cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Congenital High Flow Arteriovenous Malformation of the Bladder Presenting With Polypoid Cystitis and Ureteral Obstruction

A 21-year-old male with a history of Down's syndrome presented with hematuria and right flank pain. Computed Tomography (CT) of the abdomen/pelvis revealed right hydronephrosis and a right-sided pelvic vascular abnormality. Angiography revealed an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) fed by the right superior and inferior vesical arteries and nephrostogram showed a long segment of obstructed distal right ureter. Cystoscopy revealed erythema and edema of the right hemi-bladder and biopsy diagnosed polypoid cystitis. Treatment was performed by transarterial embolization with ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer. Follow up cystoscopy and retrograde pyelography at 3 months post-procedure showed resolution of all visible pathology.
Varying kinetoplast ultrastructure in two subspecies of Herpetomonas muscarum (Leidy).

SYNOPSIS. The kinetoplast nucleoid of Herpetomonas muscarum muscarum is a disk-shaped mass of filaments with sharply delimited anterior and posterior margins. The kinetoplast nucleoid of Herpetomonas muscarum ingenoplastis is elongate, tapered, and made up of long, helically arranged filaments. Possible explanations of these structures on the basis of work by others on isolated kinetoplast DNA are given. The double flagellum of Herpetomonas is seen by electron microscope to be two complete flagella in close contact but with no visible connection to each other.
Theoretical and Experimental Characterization of the Scope of Protein O-Glycosylation in Bacteroides fragilis

Among bacterial species demonstrated to have protein O-glycosylation systems, that of Bacteroides fragilis and related species is unique in that extracytoplasmic proteins are glycosylated at serine or threonine residues within the specific three-amino acid motif D(S/T)(A/I/L/M/T/V). This feature allows for computational analysis of the proteome to identify candidate glycoproteins. With the criteria of a signal peptidase I or II cleavage site or a predicted transmembrane-spanning region and the presence of at least one glycosylation motif, we identified 1021 candidate glycoproteins of B. fragilis. In addition to the eight glycoproteins identified previously, we confirmed that another 12 candidate glycoproteins are in fact glycosylated. These included four glycoproteins that are predicted to localize to the inner membrane, a compartment not previously shown to include glycosylated proteins. In addition, we show that four proteins involved in cell division and chromosomal segregation, two of which are encoded by candidate essential genes, are glycosylated. To date, we have not identified any extracytoplasmic proteins containing a glycosylation motif that are not glycosylated. Therefore, based on the list of 1021 candidate glycoproteins, it is likely that hundreds of proteins, comprising more than half of the extracytoplasmic proteins of B. fragilis, are glycosylated. Site-directed mutagenesis of several glycoproteins demonstrated that all are glycosylated at the identified glycosylation motif. By engineering glycosylation motifs into a naturally unglycosylated protein, we are able to bring about site-specific glycosylation at the engineered sites, suggesting that this glycosylation system may have applications for glycoengineering.
On Odd Coordinations in German

This paper is concerned with German coordinations which are ‘odd’ in that und ‘and’ superficially does not connect constituents of like categories. The focus is on odd coordinations in which und has a full non-finite verb phrase to its immediate right but only a verb phrase fragment to its immediate left. In the analysis of Heycock and Kroch (1994), such ‘verbal’ odd coordinations arise by asymmetric extraction from a first verb phrases coordinate. It is shown here that this analysis misses a robust empirical generalization: In verbal odd coordinations, the string preceding und must always form a grammatical sentence in isolation. It is argued that this generalization can be derived from the Coordinate Structure Constraint, which bans asymmetric extraction. In the spirit of Wilder (1994), it is furthermore argued that grammatical verbal odd coordinations derive from coordinations of larger phrases which are reduced by Gapping. It is shown that this leads to a unified analysis of verbal odd coordinations and analogous ‘nominal’ odd coordinations, in which und appears between a full noun phrase and a noun phrase fragment. Further issues addressed are operator scope and the availability of Left Deletion (Right Node Raising) in odd coordinations.
Broad spectrum immunomodulation using biomimetic blood cell margination for sepsis therapy.

Sepsis represents a systemic inflammatory response caused by microbial infection in blood. Herein, we present a novel comprehensive approach to mitigate inflammatory responses through broad spectrum removal of pathogens, leukocytes and cytokines based on biomimetic cell margination. Using a murine model of polymicrobial sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), we performed extracorporeal blood filtration with the developed microfluidic blood margination (μBM) device. Circulating bacteremia, leukocytes and cytokines in blood decreased post-filtration and significant attenuation of immune cell and cytokine responses were observed 3–5 days after intervention, indicating successful long-term immunomodulation. A dose-dependent effect on long-term immune cell count was also achieved by varying filtration time. As proof of concept for human therapy, the μBM device was scaled up to achieve ∼100-fold higher throughput (∼150 mL h−1). With further multiplexing, the μBM technique could be applied in clinical settings as an adjunctive treatment for sepsis and other inflammatory diseases.
Cardiovascular Influences on Blood Pressure

The regulation of the heart and the vasculature are linked by the fundamental principles that the metabolic state of each organ or tissue is dependent on the relationship between metabolism and blood flow and that each organ or tissue has the ability to control its own blood flow according to local metabolic and functional needs. On a whole-body level, these principles are mediated through blood pressure homeostasis (a closed negative feedback loop that regulates mean arterial pressure around a set reference level). Mean systemic arterial pressure is defined as the product of the sum of all regional blood flows (cardiac output) and the parallel sum of all regional vascular resistances (total systemic vascular resistance), and this chapter discusses the important factors that regulate both cardiac output and systemic vascular resistance.
a, b careful: The challenge of scale invariance for comparative analyses in power law models of the streamflow recession

Author(s): Dralle, D; Karst, N; Thompson, SE | Abstract: The falling limb of the hydrograph - the streamflow recession - is frequently well approximated by power law functions, in the form dq/dt = -aqb, so that recessions are often characterized in terms of their power law parameters (a, b). The empirical determination and interpretation of the parameter a is typically biased by the presence of a ubiquitous mathematical artifact resulting from the scale-free properties of the power law function. This reduces the information available from recession parameter analysis and creates several heretofore unaddressed methodological "pitfalls." This letter outlines the artifact, demonstrates its genesis, and presents an empirical rescaling method to remove artifact effects from fitted recession parameters. The rescaling process reveals underlying climatic patterns obscured in the original data and, we suggest, could maximize the information content of fitted power laws.
Coping with a Terminal Diagnosis: Perspectives from Inside the Patient’s Home

This vignette describes the evolving and intimate relationship between a medical student and his patient, and their shared journey in accepting the patient's terminal diagnosis. The news of her diagnosis touched all parts of her life, and this account explores those effects on a very personal level.
Study of relationships between pityriasis simplex in children and their blood trace elements

Objective To discuss the relationships between the causes of pityriasis simplex in children and their blood trace elements.Methods To collect clinical and laboratory materials of 340 cases of pityriasis simplex in our hospital from March 2009 to March 2010.All of these patients received the study of blood trace elements including copper,calcium,magnesium,lead,iron,cadmium and zinc.The relationships between clinical information and outcomes of laboratory study were analyzed.Results The blood level of zinc in children with pityriasis simplex(53.8-82.4 μmol/L)was obviously lower than that of the normal control group(75.8~97.4 μmol/L) with statistical difference(P0.05);The other blood trace elements including copper,calcium,magnesium,lead,iron,cadmium showed no statistical difference between the healthy control group and the sick group.Conclusion Children with lack of trace element zinc are prone to develop pityriasis simplex.
Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome: a review and presentation of the first case with oral lesions.

Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome manifests as small, skin-colored, dome-shaped, or pedunculated cutaneous lesions. Three histopathologic patterns have been described: fibrofolliculomas, trichodiscomas, and acrochordons. The patient described in this article also had small, elevated, intraoral papules involving the mucosal surfaces of the lips, buccal mucosa, and gingivae, which represents a finding that had not been described in the literature previously.
Injuries to the inferior vena cava.

Most deaths from injury to the inferior vena cava are caused by exsanguination occurring before the patient arrives in the hospital or during operation. The problems of control of hemorrhage and surgical exposure, and the merits of primary repair versus ligation are the subjects of this paper.
SU-G-JeP1-02: A New Intra-Fractional Prostate Motion Tracking Method in Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) Via 2D/3D Registration

Purpose: Intra-fractional prostate motion leads uncertainty on delivered dose in radiotherapy and may cause significant dose deviation from the planned dose distribution. This is especially a concern in scenarios with a high dose per fraction and hence a long delivery time, e.g. stereotactic body radiotherapy. Knowledge about intra-fractional prostate motion is valuable to address this problem, e.g. by reconstructing delivered dose and performing adaptation. This study proposes a new approach to determine intra-fractional prostate motion in VMAT via 2D/3D maker registration. Methods: At our institution, each patient has three markers implanted in the prostate. During treatment delivery, kV triggered images were taken every three seconds to acquire 2D projection of 3D anatomy at the direction orthogonal to the therapeutic beam. Projected marker locations were identified on each projection image using template matching with geometric constraints. 3D prostate translation and rotation for each triggered image were obtained by solving an optimization problem, such that the calculated marker locations match the measured ones. Inter-image motion smoothness was employed as a constraint. We tested this method in simulation studies with five realistic prostate motion trajectories acquired via Calypso and in real phantom experiments. Results: For the simulation case, the motion range for these patients was 0.5∼6.0 mm. Root mean square (RMS) error of calculated motion along left-right (LR), anterior-posterior (AP) and cranial-caudal (CC) directions were 0.26mm, 0.36mm, and 0.016mm, respectively. The motion range in the phantom study along LR, AP, and CC directions were 15mm, 20mm and 10mm. The mean RMS errors along these directions were 1.99mm, 1.37mm and 0.22mm. Conclusion: A new prostate motion tracking algorithm based on kV triggered images has been developed and validated. Clinically acceptable accuracy has been achieved.
Nigerian football: a case of social media and sport insider information

The increasing use of information and communication technology, particularly social media, has extended the reach of football discourse beyond traditional boundaries determined by in-groups of admi...
A primitive-based 3D segmentation algorithm for mechanical CAD models

This paper presents a novel segmentation algorithm for mechanical CAD models (represented by either mesh or point cloud) constructed from planes, cylinders, cones, spheres, tori and easily extendable to surfaces of revolution. Our proposed approach differs from existing techniques in the following aspects. First, by assuming that common mechanical models only have a limited number of dominant orientations that their primitives are either parallel or orthogonal to, we narrow down the search space for detecting the primitives to the automatically estimated major orientations of the input model. Second, we employ a dimension reduction method which transforms the problem of detecting 3D primitives into the classical 2D problems such as circle and line detection in images. Third, we generate an over-complete set of primitives and formulate the segmentation as a set cover optimization problem. We demonstrate our method's robustness to noise and show that it compares favorably with state-of-the-art solutions such as the RANSAC-based (Schnabel et al., 2007) and GlobFit (Li et al., 2011) approaches on many synthetic and real scanned examples.
Direct Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Katabatic Slope Flows with an Immersed-Boundary Method

We investigate a Cartesian-mesh immersed-boundary formulation within an incompressible flow solver to simulate laminar and turbulent katabatic slope flows. As a proof-of-concept study, we consider four different immersed-boundary reconstruction schemes for imposing a Neumann-type boundary condition on the buoyancy field. Prandtl’s laminar solution is used to demonstrate the second-order accuracy of the numerical solutions globally. Direct numerical simulation of a turbulent katabatic flow is then performed to investigate the applicability of the proposed schemes in the turbulent regime by analyzing both first- and second-order statistics of turbulence. First-order statistics show that turbulent katabatic flow simulations are noticeably sensitive to the specifics of the immersed-boundary formulation. We find that reconstruction schemes that work well in the laminar regime may not perform as well when applied to a turbulent regime. Our proposed immersed-boundary reconstruction scheme agrees closely with the terrain-fitted reference solutions in both flow regimes.
Loading Path and Control Mode Effects During Thermomechanical Cycling of Polycrystalline Shape Memory NiTi

Loading path dependencies and control mode effects in polycrystalline shape memory NiTi were investigated using in situ neutron and synchrotron X-ray diffraction performed during mechanical cycling and thermal cycling at constant strain. Strain-controlled, isothermal, reverse loading (to ± 4%) and stress-controlled, isothermal, cyclic loading (to ± 400 MPa for up to ten cycles) at room temperature demonstrated that the preferred martensite variants selected correlated directly with the macroscopic uniaxial strain and did not correlate with the compressive or tensile state of stress. During cyclic loading (up to ten cycles), no significant cycle-to-cycle evolution of the variant microstructure corresponding to a given strain was observed, despite changes in the slope of the stress–strain response with each cycle. Additionally, thermal cycling (to above and below the phase transformation) under constant strain (up to 2% tensile strain) showed that the martensite variant microstructure correlated directly with strain and did not evolve following thermal cycling, despite relaxation of stress in both martensite and austenite phases. Results are presented in the context of variant reorientation and detwinning processes in martensitic NiTi, the fundamental thermoelastic nature of such processes and the ability of the variant microstructure to accommodate irreversible deformation processes.
Testing Darwin’s hypothesis about the most wonderful plant in the world: The Venus flytrap’s marginal spikes are a ‘horrid prison’ for moderate-sized insect prey

Botanical carnivory is a novel feeding strategy associated with numerous physiological and morphological adaptations. However, the benefits of these novel carnivorous traits are rarely tested. Here, we used field observations and lab experiments to test the prey capture function of the marginal spikes on snap traps of the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). Our field and laboratory results suggested surprisingly inefficient capture success: fewer than 1 in 4 prey encounters led to prey capture. Removing the marginal spikes decreased the rate of prey capture success for moderate-sized cricket prey by 90%, but this effect disappeared for larger prey. The nonlinear benefit of spikes suggests that they provide a better cage for capturing more abundant insects of moderate and small sizes, but may also provide a foothold for rare large prey to escape. Our observations support Darwin's hypothesis that the marginal spikes form a 'horrid prison' that increases prey capture success for moderate-sized prey, but the decreasing benefit for larger prey is unexpected and previously undocumented. Thus, we find surprising complexity in the adaptive landscape for one of the most wonderful evolutionary innovations among all plants. These findings further enrich our understanding of the evolution and diversification of novel trap morphology in carnivorous plants.
The Predictive Man-Machine Environment (PMME)

In the previous chapters, we have described several large-scale programming systems which aim at combining the strength and flexibility of humans and computers in decision making, problem solving and planning tasks. It seemed desirable to bring these systems together so that they all can contribute to the solution of some difficult problems. The logical scheme of this integrated programming environment is shown in Fig. 8.1.1.
The Theory of Differentiable Functions

In this chapter, we put the derivative to work in analyzing functions. We will see how to find optimal values of functions and how to construct polynomial approximations to the function itself.
The Detection and Correction of Errors

This chapter discusses the following topics related to the validity of results produced by a digital computer: techniques for anticipating, detecting, and locating the source of equipment failures; special codes for minimizing the effect of errors; techniques for detecting and/or self-correcting errors; and mathematical techniques for checking results and minimizing errors because of the computation process itself. The validity of results produced by a digital computer depends on many things including the adequacy of the mathematical formulation and numerical approximation procedure, the absence of mistakes in the programming and coding of the problem and its entry into the computer, and the correct operation of the computer during the time interval required for solution of the problem. A machine must be designed for operation in a particular environment and that a reliability figure for a particular machine must be based on operating experience in the environment specified. There are a number of possible sources of error in the results produced by a digital computer. These errors may be introduced by the particular mathematical formulation of the problem being solved, by the finite numerical processes employed, by mistakes in programming, and by malfunctioning of the computing equipment. Once a fault or error has occurred somewhere in the computer, it is, of course, desirable to detect the source of error in a minimal time. The fault-correcting time can be reduced by the use of techniques and devices designed to aid in disclosing the location of faults.
Home Care Workers’ Experiences of Client Death and Disenfranchised Grief:

While many types of health care workers experience patient death, home care workers do so under vastly different social and economic circumstances. When a client dies, home care workers often lose both a close relationship and a job. Though research suggests that health care workers' grief may frequently be disenfranchised, there is no in-depth study of the mechanisms that disenfranchise home care workers' grief specifically. To address this gap, our study used focus groups and peer interviews between home care workers in New York City. We describe four interrelated grief strategies they employ to navigate social and employer-based "grieving rules." Our findings suggest that home care workers' grief is disenfranchised via employer and societal underestimations of their relationships with clients and their losses when clients die, particularly job loss. Building on our findings, we suggest alterations to agency practices and home care systems to improve support for workers.
A New Electronic Current Transformer Based on Light Intensity Detection of Light Emitting Diode

A389 electronic current transformer (ECT) based on light intensity detection of light emitting diode (LED) was presented. Two light emitting diodes were connected to the secondary winding. LEDs emitted infrared alternately and the radiant intensity was proportional to the primary current. Radiant intensity converted into voltage signal by two light-to-voltage optical sensors. Digital signal processor (DSP) captured the two signals and then calculated the primary current. Since secondary winding was floating potential and connected to the ground through optical fiber, the proposed electronic current transformer has the advantages of small size, low cost and strong insulation capability. The new method can be used to design protective current transformers. A 110kV/3000A prototype was designed and the experiments are conducted. The ratio error of designed prototype is 1% and phase displacement is 60'.
Stochastic Multi-Scale Modeling of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites with Polynomial Chaos

Abstract A stochastic multi-scale modeling framework for uncertainty quantification of carbon fiber reinforced composites with a non-intrusive method called Polynomial Chaos Decomposition with Differentiation (PCDD) is presented. The performance behavior and reliability of the composites are dependent on its constituents properties (fiber and matrix properties) in addition to ply-orientation, ply-thickness, and loading conditions; hence, the uncertainties are considered using two stages: i) micro-scale modeling, and ii) macro-scale modeling. In the first stage, stochastic micro-scale modeling with PCDD is carried out to obtain the effective material properties of a lamina that are influenced by the uncertainties in its constituents. Then, these stochastic effective material properties are considered along with the uncertainties in geometrical properties of the laminate such as ply thicknesses and ply orientation to determine the stochastic performance of the laminate. The framework was applied for multi-scale buckling analysis and reliability estimation. Another approach for polynomial chaos called Stochastic Point Collocation (COLL) was also studied, and the results obtained with PCDD and COLL were compared with a large number of Latin Hypercube Sampling simulations. The results demonstrated the computational superiority of the proposed framework to achieve high accuracy stochastic response models as well as invaluable information about composites using a stochastic approach.
Clifford algebra geometric-multispinor particles and multivector-current gauge fields

A new class of multivector quantum mechanics is defined in which the theoretical gains over standard formalism are fully illustrated. Multiple generations of particles appear when column spinors are replaced by Clifford multivectors (matrices associated with physical geometry). New gauge fields arise from now-allowable right-side-applied transformations, independent of the usual left-sided ones. The number and group structure of the gauge generators is a function of the dimension and metric of the underlying geometric space, where constraints on a multivector Lagrangian suppress some interactions.
On the use of definitions in sociology

Definitions may seem marginal to the sociological enterprise but can be very useful; however, they can also lead to serious errors. Examples of both are given in this article. Different types of de...
Full functionality and recovery assessment framework for a hospital subjected to a scenario earthquake event

Abstract Modeling the recovery process of a community’s infrastructure after the occurrence of extreme events is now at the forefront of research. Estimating post-disaster recovery of either single or multiple infrastructure in a community requires proper flow and interaction of information of the physical, economic and social components of the involved sectors. Understanding this recovery process is essential, particularly for critical infrastructure, such as a hospital, which is vital for a community’s well-being. In this study, the full seismic functionality and recovery process of a six-story hospital, located in Memphis, TN, is quantified and assessed using a comprehensive 3-D finite element model with soil-structure interaction. The hospital functionality assessment encompasses both the quantity and the quality of the hospitalization service. To account for hospital dependency on other infrastructure during the recovery process, a virtual community is assumed, and five additional lifelines are included in the analysis. The model accounts for limitation in resources within the community, expected economic return for each lifeline, and interdependencies between the different lifelines. The introduced framework is implemented using data gathered from historical earthquakes as well as assumed data as needed. Recoveries of the different lifelines are estimated using continuous Markov chain process, where the community resources are distributed among the different lifelines using dynamic optimization to either obtain the most economic return for the whole community or the fastest recovery of the hospital. In addition, the effect of including infrastrcture interdependence on the recovery of the hospital is evaluated. The results are further utilized to estimate the seismic resilience of the hospital.
Contextualized Representations Using Textual Encyclopedic Knowledge

We present a method to represent input texts by contextualizing them jointly with dynamically retrieved textual encyclopedic background knowledge from multiple documents. We apply our method to reading comprehension tasks by encoding questions and passages together with background sentences about the entities they mention. We show that integrating background knowledge from text is effective for tasks focusing on factual reasoning and allows direct reuse of powerful pretrained BERT-style encoders. Moreover, knowledge integration can be further improved with suitable pretraining via a self-supervised masked language model objective over words in background-augmented input text. On TriviaQA, our approach obtains improvements of 1.6 to 3.1 F1 over comparable RoBERTa models which do not integrate background knowledge dynamically. On MRQA, a large collection of diverse QA datasets, we see consistent gains in-domain along with large improvements out-of-domain on BioASQ (2.1 to 4.2 F1), TextbookQA (1.6 to 2.0 F1), and DuoRC (1.1 to 2.0 F1).
Sex differences in myelin content of white matter tracts in adolescents with depression.

Depression is a chronic and debilitating condition that often emerges during adolescence, a period of significant brain maturation. Few studies, however, have examined how mechanisms of neuroplasticity, including myelination, are affected by adolescent-onset depression. Here, we used multimodal MR imaging to characterize myelin, indexed by R1, in white matter tracts previously associated with depression and compare 48 adolescents with lifetime depression (45 with current depression, 3 remitted) and 35 healthy controls in R1. Compared to healthy controls, R1 was higher in adolescents with lifetime depression in the uncinate fasciculus and corpus callosum genu (all βs > 0.42; all ps 0.86; all ps 0.82; all ps 0.32). While fractional anisotropy (FA), a commonly examined measure of white matter organization based on diffusion-weighted MRI, in the left uncinate was positively associated with lifetime depression in our sample (β = 0.56; p = 0.016), we found no evidence of sex-specific effects of depression in FA. Our results suggest that R1 is more sensitive to sex-specific effects of depression than FA, particularly in female adolescents. Given evidence that myelin inhibits synapse formation and reduces brain plasticity, our findings implicate experience-driven regional myelination as a mechanism underlying depression during periods of significant neural maturation such as adolescence.
Multifactor productivity, environmental change, and regulatory impacts in the U.S. West Coast groundfish trawl fishery, 1994–2013

Abstract This paper provides estimates of multifactor productivity for vessels participating in the West Coast Limited Entry groundfish trawl fishery from 1994 to 2013. Impacts of regulatory change on productivity are examined and productivity dynamics are evaluated across spatial and behavioral dimensions. Results suggest four different periods of consistency: (i) a decline in productivity from 1994 to 2002, (ii) a sharp increase in productivity following a permit buyback in 2003, (iii) stagnant productivity from 2005 to 2010, and (iv) another increase in productivity following implementation of individual transferable quotas (“catch shares”). Important spatial differences in productivity are uncovered-vessels fishing south of 40 ° 10 ' N latitude were generally less productive than those fishing north of the same line. Additionally, the productivity gap between north and south was enlarged following the policy changes (buyback in 2003 and catch shares in 2011). Productivity from 1994 to 2013 tended to be higher among vessels that were more diversified in terms of their total portfolio of commercial fishing revenue. However, productivity tended to be lower among vessels whose targeting strategies were more diversified within the groundfish fishery.
Li2Se:Te as a neutron scintillator

We show that Li2Se:Te is a potential neutron scintillator material based on density functional calculations. Li2Se exhibits a number of properties favorable for efficient neutron detection, such as a high Li concentration for neutron absorption, a small effective atomic mass and a low density for reduced sensitivity to background gamma rays, and a small band gap for a high light yield. Our calculations show that Te doping should lead to the formation of deep acceptor complex VLi–TeSe, which can facilitate efficient light emission, similar to the emission activation in Te doped ZnSe.
Abstract 19557: Novel Stress Signaling JNK Regulates Pro-arrhythmic Molecular CaMKIIδ Activity and Expression in Aged Human Atrium

The c-Jun N terminal kinase (JNK) is an important member of the MAP kinases family, activated in response to stress and implicated in the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). We have previously shown that JNK plays a pivotal role in development of atrial arrhythmia in aged hearts. However, the underlying mechanism remains incompletely understood. Accumulating evidence suggests that CaMKIIδ is another critical kinase in the development of arrhythmias and CVDs. In human atrial tissue, we discovered that enhanced phosphorylation of JNK (JNK-P) was associated with an increased ratio of phosphorylation of CaMKIIδ Thr286 (CaMKII-P) to total CaMKIIδ (immunoblotting assay) with increasing age (19-82yrs; n=12), while the level of CaMKIIδ mRNA expression (qPCR) was also up-regulated. To further characterize the JNK-CaMKIIδ relationship, we used a unique HL1 atrial myocyte line. CaMKIIδ activation status was assessed using a specific CaMKIIδ-P antibody (immunoblotting assay) and a CaMKIIδ biosensor camui (FRET imaging assay). We found that atrial myocytes treated with JNK activator anisomysin (24hrs) exhibited significantly increased CaMKIIδ-P (56% vs sham controls; p<0.01; n=4,4) that was associated with markedly elevated JNK-P. In JNK activated live HL-1 myocytes, the activation of CaMKII (ratio of CFP to YFP fluorescence (FCFP/FYFP)) was increased by 35% (vs sham controls; p<0.05; n=4,4 monolayers). This suggests that JNK activation caused enhanced CaMKII activation in atrial myocytes. Overexpression of inactivated JNK2 (dominant negative; JNK2dn) attenuated JNK-induced CaMKIIδ activation (both CaMKII-P and camui FRET assays). Moreover, we found that the amount of CaMKIIδ protein and mRNA expressions in JNK-activated myocytes was up-regulated by 103% and 75%, respectively (p<0.05; n=3,3). Finally, overexpressed JNK2dn markedly suppressed JNK-induced CaMKIIδ up-regulation at both protein and mRNA levels (n=4,4). In conclusion, we report here for the first time that the novel stress signaling JNK regulates not only activity but also expression of the pro-arrhythmic signaling molecular CaMKIIδ in aged atrium. Modulation of JNK signaling could be a novel therapeutic approach to prevent and treat arrhythmias and CVDs in the elderly.
Experimental validation of DNA sequences for DNA computing: use of a SYBR green I assay

In developing hybridization-based DNA computing methods, DNA codes must be created that behave as predicted; otherwise computing errors can result. Here we describe the experimental validation of two DNA codes, each containing 16-nucleotide strands designed to hybridize only with their complements and not with themselves or with any other strands in the set. Code I was constructed simply to restrict potential for cross-hybridized (CH) secondary structure. Code II was constructed using the software SynDCode, incorporating nearest-neighbor thermodynamics and generalizations of the Levenshtein edit distance. Every combination of strands was tested for potential to mispair, both in individual pairings and in pools. Since the strands are designed to be linked together in a long bit string, we also tested end-to-end junctions of Code II strands. Hybridization was examined by measuring fluorescence as a function of temperature in the presence of SYBR Green I, a dye whose fluorescence increases exponentially when bound to double-stranded DNA. This method shows promise as a means for rapid experimental validation of large numbers of sequences.
Hemolytic anemia after ingestion of the natural hair dye Lawsonia inermis (henna) in a dog.

Objectives To describe the clinical presentation and case management of a dog that developed hemolytic anemia and evidence of renal tubular dysfunction after ingestion of a natural hair dye containing Lawsonia inermis (henna). To review cases of henna toxicity reported in the human literature. Case Summary An 8-year-old female spayed Border Collie was presented 5 days after ingestion of a box of natural hair dye. The dog was showing signs of lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, and weakness. A serum biochemistry profile, complete blood count, and urinalysis demonstrated evidence of renal tubular dysfunction and a regenerative anemia without spherocytosis. The dog was treated with a transfusion of packed RBCs and IV fluids, resulting in significant clinical improvement. Repeat diagnostics showed resolution of the anemia and no lasting evidence of tubular dysfunction. New or Unique Information Provided To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first reported case in the veterinary literature of toxicity following ingestion of Lawsonia inermis (henna). Henna ingestion was associated with the development of hemolytic anemia and acute kidney injury.
Functional and molecular characterization of neuronal nicotinic ACh receptors in rat hippocampal interneurons.

Publisher Summary This chapter elucidates the molecular makeup of functional neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in various regions of the brain and nervous system, particularly in the rat hippocampal interneurons. nAChRs are ligand-gated ion channels that are widely expressed in the central and peripheral nervous system, where they can mediate fast excitatory synaptic transmission. The subunit composition of nAChRs determines their functional properties. A variety of functional and molecular studies have suggested that the two major subtypes of nAChRs found in the hippocampus are composed of α7 (the majority of the α-bungarotoxin binding sites) and α4β2 (the high affinity nicotine binding sites) subunits. Intrinsic cholinergic interneurons are shown to pattern network activity via nAChRs in rat hippocampal slices, and nAChR activation increases theta activity in freely moving rabbits. Thus, the activation of nAChRs via cholinergic input activates inhibitory interneurons, which in turn contributes to the synchronization of the principal cell firing. These mechanisms help in understanding the link between the activation of these receptors and cognition.
Synthetic approaches to long-wavelength photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy, and their preliminary biological activity

ABSTRACT The chlorophyll-a degradation product, purpurin- 1 8 methyl ester (4), was converted into a series of new bactenochlorins (18)-(20). These stable bacteriochlorins have strong long-wavelength absorptions >800 nm, and were testedfor in vivo photosensitizing activity using the standard screening system of DBA/2 mice bearing iranspianted SMT/F tumors.In preliminary screening, among the photosensitizers tested so far, bacteriochlorins (19) and (20) have shown promisinganti-tumor activity. Preliminary attempts are described, using photo-Fenton chemistry, to synthesize photosensitizers whichwill display both Type-I and Type-I! photochemical behavior. 1. INTRODUCTION Sensitizers for photodynamic therapy (PDT) which absorb at long-wavelength long have become targets as so-called "second generation" photosensitizers.1 Such compounds are attractive to investigators for three main reasons, (i) transmission of low energy light through tissues is much more efficient than high energy light, which is efficiently scattered,(ii) the presence of significant molar extinction at long-wavelength (compared with Photofrmn® at 630 nm) might eventuallyenable lower doses to be used by the physician, with concomitant reduction in troublesome side effects such as residual skinphotosensitivity, and (iii) long-wavelength photosensitizers should facilitate the introduction of relatively inexpensive diodelasers for PDT.CO2H
Tracking Vendor Response to Library Concerns: The Case of an SFX Installation at Idaho State University

This article details Idaho State University (ISU) Library’s experience implementing and using an SFX service package in the mode that Ex Libris defines as the total care level of customer support. Although we entered into the SFX package subscription with high expectations due to the ISU Library’s earlier positive experience with another Ex Libris product, our experience using the SFX package on a day-to-day basis was consistently unsatisfactory. After objective evaluation and extensive documentation of lapses in Ex Libris personnel responsiveness to the Library’s concerns as well as lapses in basic functionality, we felt compelled to forego renewing with Ex Libris at the end of the three-year subscription period. The decision not to renew was also influenced in part by conflicts between a third party content provider and Ex Libris.
On the stability and the genesis of the electron

The present paper intends to develop a self-consistent field theory of the electron, purely within the realm of classical electrodynamics, which accounts for its existence, its finite size, its charge distribution and its stability. It is shown that an electron can be interpreted as a small region of the field (of the order of 10−15 m) in which the field values are extremely great. These small regions of the field which would correspond to our usual notion of particles are known as bunched fields. Such bunched fields have been constructed here by finding a discrete number of solutions for Poisson’s equation in electrostatics, which are everywhere singularity free, static and spherically symmetric in the domain 0≤γ≤∞. The corresponding electric fields are also regular everywhere. Both the charge and the mass of the particle are then completely expressed in terms of these regular fields. The theory developed accounts for the existence of the electron, its finite size, its charge distribution and its stability.
Fullerenes and Nanodiamonds in Aggregate Interplanetary Dust and Carbonaceous Meteorites

If fullerenes are a common carbon phase in circumstellar dust and the presolar dust of the dense molecular wherein our solar system had formed, they should be present in the most primitive samples that still contain the vestiges of the accreting dust in the solar nebula 4.56 Ga ago. Such dust would be expected to have survived in comet nuclei and in the most primitive asteroids. They would be represented by collected chondritic, aggregate, interplanetary dust particles. As yet, there is no evidence of fullerenes in these particles but C60 and higher fullerenes are present in several carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. Metastable fullerenes may not survive the complex natural processing of comet and asteroid debris in the parent body, during solar system sojourn and atmospheric entry and laboratory storage. The possibility of fullerene modification to nanodiamonds in primitive asteroids is discussed.
School Counselors: Key Stakeholders Helping Underserved Students to be Career Ready

This paper addresses the role that school counselors play in assisting underserved students to be prepared forpost-secondary enrollment and/or career entry upon high school graduation. Counselors’ responsibilities are outlined,including assisting students in identifying their strengths and inner resources, in order to achieve their goals.Challenges that underserved students face and best counseling practices are addressed, in order to ensure that allstudents reach their potential and accomplish their career objectives.
Characterization of interleukin-1 and interleukin-6 production by hepatic endothelial cells and macrophages

Interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) derived from Kupffer cells are major inducers of hepatic inflammation and the acute phase response. The present studies demonstrate that liver endothelial cells also produce significant quantities of IL-1 and IL-6, suggesting that these cells also participate in these processes. Endothelial cells and macrophages were isolated from female Sprague-Dawley rats by combined collagenase and pronase perfusion of the liver followed by centrifugal elutriation. In the absence of stimulation, endothelial cells were found to spontaneously produce IL-1 and IL-6 in a time-dependent manner, reaching maximal levels after 10 h in culture for IL-1 and 6-8 h for IL-6. The amount and kinetics of cytokine production by hepatic endothelial cells were similar to those observed with Kupffer cells. In further studies, the effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a potent liver macrophage activator and inflammatory agent, on cytokine release were analyzed. Treatment of rats with LPS resulted in a decrease in IL-1 release by both cell types compared to cells from untreated animals. In contrast, LPS treatment had no major effect on IL-6 release. We also found that both macrophages and endothelial cells could be induced to produce additional IL-1 and IL-6 by treatment with LPS in vitro, but only if they were preincubated for at least 24 h prior to stimulation with LPS and analyzed for cytokine release. These data demonstrate that liver endothelial cells, like Kupffer cells, have the capacity to produce immunoregulatory and proinflammatory cytokines.
A journey to understand the role of culture in program evaluation: Snapshots and personal reflections of one African American evaluator

Taking a historical view of selected program evaluation approaches, this chapter articulates a personal lens and journey of understanding how culturally responsive evaluation is geared toward effectiveness, benefits, and outcomes of programs designed to serve the less powerful.
Fundamental differences between the thalamocortical recipient layers of the cat auditory and visual cortices

In visual and somatosensory cortices of several species, spiny stellate cells in layer 4 are the first elements in signal processing where thalamic information is integrated and emergent receptive field properties are generated and sent on to more superficial cortical layers. In vivo and in vitro experiments have provided important information about how the anatomy and physiology of these cells and this layer fit into the functional cortical circuitry. No such data exist for the auditory cortex but are requisite if we are to understand whether ideas about information processing in one sensory cortical area can be generalized to another. Accordingly, we used in vitro slices from which to record and labeled cells in the middle layers of the cat auditory and visual cortices to compare basic anatomical and physiological features of cells recovered in similar layers using the same methods. Our results demonstrate a striking difference in a basic characteristic of two primary sensory cortical areas. In the visual cortex, spiny stellate cells predominate, receive short-latency synaptic inputs, and project to supergranular layers. No such spiny stellate population is encountered in the middle layers of the auditory cortex. Spiny cells that are not stellate or pyramidal are occasionally encountered but, as a group, do not display consistent anatomical or physiological features that might allow them to function as auditory cortical versions of the visual spiny stellates. Rather, pyramidal cells in the lower half of layer 3 and layer 4 appear to have assumed this role. J. Comp. Neurol. 436:508–519, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Oncoprotein MDM2 conceals the activation domain of tumour suppressor p53

THE tumour-suppressor gene p53 is inactivated in most human malignancies1 either by missense mutations1 or by binding to oncogenic proteins2–4. In human soft tissue sarcomas, inactivation apparently results from MDM2 gene amplification4. MDM2 is an oncogene product5,6 that may function by binding to p53 and inhibiting its ability to activate transcription3. Here we show that, when expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, human MDM2 inhibits human p53's ability to stimulate transcription by binding to a region that nearly coincides with the p53 acidic activation domain. The isolated p53 activation domain fused to another DNA-binding protein is also inactivated by MDM2, confirming that MDM2 can inhibit p53 function by concealing the activation domain of p53 from the cellular transcription machinery.
Considering technical, social & organizational contexts in systems to support teacher learning

This paper presents the results of a field trial of the Living Curriculum (an on-line professional development resource for teachers) examining use, utility and usability. Results show limited use of the system, but high utility for the teachers that did use it. Usability results suggest some design improvements but by and large show that teachers were readily able to use the system. Limited use is attributed to a failure to account for the context of use. Future research in this area should attend realistically to the technical and social constraints of schools.
Flexible data authentication evaluated for the smart grid

This paper explores Time-Valid One-Time-Signature (TV-OTS) as a data authentication protocol for potential use in smart grid applications. TV-OTS is highly configurable with computationally lightweight signing and verification processes, making it a strong candidate for smart grid use. A detailed analysis of security against brute force attacks is presented, which is critical to understanding the parameters under which TV-OTS is reliably secure. This analysis is used to choose applicable parameters for latency tests of a full TV-OTS implementation. Performance results are favorable, with the cost of combined signing and verifying reaching under 10 milliseconds.