encryption algorithms, should not rely on secrecy to protect the integrity of the system. 8) Communications overhead imposed by security measures should be minimized to allow for projected high rates of use of EFT facilities.
Counting alleles in single lesions of prostate tumors from ethnically diverse patients.

BACKGROUND The presence of racial disparities in incidence and mortality rates are well-documented for prostate cancer. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether such disparities are due to genetic alterations that are involved in prostate cancer initiation. Here, we evaluated chromosome 8p allelic loss in a racially diverse cohort. METHODS Laser-capture microdissection was used to isolate tumors cells from individual lesions in 153 prostate cancer patients, and 8p allelic status was determined by “counting alleles.” Statistical analyses examined the association between pathologic predictors and biochemical recurrence. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Thirty percent of prostate lesions were missing an 8p allele at tumor initiation, while 51% of lesions lost an 8p allele during tumor progression. Biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy could be reliably predicted by surgical margin status only in lesions with extensive 8p allelic loss. There was, however, no racial disparity in 8p allelic loss at tumor initiation or during tumor progression, suggesting that the molecular event involved was similar between Caucasians and Africa Americans (CA and AA). Nonetheless, racial differences were present in values of prognostic factors for recurrence. Gleason score was the most important predictor of recurrence (HR = 3.1, 95% CI = 1.1, 9.2) in AA, while among CA, pathologic stage (HR = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.5, 7.6) and surgical margin (HR = 4.7, 95% CI = 1.8, 12.6) were the most important. Therefore, racial disparity in prostate cancer may be due to other factors that are involved in prostate cancer development. Prostate 68: 231–240, 2008. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Locoregional treatment outcomes for inoperable anthracycline-resistant breast cancer.

Abstract Purpose: To assess the therapeutic outcomes and treatment-related morbidity of patients treated with radiation for inoperable breast cancer resistant to anthracycline-containing primary chemotherapy. Methods and Materials: We analyzed the medical records of breast cancer patients treated on five consecutive institutional trials who had been designated as having inoperable locoregional disease after completion of primary chemotherapy, without evidence of distant metastases at diagnosis. The cohort for this analysis was 38 (4.4%) of 867 patients enrolled in these trials. Kaplan-Meier statistics were used for survival analysis, and prognostic factors were compared using log-rank tests. The median follow-up of surviving patients was 6.1 years. Results: Thirty-two (84%) of the 38 patients were able to undergo mastectomy after radiotherapy. For the whole group, the overall survival rate at 5 years was 46%, with a distant disease-free survival rate of 32%. The 5-year survival rate for patients who were inoperable because of primary disease extent was 64% compared with 30% for those who were inoperable because of nodal disease extent ( p = 0.0266). The 5-year rate of locoregional control was 73% for the surgically treated patients and 64% for the overall group. Of the 32 who underwent mastectomy, the 5-year rate of significant postoperative complications was 53%, with 4 (13%) requiring subsequent hospitalization and additional surgical revision. Preoperative radiation doses of ≥54 Gy were significantly associated with the development of complications requiring surgical treatment (70% vs. 9% for doses p = 0.0257). Conclusion: Despite the poorer prognosis of patients with inoperable disease after primary chemotherapy, almost one-half remained alive at 5 years and one-third were free of distant disease after multidisciplinary locoregional management. These patients have high rates of locoregional recurrence after preoperative radiotherapy and mastectomy, and the morbidity associated with this approach may limit dose-escalation strategies. Alternative therapeutic strategies such as novel systemic agents, use of planned myocutaneous repair for closure, or radiation combined with radiosensitizing agents, should be considered in this class of patients.
MODIFIED 6-PSU PLATFORM

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Ohio University has designed, constructed, and controlled a new 6-dof in-parallel-actuated platform, a combination and modification of existing designs. The 6-P SU platform consists of 6 legs with a prismatic joint, spherical joint, and universal joint connecting links in each leg which move the platform in the six Cartesian freedoms with respect to the base. The prismatic joint is actuated while the other two joints in each leg are passive. The six prismatic joints move vertically with respect to the base, which appears to be a big improvement over the standard Gough/Stewart platform. Experimental results from the Ohio University manipulator are presented.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Network interactions in inspiratory (I) and expiratory (E) neuron populations as indicated by high-frequency oscillations

Fast rhythms are present in neural discharges of many motor systems. In the decerebrate cat, high-frequency oscillations (HFO, range 50–100 Hz) are ubiquitous in the discharges of Imotoneurons (phrenic, recurrent laryngeal, external intercostal) and of medullary Ineurons. The amplitude and frequency of HFO are greater when respiratory drive is increased. Coherence spectral analysis shows that the various discharges (population and unit) are significantly correlated at the HFO frequency. This indicates that the common rhythm arises in the brainstem and is transmitted to cranial motoneurons via propriobulbar projections and to spinal motoneurons via bulbospinal projections.
“Greenhouse cooling” of the upper atmosphere

The release of trace gases such as carbon dioxide and methane through human activity is generally accepted to have the potential to alter the Earth's climate. Various projections indicate that present concentrations of these “greenhouse” gases will double by the end of the 21st century. Studies of the atmospheric effect of these gases suggest that the globally averaged temperature of the troposphere (0–10 km altitude) will increase by about 1-5°K because of an increase in trapped infrared radiation. In the stratosphere (10–50 km), however, the increased concentration of these gases will give rise to a greater infrared cooling to space, and the globally averaged temperature is predicted to cool by 10–20°K, compared with present-day temperatures [Brasseur and Hitchman, 1988]. It should be stressed that this latter prediction applies to the upper atmosphere, and does not address greenhouse warming in the lower atmosphere, which has been treated by other climate modelers.
Development of Manganese-Based Nanoparticles as Contrast Probes for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

MRI is one of the most important imaging tools in clinics. It interrogates nuclei of atoms in a living subject, providing detailed delineation with high spatial and temporal resolutions. To compensate the innate low sensitivity, MRI contrast probes were developed and widely used. These are typically paramagnetic or superparamagnetic materials, functioning by reducing relaxation times of nearby protons. Previously, gadolinium(Gd)-based T1 contrast probes were dominantly used. However, it was found recently that their uses are occasionally associated with nephrogenic system fibrosis (NSF), which suggests a need of finding alternatives. Among the efforts, manganese-containing nanoparticles have attracted much attention. By careful engineering, manganese nanoparticles with comparable r1 relaxivities can be yielded. Moreover, other functionalities, be a targeting motif, a therapeutic agent or a second imaging component, can be loaded onto these nanoparticles, resulting in multifunctional nanoplatforms.
Replication and segregation of plasmids containing cis-acting regulatory sites of silent mating-type genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are controlled by the SIR genes.

Abstract In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, two cis-acting regulatory sites called E and I flank the silent mating-type gene, HMRa, and mediate SIR-dependent transcriptional repression of the a1-a2 promoters. It has been shown previously that the E and I sites have plasmid replicator (ARS) activity. We show in this report that the ARS activity of the E and I sites is governed by the SIR genotype of the cell. In wild-type cells, a plasmid carrying the E site from HMRa (HMR E) in the vector YIp5 exhibited very high mitotic stability at a copy number of approximately 25 per cell. However, in sir2, sir3, or sir4 mutants, plasmids with HMR E had the low mitotic stability characteristic of plasmids containing ARS1, a SIR-independent replicator. Elevated mitotic stability of plasmids that carry HMR E is due to a segregation mechanism provided by SIR and HMR E. In sir2 and sir4 mutants, the plasmid copy number was significantly lowered, suggesting that these gene products also participate in the replication of plasmids carrying HMR E. The phenotype of point mutations introduced at an 11-base-pair ARS consensus sequence present at HMR E indicated that this sequence is functional but not absolutely required for autonomous replication of the plasmid and that it is not required for SIR-dependent mitotic stabilization. A plasmid carrying both a centromere and HMR E exhibited reduced mitotic stability in wild-type cells. This destabilization appeared to be due to antagonism between the segregation functions provided by the centromere and by HMR E.
RELIABILITY OF THE TEST OF SPOKEN ENGLISH REVISITED

The Test of Spoken English (TSE) is an internationally administered instrument for assessing nonnative speakers' proficiency in speaking English. The research foundation of the TSE® examination is currently described in the Manual for Score Users. This publication describes technical characteristics of the test, including such psychometric characteristics as level of difficulty, reliability, and validity. Consistent with the ETS Standards for Quality and Fairness, the Manual refers to two sources of variation other than the achievement being measured: interrater reliability and internal consistency. Because the reported data on both issues were drawn from a 1980 study of reliabilities based on two raters, newer data and more extensive analyses were needed. The present study uses data from recent administrations of the TSE examination. Analysis of variance examined the effects of scale, section, examinee, and rater, as well as the interactions of these factors. Reliabilities were reported for item, section, and scale scores. Common and unique variance estimates were developed for each scale score for which a section was rated. Estimates of the effects of altering section lengths suggested that some sections should be lengthened and others omitted if reliability were to be maximized. Other suggestions were offered for improving reliability.
Application of Inorganic Membrane Technology To Hydrogen-hydrocarbon Separations

Separation efficiency for hydrogen/light hydrocarbon mixtures was examined for three inorganic membranes. Five binary gas mixtures were used in this study: H{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} , H{sub 2}/C{sub 2}H{sub 6}, H{sub 2}/C{sub 3}H{sub 8}, He/CO{sub 2}, and He/Ar. The membranes examined were produced during a development program at the Inorganic Membrane Technology Laboratory in Oak Ridge and provided to us for this testing. One membrane was a (relatively) large-pore-diameter Knudsen membrane, and the other two had much smaller pore sizes. Observed separation efficiencies were generally lower than Knudsen separation but, for the small-pore membranes, were strongly dependent on temperature, pressure, and gas mixture, with the most condensable gases showing the strongest effect. This finding suggests that the separation is strongly influenced by surface effects (i.e., adsorption and diffusion), which enhance the transport of the heavier and more adsorption-prone component and may also physically impede flow of the other component. In one series of experiments, separation reversal was observed (the heavier component preferentially separating to the low-pressure side of the membrane). Trends showing increased separation factors at higher temperatures as well as observations of some separation efficiencies in excess of that expected for Knudsen flow suggest that at higher temperatures, molecular screeningmore » effects were observed. For most of the experiments, surface effects were stronger and thus apparently overshadow molecular sieving effects.« less
Channel Aware Distributed Random Access

We investigate distributed channel-aware random access for networks with arbitrary topologies and traffic distributions, where users can receive traffic from or send traffic to different users and different communication links may interfere with others. We consider heterogeneous channels, where the random channel gains of different links may have different distributions. To resolve the network contention in a distributed way, each frame is divided into contention and transmission periods. The contention period is used to resolve conflicts near optimally and to schedule users with better channel states with higher probabilities while assuring fairness among all users. The proposed scheme completely resolves contention of networks with arbitrary topologies and is robust to any channel uncertainty. Besides, it performs close to central schedulers.
Individual and combined effects of exercise and alendronate on bone mass and strength in ovariectomized rats

Exercise and bisphosphonate therapies increase bone strength by primarily increasing bone formation and reducing resorption, respectively. Based on these different mechanisms of action, it is possible that combined introduction of exercise and bisphosphonate therapies generates greater improvements in bone mass and strength than either intervention alone. The aim of this study was to examine the individual and combined effects of exercise (treadmill running) and bisphosphonate therapy (alendronate [ALN]) on bone mass and strength in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Seven-month-old virgin female rats were randomly assigned to either a sham-OVX group (n=13) or one of four OVX groups: vehicle-treated cage-control (VEH-CON, n=10); ALN-treated cage-control (ALN-CON, n=13); vehicle-treated plus treadmill running (VEH-RUN, n=13); and ALN-treated plus treadmill running (ALN-RUN, n=13). ALN-treated groups received twice-weekly ALN (0.015 mg/kg), and exercise groups ran on a motorized treadmill at a 5% incline for 60 min/day, 22-24 m/min, 5 days/week. In vivo measurements included dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) of whole-body bone mineral content (BMC), and ex vivo measurements included DXA, micro-computed tomography (muCT), and mechanical testing of the femur and L4 vertebrae. After 14 weeks of intervention, exercise and ALN had additive benefits on whole body and proximal femur BMC, cross-sectional area of the L4 vertebrae, and mechanical properties of the mid-shaft femur. In comparison, for total and mid-shaft femur BMC, L4 vertebrae BMC, and mid-shaft femur cortical thickness and area, there were significant exercise and ALN interactions indicating that the two interventions worked in synergy to enhance bone properties. Supporting the contention that ALN and exercise function via distinct mechanisms of action, ALN successfully reduced medullary canal area suggesting it reduced endocortical bone resorption, whereas exercise augmented periosteal perimeter suggesting it stimulated periosteal bone formation. In summary, we found combined treadmill running and ALN to be more beneficial in preventing declines in bone mass and strength following OVX than the introduction of either intervention alone. These data suggest that a comprehensive program of bisphosphonate therapy and weight-bearing exercise may be an effective method for preventing and treating osteoporosis in post-menopausal women.
A framework for identifying differences and similarities in the managerial competencies associated with different modes of product life extension

It has been noted in the past that economically sound, environmentally preferable life extension modes such as remanufacturing and recycling have special characteristics that complicate the management of their production, logistics and associated operations. This paper considers these complicating characteristics from the perspective of the nine different modes of product life extension. In doing so, a framework and guide is provided to what issues, resource requirements and management capabilities are required for specific life extension modes. This framework provides guidance to practitioners and academics on commonalities between different product life extension modes, thereby assisting practitioners in leveraging current internal skills and capabilities and researchers in determining the generalizability of research.
Ayurvedic medicine and NADPH oxidase: a possible approach to the prevention of ESRD in hyperoxaluria

Saeed Khan’s longstanding commitment to investigating the pathogenesis of renal stones adds to our knowledge ever more with new evidence to support the hypothesis that exposure of the renal tubular cells to high oxalate and calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystals triggers an oxidative stress cascade that has a pivotal role in crystal retention in the kidney. In this Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation issue, Zuo et al. [1] clearly demonstrates in a model of hyperoxaluria that inhibiting reactive oxygen species (ROS) synthesis reduces tubular injury and prevents crystal retention in thekidney.Inaway,theyhavecompleted 30yearsofstudies which began after the serendipitous observation reported by Baggio et al. [2] that idiopathic CaOx stone formers have tubular damage, as shown by their increased urinary excretion of proximal tubule enzymes. Unfortunately, there is no valid model of human idiopathic calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis (ICN), although there are many models of hyperoxaluria. Mild hyperoxaluria, i.e. an oxalate excretion of up to 60 mg/24 h, is frequently observed in ICN patients [3], but the urinary excretion of oxalate is much higher in the rare secondary hyperoxalurias and the even rarer primary hyperoxalurias, generally exceeding 100 mg/24 h. The experimental models used by many groups (including Khan’s laboratory) to investigate CaOx stone pathogenesis reflect, in our opinion, the conditions of primary and secondary hyperoxalurias rather than the more common, mild hyperoxaluria. In these experimental models, crystals are actually observed intraluminally in the upper nephron and downstream, and they are deposited mainly in the interstitium. While neither of these findings have ever been described in ICN patients, they are typically seen in the nephrocalcinosis of primary and secondary hyperoxaluria. For the above reasons, we believe that the results of the investigations performed by Khan et al. in models of severe hyperoxaluria pertain to a different scenario from ICN. The findings reported by Baggio et al. most likely derive from a different pathogenic sequence. We have advanced the hypothesis that ICN has a two-hits pathogenesis: the first hit is a tubular injuring factor which facilitates CaOx crystal formation in the presence of a mild hyperoxaluria (second hit), possibly by delivering cell debris [4]. This corresponds with many findings in ICN and is consistent with the Randall’s plaque theory of lithogenesis—probably the most rational explanation for stone formation in the kidney: according to this theory, stones grow in the renal pelvis on Randall’s plaques, not in the tubular lumen. Of course, the possibility of the tubular injury observed in ICN patients (the first hit) being caused by an oxidative stress (which is easy to envisage in these patients) cannot be ruled out. For instance, there is a known association between metabolic syndrome and hypertension with renal stones, and both conditions are associated with oxidative stress. In this sense, inhibiting ROS synthesis, as in the experi
A Comparison of 13CO and CS Emission in the Inner Galaxy

We analyze 2 deg2 of the Galactic plane surveyed in CS J = 2 → 1 and 13CO J = 1 → 0 emission lines as a part of the Boston University-Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory Milky Way Galactic Ring Survey. Since the critical density of the CS molecule is large, strong CS emission originates only in dense molecular cloud cores. Yet, because high volume density regions traced by CS also tend to have large column densities, we find that 13CO is just as useful as, and much more efficient than, CS for identifying potential dense, star-forming cores. Sixty-five percent of the star-forming sites in the survey region, selected using color criteria for embedded IRAS point sources, are detected as bright 13CO clumps with emission above an integrated intensity of 15 K km s-1 (greater than 37 σ). The fraction of those infrared point sources detected as bright CS clumps above 1 K km s-1 (greater than 3 σ) is only 35%. The CS/13CO intensity ratio can be used as a measure of gas excitation conditions. We compared the observed CS and 13CO line intensities of the entire 2 deg2 field as well as the average line ratios from two molecular clouds with very different physical properties. The average intensity ratio for GRSMC 45.46+0.05, a high volume density, star-forming molecular cloud, calculated with a high (26 K km s-1) 13CO flux threshold, is Tmb(CS)/Tmb(13CO) = 0.17 ± 0.06, with a peak value of ~0.5 toward two of the CS emission maxima. The ratio for the same cloud calculated using all 13CO positions with flux above 3 σ is 0.06 ± 0.01. For GRSMC 45.60+0.30, a low-density, quiescent molecular cloud, this ratio is even lower, 0.03 ± 0.01. The average line ratio for the entire 2 deg2 field is 0.04 ± 0.01, similar to the value for the low-density cloud. Although the CS lines are brightest toward star-forming cores, ubiquitous, low-level CS emission dominates the emission in the survey region. This emission probably originates from subthermally excited, low-density gas.
Predicting Prosociality Among Urban Adolescents: Individual, Family, and Neighborhood Influences

Prosociality, conceptualized as a willingness to help, to be fair, and to be friendly to others, is essential to the maintenance of a civil society and has been linked with multiple measures of ind...
The Validation of the Names Pseudobranchioglossum and Its Type Species Pseudobranchioglossum senegalense (Delesseriaceae, Rhodophyta)

Abstract Pseudobranchioglossum gen. nov. and the sole species Ps. senegalense sp. nov., names proposed but not validated by Bodard, are herein validated with descriptions, the required citation of the Holotype, and the place where it has been deposited (PC). This new taxon of Delesseriaceae is known from locations on the coast of Senegal, West Africa. Ceramiales / Delesseriaceae / Holotype / Pseudobranchioglossum / Rhodophyta / Senegal / taxonomy / validation
Correlation between sandstone permeability and capillary pressure curves

Abstract The effective permeability in a hydrocarbon pay zone is normally estimated based on well pressure transient test. If well test data is not available, permeability normally comes from measurements on core plugs. Correlations between core plugs and well logs can be used to estimate permeability in uncored intervals. In cases where the direct measurement of permeability is not available, capillary pressure curves measured from small rock samples, such as portions of sidewall core samples or drill cuttings, can be used for estimating rock permeability. Swanson's parameter (Snw/Pc)A has traditionally been utilized to estimate permeability from capillary pressure curves. Different correlations between permeability and the Swanson's parameter have been found in literature for sandstone cores with permeabilities ranging from 23 to 1150 md and sandstone cores with permeabilities between 0.002 and 0.1 md. A new parameter called Capillary Parachor (Snw/Pc2)max was derived in this study, and excellent correlations between permeability and the capillary parachor have been found. Mercury–air and air–water capillary pressure curves were used to develop the correlations. Core permeability was found to be proportional to the mercury–air capillary parachor with a proportionalinity factor equal to 0.054. The permeability is proportional to the air–water capillary parachor squared with a proportionalinity factor of 0.00007. Analytical methods were developed to determine Swanson's parameter and capillary parachor for hyperbola-shaped capillary pressure curves.
Abstract LB-188: Positive regulation of the Ras oncogene by ubiquitination

Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC Discussion Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-188.
A comparison of subjective, psychomotor and physiological effects of a novel muscarinic analgesic, LY297802 tartrate, and oral morphine in occasional drug users

This study compared the subjective, physiological and psychomotor effects of a novel muscarinic analgesic (LY297802) and oral morphine in healthy volunteers. Nine, non-dependent, occasional drug users participated in nine experimental sessions in which they received the following conditions: placebo, 0.1, 0.3, 0.56 and 1 mg of oral LY297802 and 10, 30, 56 and 100 mg of oral morphine. Subjective drug effects were assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), the Addiction Research Center Inventory (ARCI) and subjective and objective agonist and antagonist scales of the Adjective Rating Scale (ARS). These measures were collected 30 min before and every 30 min post drug administration for a 4-h period. Psychomotor performance was evaluated using the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) at these same time intervals. Physiological measures were collected continuously throughout the sessions. Oral morphine produced significant increases in some subjective effects scales, including elevations on the VAS, ARCI and ARS. In contrast, LY297802 did not engender changes different from placebo on any of these indices. Morphine produced significant dose-dependent effects in DSST performance, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation and pupil diameter. LY297802 significantly and dose dependently increased heart rate, mean arterial pressure and diastolic blood pressure. These results suggest that LY297802 does not induce subjective effects similar to morphine, but that it has some significant physiological effects.
Surveillance and Data Capture to Assess Trauma Care Capacity in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

WecommendStewartetal1on their article regarding their longitudinal capacity assessment of the progress in trauma service availability during the last decade inGhana and their recognition of the need for expanding the evidence base for trauma care capacity in lowand middle-income countries. The successes in improving in-hospital capacity such as infrastructure (eg, blood bank), equipment (eg, chest tubes,ventilator), andservices (eg, skin grafting, neurosurgery) are part of broader needed efforts for capacity development of a complex, multicomponent, interconnected, and evolving trauma care delivery system. Remaining gaps in process evaluation (eg, prevention, prehospital triage,mobile emergency services, definitivehospital care, workforce distribution, long-term rehabilitation, transfer protocols and criteria, communication, and workflow) as well as injury and outcome surveillance present ongoing opportunities for collaboration and building to overcome present barriers in the delivery of trauma care. These summative factors arenecessary components for accurate and reliable appraisal of a country’s trauma care capacity. Moreover, the implementation of a formal injury surveillance mechanismwould enable the collectionof reliable injurydata for problem assessment and determination of whether advances have been made regarding quality and process improvement. Establishing monitoring mechanisms that provide country-specific injury andoutcomedatawill enable the accurate characterization of persistent deficits in trauma care capacity that may then more effectively inform policy making. Therefore, adoption of a systems-based approach and a broadening of the context-specific knowledgebase are essential to trauma care capacity development. In short, we need timely, accurate, and available data on the occurrence of injuries and related deaths; once these data have been collected and outcomes have been reviewed, steps can bemade toward applied data2—targeted, sustainable, and costeffective strengthening of trauma care services in already resource-poor settings. A recent study demonstrating a largely unchanged preponderance of prehospital deaths (76%) in Ghana compared with adecadeearlier (80%)3 seems tounderscore the conceivable impact that prioritizationof strategic interventions at the level of prehospital triage and transport could have. As other sectors such as maternal and child health recognize the need for such monitoring and evaluation, even as part of the MillenniumDevelopment Goal Acceleration Framework,4 hopefully lessons learned can be transferred and applied to Ghana’s trauma care system.
Charm degrees of freedom in the quark gluon plasma

Lattice QCD studies on fluctuations and correlations of charm quantum number have established that deconfinement of charm degrees of freedom sets in around the chiral crossover temperature, ${T}_{c}$; i.e., charm degrees of freedom carrying fractional baryonic charge start to appear. By reexamining those same lattice QCD data we show that, in addition to the contributions from quarklike excitations, the partial pressure of charm degrees of freedom may still contain significant contributions from open-charm-meson- and baryonlike excitations associated with integral baryonic charges for temperatures up to $1.2{T}_{c}$. Charm-quark quasiparticles become the dominant degrees of freedom for temperatures $Tg1.2{T}_{c}$.
Entertaining Deities and Humans with Performances of Puju (Puzhou Opera) at a Temple Fair in Yangxie Village, Southwestern Shanxi, May 29–June 2, 2013

On the evening of the twenty-fourth day of the fourth lunar month (June 2), 2013, the fifth day of the temple fair at the Old Temple Complex of King Tang Yao (Tang Yao guyuan 唐堯故園; for a map of the...
Ethical trilemmas

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is one of the oldest and largest professional engineering societies. Like its sister engineering organizations, it is caught up in the swirling forces of modern times. The old values seem to be falling away one by one. The respect we once took as our automatic due for belonging to a profession no longer comes to us. A hundred pressures from a hundred sides pull our minds from the performance of our duties and convert our once challenging work to a tangle of anxieties.
Realizing privacy preserving genome-wide association studies.

Motivation: As genomics moves into the clinic, there has been much interest in using this medical data for research. At the same time the use of such data raises many privacy concerns. These circumstances have led to the development of various methods to perform genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on patient records while ensuring privacy. In particular, there has been growing interest in applying differentially private techniques to this challenge. Unfortunately, up until now all methods for finding high scoring SNPs in a differentially private manner have had major drawbacks in terms of either accuracy or computational efficiency. Results: Here we overcome these limitations with a substantially modified version of the neighbor distance method for performing differentially private GWAS, and thus are able to produce a more viable mechanism. Specifically, we use input perturbation and an adaptive boundary method to overcome accuracy issues. We also design and implement a convex analysis based algorithm to calculate the neighbor distance for each SNP in constant time, overcoming the major computational bottleneck in the neighbor distance method. It is our hope that methods such as ours will pave the way for more widespread use of patient data in biomedical research. Availability and implementation: A python implementation is available at http://groups.csail.mit.edu/cb/DiffPriv/. Contact: ude.tim.liasc@bab Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Reaction Sintering Process and Mechanical Properties of Silicon Oxynitride

Silicon oxynitride ceramics were prepared by hot-pressing an equimolar Si3N4/SiO2 mixture with a small amount of CeO2. The formation of Si2N2O occurred not in the solid state but via the liquid phase in which the reactants dissolve. The chemical composition of the intergranular phase (liquid phase) changed during the reaction. CeO2 additive gave a liquid phase with a portion of SiO2 and Si3N4 above the eutectic temperature. The liquid phase promoted the formation of Si2N2O with increasing temperature. SiO2 content in the liquid phase increased with increasing temperature and time, until residual SiO2 particles dissolved completely in the liquid. After all of the residual SiO2 particles dissolved in the liquid, SiO2 component in the liquid was consumed for the formation of silicon oxynitride, and the Ce2O3/SiO2 ratio in the liquid increased. When the ratio reached a certain value, the liquid crystallized during cooling. Fracture toughness KIC of hot-pressed specimens increased by increasing soaking time and the amount of CeO2. Since the intergranular phase in the specimen with a high KIC value was crystalline and silicon oxynitride grains were larger, probably the residual strains and microcracking were induced on interfaces between the silicon oxynitride grain and the intergranular crystalline phase due to thermal expansion mismatch, resulting in interfacial bonding weakened to some extent. Consequently, crack deflection by rod-shaped silicon oxynitride grains efficiently occurred in the specimen. Flexural strength and its temperature dependence also changed by increasing the soaking time and the amount of CeO2. This result was also attributed to the difference in thermal and mechanical properties (e.g. softening temperature) of intergranular phases.
Small-Molecule Inducer of β Cell Proliferation Identified by High-Throughput Screening

The identification of factors that promote β cell proliferation could ultimately move type 1 diabetes treatment away from insulin injection therapy and toward a cure. We have performed high-throughput, cell-based screens using rodent β cell lines to identify molecules that induce proliferation of β cells. Herein we report the discovery and characterization of WS6, a novel small molecule that promotes β cell proliferation in rodent and human primary islets. In the RIP-DTA mouse model of β cell ablation, WS6 normalized blood glucose and induced concomitant increases in β cell proliferation and β cell number. Affinity pulldown and kinase profiling studies implicate Erb3 binding protein-1 and the IκB kinase pathway in the mechanism of action of WS6.