cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Altered K+ channel subunit composition following hormone induction of Kv1.5 gene expression.

Diverse voltage-gated K+ channels are produced by tetramerization of channel α subunits that can be encoded by multiple genes. In GH3 pituitary cells, the Kv1.4 and Kv1.5 subunit genes are constitutively expressed, and dexamethasone selectively up-regulates expression of the latter gene. Here we use subunit-specific antibodies to determine the effect of Kv1.5 gene induction on expression of homomeric and heteromeric channels. In control cells, almost all detectable Kv1.4 proteins are associated with Kv1.5 protein, whereas only ∼30% Kv1.5 protein is present as Kv1.4/Kv1.5 heteromeric channels. Dexamethasone treatment doubled expression of Kv1.5 homomeric channels but only modestly up-regulated Kv1.4/Kv1.5 heteromeric complexes. The steroid treatment similarly increased total cellular and cell surface Kv1.5 protein without affecting Kv1.4 proteins in either fraction. Thus, hormone induction of one K+ channel subunit gene differentially influences expression of cell surface homomeric and heteromeric channels...
The pH dependence of staphylococcal nuclease stability is incompatible with a three-state denaturation model

Abstract Six single substitution mutations, V66F, V66G, V66N, V66Q, V66S, V66T, and V66Y, were made in the background of a highly stable triple mutant (P117G, H124L, and S128A) of staphylococcal nuclease. The thermodynamic stabilities of wild type staphylococcal nuclease, of the stable triple mutant and of its six variants were determined by guanidine hydrochloride denaturation in thirteen different buffers spanning the pH range 4.5 to 10.2. Within experimental error the values of ΔG H 2 O and mGuHCl for the various proteins measured over this wide range of pH maintain a constant offset from one another, tracing a series of approximately parallel curves. This data offers an independent means of determining the error of stabilities and slopes determined by guanidine hydrochloride denaturations and shows that previous error estimates are accurate. More importantly, this behavior cannot be reconciled with a three-state denaturation model for staphylococcal nuclease. The large variations in mGuHCl observed in these mutants must therefore arise from other causes.
Estimating Missing Features to Improve Multimedia Retrieval

Retrieval in a multimedia database usually involves combining information from different modalities of data, such as text and images. However, all modalities of the data may not be available to form the query. The results from such a partial query are often less than satisfactory. In this paper, we present an approach to complete a partial query by estimating the missing features in the query. Our experiments with a database of images and their associated captions show that, with an initial text-only query, our completion method has similar performance to a full query with both image and text features. In addition, when we use relevance feedback, our approach outperforms the results obtained using a full query.
The use of animals in surgical research.

(1988). The Use Of Animals In Surgical Research. Journal of Investigative Surgery: Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 3-4.
ENHANCED PASSIVE IMMUNITY TO STREPTOCOCCUS INFECTION IN RABBITS

The experimental work herein reported tends to justify our hypothesis recently expressed, that the common failure of antibacterial serums to combat active infections when passively transferred to a normal animal, is due not so much to a lack of suitable or sufficient antibodies as to absence of cell preparation or mobilization in the recipient. In the case of experimental streptococcus empyema in the rabbit the course of the ordinarily fatal infection is in no wise affected by the transfer of the pleural fluid containing large numbers of mononuclear cells derived from an animal that is itself protected as a result of a non-specific irritation. The serum of a rabbit highly immunized against the streptococcus and containing antibodies for it, produces relatively slight effect in prevention or cure. In contrast to this the pleural exudate, either acute (polymorphonuclear) or subacute (mononuclear), produced in an actively immunized animal does protect passively to a considerable degree. In a similar fashion normal exudate cells of either type in combination with the relatively ineffective antiserum give a high degree of protection. It remains for further analysis to determine whether this form of passive immunity by antiserum enhanced by the addition of cells depends on the vital properties of the cells transferred or on their stimulation to cell mobilization in the recipient. And furthermore the extent to which this enhanced passive immunity may be effective in cure, and whether the cure is applicable to local or to both local and generalized infection remains to be seen.
Item analysis of the berg balance scale in individuals with subacute and chronic stroke.

AbstractPurpose: The Berg Balance Scale (BBS) is one of the most commonly applied clinical measures of balance for individuals with stroke. This study used item analysis methods to investigate various psychometric aspects of the BBS in participants with subacute and chronic stroke. Methods: Secondary analysis of data from 69 participants was included. The Rasch measurement model was used to generate item fit statistics for each item of the BBS and assess scale precision across the continuum of balance. Results: Two of the 14 items of the BBS (standing on one foot and tandem standing) demonstrated misfit. The hierarchical scale demonstrated decreased precision at the higher end of the balance continuum. Discussion: The original instructions for the BBS indicate that the individual tested can choose the limb utilized in the single-limb stance and tandem stance items. Administration of these test items in this way to individuals with stroke may contribute to item misfit. Standardization of administration of ...
An IR-Aided Machine Learning Framework for the BioCreative II.5 Challenge

The team at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee developed an information retrieval and machine learning framework. Our framework requires only the standardized training data and depends upon minimal external knowledge resources and minimal parsing. Within the framework, we built our text mining systems and participated for the first time in all three BioCreative II.5 Challenge tasks. The results show that our systems performed among the top five teams for raw F1 scores in all three tasks and came in third place for the homonym ortholog F1 scores for the INT task. The results demonstrated that our IR-based framework is efficient, robust, and potentially scalable.
Uncertain Responses on Multiple-Choice Examinations

100 students were asked to label item responses on two multiple-choice tests as sure, uncertain, and guess. The uncertain category was significantly different from the sure and guessed response categories, and from the theoretical chance expectancy level. This demonstrates that the basic assumption of the correction-for-errors scoring formula (that all wrong responses are pure guesses) penalizes the student by utilizing only those responses of which he feels certain.
The domesticated robot: design guidelines for assisting older adults to age in place

Many older adults wish to remain in their own homes as they age [16]. However, challenges in performing home upkeep tasks threaten an older adult's ability to age in place. Even healthy independently living older adults experience challenges in maintaining their home [13]. Challenges with home tasks can be compensated through technology, such as home robots. However, for home robots to be adopted by older adult users, they must be designed to meet older adults' needs for assistance and the older users must be amenable to robot assistance for those needs. We conducted a needs assessment to (1) assess older adults' openness to assistance from robots; and (2) understand older adults' opinions about using an assistive robot to help around the home. We administered questionnaires and conducted structured group interviews with 21 independently living older adults (ages 65-93). The questionnaire data suggest that older adults prefer robot assistance for cleaning and fetching/organizing tasks overall. However their assistance preferences discriminated between tasks. The interview data provided insight as to why they hold such preferences. Older adults reported benefits of robot assistance (e.g., the robot compensating for limitations, saving them time and effort, completing undesirable tasks, and performing tasks at a high level of performance). Participants also reported concerns such as the robot damaging the environment, being unreliable at or incapable of doing a task, doing tasks the older adult would rather do, or taking up too much space/storage. These data, along with specific comments from participant interviews, provide the basis for preliminary recommendations for designing mobile manipulator robots to support aging in place.
Tolerance of the developing heart to ischemia: impact of hypoxemia from birth

Many infants who require cardiac surgery have cyanotic heart disease. We assessed the relative tolerances to ischemia of hearts from immature normoxemic rabbits versus hearts from immature rabbits ...
ζ-Sarcoglycan, a novel component of the sarcoglycan complex, is reduced in muscular dystrophy

The dystrophin glycoprotein complex (DGC) is found at the plasma membrane of muscle cells, where it provides a link between the cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix. A subcomplex within the DGC, the sarcoglycan complex, associates with dystrophin and mediates muscle membrane stability. Mutations in sarcoglycan genes lead to muscular dystrophy and cardiomyopathy in both humans and mice. In invertebrates, there are three sarcoglycan genes, while in mammals there are additional sarcoglycan genes that probably arose from gene duplication events. We identified a novel mammalian sarcoglycan, zeta-sarcoglycan, that is highly related to gamma-sarcoglycan and delta-sarcoglycan. We generated a zeta-sarcoglycan-specific antibody and found that zeta-sarcoglycan associated with other members of the sarcoglycan complex at the plasma membrane. Additionally, zeta-sarcoglycan was reduced at the membrane in muscular dystrophy, consistent with a role in mediating membrane stability. zeta-Sarcoglycan was also found as a component of the vascular smooth muscle sarcoglycan complex. Together, these data demonstrate that zeta-sarcoglycan is an integral component of the sarcoglycan complex and, as such, is important in the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophy.
Into the groove: instructive silk-polypyrrole films with topographical guidance cues direct DRG neurite outgrowth

Instructive biomaterials capable of controlling the behaviour of the cells are particularly interesting scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Novel biomaterials are particularly important in societies with rapidly aging populations, where demand for organ/tissue donations is greater than their supply. Herein we describe the preparation of electrically conductive silk film-based nerve tissue scaffolds that are manufactured using all aqueous processing. Aqueous solutions of Bombyx mori silk were cast on flexible polydimethylsiloxane substrates with micrometer-scale grooves on their surfaces, allowed to dry, and annealed to impart β-sheets to the silk which assures that the materials are stable for further processing in water. The silk films were rendered conductive by generating an interpenetrating network of polypyrrole and polystyrenesulfonate in the silk matrix. Films were incubated in an aqueous solution of pyrrole (monomer), polystyrenesulfonate (dopant) and iron chloride (initiator), after which they were thoroughly washed to remove low molecular weight components (monomers, initiators, and oligomers) and dried, yielding conductive films with sheet resistances of 124 ± 23 kΩ square(-1). The micrometer-scale grooves that are present on the surface of the films are analogous to the natural topography in the extracellular matrix of various tissues (bone, muscle, nerve, skin) to which cells respond. Dorsal root ganglions (DRG) adhere to the films and the grooves in the surface of the films instruct the aligned growth of processes extending from the DRG. Such materials potentially enable the electrical stimulation (ES) of cells cultured on them, and future in vitro studies will focus on understanding the interplay between electrical and topographical cues on the behaviour of cells cultured on them.
Full-Wave Solver for Microstrip Trace and Through-Hole Via in Layered Media

This paper reports major improvements to a 3-D full wave solver for a microstrip line and through-hole via in layered media. The interior layer problem, consisting of vias between two reference planes, is solved using the Foldy-Lax multiple scattering equations. The exterior layer problem is solved using the method of moments (MoM) with the layered media Green's functions. The exterior layer and interior layer problems are combined to obtain the S-parameters of the trace and through-hole via. A fast approach for calculating the layered-medium Green's functions using the numerical modified steepest descent path method is utilized. The Green's functions require milliseconds to compute per point. Schemes for efficiently computing image contributions for the static portion of the mixed potential Green's function are also implemented to solve the neighboring or self-RWG (basis function) interaction in the MoM problem. To validate the accuracy of the solution, extensive comparison with Ansoft's HFSS versions 9 and 11 for different pad sizes and antipad sizes are presented. The CPU per frequency is also tabulated to demonstrate the speed of the approach in this paper.
The role of erythropoietin in the production of principal erythrocyte proteins other than hemoglobin during terminal erythroid differentiation

Erythropoietin (EP) controls the terminal phase of differentiation in which proerythroblasts and their precursors, the colony forming units-erythroid (CFU-e), develop into erythrocytes. Biochemical studies of this hormone-directed terminal differentiation have been hindered by the lack of a homogeneous population of erythroid cells at the developmental stages of CFU-e and proerythroblasts that will synchronously differentiate in response to EP. Such a population of cells can be prepared from the spleens of mice with the acute erythroblastosis resulting from infection with anemia-inducing Friend virus (FVA). Using these FVA-infected erythroid cells, which were induced to differentiate with EP, four proteins other than hemoglobin that have key functions in mature erythrocytes were monitored during the 48-hour period of terminal differentiation. Synthesis of spectrin and membrane band 3 proteins were determined by immunoprecipitation and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; accumulation of the cytoskeletal protein band 4.1 was monitored by immunoblotting; carbonic anhydrase activity was measured electrometrically. Band 3 synthesis and band 4.1 accumulation could be detected only after exposure of the cells to EP. Spectrin synthesis was ongoing prior to culture with EP, but it did increase after exposure to the hormone. Carbonic anhydrase-specific activity changed very little throughout the terminal differentiation process. These results reveal at least three patterns of production of principal erythrocyte proteins during EP-mediated terminal differentiation of FVA-infected erythroid cells. Depending on the specific protein examined, de novo synthesis can be induced by EP, an ongoing production can be enhanced by EP, or the production of a protein can be completed at a developmental stage prior to EP-mediated differentiation in these cells.
Sphingosine 1-Phosphate (S1P) Regulates Glucose-stimulated Insulin Secretion in Pancreatic Beta Cells

Recent studies suggest that sphingolipid metabolism is altered during type 2 diabetes. Increased levels of the sphingolipid ceramide are associated with insulin resistance. However, a role for sphingolipids in pancreatic beta cell function, or insulin production, and release remains to be established. Our studies in MIN6 cells and mouse pancreatic islets demonstrate that glucose stimulates an intracellular rise in the sphingolipid, sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), whereas the levels of ceramide and sphingomyelin remain unchanged. The increase in S1P levels by glucose is due to activation of sphingosine kinase 2 (SphK2). Interestingly, rises in S1P correlate with increased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). Decreasing S1P levels by treatment of MIN6 cells or primary islets with the sphingosine kinase inhibitor reduces GSIS. Moreover, knockdown of SphK2 alone results in decreased GSIS, whereas knockdown of the S1P phosphatase, Sgpp1, leads to a rise in GSIS. Treatment of mice with the sphingosine kinase inhibitor impairs glucose disposal due to decreased plasma insulin levels. Altogether, our data suggest that glucose activates SphK2 in pancreatic beta cells leading to a rise in S1P levels, which is important for GSIS.
CMDragons: Dynamic passing and strategy on a champion robot soccer team

After several years of developing multiple RoboCup small-size robot soccer teams, our CMDragons robot team achieved a highly successful level of performance, winning both the 2006 and 2007 competitions without losing a single game. Our small-size team consists of five executing wheeled robots with centralized, off-board perception and decision making. The decision making framework consists of a set of layered components, consisting of perception, evaluation and strategy, robot tactics and skills, and real-time navigation. In this paper, we present the strategy, action selection, and execution aspects of our architecture, with a focus on passing as an example of effective coordinated teamwork. The design enabled our robot team to score using multiple methods, from direct shooting up to 3D passes deflected in midair, resulting in a rich set of actions that were difficult for adversaries to counter. We provide several performance quantified claims supported by testing in our laboratory and in competition settings.
SPIN (AND PITCH) DOCTORS: Campaign Strategies in Televised Political Debates

Political campaigns frequently set low expectations (using a “low pitch”) in televised political debates to make the later claim that their candidates have done better than expected. The limited credibility of campaign aides, coupled with the fact that perception often confirms expectations, makes this strategy psychologically problematic. In Study 1, when no post-debate information was provided, lowering expectations for a candidate led to lower ratings of performance. In Study 2, when positive feedback (a post-debate “spin”) was provided after a low pitch, participants did rate performance positively, but only when the spin was supplied by a credible media source. The same strategy when used by campaign strategists adversely impacted candidates, leading to lower ratings of debate performance and network coverage.
Constraint-based motion synthesis for deformable models

We present a fast goal-directed motion synthesis technique that integrates sample-based planning methods with constraint-based dynamics simulation using a finite element formulation to generate collision-free paths for deformable models. Our method allows the user to quickly specify various constraints, including a desired trajectory as a sparse sequence of waypoints, and it automatically computes a physically plausible path that satisfies geometric and physical constraints. We demonstrate the performance of our algorithm by computing animated realistic motion of deformable characters and simulation of a medical procedure. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Three-dimensional wafer stacking using Cu TSV integrated with 45nm high performance SOI-CMOS embedded DRAM technology

For high-volume production of 3D-stacked chips with through-silicon-via (TSVs), wafer-scale bonding offers lower production cost compared with bump bond technology [1][2][3] and is promising for interconnect pitch <;= 5μ range using available tooling. Prior work [3] has presented wafer-scale integration with tungsten TSV for low-power applications. This paper reports the first use of low-temperature oxide bonding and copper TSV to stack high performance cache cores manufactured in 45nm SOI-CMOS embedded DRAM (EDRAM) having 12 to 13 copper wiring levels per strata. A key feature of this process is its compatibility with the existing high performance POWER7™ EDRAM core [4] requiring neither re-design nor modification of the existing CMOS fabrication process. Hardware measurements show no significant impact on device drive and off-current. Functional test at wafer level confirms 1.48GHz 3D stacked EDRAM operation.
Beltsville Poultry Semen Extender 6. Holding Turkey Semen for Six Hours at 15 C

Abstract A series of experiments were conducted to measure the effects of various combinations of extender pH (6.5 vs. 7.5), osmolarity (28 0 vs. 355 mOsmols), and sample agitation on the fertilizing capacity of turkey semen held for 6 hr at 15 C. Respiration of turkey sperm diluted in Beltsville Poultry Semen Extender (BPSE) to pH 6.0 and 280 mOsmols was lower than that of sperm diluted in BPSE with pH 7.5 and 280 mOsmols (mOsm). Sperm respiration was unaffected by extender pH adjusted to 350 mOsm, regardless of pH. Motility of both unstored and stored sperm was significantly lower in BPSE at pH 6.5 than at pH 7.5. The fertilizing capacity of sperm diluted and stored in pH 6.5 extenders did not differ from the fertilizing capacity of the unstored controls. The fertility of unstored sperm diluted in the pH 7.5 extenders did not differ from the controls, but holding for 6 hr at 15 C resulted in lower fertility. Extender osmolarity in the range studied had no influence on sperm motility, respiration, or fertility. Phosphoric acid, when used to adjust pH from 7.5 to 6.5, had no effect on fertility, whereas acetic and hydrochloric acid lowered the fertilizing capacity of stored semen. Sample agitation was critical for maintenance of sperm fertility in samples diluted and stored in pH 7.5 extenders but had no effect on sperm diluted in pH 6.5 extenders.
Novel algorithms for dynamic connection provisioning with guaranteed service level agreements in IP-over-optical networks

We develop integrated algorithms for dynamic provisioning of SLA-guaranteed IP services in IP-over-optical networks. By integrated, we mean that the provisioning mechanisms takes into account topology, resource, and protection information in both the IP and optical layers. This is achieved through two novel path selection algorithms developed in this paper, and through the GMPLS common control plane. The performance study shows that our proposed algorithms can really provide guarantee across multiple levels of service. In addition, we can achieve significant improvement over existing integrated provisioning approaches in terms of bandwidth utilization, request blocking probability, and algorithm complexity.
Recall of previously unrecallable information following a shift in perspective

College undergraduates read a story about two boys playing hooky from school from the perspective of either a burglar or a person interested in buying a home. After recalling the story once, subjects were directed to shift perspectives and then recall the story again. In two experiments, subjects produced on the second recall significantly more information important to the second perspective that had been unimportant to the first. They also recalled less information unimportant to the second perspective which had been important to the first. These data clearly show the operation of retrieval processes independent from encoding processes. An analysis of interview protocols suggested that the instruction to take a new perspective led subjects to invoke a schema that provided implicit cues for different categories of story information.
Operation of a brain-computer interface walking simulator for individuals with spinal cord injury

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) can leave the affected individuals with paraparesis or paraplegia, thus rendering them unable to ambulate. Since there are currently no restorative treatments for this population, novel approaches such as brain-controlled prostheses have been sought. Our recent studies show that a brain-computer interface (BCI) can be used to control ambulation within a virtual reality environment (VRE), suggesting that a BCI-controlled lower extremity prosthesis for ambulation may be feasible. However, the operability of our BCI has not yet been tested in a SCI population. Methods: Five participants with paraplegia or tetraplegia due to SCI underwent a 10-min training session in which they alternated between kinesthetic motor imagery (KMI) of idling and walking while their electroencephalogram (EEG) were recorded. Participants then performed a goal-oriented online task, where they utilized KMI to control the linear ambulation of an avatar while making 10 sequential stops at designated points within the VRE. Multiple online trials were performed in a single day, and this procedure was repeated across 5 experimental days. Results: Classification accuracy of idling and walking was estimated offline and ranged from 60.5% (p = 0.0176) to 92.3% (p = 1.36 × 10 −20 ) across participants and days. Offline analysis revealed that the activation of mid-frontal areas mostly in the μ and low β bands was the most consistent feature for differentiating between idling and walking KMI. In the online task, participants achieved an average performance of 7.4 ± 2.3 successful stops in 273 ± 51 sec. These performances were purposeful, i.e. significantly different from the random walk Monte Carlo simulations (p < 0.01), and all but one participant achieved purposeful control within the first day of the experiments. Finally, all participants were able to maintain purposeful control throughout the study, and their online performances improved over time. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that SCI participants can purposefully operate a self-paced BCI walking simulator to complete a goal-oriented ambulation task. The operation of the proposed BCI system requires short training, is intuitive, and robust against participant-to-participant and day-to-day neurophysiological variations. These findings indicate that BCI-controlled lower extremity prostheses for gait rehabilitation or restoration after SCI may be feasible in the future.
The influence of the acoustic community on songs of birds in a neotropical rain forest

The efficacy of communication depends on the detection of species-specific signals in background noise that includes other species' signals. To avoid confusion with each others' signals, species should partition communication space. I investigated this possibility for the dawn chorus of birds in an Amazonian rain forest. Acoustic censuses at a location in Matto Grosso, Brazil, detected 82 sedentary species of birds that sang frequently during dawn choruses. Eleven features of these species' songs were analyzed to characterize the acoustic space of this community. The Euclidean distances between species' songs in this acoustic space were then used to investigate spatial, temporal, and phylogenetic influences on the divergence of songs. Songs of species in the same stratum of the forest and during the same 30-min interval had the most dispersed songs. Songs of congeners and family members were more dispersed than songs of random species. These results indicate that in this complex acoustic environment, species singing at the same place and time partition signal space. These species either choose times and places for singing to minimize acoustic interference from other species or they have evolved different songs to reduce this interference. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.
Magnetostatic variable constant delay line consisting of metal-dielectric YIG-GGG metal

Variable constant time delay adjustable by 20% over a bandwidth of 300 MHz at X-band has been theoretically obtained using a single delay line consisting of two ground planes. This has been achieved by rotating the direction of the applied DC magnetic field in the forward volume wave to the backward volume wave plane and adjusting the magnitude. Electronically variable constant delay lines have potential application in broadband phased array antennas and microwave signal processing.
Incorporating advice into agents that learn from reinforcements

Learning from reinforcements is a promising approach for creating intelligent agents. However, reinforcement learning usually requires a large number of training episodes. We present an approach that addresses this shortcoming by allowing a connectionist Q-learner to accept advice given, at any time and in a natural manner, by an external observer. In our approach, the advice-giver watches the learner and occasionally makes suggestions, expressed as instructions in a simple programming language. Based on techniques from knowledge-based neural networks, these programs axe inserted directly into the agent's utility function. Subsequent reinforcement learning further integrates and refines the advice. We present empirical evidence that shows our approach leads to statistically-significant gains in expected reward. Importantly, the advice improves the expected reward regardless of the stage of training at which it is given.
Young children use their hands to tell their mothers what to say.

Children produce their first gestures before their first words, and their first gesture + word sentences before their first word + word sentences. These gestural accomplishments have been found not only to predate linguistic milestones, but also to predict them. Findings of this sort suggest that gesture itself might be playing a role in the language-learning process. But what role does it play? Children’s gestures could elicit from their mothers the kinds of words and sentences that the children need to hear in order to take their next linguistic step. We examined maternal responses to the gestures and speech that 10 children produced during the one-word period. We found that all 10 mothers ‘translated’ their children’s gestures into words, providing timely models for how one- and two-word ideas can be expressed in English. Gesture thus offers a mechanism by which children can point out their thoughts to mothers, who then calibrate their speech to those thoughts, and potentially facilitate language-learning.
Public Concerns Regarding Applications of Biotechnologies

According to Greek mythology, Prometheus could not bear to see people suffer from the cold; and so he defied explicit instructions from Zeus in that he stole fire and gave it to mankind. Civilization could not have been built without fire, but fire still brings its share of environmental, ethical, moral, economic and social problems.
Book Review: Nixon and Kissinger Partners in Power

Robert Dallek’s Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power is an easy read, well organized, and impressively researched. Dallek does a masterful job detailing the partnership between Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger and outlining the impact their relationship had on the national and international arenas. Though the author reluctantly gives Nixon and Kissinger credit for their foreign policy accomplishments, it is difficult to question Dallek’s objectivity due to his extensive research and reliance on primary sources. The book clearly explains how and why the Nixon Administration created and implemented policy, and gives the reader a number of relevant lessons on current issues. Nixon and Kissinger is an exceptional book and should be read by anyone having an interest in history, leadership, or ethics.
Midterm benefits of surgical pulmonary embolectomy for acute pulmonary embolus on right ventricular function

Abstract Objective Surgical pulmonary embolectomy has been used for the successful treatment of massive and submassive pulmonary emboli. The purpose of this study is to document the short- and midterm echocardiographic follow-up of right ventricular function after surgical pulmonary embolectomy for acute pulmonary embolus. Methods A retrospective review of the local Society of Thoracic Surgeons database of patients who underwent surgical pulmonary embolectomy for acute pulmonary embolectomy was conducted from 1998 to 2014 at a US academic center. Patients with chronic thrombus were excluded. The institutional echocardiographic database was searched for follow-up studies to compare markers of right ventricular function. Unadjusted outcomes were described, and quantitative comparisons were made of short- and long-term echocardiographic data. Results A total of 44 patients were included for analysis; 35 patients (79.5%) had a submassive pulmonary embolectomy, and 9 patients (20.5%) had a massive pulmonary embolectomy and required preoperative inotropy. Mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 68.0 ± 40.2 minutes, and 30 patients (68.2%) underwent procedures without aortic crossclamping. There was 1 in-hospital mortality (2.3%), and there were no permanent neurologic deficits. A total of 21 patients had echocardiography results available for follow-up. Perioperative echocardiographic data showed an immediate decrease in tricuspid regurgitant velocity and right ventricular pressure ( P Conclusions Surgical pulmonary embolectomy may represent optimal therapy in selected patients for massive and submassive acute pulmonary emboli given the low morbidity and mortality rates. Echocardiographic follow-up shows preserved improvement in right ventricular function in the majority of patients.
Synthesis, in Vitro Covalent Binding Evaluation, and Metabolism of 14C-Labeled Inhibitors of 11β-HSD1

In this letter, we reported the design and synthesis of three potent, selective, and orally bioavailable 11β-HSD1 inhibitors labeled with 14C: AMG 456 (1), AM-6949 (2), and AM-7715 (3). We evaluated the covalent protein binding of the labeled inhibitors in human liver microsomes in vitro and assessed their potential bioactivation risk in humans. We then studied the in vitro mechanism of 2 in human hepatocytes and the formation of reactive intermediates. Our study results suggest that 1 and 3 have low potential for metabolic bioactivation in humans, while 2 has relatively high risk.
The Art and Skill of Delivering Culturally Responsive Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Tanzania and Kenya

Objective This study explored the facilitators, barriers, and strategies used to deliver a child mental health evidence-based treatment (EBT), trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), in a culturally responsive manner. In low- and middle-income countries most individuals with mental health problems do not receive treatment due to a shortage of mental health professionals. One approach to addressing this problem is task-sharing, in which lay counselors are trained to deliver mental health treatment. Combining this approach with a focus on EBT provides a strategy for bridging the mental health treatment gap. However, little is known about how western-developed EBTs are delivered in a culturally responsive manner. Method Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 TF-CBT lay counselors involved in a large randomized controlled trial of TF-CBT in Kenya and Tanzania. An inductive approach was used to analyze the data. Results Lay counselors described the importance of being responsive to TF-CBT participants' customs, beliefs, and socioeconomic conditions and highlighted the value of TF-CBT for their community. They also discussed the importance of partnering with other organizations to address unmet socioeconomic needs. Conclusion The findings from this study provide support for the acceptability and appropriateness of TF-CBT as a treatment approach for improving child mental health. Having a better understanding of the strategies used by lay counselors to ensure that treatment is relevant to the cultural and socioeconomic context of participants can help to inform the implementation of future EBTs. (PsycINFO Database Record
Auditory brainstem implant program development

Objective Auditory brainstem implants (ABIs), which have previously been used to restore auditory perception to deaf patients with neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), are now being utilized in other situations, including treatment of congenitally deaf children with cochlear malformations or cochlear nerve deficiencies. Concurrent with this expansion of indications, the number of centers placing and expressing interest in placing ABIs has proliferated. Because ABI placement involves posterior fossa craniotomy in order to access the site of implantation on the cochlear nucleus complex of the brainstem and is not without significant risk, we aim to highlight issues important in developing and maintaining successful ABI programs that would be in the best interests of patients. Data Sources Especially with pediatric patients, the ultimate benefits of implantation will be known only after years of growth and development. These benefits have yet to be fully elucidated and continue to be an area of controversy. The limited number of publications in this area were reviewed. Review Methods Review of the current literature was performed. Results Disease processes, risk/benefit analyses, degrees of evidence, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration approvals differ among various categories of patients in whom auditory brainstem implantation could be considered for use. Conclusion We suggest sets of criteria necessary for the development of successful and sustaining ABI programs, including programs for NF2 patients, postlingually deafened adult nonneurofibromatosis type 2 patients, and congenitally deaf pediatric patients. Laryngoscope, 127:1909–1915, 2017
Alpha Blocking And Digital Filtering Improve Olfactory Evoked Potentials

Synchronous theta (6-9 Hz) activity in the scalp Euj can be an important limiting factor in the recording of human olfactory evoked potentials. This problem can be significantly reduced with two techniques: 1) digital filtering, and 2) giving the subject a mental task (a technique usually refed to as "alpha blocking"). In this study the olfactory evoked responses of eight subjects to the odorant iso-amyl-acetate were compared and it was found that with these techniques good quality waveforms could be obtained from recordings with as little as fen repetitions per average.
Development of a paper-based diagnostic for influenza detection

The development of novel paper-based diagnostic tests has surged in recent years, due to the suitability of these tests for use at the point of care. These emerging paper-based tests retain the low cost and ease of use of traditional lateral flow tests, while offering increased sophistication and capabilities that approach those of traditional microfluidic devices. Here, we report on the development of a novel paper-based test for the diagnosis of influenza, commonly known as the flu. Influenza is a ubiquitously occurring infection, affecting 5−20% of Americans and resulting in an average of 23,000 deaths in the U.S., and up to 500,000 deaths globally, each year. Despite its prevalence, the diagnosis of influenza remains unsatisfactory, especially at the point of care. In particular, lateral flow tests for influenza suffer from poor sensitivity and provide only limited information about the infecting flu virus. Point-of-care testing of influenza therefore stands to benefit substantially from improved technology. To this end, we have developed two different versions of a paper-based flu assay, both using computationally designed affinity proteins, or “binders,” that bind to the influenza hemagglutinin (HA) protein. One version of the assay utilizes an HA stem-region binder and the other an HA head-region binder. With these assays, we demonstrate the detection of clinically relevant concentrations of recombinant HA and intact influenza virus, as well as the translation of this paper-based system to a two-dimensional paper network (2DPN) folding card device.
Diencephalic Size Is Restricted by a Novel Interplay Between GCN5 Acetyltransferase Activity and Retinoic Acid Signaling.

Diencephalic defects underlie an array of neurological diseases. Previous studies have suggested that retinoic acid (RA) signaling is involved in diencephalic development at late stages of embryonic development, but its roles and mechanisms of action during early neural development are still unclear. Here we demonstrate that mice lacking enzymatic activity of the acetyltransferase GCN5 ((Gcn5hat/hat )), which were previously characterized with respect to their exencephalic phenotype, exhibit significant diencephalic expansion, decreased diencephalic RA signaling, and increased diencephalic WNT and SHH signaling. Using a variety of molecular biology techniques in both cultured neuroepithelial cells treated with a GCN5 inhibitor and forebrain tissue from (Gcn5hat/hat ) embryos, we demonstrate that GCN5, RARα/γ, and the poorly characterized protein TACC1 form a complex in the nucleus that binds specific retinoic acid response elements in the absence of RA. Furthermore, RA triggers GCN5-mediated acetylation of TACC1, which results in dissociation of TACC1 from retinoic acid response elements and leads to transcriptional activation of RA target genes. Intriguingly, RA signaling defects caused by in vitro inhibition of GCN5 can be rescued through RA-dependent mechanisms that require RARβ. Last, we demonstrate that the diencephalic expansion and transcriptional defects seen in (Gcn5hat/hat ) mutants can be rescued with gestational RA supplementation, supporting a direct link between GCN5, TACC1, and RA signaling in the developing diencephalon. Together, our studies identify a novel, nonhistone substrate for GCN5 whose modification regulates a previously undescribed, tissue-specific mechanism of RA signaling that is required to restrict diencephalic size during early forebrain development.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Changes in diencephalic size and shape, as well as SNPs associated with retinoic acid (RA) signaling-associated genes, have been linked to neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the mechanisms that regulate diencephalic morphogenesis and the involvement of RA signaling in this process are poorly understood. Here we demonstrate a novel role of the acetyltransferase GCN5 in a previously undescribed mechanism of RA signaling in the developing forebrain that is required to maintain the appropriate size of the diencephalon. Together, our experiments identify a novel nonhistone substrate of GCN5, highlight an essential role for both GCN5 and RA signaling in early diencephalic development, and elucidate a novel molecular regulatory mechanism for RA signaling that is specific to the developing forebrain.
Who really selected you? Insights into faculty selection processes in top-ranked higher education graduate programmes

Over the past decade, the number of advertised tenure-track faculty positions in higher education institutions in the United States and abroad has steadily declined while the competition for these ...
At the intersection of nationalism, incompetence and money: Mikyoung Kim versus Hiroshima City University of Japan

This article analyses a case involving the dismissal of a tenured faculty member at Hiroshima City University of Japan. The university dismissed a Korean woman associate professor after filing a criminal complaint against her, leading to a house raid, her arrest and media coverage. After 11 days of detention, the Hiroshima Prosecutor’s Office decided not to indict her because they could not find criminal intent on her part. With the suspicion of the university’s fabrication of her criminality looming large, she was dismissed within a few hours of her release. The university’s attempt to purge a critical foreign faculty member from the university campus, faculty housing and the country of Japan was an almost complete success until the case became an international controversy with counter-media exposure and the formation of a transnational support network. This case reveals a volatile mixture of race- and gender-based discrimination, administrative incompetence and politicised financial subsidy as a backdrop to violations of human rights and academic freedom. The present article shows that the rights’ violations in this case are closely connected to rising nationalism, the politicisation of educational subsidy and ideological human agencies with a set of professional agendas.
Simultaneous Ipsilateral Vasal and Epididymal Reconstruction

Injuries to the spermatic cords, sustained during childhood inguinal hernioplasty, caused unilateral testicular atrophy, multiple bilateral excurrent duct obstruction and aspermia. Simultaneous unilateral vasal reconstruction and vaso-epididymostomy resulted in satisfactory semen parameters. It is expected that vasal integrity will be maintained after multiple reconstructive procedures at different locations if further injury to the vascular supply of the excurrent duct is avoided.
Symptom burden and hospital length of stay among patients with curable cancer.

6579Background: Prolonged hospital admissions are often inconsistent with patients’ preferences and incur significant costs. While patients’ symptoms may result in hospitalizations, the relationshi...
The Chlorophyll Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer (CFIS), mapping far red fluorescence from aircraft

The Chlorophyll Fluorescence Imaging Spectrometer (CFIS) is an airborne high resolution imaging spectrometer built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for evaluating solar-induced fluorescence (SIF) from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2). OCO-2 is a NASA mission designed to measure atmospheric CO_2 but one of the novel data products is SIF, retrieved using reductions in the optical depth of Fraunhofer lines in OCO-2’s O_2 A-band, covering 757–775 nm at 0.042 nm spectral resolution. CFIS was specifically designed to retrieve SIF within the wavelength range of OCO-2, but extends further down to 737 nm, nearly maintaining the high spectral resolution of the OCO-2 instrument (0.07 vs. 0.042 nm). Here, we provide an overview of the instrument calibration and performance as well as the retrieval strategy based on non-linear weighted least-squares. To illustrate the retrieval performance using actual flight data, we focus on data acquired over agricultural fields in Mead, Nebraska from an unpressurized Twin Otter (DHC-6) aircraft at a flight altitude of 3000 m above ground level (AGL). Spectral residuals are consistent with expected detector noise, which enables us to compute realistic 1-σ precision errors of 0.5–0.7 W/m^2/sr/μm for typical SIF retrievals, which can be reduced to <0.2 W/m^2/sr/μm when individual data is gridded at 30 m spatial resolution. The 30 m resolution also enabled direct comparison with the Crop Data Layer from the National Agricultural Statistics Service as well as Landsatimagery (NDVI, EVI, T_(skin)), taken just a day prior to the CFIS overflights. Results show consistently higher vegetation indices and SIF values over soy fields compared to corn, likely due to the respective phenological stage, which might already have affected chlorophyll content and canopy structure (August 15, 2016). While this work is intended to highlight the technical capabilities and performance of CFIS, the comparisons against Landsat and crop types provide insights into how CFIS can be used to study mechanisms related to photosynthesis at fine spatial scales, with the fidelity needed to obtain un-biased SIF retrievals void of atmospheric correction.
Gender and the Arab Spring: Women Shaping Change

Women tend to make up the largest portion of the informal labor force and women in the Arab region are no different (Carr & Chen, 2004). Indeed, women remain concentrated in hidden areas of the inf...