cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electrophysiological dissociation of the neural correlates of recollection and familiarity

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were employed to investigate electrophysiological correlates of recognition memory in a task that allowed segregation of test items according to whether they were recollected (operationalized by introspective report) or, if recollection failed, their level of familiarity (operationalized by recognition confidence). The amplitude of a negative-going ERP deflection that onsets around 300 ms post-stimulus varied inversely with familiarity strength. This effect was maximal over the left frontal scalp. It did not differ between the ERPs elicited by highly familiar versus recollected items, indicating that the recollection is not merely a consequence of strong familiarity. By contrast, a later positive deflection (onset ca. 500 ms post-stimulus) was enhanced in ERPs elicited by recollected relative to highly familiar items. This effect was maximal over the left posterior scalp and was insensitive to familiarity, as indicated by its absence in the contrast between items judged highly familiar versus highly unfamiliar. The findings constitute a double dissociation between the neural correlates of recollection and familiarity. Together with the results of a parallel functional magnetic resonance imaging study (A.P. Yonelinas et al., J. Neurosci. (2005), 25, 3002-3008), they indicate that recollection and familiarity rely on qualitatively distinct neural systems and strongly support dual-process models of recognition memory.
Defensive Technology and Welfare Analysis of Environmental Quality Change with Uncertain Consumer Health Impacts

Measuring the ex post losses from environmental quality change is an important issue when environmental contamination creates health risks, liability is assigned, and private compensation efforts are required. This paper proposes a methodology for measuring the ex post welfare impact of environmental quality change using market behavior from defensive expenditures. Conditions under which a defensive technology can provide a bound on welfare estimates are identified.
Stress-induced metabolic differences between populations and subspecies of Artemisia tridentata (sagebrush) from a single hillside

Abstract Big sagebrush or Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. vaseyana grows at slightly higher, cooler, and drier sites than does A. tridentata ssp. tridentata . The two sagebrush subspecies and natural hybrids between them are found along an elevational gradient in Salt Creek Canyon, near Nephi, UT, USA, where the parent populations are separated by 85 m in elevation and 1.1 km along the transect. In 1993, three gardens were established with seedlings from five populations from different elevations planted in each garden. Physiological measurements of carbon isotope ratios, chlorophyll fluorescence, and respiratory heat and CO 2 production show adaptation to the site of origin. When transplanted to foreign sites, stress was noted. Sagebrush has persistent leaves that are metabolically active all year. Seasonal changes in temperature promote metabolic responses in sagebrush that differ with population and garden.
Preserving privacy while reducing power consumption and information loss in LBS and participatory sensing applications

Participatory sensing systems rely on the willingness of mobile users to participate in the collection and reporting of data using a variety of sensors either embedded or integrated in their cellular phones. Users agree to use their cellular phone resources to sense and transmit the data of interest because these data will be used to address a collective problem that otherwise would have been very difficult to solve. However, this new data collection paradigm has not been very successful yet mainly because of privacy concerns. Without adequate privacy-preserving mechanisms most users are not willing to participate. Although several schemes have been proposed in the literature, none of them offers a complete solution, and instead, trade offs exist. For example, anonymization-based schemes change the real location of the users, and therefore preserve their privacy, but they might not be precise enough for certain applications. On the other hand, encryption-based schemes, since they do not modify the real location of the user, are very accurate and serve well all applications; however, they are very costly in terms of energy consumption. In this paper we present a scheme that combines the good properties of both approaches to reduce the energy consumption of encryption-based schemes as well as the noise added by anonymization-based schemes. Our simulation results show that the proposed scheme in fact achieves the desired objectives of reducing the energy consumption and information loss while allowing the application to track the users accurately.
Possible origins of the non-monotonic intensity discrimination function in forward masking

A non-monotonic intensity discrimination function in forward masking has been recently reported [Zeng et al. (1991) Hear. Res. 55, 223-230; Zeng and Turner (1992) J. Acoust Soc. Am. 92, 782-787] in which just-noticeable-differences (jnds) in intensity are largest for midlevel tones and smaller for soft and loud tones following an intense narrow-band noise. One hypothesis was that this midlevel hump reflects the contribution of low-spontaneous rate (SR) neurons to intensity coding, based on the differential recovery from forward masking of low-SR and high-SR neurons [Relkin and Doucet (1991) Hear. Res. 55, 215-222]. The present study conducted three experiments stimulating different stages of the auditory system in an attempt to determine the peripheral and central origins of the midlevel hump. First, in two cochlear implant (CI) listeners, the forward masker produced a midlevel hump on the intensity discrimination function, suggesting that the synapses between the hair cell and the eighth nerve are probably not responsible for the hump, as they are bypassed and the eighth nerve is stimulated directly. Second, in auditory brainstem implant (ABI) listeners, the forward masker produced no midlevel hump, but the masked jnds were larger than those without a masker. The absence of the midlevel hump in the ABI listeners suggests that the occurrence of the hump requires physiological mechanisms in the auditory nerve transmission, or the intrinsic processing circuits of the cochlear nuclei, or both. Third, in normal-hearing listeners, an ipsilateral, 90 dB SPL, pure-tone forward masker produced a midlevel hump, which is similar to that using a narrow-band noise masker; whereas a contralateral forward masker produced essentially no midlevel hump, suggesting that binaural interactions at superior olivary complex and more central sites are probably not responsible.
Fabrication and optimization of alginate hydrogel constructs for use in 3D neural cell culture

Two-dimensional (2D) culture systems provide useful information about many biological processes. However, some applications including tissue engineering, drug transport studies, and analysis of cell growth and dynamics are better studied using three-dimensional (3D) culture systems. 3D culture systems can potentially offer higher degrees of organization and control of cell growth environments, more physiologically relevant diffusion characteristics, and permit the formation of more extensive 3D networks of cell-cell interactions. A 3D culture system has been developed using alginate as a cell scaffold, capable of maintaining the viability and function of a variety of neural cell types. Alginate was functionalized by the covalent attachment of a variety of whole proteins and peptide epitopes selected to provide sites for cell attachment. Alginate constructs were used to entrap a variety of neural cell types including astroglioma cells, astrocytes, microglia and neurons. Neural cells displayed process outgrowth over time in culture. Cell-seeded scaffolds were characterized in terms of their biochemical and biomechanical properties, effects on seeded neural cells, and suitability for use as 3D neural cell culture models.
The frail elderly: role of dendritic cells in the susceptibility of infection.

The decline in immunity in the elderly has largely been attributed to impairment of T cell mechanisms. This seems reasonable since the thymus involutes with age, so that the number of naive cells to respond to new foreign antigens also declines. However, little is known about how aging affects antigen-presenting cells (APC) that are responsible for the initiation and outcome of effector T cell immune responses. This review focuses on the age-related alterations of a key APC, the dendritic cell (DC). Recent findings suggest that interleukin-10, a key cytokine that can suppress cell mediated immunity and maturation of DC subsets, is elevated in the very healthy elderly. However, production of IL-12, required for the initiation of T cell immune responses, declines in frail elderly along with DC antigen presenting function. These findings suggest that shifts in IL-10 and IL-12 may not only directly influence immune response but may also alter the balance and maturation of DC subsets. Finally, study of immunologic differences between the very healthy and frail elderly may reveal important changes in DC function and regulation influenced by age and/or environment (disease, nutrition, medications, etc.).
Failure Prediction in IBM BlueGene/L Event Logs

Frequent failures are becoming a serious concern to the community of high-end computing, especially when the applications and the underlying systems rapidly grow in size and complexity. In order to develop effective fault-tolerant strategies, there is a critical need to predict failure events. To this end, we have collected detailed event logs from IBM BlueGene/L, which has 128 K processors, and is currently the fastest supercomputer in the world. In this study, we first show how the event records can be converted into a data set that is appropriate for running classification techniques. Then we apply classifiers on the data, including RIPPER (a rule-based classifier), Support Vector Machines (SVMs), a traditional Nearest Neighbor method, and a customized Nearest Neighbor method. We show that the customized nearest neighbor approach can outperform RIPPER and SVMs in terms of both coverage and precision. The results suggest that the customized nearest neighbor approach can be used to alleviate the impact of failures.
Pregnancy outcome in patients requiring parenteral nutrition.

Objective: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate maternal and perinatal outcomes and complications of parenteral nutrition during pregnancy in our institution.Methods: This study was a review of medical records of all women who required parenteral nutrition during pregnancy at our institution from 1990–1997. The frequency of maternal and perinatal complications was calculated.Results: Twenty-six pregnancies required parenteral nutrition for the following indications: hyperemesis gravidarum (n = 16), cholecystitis/pancreatitis (n = 3), small bowel obstruction (n = 2), intracranial bleed (n = 2), ulcerative colitis (n = 1), and other (n = 2). The mean gestational age at initiation of therapy was 16.2 weeks and the mean duration of therapy was 30.6 days. Five pregnancies were terminated prior to fetal viability. Of the remaining pregnancies, obstetric complications occurred in 11, including two cases of idiopathic preterm labor resulting in preterm deliveries. Maternal complications resulti...
Complications of Laparoscopic and Robotic Ureteral Surgery

Over the past two decades, technological innovations have remarkably improved the delivery of urologic care. The management of ureteral diseases has undergone a tremendous evolution in the range of available options. Various minimally invasive surgical options have become available, for instance, in treating ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) including antegrade and retrograde endopyelotomy, Acucise™ incisional endopyelotomy, and percutaneous endopyeloplasty. More recently, the introduction of laparoscopic and robotic surgery has opened new doors for diverse application of these techniques in minimally invasive urologic surgery. In particular, laparoscopic pyeloplasty has evolved into the standard of care for UPJO [1, 2].
Effect on Blood Pressure of Potassium, Calcium, and Magnesium in Women With Low Habitual Intake

In populations, dietary intakes of potassium, calcium, and magnesium each have been inversely associated with blood pressure. However, most clinical trials in normotensive populations have not found that dietary supplements of these minerals lowered blood pressure. We tested the hypothesis that normotensive persons who have low habitual intake of these minerals would be particularly responsive to supplementation. Three hundred normotensive women in the Nurses Health Study II (mean age, 39 years), whose reported intakes of potassium, calcium, and magnesium were between the 10th and 15th percentiles, received for 16 weeks' duration daily supplements of either potassium 40 mmol, calcium 30 mmol (1200 mg), magnesium 14 mmol (336 mg), all three minerals together or placebos. At baseline, mean (+/-SD) 24-hour ambulatory blood pressures were 116+/-8 and 73+/-6 mm Hg systolic and diastolic, respectively, and mean dietary intakes of potassium, calcium, and magnesium were 62+/-20 mmol/d, 638+/-265 mg/d, and 239+/-79 mg/d, respectively. The mean differences (with 95% confidence intervals) of the changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressures between the treatment and placebo groups were significant for potassium, -2.0 (-3.7 to -0.3) and -1.7 (-3.0 to -0.4), but not for calcium, -0.6 (-2.2 to 1.0) and -0.7 (-2.0 to 0.6), or for magnesium, -0.9 (-2.6 to 0.8) and -0.7 (-2.2 to 0.8). The administration of calcium and magnesium with potassium did not enhance the effect of potassium alone, and the changes in blood pressure were not significant -1.3 (-3.0 to 0.4) and -0.9 (-2.2 to 0.4). In conclusion, potassium, but not calcium or magnesium supplements, has a modest blood pressure-lowering effect in normotensive persons with low dietary intake. This study strengthens evidence for the importance of potassium for blood pressure regulation in the general population.
The effect of therapeutic hypothermia on the expression of inflammatory response genes following moderate traumatic brain injury in the rat

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) initiates a cascade of cellular and molecular responses including both pro- and anti-inflammatory. Although post-traumatic hypothermia has been shown to improve outcome in various models of brain injury, the underlying mechanisms responsible for these effects have not been clarified. In this study, inflammation cDNA arrays and semi-quantitative RT-PCR were used to detect genes that are differentially regulated after TBI. In addition, the effect of post-traumatic hypothermia on the expression of selective genes was also studied. Rats (n = 6–8 per group) underwent moderate fluid-percussion (F-P) brain injury with and without hypothermic treatment (33 -C/3 h). RNA from 3-h or 24-h survival was analyzed for the expression of IL1-h, IL2, IL6, TGF-h2, growth-regulated oncogene (GRO), migration inhibitory factor (MIF), and MCP (a transcription factor). The interleukins IL-1h, IL-2, and IL-6 and TGF-h and GRO were strongly upregulated early and transiently from 2- to 30-fold over sham at 3 h, with normalization by 24 h. In contrast, the expressions of MIF and MCP were both reduced by TBI compared to sham. Post-traumatic hypothermia had no significant effect on the acute expression of the majority of genes investigated. However, the expression of TGF-h2 at 24 h was significantly reduced by temperature manipulation. The mechanism by which post-traumatic hypothermia is protective may not involve a general genetic response of the inflammatory genes. However, specific genes, including TGF-h2, may be altered and effect cell death mechanisms after TBI. Hypothermia differentially regulates certain genes and may target more delayed responses underlying the secondary damage following TBI. D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Theme: Disorders of the nervous system Topic: Trauma
The difficult process of identifying processes

In conversation after conversation with people who are attempting to identify their company's business processes, usually for the subsequent purpose of improving the performance of these processes, all agree that it is an extraordinarily difficult undertaking. What's going on here? Why are efforts to identify and map an organization's processes so fraught with difficulty and what can be done about it? The quick answer is that definitions don't define, names don't identify, examples aren't exemplary, and an organization's processes are essentially unknowns (but, thank goodness, not unknowable). This brief paper is an attempt to make clearer the meaning of process as it is used in terms such as ‘business process’, ‘business process improvement’, ‘continuous process improvement’, ‘business process reengineering’, and many more. The ultimate objective is to help make the task of identifying business processes simpler, easier, and more successful. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Cornwallis Emmanuel Ltd.
Relative activity of the nonphosphorylated B-6 vitamers for Saccharomyces uvarum and Kloeckera brevis in vitamin B-6 microbiological assay.

Accuracy in the microbiological assay of vitamin B-6 is dependent, in part, on equivalent response to each form of the vitamin by the assay organism. Recently, Kloeckera brevis (ATCC 9774) has been suggested as an alternative to Saccharomyces uvarum (ATCC 9080) because of its reported equivalent response to pyridoxine (PN), pyridoxal (PL), and pyridoxamine (PM) in turbidimetric yeast growth assays. Evaluation of the merits of these yeasts in our laboratory yielded contrasting results. As widely reported, S. uvarum exhibited greater growth response with PN than with equivalent molar concentrations of PL or PM. K. brevis exhibited an even greater disparity. Pro nounced concentration dependence was observed for the response differences among vitamers with each organism. On the basis of the variable specificity of K. brevis, this organism is not preferable to S. uvarum for the microbiological determination of total vitamin B-6. J. Nutr. 112: 1643-1647, 1982.
Infusing Qualitative Research Experiences into Core Counseling Curriculum Courses.

Many calls to action for promoting research with counselors-in-training and producing research-practitioners have been published over the past few decades (Balkin 2013; Granello and Granello 1998; Heppner and Anderson 1985), yet the research-practice gap remains. This article explores how qualitative research may help bridge that gap and offers suggestions for incorporating qualitative research activities into Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs’ (CACREP) core curriculum areas.
Computer aided kinetic modeling with KMT and KME

The complexity of many chemical and refining reaction systems and the thus-derived tedious and time-consuming process of building the associated kinetic models have been major obstacles in the use of fundamental kinetics in the solution of chemical engineering problems. This review summarizes work aimed at removing theses obstacles. Our recent work that has led to the enhancement of the Kinetic Modeler's Toolbox (KMT) and the development of the Kinetic Model Editor (KME) presents an end-to-end solution to the kinetic modeling process, including automated feedstock modeling, reaction network construction, kinetic rate estimation, model programming, process system configurations, model customizations, compilations, model execution and results analysis.
Self-assembled inorganic micro-display on plastic

We present the design and a method of construction for micro-displays via integrating free-standing micro light emitting diodes (LED) onto unconventional substrates using fluidic self-assembly. The micro LEDs are fabricated on AlGaAs substrates and released into a powder-like collection of microcomponents. The display substrate is a plastic template patterned with metal interconnects and a photopatternable polymer (SU8) to have a 4times4 array of binding sites each containing areas covered by a low melting point alloy. To assemble the display, the plastic substrate is inserted in a heated acidic ethylene glycol solution and the micro LEDs are released on the surface. Self-assembly of LEDs onto the binding sites aided by shape recognition, capillary forces resultant from the molten alloy, gravity, and fluidic forces completes the display. The self-assembly method allows for integration of crystalline semiconductor devices on plastics and other substrates that are incompatible with conventional microfabrication processes.
Glycoside hydrolases from a targeted compost metagenome, activity-screening and functional characterization.

Background Metagenomics approaches provide access to environmental genetic diversity for biotechnology applications, enabling the discovery of new enzymes and pathways for numerous catalytic processes. Discovery of new glycoside hydrolases with improved biocatalytic properties for the efficient conversion of lignocellulosic material to biofuels is a critical challenge in the development of economically viable routes from biomass to fuels and chemicals.
Efficient square-root algorithms for PDA, IMM and IMMPDA filters

Square-root formulations have not been developed for state-of-the-art tracking algorithms. The only exception is the square-root implementation of the PDAF by R. Kenefic (1990). It is shown that there is a substantially better implementation of the square-root probabilistic data association filter (PDAF) than Kenefic's algorithm in terms of both numerical robustness and computational efficiency. On the average, the proposed algorithm requires half the number of computations required by Kenefic's algorithm for square-root PDAF. The same approach is extended to develop computationally efficient square-root algorithms for the interesting multiple model (IMM) and IMM probabilistic data association (IMMPDA) filters. >
Catheter balloon dilatation for discrete subaortic stenosis in the adult.

Abstract Catheter balloon dilatation for treatment of discrete subaortic stenosis (DSS) has been described in children and adolescents, but not in adults, 1,2 We describe an adult with a discrete subvalvular membrane dilated using a percutaneous balloon technique.
THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF ANGIOGENESIS

The formation of new capillary blood vessels, a process termed "angiogenesis", is one of the most pervasive and fundamentally essential biological processes encountered in mammalian organizations. Angiogenesis is an important event in a variety of physiological settings, such as embryonic development, chronic inflammation, and wound repair. It is a process that is tightly regulated in both time and space. Angiogenesis is driven by a cocktail of growth factors and pro-angiogenic cytokines and is tempered by an equally diverse group of inhibitors of neovascularization. Angiogenesis is also central to the etiology and pathogenesis of a number of pathological processes that include, among others, solid tumors, diseases of the eye, and chronic inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and periodontitis. Based on recent work from several laboratories, it is now eminently clear that most if not all angiogenesis and vasoproliferative-dependent disease processes are not only a consequence of the unrestricted production of normal or aberrant forms of pro-angiogenic mediators but also the result of a relative deficiency in angiogenic-inhibitory molecules. In this review, I will describe how these multifunctional mediator systems function to coordinate and regulate the angiogenic response, and how disruption in the molecular controls that regulate the production of pro-angiogenic and angiostatic mediators leads to aberrant angiogenesis and disease. The implications of these findings in the development of novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of diseases characterized by disregulated angiogenesis will also be discussed.
Performance Modeling of the Blue Gene Architecture

In this work we analyze the performance of the largest installation of the Blue Gene/L architecture. This currently has the highest peak performance of any supercomputer. The performance characteristics of this machine are considered that gives rise to achievable application performance. By using a detailed performance model of Sweep3D - a kernel application of interest to Los Alamos National Laboratory we verify that the performance of Blue Gene/L is as expected. In addition the model is used to analyze a possible configuration of a peta-flop version of Blue Gene which contains an increased number of processor cores operating at a higher clock frequency. Uncertainties in the performance characteristics of this future system are captured through a sensitivity analysis on the achievable processing rate, communication latency, and bandwidth. The analysis shows the expected level of performance for Sweep3D that may be achieved on such a system in comparison to current systems.
Estimates of production cross sections and distributions for W bosons and hadronic jets in high-energy pp and p̄ p collisions

Using the quark-parton model, with structure functions chosen to agree with electroproduction and leptonpair-production data, the cross sections are calculated for the production of charged and neutral $W$ mesons in high-energy $\mathrm{pp}$ collisions. The single- and double-particle distributions for the leptonic and hadronic decays of the $W$ are presented along with leptonic background from electromagnetic pair production. Using the same model, the cross sections for production of single and double hadronic jets are also calculated using both colored-vector-gluon exchange and the Field-Feynman models for the elementary quark-quark scattering. It is concluded that the leptonic decay of the $W$ should be a strong signal well above background, and that the parity violation of the weak interaction leads to characteristically different distributions for leptons and antileptons. The production in proton-antiproton collisions is also studied and found to be only slightly above the proton-proton production. The cross section does not increase rapidly with energy for $\frac{s}{m_{W}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}}\ensuremath{\gtrsim}10$. For hadronic jet production, the vector-gluon and Field-Feynman models lead to significantly different distributions, and if the predictions of the former are true the hadronic jet decay of the $W$, although plentiful, will be difficult to see above background. The effects of transverse motion of the $W$, neglected in the quark model, are found to be unimportant.
Boron Doping in Si-MBE

We have investigated p-type doping of Si and SiGc layers in M BE by using two different boron sources. One is a SiB alloy which is prepared in situ by melting elemental boron into Si. Typical B concentrations in the source material are a few percent. Doping levels within 1×10 18 cm −3 and 5.5×10 19 cm −3 can be adjusted within the temperature range of 350°C to 850°C. No indication of segregation or memory effects is found. The activation is between 90 and 100%. The second p-type doping source investigated is a diborane (B 2 H 6 ) gas source. Diborane provides doping capability in the range between 10 16 . to 10 20 . The incorporation efficiency at 550°C is about 2×10' 3 . It depends on the diborane exposure and the substrate temperature. The activation at 550°C is above 90%. For lower growth temperatures the activation is considerably reduced. The problem of memory effects is discussed.
Risk of Chronic Myeloid and Acute Leukemia Mortality after Exposure to Ionizing Radiation among Workers at Four U.S. Nuclear Weapons Facilities and a Nuclear Naval Shipyard

Abstract Schubauer-Berigan, M. K., Daniels, R. D., Fleming, D. A., Markey, A. M., Couch, J. R., Ahrenholz, S. H., Burphy, J. S., Anderson, J. L. and Tseng, C-Y. Risk of Chronic Myeloid and Acute Leukemia Mortality after Exposure to Ionizing Radiation among Workers at Four U.S. Nuclear Weapons Facilities and a Nuclear Naval Shipyard. Radiat. Res. 167, 222–232 (2007). A nested case-control study was conducted among workers at five U.S. nuclear facilities to evaluate leukemia mortality risk (excluding chronic lymphocytic) from ionizing radiation using worksite doses and adjusting for potential confounding. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the relative risk (RR) of exposed workers and the excess relative risk (ERR) per unit of radiation among 206 cases and 823 age-matched controls. Adjusting for sex and benzene, the RR of leukemia for workers receiving more than 10 mSv was higher compared to those receiving lower or no dose; however, the risk increase was attenuated in the highest dose gro...
Neural measures of conscious and unconscious memory

Neuropsychological studies of memory disorders have played a prominent role in the development of theories of memory. To test and refine such theories in future, it will be advantageous to include research that utilizes physiological measures of the neural events responsible for memory. Measures of the electrical activity of the brain in the form of event-related potentials (ERPs) provide one source of such information. Recent results suggest that these real-time measures reflect relevant encoding and retrieval operations. In particular, distinct electrical responses have been associated with recollective processing of words and with priming of visual word-form. This source of evidence can thus enrich our understanding of both the cognitive structure and neural substrates of human memory.
Imperial Debris: Reflections on Ruins and Ruination

In this article, I look at “imperial formations” rather than at empire per se to register the ongoing quality of processes of decimation, displacement, and reclamation. Imperial formations are relations of force, harboring political forms that endure beyond the formal exclusions that legislate against equal opportunity, commensurate dignities, and equal rights. Working with the concept of imperial formation, rather than empire per se, the emphasis shifts from fixed forms of sovereignty and its denials to gradated forms of sovereignty and what has long marked the technologies of imperial rule—sliding and contested scales of differential rights. Imperial formations are defined by racialized relations of allocations and appropriations. Unlike empires, they are processes of becoming, not fixed things. Not least they are states of deferral that mete out promissory notes that are not exceptions to their operation but constitutive of them: imperial guardianship, trusteeships, delayed autonomy, temporary intervention, conditional tutelage, military takeover in the name of humanitarian works, violent intervention in the name of human rights, and security measures in the name of peace.
Genetic evidence for the role of plasmacytoid dendritic cells in systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by the production of antibodies to self-nucleic acids, immune complex deposition, and tissue inflammation such as glomerulonephritis. Innate recognition of self-DNA and -RNA and the ensuing production of cytokines such as type I interferons (IFNs) contribute to SLE development. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) have been proposed as a source of pathogenic IFN in SLE; however, their net contribution to the disease remains unclear. We addressed this question by reducing gene dosage of the pDC-specific transcription factor E2-2 (Tcf4), which causes a specific impairment of pDC function in otherwise normal animals. We report that global or DC-specific Tcf4 haplodeficiency ameliorated SLE-like disease caused by the overexpression of the endosomal RNA sensor Tlr7. Furthermore, Tcf4 haplodeficiency in the B6.Sle1.Sle3 multigenic model of SLE nearly abolished key disease manifestations including anti-DNA antibody production and glomerulonephritis. Tcf4-haplodeficient SLE-prone animals showed a reduction of the spontaneous germinal center reaction and its associated gene expression signature. These results provide genetic evidence that pDCs are critically involved in SLE pathogenesis and autoantibody production, confirming their potential utility as therapeutic targets in the disease.
Ceramide structural features required to stimulate ABCA1-mediated cholesterol efflux to apolipoprotein A-I.

Ceramide is a component of the sphingomyelin cycle and a well-established lipid signaling molecule. We recently reported that ceramide specifically increased ABCA1-mediated cholesterol efflux to apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), a critical process that leads to the formation of cardioprotective HDL. In this report, we characterize the structural features of ceramide required for this effect. C2 dihydroceramide, which contains a fully saturated acyl chain and is commonly used as a negative control for ceramide apoptotic signaling, stimulated a 2- to 5-fold increase in ABCA1-mediated cholesterol efflux to apoA-I over a 0–60 μM concentration range without the cell toxicity apparent with native C2 ceramide. Compared with C2 ceramide, C6 and C8 ceramides with medium-length N-acyl chains showed a similar extent of efflux stimulation (a 2- to 5-fold increase) but at a higher onset concentration than the less hydrophobic C2 ceramide. In contrast, the reduced and methylated ceramide analogs, N,N-dimethyl sphingosine and N,N,N-trimethyl sphingosine, failed to stimulate cholesterol efflux. We found that changes in the native spatial orientation at either of two chiral carbon centers (or both) resulted in an ∼50% decrease compared with native ceramide-stimulated cholesterol efflux. These data show that the overall ceramide shape and the amide bond are critical for the cholesterol efflux effect and suggest that ceramide acts through a protein-mediated pathway to affect ABCA1 activity.
A Generalized Continuum Theory and Its Relation to Micromorphic Theory

Classic continuum mechanics views a crystal as a homogeneous and continuous medium, in which the basic structural unit of the crystal is taken without structure and is idealized as point mass. Micromorphic theory views a material as a continuous collection of deformable point particles; each particle has finite size and additional nine internal degrees of freedom describing the stretches and rotations of the particle. This paper presents a multiscale field theory that views a crystalline material as a continuous collection of lattice points, while embedded within each point is a group of discrete atoms. The atomistic formulation of the field theory is briefly introduced. Its relation with the well-known micromorphic theory is derived. The applicability of the classical continuum theory, micromorphic theory, and the generalized continuum field theory is discussed.
Delayed anaphylaxis to alpha-gal, an oligosaccharide in mammalian meat

IgE-mediated hypersensitivity refers to immune reactions that can be rapidly progressing and, in the case of anaphylaxis, are occasionally fatal. To that end, identification of the associated allergen is important for facilitating both education and allergen avoidance that are essential to long-term risk reduction. As the number of known exposures associated with anaphylaxis is limited, discovery of novel causative agents is crucial to evaluation and management of patients with idiopathic anaphylaxis. Within the last 10 years several apparently separate observations were recognized to be related, all of which resulted from the development of antibodies to a carbohydrate moiety on proteins. Interestingly, the exposure differed from airborne allergens but was nevertheless capable of producing anaphylactic and hypersensitivity reactions. Our recent work has identified these responses as being due to a novel IgE antibody directed against a mammalian oligosaccharide epitope, galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose ("alpha-gal"). This review will present the historical summary of the identification of cetuximab hypersensitivity due to alpha-gal IgE and discuss the non-primate mammalian meat food allergy as well as current goals and directions of our research programs.
Webster and Incomplete Judicial Review

This essay is adapted from a speech delivered in November 1989 to a symposium at the University of Virginia School of Law on "Judicial Review in a Democratic Society: Lessons from the American and French Experiences." The Essay offers a critique of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989), and proposes that the modern Supreme Court adopt a practice devised and employed by Chief Justice John Marshall late in his tenure. The late Marshall Court would not deliver even a judgment in "cases where constitutional questions are involved" unless a majority of the justices "concur in opinion, thus making the decision that of a majority of the whole court." In the rare instance in which a simple majority of the Marshall Court could not agree on an opinion, the case was set for re-argument during the following Term.
Simulation of the near-field region of film cooling jets using RANS and hybrid URANS/LES models

This paper investigates the flow field and heat transfer in the near-field region of film cooling jets through numerical simulations using RANS and hybrid URANS/LES models. Detailed simulations of flow and thermal fields of a single row of film cooling cylindrical holes with 30° inline injection on a flat plate are obtained for low (M = 0.5) and high (M = 1.5) blowing ratios under high free stream turbulence (10%). The realizable k-e model is used within the RANS framework and a realizable k-e-based detached eddy simulation (DES) is used as a hybrid URANS/LES model. Both models are used together with the two-layer zonal model for near-wall simulations. Steady and time-averaged unsteady film cooling effectiveness obtained using these models in ANSYS-FLUENT are compared with available experimental data. It is shown that hybrid URANS/LES models (DES in the present paper) predict more mixing both in the wall-normal and spanwise directions compared to RANS models, while unsteady asymmetric vortical structures of the flow can also be captured. The turbulent heat flux components predicted by the DES model are higher than those obtained by the RANS simulations, resulting in enhanced turbulent heat transfer between the jet and mainstream, and consequently better predictions of the effectiveness. Furthermore, the unsteady physics of jet and crossflow interactions and the jet lift-off under high free stream turbulence is studied using the present DES results.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
DNA Surface Modified Gadolinium Phosphate Nanoparticles as MRI Contrast Agents

Oligonucleotide modified gadolinium phosphate nanoparticles have been prepared and their magnetic resonance relaxivity properties measured. Nanoparticles of GdPO4·H2O were synthesized in a water/oil microemulsion using IGEPAL CO-520 as surfactant, resulting in 50 to 100 nm particles that are highly dispersible and stable in water. Using surface modification chemistry previously established for zirconium phosphonate surfaces, the particles are directly modified with 5'-phosphate terminated oligonucleotides, and the specific interaction of the divalent phosphate with Gd(3+) sites at the surface is demonstrated. The ability of the modified nanoparticles to act as MRI contrast agents was determined by performing MR relaxivity measurements at 14.1 T. Solutions of nanopure water, Feridex, and Omniscan (FDA approved contrast agents) in 0.25% agarose were used for comparison and control purposes. MRI data confirm that GdPO4·H2O nanoparticles have relaxivities (r1, r2) comparable to those of commercially available contrast agents. In addition, the data suggest that biofunctionalization of the surface of the nanoparticles does not prevent their function as MRI contrast agents.
Memoirs: On Some Movements and Reactions of Hydra

The principal points that I have attempted to bring out in this paper are : 1. An undisturbed Hydra does not remain motionless, but contracts at fairly regular intervals. After contraction it expands in such a way as to occupy a different position from that previously occupied. 2. Hydra has only one form of response to a single mechanical stimulation, localised or non-localised; this response is by contraction, more or less complete, dependiug on the intensity of the stimulus. Such contraction is not necessarily toward or away from the stimulus. 3. A non-localised stimulus, repeated as soon as Hydra has regained the expanded stage, causes no change in the response, contraction resulting after each stimulation. The same thing holds true of a localised stimulus applied in a similar manner. 4. If a non-localised mechanical stimulus is repeated at very brief intervals, say one second, acclimatisation is soon affected, and the Hydra no longer responds. 5. A localised stimulus applied at such brief intervals brings about at first an apparent acclimatisation. This is soon followed in many cases by the complicated "escape" movement, the Hydra moving away from the region where stimulation occurs. This shows that the physiological condition of the animal has been changed, so that to the same stimulus under the same external conditions it now gives a reaction different from that given at first. 6. Hydra shows no orientation movements in response to stimulation by a current of water. 7. Hydra normally has its foot attached to the sub-stratum. If the foot is detached the animal performs active movements directed toward restoring the normal condition. Geotaxis plays uo part in this reaction. 8. Non-localised chemical stimuli cause general contraction. An exception is found in certain food reactions. 9. A strong localised chemical stimulus causes a bending of the body or tentacles, as the case may be, toward the side stimulated. Such bending is caused by the contraction of the ectoderm cells directly affected by the chemical. The result is not adaptive, as it carries the body or tentacles into the region where it is most injured. 10. Hydra reacts to food only after a period of hunger. 11. In the presence of a moderate state of hunger it requires a combination of a chemical and a mechanical stimulus to produce a food reaction. If starvation is extreme a chemical stimulus alone suffices. 12. A mechanical stimulus will not produce a discharge of nematocysts ; a chemical stimulus will. 13. The action of the chemical is probably quite direct, not involving the nervous system. Nematocyst discharge is restricted absolutely to the area touched directly by the chemical. 14. The nematocysts can, and do, pierce the epidermis of the prey at which, they are discharged. 15. Hydra seems to be able to paralyse prey without discharging nematocysts.
Computational aerodynamic modeling for flight dynamics simulation of ram-air parachutes

Abstract This work presents a step toward bridging the gap between flight dynamics simulation of ram-air parachutes and high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics. Today's parachute design codes mainly rely on the empirical or semi-empirical methods generated from wind tunnel experiments and drop tests. The outcome of this study will hopefully help to reduce the cost of experiments and drop testing in the design of future canopies and to better understand the aerodynamic characteristics of these geometries. In this work, the parachute geometries were modeled as rigid rectangular wings with an aspect ratio of two and zero anhedral angle. The wings have seven opening cells and the trailing edge is deflected or not deflected. To validate computational methods, the aerodynamic predictions of similar wings, but with closed and round inlets, are compared with experimental data available from the Subsonic Wind Tunnel at United States Air Force Academy. Total lift and drag force coefficients were measured at a Reynolds number of 1.4 million. The results show that computational predictions of fine (closed-inlet) grids match the experimental data very well up to the stall angle. Both experiments and simulations show that closed wings have sharp stalling characteristics. The aerodynamics of closed wings up to stall can be approximated by linear functions and their derivatives. The closed wings show a negative static stability with respect to changes in the angle of attack. The open wings, on other hand, have positive static stability in the longitudinal and lateral directions. The open wings exhibit highly nonlinear unsteady aerodynamic characteristics; they also stall earlier and have higher drag values than the closed wings. The aerodynamic derivatives of open and closed wings were estimated using a linear regression method and training data simulated in small-amplitude oscillations in pitch, yaw, and roll directions. While the open wings have large oscillations in aerodynamic coefficients over the yawing and rolling hysteresis loops, lateral aerodynamic derivatives of the open and closed wings are similar. Finally, the results show that model predictions are reasonably accurate for use in flight-dynamics simulations.
Research and Realization of Data Serving Middleware Based on SOA

In the construction process of the agricultural informatization,the heterogeneous,distribution and autonomy of data sources of the various information system limit the effective sharing of agricultural information resources.In other to solve this problem,and combine Service-Oriented Architecture(SOA) and Web Service technology.A kind of Service middleware which can share common data,Geographic Information System(GIS) spatial data and data which are transmitted by mobile equipment through the Global Mobile Communication System(GPRS) is designed.It is successfully applied in the development and application of tropical agricultural information service system.The actual use shows that the middleware does well in sharing of agricultural information resources.
The Geography of the Russian 1995 Parliamentary Election: Continuity, Change, and Correlates

Two specialists on the electoral geography of post-Soviet Russia analyze the spatial patterns emerging from the parliamentary election held in December 1995. In addition to detailed description of the geographical aspect of the party-preference vote, comparisons are made with the previous election in December 1993. Regression analysis is undertaken to relate the results across Russia's 89 regions to underlying demographic and economic factors thought to influence voting behavior. 13 figures, 6 tables, 28 references.