cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The nitric oxide donor S-nitroso-N-acetyl-D,L-penicillamine degrades heparan sulfate and heparin

Nitric oxide (NO) is a powerful vascular and neural regulator. One of the breakdown products of nitric oxide is nitrite which converts to nitrous acid, a reagent routinely used for the degradation of heparin and heparan sulfate. We have recently shown that nitric oxide gas degrades heparin and heparan sulfate through a nitrous acid mechanism (Vilar et al, 1997, Biochemical Journal, 324, 473-479). The purpose of the present study is to confirm these findings using the nitric oxide donor S-nitroso-N-acetyl-D,L-penicillamine (SNAP) under conditions that are close to those found in vivo. The results show that 2 mM SNAP releases a steady-state level of nitrite of over 200 microM. This level substantially degrades heparin and heparan sulfate at a pH of up to 5.0. This reaction may be important in breakdown of the glycosaminoglycan components of the extracellular matrix during normal and pathological conditions.
Binding of lysosomal hydrolases by the membranes of rat liver lysosomes: evidence for phosphomannosyl recognition markers.

Abstract Most of the soluble hydrolase activity of broken lysosomes was found to be bound to lysosomal membranes. However, this soluble activity could be released from the membranes by the addition of sugar phosphates. Mannose-6-phosphate was found to displace N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAβGase) from the membrane in a concentration dependent manner. In addition, fructose-6-phosphate and AMP were also effective. The binding of β-glucuronidase was similarly affected by sugar phosphates. The glycosyl specificity of the lysosomal membrane receptor appears to be similar to that of the plasma membrane receptor in cultured fibroblasts, as previously reported (Kaplan, A., Achord, D. T., and Sly, W. S. (1977) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 74 , 2026–2030). These results indicate that phosphomannosyl receptors for the lysosomal hydrolases may exist in the lysosomal membrane as well as in the plasma membrane.
Correlation of turbulent trailing vortex decay data

A correlation function, derived on the basis of self similar variable eddy viscosity decay, is introduced and utilized to correlate aircraft trailing vortex velocity data from ground and flight experiments. The correlation function collapses maximum tangential velocity data from scale model and flight tests to a single curve. The resulting curve clearly shows both the inviscid plateau and the downstream decay regions. A comparison between experimental data and numerical solution shows closer agreement with the variable eddy viscosity solution than the constant viscosity analytical solution.
Viva la Familia Study: genetic and environmental contributions to childhood obesity and its comorbidities in the Hispanic population

Background Genetic and environmental contributions to childhood obesity are poorly delineated. Objective The Viva la Familia Study was designed to genetically map childhood obesity and its comorbidities in the Hispanic population. The objectives of this report were to describe the study design and to summarize genetic and environmental contributions to the phenotypic variation in obesity and risk factors for metabolic diseases in Hispanic children. Design The Viva la Familia cohort consisted of 1030 children from 319 families selected based on an overweight proband between the ages of 4 and 19 y. In-depth phenotyping to characterize the overweight children and their siblings included anthropometric and body-composition traits by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and assessments of diet by 24-h recalls, physical activity by accelerometry, and risk factors for metabolic diseases by standard biochemical methods. Univariate quantitative genetic analysis was used to partition phenotypic variance into additive genetic and environmental components by using the computer program SOLAR. Results Sex, age, and environmental covariates explained 1-91% of the phenotypic variance. Heritabilities of anthropometric indexes ranged from 0.24 to 0.75. Heritability coefficients for the body-composition traits ranged from 0.18 to 0.35. Diet and physical activity presented heritabilities of 0.32 to 0.69. Risk factors for metabolic diseases were heritable with coefficients ranging from 0.25 to 0.73. Significant genetic correlations between obesity traits and risk factors for metabolic diseases substantiated pleiotropy between traits. Conclusion The Viva la Familia Study provides evidence of a strong genetic contribution to the high prevalence of obesity and its comorbidities in Hispanic children.
Evaluation of outcomes after implementation of an induction-of-labor protocol

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether adherence to an induction of labor (IOL) protocol decreases the rate of failed IOL (FIOL). Study Design We performed a 1-year retrospective chart review around the implementation of a hospital IOL protocol and compared maternal and neonatal outcomes from deliveries managed per protocol (n = 369) with those deliveries that were not (n = 230). Women at least 24 weeks' gestation with cervical dilation up to 2 cm who underwent an indicated IOL were included. Protocol-adherent (PA) inductions had amniotomy within 24 hours of starting oxytocin, intrauterine pressure catheter placement in latent labor, Montevideo units titrated to 200-300 or to adequate cervical change, and oxytocin administered for at least 12 hours after amniotomy before FIOL was diagnosed (defined as delivery by cesarean during latent labor as a result of failure to enter active labor). The primary outcome was the rate of FIOL. Control for possible confounders was made by stratification and multivariate modeling. Results FIOL rates were lowest in the PA group, which remained significant after stratification on parity and multivariate analysis (nulliparous women, 3.8% vs 9.8%; P = .043; multiparous women, 0% vs 6%; P P = .0002) and 1.5 hours in multiparous women (10.75 vs 12.25 hours, respectively; P Conclusion Adherence to a standardized IOL protocol is associated with a decreased rate of FIOL and length of labor.
Achieving optimal esthetics in a patient with severe trauma: using a multidisciplinary approach and an all-ceramic fixed partial denture.

UNLABELLED The treatment of traumatic injuries can be difficult, especially when the patient's expectations are too high or unreasonable. Such cases require extremely clear communication with the patient before beginning the case, including an explanation of the final results, based on the patient's goals. Taking over a case from another colleague adds more complications and requires that close attention is paid to the reason for the original dissatisfaction between the former dentist and patient to avoid repeating the same mistakes. Clinically, patients with thin, fragile gingiva are extremely challenging if they require a fixed partial denture in the esthetic zone since the most common material, a ceramometal bridge, requires infragingival margins; if any recession occurs, a catastrophic esthetic failure will result. The case presented here underscores all these special issues. Proper multidisciplinary management, good patient communication, and the use of an all-ceramic fixed partial denture system can provide an excellent final result. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE Replacing teeth in the esthetic zone is complicated, especially when trauma has caused severe damage to the surrounding bone and gingiva. Satisfying a demanding patient requires a multidisciplinary approach and psychological management, as are exemplified in this article.
Effects of perceptual load on startle reflex modification at a long lead interval

Inhibition of the startle eyeblink response at long lead intervals has been hypothesized to occur when attention is directed away from the modality of the startle stimulus, particularly if attention is directed to a stimulus of high perceptual load. In a test of this hypothesis, participants performed a delayed-matching-to-sample task. On each trial a pattern of dots (the sample) was followed by a second pattern of dots (the target). The task was to say whether the sample and target patterns matched. Perceptual load was manipulated by varying the number of dots in the sample. Auditory startle stimuli were presented 1200 ms after onset of the samples. A linear increase in startle magnitude was found as the number of dots increased. The results are not consistent with the hypothesis that startle inhibition occurs when the lead and startle stimuli are in different modalities under conditions of high perceptual load.
ALASKA KING CRAB: FATTY ACID COMPOSITION, CAROTENOID INDEX AND PROXIMATE ANALYSIS

SUMMARY Proximate analysis, carotenoid index, and fatty acid composition of the lipids were determined on five separate types of cooked and frozen king crab meat. Similar fatty acid content was found in all types of meat. Eight fatty acids (16:0, 16:1, 18:0, 18:1, 20:1, 22:1, 20:5 and 22:6) accounted for about 77% of the total fatty acid content; 26 others were found in low quantities. Fatty acid 20:5 was predominant acid (20.0–29.5%) followed by 18:1 (15.0–17.1%) and 22:6 (10.2–11.2%). Polyunsaturated acids were predominant (50.2–56.4%) in all types of meat followed by 29.8–33.5% for monounsaturated acids and 14.6–17.0% for saturated acids. Proximate analysis varied slightly in some types of meat with 16.3–20.7% protein, 1.3–1.8% ash, 0.9–3.3% lipid and 76.2–79.6% moisture. The carotenoid content was highest in the propoduscarpus meat and lowest in the shoulder meat. The skin contained most of the lipid (3.9%) and carotenoids.
Increased detection of alcohol consumption and at-risk drinking with computerized alcohol screening.

BackgroundThe impact of alcohol use has been widely studied and is considered a public health issue. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) recommends Screening and Brief Intervention and Referral Treatment (SBIRT) but the actual practice in the Emergency Department (ED) is constrained due to limited provider time and financial resources.ObjectivesTo assess the effectiveness of alcohol screening using Computerized Alcohol Screening and brief Intervention (CASI) compared to alcohol screening by triage nurse during Medical Screening Examination (MSE) in the ED.MethodsRetrospective review of CASI/MSE database from January 2008 through December 2009, collected in the tertiary, level I Trauma ED was performed. Inclusion criteria included age ≥18, and completion of both the MSE and CASI. We analyzed the database by comparing age, gender, primary language (English, Spanish), and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores using McNemar’s analysis.ResultsData was available for 5,835 patients. CASI showed a significant increase in detection of at-risk drinking over MSE across all ages, gender, and primary language (p<.05). MSE found 2.5% at-risk drinkers while CASI found 11.5% at risk drinkers (Odds ratio 8.88, 95%CI 6.89–11.61). Similar results were found in 18 to 20 year-old patients. MSE identified 1.7% at-risk drinkers and CASI reported 15.94%. (Odds ratio 19.33, 95% CI 6.29–96.74)ConclusionCASI increased detection of at-risk alcohol drinkers compared with MSE across all ages, gender, and primary language. CASI is a promising innovative method for alcohol screening in the ED for the adult population including under-aged drinkers.
Discrimination, discounting and impulsivity: a role for an informational constraint

Feeding animals often prefer small, quickly delivered rewards over larger, more delayed rewards. Students of feeding behaviour typically explain this behaviour by saying that animals discount delayed benefits. Temporal discounting implies that delayed benefits are worth less than immediate benefits. This paper presents a new explanation of short-sighted decision-making called the discrimination advantage model that does not rely on discounting. A new model that includes several possible causes of discounting is developed. This model has many interesting features, but it cannot account for two empirical results: the strength of the 'discounting' effect and the fact that the time between choice presentations (the intertrial interval or ITI) has no effect. This leads to the conclusion that although discounting may be important it is probably not a complete explanation of the experimental facts. In the discrimination advantage model the observation that the ITI does not affect choice is seen as a strategy to make a cleaner discrimination between delayed alternatives in a noisy world. A simple example shows that when discrimination is imperfect a short-sighted choice rule can, in some situations, lead to a higher long-term rate than a rule that actually compares long-term rates. This idea is developed and extended in several ways.
Application of the UPRE Method to Optimal Parameter Selection for Large Scale Regularization Problems

Regularization is an important method for solving a wide variety of inverse problems in image processing. In order to optimize the reconstructed image, it is important to choose the optimal regularization parameter. The unbiased predictive risk estimator (UPRE) has been shown to give a very good estimate of this parameter. Applying the traditional UPRE is impractical, however, in the case of inverse problems such as deblurring, due to the large scale of the associated linear problem. We propose an approach to reducing the large scale problem to a small problem, significantly reducing computational requirements while providing a good approximation to the original problem.
Lupus-Prone Mice Fail to Raise Antigen-Specific T Cell Responses to Intracellular Infection

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by multiple cellular abnormalities culminating in the production of autoantibodies and immune complexes, resulting in tissue inflammation and organ damage. Besides active disease, the main cause of morbidity and mortality in SLE patients is infections, including those from opportunistic pathogens. To understand the failure of the immune system to fend off infections in systemic autoimmunity, we infected the lupus-prone murine strains B6.lpr and BXSB with the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii and survival was monitored. Furthermore, mice were sacrificed days post infection and parasite burden and cellular immune responses such as cytokine production and cell activation were assessed. Mice from both strains succumbed to infection acutely and we observed greater susceptibility to infection in older mice. Increased parasite burden and a defective antigen-specific IFN-gamma response were observed in the lupus-prone mice. Furthermore, T cell:dendritic cell co-cultures established the presence of an intrinsic T cell defect responsible for the decreased antigen-specific response. An antigen-specific defect in IFN- gamma production prevents lupus-prone mice from clearing infection effectively. This study reveals the first cellular insight into the origin of increased susceptibility to infections in SLE disease and may guide therapeutic approaches.
Selected aspects of collared peccary (Dicotyles tajacu) reproductive biology in a captive texas herd

Collared peccaries (Dicotyles tajacu) from 32 litters were born in captivity during the period from September, 1981 through July, 1983. Incidence of singleton, twin, and triplet litters was 28%, 66%, and 6%, respectively. Mean (± SE) weight of young from singleton, twin, and triplet litters was 751 (± 35) gm, 698 (± 17) gm, and 612 (± 74) gm, respectively. Sex ratio among all litters was 56:44 (M:F). Neonatal mortality amounted to 9% of the young born. Mean duration of estrus was 2.60 days and mean length of gestation was 145.6 days. Evidence indicated that multiple copulations increased ovulation rate and the chance for conception.
A PML-FDTD algorithm for general dispersive media in GPR and plasma applications

We present a 3D FDTD algorithm with the PML absorbing boundary condition for general inhomogeneous, dispersive, conductive media. The modified time-domain Maxwell's equations for dispersive media are expressed in terms of the coordinate stretching variables. A single formulation is developed to include recursive convolution and piecewise linear recursive convolution for arbitrary dispersive media. Several applications are demonstrated for subsurface radar detection (GPR-ground penetrating radar) of cylinders and a sphere buried in a dispersive half-space. The algorithm proposed is ideal for parallel computation since the same code is shared by both the interior computational region and the outer matched layers. Because of their generality, the algorithm and computer program developed can be used to model biological materials, artificial dielectrics, optical materials, and other dispersive media.
ErmineJ: Tool for functional analysis of gene expression data sets

Background: It is common for the results of a microarray study to be analyzed in the context of biologically-motivated groups of genes such as pathways or Gene Ontology categories. The most common method for such analysis uses the hypergeometric distribution (or a related technique) to look for "over-representation" of groups among genes selected as being differentially expressed or otherwise of interest based on a gene-by-gene analysis. However, this method suffers from some limitations, and biologist-friendly tools that implement alternatives have not been reported. Results: We introduce ErmineJ, a multiplatform user-friendly stand-alone software tool for the analysis of functionally-relevant sets of genes in the context of microarray gene expression data. ErmineJ implements multiple algorithms for gene set analysis, including over-representation and resampling-based methods that focus on gene scores or correlation of gene expression profiles. In addition to a graphical user interface, ErmineJ has a command line interface and an application programming interface that can be used to automate analyses. The graphical user interface includes tools for creating and modifying gene sets, visualizing the Gene Ontology as a table or tree, and visualizing gene expression data. ErmineJ comes with a complete user manual, and is open-source software licensed under the Gnu Public License. Conclusion: The availability of multiple analysis algorithms, together with a rich feature set and simple graphical interface, should make ErmineJ a useful addition to the biologist's informatics toolbox. ErmineJ is available from http://microarray.cu.genome.org.
An evolutionarily conserved RNA stem-loop functions as a sensor that directs feedback regulation of RNase E gene expression.

RNase E is a key regulatory enzyme that controls the principal pathway for mRNA degradation in Escherichia coli. The cellular concentration of this endonuclease is governed by a feedback mechanism in which RNase E tightly regulates its own synthesis. Autoregulation is mediated in cis by the 361-nucleotide 5* untranslated region (UTR) of rne (RNase E) mRNA. Here we report the determination of the secondary structure of the rne 5* UTR by phylogenetic comparison and chemical alkylation, together with dissection studies to identify the 5* UTR element that mediates autoregulation. Our findings reveal that the structure and function of the rne 5* UTRs are evolutionarily well conserved despite extensive sequence divergence. Within the rne 5* UTRs are multiple RNA secondary structure elements, two of which function in cis to mediate feedback regulation of rne gene expression. The more potent of these two elements is a stem‐loop structure containing an internal loop whose sequence is the most highly conserved of any region of the rne 5* UTR. Our data show that this stem‐loop functions as a sensor of cellular RNase E activity that directs autoregulation by modulating the degradation rate of rne mRNA in response to changes in RNase E activity.
Acceptance and Action Questionnaire—II Scores as a Predictor of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Among War Veterans

Although much is known regarding predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), little of this knowledge directly informs treatment. This study examined whether higher scores on the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire—II (AAQ–II), a self-report measure that purportedly assesses experiential avoidance and psychological inflexibility, accounted for unique variance in PTSD symptoms compared with personality factors and other established predictors of PTSD. In addition, this study examined whether the construct measured by the AAQ–II accounts for unique variance in PTSD severity over and above the avoidance symptoms of PTSD. A sample of 109 trauma-exposed veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, approximately half of whom met current PTSD criteria on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), completed self-report measures of PTSD, combat exposure, perceived life threat, peritraumatic dissociation, recent life stress, perceived postdeployment social support, and personality. Higher AAQ–II scores, which indicate higher levels of psychological inflexibility and experiential avoidance, accounted for unique variance in PTSD symptom severity after controlling for all other predictors (small effect size [ES] on the CAPS; large ES on the self-report PTSD measure). Significant effects for AAQ–II scores remained after controlling for the avoidance symptoms of PTSD (small ES on the CAPS; medium ES on the self-report measure). Scores on the AAQ–II appears to be an important predictor of PTSD that warrants further investigation. Research should continue to examine the malleability of the constructs assessed by the AAQ–II, which may be useful targets in treatment.
Methodology of Pulsed Photoacoustics and Its Application to Probe Photosystems and Receptors

We review recent advances in the methodology of pulsed time-resolved photoacoustics and its application to studies of photosynthetic reaction centers and membrane receptors such as the G protein-coupled receptor rhodopsin. The experimental parameters accessible to photoacoustics include molecular volume change and photoreaction enthalpy change. Light-driven volume change secondary to protein conformational changes or electrostriction is directly related to the photoreaction and thus can be a useful measurement of activity and function. The enthalpy changes of the photochemical reactions observed can be measured directly by photoacoustics. With the measurement of enthalpy change, the reaction entropy can also be calculated when free energy is known. Dissecting the free energy of a photoreaction into enthalpic and entropic components may provide critical information about photoactivation mechanisms of photosystems and photoreceptors. The potential limitations and future applications of time-resolved photoacoustics are also discussed.
The effects of BRCA1 missense variants V1804D and M1628T on transcriptional activity

Many families with multiple cases of ovarian cancer, breast cancer, or both segregate inherited mutations in one allele of the tumor suppressor gene BRCA1. Genetic testing is used to assess cancer risk; however, testing can detect missense DNA alterations, called unclassified variants, of unknown functional and biological significance with uncertain risk implications. Some missense variants at the transcriptional activation domain of BRCA1 of cancer patients inactivate transcriptional activity of BRCA1, providing evidence that they are deleterious. We identified the variants V1804D and M1628T at the transcriptional activation domain of BRCA1 of two ovarian cancer patients without a family history of ovarian or breast cancer. To test if these residues are critical for transcriptional activation, we created V1804D and M1628T independently in BRCA1 cDNA via site-directed mutagenesis in a mammalian expression vector, pcDNA3.1. Wild-type, mutant, and empty vector constructs were tested in human kidney 293 cells using a p53-responsive luciferase reporter. M1628T had the same transcriptional activity as wild-type BRCA1 but V1804D and the empty vector control showed a 60% reduction. This indicates that V1804D is deleterious but M1628T is not.
Anytime exploratory data analysis for massive data sets

Exploratory data analysis is inherently an iterative, interactive endeavor. In the context of massive data sets, however, many current data analysis algorithms will not scale appropriately to permit interaction on a human time-scale. In this paper "anytime data analysis" is proposed as a general framework to enable exploratory data analysis of massive data sets. Anytime data analysis takes into account not only the quality of the model being fit but also the resources (time and memory) used to achieve that fit. The framework is discussed in some detail for interactive multivariate density estimation. Out-of-sample log-likelihood and model combination techniques (such as stacking) are used to greedily explore the data landscape. The method is applied to two significant scientific data sets where it is shown that it can be better to combine multiple "cheap-to-construct" models than to spend the same time optimizing the parameters of a single more complex model.
Simulating a Foreign Policy Dilemma: Considering US Humanitarian Intervention

The humanitarian impulse in the United States routinely clashes with isolationist sentiment, with appeals to the national interest, and with apathy in and out of government. This class exercise encourages students to explore the contours of the debate over humanitarian intervention with a crisis unfolding in Belagua, a fictitious Latin American country. As the crisis deteriorates, students increasingly feel the tension between wanting to help the at-risk civilian population and avoiding a messy conflict from which the United States could have trouble extracting itself. The project requires students to address key questions about the US role in the Belagua case and to consider what the United States could or should have done in actual situations, such as Rwanda and Syria. Because these crises are likely to occur in the decades to come, this exercise initiates students to the challenges that the United States, as well as the international community, undoubtedly will face.
Do international commodity prices drive natural resource booms? An empirical analysis of small-scale gold mining in Suriname

Abstract Natural resource booms have been central to conservation and development in resource-rich Latin American countries, yet the origin of these events remains poorly understood. Understanding the socioeconomic drivers of resource booms is important because such sudden increases in natural resources extraction are usually ecologically and economically unsustainable. This paper analyzes the socioeconomic drivers of small-scale gold mining, which is degrading ecological resources and the health of people in the Amazon region. Two conventional hypotheses are tested: (1) International prices of gold drive the Amazon gold rush, and (2) National economic recession encourages small-scale gold mining. A simple empirical model is presented to link the gold mining histories of local miners to international and national trends. The analysis indicates that theories that explain corporately-driven resource extraction may not apply to the behavior of small-scale producers. It appears that extractive booms that are driven by local resource users can occur independently of global price markets. The Suriname case further suggests that inhibited national economic development can be the cause of a natural resource boom, and not only a consequence as some researchers propose. The author concludes that conservation policies for Suriname should act to stabilize the national economy and to promote more sustainable mining methods.
Detection of apical Na+/H+exchanger activity inhibition in proximal tubules induced by acute hypertension

We previously showed that acute arterial hypertension induces an inhibition of fluid and NaCl reabsorption in proximal tubules of Sprague-Dawley rats, which is associated with a rapid reversible in...
Prehospital transportation to therapeutic hypothermia centers and survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Clinical trials supporting the use of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) in the treatment of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) are based on small patient samples and do not reflect the wide variation in patient selection, cooling methods, and other elements of post-arrest care that are used in everyday practice. This study provides a real world evaluation of the effectiveness of post-arrest care in TH centers during a time of growing TH dissemination in the state of New Jersey (NJ). Using a linked database of prehospital, hospital, and mortality records for NJ in 2009-2010, we compared rates of neurologically intact survival at discharge and at 30 days for OHCA patients transported to TH centers (N = 2363) versus other hospitals (N = 2479). We used logistic regression to adjust for patient and hospital covariates. To account for potential endogeneity in prehospital transportation decisions, we used an instrumental variable (IV) based on differential distance to the nearest TH and non-TH hospitals. Patients taken to TH centers were older, more likely to have a witnessed arrest, more likely to receive defibrillation, and waited a shorter amount of time for initial EMS response. Also, TH hospitals were larger, more likely to be teaching facilities, and operated in a service area with a relatively lower poverty rate compared to hospitals statewide. A Stock-Yogo test confirmed the strength of our IV (F = 2349.91, p < 0.0001). Nevertheless, the data showed no evidence of endogenous transportation to TH centers related to in-hospital survival (Z = -0.08, p = 0.934) or 30-day survival (Z = 0.94, p = 0.349). In logistic regression models, treatment at a TH center was associated with greater odds of 30-day neurologically intact survival (OR = 1.70; 95 % CI: 1.19 – 2.42) but not associated with the odds of neurologically intact survival to hospital discharge (OR = 0.90; 95 % CI: 0.61 – 1.31). Post-arrest outcomes are more favorable at TH centers but these improved outcomes are not apparent until after hospital discharge. This finding may reflect superior care by TH centers in later stages of post-arrest treatment such as care provided in the intensive care unit, which has greater potential to affect longer term outcomes than initial treatment in the emergency department.
Toward a Unified Theory of Reasoning

Abstract This article describes a theory that uses mental models to integrate deductive, inductive, and probabilistic reasoning. It spells out the main principles of the theory and illustrates them with examples from various domains. It shows how models underlie inductions, explanations, estimates of probabilities, and informal algorithms. In all these cases, a central principle is that the mind represents each sort of possibility in a separate mental model and infers whatever holds in the resulting set of models. Finally, the article reviews what has been accomplished in implementing the theory in a single large-scale computer program, mReasoner.
Multiscale quantification of urban composition from EO-1/Hyperion data using object-based spectral unmixing

Abstract Quantification of the urban composition is important in urban planning and management. Previous research has primarily focused on unmixing medium-spatial resolution multispectral imagery using spectral mixture analysis (SMA) in order to estimate the abundance of urban components. For this study an object-based multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis (MESMA) approach was applied to unmix the 30-m Earth Observing-1 (EO-1)/Hyperion hyperspectral imagery. The abundance of two physical urban components (vegetation and impervious surface) was estimated and mapped at multiple scales and two defined geographic zones. The estimation results were validated by a reference dataset generated from fine spatial resolution aerial photography. The object-based MESMA approach was compared with its corresponding pixel-based one, and EO-1/Hyperion hyperspectral data was compared with the simulated EO-1/Advanced Land Imager (ALI) multispectral data in the unmixing modeling. The pros and cons of the object-based MESMA were evaluated. The result illustrates that the object-based MESMA is promising for unmixing the medium-spatial resolution hyperspectral imagery to quantify the urban composition, and it is an attractive alternative to the traditional pixel-based mixture analysis for various applications.
INDUCTION OF EXPRESSION OF GROWTH-RELATED GENES BY FGF-4 IN MOUSE FIBROBLASTS

Cells monitor and respond to extracellular signals from polypeptide growth factors by the induction of a genetic program. Although poorly understood at the molecular level, the biological activity of growth factors is believed to be mediated by the regulation of specific sets of genes. We have isolated a number of cDNAs, the expression of whose corresponding RNAs is induced by FGF-4 (K-FGF) in murine NIH3T3 fibroblasts. The cDNAs (FIN, for FGF-inducible) were isolated using a strategy of subtractive hybridization designed to yield 'late' genes which compared transformed 3T3 cells that constitutively produce FGF-4 with their normal counterpart. The 21 independent cDNAs isolated were found to correspond to known genes (FIN1-12), or novel genes (FIN13-21). Expression of the FIN genes is induced in response to FGF-4 as well as to serum in NIH3T3 cells with delayed kinetics, with maximum stimulation occurring 12-18h after growth factor treatment. Induction requires protein synthesis and is mostly transcriptional. FIN1-12 encode a broad range of previously described genes, some of which are proposed to have an important role in cell proliferation. The novel clones include a putative serine-threonine phosphatase (FIN13) and a gene with homology to NTP-binding proteins (FIN16). The distribution of expression of the novel FIN clones in adult mouse tissues was highly restricted, although most were expressed in embryos. While expression of novel FIN cDNAs was strongly regulated in NIH3T3 cells, induction of differentiation in PC-12 cells by FGF-4 (as well as by NGF) did not result in significant induction of expression, suggesting that most of the FIN genes are proliferation-specific. Chromosomal localization of novel FIN clones indicated that each segregated independently to separate mouse chromosomes.
Microtubules, MAPs, and motor patterns.

Cells have an amazing ability to self-organize and rearrange their interiors. Such morphology changes are essential to cell development, division, and motility. The core of a cell's internal organization lies with the cytoskeleton made of both microtubule and actin filaments with their associated proteins and ATP-utilizing enzymes. Despite years of in vitro reconstitution experiments, we still do not fully understand how the cytoskeleton can self-organize. In an attempt to create a simple system of self-organization, we have used a simple filament-gliding assay to examine how kinesin-1-driven motion of microtubules can generate cell-like organization in the presence of excess filaments and antiparallel cross-linkers.
Neoadjuvant treatment of stages T2 to T4 bladder cancer with cis-platinum, cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin.

AbstractIn an ongoing phase II study 17 patients with potentially operable transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder (stages T2 to T4, Nx, Mo) have been treated with intravenous cis-platinum (50mg. per m.2), cyclophosphamide (400mg. per m.2) and doxorubicin (40mg. per m.2). They were to receive 3 treatments at 3-week intervals before cystectomy and 2 treatments at 3-week intervals commencing 5 weeks after cystectomy.Of 17 patients 14 (82 per cent) completed all 3 preoperative treatments but only 7 (41 per cent) continued on to complete the entire 5 treatments. In most cases incomplete therapy was due to patient refusal. Toxicity was low as measured by World Health Organization standards.Of the 17 patients 9 (53 per cent) exhibited objective tumor response (pathological downstaging or greater than 50 per cent reduction of tumor volume determined by either computerized tomography scan and/or endoscopic examination. When the determination was made by endoscopy the changes were dramatic and not borderline.) ...
Association Between Medicare Hospital Readmission Penalties and 30-Day Combined Excess Readmission and Mortality.

Importance US hospitals receive financial penalties for excess risk–standardized 30-day readmissions and mortality in Medicare patients. Under current policy, readmission prevention is incentivized over 10-fold more than mortality reduction. Objective To determine how penalties for US hospitals would change if policy equally weighted 30-day readmissions and mortality. Design, Setting, and Participants Publicly available hospital-level data for fiscal year 2014 was obtained, including excess readmission ratio (ERR; risk-standardized predicted over expected 30-day readmissions) and 30-day mortality rates for heart failure, pneumonia, and acute myocardial infarction, as well as readmission penalties (as percent of Medicare Diagnosis Group payments). An excess mortality ratio (EMR) was calculated by dividing the risk-standardized predicted mortality by the national average mortality. Case-weighted aggregate ERR (ERR AGG ) and EMR (EMR AGG ) were calculated, and an excess combined outcome ratio (ECOR AGG ) was created by averaging ERR AGG and EMR AGG . We examined associations between readmission penalties, ERR AGG , EMR AGG , and ECOR AGG . Analysis of variance was used to compare readmission penalties in hospitals with concordant (both ratios >1 or AGG and ECOR AGG . Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome investigated was the association between readmission penalties and the calculated excess combined outcome ratio (ECOR AGG ). Results In 1963 US hospitals with complete data, readmission penalties closely tracked excess readmissions ( r = 0.81; P r = −0.12; P r = 0.36; P AGG and ECOR AGG as the reference group, 17% of hospitals had an ECOR AGG ratio less than 1 (ie, superior combined mortality/readmission outcome) with an ERR AGG ratio greater than 1, and received higher mean (SD) readmission penalties (0.41% [0.28%] vs 0.29% [0.37%]; P AGG ratio of greater than 1 (ie, inferior combined mortality/readmission outcome) with an ERR AGG ratio less than 1, and received minimal mean (SD) readmission penalties (0.08% [0.12%]; P Conclusions and Relevance In fiscal year 2014, financial penalties for one-third of US hospitals would have been substantially altered if 30-day readmission and mortality were considered equally important. Under most circumstances, patients would rather avoid death than rehospitalization. Current Medicare financial penalties do not meet the goals of aligning incentives and fairly reimbursing hospitals for patient-centered outcomes.
Initial Development of a Gendered-Racial Socialization Scale for African American College Women

As research exploring the racial-ethnic socialization practices of African American families continues to expand, scholars have argued for a more multidimensional approach in the measurement of racial-ethnic socialization that focuses on the influence that youths’ gender may have on the messages families provide. Although studies have used current racial-ethnic socialization measures to examine gender differences in the messages youth receive, these studies are limited in investigating intersectional messages that African American girls and women receive regarding racial and gender identities. The present preliminary study sought to address this inadequacy by developing the Gendered Racial-Ethnic Socialization Scale for Black Women (GRESS-BW), a scale that accounts for the unique messages African American young women receive regarding their intersectional identities. Utilizing a sample of 174 African American college women, Exploratory Factor Analysis indicated that the GRESS-BW consisted of 63 items with a 9-factor solution. There was strong internal consistency for the GRESS-BW factors and the total scale. GRESS-BW construct validity assessment revealed that several of the factors were significantly positively related to a racial-ethnic socialization scale. However, only two components were significantly related to a gender-role socialization measure. Clinical and research implications are discussed.
Comparison of outcomes in patients with locally advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) versus conventionally fractionated radiation: An analysis of the National Cancer Database.

366Background: As systemic therapy has improved for locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC), efforts to improve local control have become critical. While conventionally fractionated radiation therapy (CFRT) has more recently shown a limited role in LAPC, stereotactic body irradiation (SBRT) is an emerging approach that delivers higher doses of radiation therapy, to small volumes, over a much shorter period of time. With no studies to date comparing SBRT to CFRT for LAPC, we utilized the National Cancer Database (NCDB) to evaluate these two modalities. Methods: Using the NCDB, patients with AJCC clinic cT2-4, N0-1, M0 adenocarcinoma of the pancreas diagnosed from 2004-2013 were analyzed. Radiation therapy delivered at 2 Gy per fraction or less was deemed CFRT, and 4 Gy or more per fraction was considered SBRT to allow inclusion of practice variations. Kaplan-Meier, log-rank test, and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression were performed with overall survival (OS) as the primary outcome. Propen...
Taxonomy and Metabolism of Rhizobium and its Genetic Relationships

As we approach the end of the twentieth century, all evidence points to an increasing worldwide food and protein deficit. This deficit will result from rapid population increases, the high cost and scarcity of energy, scarcity of arable land, and climatic changes. As to the last item, climatic changes have caused a 10% increase in the amount of world desert areas over the past 10 or so years. Atmospheric changes in ozone and carbon dioxide levels, deforestation, environment pollution, and/or cyclic atmospheric changes have all been implicated, but the reasons for this trend are not yet clear.
Finance in the Courtroom: Appraising Its Growing Pains

This short essay provides an overview of the current state of finance in corporate law, emphasizing its role in a series of pending appraisal cases at the Delaware Supreme Court.
Heteromer Nanostars by Spontaneous Self-Assembly

Heteromer star-shaped nanoparticles have the potential to carry out therapeutic agents, improve intracellular uptake, and safely release drugs after prolonged periods of residence at the diseased site. A one-step seed mediation process was employed using polylactide-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), silver nitrate, and tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium chloride (THPC). Mixing these reagents followed by UV irradiation successfully produced heteromer nanostars containing a number of arm chains attached to a single core with a high yield. The release of THPC from heteromer nanostars was tested for its potential use for breast cancer treatment. The nanostars present a unique geometrical design exhibiting a significant intracellular uptake by breast cancer cells but low cytotoxicity that potentiates its efficacy as drug carriers.
Investigating the Blood Oxygenation Level-Dependent Functional MRI Response to a Verbal Fluency Task in Early Stroke before and after Hemodynamic Scaling.

Background and Objective: BOLD functional MRI (fMRI) has been extensively used as a marker of brain dysfunction and subsequent recovery following stroke. However, growing evidence suggests that straightforward interpretation of BOLD fMRI changes with aging and disease is challenging. In this study we investigated the effect of calibrating task fMRI data by applying a hemodynamic calibration method using the resting-state fluctuation amplitude (RSFA). Task fMRI responses were obtained during a covert verbal fluency task in a group of early stage stroke patients and matched healthy normal controls. Methods: Fifteen acute left-hemisphere stroke patients (less than 7 days from stroke; ages 44-84 years, average~64 years) and 21 healthy controls (ages 55-77 years, average~61 years) were prospectively studied. All subjects completed a 3-minute covert verbal fluency task, and a 10-minute eyes-closed resting-state fMRI scan, from which the calibration factor (RSFA) was computed. A behavioral measure on the verbal fluency task was also collected outside the scanner. Whole brain activation volumes and region of interest (ROI-wise) percent signal change and activation volumes before and after calibration were computed. Results: Between group differences in whole brain activation volumes, although statistically significant before calibration failed to be significant after calibration. There were significant within-group differences before and after calibration with RSFA. Statistically significant between-group differences on ROI-wise measures before calibration also significantly reduced after calibration. Exploratory brain-behavior correlations revealed a similar pattern: Significant correlations before calibration failed to survive after calibration. Discussion and Conclusion: BOLD fMRI changes with aging and disease is confounded by changes in neurofunctional coupling leading to challenges in the straightforward interpretation of task fMRI results. Application of the hemodynamic calibration using the RSFA technique in the current study appeared to mitigate any differences between stroke and age-matched healthy controls. Our study indicates that estimating neural activity after applying hemodynamic scaling is important for studies of aging as well as for studies tracking post-stroke changes. We recommend that further investigation of hemodynamic calibration with RSFA in healthy subjects as well as in stroke in larger samples is necessary.
Characteristics of traffic-induced fugitive dust from unpaved roads

ABSTRACTThe characteristics of fugitive dust emitted from vehicles traveling on unpaved dirt roads were measured using a suite of instruments including a real-time fugitive dust sampler. The fugitive dust sampler is formed from a combination of a large particle inlet and an optical particle spectrometer that reports particle sizes from 6 to 75 µm. The large particle inlet permits the sampling of particles up to 75 µm with only a moderate dependence of sampling efficiency on wind-speed. Measurements made with the sampler showed that particles as large as ∼50 µm were suspended from vehicular movement on the dirt roads, with the mode of the fugitive dust particle number size distribution ∼2 µm, while the mass distribution mode was ∼7 µm. A comparison of the fugitive dust sampler measurements with those made using standard PM instruments showed that the conventional instruments have a wind-direction bias that can result in under-sampling of large particles. The current measurements suggest that particles susp...
Network reduction based on propagation of large disturbances for load model validation

Wide-area load model validation using disturbances is difficult because the large number of load buses makes the problem intractable. One method to mitigate this problem is to reduce the number of buses on which dynamic models are implemented. In this paper, we define the region of influence (ROI) as those buses which are most impacted by the disturbance, and we propose using the ROI to determine the internal and external buses of the analysis. The analysis shows that a large percentage of the system is minimally impacted by the disturbance when only the voltage is considered, unlike frequency, which is a global system phenomenon. Such a voltage effect based equivalent is assumed to be adequate for load model validation due to the close coupling between load and voltage dynamics. By setting a threshold and only placing dynamic load models on the ROI region within, the number of differential equations can be reduced significantly. Finally, we investigate how the parameter estimation is affected by using this reduced load model.