cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
908 SUPPRESSOR CELL ACTIVITY IN NEONATAL PERIPHERAL BLOOD

A technique for assessing suppressor cell activity in peripheral blood of healthy premature neonates was established using ConA induced suppression of the PHA response in vitro. Neonatal lymphocytes were separated in routine fashion and placed in preculture with ConA (1μg/ml). Cells were also precultured without ConA to provide information on spontaneous suppressor cell activity. After 48 hours incubation, cells were collected, washed and irradiated with 3000r. Effect of precultured cells on PHA stimulated blastogenesis was studied by microculture technique using 105 inactivated cells and an equal number of fresh, autologous lymphocytes (responder cells). Controls were provided by addition of PHA to responder cells alone. Normal adult cells were used for comparison cultures. Data were expressed as one minus the ratio (× 100) of the observed mean cpm of the precultured plus fresh cell blastogenic response to the observed mean cpm of the neonatal control response. Preculture of neonatal lymphocytes yielded suppression in the majority of samples, 73% (mean 33 ± 24) with and 55% (mean 23 ± 15) without ConA; conversely, stimulation was seen in 18% and 27% respectively. Adult studies showed suppression in 25%, unchanged by ConA, but showed stimulation in 50% (mean 45 ± 35) with and 58% (mean 35 ± 25) without ConA. We conclude that neonatal lymphocytes, as studied in this system, demonstrate a propensity to suppress PHA induced blastogenesis.
Structured deformations and the refinements of balance laws induced by microslip

Abstract Non-classical, “structured deformations” are used to describe microslip and to refine balance laws. The main tools employed are identification relations that link the ingredients in structured deformations to geometrical changes at small length scales.
Inositol trisphosphate production and amylase secretion in mouse pancreatic acini.

Abstract Dispersed mouse pancreatic acini prelabelled with ( 3 H)-myoinositol generated ( 3 H)-inositol trisphosphate ( 3 H-IP 3 ), ( 3 H)-IP 2 and ( 3 H)-IP 1 in response to both cholinergic and cholecystokinin analogues. The generation of ( 3 H)-IP 3 was very rapid, reaching a maximal value within 5 seconds following hormone stimulation. Stimulation with 10 −3 M carbachol increased ( 3 H)-IP 3 to a value which was 13 times that found in unstimulated acini. These results indicate that the mechanism of stimulus-secretion coupling in mouse pancreatic acini may proceed by a mechanism similar to many other systems, including rat pancreatic acini. This sequence includes hormone-stimulated phosphatidylinositol turnover and Ca 2+ mobilization, i.e. secretagogue-stimulated generation of IP 3 which induces the subsequent release of intracellular Ca 2+ . These observations differ from those recently reported by Hokin-Neaverson and Sadeghian (J. Biol. Chem. 259: 1346 1984), in which no hormone stimulated IP 3 generation was detected in mouse pancreatic acini.
Border studies as an emergent field of scientific inquiry: Scholarly contributions of U.S.‐Mexico borderlands studies

In America, the institutions of higher learning are generally ascribed the task of accumulating knowledge and gathering additional truth about man and his world. This is done in a segmented fashion as various academic disciplines circumscribe the limits of their expertise and establish elaborate supportive mechanisms for self-preservation and professional control. Narrower scholarly interests produce fields of inquiry which, though of equal academic acumen, do not have the direct and continued support from academie which are enjoyed by the traditional academic disciplines. Should such narrow fields of study emerge along the marginal periphery of various disciplines often their scholars suffer from rejection by mainstream reward systems. Although verbally espoused as a desirable situation, a multidisciplinary context which produces an infertilization of ideas is coincidentally an adulteration of strictly disciplinary frameworks and/or conceptual development. Thus, the continuance of a specialized field of scientific inquiry depends largely upon its demonstrated utility, competency and legitimacy. The field of U.S.-Mexico Borderlands studies has survived the scrutiny of mainstream scholars in many different disciplines and has now reached a level of professional development at which it may begin its own professional journal. Perhaps this is an appropriate time to briefly re-examine our scholarly heritage and to assess the impact of various contributions made by our colleagues of prior decades and centuries. In order to improve our analytical assessment, some arbitrary chronological periods or phases within the field have been created (See Table I). Although not all border scholars would conceptualize the field in the same fashion, this classification does serve to examine those dynamic processes which have brought our field to its present level of development.
Augmenting Undergraduate Computer Science Education With Programmable Smartwatches

Smartwatches are emerging as wrist-based computers capable of complex calculation and communication, and the computer science curriculum should reflect the challenges and opportunities that they provide in the education domain. This paper puts forth an experience report focused on efforts to incorporate smartwatches in an upper-level undergraduate mobile application development class during two academic terms. Lectures, in-class activities, homeworks, and projects were tailored toward providing rich design and implementation experiences for the students that engaged them in developing for the smartwatch and a paired mobile device. Our experiences highlighted how incorporating smartwatches into a mobile app development class adds a valuable dimension in terms of design and implementation challenges and allowed students to exercise some of the fundamental computer science topics.
Effect of Corn Milling Practices on Aleurone Layer Cells and Their Unique Phytosterols

ABSTRACT Coarse and fine fiber fractions obtained from the corn wet-milling processes, with and without steeping chemicals (SO2 and lactic acid), were evaluated microscopically for structure and analytically for recovery of phytosterol compounds from the fiber oil. Microscopic results showed that wet milling, with and without chemicals during steeping, changed the line of fracture between pericarp and endosperm and therefore affected the recovery of the aleurone layer in coarse (pericarp) and fine (endosperm cellular structure) fiber. Analytical results showed that most of the phytosterols and mainly phytostanols in corn fiber are contributed by the aleurone layer. Hand-dissection studies were performed to separate the two layers that comprise the wet-milled coarse fiber, the aleurone, and pericarp layer. Analyses revealed that the aleurone contained 8× more phytosterols than the pericarp.
Understanding genetic regulatory networks

Random Boolean networks (RBM) were introduced about 35 years ago as first crude models of genetic regulatory networks. RBNs are comprised of N on–off genes, connected by a randomly assigned regulatory wiring diagram where each gene has K inputs, and each gene is controlled by a randomly assigned Boolean function. This procedure samples at random from the ensemble of all possible NK Boolean networks. The central ideas are to study the typical, or generic properties of this ensemble, and see 1) whether characteristic differences appear as K and biases in Boolean functions are introducted, and 2) whether a subclass of this ensemble has properties matching real cells.Such networks behave in an ordered or a chaotic regime, with a phase transition, ‘the edge of chaos’ between the two regimes. Networks with continuous variables exhibit the same two regimes. Substantial evidence suggests that real cells are in the ordered regime. A key concept is that of an attractor. This is a reentrant trajectory of states of the network, called a state cycle. The central biological interpretation is that cell types are attractors. A number of properties differentiate the ordered and chaotic regimes. These include the size and number of attractors, the existence in the ordered regime of a percolating ‘sea’ of genes frozen in the on or off state, with a remainder of isolated twinkling islands of genes, a power law distribution of avalanches of gene activity changes following perturbation to a single gene in the ordered regime versus a similar power law distribution plus a spike of enormous avalanches of gene changes in the chaotic regime, and the existence of branching pathway of ‘differentiation’ between attractors induced by perturbations in the ordered regime.Noise is serious issue, since noise disrupts attractors. But numerical evidence suggests that attractors can be made very stable to noise, and meanwhile, metaplasias may be a biological manifestation of noise. As we learn more about the wiring diagram and constraints on rules controlling real genes, we can build refined ensembles reflecting these properties, study the generic properties of the refined ensembles, and hope to gain insight into the dynamics of real cells.
The Bevalac -- An Economical Facility for Very Energetic Heavy Particle Research

An economical means for the production of high energy, high intensity beams of a variety of heavy-ions is to utilize the existing LBL SuperHilac as an injector for the existing LBL Bevatron. Particle energies from 0.25 to 2.6 GeV/nucleon will be realized. The description of this facility, which will be in operation in late 1973, includes the general arrangements, the modest changes to each accelerator, beam transport line design, and a new bio-medical experimental area.
Chronic myelogenous leukemia in the monosomic cell line of a fertile Turner syndrome mosaic (45,X/46,XX).

Abstract Malignancy in patients with constitutional chromosome abnormality is of interest not only because it permits insights into the relationship between chromosome abnormality and cancer, but also because it provides opportunities to address such questions as the clonality and evolution of tumors. We report Ph 1 -positive chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in a 50-year-old mosaic (45,X/46,XX) Turner syndrome patient whose leukemia was restricted to the monosomic cell line. Our extensive cytogenetic studies of this patient demonstrated that non-leukemic normal cells persisted in the marrow and were able to proliferate during a period of temporary suppression of the leukemic clone following aggressive treatment.
Megimide in the treatment of severe barbituratepoisoning

Summary 1. A case of severe barbiturate poisoningis presented. 2. The treatment with Megimide and supportive therapy is reviewed.
Serum magnesium changes in hibernation.

HYPOTHERMIA and hibernation have been subjects of increasing interest in recent years, yet there is a critical lack of observations on the biochemistry of these states. High levels of magnesium in serum have been related by several investigators to hibernation and cold exposure1. In the present studies levels of serum magnesium and other electrolytes, and serum specific gravities, were compared in bats in several series including both hibernating and non-hibernating conditions.
Intra-amygdalar injection of DAMGO: effects on c-Fos levels in brain sites associated with feeding behavior.

Abstract It is well known that the mu opioid agonist, Tyr- d -Ala-Gly-(me) Phe-Gly-ol (DAMGO), increases food intake in rats when injected into a variety of brain sites including the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA). Immunohistochemical studies measuring c-Fos immunoreactivity (IR) suggest that the CeA contributes to opioid-related feeding. In the current study, we injected 2 nmol of DAMGO and measured food intake, c-Fos IR levels in various brain sites involved in feeding behavior, and mu opioid receptor internalization. We also studied the effect of CeA-injected DAMGO on LiCl-induced increases in c-Fos IR in the amygdala. As was expected, intra-CeA injection of DAMGO increased food intake of rats over a 4-h period. DAMGO injection into the CeA also resulted in mu opioid receptor internalization in the CeA, indicating activation of mu opioid receptor expressing neurons in this site. Administration of DAMGO into the CeA increased c-Fos IR levels in the shell of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), but not in 17 other brain sites that were studied. We also found that intra-CeA injection of DAMGO, prior to LiCl injection, decreased c-Fos IR levels in the CeA compared to vehicle-injected rats. Thus, intra-CeA administration of DAMGO may increase feeding, in part, by activating neurons in the shell of the nucleus accumbens and by inhibiting activity of selected neurons in the CeA.
Raman scattering in low stage compounds of graphite intercalated with AsF5, HNO3 and SbCl5

Abstract Raman measurements on low stage compounds of graphite intercalated with AsF 5 , HNO 3 and SbCl 5 are reported. The spectrum of the stage 1 C 8 AsF 5 acceptor compound is found to be in sharp contrast with that reported for the donor stage 1 C 8 M ( M = K , Rb , Cs ) compounds. Whereas the stage 1 donor compounds have been found to exhibit a characteristic broad, asymmetric Breit-Wigner line shape, the spectrum of C 8 AsF 5 contains a single Lorentzian line in this frequency region. Temperature studies of the bounding layer mode lineshape parameters in C 8 AsF 5 showed no evidence of the order-disorder transition in the adjacent intercalate layer. The bounding layer mode frequencies of AsF 5 , HNO 3 and SbCl 5 graphite are reported, but no intercalate layer modes were observed.
The low-cycle fatigue behaviour of an aluminium-alloy-ceramic-particle composite

Abstract A study has been made to understand the low-cycle fatigue and cyclic fracture behaviour of the aluminium alloy 2124, which is discontinuously reinforced with varying volume fractions of silicon carbide particulate. The Al/SiCp composites were cyclically deformed over a range of strain amplitudes giving lives of less than 104 cycles to failure. The specimens were cycled using tension-compression loading and under total strain control. The 2124+SiCp composites, in the as-extruded condition, displayed cyclic hardening at all strain amllitudes and for the different volume fractions of reinforcement in the ductile metalmatrix. The material rapidly softened prior to failure. The cyclic hardening behaviour increased with an increase in carbide particle content. The plastic-strain-fatigue life response of the Al/SiCp composite was found to degrade with an increase in carbide particle content in the metalmatrix. The observed hardening, culminating in rapid softening, is attributed to the synergistic and competing influences of dislocation multiplication, mutual interaction among dislocations, and an interaction of mobile dislocations with the reinforcing carbide particle. The cyclic fracture behaviour of the composite is discussed in the light of intrinsic composite microstructural effects, plastic-strain amplitude and the resultant response stress.
A computer program for designing clinical trials with arbitrary survival curves and group sequential testing

Abstract We present a program, mhghseq, for designing a clinical trial to compare two treatments. For a user-specified hypothesis and a user-specified alternative, mhghseq finds the number of subjects required to achieve a given size and power. It permits each treatment to have an arbitrary survival curve and it allows for group sequential testing. It provides solutions for small samples as well as for large samples. There may be a follow-up period after accrual is completed. Tests may be one ot two-sided, either the log-rank or the Gehan test may be used, and either of two commonly used boundary forms—the O'Brien-Fleming or Pocock boundary forms—may be specified. Although mhghseq relies primarily on simulation to produce results, the large sample sequential boundary for the log-rank test optionally may be computed with an algorithm given here that is different from ones used in the past for this purpose.
Development of a novel surface modification for improved bonding to zirconia.

Objective This report presents a novel pretreatment technique, whereby the zirconia surface is converted to a more reactive zirconium oxyfluoride, enabling improved chemical bonding to other dental substrates via conventional silanation approaches. Methods The study leverages a novel gas-phase fluorination process that creates a thin oxyfluoride conversion layer on the surface of zirconia, making it more reactive for conventional adhesive bonding techniques. Zirconia specimens, polished and roughened, were pretreated and composite cylinders bonded using conventional adhesive techniques. All specimens were subjected to a force at a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min in an electro-mechanical testing device. Single-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) at a 5% confidence level was performed for the bonding strength data. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to evaluate and quantify failure surfaces. Results Shear bond strengths were analyzed using single-factor ANOVA (p < 0.05). Mechanical testing results revealed that fluorinated zirconia specimens (both rough and polished) displayed the highest shear bond strengths as compared to other commercially available treatments. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis helped determine that this novel pretreatment created a more reactive, 2–4 nm thick oxyfluoride conversion layer with approximate stoichiometry, ZrO3F4. Conclusion Simple shear bond mechanical tests demonstrated that a fluorination pre-treatment is a viable method to chemically modify zirconia to produce a reactive surface for adhesive bonding.
Separation of the eleven priority pollutant phenols by capillary zone electrophoresis

Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) provides highly efficient separation of the eleven US EPA priority pollutant phenols. All of these phenols are completely resolved in fewer than 15 min in a 100 cm × 75 μm I.D. uncoated fused-silica capillary at 22.5 kV using a pH 9.8 phosphate-borate buffer. Buffer pH is the most critical parameter controlling resolution and separation time. A simple theoretical treatment greatly simplifies the pH optimization procedure. The effects on the separation of buffer concentration, applied voltage, and sample quantity injected were studied. Good calibration data were obtained for phenol concentrations up to 50 mb/l. Limits of detection for all phenols were less than 1 ppm.
managing the stigma of topless dancing: a decade later

A decade ago we (Thompson and Harred 1992) conducted ethnographic interviews with over 40 topless dancers in seven Gentlemen's Clubs in a major metropolitan city in the Southwest with a population of approximately one million people. Our research focused on how the dancers managed the stigma of their deviant occupation. We found that while the dancers used a variety of stigma management techniques, for analytical purposes they could be collapsed within two "umbrella categories": dividing the social world (Goffman 1963); and rationalization and neutralization (Sykes and Matza 1957). This study replicates that study a decade later. The research for this current study was conducted at five gentlemen's clubs, three of which were included in the earlier study, and two additional clubs that were currently considered the most exclusive gentlemen's clubs in the city. Our findings, while different in specifics, were generally quite consistent with those a decade earlier. Topless dancers still managed the stigma of...
Advanced series compensation for transmission systems using a switched capacitor module

A design strategy is presented for a switched capacitor module for use in series-compensation schemes. The module offers improvements over existing schemes by utilizing thyristor-switched capacitors to allow fast, reliable and flexible series compensation. It is shown that offset voltages due to reinsertion can be eliminated in several ways, and proper damping prevents thyristor damage. The minimum energy rating required for the metal oxide varistor (MOV) is specified based on the switching capabilities of the thyristor pair. >
Antinociception induced by civamide, an orally active capsaicin analogue.

The antinociceptive effects of a novel capsaicin analogue, civamide (cis-8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide), given orally to adult rats were examined. In the formalin test, civamide significantly suppressed the flinch response, particularly phase 2, in a dose-dependent fashion (20-200 mg/kg). This inhibitory effect started 1 h after application, and was maintained for 4-7 days. A competitive capsaicin antagonist, capsazepine (15 mg/kg, s.c.), reversed the antinociceptive action of civamide (200 mg/kg) on the formalin test when it was given either 5 min or 55 min after oral civamide delivery. In contrast, capsazepine delivered 2 days after civamide had no effect upon the depressed formalin response. Civamide produced a significant increase in the response latency on the thermal paw withdrawal test, which persisted for 2-3 days. Civamide produced a modest, but statistically significant, reversal of low tactile thresholds otherwise observed in the Chung neuropathic rats. Morbidity (approximately 10%) was observed which was secondary to bronchial constriction occurring with gastric reflux. Civamide at the doses given did not produce motor dysfunction. Neither calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) nor substance P (SP) concentrations in dorsal or ventral spinal cord were altered by civamide (200 mg/kg) up to 5 days, whereas CGRP, but not SP, in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and sciatic nerves was modestly reduced at 1 day after the delivery. These data suggest that an orally bioavailable capsaicin analogue, civamide, possessed analgesic activity with respect to several noxious stimuli, including inflammation-induced hyperalgesia, noxious thermal stimulation and nerve injury-induced tactile allodynia. The rapid onset and lack of change in the peptide levels in dorsal spinal cord suggests that the analgesic action of civamide is primarily a result of desensitization at the afferent terminals. The antinociception of civamide is probably mediated by at least two mechanisms: (i) an acute receptor occupancy dependent effect; and (ii) a persistent and receptor independent effect which is initiated by the acute exposure to the drug.
Antagonists at excitatory opioid receptors on sensory neurons in culture increase potency and specificity of opiate analgesics and attenuate development of tolerance/dependence

At low (< nM) concentrations, μ, δ or κ opioid peptides as well as morphine and other opioid alkaloids elicit dose-dependent excitatory prolongation of the calcium-dependent component of the action potential duration (APD) of many mouse sensory dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, whereas application of the same opioids at higher (uM) concentrations results in inhibitory shortening of the APD. These bimodal opioid excitatory/inhibitory effects on DRG neurons are blocked by naloxone. In contrast to bimodally acting opioids, the opioid alkaloids, etorphine and dihydroetorphine (thebaine-oripavine derivatives) uniquely elicited only dose-dependent, naloxone-reversible inhibitory effects on sensory neurons in DRG-spinal cord explants, even at concentrations as low as 1 pM, and showed no excitatory effects at lower concentrations. These remarkably potent inhibitory opioid receptor agonists also act as antagonists at excitatory opioid receptors since pretreatment of DRG neurons with subthreshold concentrations (< pM) blocked excitatory APD prolongation by nM morphine (or other opioids) and unmasked inhibitory APD shortening which generally requires much higher concentrations. Furthermore, acute application of pM-nM etorphine to chronic μM morphine- ord-Ala2-d-Leu5 enkephalin (DADLE)-treated DRG neurons blocked the nM naloxone-precipitated APD prolongation that generally occurs in DRG cells sensitized by bimodally acting opioids. In the presence of pM etorphine, chronic treatment of DRG neurons with μM morphine or DADLE no longer resulted in development of tolerance/dependence effects, as previously observed after similar chronic opioid treatment in the presence of cholera toxin-B subunit. These in vitro studies may clarify the mechanisms underlying the potent analgesic effects of etorphine and dihydroetorphine in vivo and to guide the use of these and other excitatory opioid receptor antagonists in attenuating development of opiate dependence/addiction.
Control of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor-mediated enhancement of osteocalcin gene transcription: effects of perturbing phosphorylation pathways by okadaic acid and staurosporine

The 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (vitamin D) receptor (VDR) is a key trans-activating protein that mediates calcium regulation as well as cellular proliferation and differentiation. Phosphorylation of the VDR contributes significantly to its functional activity, but the specific mechanisms that mediate this regulation are not well understood. Phosphorylation may influence DNA binding, ligand binding, and protein-protein interactions, including heterodimerization and/or transactivation functions. We used a protein kinase C inhibitor, staurosporine (ST), and an inhibitor of serine-threonine phosphatases, okadaic acid (OA), to elucidate the contribution of VDR phosphorylation to vitamin D-mediated transcription of the osteocalcin (OC) gene. Vitamin D-induced transcription was assayed in transfected ROS 17/2.8 osteosarcoma cells using chloraminphenicol acetyltransferase constructs containing the vitamin D-responsive element (VDRE) at its native locus in the rat OC promoter as well as fused to a heterologous promoter. Both ST and OA inhibit VDRE-mediated and vitamin D-dependent enhancement of OC gene transcription as well as OC biosynthesis, as assessed by RIAs. Results from gel mobility shift and Western blot analyses using nuclear proteins from ROS 17/2.8 cells show that binding of the VDR-retinoid-X receptor heterodimer complex to the OC VDRE is not inhibited in the presence of ST. In contrast, OA does inhibit the formation of complexes interacting with both the OC and osteopontin VDREs; immunoprecipitation studies using 32P-labeled ROS 17/2.8 cells reveal that OA treatment result in ligand-independent hyperphosphorylation of the VDR. Our results suggest that two distinct phosphorylation events modulate rat VDR function. One event is related to transactivation, and the other is also critical to the VDRE-binding activity of VDR-retinoid X receptor-DNA complexes with consequential effects on transactivation.
Reading Terrorism in Kleist: The Violence and Mandates of Michael Kohlhaas

Examining Kleist's novella Michael Kohlhaas in terms of terrorism, I focus on a subset of critics who move beyond the debate over how to categorize Kohlhaas's violence through its means or ends, and instead point to moments of his attacks that exceed even the explanation he offers. Following this excessive violence through the framing devices of Kohlhaas's manifestos allows me to describe terrorism as an attack not only on specific people and things but on political representation itself. Reading the novella alongside Hannah Arendt's late work On Violence then reveals that it takes a specific narrative stand on this representational attack by describing the historical shift that opens when the people question their identification with the sovereign, without replacing him with either the rebel challenger or a legitimate successor.
Selective modulation of the interaction of alpha 7 beta 1 integrin with fibronectin and laminin by L-14 lectin during skeletal muscle differentiation.

The alpha 7 beta 1 integrin was originally identified and isolated from differentiating skeletal muscle and shown to be a laminin-binding protein (Song et al. (1992) J. Cell Biol. 117, 643–657). Expression of the alpha 7 gene and protein are developmentally regulated during skeletal muscle differentiation and have been used to identify cells at distinct stages of the myogenic lineage (George-Weinstein et al. (1993) Dev. Biol. 156, 209–229). The lactoside-binding protein L-14 exists as a dimer and has been localized on a variety of cells, in association with extracellular matrix. During myogenesis in vitro, L-14 is synthesized within replicating myoblasts but it is not secreted until these cells commence terminal differentiation and fusion into multinucleate fibers (Cooper and Barondes, J. Cell Biol. (1990) 110, 1681–1691). Addition of purified L-14 to myogenic cells plated on laminin inhibits myoblast spreading and fusion, suggesting that the L-14 lectin regulates muscle cell interactions with the extracellular matrix that are germane to myogenic development (Cooper et al. (1991) J. Cell Biol. 115, 1437–1448). We demonstrate here, using affinity chromatography and immunoblots, that alpha 7 beta 1 also binds to fibronectin and to the L-14 lectin. L-14 binds to both laminin and to the alpha 7 beta 1 integrin, and it can effectively inhibit the association of laminin and this integrin. Modulation of alpha 7 beta 1 interaction with its ligands by L-14 is selective: L-14 does not bind to fibronectin, nor does it interfere with the binding of fibronectin to alpha 7 beta 1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
EMPIRICAL MEASUREMENT OF PARASITE TRANSMISSION BETWEEN GROUPS IN A COLONIAL BIRD

While epidemiological models have suggested that the spread of parasites and infectious diseases often depends critically on the extent of movement by infected individuals between populations, there is little empirical information for any organism on the frequency of between-group parasite transmission or how it varies spatially. The trans- mission of parasites between discrete social groups or populations may also help determine a host's total parasite or pathogen exposure. We measured the introduction of parasitic bugs (Oeciacus vicarius) into colonies of Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) by transient birds from outside each group. The transmission of bugs increased strongly as the size of a nesting colony increased. More total transients visited the larger colonies, and the direction of change in transient numbers and the numbers of bugs introduced at a site from week to week tended to vary together. Transients at large colonies were more likely to have pre- viously or subsequently visited other large, infested colonies. The greater likelihood of parasites being introduced into larger colonies by transient birds contributes to an increase in parasite load with increased colony size in Cliff Swallows.
The Course Concierge service

A Course Concierge service helps students navigate a path through full classes and scheduling conflicts.
HIV Infection is associated with compositional and functional shifts in the rectal mucosal microbiota.

Background: Regardless of infection route, the intestine is the primary site for HIV-1 infection establishment and results in significant mucosal CD4+ T lymphocyte depletion, induces an inflammatory state that propagates viral dissemination, facilitates microbial translocation, and fosters establishment of one of the largest HIV reservoirs. Here we test the prediction that HIV infection modifies the composition and function of the mucosal commensal microbiota. Results: Rectal mucosal microbiota were collected from human subjects using a sponge-based sampling methodology. Samples were collected from 20 HIV-positive men not receiving combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART), 20 HIV-positive men on cART and 20 healthy, HIV-negative men. Microbial composition of samples was analyzed using barcoded 16S Illumina deep sequencing (85,900 reads per sample after processing). Microbial metagenomic information for the samples was imputed using the bioinformatic tools PICRUST and HUMAnN. Microbial composition and imputed function in HIV-positive individuals not receiving cART was significantly different from HIV-negative individuals. Genera including Roseburia, Coprococcus, Ruminococcus, Eubacterium, Alistipes and Lachnospira were depleted in HIV-infected subjects not receiving cART, while Fusobacteria, Anaerococcus, Peptostreptococcus and Porphyromonas were significantly enriched. HIV-positive subjects receiving cART exhibited similar depletion and enrichment for these genera, but were of intermediate magnitude and did not achieve statistical significance. Imputed metagenomic functions, including amino acid metabolism, vitamin biosynthesis, and siderophore biosynthesis differed significantly between healthy controls and HIV-infected subjects not receiving cART. Conclusions: HIV infection was associated with rectal mucosal changes in microbiota composition and imputed function that cART failed to completely reverse. HIV infection was associated with depletion of some commensal species and enrichment of a few opportunistic pathogens. Many imputed metagenomic functions differed between samples from HIV-negative and HIV-positive subjects not receiving cART, possibly reflecting mucosal metabolic changes associated with HIV infection. Such functional pathways may represent novel interventional targets for HIV therapy if normalizing the microbial composition or functional activity of the microbiota proves therapeutically useful.
Optimal Arrangements for Assembling a Network in an Emergency

In many situations, especially those surrounding emergencies, the fast assembly of a set of actors is an important prerequisite for planning and subsequent action. For example, a search team, human or robotic, first needs to convene. What shape is optimal if the goal is the establishment of full communication as soon as possible? We consider spirals, concentric circles and tree-like structures and show analytically how a spiral shape minimizes the maximum distance to be traveled. We also discuss how other shapes can provide a higher degree of communication redundancy. These results, which have parallels in biological systems, suggest new ways that sensor networks might be envisioned.
Adaptive Mobility-Assisted Data Dissemination in Mobile Disaster/Recovery Environments

Efficient information dissemination over Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANET) for urban Disaster/Recovery (D/R) missions is emerging as a very challenging and important research problem. In this paper1, we present an adaptive mobility-assisted data dissemination framework as a solution for Disaster/Recovery missions. Our novel framework is based on "Importance Score" of D/R messages to: (1) optimize the number of disseminations due to the bandwidth limitations in MANET, and (2) discard invalid D/R messages due to memory space limitation on mobile devices. The corresponding "Importance Score" function, a linear combination of priority and deadline, ranks D/R messages according to metrics that obtain maximal area coverage and minimal delay in D/R dissemination. Once the D/R messages are ranked, our adaptive mobility-assisted data dissemination protocol broadcasts the top-k, tuning broadcast period according to network conditions. To ensure performance efficiency, we estimate times-to-send (TTS) to limit unnecessary transmissions. Our experimental results show that the presented framework with corresponding algorithms and protocols efficiently utilizes network bandwidth and node memory space (i.e. memory space at a mobile node), while achieving information coverage and delay objectives.
Actin and Endocytosis in Budding Yeast

Endocytosis, the process whereby the plasma membrane invaginates to form vesicles, is essential for bringing many substances into the cell and for membrane turnover. The mechanism driving clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) involves > 50 different protein components assembling at a single location on the plasma membrane in a temporally ordered and hierarchal pathway. These proteins perform precisely choreographed steps that promote receptor recognition and clustering, membrane remodeling, and force-generating actin-filament assembly and turnover to drive membrane invagination and vesicle scission. Many critical aspects of the CME mechanism are conserved from yeast to mammals and were first elucidated in yeast, demonstrating that it is a powerful system for studying endocytosis. In this review, we describe our current mechanistic understanding of each step in the process of yeast CME, and the essential roles played by actin polymerization at these sites, while providing a historical perspective of how the landscape has changed since the preceding version of the YeastBook was published 17 years ago (1997). Finally, we discuss the key unresolved issues and where future studies might be headed.
Design of control systems for minimum bandwidth

This paper presents a method of designing feedback control systems which minimizes bandwidth for a specified transient error. Reduction of bandwidth is desired in order to attenuate noise, simplify the compensation, and ease the requirements on components operating at high power levels.
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Treatment of Comorbid Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depression

Twelve patients with comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression underwent repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to left frontal cortex as an open-label adjunct to current antidepressant medications. rTMS parameters were as follows: 90% of motor threshold, 1 Hz or 5 Hz, 6,000 stimuli over 10 days. Seventy-five percent of the patients had a clinically significant antidepressant response after rTMS, and 50% had sustained response at 2-month follow-up. Comparable improvements were seen in anxiety, hostility, and insomnia, but only minimal improvement in PTSD symptoms. Left frontal cortical rTMS may have promise for treating depression in PTSD, but there may be a dissociation between treating mood and treating core PTSD symptoms.
Recent advances in the electrochemistry of porphyrins and phthalocyanines

Recent developments in the electrochemistry of metalloporphyrins and metallophthalocyanines are reviewed briefly by focusing on the electroanalytical, electrocatalytic and electrochemical sensor applications.
Bounded-skew clock and Steiner routing under Elmore delay

We study the minimum-cost bounded-skew routing tree problem under the Elmore delay model. We present two approaches to construct bounded-skew routing trees: (i) the Boundary Merging and Embedding (BME) method which utilizes merging points that are restricted to the boundaries of merging regions, and (ii) the Interior Merging and Embedding (IME) algorithm which employs a sampling strategy and dynamic programming to consider merging points that are interior to, rather than on the boundary of, the merging regions. Our new algorithms allow accurate control of Elmore delay skew, and show the utility of merging points inside merging regions.
Detection and Correction of Silent Data Corruption for Large-Scale High-Performance Computing

Faults have become the norm rather than the exception for high-end computing on clusters with 10s/100s of thousands of cores, and this situation will only become more dire as we reach exascale computing. Exacerbating this situation, some of these faults will not be detected, manifesting themselves as silent errors that will corrupt memory while applications continue to operate but report incorrect results. This paper introduces RedMPI, an MPI library residing in the profiling layer of any standards-compliant MPI implementation. RedMPI is capable of both online detection and correction of soft errors that occur in MPI applications without requiring code changes to application source code. By providing redundancy, RedMPI is capable of transparently detecting corrupt messages from MPI processes that become faulted during execution. Furthermore, with triple redundancy RedMPI "votes'' out MPI messages of a faulted process by replacing corrupted results with corrected results from unfaulted processes. We present an evaluation of RedMPI on an assortment of applications to demonstrate the effectiveness and assess associated overheads. Fault injection experiments establish that RedMPI is not only capable of successfully detecting injected faults, but can also correct these faults while carrying a corrupted application to successful completion without propagating invalid data.
Discrete Control of Air Conditioning Units in Mission Critical Facilities

For redundancy, almost all mission-critical facilities such as data centers are fitted with more air condition units than required. These units are most of the time heavily underutilized, where the fans within the units are still consuming energy circulating air without actually providing cooling. In more modern facilities such fans are equipped with variable frequency drives, which can reduce substantially the energy consumption if proper controls are implemented. While there have several solutions for controlling and optimizing such variable frequency drive operated air conditioning units, control systems without variable frequency drives (discrete on/off ACU controls) have not been addressed thoroughly. In this paper, we present a practical, distributed and automatic control method for such discrete air conditioning units. The technique includes several safety features and is based on dense environmental sensing and events like hotspots or device failures. We discuss this approach by way of example of a case study.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Stiffness Control with Pneumatic Artificial Muscle Inclusions in a Cellular Honeycomb Unit

Pneumatic artificial muscles are potentially useful actuators for the development of tunable modulus structures. This paper details the simulation and experimental validation of a unit Delrin hexagonal cell with three pneumatic artificial muscle inclusions for the purpose of actively controlling the modulus of the cell in the horizontal or vertical directions. The complete set of analytical equations used to simulate the cell is presented, including the PAM force equations, the cell wall modulus expressions, the force balance for the fully-assembled cell in the horizontal and vertical directions, and the secant modulus method. Then, simulation is compared to experimental measurements of the cell modulus in the horizontal and vertical directions over a range of pressures up to 1302 kPa. It is shown that simulation captures the trends evident in the experimental results and that the maximum increase in cell modulus is achieved when only the set of muscles perpendicular to the direction of loading is fully pressurized. A maximum increase in cell modulus of 227% is demonstrated in the horizontal direction with a corresponding change in equilibrium cell angle of only 3.75%.
An apparatus for recording sucking and controlling feeding in the first days of life

An apparatus was described that can simultaneously record both the “suction” and “expression” components of the human newborn’s sucking response. The apparatus also provides nutrient as a function of the performance of one or the other component. The apparatus is suitable for use in either operant or classical training of any sucking animal.
Host Range and Effect of Host Nutrition on Parasitism by Piptocephalis Lepidula

Twenty-one of 33 fungi tested were found to be hosts of Piptocephalis lepidula. Only fungi within the Mucorales were parasitized, and of the members of this order tested, only Mortierella candelabrum was not a host. Generally, good host growth was required for good parasitism. Defined agar media containing glucose, xylose or maltose as carbon sources and glutamic acid or alanine as nitrogen sources generally supported better host growth and parasitism than media containing other carbon or nitrogen sources.
Evidence-Based Clinical Vignettes from the Care Management Institute: Major Depression

Depressive syndromes are commonly seen in the primary care setting. Major depression affects 4.8% to 8.6% of the general US population in any given year; other types of depression affect an additional 3% to 8.4% of patients.1 Total costs of depression, including direct medical costs and indirect costs due to days lost from work, exceed $43 billion annually.1,2 In the primary care setting, treatment of depression usually includes evaluation by a physician, brief patient education, and either antidepressant therapy, referral to a behavioral health specialist, or both a prescription and a referral. Although most depressed patients can be successfully treated by primary care clinicians, depression remains unrecognized or undertreated in many patients. In 2001, the Kaiser Permanente Care Management Institute (CMI) revised its guideline for evidence-based care of depressed adult outpatients in the primary care setting.3 This article and case example highlight key steps and recommendations from this guideline.
Cryptosporidium in Eastern Chongqing

Objective Status of cryptosporidium infection in eastern Chongqing was studied to provide scientific evidence for cryptosporidiosis prevention.Methods A direct modified acid-fast stain method was used to detect the egg of cryptosporidium.Results The total infection rate of cryptosporidium in people of eastern Chongqing was 3.39%(42/1 238);the infection rate of cryptosporidium among people who working in slaughterhouse was 6.25%(1/16);in outpatients,the rate of cryptosporidium infection was 3.48%(37/1 062),and the rate of cryptosporidium infection among people who living in Fuling rural areas was 2.5%(4/160).The infection rate of cryptosporidium among males was 3.42%,while among females was 3.36%,with no statistical difference(P0.05);the infection rate among children was 4.12%,while among adults was 3.06%,with no statistical difference(P0.05).Conclusion The infection rate of cryptosporidium in the areas of eastern Chongqing is high,with no significant difference in age groups and between males and females.
Addressing the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth: A Systematic Review of Program and Policy Evaluations

There is growing interest in programs and policies developed to prevent or intervene in the commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth (CSECY). Subsequently, it is critical to use evaluation to inform understanding of both the extent to which efforts are achieving desired objectives and how they could be strengthened moving forward. To help address this need, we used the RE-AIM framework from the field of public health to conduct a systematic review of CSECY program and policy evaluations. The review revealed limited availability and quality of effectiveness and implementation data, as well as an even greater dearth of findings addressing issues of reach, adoption, and maintenance. In light of these findings, we call for more thorough and rigorous evaluations of CSECY programs and policies.
Feed Intake and Digestion by Beef Steers Consuming and Receiving Ruminal Insertions of Prairie Hay Differing in Level and Particle Size

A 5 X 5 Latin square design involving five cannulated beef steers (342 and 358 kg avg initial and final body weights, respectively) fed prairie hay (76.7% neutral detergent fiber, 5.7% acid detergent lignin and .85% N) was conducted to evaluate effects on feed intake and nutrient digestion of variations in physical characteristics of ruminal digesta achieved by ruminal insertion of different amounts of prairie hay differing in particle size. Steers were fed hay ad libitum in two equal meals (0800 and 2000). At 1200, four of the steers received manual, ruminal insertions of ground hay. Fine hay (F) was ground through a screen with 2-mm openings (.39 mm mean particle size), whereas coarse hay (C) was ground through a screen with 2.54-cm openings (4.46 mm mean particle size). Amounts of hay inserted were .2 (low, L) or .4% (high, H of initial body weight of individual steers. Ruminal hay insertions comprised 18% of total dry matter (DM) intake for L and 34 and 37% for HF and HC, respectively. Fed hay consumption decreased (P less than .05) with hay insertion and was lower for H than L; total DM intake was not influenced by treatment (P greater than .10). Ruminal NH3-N concentrations and ruminal organic matter digestion was greater (P less than .05) with ruminal hay insertion than without and with H than with L (P less than .05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)