cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Novel Strategies for Glutamate Clearance in the Glia-Deprived Synaptic Hub of C. elegans

Abstract Brain function requires the ability to form neuronal circuits that mediate focused and accurate communication. Since the vast majority of brain synapses use Glutamate (Glu) as their neurotransmitter, unintended spillover of Glu between adjacent synapses is a critical challenge. To ensure accurate neurotransmission and avert synaptic mix-up, specialized Glu Transporters (GluTs) clear the synapse of released Glu. While classical views of neuronal morphology and physiology depict isolated spiny synapses enwrapped by GluT-expressing glia, in reality, a considerable portion of synapses are flat, glial coverage in some parts of the brain is rather sparse, and extracellular space is larger than previously estimated. This suggests that diffusion in interstitial fluids might have an important role in Glu clearance in these synapses. To understand basic principles of Glu clearance in flat-, glia-deprived synapses, we study the physiology of neuronal circuits in the C. elegans nerve ring, the nematode’s aspiny synaptic hub. We use behavioral assays, Ca2+ imaging, and iGluSnFR to follow synaptic activity in intact animals. We find that synapses in a nociceptive avoidance circuit are dramatically affected by distal GluTs, while an adjacent chemoattraction circuit is controlled by proximal GluTs. We also find that pharyngeal pulsatility and mobility, which could agitate interstitial fluids, are critical for synaptic physiology. We therefore conclude that robust Glu clearance in the nematode is provided differentially by distal and proximal GluTs, aided by agitation of interstitial fluids. Such principles might be informative in determining additional factors that contribute to robust Glu clearance in other neuronal systems. Significance Statement The nervous system depends on faithful relay of information without inadvertent mixing of signals between neuronal circuits. Classical views of the nervous system depict isolated synapses, enwrapped by glia that express neurotransmitter-transporters. However, this view is incomplete, since many synapses are flat, deprived of glia, and exposed to a larger-than-expected extracellular space. We use optogenetic tools to investigate glutamate clearance strategies in the aspiny and glia-deprived synaptic hub of intact nematodes. We find a division of labor among Glutamate transporters: while some transporters display classical localization near the synapses, others are distal, and cooperate with agitation of interstitial fluids to prevent glutamate accumulation. These novel principles might contribute to synaptic clearance in higher animals, affecting normal neuronal physiology and disease.
Partial widths and branching ratios for the emitted electron resulting from interatomic Coulombic decay in quantum wells heterostructure

Interatomic coulomb decay (ICD) is a decay process relying on the Coulombic interaction between neighbouring atoms, molecules or nanostructures. Due to this process, an electron is emitted into the...
DNA Binding to the Silica Surface.

We investigate the DNA–silica binding mechanism using molecular dynamics simulations. This system is of technological importance, and also of interest to explore how negatively charged DNA can bind to a silica surface, which is also negatively charged at pH values above its isoelectric point near pH 3. We find that the two major binding mechanisms are attractive interactions between DNA phosphate and surface silanol groups and hydrophobic bonding between DNA base and silica hydrophobic region. Umbrella sampling and the weighted histogram analysis method (WHAM) are used to calculate the free energy surface for detachment of DNA from a binding configuration to a location far from the silica surface. Several factors explain why single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) has been observed to be more strongly attracted to silica than double-stranded (dsDNA): (1) ssDNA is more flexible and therefore able to maximize the number of binding interactions. (2) ssDNA has free unpaired bases to form hydrophobic attachment to silica ...
Optimum Locations of Utility-Scale Shared Energy Storage Systems

This paper proposes a minimum losses-based approach to determine optimal locations of utility-scale shared energy storage (USSES) systems. Small-scale behind-the-meter (BTM) batteries are still expensive, not fully utilized, and difficult to control for grid services. On the other hand, USSES systems have the potential to enhance grid services and save money for owners of BTM energy sources through storage leasing agreements. Also, new multi-use business models, which utilize battery storage for both primary (e.g., demand side management, deferral of system upgrade, and demand charge reduction) and secondary (e.g., frequency regulation, resource adequacy, and energy arbitrage) services, are needed to increase economic benefits for both USSES owners and investors. This paper uses a genetic algorithm (GA)-based approach to determine optimal locations of USSES systems to reduce power losses caused by customer requests of charging and discharging. This is the first step toward developing multi-use business models. The proposed approach is demonstrated on IEEE-13 and IEEE-123 node test feeders with BTM solar PV. The results show that optimal locations for loss reduction depend on charging and discharging profiles.
The Trust Barrier to Consumer Participation in Class Actions - Public Comments of Professor Amanda M. Rose, Consumers and Class Action Notices: An FTC Workshop

I applaud the FTC’s ongoing efforts to ensure that class action settlements provide appropriate benefits to consumers, and I was grateful for the opportunity to serve as a panelist at the FTC’s recent workshop focused on its staff report, Consumers and Class Actions: A Retrospective and Analysis of Settlement Campaigns. The staff report, which summarizes the findings of the FTC’s Administrator Study and Notice Study, sheds important light on current practices in claims administration and on the effectiveness of those practices. Most importantly, it suggests that a pernicious trust barrier exists to consumer participation in class actions, highlighting the need for bold and fundamental reform to remove it. While the FTC presently lacks authority to enact the needed reform, it can and should help advocate for it. I have a recommendation for what this reform should look like. As I outline in section III and explore more fully in a working paper titled Classaction.gov, Congress should authorize the creation of a government-run class action website and supporting administration (collectively, “Classaction.gov”) that would centralize and standardize many of the services that private claims administrators provide today. Classaction.gov holds the potential to dramatically increase the number of class members that actually share in settlement funds, while at the same time reducing the costs associated with notice and claims administration — thus leaving more money on the table for victims. It would also produce important additional benefits. For example, it would render class actions transparent, allowing researchers and the public to intelligently assess their value in our society, and could facilitate reforms designed to reduce class action agency costs.
A review of medical malpractice cases in congenital cardiac surgery in the Westlaw database in the United States from 1994 to 2019

BACKGROUND Medical malpractice litigations are common for cardiac surgeons, and congenital cardiac surgeons are uniquely held accountable by patients, who are minors, and their families. Therefore, it is imperative for physicians to be cognizant of clinically effective and legally tenable practices. METHODS The Westlaw legal research service was utilized to collect medical malpractice litigations from 1994 to 2019 pertaining to congenital cardiac surgery, inclusive, in the United States. Court documents were manually screened, with 177 litigations satisfying criteria for inclusion. Data collection included patient demographics, verdict and litigation characteristics, and clinical data. Fisher's exact test was used to assess the significance of association. RESULTS Across the 177 litigations, 44% had defendant verdicts, 30% had plaintiff verdicts, and 26% had settlements. The average plaintiff award was $9,363,710, and the average settlement was $4,141,825. Patient mortality occurred in 87 cases (49.2%), and wrongful death claims were argued in 71 cases (40%). The most common reason for litigation were procedural errors (79 cases, 45%). The most frequent clinical event was cardiac arrest (95 cases, 54%). California recorded the most litigations (34 cases, 19.2%). Defendant verdicts were significantly associated with cardiac arrest, procedural errors, and permanent neurological injury (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS Defendant's verdicts were more common in cases with patient mortality, which had lower average plaintiff awards and settlements, since future healthcare expenses are inapplicable to this cohort. Future litigations can be minimized with an emphasis on reducing procedural errors, treating and diagnosing patients timely, and monitoring patients sufficiently.
Alma analytics: a useful tool for access services?

The latest generation of integrated library systems, Alma, was released back in 2012 along with a data analysis tool called Alma Analytics. Although there are conference presentations on using Alma...
Selective prefrontal-amygdala circuit interactions underlie social and nonsocial valuation in rhesus macaques

Lesion studies in macaques suggest dissociable functions of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and medial frontal cortex (MFC), with OFC being essential for goal-directed decision making and MFC supporting social cognition. Bilateral amygdala damage results in impairments in both of these domains. There are extensive reciprocal connections between these prefrontal areas and the amygdala; however, it is not known whether the dissociable roles of OFC and MFC depend on functional interactions with the amygdala. To test this possibility, we compared the performance of male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) with crossed surgical disconnection of the amygdala and either MFC (MFC x AMY, n=4) or OFC (OFC x AMY, n=4) to a group of unoperated controls (CON, n=5). All monkeys were assessed for their performance on two tasks to measure: (1) food-retrieval latencies while viewing videos of social and nonsocial stimuli in a test of social interest, and (2) object choices based on current food value using reinforcer devaluation in a test of goal-directed decision making. Compared to the CON group, the MFC x AMY group, but not the OFC x AMY group, showed significantly reduced food-retrieval latencies while viewing videos of conspecifics, indicating reduced social valuation and/or interest. By contrast, on the devaluation task, group OFC x AMY, but not group MFC x AMY, displayed deficits on object choices following changes in food value. These data indicate that the MFC and OFC must functionally interact with the amygdala to support normative social and nonsocial valuation, respectively. Significance StatementAscribing value to conspecifics (social) vs. objects (nonsocial) may be supported by distinct but overlapping brain networks. Here we test whether two nonoverlapping regions of the prefrontal cortex, the medial frontal cortex and the orbitofrontal cortex, must causally interact with the amygdala to sustain social valuation and goal-directed decision making, respectively. We found that these prefrontal-amygdala circuits are functionally dissociable, lending support for the idea that medial frontal and orbital frontal cortex make independent contributions to cognitive appraisals of the environment. These data provide a neural framework for distinct value assignment processes and may enhance our understanding of the cognitive deficits observed following brain injury or in the development of mental health disorders.
Quantitative analysis of mitochondrial ATP synthesis

Abstract We present a computational framework for analyzing and simulating mitochondrial ATP synthesis using basic thermodynamic and kinetic principles. The framework invokes detailed descriptions of the thermodynamic driving forces associated with the processes of the electron transport chain, mitochondrial ATP synthetase, and phosphate and adenine nucleotide transporters. Assembling models of these discrete processes into an integrated model of mitochondrial ATP synthesis, we illustrate how to analyze and simulate in vitro respirometry experiments and how models identified from in vitro experimental data effectively explain cardiac respiratory control in vivo. Computer codes for these analyses are embedded as Python scripts in a Jupyter Book to facilitate easy adoption and modification of the concepts developed here. This accessible framework may also prove useful in supporting educational applications. All source codes are available on at https://beards-lab.github.io/QAMAS_book/ .
State-Related Activity, Reactivity of Locus Ceruleus Neurons in Behaving Monkeys

Publisher Summary This chapter summarizes several studies revealing tonic activity of neurons of the brain noradrenergic nucleus locus ceruleus (LC). LC is correlated with changing degree of alertness, while at the same time, LC cells respond phasically to behaviorally significant stimuli. The results support the hypothesis that the LC-norepinephrine system regulates states of alertness and significantly enhances the brain's ability to react adaptively to environmental stimuli. LC neurons have been recorded extracellularly from four cynomolgus monkeys performing a visual discrimination task. LC neurons exhibit relatively little activity during low-vigilance behaviors such as grooming or food consumption, while LC tonic activity typically accelerates during exploratory activity. These changes in LC discharge have been consistently inversely correlated with attentiveness to the task. Task performance has been best during moderate LC neuronal activity, whereas high LC tonic activity has been associated with behavioral hype activity and poor task performance. The amplitude of LC responses to both targets and distractor stimuli showed remarkable, albeit converse, modulation with different alertness states. These results show that a close relationship exists between attentiveness, LC tonic and phasical activities, and performance of a vigilance task. Phasic excitatory responsiveness of LC neurons may produce a transient, stimulus-oriented increase of attentiveness. In addition to the role proposed for restoring alertness, LC plays important role for memorizing dream content. A role for LC in memory is also consistent with tonic and phasic LC activity observed within the alert state. The specific stimuli that activate LC neurons and increase alertness are also the events most likely to be remembered. This speculation links attention and memory via functions hypothesized for the LC.
Ní cothram na Féinne é sin: Cricket, Lexicography and Cultural Purity in Ireland1

This article explores the relationship between the game of cricket and the Irish language in Ireland. In our analysis, dictionaries are invoked as indices of formations of cultural purity and political power, documents of defiance, tools of codification, assertions of confidence, representations of linguistic identity. By examining the treatment of the term “cricket” in Irish language dictionaries from the eighteenth-century to the present day, we find an index of cultural values, responding and adapting to ongoing changing cultural power and capital. This demonstrates how the game, and its translated presence in the lexicography of the native language, functions as a form of cultural hybridity in the nineteenth-century, yet is cleansed in the twentieth as part of the process of Irish cultural purity (as it fights for an established postcolonial nationhood). The article offers a new way of understanding social and linguistic conventions, in the context of the colonial/postcolonial, and how such conventions function in the field of sport. Given the dominance (with the exception of India) of English as the lingua franca of sport's colonial and ludic diffusion, the article's ability to access and interrogate the processes of inclusion/exclusion in the linguistic and sporting Irish setting marks it out as an original and innovative way of understanding how cultural transfers occurred and were later annulled.
Some Experience with Identification of the Caltech Experimental Space Structure

Future space missions will rely on structures with many closely spaced and lightly damped modes. To meet the alignment performance requirements of the missions, these structures will need to incorporate active control. Control which does not destabilize the system requires very accurate models of all modes present in a certain bandwidth of the structure's response. Development of the accurate models through system identification is significantly complicated by modes with almost equal frequencies and dampings which appear as single peaks in the structure's frequency response function. A structure was built at Caltech which exhibits many of the features of large space structures, and a frequency domain modal parameter transfer function identification experiment was carried out. Through use of several single input multiple output experiments assembled as a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) data set, modes with nearly equal frequencies and dampings were characterized distinctly through use of the differences in mode shapes. Results of one set of experiments and estimates from finite element models are presented.
Biomagnification of Aroclor 1242 in decomposing Spartina litter.

The accumulation of a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) mixture (Aroclor 1242) in the process of detritus formation by a shredded marshgrass (Spartina alterniflora) under aerobic conditions was monitored in percolators for 4 months at 20 degrees C. Dissolved PCB in the influent solution was 14 to 16 mug/liter. Parameters monitored in addition to PCB accumulation were CO(2) evolution, NH(4) uptake, NO(3) production, and total organic nitrogen and carbon in the effluent. An NaN(3-) poisoned control served to assess nonbiological PCB absorption. Up to 90% of the PCB dissolved in the influent water was removed by the biologically active detritus. Biomagnification resulted in three to four times higher PCB concentrations in the active detritus than in the abiotic control. Evolution of CO(2) was slightly depressed by PCB, but the overall quality (C:N ratio) of the detritus was not affected. The results indicate that bioaccumulation of PCB in detritus is an important means of entry for this pollutant into estuarine food webs.
Bi 209 ( d , p ) Bi 210 Reaction at Low Bombarding Energies and with High Resolution

The ${\mathrm{Bi}}^{209}(d, p){\mathrm{Bi}}^{210}$ reaction has been studied with a multiple-gap magnetic spectrograph and an 8-MeV electrostatic accelerator. Forty energy levels were observed up to an excitation energy of 3.2 MeV. The ground-state $Q$ value was measured to be 2.369\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.010 MeV. The angular distribution of each group was peaked at an observation angle of 180 deg because of the large Coulomb barrier and relatively low bombarding energy, and the width of the backward peak depends weakly on the $l$ value of the captured neutron. There is good agreement concerning the shape of the angular distribution between the experimental data and calculations using distorted-wave, deuteron-stripping theory. The ground-state group belongs to a cluster of nine groups, one of which is probably two unresolved groups. These nine groups probably correspond to levels in the ${\mathrm{Bi}}^{210}$ ground-state configuration (${h}_{\frac{9}{2}}{g}_{\frac{9}{2}}$). The intensities of these groups appear to be proportional to the statistical factor ($2J+1$).
Virtual Reality and the Vestibular System: A Brief Review

Motion sickness can be one of the consequences of VR simulation. This chapter gives information on the vestibular system, both anatomy and function. It also discusses use of VR on treating various phobias, why this motion sickness occurs and the possible effect of VR simulation on patients with balance disorders. Problem 1. A 25-year-old man sits in a flight simulator and plays with the instrument for 2 h. Afterward he feels nauseated and unsteady, experiences imbalance, and vomits. The symptoms quickly disappear, but he must wait several hours before driving home. Problem 2. A 25-year-old male patient comes to the emergency room complaining of sudden attacks of spinning dizziness, nausea; he vomits several times. The acute symptoms gradually go away; however, for months afterward he feels unsteady and experiences instability in his vision (the world jiggles when he walks or drives a car). What is the connection between these two situations? In both cases, the description of the individuals are the same and the symptoms are similar.
Kate Chopin's The Awakening : Ambiguity as Art

Fifty-three years before Ernest Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea, Kate Chopin went beyond simple allegory to create something which critics, until only very recently, have been unable to define. In 1936 Arthur Hobson Quinn wrote that the basic fault of The Awakening ‘lies in Edna's utter selfishness, which deprives her of sympathy. The standards are Continental rather than Creole, and the novel belongs rather among studies of morbid psychology than local color’. Quinn's superficial view of the heroine leads him to the limiting moral position from which any clear view of the work as a whole is obscured. Edmund Wilson's evaluation, as it is taken from Patriotic Gore and quoted in Kenneth Eble's introduction, seems to me to reveal both Wilson's apparent frustration at being unable to categorize the novel and his almost intuitive grasp of what may be the most important factor in explaining the work's effectiveness.
Cone ERG responses in patients with Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome (SLOS)

Purpose To evaluate cone and cone-driven retinal function in patients with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS), a condition characterized by low cholesterol. Rod and rod-driven function in patients with SLOS are known to be abnormal.
Tourism competitiveness and corruption: a cross-country analysis.

No prior research has considered the role corruption plays in a country's ability to compete globally in the tourism industry. Using the 2008 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, a comprehensive measure of tourism competitiveness developed by the World Economic Forum, the 2006 Corruption Perception Index published by Transparency International and data from 119 countries, this study provides evidence that a reduction in corruption levels impacts positively on the level of tourism competitiveness across nations. The study also finds that the marginal gain in tourism competitiveness from a reduction in corruption levels is greater for developing countries than for developed countries.
Fatigue improvement following endoscopic sinus surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Fatigue is a common symptom of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), yet the response of fatigue to endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) has not been systematically evaluated. Methods: Studies published in any language were retrieved by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane databases, and additional Web-based sources (from 1980–2007); by examining bibliographies of retrieved articles; and by contacting investigators in the field. Studies consisting of more than 10 adult patients analyzing the response of fatigue, vitality, energy, or malaise following ESS were included. Two authors independently evaluated studies for inclusion, rated the methods, and summarized relevant data using a standardized protocol. Results: Using within-subject comparisons, 28 identified observational studies noted substantial improvement in fatigue after ESS. A subgroup analysis of 11 studies measuring outcomes using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) demonstrated a moderate-sized combined effect of 0.47 (95% confidence interval, 0.38–0.56; I2 = 0%), corresponding to a mean ± standard deviation improvement of 9.7 ± 3.4 units on the SF-36 vitality domain scores. In studies measuring outcomes using symptom rating scores, the preoperative severity scores and improvement after surgery for fatigue were similar to the respective values for other pooled CRS symptoms. Conclusions: All 28 studies described substantial improvement in fatigue following ESS based on presurgery and postsurgery comparisons. A subgroup analysis of 11 studies reporting results by the SF-36 vitality domain scores demonstrated a moderate-sized combined effect. Preoperative fatigue severity scores and improvement noted after surgery were similar to the respective values for other pooled CRS symptoms.
Disturbance and topography shape nitrogen availability and δ15N over long-term forest succession.

Forest disturbance and long-term succession towards old-growth are thought to increase nitrogen (N) availability and N loss, which should increase soil δ15N values. We examined soil and foliar patterns in N and δ15N, and soil N mineralization, across 800 years of forest succession in a topographically complex montane landscape influenced by human logging and wildfire. In contrast to expectations, we found that disturbance caused declines in surface mineral soil δ15N values, both in logged forests measured 40–50 years after disturbance, and in unlogged forests disturbed by severe wildfire within the last 200 years. Both symbiotic N fixation and N transfers from disturbed vegetation and detritus could lower soil δ15N values after disturbance. A more important role for symbiotic N fixation is suggested by lower soil δ15N values in slow-successional sites with slow canopy closure, which favors early-successional N fixers. Soil δ15N values increased only marginally throughout 800 years of succession, reflecting soil N uptake by vegetation and strong overall N retention. Although post-disturbance N inputs lowered surface soil δ15N values, steady-state mass balance calculations suggest that wildfire combustion of vegetation and detritus can dominate long-term N loss and increase whole-ecosystem δ15N. On steeper topography, declining soil δ15N values highlight erosion and accelerated soil turnover as an additional abiotic control on N balances. We conclude for N-limited montane forests that soil δ15N and N availability are less influenced by nitrate leaching and denitrification loss than by interactions between disturbance, N fixation, and erosion.
Effects of training on body composition and subcutaneous fat distribution in women gymnasts

Repeated measurements of body composition and subcutaneous fat distribution were obtained in female gymnasts to test the hypothesis of a selective response from localized fat deposits to intense physical training. Repeated measurements were obtained on the members of three nationally ranked collegiate gymnastic teams: at the beginning and peak of the training season. The highest ranked team was measured a third time, three weeks after the end of the competitive season. Body composition was estimated using anthropometry and bioelectric impedance; subcutaneous fat thickness was measured using skinfold calipers and ultrasound images of adipose tissue thickness (ATT). The mean difference between baseline and peak measurements were statistically significant (P ⩽ .05) for the triceps and suprailiac skinfolds, and for the adipose tissue thickness at the suprailiac and hypogastric sites. There were no significant changes in weight, percentage of body fat, circumferences, or subcutaneous fat thickness at the subscapular, calf or medial thigh sites. In the team with three sets of measurements, only the triceps skinfold and the suprailiac ATT showed a statistically significant effect of training. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The effect of sodium hyaluronate on endothelial cell damage during extracapsular cataract extraction and posterior chamber lens implantation.

We conducted a prospective, randomized clinical trial of the use of 1% sodium hyaluronate (Healon) in the anterior chamber during anterior capsulotomy and nuclear expression in extracapsular cataract extraction with posterior chamber lens implantation. Two months postoperatively, the mean (± standard deviation) central endothelial cell loss was 6.1% ± 11.4% in 92 eyes in which sodium hyaluronate was used for the capsulotomy and nuclear expression and 7.6% ± 14.7% in 89 eyes in which it was not used (P > .6). Sodium hyaluronate was also used later in the procedure in all eyes to expand the capsular bag to facilitate lens implantation. No significant difference was noted between the two groups in the increase in intraocular pressure on the first postoperative day (mean increase, 4 mm Hg in each group) or in the corneal thicknesses preoperatively and two months postoperatively (no significant change in either group). Sodium hyaluronate was useful in maintaining the anterior chamber during difficult surgical cases.
Nematocyte migration in Hydra influenced by tissue polarity.

In Hydra, migration of the desmoneme nematocytes takes place only in the direction of tissue polarity as defined by which end will regenerate a head.
Polarization-Controlled TIRFM with Focal Drift and Spatial Field Intensity Correction

Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) is becoming an increasingly common methodology to narrow the illumination excitation thickness to study cellular process such as exocytosis, endocytosis, and membrane dynamics. It is also frequently used as a method to improve signal/noise in other techniques such as in vitro single-molecule imaging, stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy/photoactivated localization microscopy imaging, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer imaging. The unique illumination geometry of TIRFM also enables a distinct method to create an excitation field for selectively exciting fluorophores that are aligned either parallel or perpendicular to the optical axis. This selectivity has been used to study orientation of cell membranes and cellular proteins. Unfortunately, the coherent nature of laser light, the typical excitation source in TIRFM, often creates spatial interference fringes across the illuminated area. These fringes are particularly problematic when imaging large cellular areas or when accurate quantification is necessary. Methods have been developed to minimize these fringes by modulating the TIRFM field during a frame capture period; however, these approaches eliminate the possibility to simultaneously excite with a specific polarization. A new, to our knowledge, technique is presented, which compensates for spatial fringes while simultaneously permitting rapid image acquisition of both parallel and perpendicular excitation directions in ~25 ms. In addition, a back reflection detection scheme was developed that enables quick and accurate alignment of the excitation laser. The detector also facilitates focus drift compensation, a common problem in TIRFM due to the narrow excitation depth, particularly when imaging over long time courses or when using a perfusion flow chamber. The capabilities of this instrument were demonstrated by imaging membrane orientation using DiO on live cells and on lipid bilayers that were supported on a glass slide (supported lipid bilayer). The use of the approach to biological problems was illustrated by examining the temporal and spatial dynamics of exocytic vesicles.
Large Arterial Elasticity Varies as a Function of Gender and Racism-Related Vigilance in Black Youth

Abstract Background This exploratory study examined the relationship of gender and racism-related vigilance to baseline and task-induced changes in large arterial elasticity (LAE). Methods The convenience sample consisted of 153 black youth (M age=11.5 years, SD=1.4) who were normotensive. Large arterial elasticity was measured via pulse wave contour analysis, before, during, and after a sequentially administered digit forward and digit backward task. Racism-related vigilance was reported by participants. Results Although findings from general linear models indicated that the independent effects of gender and racism-related vigilance were not significantly related to LAE (baseline, reactivity, or recovery) (all p > .05), these analyses showed that gender and racism-related vigilance interacted to predict baseline LAE ( p p p p > .21); and, 2) racism-related vigilance was positively and significantly associated with task-induced changes (reactivity) in LAE among boys ( p p > .30). Conclusions The relationship between racism-related vigilance and LAE varies as a function of gender, and may have longer-term implications for between and within-group disparities in cardiovascular health.
Judgments about the hypothetical behaviors of friends and romantic partners

Two studies investigated college students' ratings about hypothetical behaviors performed by a self-reported friend or romantic partner. In Study 1 participants read scenarios involving themselves and a friend, romantic partner or unfamiliar peer whose behavior resulted in either a positive or negative outcome for the participant. Ratings of the partner's behavior were equally positive for friends and romantic partners and were both significantly higher than behavioral ratings for unfamiliar peers. Ratings of friends' and romantic partners' behavior were also related to participants' ratings of the quality of those relationships. In Study 2 participants read scenarios describing situations in which behavioral expectations might differ for friends and romantic partners, resulting in participants generally providing higher ratings for friends' behaviors. Results are discussed in terms of partner enhancement and relationship expectations.
Modeling the Effect of Loudness and Semantics of Speech Warnings on Human Performances

The quantitative prediction and understanding of human performances in the responses to speech warnings is an essential component to improve warning effectiveness. Queuing network-model human processor (QN-MHP), as a computational architecture, enables researchers to model dual-task information processing. The current study enhanced QN-MHP by modelling the effect of loudness and semantics on human responses to speech warning messages. The model predictions of crash rate were validated with two empirical studies in collision warning systems with resultant R squares of 0.73 and 0.77, respectively. The developed mathematical model could be further utilized in optimizing the design of speech warnings to achieve most safety benefits. Language: en
Volcaniclastic and carbonate sedimentation in late Paleozoic island-arc deposits, Eastern Klamath Mountains, California

The Carboniferous Baird Formation and Early Permian McCloud Limestone, Eastern Klamath Mountains, California, record depositional relations of volcaniclastic and carbonate sediments within an island-arc setting. Pennsylvania parts of the Baird include interbedded mudstone, sandstone, and pebbly sandstone of volcaniclastic composition. These beds accumulated by gravity displacement as volcaniclastic submarine fans. A locally conformable transition from the Baird to the overlying Wolfcampian McCloud Limestone is marked by limestone conglomerate of debris-flow origin interbedded with volcaniclastic sediments and skeletal wackestone. This slope-related sequence is overlain by skeletal wackestone and interbedded skeletal packstones, and the section represents a distally steepened carbonate ramp that prograded over volcaniclastic slope deposits. In other areas, diachronous bodies of McCloud Limestone disconformably overlie Upper Mississippian volcanics and volcaniclastics of the Baird Formation. Laterally variable age relations of the McCloud and Baird indicate that platforms developed at different times on elevated arc surfaces, prograding locally over relic volcaniclastic slopes and accumulating thick carbonate sequences through platform subsidence.
Rapid prototyping using field-programmable logic devices

Traditionally, undergraduates in electrical and computer engineering study the design and implementation of a simple computer and then develop their own designs. In recent years, computer design courses have for the most part taken a simulation-only approach. Rapid prototyping techniques and a new generation of large field-programmable logic devices (FPLDs) enabled an educational approach that combines modeling with hardware description languages (HDLs), extensive simulation, synthesis, and final verification on a hardware prototype. The author describes an undergraduate computer engineering curriculum using a rapid prototyping approach to simulate, synthesize, and implement digital system and computer architectures.
Aging and situation model processing

Over the past several years, a number of studies have been done that assess processing at the level of the situation model in relation to issues of aging (Morrow, Leirer, & Altieri, 1992; Radvansky, Copeland, Berish, & Dijkstra, 2003; Radvansky, Copeland, & Zwaan, 2003; Stine-Morrow, Gagne, Morrow, & DeWall, 2004; Stine-Morrow, Morrow, & Leno, 2002). In contrast to age-related declines that have been demonstrated at surface form and textbase levels of processing, no such declines have been found in the creation and updating of situation models (Radvansky, 1999). This review focuses on the relevant factors in cognitive aging and situation model processing and places them within the larger frameworks of language processing, working memory capacity, and aging.
Improved Strategies for Rapid Identification of Chemically Cross-Linked Peptides Using Protein Interaction Reporter Technology

Protein interaction reporter (PIR) technology can enable identification of in vivo protein interactions with the use of specialized chemical cross-linkers, liquid chromatography, and high-resolution mass spectrometry. PIR-cross-linkers contain labile bonds that are specifically fragmented under low energy collision or photodissociation conditions in the mass spectrometer source, thus releasing cross-linked peptides. Successful analysis of PIR-cross-linked proteins requires the use of expected mathematical relationships between cross-linked complexes and released peptides after fragmentation of the labile PIR bonds. Presented here is a next-generation software tool, BLinks, for use in the analysis and identification of PIR-cross-linked proteins. BLinks is an advancement beyond our previous efforts by incorporation of chromatographic profiles that must match between cross-linked complexes and released peptides to enable estimation of p-values to help filter true relationships from complex data sets. Additio...
Axon overproduction and elimination in the anterior commissure of the developing rhesus monkey

We have analyzed axon overproduction and elimination in the anterior commissure (AC) of 16 fetal, neonatal, and juvenile rhesus monkeys. Axons are added to the AC at an average rate of 115,000/day during the last two-thirds of gestation, and growth cones are present in a constant proportion to AC axons throughout this period. The peak number of approximately 11 million axons in the AC is reached at birth. Thereafter, axons are eliminated at a net rate of approximately 1 axon/sec during the first 3 postnatal months until the adult number of approximately 3.3 +/- 0.5 million axons is reached. Although there is considerable variability in AC axon number during the period of axon loss, the adult number of AC axons is relatively invariant among the eight adult rhesus monkeys examined. Increase in axon diameter and myelination begins before the major phase of axon elimination and is completed long after the adult number of axons is reached. Apparently, myelinated axons are not eliminated from the AC. Quantitative differences in the magnitude and timing of axon overproduction and elimination in the AC versus that in the corpus callosum (LaMantia and Rakic [1990] J. Neurosci. 10:2156) indicate specific modulation of the development of each commissure, perhaps reflecting differences in the developmental history and functional identity of the distinct cortical regions that give rise to them. This process of overproduction and elimination of AC axons during postnatal development in primates might contribute to individual variations in AC size correlated with a wide range of physical and behavioral differences.
Kirschner Wire Embolization to the Heart: An Unusual Cause of Pericardial Tamponade

A 50-year-old man presented with an abrupt onset of sharp, pleuritic, right-sided chest pain. A chest radiograph revealed a metallic foreign body over the cardiac silhouette; a chest CT scan localized the object to within the wall of the right ventricle. The patient subsequently developed pericardial tamponade necessitating pericardiocentesis. A 25-mm-long Kirschner wire protruding through the wall of the right ventricle was removed via thoracotomy. Forty-two months previously, the patient had undergone open reduction and fixation of a left radius fracture with two Kirschner wires. Clinicians caring for patients with orthopedic wires in place should be aware of wire migration with cardiac embolization as a potential complication.
The demonstration of a cooperative action of bacterial and intestinal mucosa enzymes in the activation of mutagens.

Abstract While 2-aminoanthracene and 2-aminofluorene are converted to frameshift mutagens by microsomal preparations from rat livers, the microsomes from the intestinal mucosa of the same animals, under the experimental conditions used herein, either have little such activity or lack it altogether. Cell-free extracts of the colon anaerobe Bacteroides fragilis may exhibit such activity to varying degrees depending upon the conditions of incubation. However mixtures consisting of cell-free extracts from B . fragilis and microsomes from intestinal mucosa demonstrate significant- more than additive- activity in converting these chemicals to mutagens.
Assessment of Potential Seismic Damage to Residential Unreinforced Masonry Buildings in Northern Illinois

Ground acceleration estimates for northern Illinois are used to assess any damage that can occur to unreinforced masonry (URM) residential structures as a result of potential future earthquakes. These estimates are based on probable future activities in the New Madrid Seismic Zone and are published by the U.S. Geological Survey for exceedance probabilities equal to 0.10, 0.05, and 0.02 per 50 years. Accelerations corresponding to higher exceedance probabilities (1.0 and 0.25 probability in 50 years) are obtained from simplified seismic hazard analyses. Damage is estimated based on fragility curves available for URM buildings. The probability of damage is then used along with the inventory of buildings to arrive at estimates of the percentage and the number of buildings that may suffer damage of various levels (ranging from nonstructural damage to total collapse). The study shows that considering p=1 exceedance probability in 50 years (i.e., a 50 year return period), the maximum acceleration for the area w...
Physics-Based SPICE-Compatible Compact Model for Simulating Hybrid MTJ/CMOS Circuits

A simulation framework that can comprehend the impact of material changes from the device level to the system level design can be of great value, especially to evaluate the impact of emerging devices on various applications. To that effect, we developed a SPICE-based hybrid magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ)/CMOS simulator, which can be used to explore new opportunities in large scale system design. In the proposed simulation framework, MTJ modeling is based on Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation incorporating both spin-torque and external magnetic field(s). LLG, along with heat diffusion equation, thermal variations, and electron transport, is implemented using SPICE-in-built voltage-dependent current sources and capacitors. The proposed simulation framework is flexible because the physical device parameters such as MgO thickness, ferromagnet material anisotropy (Ku), and device dimensions are user-defined parameters. Furthermore, we benchmarked this model with experiments in terms of switching current density (JC), switching time (TSWITCH), and tunneling magnetoresistance. Finally, we used the simulation framework to study different MTJ structures, such as in-plane magnet anisotropy and perpendicular magnet anisotropy, the impact of parametric process variations and temperature on the yield of spin transfer torque magnetoresistive random access memories, magnetic flip-flops, and spin-torque oscillators.
Characterization of melatonin receptors and signal transduction system in rat arteries forming the circle of Willis

The aims of this study were to characterize the melatonin receptors in rat brain arteries forming the circle of Willis. Saturation studies performed using in vitro autoradiography and [125I]iodomelatonin revealed the presence of two binding sites: one with a Kd of 13 pM, and the second characterized by a Kd of 832 pM. Coincubation with a nonhydrolyzable guanine nucleotide analog [guanosine-5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate)] inhibited 2-[125I]iodomelatonin binding in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas adenine nucleotide adenosine-5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) was ineffective. In saturation studies performed in the presence of guanosine-5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate), the high affinity site was no longer detectable, and the affinity of the receptor was decreased to the high picomolar range. Melatonin, at nanomolar concentrations, was able to inhibit forskolin-stimulated cAMP production in rat circle of Willis arteries. Preincubation with pertussis toxin counteracted the effect of melatonin. Our results demonstrate that melatonin receptors in rat cerebral arteries are linked to their second messenger through a pertussis toxin-sensitive G-protein, similar to what has been described for melatonin receptors in different areas of vertebrate brain.
Effect of repetitive brief episodes of ischemia on cell volume, electrolytes and ultrastructure

The effects of repeated brief episodes of ischemia on myocardial cell volume, electrolytes and ultrastructure were studied in dogs. Seventeen animals were divided into five groups. Group 1 underwent a single 10 minute occlusion of the circumflex coronary artery, with no subsequent reperfusion. Group 2 was similarly subjected to a 10 minute coronary occlusion, but was allowed a 20 minute reperfusion period. Group 3 underwent two 10 minute occlusions separated by 20 minutes of reperfusion and Group 4 underwent four 10 minute occlusions, each separated from the next by 20 minutes of reperfusion. Group 5 was subjected to a single, uninterrupted 40 minute occlusion. The anterior and posterior papillary muscles in each heart were sampled to compare nonischemic versus ischemic myocardium. No changes in myocardial water or electrolytes occurred during ischemia. However, reperfusion was associated with slight increases in tissue water and potassium, loss of magnesium and minimal changes in sodium or calcium ions. Electron microscopic analysis revealed signs of mild ischemic injury (absence of normal intramitochondrial granules, partial loss of glycogen and slight clumping of the nuclear chromatin) in posterior papillary muscle from Groups 1, 3 and 4. Group 2 showed complete recovery with 20 minutes of reperfusion, whereas Group 5 showed evidence of irreversible injury. There was no difference in the appearance of myocardium that had been subjected to one, two or four 10 minute occlusions. It is concluded that intermittent periods of reperfusion between brief episodes of coronary ischemia have a protective effect and prevent a cumulative deterioration of myocardial ultrastructure.