cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Feasibility of Linking Long-Term Cardiovascular Cohort Data to Offspring Birth Records: The Bogalusa Heart Study

Introduction Researchers in perinatal health, as well as other areas, may be interested in linking existing datasets to vital records data when the existence or timing of births is unknown. Methods 5914 women who participated in the Bogalusa Heart Study (1973–2009), a long-running study of cardiovascular health in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, were linked to vital statistics birth data from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas (1982–2010). Deterministic and probabilistic linkages based on social security number, race, maternal date of birth, first name, last name, and Soundex codes for name were conducted. Characteristics of the linked and unlinked women were compared using t-tests, Chi square tests, and multiple regression with adjustment for age and year of examinations. Results The Louisiana linkage linked 4876 births for 2770 women; Mississippi linked 791 births to 487 women; Texas linked 223 births to 153 women; After removal of duplicates and implausible dates, this left a total of 5922 births to 3260 women. This represents a successful linkage of 55% of all women ever seen in the larger study, and an estimated 65% of all women expected to have given birth. Those linked had more study visits, were more likely to be black, and had statistically lower BMIs than unlinked participants. Discussion Linking unrelated study data to vital records data was feasible to a degree. The linked group had a somewhat more favorable health profile and was less mobile than the overall study population.
Barriers to front propagation in laminar, three-dimensional fluid flows

We present experiments on one-way barriers that block reaction fronts in a fully three-dimensional (3D) fluid flow. Fluorescent Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction fronts are imaged with laser-scanning in a laminar, overlapping vortex flow. The barriers are analyzed with a 3D extension to burning invariant manifold (BIM) theory that was previously applied to two-dimensional advection-reaction-diffusion processes. We discover tube and sheet barriers that guide the front evolution. The experimentally determined barriers are explained by BIMs calculated from a model of the flow.
Deposition and mobilization of lipids varies across the rainbow trout fillet during feed deprivation and transition from plant to fish oil-based diets

Abstract Identifying aquaculture feeding strategies that reduce the consumption of fish oil without sacrificing the cardioprotective lipid profile of the salmonid fillet will improve aquafeed economics and sustainability. Transitioning fish from a plant oil-based diet to a finishing diet rich in fish oil and long chain n-3 fatty acids (LCn3) for several weeks prior to harvest is effective at boosting the fatty acid profile of the whole salmonid fillet. This study determined whether the response to short-term feed deprivation and a finishing diet varies across different regions of the triploid rainbow trout fillet. Fish were placed on one of three feeding treatments: 1) FO: a fish oil (FO) diet for the entirety of the 20-week study, 2) VO/FO: a vegetable oil (VO) diet between weeks 1–12 then the FO diet for the final eight weeks, or 3) VO/fd/FO: the VO diet between weeks 1–12 followed by a two week period of feed deprivation before transitioning to the FO diet for the final six weeks. Fillets were divided horizontally into three sections (ventral, central, and dorsal) and the fatty acid profile of each was determined. There were unique responses to feed deprivation across fillet regions; the central region exhibited a loss of fatty acids, the dorsal region gained fatty acids, but there was no net gain or loss of fatty acids in the ventral region. The ventral and dorsal regions responded similarly to a high-FO finishing diet, increasing concentrations of fatty acids and LCn3, although not to levels observed in the FO treatment group. In contrast, the fatty acid profile in the central region remained largely unaffected by the finishing diet, with the exception of LCn3 in the VO/FO group that increased to levels comparable to the FO-treatment group. Expression of genes related to muscle atrophy (fbxo32) and LCn3 metabolism (fads5) also varied across different fillet regions and in response to dietary treatments. This study provides evidence for spatially distinct regulation of muscle growth and lipid metabolism that support region-specific physiological and metabolic responses to feeding strategies.
Applying concepts and tools from signal processing on graphs (SPG) to problems in array signal processing

Signal processing on graphs (SPG) is an emerging area of research that extends well-established data analysis concepts and tools to support a special type of signal where data samples are defined on the vertices of a graph. Since SPG emerged in 2013, fundamental operations such as filtering, the Fourier transform, and modulation have been formally defined that uniquely consider and take advantage of the underlying complex and irregular relationship between data elements which is captured mathematically by a graph. The purpose of this study is to analyze the applicability of SPG to array signal processing. We show that signals defined on a graph, or graph signals for short, are natural models for data collected over a line array of sensors. We also apply existing SPG processing algorithms to array signal data and investigate and probe whether SPG can help increase array gain.
Basic experiments in 2H static NMR for the characterization of protein side-chain dynamics.

Abstract The focus of this review is the basic methodology for applications of static deuteron NMR for studies of dynamics in the side chains of proteins. We review experimental approaches for the measurements of static line shapes and relaxation rates as well as signal enhancement strategies using the multiple echo acquisition scheme. Further, we describe computational strategies for modeling jump and diffusive motions underlying experimental data. Applications are chosen from studies of amyloid fibrils comprising the amyloid-β protein.
Abstract 127: Comparison of Vital Sign Abnormalities Prior to Ward Cardiac Arrest vs Intensive Care Unit Transfer

INTRODUCTION: Previous studies have demonstrated that most patients who suffer cardiac arrest (CA) on the ward have abnormal vital signs prior to the event. However, no study to date has compared the vital signs of CA patients to patients transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: All adult patients hospitalized at an academic institution from November 2008 to January 2011 were included in this retrospective study. Vital signs for each patient documented on the ward from admission until a first CA, first ICU transfer, or hospital discharge (controls) were extracted from an electronic medical record (EPIC, Verona, WI). The mean maximum and minimum values for each vital sign were compared between groups using t-tests. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was also calculated for each vital sign by comparing the CA and ICU transfer groups to controls. RESULTS: A total of 47427 patients were included in the study (2820 ICU transfers, 88 CA patients, and 44519 controls). Compared to ICU transfer patients, CA patients had a higher mean maximum heart rate and a lower mean minimum diastolic blood pressure and temperature (Table). The best predictors of CA were maximum respiratory rate (AUC 0.76), maximum heart rate (AUC 0.69), and minimum diastolic blood pressure (AUC 0.63). For ICU transfer, the best predictors were maximum respiratory rate (AUC 0.66), maximum heart rate (AUC 0.61), minimum oxygen saturation (AUC 0.58), and minimum systolic blood pressure (AUC 0.55). CONCLUSIONS: Patients transferred to the ICU and those suffering CA both have significant vital sign abnormalities. Although the abnormalities are more severe in CA patients, they are not transferred to a higher-level of care. Further work into deriving a CA risk prediction model may assist in identifying these critically ill patients.
Retinal photic injury in normal and scorbutic monkeys.

Abstract Mild and severe retinal photic injuries were inflicted on 22 eyes of seven monkeys fed a vitamin C-deficient diet and four monkeys given a vitamin C-enriched diet. The retinal lesions were studied by fundus examination, fluorescein angiography, and light and electron microscopy. While the general cellular response to photic injury in the retina of scorbutic animals was not different qualitatively from that in the normal animals, scurvy appeared to cause more severe tissue damage, an exaggerated repair response, and more advanced retinal degeneration. In the four groups of eyes, representing mild and severe photic injury in normal and scorbutic animals, a continuous spectrum of changes was produced. The least damage occurred from mild photic injury in the normal animals, and the most detrimental insult resulted from severe photic injury in the scorbutic animals. We propose that the basic mechanism by which ascorbate mitigates retinal photic injury depends on its redox properties. Ascorbate functions as an antioxidant in the retina. It scavenges superoxide radicals and hydroxyl radicals, quenches singlet oxygen, and reduces hydrogen peroxide, all of which are formed in retinal photic injury. This hypothesis provides an explanation for the high level of ascorbate in the retina. The pathogenetic mechanisms that correspond to the three distinct phases of pathologic changes observed in retinal photic injury are characterized. In phase 1, single oxygen is generated in a photodynamic reaction that damages the photoreceptor elements and pigment epithelium. In phase 2, macrophages attracted from the systemic circulation invade the subretinal space, and a photo-oxidative reaction generates superoxide radicals, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals. These free radicals attack the photoreceptor cells and pigment epithelium to cause further retinal damage. In phase 3, macrophages remain in the subretinal space for as long as 8 months after injury, causing persistent disruption of the blood-retinal barrier. The photo-oxidative reaction appears to linger, resulting in chronic retinal degeneration. It is hypothesized that in some forms of age-related macular degeneration, patients suffer from repeated mild photic insult throughout their lifetime. Aging has been associated with subclinical scurvy, which leads to even greater susceptibility to photic injury. Although ascorbate moderates many biochemical functions of the body and helps the retina ameliorate photo-oxidative injury, it should be regarded as a nutritional supplement to maintain health when consumed in appropriate amounts and not as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of severe insults.
Cardiovascular endpoints for obstructive sleep apnea with twelfth cranial nerve stimulation (CARDIOSA-12): Rationale and methods

Objectives/hypothesis To determine the effect of therapeutic levels of hypoglossal nerve stimulation therapy (HGNS), compared to subtherapeutic levels of HGNS, on 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure, sympathetic activity, and vascular function. Study design Double-blind, sham-controlled, randomized crossover trial of 10-week duration at a university medical center METHODS: The target enrollment is 60 randomly assigned subjects. Interventions are active versus sham (subtherapeutic) HGNS therapy. Results The primary outcome is 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure. Secondary outcomes include 24-hour ambulatory diastolic blood pressure, nocturnal systolic and diastolic pressure, muscle sympathetic nerve activity, pre-ejection period, flow-mediated dilation, and pulse wave velocity. Conclusions The Cardiovascular Endpoints for Obstructive Sleep Apnea With Twelfth Cranial Nerve Stimulation study is designed to examine obstructive sleep apnea and test the effects of HGNS on the cardiovascular system through a sham-controlled trial in patients with moderate-severe obstructive sleep apnea. Level of evidence 1 Laryngoscope, 2635-2643, 2018.
Facilitating rapid precision oncology in anaplastic thyroid cancer: Clinical implications of next generation sequencing (NGS) mutation testing and impact on survival.

6023Background: Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a rare malignancy characterized by rapid progression and median overall survival (OS) of less than 6 months. With the goal of improving ATC outcom...
Learning mechanism of chromatin domain formation with big data

Chromatin modifications play critical roles in gene regulation and encoding cell phenotypic diversity. The molecular mechanism for their establishment and maintenance is not fully understood due to the complexity of chromatin regulatory pathways. Here we took a data-driven approach and parameterized an information-theoretic model to infer mechanism of chromatin domain formation from genome-wide epigenetic modification profiles. The energy landscape of this model reveals many important chromatin domains that span multiple nucleosomes and exhibit distinct combinatorial patterns of histone modifications, including super (stretch) enhancers, broad H3K4me3 promoter domains, heterochromatin, etc. Transition path analysis further demonstrates that enhancer and promoter domains undergo a sequential maturation process along which the regulatory elements grow from short but stable nucleosome segments to long and potent ones that are modified with many activation marks. On the other hand, the formation of heterochromatin domains is a highly cooperative process, and no intermediate states were found along the transition path. Interaction energies of the information-theoretic model further suggest that heterochromatin domains adopt collapsed, globular three-dimensional conformations that can be stabilized by phase-separated liquid droplets. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of statistical mechanical models and molecular biophysical approaches in interpreting the rich information encoded in epigenomics data.
Auxin EvoDevo: Conservation and Diversification of Genes Regulating Auxin Biosynthesis, Transport, and Signaling.

Abstract The phytohormone auxin has been shown to be of pivotal importance in growth and development of land plants. The underlying molecular players involved in auxin biosynthesis, transport, and signaling are quite well understood in Arabidopsis. However, functional characterizations of auxin-related genes in economically important crops, specifically maize and rice, are still limited. In this article, we comprehensively review recent functional studies on auxin-related genes in both maize and rice, compared with what is known in Arabidopsis, and highlight conservation and diversification of their functions. Our analysis is illustrated by phylogenetic analysis and publicly available gene expression data for each gene family, which will aid in the identification of auxin-related genes for future research. Current challenges and future directions for auxin research in maize and rice are discussed. Developments in gene editing techniques provide powerful tools for overcoming the issue of redundancy in these gene families and will undoubtedly advance auxin research in crops.
Binary and Nonbinary Measures of Successful Aging: Do They Yield Comparable Conclusions?

Recently, some researchers have employed nonbinary measures of successful aging. Little has been done to determine whether these newer measures yield similar findings compared to traditional binary...
Tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) classifications and association with survival in primary melanomas.

e20042 Background: TILs in primary melanomas may represent a surrogate of anti-tumor immune response, yet debate exists if TIL grade offers independent prognostication. In a large, prospectively ac...
Manipulation of ovarian function influenced glucose metabolism in CBA/J mice.

Abstract Menopause is associated with a decline in overall health in women. One health aspect impacted is glucose metabolism. As women experience menopause, their metabolism declines dramatically. The current study addressed the influence of ovarian somatic cells on the improvement of metabolic health through transplantations of young, germ cell-depleted ovaries. The purpose of this study is to expand the understanding of female reproductive health on metabolism. Control mice were grouped by age and treatment mice were age-matched. Treatment mice were placed into one of three groups: 1) mice received germ cell-depleted ovaries, 2) mice received germ cell-containing ovaries, and 3) mice received ovarian somatic cells via injection directly to their original ovary. All mice were subject to a glucose tolerance test, during which a bolus of dextrose was administered, and blood glucose levels were collected and recorded. Mice were euthanized between 680 and 700 days. Metabolic results showed an improvement of glucose metabolism in both germ cell-depleted and germ cell-containing groups compared to controls. No significance difference was noted between the germ cell-containing and germ cell-depleted groups. Somatic cell injection groups also showed improved glucose metabolism compared to controls. This experiment has shown that post-reproductive health is positively influenced by reproductive status. Additionally, somatic cells play an important role in the restoration of health to post-reproductive mice.
Accurate Prediction and Mitigation of EMI from High-Speed Noise Sources using Full Wave Solver

Unintended Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is a common occurrence in all consumer electronics, which can often fail compliance margins of FCC and/or CE, when best practices of grounding, shielding and overall system integration are not followed. The measurement of EMI for regulatory compliance has been studied extensively and there are standard test labs which certifies for EMI. However, predicting the EMI radiation from a consumer electronic device through simulation is very challenging due to the complexities involved in modeling the device and noise source. This paper introduces a workflow for simulating one case of EMI radiation from a 208 MHz single-ended I/O clock generated from the System-on-Chip (SoC) in an electronic device. Through a full wave 3D solver, the radiated far field transfer function of the clock is obtained. Additionally, the spectral content of clock is measured in both time and frequency domain. Then the clock spectrum is combined with transfer function to predict EMI radiation envelope. The simulated results are then compared with the measured results from an FCC compliant laboratory. Based on the simulated and measured results, mitigation techniques are proposed to reduce the EMI to acceptable levels.
Iterative Augmentation of Visual Evidence for Weakly-Supervised Lesion Localization in Deep Interpretability Frameworks: Application to Color Fundus Images

Interpretability of deep learning (DL) systems is gaining attention in medical imaging to increase experts’ trust in the obtained predictions and facilitate their integration in clinical settings. We propose a deep visualization method to generate interpretability of DL classification tasks in medical imaging by means of visual evidence augmentation. The proposed method iteratively unveils abnormalities based on the prediction of a classifier trained only with image-level labels. For each image, initial visual evidence of the prediction is extracted with a given visual attribution technique. This provides localization of abnormalities that are then removed through selective inpainting. We iteratively apply this procedure until the system considers the image as normal. This yields augmented visual evidence, including less discriminative lesions which were not detected at first but should be considered for final diagnosis. We apply the method to grading of two retinal diseases in color fundus images: diabetic retinopathy (DR) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We evaluate the generated visual evidence and the performance of weakly-supervised localization of different types of DR and AMD abnormalities, both qualitatively and quantitatively. We show that the augmented visual evidence of the predictions highlights the biomarkers considered by experts for diagnosis and improves the final localization performance. It results in a relative increase of 11.2± 2.0% per image regarding sensitivity averaged at 10 false positives/image on average, when applied to different classification tasks, visual attribution techniques and network architectures. This makes the proposed method a useful tool for exhaustive visual support of DL classifiers in medical imaging.
Effect of a Simulated Free Surface on the Wake of a Slender Body

Turbulent flow measurements were performed in the wake of a slender axisymmetric body in the presence of a flat plate strut and an image plane crudely representing the "rigid lid" approximation to a free surface. The tests were performed in a wind tunnel at a nominal Reynolds number of 6.0 X 100,000. A Yawhead probe was used for the mean flow measurements, and a Constant Temperature Anemometer System with an X-wire probe was used to obtain the turbulent flow characteristics. The presence of the image plane was found to increase the velocity defect and the static pressure as the image plane was approached. A redistribution among the various components of velocity fluctuations was noted near the image plane. The transverse component was enhanced at the expense of the normal component. The image plane also was found to influence the magnitudes and radial spread of turbulence intensities and Reynolds stresses. Some interactions between the wake of the axisymmetric body and that of the plate strut were observed. Overall, the mean velocities and the turbulence quantities indicated symmetry about the image plane throughout the wake.
IL-4-induced lymphokine-activated killer cells. Lytic activity is mediated by phenotypically distinct natural killer-like and T cell-like large granular lymphocytes.

The purpose of the current study was to characterize lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) activity induced with IL-4/B cell stimulatory factor-1 and to compare IL-4-induced LAK activity with IL-2-induced LAK activity. Culture of murine lymphocytes with high concentrations of IL-4 induced nonspecific lytic activity against a wide variety of tumors. Lytic activity induced by IL-4 increased with increasing concentrations of IL-4 over the range of 1.0 to 25 ng/ml. The kinetics of LAK induction by IL-4 and IL-2 were similar; however, IL-4 was less effective than IL-2 in maintaining lytic activity for longer culture periods and provided lower viable cell yields than did IL-2. Similar to IL-2, IL-4 induced blastogenesis and the generation of large granular lymphocytes, all LAK activity observed was exclusively associated with the large granular lymphocyte fraction, and the cytolytic effector cells were heterogeneous in regards to cell surface phenotype. The majority of IL-4-induced lytic activity was associated with mutually exclusive NK-like (i.e., NK-1.1+ Lyt-2-) and T cell-like (i.e., NK-1.1- Lyt-2+) LAK cells. The precursors for each subset were distinct and expressed the asialo-GM1+ Lyt-2- and the asialo-GM1+ Lyt-2+ phenotypes, respectively. Although IL-4-induced LAK effector cells were morphologically and phenotypically similar to IL-2-induced LAK cells, IL-2 generated equivalent numbers of T cell-like and NK-like LAK cells, whereas IL-4 generated 3.5-fold more T cell-like LAK cells than NK-like LAK cells. It might eventually be possible to exploit the preferential activation of T cell-like LAK by IL-4 for therapeutic advantage.
InGaAs pseudomorphic HEMTs for millimeter wave power applications

The development of InGaAs pseudomorphic high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) with state-of-the-art power performance at millimeter-wave frequencies is reported. Results given include maximum power-added efficiencies of 44% at 35 GHz and 36% at 44 GHz, output power of 100 mW with 22% efficiency and 3-dB gain at 60 GHz, and output power of 9 mW at 94 GHz. Preliminary reliability data are presented, and prospects for further improvement in performance-the realization of multifinger HEMTs capable of higher output power and reduction of gate length to 0.1 mu m-are discussed. >
Establishing accounting principles as invariants of financial systems

An enterprise that uses evolving software is susceptible to destructive and even disastrous effects caused either by inadvertent errors, or by malicious attacks by the programmers employed to maintain this software. It is my thesis that these perils of evolving software can often be tamed by ensuring that suitable overarching principles are maintained as invariants of the evolution of a given software system. In particular, it would be invaluable to ensure that a financial system satisfies the accounting principle of double-entry bookkeeping, throughout its evolutionary lifetime. We define a concept of evolution-invariant, discuss its usefulness, and show how the above mentioned accounting principles can be established as such invariants.
The ionospheric wind dynamo - I. Lunar tide

Abstract The differential equation describing the response of the ionosphere to a horizontal wind-induced e.m.f. is derived and the appropriate boundary conditions are discussed. The equation is solved numerically to obtain the electric current distribution produced by several different models of the lunar semidiurnal tide. Tidal wind systems with large vertical wavelength are found to be much more efficient producers of current than wind systems of short wavelength. The current patterns produced by the lunar (2,2) mode with a maximum amplitude of 7.5 m/sec and a vertical wavelength of 85 km are very similar to the L current patterns deduced from geomagnetic observations.
Psychologic Interventions for Cancer Pain

Over the past 15 years, psychological interventions have emerged as a useful adjunct to medical approaches to cancer pain management. Psychological interventions offer several advantages in cancer pain management. First, they can enhance patients' sense of self-efficacy (i.e., confidence) in their own abilities to control pain. Increased self-efficacy for pain control has been linked to lower psychological distress, less interference of pain with daily activities, and improved quality of life. Second, psychological interventions teach patients skills that can be applied to many of the day-to-day challenges of living with persistent pain, such as coping with pain flares, managing emotional reactions to pain (e.g., anxiety, fear, depression), and maintaining an active and rewarding life despite having pain. Third, psychological interventions and pain medications may have synergistic effects for cancer patients and produce an array of benefits (e.g., decreased pain, improved mood, enhanced interpersonal interactions) that may not be achieved by alone. Finally, psychological interventions may offer a viable pain management option for patients who respond poorly or have difficulty tolerating pain medications. This chapter provides an introduction to psychological approaches to managing cancer pain. The chapter is divided into three sections. The first section highlights the challenges of cancer pain. This section emphasizes the fact that psychological interventions for pain are delivered in the context of multiple ongoing challenges faced by persons having cancer pain.
Dual-Frequency Identification Sonar (DIDSON)

With increasing frequency, underwater work is situated in rivers and coastal areas where visibility is a fraction of a meter. The Dual-Frequency Identification Sonar (DIDSON) has sufficiently high resolution and rapid refresh rate that it can substitute for optical systems in turbid water where optical systems fail. DIDSON operates at two frequencies, 1.8 MHz or 1.0 MHz, and forms 96 beams spaced 0.3/spl deg/ apart, or 48 beams spaced 0.6/spl deg/ apart respectively. It images out to 12 m at 1.8 MHz and 40 m at 1.0 MHz. It has an update rate between 5-27 frames/s. Identification of objects with this sonar eliminates the need to send a diver to identify them by tactile means. DIDSON provides biologists with a new technology for observing marine life including counting crustaceans and monitoring fish behavior in turbid water. The transmit and receive beams are formed with acoustic lenses with rectangular apertures and made of polymethylpentene plastic and FC-70 liquid. DIDSON can be commanded to focus on objects from 1 m to its maximum range. The sonar is approximately 30-cm long, 20-cm high, and 17-cm wide. It consumes 30 Watts, which is important to submersibles with a power budget. The paper shows images from DIDSON, and discusses the basic principles of beam formation with transducers and lens elements. The sonar forms images with "line focused" beams that provide good images in many but not all conditions. If objects were at the same range in the same beam but at different elevations, this type of imaging could not sort them out. An example would be to try to image an object embedded in a pile of debris on the ocean floor. True video, using "point-focused" optics could meaningfully image the object imbedded in the pile as long as it were not totally covered. Fortunately, for the great majority of imaging tasks, DIDSON provides unambiguous, near-photographic quality images.
Current data from breakwater harbor, southeastern Delaware Bay

In a Study of the present and past processes of the breakwater Harbor-Cape Henlopen area, currents were measured with a General Oceanics film recording current meter (Model 2010) in two locations within Breakwater Harbor. An accurate representation of trends and variabilities in the current regime of the harbor was produced. The data are presented in a "rose diagram" with the radius of 20\deg sectors representing the percentage of the readings that were recorded flowing in the indicated direction. Different rose diagrams were drawn for velocity groups at 10 cm/sec increments. The data in each sector are divided according to whether the readings were recorded during times of predicted flood or predicted ebb tidal currents. The data indicate that the Harbor is strongly dominated by ebb tidal currents, both as a result of higher ebb currents and the longer duration of ebb tides. Our system of deployment and retrieval of the current meter requires no buoy on the surface, no mechanical or electronic release mechanism, and no SCUBA diving. This makes it well suited for use in coastal and estuarine waters where accurate navigation is easy. These collection techniques and data presentation format are a reasonable solution to some of the problems of cost effective, reliable, and accurate current data collection and analysis.
Preparing Students For An Online Accounting Course

Accounting education has been under intense examination for at least the past 20 years (American Accounting Association, 1986; Big Eight Accounting Firms, 1989; AECC, 1990). Similarly, the value of an MBA education has been scrutinized (Leonhardt, 2000 and Mintzberg and Lampel, 2001). Over the past 10 years, online education has grown exponentially with the Internet (Bryant, Kahle and Schafer, 2005). This paper examines the responses of students who have just completed an online MBA financial accounting course to the question “What advice would you give someone who is about to take the course?” Over 60 students were polled, and their answers categorized into 36 repeated recommendations and seven themes: Input Factors, Communication, External Activities, Technical Skills, Study Tips, Personal Factors, and Course Characteristics. By far the predominate factor mentioned was time, but the breadth of additional advice provides a snapshot for educators of the student point of view. The results of this study are useful to any professor who has taught or will be teaching an online financial accounting course.
An in vivo model for dissociating α2- and DA2-adrenoceptor activity in an ocular adnexa: Utility of the cat nictitating membrane preparation

Recent reports from this laboratory indicate that dopamine (DA2) agonists can lower intraocular pressure (IOP) in rabbits, monkeys and rats. This communication suggests that the cat nictitating membrane (CNM) preparation is a useful model for localizing the site(s) and mechanism(s) of action of dopamine (DA2) agonists and that this model can be used to discriminate between ot2 and DA2 activity. This in vivo preparation consists of indirect (neuronal)- and direct (agonist)-induced activation of the CNM by: 1) pre-and postganglionic stimulation of sympathetic nerves and 2) injection of norepinephrine (NEPI) into the external carotid artery (i.a.). A variety of DA2-agonists (ergolines, azepines, aminotetralins, aporphines) can cause dose-dependent depression of neuronally mediated contractions with minimal effects on contractions elicited by NEPI i.a. Characteristically, DA2-agonists depressed contractions elicited by low frequency (2 & 4 Hz) stimulation more than high frequency (6 & 8 Hz) stimulation. For e...
Mixing layers and coherent structures in vegetated aquatic flows

[1] To date, flow through submerged aquatic vegetation has largely been viewed as perturbed boundary layer flow, with vegetative drag treated as an extension of bed drag. However, recent studies of terrestrial canopies demonstrate that the flow structure within and just above an unconfined canopy more strongly resembles a mixing layer than a boundary layer. This paper presents laboratory measurements, obtained from a scaled seagrass model, that demonstrate the applicability of the mixing layer analogy to aquatic systems. Specifically, all vertical profiles of mean velocity contained an inflection point, which makes the flow susceptible to Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. This instability leads to the generation of large, coherent vortices within the mixing layer (observed in the model at frequencies between 0.01 and 0.11 Hz), which dominate the vertical transport of momentum through the layer. The downstream advection of these vortices is shown to cause the progressive, coherent waving of aquatic vegetation, known as the monami. When the monami is present, the turbulent vertical transport of momentum is enhanced, with turbulent stresses penetrating an additional 30% of the plant height into the canopy.
The effect of bridge group on the thermal stability of nitro-substituted aromatic polyamides

The effect of introducing a bridge group into the diamine moiety on the thermal stability of aromatic polyamides substituted with a nitro group in the diamine ring at the ortho position to the amide group was studied. Our present work showed that the bridge group, whether it was electron withdrawing or releasing, did not have a significant effect on the activity of the nitro group for the intramolecular cyclization reaction to poly(benzoxazole)s.
An initial investigation of the large strain and fatigue loading behavior of piezoelectric wafer active sensors

The goal of the research presented in this paper was to study the behavior of piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) under large strain and fatigue conditions. To test the characteristics of the PWAS under large strain conditions, the PWAS was bonded to an aircraft grade 2024 aluminum test specimen and subjected to tensile loading. The baseline impedance was recorded at zero strain and additional readings were recorded at 200 micro-strain intervals until failure of the PWAS occurred. Minimal changes occurred to the impedance signature until the value of 5000 micro-strain was exceeded. Eventually the PWAS failed in tension at approximately 7200 micro-strain. Theoretical data was developed to determine how the frequencies and resonance qualities change due to increased tensile loading to compare to the experimental data. For fatigue testing, the PWAS was again bonded to a 2024 aluminum test specimen and the specimen was loaded in fatigue. Appropriate mean loads and amplitudes were calculated to cause failure of the substrate at various values between 100 thousand and 10 million cycles. The baseline impedance reading was taken with the mean load applied at the beginning of the tests and at predetermined cyclic intervals. Small settle-in changes occurred in the impedance readings in the first 30 to 40 thousand cycles. Beyond this the PWAS readings were relatively unchanged until the metallic specimen finally broke under fatigue. The PWAS survived the fatigue failure of the metallic specimen.
Pituitary gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor: Structure, distribution and regulation of expression

Reproduction in mammals is controlled by interactions between the hypothalamus, anterior pituitary and gonads. Interaction of GnRH with its cognate receptor is essential to regulating reproduction. Characterization of the structure, distribution and expression of GnRH receptors (GnRH-R) has furthered our understanding of the physiological consequences of GnRH stimulation of pituitary gonadotropes. Based on the putative topology of the amino acid sequence of the GnRH-R and point mutation studies, key elements of the GnRH-R have been identified to play a role in ligand recognition and binding, G-protein activation and internalization. Normally, reproductive function is mediated by GnRH-R expressed only on the membranes of pituitary gonadotropes. The density of GnRH-R on gonadotropes determines their ability to respond to GnRH. This density is highest just prior to ovulation and likely is important for complete expression of the pre-ovulatory surge of LH. Therefore, knowledge regarding what regulates the density of GnRH-R is essential to understanding changes in pituitary sensitivity to GnRH and ultimately, to expression of the LH surge. Regulation of GnRH-R gene expression is influenced by a multitude of factors including gonadal steroid hormones, inhibin, activin and perhaps most importantly GnRH itself.
Liver storage of vitamin B12 by the rat.

SummaryThe storage of vit. B12 in rat liver was investigated after feeding rats graded levels of crystalline vit. B12 or of crude supplements. The vit. B12M potency was determined with L. leichmannii after short-term auto-claving of the liver homogenates at pH 7.0. The vit. B12 potency was shown to increase as the level fed was increased. The values were only 1/10 to 1/20 those for beef liver, however, and the vit. B12 potency of rat liver was not reduced appreciably by alkali treatment. Studies on the desoxyribonucleic acid levels in rat livers and studies with Euglena gracilis assays for vit. B12 indicated that the vit. B12 activity remaining, as determined with L. leichmannii after alkali treatment, may be due to the presence of alkali stable forms of vit. B12 as well as to desoxyribosides. The liver weight was shown to be greater per unit of body weight for the rats fed the vit. B12-deficient diet as compared to the optimum diet.
Overexpression of C-terminal Src Kinase Blocks 14,15-Epoxyeicosatrienoic Acid-induced Tyrosine Phosphorylation and Mitogenesis

We have previously reported that 14,15-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (14, 15-EET) is a potent mitogen for the renal epithelial cell line, LLCPKcl4. This mitogenic effect is dependent upon activation of a protein-tyrosine kinase cascade that results in activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. Because of suggestive evidence that 14,15-EET also activated Src in these cells, we stably transfected LLCPKcl4 with an expression construct of the C-terminal Src kinase (CSK), which inhibits Src family kinase activity. In vitro Src kinase activity assays confirmed that in empty vector-transfected cells (Vector cells), 14, 15-EET increased Src kinase activity, while in clones overexpressing CSK mRNA and immunoreactive protein (CSK cells), 14,15-EET-induced activation of Src was almost completely blocked (94% inhibition). Of interest, epidermal growth factor (EGF) and fetal bovine serum (FBS) also increased Src activity in Vector cells, but not in CSK cells, further confirming the ability of CSK overexpression to prevent Src activation. CSK cells failed to increase [(3)H]thymidine incorporation in response to exogenous 14,15-EET. In contrast, both EGF and FBS significantly increased [(3)H]thymidine incorporation in CSK cells. Immunoprecipitation with anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies and immunoblotting with an antibody against extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) indicated that in CSK cells, 14,15-EET failed to activate ERK1 and ERK2; however, EGF- and FBS-induced activation of ERKs was not different from that seen in Vector cells. In Vector cells, the 14,15-EET-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of ERKs was blocked by pretreatment with 1 microm PP2, a selective inhibitor of Src kinases. The present study demonstrates that 14, 15-EET exerts its mitogenic effects predominantly through a Src kinase-mediated pathway, which is the most upstream signaling step determined to date in the 14,15-EET-activated tyrosine kinase cascade in renal epithelial cells.
CP-135,807, a Selective 5-HT1D Agonist: Effects in Drug Discrimination and Punishment Procedures in the Pigeon

CP-135,807 [3-(N-methylpyrrolidin-2R-ylmeth- yl)-5-(3-nitropyrid-2-yl)amino-1H-indole] binds with high affinity to central 5-HT1D receptors, and in functional studies produces dose-dependent decreases in extracellular serotonin. These and other findings have suggested that CP-135,807 may act as a terminal 5-HT autoreceptor agonist. In an attempt to characterize the behavioral activity of selective 5-HT1D ligands, adult male Carneau pigeons were trained to discriminate IM injections of 0.1 mg/kg CP-135,807 from saline under a two-key, fixed ratio schedule of food-reinforced key pecking. CP-135,807 and the structurally unrelated 5-HT1D agonist CP-286,601 fully and dose-dependently substituted for the training dose. In contrast, little substitution was observed following administration of 8-OH-DPAT, a potent 5-HT1A agonist, the 5-HT1B agonist CP-94,253, or the serotonin reuptake inhibitor sertraline. In addition, the discriminative stimulus produced by CP-135,807 was not blocked by WAY 100,635, a selective 5-HT1A antagonist, but was completely and dose-dependently antagonized by the selective 5-HT1D antagonist, GR127935. In subjects trained under a multiple schedule of punished and unpunished responding, 8-OH-DPAT produced large increases in punished responding while having little effect on unpunished responding. In contrast, CP-135,807 and CP-94,253 produced no antipunishment effects, while GR127935 produced modest increases in punished responding. Collectively, these results suggest that CP-135,807 produces centrally mediated psychoactive effects that differ distinctly from those of 5-HT1A agonists.
Purkinje cell responses during visually and vestibularly driven smooth eye movements in mice

Introduction An essential complement to molecular-genetic approaches for analyzing the function of the oculomotor circuitry in mice is an understanding of sensory and motor signal processing in the circuit. Although there has been extensive analysis of the signals carried by neurons in the oculomotor circuits of species, such as monkeys, rabbits and goldfish, relatively little in vivo physiology has been done in the oculomotor circuitry of mice. We analyzed the contribution of vestibular and nonvestibular signals to the responses of individual Purkinje cells in the cerebellar flocculus of mice. Methods We recorded Purkinje cells in the cerebellar flocculus of C57BL/6 mice during eye movement responses to vestibular and visual stimulation. Results As in other species, most individual Purkinje cells in mice carried both vestibular and nonvestibular signals, and the most common response across cells was an increase in firing in response to ipsiversive eye movement or ipsiversive head movement. When both the head and eyes were moving, the Purkinje cell responses were approximated as a linear summation of head and eye velocity inputs. Unlike other species, floccular Purkinje cells in mice were considerably more sensitive to eye velocity than head velocity. Conclusions The signal content of Purkinje cells in the cerebellar flocculus of mice was qualitatively similar to that in other species. However, the eye velocity sensitivity was higher than in other species, which may reflect a tuning to the smaller range of eye velocities in mice.
The ICU O2 challenge should not be used for donor lung function decision making

donor lung before LTx and to determine if it predicts recipient outcome after LTx. Methods: From 05/1998 to 10/2001, we prospectively collected clinical data and lung biopsies (at the end of cold ischemia) from 89 donors. Expression levels of IL-8, IL-6, IL-10, TNF, IFN, IL-1 were measured by real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). Results: In total, 12 patients (13.5%) died within 30 days after LTx, 5 (5.6%) from primary graft failure (PGF). No donor factor was significantly associated with 30-day mortality. Patients who died within 30 days had significantly higher IL-6 levels (p 0.0061). IL-8 and IL-1 demonstrated a similar tendency (p 0.19 and 0.20 respectively). Patients with poor outcomes also tended to have lower levels of IL-10 and IFN(p 0.19 and 0.051 respectively). Using ratios of high cytokines (IL-8, IL-6, TNF, IL-1 ) to low cytokines (IL-10, IFN) increased the correlation. A stepwise logistic regression model using ratios of IL-8/IL-10 and IL-6/IFNwas highly predictive for death from PGF (p 0.0001). Using this model, we defined high, intermediate and low risk groups. These groups had striking differences in both early and late survival (Wilcoxon test: p 0.0001, log-rank test: p 0.0001). Mortality at 90 days was 78 14, 21 8 and 4 3 % in the high, intermediate and low risk groups, respectively. Conclusions: qRT-PCR analysis of multiple cytokines shows significant promise to biologically evaluate the donor lung before LTx. Further refinements in this approach will lead to improved precision in donor lung assessment, improved donor utilization and improved outcomes after LTx.
The behaviour of hexachlorobenzene in pine forest microcosms: Transport and effects on soil processes

Abstract Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is an organic contaminant with a potential of ecosystem level impacts. Using pine forest microcosms, the transport and effects of HCB on soil processes were studied. HCB-contaminated litter (0, 0·085, 0·730, 7·42 mg/cm3) was applied to replicate soils in filtered, flow-through microcosm systems. Transport of HCB as H14CB and two soil process parameters—CO2 efflux and Ca loss—were monitored. HCB was mobilised from litter-soil systems by both volatisation and leaching. Both process parameters were altered by HCB: CO2 efflux decreased and Ca loss increased in the HCB-treated microcosms.
Measurement of protein turnover in rat brain.

— Degredation rates of rat brain proteins were measured by following the decay in specific radioactivity of carboxyl labelled aspartate and glutamate over a 17-day period. Initial labelling of these amino acids was achieved by a single intraperitoneal injection 0f NaH14CO3. The non-linear decay curve for total brain proteins could be approximated by assuming that the mixture contained two classes of proteins with half-lives of 3.3 and 8.7 days, respectively. Half-lives of 2.5 and 7.7 days were estimated for such protein classes in the microsomal fraction. The half-lives of soluble proteins, synaptic membranes, cell body and synaptic mitochondria were 3.1, 5.8, 5.6 and 8.4 days, respectively. Identical results were obtained if the change in specific activity of intact protein labeled by NaH14CO3 was followed. Two-fold slower decay rates were obtained when brain proteins were labeled with a pulse of [4,5-3H]leucine or [l-14C]leucine. Half-lives calculated for the two classes of proteins in whole brain were 8.4 and 16.5 days, respectively with [4,5-3H]leucine and 8.9 and 14.2 days, respectively with [1-14C]leucine. These results indicate the very significant reutilization of this amino acid in brain. Sodium [14C]bicarbonate is a more satisfactory isotopic precursor for accurate assessment of rates of protein turnover in brain.