cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Predicting short-term outcome in severely ill heart failure patients: Implications regarding listing for urgent cardiac transplantation and patient selection for temporary ventricular assist device support

Abstract Background: The purpose of this study was to determine which patients on a cardiac transplantation list required a ventricular assist device. Methods and Results: In a preliminary study, 26 patients with decompensated severe New York Heart Association class IV chronic heart failure were studied. Blood levels for sodium, hemoglobin, cytokines, neurohormones, and hemodynamics were obtained. During short-term follow-up of 40 days, 12 patients had undergone emergent implantation of a ventricular assist device (range 1–27 days, mean 5 days), 4 died (range 14–38 days, mean 26 days), and 5 were alive and receiving only medical therapy while waiting for a transplantation. In addition, five patients had undergone transplantation (range 5–29 days, mean 18 days, excluded from further analysis). Survival curves were constructed by comparing the incidence of death and the implantation of an emergent ventricular assist device in patients with values of a variable above or below the mean value (or median for nonnormally distributed data). There was a significantly greater incidence of death or need for a ventricular assist device in patients with higher levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (P = .008), lower levels of serum sodium and hemoglobin (P = .02 and P = .03, respectively), higher heart rates (P = .03), and higher plasma norepinephrine levels (P = .01). The Cox proportional hazards model demonstrated that only serum sodium (P = .03) independently predicted those patients who died or who required emergent left ventricular assist device. Conclusion: Numerous variables, particularly serum sodium, need to be considered when evaluating which patients on the transplant list require early assist device implantation or urgent transplantation. These preliminary observations merit confirmation in a larger patient population.
Current technology development efforts on the international X-ray Observatory

The International X-ray Observatory (IXO) is a collaboration between NASA, ESA, and JAXA which is under study for launch in 2021. IXO will be a large 6600 kilogram Great Observatory-class mission which will build upon the legacies of the Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observatories. There is an extensive ongoing effort to raise the technology readiness level of the X-ray mirror from TRL 3 to TRL 6 in the next decade. Improvements have recently been made in the area of positioning and bonding mirrors on the nanometer scale and developing metals and composites with a matching coefficient of thermal expansion to the glass X-ray mirrors. On the mission systems side, the NASA reference design has been through a preliminary coupled loads analysis and a STOP analysis of the flight mirror assembly has been initiated. An impact study was performed comparing launching IXO on an Ariane 5 or a U.S. EELV. This paper will provide a snapshot of NASA's current observatory configuration and summarize the progress of these various technology and design efforts.
Hold Tight (but Not Too Tight) to Get It Right

Abstract Crystal structures of DNA polymerase β encountering an 8-oxoguanine lesion show how the polymerase selects an otherwise unfavorable conformation of a damaged template base to enable error-free bypass.
Living with sickle cell disease: traversing 'race' and identity.

Objectives. Sickle cell disease (SCD) has a distinctive social history that continues to influence research and clinical practice related to the disease. Despite the historical link between SCD and concepts of ‘race’, there is limited empirical information on the relationships among SCD patients' ‘race’/ancestry/ethnicity/nationality, their beliefs and attitudes associated with these identities, and their SCD experiences and outcomes. We conducted a preliminary study to explore some of these relationships. Design. This US-based study comprised 46 adults with SCD, 20 males and 26 females, with an average age of 32.04 (18–59) years. Using US Census ‘race’ categories, 42 participants identified themselves as ‘Black or African American’, two as ‘Hispanic/Latino’, and two as ‘Other’. All participants completed a computer-based questionnaire that included measures of sociodemographics and ‘racial’ identity. Indicators of disease severity and frequency of hospitalizations were obtained from their medical records...
The use of serial CEA determinations to predict recurrence of colon cancer and when to do a second-look operation

The concept of second-look surgery was introduced by Wangensteen 25 years ago, and 17% of patients were reported to be converted to a cancer-free state. Instead of an arbitrary time interval for reoperation, serial CEA values were used as the indicator of colon cancer recurrence and second-look operation. Twenty-two retrospective and 18 prospective patients were evaluable. There was no operative mortality. The CEA Nomogram was used to determine whether the CEA change was significant. All patient-samples were analyzed in duplicate, stored, and compared with the most recent sample; therefore, each patient served as his own control. The prospective results emphasize the importance of minimizing the time delay between a significant change in CEA values and reoperation. Equally important are the frequency of serial determinations (every one or two months), a thorough understanding of the limitations of the CEA radioimmunoassay, and the clinical condition of the patient.
Prediction market accuracy in the long run

Abstract “Prediction markets” are designed specifically to forecast events such as elections. Though election prediction markets have been being conducted for almost twenty years, to date nearly all of the evidence on efficiency compares election eve forecasts with final pre-election polls and actual outcomes. Here, we present evidence that prediction markets outperform polls for longer horizons. We gather national polls for the 1988 through 2004 U.S. Presidential elections and ask whether either the poll or a contemporaneous Iowa Electronic Markets vote-share market prediction is closer to the eventual outcome for the two-major-party vote split. We compare market predictions to 964 polls over the five Presidential elections since 1988. The market is closer to the eventual outcome 74% of the time. Further, the market significantly outperforms the polls in every election when forecasting more than 100 days in advance.
Simultaneous Emission/Absorption Analysis in Constant Temperature Furnace Atomic Spectroscopy:

Historically, analyses performed by atomic spectroscopy have been accomplished by measurement of the emission or absorption of light by an analyte species. The ability to measure both effects simultaneously may have some important applications in routine analysis (especially with respect to increasing linear dynamic response) and in the study of the atomization process. Utilization of a modified BECS background emission correction system developed by Dewalt and associates for furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy and a pulsed hollow cathode light source allows for the measurement of both analyte emission and absorption. The utilization of the Woodriff design constant temperature furnace atomizer as an atomic absorption source is well documented; its ability to produce atomic emission has been recently reported. Coupling of the furnace with the described electronics results in a system capable of producing highly accurate analyses over a wide concentration range.
Real-Time Coarsening Dynamics of Ge/Si(100) Nanostructures Using Elevated Temperature Scanning Tunneling Microscopy.

Coarsening dynamics of Ge/Si(100) nanostructures were monitored using real-time, elevated temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. Gas-source molecular beam epitaxy from digermane at 0.2 ML / min onto Si(100) at temperatures near 500 °C produced mixed hut and pyramid cluster ensembles. The width of the most elongated rectangular-based hut clusters is always less than the side length of square-based pyramid clusters for island ensembles grown using these conditions. This suggests that pyramid elongation to form hut clusters occurred at early growth stages for some smaller clusters. Growth temperature annealing revealed that pyramid clusters are more stable than narrow hut clusters with larger volumes. These larger volume huts decay by reducing their length at constant width, finally becoming small pyramids. These pyramids, which are smaller than those which never elongated to form huts, are less stable and consequently dissolve. Atomistic elastic modeling confirms that hut clusters less efficiently store elastic energy than pyramid clusters which explains our observations. Large (> 1µm diameter), low chemical potential clusters deplete the surface of Ge adatoms as evidenced by the existence of denuded zones devoid of smaller clusters. These large clusters are responsible for the decrease in total island volume in the STM field of view during the anneal.
Optical link for cellular-telephone microcells

Cellular-telephone systems are expanding into the newly available frequency range of 1.8–2.2 GHz (existing U.S. systems operate in the 900-MHz band) and also are going to a microcell architecture to accommodate the increasing number of users. Fiber-optic links will be used to connect the microcells to the base station if cost and performance problems can be solved. The rf signals will be in an FM or digital (for the CDMA standard) format, but the optical links will use analog intensity modulation to keep the microcell equipment as simple as possible. Because of signal fading, interference signals, and the large number of rf channels, the performance requirement for these links is high (e.g., 67- to 82-dB intermodulation-free dynamic range with 1.25-MHz noise bandwidth for a CDMA system).1 Conventional direct or externally modulated analog links can barely reach the bottom end of this performance range at 2 GHz.
Lesch–Nyhan Variant Syndrome: Real-Time RT-PCR for mRNA Quantification in Variable Presentation in Three Affected Family Members

Inherited mutations of hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) give rise to Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (LNS) or variants (LNV). We report molecular insights from real-time RT-PCR for HPRT mRNA quantification into the mechanism by which a single mutation located in exon 7 of the HPRT gene: c.500G>T, p.R167M, led to different clinical phenotypes from three male LNV-affected patients in the same family manifesting parallel differences in enzymatic activities. This approach can be applied for understanding genotype-phenotype correlations for other human genetic diseases.
HLA-Ig based artificial antigen presenting cells for efficient ex vivo expansion of human CTL.

CTL with optimal effector function play critical roles in mediating protection against various intracellular infections and cancer. However, individuals may exhibit suppressive immune microenvironment and, in contrast to activating CTL, their autologous antigen presenting cells may tend to tolerize or anergize antigen specific CTL. As a result, although still in the experimental phase, CTL-based adoptive immunotherapy has evolved to become a promising treatment for various diseases such as cancer and virus infections. In initial experiments ex vivo expanded CMV (cytomegalovirus) specific CTL have been used for treatment of CMV infection in immunocompromised allogeneic bone marrow transplant patients. While it is common to have life-threatening CMV viremia in these patients, none of the patients receiving expanded CTL develop CMV related illness, implying the anti-CMV immunity is established by the adoptively transferred CTL1. Promising results have also been observed for melanoma and may be extended to other types of cancer2. While there are many ways to ex vivo stimulate and expand human CTL, current approaches are restricted by the cost and technical limitations. For example, the current gold standard is based on the use of autologous DC. This requires each patient to donate a significant number of leukocytes and is also very expensive and laborious. Moreover, detailed in vitro characterization of DC expanded CTL has revealed that these have only suboptimal effector function 3. Here we present a highly efficient aAPC based system for ex vivo expansion of human CMV specific CTL for adoptive immunotherapy (Figure 1). The aAPC were made by coupling cell sized magnetic beads with human HLA-A2-Ig dimer and anti-CD28mAb4. Once aAPC are made, they can be loaded with various peptides of interest, and remain functional for months. In this report, aAPC were loaded with a dominant peptide from CMV, pp65 (NLVPMVATV). After culturing purified human CD8+ CTL from a healthy donor with aAPC for one week, CMV specific CTL can be increased dramatically in specificity up to 98% (Figure 2) and amplified more than 10,000 fold. If more CMV-specific CTL are required, further expansion can be easily achieved by repetitive stimulation with aAPC. Phenotypic and functional characterization shows these expanded cells have an effector-memory phenotype and make significant amounts of both TNFα and IFNγ (Figure 3).
Machines should not see as people do, but must know how people see

Human perceptions of real objects and events, and of pictures of them, differ from physical and from depicted reality in many critical ways: in the prevalence of robust illusions of space and motion; in a tolerance of spatial inconsistencies; in being not everywhere dense. Such anomalous phenomena, and the classical pictorial depth cues as well, have been held in recent perceptual theorizing to be artifacts of static, impoverished line drawings, and it is asserted (with essentially no support) that the information about the world that is potentially available to a moving viewer in fact results in direct veridical perception of objects and events; causes the anomalies to vanish; and renders the pictorial depth cues unnecessary, irrelevant, and powerless. The constraints needed to use such motion-based information are usually given as rigidity or invariance preferences. We show that the major classes of misperception described above, and the effects of static pictorial cues, occur in force with moving object or observer, readily overcoming rigidity and invariance constraints, if such exist in humans. Machine vision, if subject to these anomalies, would be unnecessarily (so far as we now know) faulty. Machines that provide pictorial information to humans, unfiltered by human editors, should be so programmed as to avoid or compensate for the strong anomalies described. Current perceptual knowledge and theory are evaluated in relation to these phenomena.
Valproic acid dosage and plasma protein binding and clearance

Valproic acid clearance was determined in six normal subjects during a single-dose (250-mg) study and multiple-dose experiments of 500, 1,000, and 1,500 mg/day. Eight consecutive oral doses were taken at 12-hr intervals at each dosing level. Valproate levels and protein binding were determined at steady state. Clearance declined 20% from 8.33 +/- 2.44 to 6.67 +/- 1.25 ml/hr/kd between the single-dose and the 500-mg/day steps (p = 0.05). Clearance was unchanged between the 500- and 1,000-mg/day steps despite a 44% increase in mean free fraction (0.0703 +/- 0.0381 vs 0.1011 +/- 0.0438, p < 0.05), implying a balanced opposing decline in intrinsic clearance (from 89.2 +/0 71.0 to 72.0 +/- 20.8 ml/hr/kg; p = 0.025). In four subjects completing the 1,500-mg/day step, clearance increased from 6.76 +/- 1.48 ml/hr/kg (1,000- mg/day) to 8.20 +/- 1.62 ml/hr/kg, corresponding to a further increase in free fraction. Free fraction varied within a single dosing interval (%SD = 11% to 49%). The apparent dose-related decline in intrinsic clearance suggests autoinhibition or saturation of metabolism.
Excitatory amino acids: role in morphine excitation in rat periaqueductal gray

Morphine was previously found to elicit an explosive excitatory behavior following its injection at a high dose in the rat periaqueductal gray (PAG). This non-naloxone reversible excitatory action of morphine was mimicked by the GABAA receptor antagonist, bicuculline, suggesting that morphine excitation was due in part to GABAA receptor blockade. In this paper, we report that injections of the excitatory amino acid (EAA) analogues, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), quisqualate (Q) or kainate (K) in the rat PAG resulted in similar (but not identical) behaviors. The excitatory actions of morphine or of NMDA (but not Q or K) were blocked or attenuated by the NMDA receptor antagonist, 2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoate. These results show that both GABAA receptors as well as receptors for the EAAs may contribute to the excitatory actions of morphine in the PAG, and suggest that GABA may normally function to counterbalance a tonic excitatory influence of the EAAs.
Impact of Cyp1a2 or Ahr gene knockout in mice: implications for biomonitoring studies

Abstract Studies of the impact of phase 1 enzyme polymorphisms on genetic damage have yielded mixed results. We studied how genetic damage would be altered when specific genes were ablated under low dose conditions. Methods Knockouts (KO) were generated from c57bl6/J mice with mutations in Cyp1a2 or Ahr receptor that eliminated gene product function. Animals were treated topically with either 4-aminobiphenyl (4ABP) 10 mg/kg, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) 33.3 mg/kg or dibenzo(c,g)carbazole (DBC) 8 mg/kg, and sacrificed after 24 h. DNA from livers, skin and/or urinary bladders were isolated and 32P-postlabelled. Results Cyp1a2−/− mice did not differ in 4ABP DNA adduct levels in either urinary bladder or liver compared to wildtype. There was a sex difference in the organ affected. Cyp1a2 knockout reduced skin BAP adduct levels 50% and AHR knockout reduced skin BAP adduct levels by 90%. There was no impact of either knockout on the levels of DBC-DNA adducts in any tissue. Conclusions Ablation of specific metabolizing enzymes had compound- and tissue-specific effects in mice. Phenotypic variability in single CYP enzymes may have minor impact in humans at low doses, but variation in the ability to induce the family of CYPs may have a greater impact.
The Emergent Features of a Medical Object Display Improve Anesthesiologists' Performance of Simulated Diagnostic Tasks

The anesthesiologist is expected to monitor multiple data streams from the anesthetized patient, recognize problem states, identify the etiology or cause of problem states (i.e., perform diagnosis) and take corrective action to return a patient to the desired goal state. This study represents efforts to further investigate features of a multi-dimensional Object display of hemodynamic data. Clinicians using this Object display recognized problem states and determined etiology, faster and more accurately than when they used a Single Sensor Single Indicator (SSSI) Numeric display. This study hypothesized that shapes designed into the Object display accounted for the diagnostic performance gain observed. To test this hypothesis, variant of the Object display, with the emergent shape features removed (Object Minus Shapes display) was used as a probe to assess the impact of the shape-encoded information on diagnostic performance. Both the Object and Object Minus Shapes displays improved problem state recognitio...
A molecular CT blood pool contrast agent.

Abstract Rationale and Objectives A molecular-based computed tomographic (CT) contrast agent with prolonged vascular residence time is needed for vascular and tumor imaging. No particulate agents have reached clinical practice due to nonspecific macrophage activation. The authors' objective was to synthesize a water-soluble macromolecular agent. Materials and Methods Dysprosium-DTPA-dextran was synthesized through activation of the hydroxyl units of dextran PM40 with allylbromine and subsequent reaction with amino ethanethiol to produce amino-terminated leashes. These leashes were then coupled to DTPA by means of the mixed anhydride method. Complexation of dysprosium by DTPA-dextran was achieved in an acidic solution of 0.2 M dysprosium chloride. One rabbit with a VX2 tumor was imaged with [Dy]DTPA-dextran (0.5 mL, 3.1 g, 1.15 mmol of dysprosium per kilogram). Transaxial scans were acquired through the liver and tumor for 45 minutes. A second healthy rabbit was imaged with Optiray-320 (6.0 mL, 5.0 mmol of iodine per kilogram) at 1-minute intervals for 10 minutes and again at 20 minutes. Results Each dextran PM40 molecule (diameter, 8.8 nm) contained 95 [Dy]DTPA groups, increasing its average molecular weight from 40,500 to 101,537 g/mol. The baseline-corrected inferior vena cava (IVC) enhancement for [Dy]DTPA-dextran decreased, with an 8-minute half-time during the first 15 minutes followed by a nearly zero slope for the rest of the observation period. The IVC remained brighter than liver throughout the observation period. The solid portion of the tumor was enhanced by 5–10 CT numbers, rendering areas of necrosis more apparent. The baseline-corrected IVC curve for Optiray-320 also demonstrated two phases, with half-times of 2.5 and 45 minutes. The IVC became less dense than liver within 5–8 minutes. Conclusion [Dy]DTPA-dextran is water soluble and can be synthesized without intermolecular cross-linking to carry a high load of dysprosium. It provides blood pool enhancement characteristics with a long intravascular dwell time.
Comparison of nonlinear formulations for two-phase multi-component EoS based simulation

Abstract We analyze several widely used nonlinear formulations for general-purpose compositional reservoir simulation. All the formulations are implemented using a unified computational framework based on automatic differentiation. The numerical behaviors using different variable sets, including the so-called natural and mass variables, are investigated. The fully implicit method (FIM) is used throughout this work. In the FIM framework, the full Jacobian matrix with all the equations and constraint relations as a function of the primary and secondary variables is computed. For a given formulation, rigorous construction of the Schur-complement, in which the full Jacobian is reduced to a system for the primary equations in terms of the primary unknowns, is performed purely algebraically. We study multi-component multiphase displacements with significant pressure variation in both space and time, and we focus on challenges posed by nonlinear phenomena, including the appearance and disappearance of phases, and crossing into and out of the critical region. We analyze the behavior of the Newton-based nonlinear solver as a function of timestep size for different variable sets and for different nonlinear updating strategies.
Microstructural evolution ahead of the tool in aluminum friction stir welds

Abstract The microstructural evolution around the tool during friction stir-welding of aluminum is described. The rotating tool induces a gradual rotation of the crystal lattice with a concomitant development of elongated subgrains. Additional small subgrains form within this structure by continuous dynamic recrystallization, gradually increasing in misorientation, eventually developing high-angle (>15°) grain boundaries. The development of texture and similarities to friction stir welds in titanium alloys are also discussed.
Studies on the Biosynthesis of Iodotyrosines: The Relationship of Peroxidase, Catalase and Cytochrome Oxidase

A comparison has been made of peroxidase, iodinase, catalase and cytochrome oxidase activity in sheep thyroid, liver, kidney, spleen and muscle tissue. A pyrogallol peroxidase is present in thyroid particles, but this activity does not parallel iodinating activity. Cytochrome oxidase is present in all the tissues, but the concentration of this enzyme does not correlate with iodinating activity. Catalase is abundant in liver and kidney and may in part explain the inability of these tissues to perform iodination. Soluble thyroidal iodide peroxidasetyrosine iodinase does not possess cytochrome oxidase activity.
The Curious Case of Bivalent Marks

Bivalently marked chromatin, containing both histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) and H3K27 trimethylation, is a hallmark of developmentally regulated paused promoters in mammalian embryonic stem cells. In this issue of Developmental Cell , Akkers et al. report that Xenopus tropicalis embryos transition through early development without the requirement for bivalently marked promoters.
Contrapuntal orchestration: an exploration of an interaction between researchers’ and teachers’ stories around the concept of culture

What occurs when an African American woman professor and a European American woman professor review narrative data and interpret what the students write differently? This research illustrates how race and the experience of two ethnically different female researchers impact data analysis of teachers’ interactions with narratives of personal past experiences. These interactions exposed multiple voices and intrapersonal as well as interpersonal contexts, resulting in a dialogue which embraced multiple equally valued individual voices, interwoven yet distinct – a contrapuntal orchestration. This resulting contrapuntal orchestration suggests the importance of intentionally creating a dialogic space which includes researchers of diverse theoretical backgrounds within diversity discourse in education classes, and within that space providing for self-awareness of the cultural attributes we use to construct cultural meaning of everything around us. This paper explores how analyzing teachers’ autoethnographies chal...
Analysis of rat cytosolic 9-cis-retinol dehydrogenase activity and enzymatic characterization of rat ADHII

Abstract We report the characterization of two enzymes that catalyze NAD+-dependent 9-cis-retinol dehydrogenase activity in rat liver cytosol. Alcohol dehydrogenase class I (ADHI) contributes >80% of the NAD+-dependent 9-cis-retinol dehydrogenase activity recovered, whereas alcohol dehydrogenase class II (ADHII), not identified previously at the protein level, nor characterized enzymatically in rat, accounts for ∼2% of the activity. Rat ADHII exhibits properties different from those described for human ADHII. Moreover, rat ADHII-catalyzed rates of ethanol dehydrogenation are markedly lower than octanol or retinoid dehydrogenation rates. Neither ethanol nor 4-methylpyrazole inhibits the 9-cis-retinol dehydrogenase activity of rat ADHII. We propose that ADHII represents the previously observed additional retinoid oxidation activity of rat liver cytosol which occurred in the presence of either ethanol or 4-methylpyrazole. We also show that human and rat ADHII differ considerably in enzymatic properties.
Asymmetric properties between the forward and backward stimulated emission generated by ultrafast three- and four-photon excitation

This paper presents the observation of asymmetric behavior between the forward and backward stimulated emission, generated in multiphoton active dye solutions, through three- or four-photon excitation of subpicosecond laser pulses. At a pump energy level considerably higher than the lasing threshold value, the peak wavelengths of the forward stimulated emission are $20--30\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{nm}$ shorter than those of the backward stimulated emission for the two investigated stilbazolium dye solutions (PRL-L3 and PRL-L10). This obvious spectral asymmetry can be explained by the following three considerations: (i) the difference of spatial/temporal sequences between the forward and backward stimulated emission pulses; (ii) blueshift of the peak wavelength of transient gain experienced by the forward stimulated emission pulse; and (iii) saturation of reabsorption at the forward lasing wavelength range. These proposed explanations are verified by a specially designed pump-probe experiment, utilizing a white-light continuum as the probe beam and the $\ensuremath{\sim}1300\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{nm}$ laser radiation as the pump beam for three-photon excitation. The experimental results have clearly shown the existence of the saturation effect of reabsorption and the gain-peak blueshift effect as well as their transient features.
A high-output, size-selective aerosol generator

An aerosol generator capable of generating a narrow size-distribution aerosol with high mass concentration was designed, fabricated, and tested. Gravity was used to settle out large particles and a virtual impactor with a clean air core was employed to remove small particles. Aerosols generated from a sodium chloride solution (0.05% to 9% by volume) were found to have a mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) in the range from about 1 to 10 μm and a geometric standard deviation (GSD) varying from 1.18 to 1.46. Aerosol generation rate (Ma) varied from about 0.2–24 mg/ min depending upon the final particle size. The overall dimensions of this generator were about 190 cm in height and 15 cm in diameter. Droplet generation was performed with a Delavan simplex nozzle (#30609-5). The selected operating conditions were: atomization pressure ≃ 200 kPa and liquid pressure ≃ — 4 kPa (relative to the ambient pressure). At these operating conditions, the nebulizing air flow rate was 47 1pm and the liquid flow rate wa...
Expanding role of ubiquitination in NF-κB signaling

Best known for its role in targeting protein degradation by the proteasome, ubiquitin modification has also emerged as an important mechanism that regulates cell signaling through proteasome-independent mechanisms. The role of ubiquitin as a versatile signaling tag is characteristically illustrated in the NF-κB pathways, which regulate a variety of physiological and pathological processes in response to diverse stimuli. Here, we review the role of ubiquitination in different steps of the NF-κB signaling cascades, focusing on recent advances in understanding the mechanisms of protein kinase activation by polyubiquitin chains in different pathways that converge on NF-κB.
Effect of particle size on quartz-induced hemolysis and on lung inflammation and fibrosis

To assess the role of crystal size in biologic responses, we quantitated red blood cell lysis and lung inflammation and fibrosis in the mouse using 4 alpha-quartz preparations with average diameters of 1, 5, 7.8, and 11.2 microns. When compared on the basis of identical crystal surface areas, the 1-micron fraction was more hemolytic than the other 3 fractions. The three larger fractions had equivalent membranolytic activities. After 6 weeks of postintratracheal instillation of the crystals into mice, the 1-micron-diameter crystal fraction increased wet lung weights by 1.25 x that of saline controls, while a 1.75 x increase was found for the three larger crystal fractions. A similar response was found when evaluating fibrosis development by determining lung hydroxyproline levels. Measurement of the percentage of the crystal dose remaining in the lungs revealed that the biologic differences observed were not due to a difference in the clearance of the smaller crystal fraction. Thus, larger crystals of alpha-quartz produce a greater degree of inflammation and fibrosis when instilled into the lung than those of 1 micron diameter, even though the smaller crystals are more membranolytic in vitro and appear to be cleared from the lung at the same rate as the larger crystals.
Visual summation and its relation to processing and memory

An experiment is reported in which the interval between two presentations of the same item was systematically varied. The results indicate summation occurs only while the two stimulations are in the neural mode of storage. No interaction of input is observed if one of the items has already been stored when the second arrives. Some implications of the relation of processing to memory are discussed.
Joint resurfacing with cartilage grown in situ from cell-polymer structures

We tested the potential of a new technology developed in our laboratory to create new hyaline cartilage for resurfacing distal femoral joint surfaces of New Zealand White rabbits that had been surgically denuded of articular cartilage. We removed hyaline cartilage from the patellar groove of the distal femurs in 24 rabbits. Chondrocytes isolated from the excised cartilage of 12 of these rabbits (experimentals) were seeded onto synthetic biocompatible, biodegradable polymers composed of polyglycolic acid. The cells were labeled in vitro with a thymidine analog, BrdU (5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine). After 1 week in vitro, the cell-polymer structures were implanted onto the denuded surfaces of 12 defects made in the hyaline cartilage of the contralateral knees of the experimental animals. Twelve control animals received either no implants or implants not containing cells on similar surgical defects. After 7 weeks, we found evidence of new cartilage growth in 11 of the 12 experimental animals and virtually no new cartilage formation in any of the animals in either control group. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated the presence of BrdU-labeled chondrocytes in representative specimens.
MR Spectroscopy of Normative Premature Newborns

Purpose To establish normative metabolite ratios throughout the newborn brain using three-dimensional (3D) MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI). Materials and Methods MRI and MRSI have been valuable tools for assessing normal and abnormal neuronal maturation for newborns. In this study, we performed whole brain 3D MRSI in addition to comprehensive anatomic and other functional imaging methods to examine maturation. Fifty-five newborn subjects (28.4 ± 2.6 weeks postconception age at birth, 34.1 ± 3.1 weeks postconception age at scan, 32 males and 23 females) had high quality MRSI studies (104 exams) and normal neurodevelopmental outcome (neuromotor score = 0, mental development index score > 85) at age 12 months. Results The NAA to Cho ratio increased significantly with age for all regions. Lac to NAA ratio decreased significantly with age in the regions of thalamus, basal ganglia, cortical spinal tract, and parietal white matter, and showed a decreasing trend in the other regions. Conclusion Brain metabolites can be obtained through in vivo 3D MRSI and used to monitor newborn brain maturation. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2011;33:306–311. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Specific heat of A-15 Nb3Si produced by explosive compression

The specific heat from 1.2 to 23 K has been measured on a new high Tc superconductor, A-15 Nb3Si. The sample was prepared by explosive compression and has an onset of bulk superconductivity at 18.0 K, with a transition width of 0.7 K. The density of states for pure A-15 Nb3Si implied from the specific heat data is 0.94 ± 0.20 states/eV-atom, ΔC/γ Tc is 2.0 ± 0.2.
Feminism Seduced: How Global Elites Use Women's Labor and Ideas to Exploit Women, by Hester Eisenstein. Boulder, CO: Paradigm, 2009. 272 pp. ISBN-13: 978-1-59451-659-7 (hbk.). US$89.00; ISBN-13: 978-1-59451-660-3 (pbk.). US$26.95.

Any attempt to evaluate “feminism” (singular) as a whole would seem like an impossible and bold task. In many ways, this is what Hester Eisenstein does in her book, although she clearly distinguish...
Virtual Reality as a Tool for Delivering PTSD Exposure Therapy and Stress Resilience Training

The incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in returning Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom military personnel has created a significant behavioral health care challenge. One emerging form of treatment for combat-related PTSD that has shown promise involves the delivery of exposure therapy using immersive virtual reality (VR). Initial outcomes from open clinical trials have been positive, and fully randomized controlled trials are currently in progress. Inspired by the initial success of our research using VR to emotionally engage and successfully treat persons undergoing exposure therapy for PTSD, we have developed a similar VR-based approach to deliver resilience training prior to an initial deployment. The STress Resilience In Virtual Environments (STRIVE) project aims to create a set of combat simulations (derived from our existing virtual Iraq/Afghanistan PTSD exposure therapy system) that are part of a multiepisode interactive narrative experience. Users can be immerse...
Minimum copper loss position control of linear synchronous motors with current limits

An optimal control problem arising in manufacturing applications, namely the minimization of copper losses produced by point-to-point positioning, is formulated and solved numerically. Three types of synchronous motors and four types of current constraint sets are considered.
Neuron‐glia relationship during granule cell migration in developing cerebellar cortex. A Golgi and electonmicroscopic study in Macacus rhesus

The cytology of the postmitotic migratory granule cell and its relationship to Bergmann glial processes was examined with Golgi staining and electron microscopy in the three cardinal planes in the developing cerebellar cortex of Macacus rhesus at various late fetal and early postnatal ages. After final mitosis the granule cell body transforms from a nearly round shape in the superficial zone of the external granular layer to a horizontal bipolar form with elongated processes oriented longitudinally to the folium, at the outer border of the molecular layer. Another descending process develops, and the cell soma becomes a pyramid flattened in the plane longitudinal to the folium. The nucleus moves into the descending process and the cell soma assumes a vertically oriented spindle shape while migrating among previously formed parallel fibers deeper in the molecular layer, and finally attains a round shape again when it lies deep to the Purkinje cell layer. During these transformations, the cell cytoplasm becomes more voluminous and contains a prominent Golgi apparatus, numerous free ribosomes, mitochondria, multivesicular and dense bodies, and fascicles of microtubules Longitudinally oriented microtubules concentrated in the vertical leading process disappear by the time the cell soma enters the granular layer. The slender trailing process loss most of its cytoplasmic organelles, acquires microtubules and together with the horizontal processes forms the characteristic T-shaped axon. The axon forms synapses with Purkinje and stellate cell dendrites at a time when other granule cells are still migrating among them. During the entire course of their migration across the molecular layer, granule cells are directly apposed to vertically oriented Bergmann fibers belonging to the Golgi epithelial cells. The sequence of developmental stages indicates that Golgi epithelial cells are a type of protoplasmic astrocyte. The Bergmann fibers were present at all stages examined, and their constant apposition to granule cells suggests a role in the lartter's migration. Numerous electronluscent beady enlargements are seen along the fiber except at sites were the surface is in contact with migrating cells; probably these enlargements change position as the granule cells pass along the Bergmann fiber. Lamellate expansions also project from the main shaft of the glial fiber and envelop the synaptic sites on spines of Purkinje cell dendrites. These expansions seem more durable, and the young neuron appears to avoid collision with them by sprialling around the glial shaft during its descent to the granular layer. The neuron-glia relationship apparently provides the necessary conditions for the migration of the young granule cell. Especially at late developmental stages when the molecular layer is more than 250 μ wide and is densely packed with highly oriented cell processes that have already established synaptic connections.
Resonance scattering and the drift motion of electrons through gases. II

Resonance scattering and drift motion of electrons in gases under pressure, determining ion state lifetime and mean electron-molecule collision frequency for trapping collisions
Robust parametrization of brain surface meshes

Abstract Complex shapes – such as the surface of the human brain – may be represented and analyzed in frequency space by means of a spherical harmonics transformation. A key step of the processing chain is introducing a suitable parametrization of the triangular mesh representing the brain surface. This problem corresponds to mapping a surface of topological genus zero on a unit sphere. An algorithm is described that produces an optimal combination of an area- and angle-preserving mapping. A multi-resolution scheme provides the robustness required to map the highly detailed and convoluted brain surface. More than 1000 datasets were successfully processed by this mature and robust approach.
Inhibition of PS II photochemistry by PAR and UV radiation in natural phytoplankton communities

The effects of PAR and UV radiation on PS II photochemistry were examined in natural phytoplankton communities from coastal waters off Rhode Island (USA) and the subtropical Pacific. The photochemical energy conversion efficiency, the functional absorption cross section and the kinetics of electron transfer on the acceptor side of PS II were derived from variable fluorescence parameters using both pump and probe and fast repetition rate techniques. In both environments, the natural phytoplankton communities displayed marked decreases in PS II photochemical energy conversion efficiency that were correlated with increased PAR. In the coastal waters, the changes in photochemical energy conversion efficiency were not statistically different for samples treated with supplementary UV-B radiation or screened to exclude ambient UV-B. Moreover, no significant light-dependent changes in the functional absorption cross section of PS II were observed. The rate of electron transfer between QA- and QB was, however, slightly reduced in photodamaged cells, indicative of damage on the acceptor side. In the subtropical Pacific, the decrease in photochemical energy conversion efficiency was significantly greater for samples exposed to natural levels of UV-A and/or UV-B compared with those exposed to PAR alone. The cells displayed large diurnal changes in the functional absorption cross section of PS II, indicative of non-photochemical quenching in the antenna. The changes in the functional absorption cross section were highly correlated with PAR but independent of UV radiation. The time course of changes in photochemical efficiency reveals that the photoinhibited reaction centers rapidly recover (within an hour or two) to their preillumination values. Thus, while we found definitive evidence for photoinhibition of PS II photochemistry in both coastal and open ocean phytoplankton communities, we did not find any effect of UV-B on the former, but a clear effect on the latter. The results of this study indicate that the effects of UV-B radiation on phytoplankton photosynthesis are as dependent on the radiative transfer properties of the water body and the mixing rate, as on the wavelength and energy distribution of the radiation and the absorption cross sections of the biophysical targets.
Wasteful Advertising and Variance Reduction: Darwinian Models for the Significance of Nonutilitarian Architecture

Abstract This article presents a comparison of Neiman's (1998) wasteful advertising hypothesis for the function of monuments in “anthropological” time with Dunnell's (1989; Madsen et al., this issue) bet-hedging hypothesis for the effect of variance reduction through wasteful energy expenditure in “evolutionary” time. Comparison of the predictions of the two models is based on the analysis of the passage graves and associated monuments of the Boyne Valley, County Meath, Ireland, and other Irish Megalithic monuments. Analysis suggests that while Neiman's model is one explanation for the generation of material remains that are indicative of extreme expenditures of energy, it is not the only viable explanation. The Irish Megalithic monuments do not falsify the process of energetically expensive behavior in general, but fail to confirm the predictions of the wasteful advertising model.
Segregation and Tiebout sorting: The link between place-based investments and neighborhood tipping

Abstract Segregation has been a recurring social concern throughout human history. While much progress has been made to our understanding of the mechanisms driving segregation, work to date has ignored the role played by location-specific amenities. Nonetheless, policy remedies for reducing group inequity often involve place-based investments in minority communities. In this paper, we introduce an exogenous location-specific public good into a model of group segregation. We characterize the equilibria of the model and derive the comparative statics of improvements to the local public goods. We show that the dynamics of neighborhood tipping depend on the levels of public goods. We also show that investments in low-public good communities can actually increase segregation.
Evidence for a Two-Stage Acceleration Process in Large Solar Energetic Particle Events

Using high-resolution mass spectrometers on board the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), we surveyed the event-averaged ∼0.1–60 MeV/nuc heavy ion elemental composition in 64 large solar energetic particle (LSEP) events of cycle 23. Our results show the following: (1) The Fe/O ratio decreases with increasing energy up to ∼10 MeV/nuc in ∼92% of the events and up to ∼60 MeV/nuc in ∼64% of the events. (2) The rare isotope 3He is greatly enhanced over the corona or the solar wind values in 46% of the events. (3) The heavy ion abundances are not systematically organized by the ion’s M/Q ratio when compared with the solar wind values. (4) Heavy ion abundances from C–Fe exhibit systematic M/Q-dependent enhancements that are remarkably similar to those seen in 3He-rich SEP events and CME-driven interplanetary (IP) shock events. Taken together, these results confirm the role of shocks in energizing particles up to ∼60 MeV/nuc in the majority of large SEP events of cycle 23, but also show that the seed population is not dominated by ions originating from the ambient corona or the thermal solar wind, as previously believed. Rather, it appears that the source material for CME-associated large SEP events originates predominantly from a suprathermal population with a heavy ion enrichment pattern that is organized according to the ion’s mass-per-charge ratio. These new results indicate that current LSEP models must include the routine production of this dynamic suprathermal seed population as a critical pre-cursor to the CME shock acceleration process.
Computational Modeling of a Solar Thermoelectric Generator

Solar Thermoelectric Generators (STEGs) convert solar energy to electricity. The solar energy is first used to heat an absorber plate that serves as the high temperature reservoir. Power is generated by connecting the hot reservoir and cold (ambient) reservoirs with a pair of p- and n-doped thermoelectric legs. Experimental studies have shown that the efficiency of a STEG can reach values of about 5% if the entire setup is placed in near-vacuum conditions. However, under atmospheric conditions, the efficiency decreases by more than an order of magnitude, presumably due to heat loss from the absorber plate by natural convection. A coupled fluid-thermal-electric three-dimensional computational model of a STEG is developed with the objective of understanding the various loss mechanisms that contribute to its poor efficiency. The governing equations of mass, momentum, energy and electric current, with the inclusion of thermoelectric effects, are solved on a mesh with 60,900 cells, and the power generated by the device is predicted. The computational model predicts a temperature difference (ΔT) of 16.5K, as opposed to the experimentally measured value of 15K. This corresponds to a peak power of 0.031W as opposed to the experimentally measured peak power of 0.021W. When only radiative losses are considered (i.e., perfect vacuum), the ΔT increases drastically to 131.1K, resulting in peak power of 1.43W. The predicted peak efficiency of the device was found to be 0.088% as opposed to the measured value of 0.058%.Copyright © 2014 by ASME