cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Motility of Macrogamonts of Eimeria magna (Coccidia) in Cell Culture

Amoeboid movement of spheroid or ovoid immature or mature macrogamonts within cultured Madin-Darby bovine cells usually began with the formation of a pseudopodium-like protrusion at the margin of the gamont. The protrusion enlarged as the gamont cytoplasm and nucleus moved into the protruded area. During movement, macrogamonts had an elongate shape. The body of the gamont was constricted as it moved through the cell cytoplasm or from one cell to an adjacent one. After movement had ceased, the gamont resumed its ovoid or spheroidal shape.
Gastroesophageal Reflux-Induced Bronchoconstriction: Is Microaspiration a Factor?

Study objective To evaluate the role of microaspiration in gastroesophageal reflux-induced bronchoconstriction. Design Prospective study blinded to the subject. Setting Outpatient laboratory of a 908-bed university hospital. Participants Thirty nonsmoking adults divided into two groups: asthmatics with reflux (AR), 20; and subjects with gastroesophageal reflux (R), 10. Interventions Dual esophageal pH probe placed. Esophageal infusions of normal saline solution, 0.1N hydrochloric acid, then normal saline solution, each lasting 18 min, were followed by two 20-min recovery periods. Subjects remained in the supine position throughout. Spirometry and specific airway resistance (SRaw) performed at baseline, after each esophageal infusion and recovery period. Proximal esophageal acid exposure, a requirement for microaspiration, was assessed by the proximal esophageal pH probe. Results Peak expiratory flow rate (PEF) decreased with esophageal acid in the AR group and did not recover immediately despite esophageal acid clearance with a significant main effect of subject groups (p Conclusions Esophageal acid infusions given in the supine position caused a decrease in PEF and an increase in SRaw in the asthma with reflux group, which did not improve despite acid clearance. These responses were not dependent on proximal esophageal acid exposure. Also, SRaw continued to worsen during the recovery phase in the AR group, which may represent a delayed bronchoconstrictor effect. These data suggest that microaspiration does not play a significant role in esophageal acid-induced bronchoconstriction.
The cell-autonomous role of excitatory synaptic transmission in the regulation of neuronal structure and function.

The cell-autonomous role of synaptic transmission in the regulation of neuronal structural and electrical properties is unclear. We have now employed a genetic approach to eliminate glutamatergic synaptic transmission onto individual CA1 pyramidal neurons in a mosaic fashion in vivo. Surprisingly, while electrical properties are profoundly affected in these neurons, as well as inhibitory synaptic transmission, we found little perturbation of neuronal morphology, demonstrating a functional segregation of excitatory synaptic transmission from neuronal morphological development.
Methodologies for Prognostication and Health Monitoring of Leaded and Lead Free Electronics and MEMS Packages in Harsh Environments

In this paper, a methodology for prognostication-of-electronics has been developed for accurate assessment of residual life in a deployed electronic components, and determination of damage-state in absence of macro-indicators of failure. Proxies for leading indicators-of-failure have been identified and correlated with damage progression under thermo-mechanical loads. Examples of proxies include — micro-structural evolution characterized by average phase size and intermetallic growth rate in solder interconnects. Validity of damage proxies has been investigated for both 63Sn37Pb leaded and SnAgCu leadfree electronics. Structures examined include — plastic ball grid array format electronic and MEMS Packages and discrete devices assembled with FR4-06 laminates. Focus of the research presented in this paper is on interrogation of the aged material’s damage state and enhancing the understanding of damage progression. The research is aimed at development of damage relationships for determination of residual life of aged electronics and assessment of design margins instead of life prediction of new components. The prognostic indicators presented in this paper, can be used for health monitoring of electronic assemblies.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
3-Dimensional Online Learning Environments: Examining Attitudes toward Information Technology between Students in Internet-Based 3-Dimensional and Face-to-Face Classroom Instruction

3‐dimensional online learning environments can provide a means for users with limited connectivity to the Internet to participate as fully as their broadband‐enabled peers in collaborative experiences, information sharing and feedback. Nearly 90% of the universities in the USA that support distributed learning programmes use web‐based course delivery methods. Directors of these programmes state that web‐based delivery allows them to handle the wide range of connectivity among student populations. 3‐Dimensional online learning environments can increase online course interaction and feedback beyond current web‐based document delivery in a cost effective and scaleable manner. This article examines attitudes to information technology of students in a 3‐dimensional online learning environment versus those involved in face‐to‐face classroom instruction at the University of North Texas. We were interested in looking to see how the benefits of immersion, interaction and feedback provided by the 3‐dimensional onli...
Vanishing Points, Turning Points, and Points of No Return: Geographies of Somewhere, Elsewhere, and Nowhere

This article mines textual representations – by Max Frisch, Klaus Mann, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Peter Weiss – of typically discounted twentieth century Western positions and traditions for their possible clues as to the kind of cultural displacements of which Western civilization is said to be uniquely unaware, disinterestedly aware or disinterested in. If current modulations of cultural strangeness and estrangement have indeed aggravated the erosion of representational prospects, it lies near at hand to visit this recent decline as an instance of Eurocentric ways as still encoded, perhaps encrypted, in their subaltern Other(s). Univocal subject positionality-or identity-is the foremost casualty in all the texts under scrutiny, and painful after-effects ensue from the implicit moments of textual crisis. Yet subsequent exilic mindsets and mental geographies of repositioning show little evidence of radical reconfiguration, let alone multiplication, of foundational priorities or sensibilities. In most instances, the sense of cultural landscape and cultural mobility merely contracts to inescapable points of historical gravity, from which the interpretational trajectory rarely bespeaks a turning point, but all the more so a point of no return or a virtual vanishing point. All the same, disfiguration of positionality and identity remains potentially translatable into transfiguration. The original and traditional-the home-enables a process of travel, hybridization, and othering, provided the cultural privilege of seeing is unlearned along the way. For that to happen, the process of unlearning must incorporate the process of learning as its sine qua non.
The Role of Gender in Opportunity Identification

Opportunity identification is rapidly becoming a key focal point of research in the entrepreneurship domain. This study is the first to explore gender differences in opportunity identification. Uti...
Iron oxyhydroxide coating of pyrite for acid mine drainage control

Abstract When pyrite oxidizes at near neutral pH in the presence of sufficient alkalinity, Fe oxyhydroxide coatings develop on the surface. As these coatings grow thicker and denser they block oxidant transport from the solution to the pyrite surface and reduce the rate of pyrite oxidation. The authors’ measurements of pyrite oxidation rates in a NaHCO 3 solution show that the coating grows in two stages. In the first stage Fe oxyhydroxide colloids form and then attach to the pyrite surface to produce a slight reduction in oxidant transport. In the second stage interstitial precipitation of Fe oxyhydroxide material between the colloidal particles reduces the oxidant’s diffusion coefficient by more than five orders of magnitude. This causes the pyrite oxidation rate to decline as the square root of time. The kinetic predominance diagram, which compares the rates of Fe transformation reactions, shows that when pyrite oxidation releases Fe quickly enough for the total Fe concentration to rise to about 10 −8 m, ferrihydrite forms but lower rates of Fe release will not produce coatings. Extrapolation of the results to longer times predicts that pyrite-bearing materials need to be treated with an extra source of alkalinity for several decades to produce coatings that are thick enough to be sustained by alkalinity levels typical of groundwater. However, once the coatings develop no additional treatment is needed and further pyrite oxidation simply causes the coating to grow thicker and denser until the entire pyrite grain is pseudomorphically replaced by goethite.
The influence of air temperature and atmospheric circulation on winter fog frequency over Northern Eurasia

This study examines the relationship between the number of fog days with surface air temperature and with atmospheric circulation as represented by the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and Siberian High (SBH) Pressure index over northern Eurasia during the winters of 1936–1937 to 1989–1990. The results suggest that the number of fog days decreases as surface air temperature increases, the SBH weakens, and the AO strengthens over much of the study region, except for southern European Russia, where fog days may increase with air temperature. The most significant and dominant impact on fog day frequency is surface air temperature, followed by the intensity of the SBH which directly reflects atmospheric stability. The AO has some limited influence on fog frequency over northern European Russia and southwestern Siberia. The combination of air temperature with either SBH or AO index explained, on average, about 30–60% of the variability of winter fog days over Siberia. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society
Plant biology in reduced gravity on the Moon and Mars

While there have been numerous studies on the effects of microgravity on plant biology since the beginning of the Space Age, our knowledge of the effects of reduced gravity (less than the Earth nominal 1 g) on plant physiology and development is very limited. Since international space agencies have cited manned exploration of Moon/Mars as long-term goals, it is important to understand plant biology at the lunar (0.17 g) and Martian levels of gravity (0.38 g), as plants are likely to be part of bioregenerative life-support systems on these missions. First, the methods to obtain microgravity and reduced gravity such as drop towers, parabolic flights, sounding rockets and orbiting spacecraft are reviewed. Studies on gravitaxis and gravitropism in algae have suggested that the threshold level of gravity sensing is around 0.3 g or less. Recent experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) showed attenuation of phototropism in higher plants occurs at levels ranging from 0.l g to 0.3 g. Taken together, these studies suggest that the reduced gravity level on Mars of 0.38 g may be enough so that the gravity level per se would not be a major problem for plant development. Studies that have directly considered the impact of reduced gravity and microgravity on bioregenerative life-support systems have identified important biophysical changes in the reduced gravity environments that impact the design of these systems. The author suggests that the current ISS laboratory facilities with on-board centrifuges should be used as a test bed in which to explore the effects of reduced gravity on plant biology, including those factors that are directly related to developing life-support systems necessary for Moon and Mars exploration.
Transverse Momenta of High-η Charged Particles Emitted in Au+Au Collisions

This work demonstrates that the mean transverse momentum of charged particles at large pseudo-rapidities can be reliably derived from measurements of the complete charged-particle multiplicity distributions and using information from measurements of pT spectra at mid-rapidity by applying energy conservation requirements. As an example, the mean pT of charged particles emitted at η=4.6 is found to be 〈pT〉=0.305 GeV/c for the 0–3% most central Au+Au collisions at \(\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 130\) GeV.
Pudendal nerve and internal pudendal artery damage may contribute to radiation-induced erectile dysfunction.

Purpose/Objectives Erectile dysfunction is common after radiation therapy for prostate cancer; yet, the etiopathology of radiation-induced erectile dysfunction (RI-ED) remains poorly understood. A novel animal model was developed to study RI-ED, wherein stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) was used to irradiate the prostate, neurovascular bundles (NVB), and penile bulb (PB) of dogs. The purpose was to describe vascular and neurogenic injuries after the irradiation of only the NVB or the PB, and after irradiation of all 3 sites (prostate, NVB, and PB) with varying doses of radiation. Methods and Materials Dogs were treated with 50, 40, or 30 Gy to the prostate, NVB, and PB, or 50 Gy to either the NVB or the PB, by 5-fraction SBRT. Electrophysiologic studies of the pudendal nerve and bulbospongiosus muscles and ultrasound studies of pelvic perfusion were performed before and after SBRT. The results of these bioassays were correlated with histopathologic changes. Results SBRT caused slowing of the systolic rise time, which corresponded to decreased arterial patency. Alterations in the response of the internal pudendal artery to vasoactive drugs were observed, wherein SBRT caused a paradoxical response to papaverine, slowing the systolic rise time after 40 and 50 Gy; these changes appeared to have some dose dependency. The neurofilament content of penile nerves was also decreased at high doses and was more profound when the PB was irradiated than when the NVB was irradiated. These findings are coincident with slowing of motor nerve conduction velocities in the pudendal nerve after SBRT. Conclusions This is the first report in which prostatic irradiation was shown to cause morphologic arterial damage that was coincident with altered internal pudendal arterial tone, and in which decreased motor function in the pudendal nerve was attributed to axonal degeneration and loss. Further investigation of the role played by damage to these structures in RI-ED is warranted.
Residues of the 39-Loop Restrict the Plasma Inhibitor Specificity of Factor IXa

Abstract The two plasma inhibitors, protein Z-dependent protease inhibitor (ZPI) and tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), effectively inhibit the activity of activated factor X (FXa); however, neither inhibitor exhibits any reactivity with the homologous protease activated factor IX (FIXa). In this study, we investigated the molecular basis for the lack of reactivity of FIXa with these plasma inhibitors and discovered that unique structural features within residues of the 39-loop are responsible for restricting the inhibitor specificity of FIXa. This loop in FXa is highly acidic and contains three Glu residues at positions 36, 37, and 39. On the other hand, the loop is shorter by one residue in FIXa (residue 37 is missing), and it contains a Lys and an Asp at positions 36 and 39, respectively. We discovered that replacing residues of the 39-loop (residues 31–41) of FIXa with corresponding residues of FXa renders the FIXa chimera susceptible to inactivation by both ZPI and TFPI. Thus, the inactivation rate of the FIXa chimera by ZPI in the presence of protein Z (PZ), negatively charged membrane vesicles, and calcium ions approached the same diffusion-limited rate (>107 m−1 s−1) that has been observed for the PZ-dependent inhibition of FXa by ZPI. Interestingly, sequence alignments indicated that, similar to FXa, residue 36 is a Glu in both mouse and bovine FIXa and that both proteases are also susceptible to inhibition by the PZ-ZPI complex. These results suggest that structural features within residues of the 39-loop contribute to the resistance of FIXa to inhibition by plasma inhibitors ZPI and TFPI.
Incremental closeness centrality in distributed memory

We propose a distributed memory framework for incremental closeness centrality computation.We parallelize different components of the framework for faster solution.Vectorization is applied to make the computation faster.All the algorithms and techniques are experimentally validated.Our framework proves to be practical for real time scenarios. Networks are commonly used to model traffic patterns, social interactions, or web pages. The vertices in a network do not possess the same characteristics: some vertices are naturally more connected and some vertices can be more important. Closeness centrality (CC) is a global metric that quantifies how important is a given vertex in the network. When the network is dynamic and keeps changing, the relative importance of the vertices also changes. The best known algorithm to compute the CC scores makes it impractical to recompute them from scratch after each modification. In this paper, we propose Streamer, a distributed memory framework for incrementally maintaining the closeness centrality scores of a network upon changes. It leverages pipelined, replicated parallelism, and SpMM-based BFSs, and it takes NUMA effects into account. It makes maintaining the closeness centrality values of real-life networks with millions of interactions significantly faster and obtains almost linear speedups on a 64 nodes 8 threads/node cluster.
GLUCOSE DISPOSAL IN THE WELL LOW BIRTH WEIGHT (LBW) INFANT

Glucose is the primary substrate for energy during parenteral alimentation of LBW infants. Hyperglycemia may result in glucosuria and osmotic diuresis when excessive glucose is infused. Tolerance for glucose was studied in 35 appropriate for gestational age well LBW infants (birth wt. M = 1216 gms, gestational age M = 30 wks) between 3-38 days of age. Infants received glucose: 8,11, or 14 mg/Kg/min for 3 hours by continuous peripheral intravenous infusion. Plasma glucose and insulin, and timed urine glucose and volume were measured (MtS.E.M.). A steady state (S-S) of plasma glucose was noted by one hour at all infusion rates. There were significant increases in S-S plasma glucose (p<.001) and insulin (p<0.05) in Groups B and C compared to Group A. Glycosuria did not exceed 0.28 mg/Kg/min, so that glucose disposal (retention) exceeded 97.7% of infusate. Group B was heterogeneous with respect to plasma glucose and plasma insulin responses. No significant osmotic diuresis from glucose was noted. The data suggests well LBW infants tolerate glucose to 14 mg/Kg/min between 3-38 days of age without significant glucosuria.
Small mammals: consequences of stochastic data variation for modeling indicators of habitat suitability for a well-studied resource

Abstract Increasingly, models of physical habitat variables (i.e. vegetation, soil) are utilized as indicators of small mammal habitat suitability or quality. Presumably, use of physical habitat models indicating habitat suitability or quality would be improved and enhanced by the extensive amount of research that has been conducted for these species. However, current knowledge of small mammal habitat associations is based mostly upon site specific empirical observation, not the quantitative data that are the foundation of habitat modeling. Small mammal data are affected by technique-related capture variability. Existing data do not demonstrate that fine spatial and temporal variability associated with technique substantially affects habitat models. Small mammal abundance also exhibits ecologically important high spatial and temporal variability. Microhabitat spatial variability is a poor predictor of trap use compared to larger spatial scale phenomena in mesic and xeric biomes. Habitat suitability has been modeled with accuracy ranging between 80 and 93% for 14 species. This accuracy is achieved by filtering out stochastic temporal variability that was not related to physical habitat indicators. Inclusion of stochastic temporal variability degrades model performance, especially in ecosystems where predictive vegetation and substrate variables are essentially constant. Development of indicator mathematical models can be facilitated when a species’ ecology is carefully considered and where mathematics and biology are equally incorporated when conceiving and developing indicators.
The effect of parachlorophenylalanine (PCPA) on shock-induced fighting behavior in rats.

Abstract Shock-induced fighting behavior was studied in rats treated with parachlorophenylalanine (PCPA). In the doses used, PCPA injections depleted brain serotonin to 10 per cent of the control animal levels. In the first study, injections were started prior to initial behavioral testing. In the second experiment, injections were started during a sequence of repeated behavioral testings in the shock-induced fighting situation. In neither case was there any evidence that PCPA injections had any effect on shock-induced fighting behavior in rats.
Bioactivity and chemical composition of the leaf essential oils of Zanthoxylum rhoifolium and Zanthoxylum setulosum from Monteverde, Costa Rica

The leaf essential oils of Zanthoxylum rhoifolium and Zanthoxylum setulosum (Rutaceae) from Monteverde, Costa Rica have been obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The principal constituents of Z. rhoifolium leaf oil were germacrene D (14.6%), limonene (12.5%), trans-2-hexenal (11.3%), β-elemene (9.2%), 2-undecanone (9.2%), myrcene (7.9%), bicyclogermacrene (7.5%), and germacrene A (5.2%). The leaf oil of Z. setulosum was composed largely of β-phellandrene (37.5%), β-caryophyllene (13.7%), α-pinene (11.9%), germacrene D (10.9%), myrcene (5.9%), and nerolidol (5.4%). The essential oils were screened for in-vitro cytotoxic activity against Hep G2, MCF-7, and PC-3 human tumor cell lines; antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli; and for Artemia salina (brine shrimp) lethality. Neither Z. rhoifolium nor Z. setulosum leaf oils exhibited cytotoxicity or antibacterial activity. Both oils showed...
Ambulatory 24-h colonic manometry in healthy humans.

Our aim was to investigate motor activity of the healthy, relatively unprepared colon in the ambulatory state. Twenty-five age- and gender-matched adults had a six-sensor solid-state probe inserted into the proximal transverse colon without sedation. Subjects ambulated freely and ate standard meals. In 528 h of recording, we found a lower (P 105 mmHg) and a prolonged duration (>14 s) occurred in all subjects (mean 10/day), mostly after waking, after meals, or with defecation. A 3-cpm motor activity was seen in the rectosigmoid region predominantly at night. The colon exhibits a wide spectrum of pressure activity around the clock, with gender and regional differences and circadian rhythm. This comprehensive study provides qualitative and quantitative normative data for colonic manometry.
Open ocean bird migration

A large body of indirect evidence suggests that migrant birds may constitute a significant proportion of the coherent airborne radar echoes detected at sea. Shipboard and island-based radars frequently detect large numbers of small cross-section targets moving at angles to the wind. Calculated airspeeds of these echoes are between 25 and 100 km/h (7-28 ms/sup -1/). Radar ornithologists have concluded that these echoes are due to migrant birds as the peak density occurs during fall and spring migration seasons. Land birds which make energetically advantageous crossings between continents are the most numerous migrants detected on radar. The occurrence, speed, and direction of the migrations are dependent not only upon location but also on the season of the year and weather conditions prevailing at the continental point of departure. Avian radar echoes over the open oceans can usually be identified as waterfowl, shorebirds, passerines or seabirds. The first three groups, which are all land birds, are most dense near continental margins, but significant migrations have been detected by radar more than 3000 km from land. Seabirds have not been extensively studied with radar but are known to migrate at least in small numbers over all the oceans of the world.
Hemangiopericytoma: Radical resection remains the cornerstone of therapy.

Abstract Hemangiopericytomas (HPC) are mesenchymal tumors with a propensity towards chronicity and metastasis. This study aimed to reflect a single institution experience with both World Health Organization (WHO) grade II and III HPC. Pathology records from the years 1990–2013 at the University of Washington were searched to identify tumors unequivocally classified as HPC. Electronic chart review was then utilized to collect pertinent patient data. Of the WHO grade II HPC, there were four men and two women (average age 52 years) while the grade III HPC group had eight men and two women (average age 51 years). Sixty-six percent of WHO grade II tumors were located in the middle or posterior fossa as compared to none of the grade III tumors. Survival analysis revealed a significant survival benefit for patients who underwent complete resection (223 months) versus those with subtotal resection (138 months, p
Enhancing the cellular uptake of Py–Im polyamides through next-generation aryl turns

Pyrrole–imidazole (Py–Im) hairpin polyamides are a class of programmable, sequence-specific DNA binding oligomers capable of disrupting protein– DNA interactions and modulating gene expression in living cells. Methods to control the cellular uptake and nuclear localization of these compounds are essential to their application as molecular probes or therapeutic agents. Here, we explore modifications of the hairpin c-aminobutyric acid turn unit as a means to enhance cellular uptake and biological activity. Remarkably, introduction of a simple aryl group at the turn potentiates the biological effects of a polyamide targeting the sequence 5 0 -WGWWCW-3 0 (W=A/T) by up to two orders of magnitude. Confocal microscopy and quantitative flow cytometry analysis suggest this enhanced potency is due to increased nuclear uptake. Finally, we explore the generality of this approach and find that aryl-turn modifications enhance the uptake of all polyamides tested, while having a variable effect on the upper limit of polyamide nuclear accumulation. Overall this provides a step forward for controlling the intracellular concentration of Py–Im polyamides that will prove valuable for future applications in which biological potency is essential.
Robust feasibility for control of water flow in a reservoir-canal system

A robust control problem for distant downstream control of a reservoir-canal system modeled by Saint-Venant equations is investigated. The problem is to regulate the release of water at the upstream end such that the measured water level (or stage) at the downstream end does not deviate outside of prescribed bounds under the effect of downstream perturbations. Under the assumption of small perturbations, the Saint-Venant model is linearized around a steady state flow. The resulting linear model is discretized to obtain a linear state-space model using a method of characteristics based numerical scheme. For the state space model, the control is the upstream discharge deviation, the disturbance is the downstream discharge deviation and the output is the downstream stage deviation; the deviations are defined with respect to the steady state. The sets of admissible control, disturbance and output trajectories are modeled by polytopes. It is shown that the control problem can be formulated as a robust feasibility problem. Using linear programming duality, conditions for existence of a robustly feasible solution are derived. These conditions, being affine in the control variables, are checked using linear programming. The proposed method is applied to control a typical reservoir- canal system.
Construction of Lasso Peptide Fusion Proteins

Lasso peptides are a family of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) typified by an isopeptide-bonded macrocycle between the peptide N-terminus and an aspartate or glutamate side chain. The C-terminal portion of the peptide threads through the N-terminal macrocycle to give the characteristic lasso fold. Because of the inherent stability, both proteolytic and often thermal, of lasso peptides, we became interested in whether proteins could be fused to the free C-terminus of lasso peptides. Here, we demonstrate fusion of two model proteins, the artificial leucine zipper A1 and the superfolder variant of GFP, to the C-terminus of the lasso peptide astexin-1. Successful lasso cyclization of the N-terminus of these fusion proteins requires a flexible linker in between the C-terminus of the lasso peptide and the N-terminus of the protein of interest. The ability to fuse lasso peptides to a protein of interest is an important step toward phage and bacterial display systems for the high-throughput screening of lasso peptide libraries for new functions.
Expression of cholesterol-7α-hydroxylase in murine macrophages prevents cholesterol loading by acetyl-LDL

Unlike macrophages, the hepatic parenchymal cells express cholesterol-7 � -hydroxylase (CYP7A1) which regulates the conversion of cholesterol into bile acids, the major quantitative pathway maintaining cholesterol homeo- stasis. We examined if CYP7A1 expression in RAW 264.7 macrophages could prevent the accumulation of cholesterol when they were incubated with acetyl-LDL. A single cell clone (designated as 7 � RAW cells) that stably expresses rat CYP7A1 displayed similar rates of growth as non-trans- fected RAW cells. The CYP7A1 enzymatic activity expressed by microsomes obtained from 7 � RAW cells was similar to that expressed by microsomes obtained from mouse liver. Incubating non-transfected RAW with increasing amounts of acetyl-LDL caused a parallel accumulation of cholesterol, whereas 7 � RAW cells displayed a complete resistance to cholesterol accumulation. 7 � RAW cells displayed increased expression of both ABCA1 mRNA (3.1-fold, P � 0.001) and ABCG1 mRNA (2.2-fold, P � 0.01), whereas the expression of scavenger receptor class A mRNA was unchanged. 7 � RAW cells also displayed small but significant increases in the rate of efflux of ( 3 H)cholesterol to both delipidated apolipoprotein A1 and to HDL. Thus, CYP7A1 expres- sion in RAW cultured macrophages prevented the accumu- lation of cholesterol from acetyl-LDL via both increased metabolism and efflux of cholesterol. —Moore, G. L., and R. A. Davis. Expression of cholesterol-7 � -hydroxylase in murine macrophages prevents cholesterol loading by acetyl- LDL. J. Lipid Res. 2002. 43: 629-635.
Probabilistic detection of FSM single state-transition faults based on state occupancy measurements

This note discusses a probabilistic methodology for detecting single permanent or transient functional changes in the state-transition mechanism of a deterministic finite-state machine (FSM). The associated probabilistic detector observes the empirical frequencies with which different states are occupied and detects faults by analyzing the discrepancy between the observed state occupancy measurements and the expected frequencies. In addition to state occupancy measurements, the detector requires a statistical characterization of the input, but does not need to know the order with which states appear or the exact input sequence that is applied to the FSM. These features can be useful in settings where the input/state order may not be known due to synchronization, communication or other constraints.
Thank You for Voting: Gratitude Expression and Voter Mobilization

Political scientists are increasingly exploring the psychological underpinnings of voting behavior using field experimental techniques. Research in psychology demonstrates that gratitude expression reinforces prosocial behavior. This article reports the results of the three randomized field experiments designed to investigate the impact of gratitude expression on voter turnout. The experiments were conducted in a range of electoral settings, and the results suggest thanking voters for voting in a previous election boosts participation levels in subsequent elections. Moreover, the gratitude expression effect I observe appears to be distinct from social pressure and is robust across subgroups of voters, including minorities and women, and both low- and high-propensity voters.
Getting Clubbed Over a Club

This case describes the people and events surrounding a gay club’s attempt to assemble in a schoolroom after hours. With less than two months of school remaining, a retiring principal is trying to manage school operations the best he can. Pressures from school and district personnel, parents, students, and community members all play intricate roles in redefining values, equity, and policy at Pleasantville High School. Organizational crises appear from alleged discrimination against the Gay/Lesbian Club. Based on district decision-making, officials soon discover themselves in legal difficulty.
New design for ultra-wideband hemispherical helical antennas

This study investigates a new design for the hemispherical heliacal antenna that provides significant improvement in bandwidth, while maintaining essentially the same directivity and half-power beamwidth of the basic hemispherical helical design. The proposed new design utilizes a wideband impedance matching technique and replaces the wire radiating element with a tapered metallic strip. This design provides an overall measured bandwidth of 24% at a center frequency of 3.35GHz. Over this bandwidth, the axial ratio is ≤ 3dB, the VSWR is ≤ 2 relative to a 50-ohm reference impedance, the directivity is about 9dB, and the half-power beamwidth is about 70°. This compact low-profile antenna is of considerable interest in ultra-wideband wireless communication systems.
The development and application of a method to quantify the quality of cryoprotectant solutions using standard area-detector X-ray images

An X-ray based method for determining initial cryoprotectant concentrations necessary to protect solutions from crystalline ice formation on flash cooling was developed. X-ray images from a charge-coupled device (CCD) area detector were integrated as powder patterns and quantified by determining the standard deviation of the slope of the normalized intensity curve in the resolution range where ice rings are known to occur. The method was tested by determining the concentrations of glycerol, PEG400, ethylene glycol and 1,2-propanediol necessary to form an amorphous glass at 100 K with each of the 98 crystallization solutions of Crystal Screens I and II (Hampton Research, Laguna Hills, California, USA). For conditions that required glycerol concentrations of 35% or above, cryoprotectant conditions using (2R,3R)-(−)-2,3-butanediol were determined. The method proved to be remarkably reliable. The results build on previous work [Garman & Mitchell (1996). J. Appl. Cryst. 29, 584–587] and extend the number of suitable starting conditions to alternative cryoprotectants.
Testing the Competition: Usability of Commercial Information Sites Compared with Academic Library Web Sites

With the growing size of academic library Web sites, constant updating, authentication issues, and organization are increasingly difficult for libraries to maintain user-friendly sites. This usability study examines how students use electronic research libraries such as Questia, which has been designed to replace traditional libraries and compare it with large university library Web sites. Students were asked to perform tasks at two electronic research library sites and then at two large university library Web sites. Major implications of this study are that design features incorporated by Web site designers can drastically affect the success of students doing research.
TNO1 Is Involved in Salt Tolerance and Vacuolar Trafficking in Arabidopsis

The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor SYP41 is involved in vesicle fusion at the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and interacts with AtVPS45, SYP61, and VTI12. These proteins are involved in diverse cellular processes, including vacuole biogenesis and stress tolerance. A previously uncharacterized protein, named TNO1 (for TGN-localized SYP41-interacting protein), was identified by coimmunoprecipitation as a SYP41-interacting protein. TNO1 was found to localize to the TGN by immunofluorescence microscopy. A tno1 mutant showed increased sensitivity to high concentrations of NaCl, KCl, and LiCl and also to mannitol-induced osmotic stress. Localization of SYP61, which is involved in the salt stress response, was disrupted in the tno1 mutant. Vacuolar proteins were partially secreted to the apoplast in the tno1 mutant, suggesting that TNO1 is required for efficient protein trafficking to the vacuole. The tno1 mutant had delayed formation of the brefeldin A (BFA) compartment in cotyledons upon application of BFA, suggesting less efficient membrane fusion processes in the mutant. Unlike most TGN proteins, TNO1 does not relocate to the BFA compartment upon BFA treatment. These data demonstrate that TNO1 is involved in vacuolar trafficking and salt tolerance, potentially via roles in vesicle fusion and in maintaining TGN structure or identity.
Molecular analysis of the muscle protein projectin in Lepidoptera

Striated muscles of both vertebrates and insects contain a third filament composed of the giant proteins, namely kettin and projectin (insects) and titin (vertebrates). All three proteins have been shown to contain several domains implicated in conferring elasticity, in particular a PEVK segment. In this study, the characterization of the projectin protein in the silkmoth, Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae), and the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus L. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), as well as a partial characterization in the Carolina sphinx, Manduca sexta L. (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), are presented. This study showed that, similar to other insects, projectin's overall modular organization was conserved, but in contrast, the PEVK region had a highly divergent sequence. The analysis of alternative splicing in the PEVK region revealed a small number of possible isoforms and the lack of a flight-muscle specific variant, both characteristics being in sharp contrast with findings from other insects. The possible correlation with difference in flight muscle stiffness and physiology between Lepidoptera and other insect orders is discussed.
N-HMME Upregulates Lipolytic Proteins in the Liver to Counter NAFLD

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a comorbidity associated with diet-induced obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and hypertension. While the prevalence of obesity and its causal role in NAFLD continue to rise, currently, there is no strategy to counter NAFLD. It is the most common liver disease associated with chronic obesity and is one of the top concerns for clinicians as it has the potential to advance into hepatic steatosis, steatohepatitis, and cirrhosis of liver. Recent research suggests that transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), a non-selective Ca2+ channel protein, is implicated in NAFLD. However, the precise mechanism underlying this remains to be elucidated. TRPV1 activation via dietary supplementation of (E)-N-[(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl) methyl]-8-methylnon-6-enamide (N-HMME; also known as capsaicin) is an emerging strategy to counter NAFLD. Protein assays from liver lysates in dietary induced obesity models indicate that high fat diet (HFD; 60% of total calories) promoted hepatic steatosis. HFD feeding caused increase in liver weight, downregulated the expression of lipolytic genes and increased triglyceride levels in blood. N-HMME supplementation prevented hepatic steatosis by increasing lipolytic genes while decreasing de novo lipogenesis of fatty acids in the liver. N-HMME increased the expression of lipolytic proteins PPARα, PGC-1α and SiRT-1 and suppressed the expression of lipogenic SCD-1 in the liver. N-HMME significantly prevented hepatic steatosis and decreased circulating triglyceride levels in blood. N-HMME supplementation also suppressed HFD-induced hypertension, hyperglycemia and improved blood glucose handling. Further, N-HMME facilitated the activation of SiRT-1 via Ca2+/Calmodulin dependent protein kinase II dependent mechanism and increased the interaction between SiRT-1 and PPARα. However, N-HMME did not prevent NAFLD in mice, which genetically lack the expression of TRPV1. Our data provide evidence for the emergence of N-HMME as a new drug molecule to counter NAFLD and its associated pathologies.
Dispute settlement and community conflict in prehistoric Australian Aboriginal populations: Skeletal evidence

Over the last fifteen years researchers studying Australian Aboriginal skeletal material have found depressed fractures to be common upon Aboriginal crania observed. Added to this are the many examples of intra-group conflicts and disputes that appear in the Australian ethnographical literature, which seem unusually common amongst Australian Aborigines when compared with traditional and semi-traditional social systems from other parts of the world. It has been assumed that the depressed fractures observed on crania are the direct physical manifestations of disputes, examples of which are described by the ethnographers. This research project was undertaken to establish through a methodical approach, how real the relationship is between the two bodies of evidence. An application for access to the South Australian Museum's Human Biology Collection was made in late 1990 to pursue this approach, and access was granted in February 1991. A total of 409 crania were examined for evidence of depressed fractures and through a survey of the ethnographical, anthropological, and archaeological literature available, the physical evidence was analysed to establish any possible relationship between the fractures recorded and the evidence of physical assaults as described ethnographically. The research has demonstrated that physical contacts between individuals account for a majority of the injuries present and also suggests that physical contacts were invariably the result of conflicts and disputes. Age (of the individual) and sex determinations were carried out where possible; 62% of the sample was positively sexed and 99% of the sample was successfully aged. Observations included two distinct trends apparent amongst crania that possessed depressed fractures. Amongst the sexed crania with fractures there appeared to be no bias toward either sex having more fractures present than the other, and among the aged crania there appeared a definite trend toward fractures becoming more frequent as individual age increased. Further analysis of the results showed that the majority of fractures found upon crania in the sample were indeed the result of conflict behaviour but that this behaviour seemed most frequently to be used as a means of settling intra-communal disputes. It is suggested, on the strength of the evidence presented, that 'violent' behaviour was not seen as such by Aborigines, rather that it was an effective tool used in the social sphere for two important reasons; firstly to settle disputes quickly and efficiently between individuals in an environment that required everyone to work together for the survival of the group; and secondly because it allowed individuals to constantly reassure themselves personally, of their position within the social system.
A Study of Pt/AlN/6H-SiC MIS Structures for Device Applications

AlN films with thicknesses from 53 to 79 nm were deposited on 6H-SiC substrates via Plasma Source Molecular Beam Epitaxy (PSMBE). The influence of deposition temperature on the growth mode and film roughness was assessed. The optical constants of the films in the range 0.73-8.75 eV were determined using spectroscopic ellipsometry. Pt/AlN/6H-SiC MIS structures were created and current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements were performed at room temperature and at 250°C. Most of the MIS structures showed rectifying I-V characteristics regardless of growth temperature. A 120-nm-thick AlN film was deposited at 500°C. MIS structures created on this film showed a very low leakage current densities of 6×10 −8 A/cm 2 . The dielectric constant of the film was estimated at approximately 9. The relation between film structure and electrical properties of the films is discussed.
Rapid Methods for the Diagnosis of Fungal Infections

Rapid, accurate identification of fungal agents has become essential for the laboratory, particularly in those serving the increasingly frequent compromised patient. Rapid diagnosis can currently be achieved by using direct fungal smears whenever appropriate, by taking advantage of new fungal isolation systems, and by judicious selection of rapid identification tests for organism identification. In addition, knowledge of the fungi seen most frequently in each particular laboratory setting will allow the microbiologist to intensify efforts at identification for those organisms that are deemed most important or that occur most commonly.
Consumer Information Policy in Sweden—What can be Learned?:

Almost all Western nations now have private or public consumer information programs. Sweden has a particularly rich experience in the product information area. In this article special emphasis is p...
State aggregation in Monte Carlo tree search

Monte Carlo tree search (MCTS) algorithms are a popular approach to online decision-making in Markov decision processes (MDPs). These algorithms can, however, perform poorly in MDPs with high stochastic branching factors. In this paper, we study state aggregation as a way of reducing stochastic branching in tree search. Prior work has studied formal properties of MDP state aggregation in the context of dynamic programming and reinforcement learning, but little attention has been paid to state aggregation in MCTS. Our main result is a performance loss bound for a class of value function-based state aggregation criteria in expectimax search trees. We also consider how to construct MCTS algorithms that operate in the abstract state space but require a simulator of the ground dynamics only. We find that trajectory sampling algorithms like UCT can be adapted easily, but that sparse sampling algorithms present difficulties. As a proof of concept, we experimentally confirm that state aggregation can improve the finite-sample performance of UCT.
May Ayim und der Blues

May Ayim is one of the best-known representatives of both the Black German movement and Black German literature. Her individual and collaborative works helped to shape collective modes of Black German identity, making visible and affirming ties to the Black diaspora. This paper examines the intersections of music—specifically, the blues—and literature in poetry, focusing in particular on blues in schwarz weiss (1995). Here Ayim references the African oral tradition not only through her inclusion of Adinkra symbols, but also through a blues aesthetic that manifests itself in scat-like interjections, rhythmic breaks and patterns, and repetitions. In addition to these formal aspects, her blues aesthetic also relies on the West African tradition of “Nommo”—the naming process. Ayim’s poetry follows this tradition by incorporating her personal experiences, addressing pressing socio-political issues, and by constructing and presenting a self-determined Black German subject as member of a larger community, within and beyond Germany. Her essayistic and poetic works stand in dialogical relationship with each other, and serve as a forum to publicly discuss discrimination and marginalization as universal problems. As with the Blues, this essay argues, Ayim’s poetry presents socio-political problems as resolvable by formulating a “we” capable of action. (EG; in German)