cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using individual networks to identify treatment targets for eating disorder treatment: a proof-of-concept study and initial data.

Eating disorders (EDs) are severe mental illnesses, with high morbidity, mortality, and societal burden. EDs are extremely heterogenous, and only 50% of patients currently respond to first-line treatments. Personalized and effective treatments for EDs are drastically needed. The current study (N = 34 participants with an ED diagnosis collected throughout the United States) aimed to investigate best methods informing how to select personalized treatment targets utilizing idiographic network analysis, which could then be used for evidence based personalized treatment development. We present initial data collected via experience sampling (i.e., ecological momentary assessment) over the course of 15 days, 5 times a day (75 total measurement points) that were used to select treatment targets for a personalized treatment for EDs. Overall, we found that treatment targets were highly variable, with less than 50% of individuals endorsing central symptoms related to weight and shape, consistent with current treatment response rates for treatments designed to target those symptoms. We also found that different aspects of selection methods (e.g., number of items, type of centrality measure) impacted treatment target selection. We discuss implications of these data, how to use idiographic network analysis to personalize treatment, and identify areas that need future research. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT04183894. Registered 3 December 2019—Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04183894 . NCT04183894 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier). Eating disorders are severe psychiatric illnesses that carry high mortality, morbidity, and societal and personal burden. Treatments for eating disorders only work in 50% of patients, signifying a great need to improve treatments. One reason that treatments may not work, is because eating disorders vary substantially from one individual to the next, which existing treatments do not fully consider. The current study (N = 34 participants with an eating disorder diagnosis) uses a new modeling technique to identify which symptoms should be targeted in treatment in a personalized manner. As expected, we found that, using this modeling technique, symptoms that should be targeted in treatment vary considerably. We discuss how to use this modeling technique to identify individual treatment targets and ways in which the field can use this strategy to improve existing and create new treatments.
Slow and fast minimal speed traveling waves of the FKPP equation with chemotaxis

We examine a general model for the Fisher-KPP (FKPP) equation with nonlocal advection. The main interpretation of this model is as describing a diffusing and logistically growing population that is also influenced by intraspecific attraction or repulsion. For a particular choice of parameters, this specializes to the Keller-Segel-Fisher equation for chemotaxis. Our interest is in the effect of chemotaxis on the speed of traveling waves. We prove that there is a threshold such that, when interactions are weaker and more localized than this, chemotaxis, despite being non-trivial, does not influence the speed of traveling waves; that is, the minimal speed traveling wave has speed 2 as in the FKPP case. On the other hand, when the interaction is repulsive, the minimal traveling wave speed can be be arbitrarily large depending on the interaction strength and length scale.
Abstract 13287: Dendritic Cells Play a Critical Role in the Initiation of Atherosclerosis

Introduction: Dendritic cells (DCs) that are known as professional antigen-presenting cells have been found to pre-locate in non-inflammatory arterial wall and increasingly accumulate during atherosclerosis progression. Previous findings suggested that residential DCs in the intima are responsible for capturing modified lipids and forming foam cells during the initiation of atherosclerosis. Hypothesis: DC accumulation and enhanced DC-T cell interaction play a critical role in the initiation of atherosclerosis. Methods: We measured plaque formation, vascular DC accumulation and antigen-specific T cell proliferation mediated by isolated aortic cells in ApoE-/- mice, as well as DTR-CD11c/ApoE-/- or DTR-CD11b/ApoE-/- mice for conditional depletion of DCs or macrophages, respectively. A brief high-fat diet for 10 days was used as a model of initial atherosclerosis. Results: In addition to increased intimal DC accumulation and plaque formation in aortic roots, 10 days of HFD induced T cell infiltration in ApoE-...
Application of Model Reference Control with Time Delay to the Space Shuttle Main Engine

Model Reference Control with Time Delay (MRC/TD) was applied to a FORTRAN simulation program of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). An engine throttle with and without applied disturbances was used for comparing the MRC/TD controller with the existing PI controller. Also, both control systems' performances were compared for atypical engine operation. It was concluded that the MRC/TD controller provides better performance than the existing PI controller. The MRC/TD controller produces better responses for a typical mission. Also, its disturbance rejection properties are better, less computation is involved in generating the control inputs, and it provides more versatility of engine use.
Patterns of Attachments across the Lifespan

The attachment relationship is a critical bond between infant and caregiver that, when secure, facilitates physical and psychological well-being. Cutting-edge research integrating attachment theory with cognitive theories of event representations indicates that both generalized event representations, or scripts, and specific autobiographical narratives provide continuity from implicit to explicit representations of attachment across development. Script-like attachment representations are related to implicit behavioral measures in infancy, as well as to adult narrative measures of attachment, the emerging life story, and intimate partner behaviors, providing continuity across development in attachment representations and behaviors. Explicit attachment representations are at least partly developed within parentally guided narrative interactions in which mothers help their preschool children develop coherent and emotionally regulated representations of their past experiences. These representations are related to developing self-concept and emotion-regulation. Narrative representations of attachment extend beyond personal experience to include intergenerational narratives of the familial past, thus facilitating the intergenerational transmission of attachment. Additional longitudinal research is needed to flesh out these exciting new integrations of attachment theory and cognitive psychology. Keywords: attachment; event representations; internal working model; scripts; autobiographical narratives; intergenerational transmission
Mervyn Susser and the logic of scientific discovery.

This tribute to the late Mervyn W. Susser illustrates his wonderful intellectual independence when he addressed challenging issues such as those associated with causal inference. Hopefully, these examples will stimulate current and future generations of epidemiologists to keep reading Susser’s work, studying his ideas, and preserving his intellectual stature. Susser’s approach to epidemiology was unorthodox: he did not hold a degree in epidemiology, wrote a text of sociology before being invited to chair the then Division of Epidemiology at Columbia University, and always approached debates among epidemiologists with the lenses of an historian. This may explain his intellectual command of the methodological and philosophical problems of the discipline. The issue of causality, with its strong philosophical ramifications, is a case in point. Susser was unhappy with the state of epidemiologic thinking about causation since he encountered epidemiology in the mid 1960s. He believed that ‘for the most part, epidemiologists [had] skirted the topic of the inherent properties of a cause’. The epidemiologic literature spoke of determinants, exposures, and risk factors; it described kinds of causes as necessary or sufficient, single or multiple, direct or indirect but ‘without facing the treacherous issues of the definition of a cause’, that is, without approaching causality as an issue pertaining to scientific discovery. Indeed, Austin Bradford Hill had explicitly taken distance from philosophy when he had listed his set of ‘viewpoints from all of which we should study association before we cry causation’: ‘I have no wish, nor the skill, to embark upon a philosophical discussion of the meaning of “causation” ’. What mattered for Hill was: ‘What aspects of that association should we especially consider before deciding that the most likely interpretation of it is causation?’ For Susser, however, causal thinking was not about associations but about scientific discovery. It was crucial for epidemiology to be ‘committed to matters of substance and scientific discovery’. The studied question prevailed. It had to be considered in its complexity using relevant theories and models. Susser originally envisioned an ecologic theory in which the agent, host, and environment interacted, but he later refined it, with Ezra Susser, to involve several levels of organisation and called it ‘eco-epidemiology’. Once the question had been clarified in its complexity, every possible tool of scientific discovery had to be used to answer it. This primacy of research over doctrine led Susser to disagree with towering scientific figures. Consider his disagreements with statistician Karl Pearson and with philosopher Karl Popper.
Bilateral microphthalmos with cyst in a neonatal foal

A 1-day-old miniature horse filly was presented to the University of Florida Veterinary Ophthalmology service for evaluation of multiple ocular anomalies which were present from birth. Protruding from the right orbit was a large, fluctuant, red, dry and variably ulcerated mass. A globe could not be appreciated clinically in the left orbit. Ocular ultrasound of both orbits was performed. This revealed a lobular, hypo-echoic structure filling the right orbit, with multiple hyperechoic septations; normal ocular structures were not identified. Ultrasound of the left orbit revealed a microphthalmic eye, with a well-defined, hyperechoic structure in the vitreous that was thought to be the lens. Due to irreversible blindness, the foal was humanely euthanized. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry of the orbital contents revealed bilateral microphthalmos with cyst, a congenital defect rarely reported in the veterinary literature.
Inductive activity and enduring cellular constitution of a supernumerary apical ectodermal ridge grafted to the limb bud of the chick embryo.

Abstract Apical ectodermal ridges (AERs) isolated from 3- to 4-day chick and quail embryos were prepared by means of trypsinization and microdissection and then were grafted to the dorsal or ventral side of a host chick wing bud. They induced supernumerary limb outgrowths from the host bud showing, respectively, a bidorsal or biventral organization, as determined by the patterns of feather germs. The grafted ridge cells persisted, as revealed by histological sections of supernumerary chick limb parts growing under the influence of quail AERs, whose cells are readily distinguished after application of the Feulgen reagent. These results show that the AER induces limb outgrowth regardless of whether it is associated with dorsal or ventral limb ectoderm and that its continued existence is not dependent on contributions of ectodermal cells from the opposed ectodermal faces of the limb bud. The AER is pictured as maintaining the subjacent mesoderm in a condition of developmental plasticity without specifying its differentiation with respect to the proximodistal axis. It remains uncertain whether the positional values of cells that develop under the influence of the AER arise within these cells themselves or appear in response to influences from proximal sources.
Silicon coordination in rutile and TiO2-II at ambient and high pressures: Si-29 NMR

The structural environment of silicon dissolved in rutile and α-PbO_2-structured TiO_2 (TiO_2-II) was probed using ^(29)Si MAS NMR on ^(29)Si-enriched samples. At 1 atm, about 0.01 wt% SiO_2 is incorporated into TiO_2 as ^(IV)Si, presumably in interstitial sites. Rutile recovered from 6 GPa, 1600 °C contains about 0.6 wt% SiO_2, incorporated both as ^(VI)Si (~90%) and ^(IV)Si (~10%). TiO_2-II, synthesized at 12 GPa, 1200 °C, contains only ^(VI)Si. The chemical shift for ^(VI)Si in TiO_2-II is slightly less negative than that for rutile, and the peak is split, suggesting either a more complex mechanism of substitution or a different response to quenching or decompression in the lower-symmetry structure. Future thermodynamic studies of the TiO_2-SiO_2 solid solution will have to take into account the mixed coordination environment of the Si in TiO_2, at low pressures.
Epigenetic regulation of microRNA-370 by interleukin-6 in malignant human cholangiocytes

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is overexpressed and contributes to tumor cell growth in cholangiocarcinoma. Enforced IL-6 production can alter the expression of specific microRNAs (miRNAs) involved in tumor growth, and moreover can modulate expression of methylation-dependent genes. Thus, we assessed the methylation-dependent regulation of miRNA expression in human malignant cholangiocytes stably transfected to overexpress IL-6. The expression of the methyltransferases DNA methyltransferase enzyme-1 and HASJ4442 was increased by IL-6 overexpression, but was decreased by the methylation inhibitor 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-CdR). Expression profiling identified seven miRNAs that were significantly downregulated by IL-6 overexpression ( 2-fold) by 5-aza-CdR. One of these, miR-370, is embedded in a CpG island. Although 5-aza-CdR increased miR-370 expression by 2.1-fold in malignant cells, the expression in nonmalignant cells was unchanged. The oncogene mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 8 (MAP3K8) was identified as a target of miR-370, and its expression was decreased by 5-aza-CdR in cholangiocarcinoma cells. Overexpression of IL-6 reduced miR-370 expression and reinstated MAP3K8 expression in vitro as well as in tumor cell xenografts in vivo. Thus, IL-6 may contribute to tumor growth by modulation of expression of selected miRNAs, such as miR-370. These studies define a mechanism by which inflammation-associated cytokines can epigenetically modulate gene expression and directly contribute to tumor biology.
De novo design and utilization of photolabile caged substrates as probes of hydrogen tunneling with horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase at sub-zero temperatures: a cautionary note.

Abstract In order to understand the influence of protein dynamics on enzyme catalysis and hydrogen tunneling, the horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (HLADH) catalyzed oxidation of benzyl alcohol was studied at sub-zero temperatures. Previous work showed that wild type HLADH has significant kinetic complexity down to −50 °C due to slow binding and loss of substrate [S.-C. Tsai, J.P. Klinman, Biochemistry, 40 (2001) 2303]. A strategy was therefore undertaken to reduce kinetic complexity at sub-zero temperatures, using a photolabile (caged) benzyl alcohol that prebinds to the enzyme and yields the active substrate upon photolysis. By computer modeling, a series of caged alcohols were designed de novo, synthesized, and characterized with regard to photolysis and binding properties. The o -nitrobenzyl ether 15 , with a unique long tail, was found to be most ideal. At sub-zero temperatures in 50% MeOH, a two-phase kinetic trace and a rate enhancement by the use of 15 were observed. Despite the elimination of substrate binding as a rate-limiting step, the use of caged benzyl alcohol does not produce a measurable H/D kinetic isotope effect. Unexpectedly, the observed fast phase corresponds to multiple enzyme turnovers, based on the stoichiometry of the substrate to enzyme. Possible side reactions and their effects, such as the re-oxidation of bound NADH and the dissipation of photo-excitation energy, may offer an explanation for the observed multiple-turnovers. The lack of observable deuterium isotope effects offers a cautionary note for the application of caged substrates to isolate and study chemical steps of enzyme reactions, particularly when NADH is involved in the reaction pathway.
Flavonoid intake and ovarian cancer risk in a population-based case-control study

Several recent studies have evaluated the association between dietary flavonoid intake and ovarian cancer risk, and all reported significant or suggestive inverse associations with certain flavonoids or flavonoid subclasses; however, most of these studies were small to moderate in size. We, therefore, examined this association in a large, population-based case-control study. We calculated intake of 5 common dietary flavonoids (myricetin, kaempferol, quercetin, luteolin, and apigenin), as well as total intake of these flavonoids, for 1,141 cases and 1,183 frequency-matched controls. We used unconditional logistic regression to estimate the relative risk (RR) of ovarian cancer for each quintile of flavonoid intake when compared with the lowest quintile. We did not observe an association between total flavonoid intake and ovarian cancer risk. The multivariable-adjusted RR for the highest versus lowest quintile of total flavonoid intake was 1.06 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.78-1.45). In analyses of each individual flavonoid, only intake of apigenin was associated with a borderline significant decrease in risk (RR, highest vs. lowest quintile = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.59-1.06; p-trend = 0.26), and this association was significant after adjustment for intake of the other 4 individual flavonoids (comparable RR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.53-0.98; p-trend = 0.09). These results provide limited support for an association between flavonoid intake and ovarian cancer risk. However, given the findings of previous studies and the biologic plausibility of this association, additional studies are warranted.
Patterns in Electroconvection in the Nematic Liquid Crystal 152

Abstract We report on electroconvection patterns in the liquid crystal 4-ethyl-2-fluoro-4′-[2-(trans-4-pentylcyclohexyl)-ethyl]biphenyl (152) for two values of the parameter Td/T[sgrave], where Td is the director relaxation time and T[sgrave] is the charge relaxation time, as a function of the rms voltage and frequency of an applied AC electric field. For Td/T[sgrave] = 180, we observe a forward Hopf bifurcation to a superposition of the two degenerate oblique roll states. The envelopes of these patterns are chaotic in space and time. There exists a secondary transition to a state which oscillates between the two degenerate modes. For Td/T[sgrave] = 620, the initial instability is to a state of stationary oblique rolls. The secondary transition is to a superposition of the already existing oblique rolls and rolls of the same wavenumber which are perpendicular to the existing rolls. This forms stationary oblique squares.
A new voice source model based on high-speed imaging and its application to voice source estimation

There are numerous models of varying complexities which seek to efficiently represent the voice source signal. These models are typically based on data and observations which can come from air-flow masks, electroglottographs, mechanical systems, and the inverse-filtering of speech signals. The first part of this study examines observations from the high-speed imaging of the larynx and proposes a new source model, which is shown to provide a better fit for the observed data than existing models. The proposed source model is then used in an automatic source estimation application, based on methods introduced in an earlier study [1]. Results, on average, show that the proposed model provides a more accurate estimation of the source signal compared with the Liljencrants-Fant model.
Suppression of fighting behaviour in rabbits by paired emergence from anaesthesia.

TINBERGEN1 has pointed out that aggression is the most directly lethal of human behaviours and that “we must pursue the biological study of animal behaviour for clarifying problems of human behaviour of such magnitude as that of our aggression”. Aggressive behaviour in animals can be suppressed by many drugs2 but rarely for more than a few hours3. Possible exceptions are chlorpromazine and some of its derivatives4,5 and chlordiazepoxide6. We wish to describe a prolonged suppressive effect induced by allowing aggressive rabbits to recover in pairs from barbiturate anaesthesia.
An image informatics method for automated quantitative analysis of phenotype visual similarities

The post genomic era introduced the need to define single gene functions within biological pathways. A systems biology approach can be realized by automating image acquisition and phenotype classification. While machinery for automated data acquisition have been developing rapidly in the past years, the main bottleneck remains the effectiveness of the computer vision algorithms. Here we describe a fully automated process for finding phenotype similarities within a dataset acquired from an RNAi screen. The source code for the algorithms is available for free download.
Automatic Solar Flare Tracking Using Image-Processing Techniques

Measurement of the evolution properties of solar flares through their complete cyclic development is crucial in the studies of Solar Physics. From the analysis of solar Hα images, we used Support Vector Machines (SVMs) to automatically detect flares and applied image segmentation techniques to compute their properties. We also present a solution for automatically tracking the apparent separation motion of two-ribbon flares and measuring their moving direction and speed in the magnetic fields. From these measurements, with certain assumptions, we inferred the reconnection of the electric field as a measure of the rate of the magnetic reconnection in the corona. The automatic procedure is a valuable tool for real-time monitoring of flare evolution.
Collective Action in Action: Prosocial Behavior in and out of the Laboratory

ABSTRACT Experiments have become a popular method to study altruism and cooperation in laboratory and, more recently, in field settings. However, few studies have examined whether behavior in experiments tells us anything about behavior in the “real world.” To investigate the external validity of several common experimental economics games, we compare game behavior with prosocial behavior among Tsimane forager-horticulturalists of lowland Bolivia. We find that food-sharing patterns, social visitation, beer production and consumption, labor participation, and contributions to a feast are not robustly correlated with levels of giving in the economics games. Payoff structure and socioecological context may be more important in predicting prosocial behavior in a wide variety of domains than stable personality traits. We argue that future experimental methods should be tailored to specific research questions, show reduced anonymity, and incorporate repeat measures under a variety of conditions to inform and redirect ethnographic study and build scientific theory. [Keywords: altruism, cooperation, experimental economics, Tsimane]
Structural investigations of Fe–Ga alloys: Phase relations and magnetostrictive behavior

Abstract The underlying relation between the magnetostriction (3/2) λ 100 and Ga concentration for Fe–Ga alloys is an open question. This work presents a systematic structural study of the structure-property dependence of Fe–Ga alloys by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Results show that in the regions where monotonic increases in (3/2) λ 100 are exhibited, single-phase A2 or D0 3 is found for the slow-cooled alloys. For the alloys in the range 18–21 at.% Ga, quenching extends the single-phase A2 to higher Ga concentrations, thereby continuing to enhance magnetostriction. The sudden decrease in (3/2) λ 100 near Fe–19 at.% Ga as well as Fe–29 at.% Ga was associated with the formation of phase mixtures. For quenched alloys between 25 and 29 at.% Ga, a phase mixture of (A2 + B2 + D0 3 ) was found, but the presence of this phase mixture does not seem to have a large effect on magnetostriction.
Gravitational-wave bursts with memory: The Christodoulou effect.

The "memory" of a gravitational-wave burst is the permanent relative displacement that it imposes on free test masses, or more precisely, the permanent change in the burst’s gravitational-wave field hjkTT. This memory, in general, is equal to the change, from before the burst to afterward, in the transverse-traceless (TT) part of the "1/r, Coulomb-type" gravitational field generated by the four-momenta of the source’s various independent pieces. Christodoulou has recently identified a contribution to a burst’s memory that arises from nonlinearities in the vacuum Einstein field equation. This paper shows that the Christodoulou memory is precisely the TT part of the "1/r, Coulomb-type" gravitational field produced by the burst’s gravitons, and it therefore gets built up over the same length of time τbwm as it takes for the source to emit the gravitons. The sensitivity of broad-band gravitational-wave detectors such as LIGO to the Christodoulou memory is analyzed and discussed.
Meaning and the family life cycle.

In this article, the authors integrate Viktor Frankl's concept of the “Will to Meaning” with a family-life-cycle model. This integration offers an overview of the opportunities for spiritual growth and the development of a sense of purpose for both the family and its individual members. Clinical illustrations highlight applications of the approach in actual practice.
Multimedia IP architecture trends in the mobile multimedia consumer device

A dedicated media processor is used in many mobile consumer devices to accelerate video, image, graphics, and display processing. Increased demand for higher pixel resolution, higher quality image and video processing, more graphics performance necessitates dramatically increased signal processing capabilities. To provide the increased performance at acceptable cost and power requires redesign of the traditional architecture. By wisely partitioning algorithms across programmable and fixed-function blocks, the performance goals can be met while still maintaining flexibility for new feature requirements and new standards. For a better than acceptable user experience and playback time, all IPs (display, graphics, video, and imaging) have to be optimized as an ''end to end'' system. In this paper, an overview of the future trends of multimedia IP processor architectures is provided that describes the implications on system architecture, power, and performance.
c-Type cytochrome-dependent formation of U(IV) nanoparticles by Shewanella oneidensis.

Modern approaches for bioremediation of radionuclide contaminated environments are based on the ability of microorganisms to effectively catalyze changes in the oxidation states of metals that in turn influence their solubility. Although microbial metal reduction has been identified as an effective means for immobilizing highly-soluble uranium(VI) complexes in situ, the biomolecular mechanisms of U(VI) reduction are not well understood. Here, we show that c-type cytochromes of a dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium, Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, are essential for the reduction of U(VI) and formation of extracelluar UO 2 nanoparticles. In particular, the outer membrane (OM) decaheme cytochrome MtrC (metal reduction), previously implicated in Mn(IV) and Fe(III) reduction, directly transferred electrons to U(VI). Additionally, deletions of mtrC and/or omcA significantly affected the in vivo U(VI) reduction rate relative to wild-type MR-1. Similar to the wild-type, the mutants accumulated UO 2 nanoparticles extracellularly to high densities in association with an extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). In wild-type cells, this UO 2-EPS matrix exhibited glycocalyx-like properties and contained multiple elements of the OM, polysaccharide, and heme-containing proteins. Using a novel combination of methods including synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy and high-resolution immune-electron microscopy, we demonstrate a close association of the extracellular UO 2 nanoparticles with MtrC and OmcA (outer membrane cytochrome). This is the first study to our knowledge to directly localize the OM-associated cytochromes with EPS, which contains biogenic UO 2 nanoparticles. In the environment, such association of UO 2 nanoparticles with biopolymers may exert a strong influence on subsequent behavior including susceptibility to oxidation by O 2 or transport in soils and sediments.
German Challenges to American Education

(1934). German Challenges to American Education. Childhood Education: Vol. 10, No. 6, pp. 292-295.
Sciatic Nerve Ligation-Induced Proliferation of Spinal Cord Astrocytes Is Mediated by κ Opioid Activation of p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase

Partial sciatic nerve ligation (pSNL) markedly increased glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity (GFAP-IR) 1 week after lesion in the L4–L5 spinal dorsal horn of wild-type, but not in dynorphin knock-out, mice lacking κ opioid receptors ( KOR −/− ) or in wild-type mice pretreated with the KOR antagonist nor-binaltorphimine (norBNI). A direct effect of KOR on glial cell proliferation was suggested by the findings that primary cultures of type II GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes isolated from mouse spinal cord express KOR. Sustained treatment with the κ agonist U50,488 (trans-3,4-dichloro- N -methyl- N -[2-(1-pyrolytinil)-cyclohexyl]-benzeneacetamide methane sulfonate) significantly increased the proliferation rate of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes isolated from wild-type mice, and this effect was blocked by norBNI pretreatment. Proliferation of cultured type II astrocytes may have been stimulated by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation by KOR because (1) U50,488 treatment increased phospho-p38 MAPK-immunoreactivity 247 ± 44% over untreated cells, (2) the increase in phospho-p38 induced by U50,488 was blocked by norBNI and not evident in KOR −/− cultures, and (3) GFAP-immunoreactive astrocyte proliferation induced by U50,488 was blocked by the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB 203580 [4-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-methylsulfinylphenyl)-5-(4-pyridyl)-1 H -imidazole]. Similar mechanisms of astrocyte activation may also be responsible in vivo because intrathecal injection of SB 203580 blocked the increased GFAP-IR in lumbar spinal cord induced by pSNL. Although the relationship between κ-stimulated astrocyte proliferation and neuropathic pain mechanisms was not directly established in these studies, the results support the hypothesis that KOR activation induces spinal astrocyte proliferation, which may contribute to cellular reorganization after sciatic nerve damage.
The Many Faces of Wnt and Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Oncogenesis

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains amongst the most lethal human cancers. PDAC is characterized by the tumor mass containing a paucity of malignant cells in association with a large desmoplastic reaction comprised of a variety of stromal components. Sporadic PDAC oncogenesis occurs as a result of the sequential acquisition of genetic aberrations occurring in core genetic pathways. Unfortunately, the average PDAC contains a large number of genetic aberrations that are not uniform between individual cancers. The interplay between the complex genetics and stromal component may represent a significant barrier to the development of effective therapy for this disease and ultimately be an important factor in PDAC lethality. The Wnt pathway has been identified as a one of the common pathways undergoing genetic alterations in PDAC. Wnt is a complex signal transduction pathway utilizing both a b-catenin dependent (canonical) and b-catenin independent (noncanonical) signals to affect a wide array of intracellular events. Wnt signal transduction is an integral component of pancreas organogenesis promoting the expansion and development of the exocrine pancreas. Pancreatic cancer may utilize the Wnt signaling pathway in concert with other signaling pathways such as notch during tumorigenesis. This review will focus on the role of Wnt signal transduction in pancreatic cancer biology.
A comparison of two methods of analog-to-digital medical video conversion.

The purpose of this study was to compare 2 methods of analog-to-digital video conversion in anticipation of improving, refining, and standardizing digital video production for medical education, diagnosis support, and telemedicine. A video workstation was devised containing 2 analog-to-digital video conversion systems: a digital video media converter with fire wire card and a video capture card. A procedure for final digital video production was created that used equivalent compression, pixel resolution, frame rate, and data rate for both systems. A subjective test was performed in which 12 archived analog videotapes, consisting of magnetic resonance angiograms, ultrasounds, neurosurgeries, and telemedicine applications, were converted digitally using the 2 methods. Randomized side by side video comparisons were analyzed and rated by subjective quality. An objective test was performed by videotaping a gray-scale test pattern off a computer monitor, digitally converting it by the 2 methods, and comparing the gray-scale values to the original pattern. There was no significant difference in overall video quality (P=.31) or grayscale reproduction using the 2 methods of analog-to-digital conversion. When performing simple analog-to-digital video conversion, a video capture card is equal in quality and costs less than a digital video (DV) media converter or fire wire card. If a digital video camera is available for use, then a DV media converter or fire wire card is more advantageous because it enables full operation of the digital video camera.
Laser-wakefield electron accelerator with independent beam-parameter control

It has been demonstrated that laser-wakefield acceleration (LWFA) can generate several electron beam parameters rivaling those generated by conventional RF-cavity accelerators. Tunable and monoenergetic electron beams have also been produced with LWFA. Currently, active research is being directed towards finding methods to generate e-beams that have independently controllable parameters, as is standard in the case of conventional accelerators. One promising approach is to separate and independently control the essential acceleration processes.
Relation between Medicare screening reimbursement and stage at diagnosis for older patients with colon cancer.

ContextMedicare's reimbursement policy was changed in 1998 to provide coverage for screening colonoscopies for patients with increased colon cancer risk, and expanded further in 2001 to cover screening colonoscopies for all individuals.ObjectiveTo determine whether the Medicare reimbursement policy changes were associated with an increase in either colonoscopy use or early stage colon cancer diagnosis.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsPatients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Medicare linked database who were 67 years of age and older and had a primary diagnosis of colon cancer during 1992-2002, as well as a group of Medicare beneficiaries who resided in Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results areas but who were not diagnosed with cancer.Main Outcome MeasuresTrends in colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy use among Medicare beneficiaries without cancer were assessed using multivariate Poisson regression. Among the patients with cancer, stage was classified as early (stage I) vs all other (stages II-IV). Time was categorized as period 1 (no screening coverage, 1992-1997), period 2 (limited coverage, January 1998-June 2001), and period 3 (universal coverage, July 2001-December 2002). A multivariate logistic regression (outcome = early stage) was used to assess temporal trends in stage at diagnosis; an interaction term between tumor site and time was included.ResultsColonoscopy use increased from an average rate of 285/100 000 per quarter in period 1 to 889 and 1919/100 000 per quarter in periods 2 (P<.001) and 3 (P vs 2<.001), respectively. During the study period, 44 924 eligible patients were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The proportion of patients diagnosed at an early stage increased from 22.5% in period 1 to 25.5% in period 2 and 26.3% in period 3 (P<.001 for each pairwise comparison). The changes in Medicare coverage were strongly associated with early stage at diagnosis for patients with proximal colon lesions (adjusted relative risk period 2 vs 1, 1.19; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-1.26; adjusted relative risk period 3 vs 2, 1.10; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.17) but weakly associated, if at all, for patients with distal colon lesions (adjusted relative risk period 2 vs 1, 1.07; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.13; adjusted relative risk period 3 vs 2, 0.97; 95% confidence interval, 0.90-1.05).ConclusionsExpansion of Medicare reimbursement to cover colon cancer screening was associated with an increased use of colonoscopy for Medicare beneficiaries, and for those who were diagnosed with colon cancer, an increased probability of being diagnosed at an early stage. The selective effect of the coverage change on proximal colon lesions suggests that increased use of whole-colon screening modalities such as colonoscopy may have played a pivotal role.
Prevention of cholesterol-induced hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis in rabbits by an active peroxidase subunit from hepatocatalase.

Summary Hepatocatalase peroxidase (HCP), an active peroxidase-oxidase subunit isolated from beef liver catalase, prevented cholesterol-induced hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis in rabbits with no apparent toxicity or undesirable side-effects. No allergic or immunological reactions were observed throughout a 15-week period of daily treatment with parenteral HCP.
Indigenous voters and party system fragmentation in Latin America

Abstract This article shows that ethnic cleavages have contributed to electoral fragmentation in Latin America, but not in the way that the social cleavages literature would expect. It finds that party system fragmentation in the region is not correlated with ethnic diversity, but rather with the proportion of the population that is indigenous. The failure of the main parties to adequately represent indigenous people, it argues, has led indigenous voters to shift their support to a variety of smaller populist and leftist parties, which has produced high levels of party system fragmentation in indigenous areas. Where a significant indigenous party has emerged, however, indigenous voters have flocked to that party, which has reduced party system fragmentation. Analyses of sub-national electoral data from Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Peru provide support for these arguments.
Investigation of electromagnetic velocities and negative refraction in a chiral metamaterial with second-order material dispersion using spectral analyses and dispersive models

In recent years, considerable research has been carried out relative to the electromagnetic (EM) propagation and refraction characteristics in metamaterials with emphasis on the origins of negative refractive index. Negative refractive index may be introduced in metamaterials via different methods; one such is the con- dition whereby the Poynting vector of the EM wave is in opposition to the group velocity in the material. Alternatively, negative refractive index also occurs when the group and phase velocities in the medium are in opposition. The latter phenomenon has been extensively investigated in the literature, including recent work involving chiral metamaterials with material dispersion up to the first order. This paper examines the pos- sible emergence of negative refractive index in dispersive chiral metamaterials with material dispersion up to the second order. The motivation is to determine if using second- as opposed to first-order dispersion may lead to more practical negative index behavior. A spectral approach combined with a slowly time-varying phasor analy- sis is applied, leading to the analytic derivation of EM phase and group velocities, and the resulting phase and group velocities and the corresponding phase and group indices are evaluated by selecting somewhat arbitrary dispersive parameters. The results indicate the emergence of negative index (via negative phase indices along with positive group indices, as reported in the literature) or negative index material (NIM) behavior over infor- mation bandwidths in the low RF range. The second-order results are not significantly better than those for first-order results based on the theoretical analysis; however, greater parametric flexibility exists for the second-order system leading to the higher likelihood of achieving NIM over practical frequency bands. The velocities and indices computed using the Lorentzian and Condon models yield an NIM bandwidth around 200 − 400 Mrad∕sec, about 2 orders of magnitude higher than that for the parametric approach; more impor- tantly, NIM is found not to occur in the first order when using practical models. © 2015 Society of Photo-Optical
Model Averaging Using the Kullback Information Criterion in Estimating Effective Doses for Microbial Infection and Illness

Since the National Food Safety Initiative of 1997, risk assessment has been an important issue in food safety areas. Microbial risk assessment is a systematic process for describing and quantifying a potential to cause adverse health effects associated with exposure to microorganisms. Various dose-response models for estimating microbial risks have been investigated. We have considered four two-parameter models and four three-parameter models in order to evaluate variability among the models for microbial risk assessment using infectivity and illness data from studies with human volunteers exposed to a variety of microbial pathogens. Model variability is measured in terms of estimated ED01s and ED10s, with the view that these effective dose levels correspond to the lower and upper limits of the 1% to 10% risk range generally recommended for establishing benchmark doses in risk assessment. Parameters of the statistical models are estimated using the maximum likelihood method. In this article a weighted average of effective dose estimates from eight two- and three-parameter dose-response models, with weights determined by the Kullback information criterion, is proposed to address model uncertainties in microbial risk assessment. The proposed procedures for incorporating model uncertainties and making inferences are illustrated with human infection/illness dose-response data sets.
The Metaplectic Action and Phases in the Wigner-Moyal and Bargmann Representations

Dynamical and geometrical phases related to the metaplectic action are analyzed and computed in the context of Wigner-Moyal and Bargmann representations of Quantum Mechanics. In particular, use of the (infinite-dimensional) metaplectic representation in Bargmann space clarifies the relationship between the geometrical phase and anomalies of field theories.
Multiphoton dissociation of OCCl2 at 193 nm: Formation of electronically excited Cl2

Two‐quantum excitation of OCCl2 with 193 nm radiation, although corresponding to an energy above the ionization limit, is observed to produce a yield upon dissociation into excited neutral fragments; namely, CO in the v=7 of its X 1Σ+ state and Cl2 in the first electronically excited 3Πg and 1Σ+u states of ionic character. Strong emissions originating from Cl*2 were observed at 199 and 258 nm together with a weaker band at 244 nm. The radiative lifetime tr of the Cl2(3Πg) state was determined to be tr=23±2 ns. Quenching rate constants of the Cl2(1Σ+u) level by rare gases were also measured. Strong enhancement of the 258 nm radiation was observed in the presence of He and Ne, while intense emissions from KrCl* and XeCl* indicate the role of atomic displacment reactions of the type Cl*2+(Kr/Xe)→(Kr/Xe)Cl*+Cl.
Rehearsal strategies and response cueing as determinants of organization in free recall

This paper reports an attempt to determine some of the processes underlying the phenomenon of subjective organization in free recall. Two processes believed relevant, rehearsal and response cueing, were hypothesized, and an experiment was performed to assess their effects. It was expected that the greater the opportunity for rehearsal of sequences of items (i.e., two or more), the greater would be the observed organization. The response-cueing hypothesis was that Ss, during recall, use those responses already made on the current test trial to cue or trigger recall of those items yet to be remembered. It was predicted that greater opportunity for response cueing would also lead to more organization. The results indicated that the type of rehearsal S is allowed to employ significantly affects the amount and pattern of organization. No evidence for response cueing was found.
Self-doubt in late childhood and early adolescence.

This study examined the development of self-doubt in late childhood and early adolescence. Self-doubt was operationalized as the self-reported degree of uncertainty about the self's attributes. According to social-cognitive theory, self-doubt should decrease as social norms for self-evaluation are acquired through role-taking development. Seventy-five children at three ages-10, 13, and 16—were administered Selman's role-taking interview, a measure of social desirability, and a multidomain measure of self-doubt. Consistent with the social-cognitive model, self-doubt decreased with age during early adolescence. Role-taking ability increased with age. However, advances in role taking were not necessary for the resolution of self-doubt, nor could the decline in self-doubt be attributed to the tendency of older adolescents to conceal socially undesirable feelings. The findings support the view that adolescence is a period of consolidation for self-evaluations.
Spin‐Orbit Coupling versus the VSEPR Method: On the Possibility of a Nonplanar Structure for the Super‐Heavy Noble Gas Tetrafluoride (118)F4

When relativistic considerations are taken into account it seems likely that the tetrafluoride of the noble gas element 118 does not favor a square-planar geometry like the lighter homologues XeF4 and RnF4, but rather a tetrahedral geometry as a result of large spin-orbit effects (see picture).