cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evidence for functional α-adrenoceptors in rabbit basilar arteries

The contractile response of rabbit basilar arteries to 1-norepinephrine was studied both in the absence and in the presence of prazosin (10 nM and 1 microM). Prazosin produced a parallel shift to the right of the norepinephrine, but not the histamine, dose-response curves indicating the presence of prazosin-sensitive alpha-adrenoceptors in this vessel. The alpha-adrenoceptor-mediated contractile responses to norepinephrine in rabbit basilar arteries were much more sensitive to the deleterious effects of storage (for 18 h at 4 degrees C) than those to histamine. It is suggested that the low number of alpha-adrenoceptors in the rabbit basilar artery combined with their low sensitivity to alpha-adrenoceptor agonists, and detrimental effects associated with tissue storage may explain some inconsistent reports in the literature regarding the presence of functional alpha-adrenoceptors in rabbit basilar arteries, particularly ligand binding studies.
Comparison of electron and muon charged current neutrino and antineutrino interactions in a neonH2 mixture

Abstract From an exposure of the Fermilab 15 ft Neon(64 atomic %)H2 filled bubble chamber to a single-horn-focussed ν beam, we have found 60 e−X and 35 e+X events, which we compare with 227 μ−X and 202 μ+X events. No statistically significant departures from μ-e universality are seen in the shapes of various differential cross sections.
Complementary spectroscopic techniques to model the association of contaminant uranium with structural surfaces

Abstract Contaminant uranium poses unique problems for decontamination of former weapons processing and nuclear power facilities, as well as chemical plants, waste storage sites and former mining facilities. In addition, dealing with the possibility of intentional (i.e., a terrorist act) or accidental release of radioactive material in a populated area requires an accurate understanding of the nature of the association of such material with structural surfaces. These surfaces must also be considered in the context of repeated contamination, and the importance of atmospheric exposure, interaction with other possible contaminants, and corrosion or surface degradation due to such exposure must be taken into account. Complementary spectroscopic techniques, especially surface spectroscopies, are essential in developing models for the interaction of contaminants with surfaces and interfaces. In this review (which also presents new data on uranium association with corroding steel surfaces), we collect models of this association as determined by spectroscopic techniques, assess the important considerations in the development of more accurate models, and address some of the questions which remain.
Sex Ratio of Parental Investment in Colonies of the Social Wasp Polistes fuscatus

Field estimates of parental investment in the two sexes in the social paper wasp Polistes fuscatus indicate that the mother's interests, rather than those of her worker offspring, are realized. Local competition for mates seemed to be absent, and the population investment ratio was not significantly different from 1:1. Workers are not more closely related to the brood they tend than they would be to their own offspring. The 3/4 relationship between sisters in haplodiploid species cannot account for the maintenance of eusociality in this case .
A field study of nonverbal communication in Germany, Italy, and the United States

This study examined the distance, axis, and tactility patterns of conversants in Venice Mastre, Italy; Heidelberg, Germany; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance revealed significant interaction effects between sex and culture on all the variables.
Rapid Determination of Vial Heat Transfer Parameters Using Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) in Response to Step-Changes in Pressure Set-Point During Freeze-Drying

Abstract The purpose of this study was to perform a rapid determination of vial heat transfer parameters, that is, the contact parameter K cs and the separation distance l v , using the sublimation rate profiles measured by tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS). In this study, each size of vial was filled with pure water followed by a freeze-drying cycle using a LyoStar II dryer (FTS Systems) with step-changes of the chamber pressure set-point at to 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, and 400 mTorr. K cs was independently determined by nonlinear parameter estimation using the sublimation rates measured at the pressure set-point of 25 mTorr. After obtaining K cs , the l v value for each vial size was determined by nonlinear parameter estimation using the pooled sublimation rate profiles obtained at 25 to 400 mTorr. The vial heat transfer coefficient K v , as a function of the chamber pressure, was readily calculated, using the obtained K cs and l v values. It is interesting to note the significant difference in K v of two similar types of 10 mL Schott tubing vials, primary due to the geometry of the vial-bottom, as demonstrated by the images of the contact areas of the vial-bottom.
Base Pair Opening in a Deoxynucleotide Duplex Containing a cis-syn Thymine Cyclobutane Dimer Lesion

The cis-syn thymine cyclobutane dimer is a DNA photoproduct implicated in skin cancer. We compared the stability of individual base pairs in thymine dimer-containing duplexes to undamaged parent 10-mer duplexes. UV melting thermodynamic measurements, CD spectroscopy, and 2D NOESY NMR spectroscopy confirm that the thymine dimer lesion is locally and moderately destabilizing within an overall B-form duplex conformation. We measured the rates of exchange of individual imino protons by NMR using magnetization transfer from water and determined the equilibrium constant for the opening of each base pair Kop. In the normal duplex Kop decreases from the frayed ends of the duplex toward the center, such that the central TA pair is the most stable with a Kop of 8 × 10–7. In contrast, base pair opening at the 5′T of the thymine dimer is facile. The 5′T of the dimer has the largest equilibrium constant (Kop = 3 × 10–4) in its duplex, considerably larger than even the frayed penultimate base pairs. Notably, base pairi...
A Unified Assessment of Hydrologic and Biogeochemical Responses in Research Watersheds in Eastern Puerto Rico Using Runoff.Concentration Relations

An examination of the relation between runoff rate, R, and concentration, C, of twelve major constituents in four small watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico demonstrates a consistent pattern of responses. For solutes that are not substantially bioactive (alkalinity, silica, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and chloride), the log(R)–log(C) relation is almost linear and can be described as a weighted average of two sources, bedrock weathering and atmospheric deposition. The slope of the relation for each solute depends on the respective source contributions to the total river load. If a solute were strictly derived from bedrock weathering, the slope would be −0.3 to −0.4, whereas if strictly derived from atmospheric deposition, the slope would be approximately −0.1. The bioactive constituents (dissolved organic carbon, nitrate, sulfate, and potassium), which are recycled by plants and concentrated in shallow soil, demonstrate nearly flat or downward-arched log(R)–log(C) relations. The peak of the arch represents a transition from dominantly soil-matrix flow to near-surface macropore flow, and finally to overland flow. At highest observed R (80 to >90 mm/h), essentially all reactive surfaces have become wetted, and the input rate of C becomes independent of R (log(R)–log(C) slope of –1). The highest R are tenfold greater than any previous study. Slight clockwise hysteresis for many solutes in the rivers with riparian zones or substantial hyporheic flows indicates that these settings may act as mixing end-members. Particulate constituents (suspended sediment and particulate organic carbon) show slight clockwise hysteresis, indicating mobilization of stored sediment during rising stage.
Facile preparation of photodegradable hydrogels by photopolymerization.

Abstract Photodegradable hydrogels have emerged as a powerful material platform for studying and directing cell behaviors, as well as for delivering drugs. The premise of this technique is to use a cytocompatible light source to cleave linkers within a hydrogel, thus causing reduction of matrix stiffness or liberation of matrix-tethered biomolecules in a spatial-temporally controlled manner. The most commonly used photodegradable units are molecules containing nitrobenzyl moieties that absorb light in the ultraviolet (UV) to lower visible wavelengths (∼280–450 nm). Because photodegradable linkers and hydrogels reported in the literature thus far are all sensitive to UV light, highly efficient UV-mediated photopolymerizations are less likely to be used as the method to prepare these hydrogels. As a result, currently available photodegradable hydrogels are formed by redox-mediated radical polymerizations, emulsion polymerizations, Michael-type addition reactions, or orthogonal click chemistries. Here, we report the first photodegradable poly(ethylene glycol)-based hydrogel system prepared by step-growth photopolymerization. The model photolabile peptide cross-linkers, synthesized by conventional solid phase peptide synthesis, contained terminal cysteines for step-growth thiol-ene photo-click reactions and a UV-sensitive 2-nitrophenylalanine residue in the peptide backbone for photo-cleavage. Photolysis of this peptide was achieved through adjusting UV light exposure time and intensity. Photopolymerization of photodegradable hydrogels containing photolabile peptide cross-linkers was made possible via a highly efficient visible light-mediated thiol-ene photo-click reaction using a non-cleavage type photoinitiator eosin-Y. Rapid gelation was confirmed by in situ photo-rheometry. Flood UV irradiation at controlled wavelength and intensity was used to demonstrate the photodegradability of these photopolymerized hydrogels.
Work in progress — Assessment and pilot delivery of an introduction to infrastructure course

The infrastructure of the United States is exceeding its design capacity and is aging, requiring maintenance and renovation. In order to meet this challenge, a need exists to produce civil and environmental engineers who have a broad understanding of the pressing needs of the infrastructure of the United States. An “Introduction to Infrastructure” course (“I2I”) has been developed by the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (UWP) to address this need. The course is intended for sophomore students and serves two main purposes in the curriculum: 1. To introduce the students to civil and environmental engineering and the sub-disciplines, and 2. To begin the development of an awareness of infrastructure and the challenges facing the United States with respect to infrastructure overcapacity and degradation. The focus of this paper is on the process by which the course was developed. Details of efforts to incorporate exemplary teaching materials in the course development will also be presented and the content of the course will be outlined. A particularly noteworthy aspect of the course is that students will be completing a simplified “infrastructure report card” for a local municipality. This simplified report card is modeled after the “Report Card for America's Infrastructure” produced by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Biological and Medical Applications of Near-Infrared Spectrometry:

Near-infrared spectrometry is being applied in the solution of problems in many areas of biomedical and pharmaceutical research, including cardiovascular radiology, brain imaging, formulation, quality/process control, and even clinical trials. The technique can also play a role in the biotechnology industry in the nondestructive analysis of small quantities of expensive materials. This report first defines near-IR spectrometry and imaging and then describes its application to atherosclerosis and stroke research. New developments in near-IR optics and instrumentation that make effective biomedical near-IR spectrometry possible are related, and, finally, new computational research results in parallel supercomputing for near-IR imaging are described. Together, instrumentation, optics, and computing combine to poise biomedical near-IR spectrometry for great advances as it enters the next century.
Laser Acceleration Of Particles

Accelerators at the frontier of high energy physics (-10 6 MeV for protons, -10 5 MeV for electrons) have reached enormous proportions (tens of kilometers). The use of lasers to accelerate particles is attractive because of the extremely large electric fields they can produce (up to 10 7 MeV/m). If such fields could be effectively coupled to charged particles ultra-high energies could be attained in a short distance, thereby miniaturizing a high energy accelerator. This paper reviews the status of several laser-driven particle acceler-ator schemes. These include (a) the inverse-free-electron-laser (IFEL), (b) laser and free-electron-laser driven microstructures such as minaturized linacs and gratings, and (c) laser-driven plasma space charge waves. Longitudinal accelerating fields of order 1 GeV/m have already been demonstrated in a recent laser accelerator experiment. New roles for lasers in particle acceleration continuously emerge. Examples of these include laser induced final focusing of a very high energy particle beam and laser-driven photocathodes for improved beam quality. Several novel accelerating schemes make use of picosecond laser pulses as fast switches to convert stored energy into high peak electric fields.
Osiris: accessible and reproducible phylogenetic and phylogenomic analyses within the Galaxy workflow management system

Phylogenetic tools and ‘tree-thinking’ approaches increasingly permeate all biological research. At the same time, phylogenetic data sets are expanding at breakneck pace, facilitated by increasingly economical sequencing technologies. Therefore, there is an urgent need for accessible, modular, and sharable tools for phylogenetic analysis. We developed a suite of wrappers for new and existing phylogenetics tools for the Galaxy workflow management system that we call Osiris. Osiris and Galaxy provide a sharable, standardized, modular user interface, and the ability to easily create complex workflows using a graphical interface. Osiris enables all aspects of phylogenetic analysis within Galaxy, including de novo assembly of high throughput sequencing reads, ortholog identification, multiple sequence alignment, concatenation, phylogenetic tree estimation, and post-tree comparative analysis. The open source files are available on in the Bitbucket public repository and many of the tools are demonstrated on a public web server ( http://galaxy-dev.cnsi.ucsb.edu/osiris/ ). Osiris can serve as a foundation for other phylogenomic and phylogenetic tool development within the Galaxy platform.
Helium bubble nucleation in bcc iron studied by kinetic Monte Carlo simulations

Abstract Fast reactors and other advanced nuclear systems are increasingly considering the use of ferritic and ferritic–martensitic steels for cladding and structural applications. For these materials applications, radiation damage and relatively large amounts of helium generated during the irradiation damage process are recognized to be major issues with materials durability and performance. In these cases, irradiation damage alone is significant; however the added effect of helium on the accumulation of defects and defect clusters can dramatically imact the effect of the resulting microstructure on physical and mechanical properties. Using a kinetic Monte Carlo method we study embryonic bubble nucleation under irradiation damage conditions and helium generation. Migration of helium, vacancies, self interstitial atoms and their clusters is included in the kinetic Monte Carlo model. We estimate embryonic bubble density, interstitial cluster density and embryonic bubble size as a function of the helium content and displacements per atom. Bubble density and size increases with increasing helium content; there is a slight increase in interstitial cluster density as well.
The Density necessary to Produce the Nebular Spectrum

IN a recent letter to NATURE (Jan. 7, p. 12) C. T. Elvey attempts to calculate the density, ρ, of the expanding gaseous shell of a nova at the moment when the nebular lines first appear. It is easily shown that ρ = ρ0r02/v2t2 where ρ0 is the original density of the shell when coincident with the stellar atmosphere, r0 its original radius, v its velocity of expansion, and t the time elapsing between the outburst and the appearance of the nebular lines. The above equation involves the additional and somewhat questionable assumption that the thickness of the expanding shell does not change. Elvey takes v from velocity displacements on nova spectrograms. For Nova Aquilae 3 this is about 1700 km./sec. and t=19 days. Hence he finds,
Effect of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist on insulin resistance and endothelial function in obese subjects.

Aim Obese individuals have high aldosterone levels that may contribute to insulin resistance (IR) and endothelial dysfunction leading to obesity-induced cardiovascular disease. We conducted a study to evaluate the effect of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonism on IR and endothelial function in obese individuals. This was a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized, parallel-group study (NCT01406015). Methods Thirty-two non-diabetic, obese subjects [body mass index (BMI) 30 to 45 kg/m2] with no other medical problems were randomized to 6 weeks of treatment with spironolactone 50 mg daily or placebo. Insulin sensitivity index (ISI) was assessed by Matsuda method, endothelial function by flow mediated vasodilatation (FMD) of brachial artery and renal plasma perfusion by clearance of para-aminohippurate (PAH). Results There was no change in weight, BMI or plasma potassium during the study period. Treatment with spironolactone led to increases in serum aldosterone (7.6 ± 6.6 vs. 3.2 ± 1.3 ng/dl; p < 0.02, post-treatment vs. baseline) and urine aldosterone (11.0 ± 7 vs. 4.8 ± 2.4 µg/g creatinine; p < 0.01) and decreases in systolic blood pressure (116 ± 11 vs. 123 ± 10 mmHg; p < 0.001). There were no changes in these variables in the placebo group. Neither spironolactone nor placebo treatment had a significant effect on ISI or other indices of glucose metabolism [insulin resistance by homeostatic model assessment (HOMA), area under the curve for insulin, area under the curve for glucose], brachial artery reactivity or the renal plasma perfusion values. Changes in these variables were similar in two groups. Conclusions We conclude that 6 weeks of treatment with spironolactone does not change insulin sensitivity or endothelial function in normotensive obese individuals with no other comorbidities.
Noah J. Toly and Daniel I. Block, eds. Keeping God's Earth: The Global Environment in Biblical Perspective

Noah J. Toly and Daniel I. Block (eds.) Keeping God's Earth: The Global Environment in Biblical Perspective Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2010. 300 pp. $25 ISBN 978-0830838837 In Keeping God's...
ACCELERATION OF SCRAPIE IN MICE BY TARGET-ORGAN TREATMENT WITH INTERFERON INDUCERS

Interferon inducers were used in the target-organ treatment of scrapie in mice. Intracerebral treatments began 24 hr prior to intracerebral inoculation of 10(4.8) LD50 of the Chandler strain of scrapie agent. The treatments included 30 and 0.3 microgram poly(I:C) given weekly 9 times, 45 microgram statolon given biweekly 7 times, or 1.5 HA units of Sendai virus given biweekly 6 times. All treatments except the lower dose of poly(I:C) accelerated death in scrapie-affected mice. Compared to saline-treated control groups, 30 microgram poly(I:C), given weekly, shortened the mean survival time 13.5 days. Groups treated with statolon or Sendai virus had their mean survival times shortened 18.5 and 21.7 days, respectively. Infected mice were also evaluated for signs of disease at approximately weekly intervals using a numerical scoring method. Acceleration was also apparent using this parameter of disease. When treatment occurred only once, Sendai virus was the only inducer to significantly shorten the survival of mice.
Proteolysis of protein kinase C: mM and μM calcium-requiring calpains have different abilities to generate, and degrade the free catalytic subunit, protein kinase M

Limited proteolysis of protein kinase C (PKC) by calpain under cell free conditions cleaves the regulatory and catalytic PKC subunits, generating a free, co-factor independent catalytic subunit, termed PKM. In the present study, we demonstrate distinct differences in the rate, nature, and lipid-sensitivity of PKC and PKM proteolysis by μM and mM calcium-requiring calpain isozymes (μ calpain or m calpain, respectively). PKC is a preferred substrate for m calpain; not even a 100-fold increase in μ calpain was capable of degrading PKC as fast as in calpain. PKM was generated by both m and μ calpains, but was itself rapidly degraded by m calpain and therefore was only transiently detectable. By contrast, PKM was formed but not degraded by μ calpain, and persisted in the presence of μ calpain long after all PKC had been degraded. Phosphatidyl serine (PS) inhibited PKC hydrolysis by m calpain yet enhanced PKC hydrolysis by μ calpain. The ability of either calpain isoenzyme to degrade [14C]azocasein was unaffected by PS, suggesting that the influence of PS was on PKC conformation. These findings point towards distinct roles for μ and m calpain in PKC regulation.
Inflammation and Genomics in the Critical Care Unit

Inflammation is a physiologic response to irritants, injury, and infection. Inflammatory dysregulation is believed to contribute to mortality and morbidity in illnesses common to critical care units, such as burns, trauma, sepsis, and cardiovascular disease. This article reviews the approaches used to investigate the molecular basis of inflammatory function. Genomic findings are providing insight into clinical diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory derangements in critically ill patients.
Employment Subcenters and Subsequent Real Estate Development in Suburban Chicago

Abstract This study examines suburban real estate developments in the industrial, commercial, and residential sectors for metropolitan Chicago that were completed in 1990–1996. Industrial and commercial developments follow expected patterns in that, for example, they were attracted to locations nearer to O'Hare Airport and highway interchanges. Residential development was attracted to O'Hare Airport and formed some clusters of its own in between major highways.
Scientific Inference in the Laboratory and the Law

Following the Supreme Court's Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceutical, Inc. decision, courts have struggled in reviewing scientific evidence and appear to have appreciated insufficiently the nature of scientific reasoning. To assist their evidentiary reviews, courts need to appreciate both scientific complexity and ignorance about human toxicity caused by the universe of chemical substances. Conscientious, well-motivated, respectable experts can come to different conclusions about scientific evidence without making obvious mistakes and without being charlatans. So that justice is done between parties, courts need to allow for reasonable scientific disagreement to avoid excluding from trials respectable experts and all relevant scientific evidence. The public health community can assist courts to understand ranges of scientific evidence and to recognize the reasonableness of scientific disagreements.
Verifying position and velocity for vehicular ad‐hoc networks

In the near future, vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-roadside infrastructure communications will enable numerous applications, such as collision avoidance, traffic management, location-based services, and infotainment for the automobile field. Position and velocity play important roles in these applications such as collision avoidance. Forged position or velocity information will make a severe impact on both performance and security of the vehicular ad-hoc network (VANET). The main challenges in developing secure position and velocity schemes for VANETs are the highly dynamic environment and cost constraints. In this paper, we propose a position and velocity verification scheme. Then via ns-2, we simulate the proposed scheme in various vehicular mobility environments including rural, urban and Manhattan. Finally, we evaluate the proposed scheme for both position and velocity verifications with automotive grade differential global positioning system (DGPS) and intentionally induced errors as well. The performance evaluation results show that (1) our scheme is very precise in both position and velocity verifications and (2) the proposed scheme is very robust in position verification for rural, urban and Manhattan scenarios even if the introduced errors are in the order of 10 m. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Experimentally-derived haplotypes substantially increase the efficiency of linkage disequilibrium studies.

The study of complex genetic traits in humans is limited by the expense and difficulty of ascertaining populations of sufficient sample size to detect subtle genetic contributions to disease. Here we introduce an application of a somatic cell hybrid construction strategy called conversion1,2,3,4 that maximizes the genotypic information from each sampled individual. The approach permits direct observation of individual haplotypes, thereby eliminating the need for collecting and genotyping DNA from family members for haplotype-based analyses. We describe experimental data that validate the use of conversion as a whole-genome haplotyping tool and evaluate the theoretical efficiency of using conversion-derived haplotypes instead of conventional genotypes in the context of haplotype-frequency estimation. We show that, particularly when phenotyping is expensive, conversion-based haplotyping can be more efficient and cost-effective than standard genotyping.
The relationship between sleep and epilepsy in children

There is an intricate reciprocal relationship between epilepsy and sleep. The seizure threshold is often affected by changes in the level of arousal; certain seizure types occur predominantly or almost exclusively during sleep or upon awakening; many epileptiform electroencephalogram abnormalities are activated by sleep or sleep depriviation. Inversely, certain epilepsies are often associated with sleep disturbances, and epilepsy can affect sleep patterns and sleep architecture. Also, it may be difficult to differentiate certain nocturnal nonepileptic events from epileptic seizures occurring during sleep. Finally, antiepileptic drugs used in the treatment of sleep-related epilepsies can have an effect on sleep. The following is an analysis and review of these complex interactions between epilepsy and sleep.
Neonatology--A Six Finger Exercise Revisited 149

In 1958 at Walter Reed General Hospital the cartoon, “Neonatology--A Six Finger Exercise” was first used with special emphasis on the sixth finger--pediatrica iatrogenica. This area had been a major factor in the development of this new field and must always remain a concern for those who care for the newborn. The cartoon below will be discussed in light of the time. Figure
Observed and Simulated Energy Cycles in the Frequency Domain

Abstract The analysis of spectral energetics in the frequency domain has been applied to several observed datasets and those simulated by a GFDL general circulation model. There exists good agreement on the directions of energy flows between the observed and the simulated atmospheres. The conversion from available potential energy to kinetic energy in the tropics and extratropics is the major source of eddy kinetic energy for all the low and high frequency bands discussed. The energy balance in the tropics has quite different characteristics from those in the extratropics. Instead of an up-scale decascade as in the case of the extratropics, kinetic energy is transferred in an opposite sense, namely from transients of longer time scales to those of shorter time scales. Using a 5-year dataset from the ECMWF operational analysis, an energy cycle is obtained that is in general agreement with the one computed using the data of the FGGE year alone. The interannual variability of the spectral estimates is relati...
Hierarchical Replication Control in a Global File System

We develop a consistent mutable replication extension for NFSv4 tuned to meet the rigorous demands of large-scale data sharing in global collaborations. The system uses a hierarchical replication control protocol that dynamically elects a primary server at various granularities. Experimental evaluation indicates a substantial performance advantage over a single server system. With the introduction of the hierarchical replication control, the overhead of replication is negligible even when applications mostly write and replication servers are widely distributed.
Occupational risk factors for sarcoidosis in African-American siblings.

Objectives: To determine whether certain occupations and occupationally related exposures were associated with a history of sarcoidosis in African-American siblings. Methods: We collected occupational data from 921 African Americans in 273 sibships that had been identified through a sarcoidosis case. Among the 648 siblings of sarcoidosis index cases enrolled, 30 (4.6%) also had a history of sarcoidosis. A detailed job history was obtained for any job held for ≥ 6 months throughout the subject’s life. Results: Having a usual occupation in education (odds ratio [OR], 2.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07 to 4.44), in metal machining (OR, 7.47; 95% CI, 1.19 to 47.06), and ever working in metalworking, not elsewhere classified (OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.14 to 3.70) were associated with increased sarcoidosis risk. Occupations ever held in the transportation services industry (OR, 12.71; 95% CI, 1.32 to 122.56) and usual occupations in the retail trade industry (OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.27 to 0.88) also were associated with sarcoidosis risk. Specific occupational exposures that were associated with sarcoidosis included titanium (OR, 3.15; 95% CI, 1.02 to 9.68) and vegetable dust (OR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.01 to 3.27), and indoor exposure to high humidity (OR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.13 to 2.02), water damage (OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.11 to 2.03), or musty odors (OR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.32 to 2.40) for > 1 year. Conclusion: Individuals who work in occupations with potential metal exposures or in workplaces with high humidity may be at an increased risk for sarcoidosis, but the complexity of occupationally related exposures makes it difficult to identify specific agents by using job titles as a surrogate for exposure. A more detailed exposure assessment of such jobs, along with the incorporation of genetic risk factors, should help to uncover the complex etiology of sarcoidosis.
Will any doll do? 12-month-olds' reasoning about goal objects

Infants as young as 5 months of age view familiar actions such as reaching as goal-directed (Woodward, 1998), but how do they construe the goal of an actor's reach? Six experiments investigated whether 12-month-old infants represent reaching actions as directed to a particular individual object, to a narrowly defined object category (e.g., an orange dump truck), or to a more broadly defined object category (e.g., any truck, vehicle, artifact, or inanimate object). The experiments provide evidence that infants are predisposed to represent reaching actions as directed to categories of objects at least as broad as the basic level, both when the objects represent artifacts (trucks) and when they represent people (dolls). Infants do not use either narrower category information or spatiotemporal information to specify goal objects. Because spatiotemporal information is central to infants' representations of inanimate object motions and interactions, the findings are discussed in relation to the development of object knowledge and action representations.
Active Surveillance is Superior to Radical Nephrectomy and Equivalent to Partial Nephrectomy for Preserving Renal Function in Patients with Small Renal Masses: Results from the DISSRM Registry

Purpose: We compared renal function outcomes among patients in the surveillance and intervention arms of the DISSRM registry.Materials and Methods: Patients were grouped into chronic kidney disease stages by estimated glomerular filtration rate range. Cases were considered up staged if a more advanced chronic kidney disease stage was entered during followup. Chronic kidney disease up staging-free survival was compared among groups using Kaplan-Meier analysis and paired comparisons log rank tests. Multivariate Cox regression identified independent predictors of chronic kidney disease up staging-free survival.Results: A total of 162 patients met the study inclusion criteria, with 68 in the surveillance arm, 65 undergoing partial nephrectomy, 15 undergoing radical nephrectomy and 14 undergoing cryoablation. Median tumor size was 2.2 cm. Mean estimated glomerular filtration rate change was significantly larger for radical nephrectomy vs surveillance (−9.2 vs −0.5 ml/minute/1.73 m2) and for radical vs partial ...
Simulation based sales forecasting on retail small stores

As the competition becomes more and more intense, many retail small store chain operators are eager to know how to evaluate new store locations quantitatively to support a scientific business development decision, e.g. what will be the potential sales of new stores? How will a new store influence other existing stores? In this paper, we propose a novel framework that can predict the competitions between new store and competing stores. First, we examine the special characteristics of customers' demand on retail small stores and develop several models to estimate different customers' demand; and then model the relationship between customers and multiple stores, such as route model, user behavior model; finally, we compute the store sales via simulation. A real case on the micro-competition analysis in a China city for one of the famous retail small store chain operators shows that our method is more practical and accurate than other methods.
ASSESSING THE COSTS OF ELECTRICITY

Ke yW ords electricity costs, life-cycle methods, subsidies, externalities, energy markets, energy efficiency, carbon taxes ■ Abstract We review the economics of electricity generated, or conserved, from ad iverse range of fossil-fuel, nuclear, and renewable energy sources and energy effi- ciency options. At the same time, we survey the methods used to compute the costs of generated and delivered electricity and power, including bus bar costs; wholesale and retail marketplace costs; life-cycle accounting systems; premiums associated with political, social, and environmental risks; costs that reflect explicit and implicit sub- sidies; costs inclusive of externalities calculated by a variety of means; and net costs, including a range of proposed and potential environmental tax regimes. These diverse and at times conflicting analytic methods reflect a wide range of assumptions and bi- ases in how the inputs for energy generation as well as how the subsidies and social and environmental costs are computed or, is often the case, neglected. This review and tutorial provides side-by-side comparisons of these methods, international cost com- parisons, as well as analysis of the magnitude and effects of a range of technological, market-based, and subsidy-driven costs on the final price of electricity. Comparabil- ity of costs between supply and conservation technologies and methods in the energy sector has consistently been a problem, and the diversity of energy cost accounting schemes provides significant opportunity for very different arguments to be made for specific technologies, regulatory and market regimes, and a wide range of social and environmental taxes. We provide a review of the tools and a commentary on how these methods are used to determine the cost of energy services. The conclusion contains an analysis of how these methods of energy valuation are similar, how they differ, as well as an analysis of the explicit and implicit assumptions that underlie each approach.
Daily stressors, past depression, and metabolic responses to high-fat meals: a novel path to obesity.

Background Depression and stress promote obesity. This study addressed the impact of daily stressors and a history of major depressive disorder (MDD) on obesity-related metabolic responses to high-fat meals.
Nonlinear Mean Shift for Robust Pose Estimation

We propose a new robust estimator for camera pose estimation based on a recently developed nonlinear mean shift algorithm. This allows us to treat pose estimation as a clustering problem in the presence of outliers. We compare our method to RANSAC, which is the standard robust estimator for computer vision problems. We also show that under fairly general assumptions our method is provably better than RANSAC. Synthetic and real examples to support our claims are provided
Mechanics of biomolecules

Over the last few years molecular biomechanics has emerged as a new field in which theoretical and experimental studies of the mechanics of proteins and nucleic acids have become a focus, and the importance of mechanical forces and motions to the fundamentals of biology and biochemistry has begun to be recognized. In particular, single-molecule biomechanics of DNA extension, bending and twisting; protein domain motion, deformation and unfolding; and the generation of mechanical forces and motions by biomolecular motors has become a new frontier in life sciences. There is an increasing need for a more systematic study of the basic issues involved in molecular biomechanics, and a more active participation of researchers in applied mechanics. Here we review some of the advances in this field over the last few years, explore the connection between mechanics and biochemistry, and discuss the concepts, issues, approaches and challenges, aiming to stimulating a broader interest in developing molecular biomechanics.
A Robust Visual Odometry and Precipice Detection System Using Consumer-grade Monocular Vision

We describe a monocular robot vision system which accomplishes accurate 3-DOF dead-reckoning, closed loop motion control, and precipice and obstacle detection, all in dynamic environments, using a single, consumer-grade web cam and typical laptop computer hardware. Simultaneous translation and rotation are accurately measured, and the camera need not be placed at the robot’s center of rotation. The algorithm is straightforward to implement and robust to noisy measurements. The software is based on open source computer vision libraries and is itself open source. It has been tested in a wide variety of real-world environments and on several different mobile robot platforms.
Decentralized Variable Structure Control for Time-Delayed Interconnected Systems with Mismatched Uncertainties

The problem of decentralized control was investigated for a class of time-delayed interconnected systems with mismatched uncertainties. Based on linear transformation, a set of global reaching conditions of sliding surfaces for multi-input subsystems are presented. And the variable structure controllers are designed. The controllers can guarantee that the state trajectory of every subsystem is directed towards to the linear sliding surfaces. The slide mode exists and is asymptotically stable. Finally, a numberical example illustrates the proposed design approach.
Contribution of Mesenchymal Progenitor Cells to Tissue Repair in Rat Cardiac Allografts Undergoing Chronic Rejection

Background Mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPC) have recently been demonstrated to actively migrate into cardiac allografts during chronic rejection. This study examines the role of MPC in tissue repair of heart allografts in a rat model of chronic rejection. Methods The potential of a rat MPC line (Ap8c3) to differentiate to myofibroblasts and cardiomyocytes was studied in differentiation cultures. Ap8c3 cells tagged with an enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) reporter gene were engrafted into Fischer 344 (F344) recipients of Lewis (LEW) cardiac allografts. Development of intragraft MPC into scar-forming fibroblasts and cardiomyocytes was studied using immunohistochemistry. Results Ap8c3 cells contain fibroblast progenitors (FP) positive for P07 antibody. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β stimulation promoted FP to terminally differentiate into myofibroblasts, which express α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA). In cardiac differentiation culture, Ap8c3 cells were induced by 5-azatiditin (5-aza) to form tropomyosin + myotubes, and to express mRNA encoding for cardiac troponin I (TnI) and α-myosin heavy chain (αMHC). Transfusion of eGFP + Ap8c3 cells to F344 recipients resulted in migration of eGFP + cells into LEW heart allografts, as well as homing of the eGFP + MPC to bone marrow. The majority of eGFP + cells in the heart allografts appeared to be vimentin-expressing fibroblasts. Foci of eGFP + myocardium were also detected in all heart allografts, with eGFP + cardiomyocytes representing 4.8 ± 1.2% of the allografted eGFP + cells. Conclusions The data suggest that rat MPC participate in tissue repair in heart allografts by giving rise to scar-forming myofibroblasts and cardiomyocytes.
Energy measurement in a plasma wakefield accelerator

In the E-167 plasma wakefield acceleration experiment, electrons with an initial energy of 42 GeV are accelerated in a meter-scale lithium plasma. Particles are leaving plasma with a large energy spread. To determine the spectrum of the accelerated particles, a two-plane spectrometer has been set up.
Social Skills and Executive Function Among Youth With Sickle Cell Disease: A Preliminary Investigation

Objectives To explore the relationship between executive function (EF) and social skills in youth with sickle cell disease (SCD). Methods 20 youth with SCD completed objective tests of EF (Tasks of Executive Control; Animal Sorting subtest from the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment-Second Edition), an IQ screener, and paper-and-pencil measures of social skills (Social Skills Improvement System [SSIS]). Primary caregivers completed paper-and-pencil measures of EF (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function) and social skills (SSIS). Results EF scores from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function related to parent- and child-reported social skills such that EF deficits correlated with poorer overall and domain-specific social skills. Similarly, EF scores from the Animal Sorting test related to child-reported social skills. Worse parent-reported EF predicted worse parent-reported social skills above the variance accounted for by IQ. Conclusions EF is related to social skills and may be necessary for successful social interaction among youth with SCD. These results provide rationale and guidance for future larger-scale investigations of EF and social skills among children with SCD.
Shear Alfvén wave perpendicular propagation from the kinetic to the inertial regime.

We report on observations of shear Alfven waves radiated from a source of small transverse size, and the subsequent radial confinement of wave magnetic field energy within a cylindrical plasma. The radius of confinement lies between the kinetic regime of the bulk plasma and the inertial regime at the plasma edge; this radius is found to be a function of wave frequency. Numerical calculations using kinetic theory predict a zero in the perpendicular group velocity at a radius which varies in accord with the observations. An analytic expression for the perpendicular group velocity (valid for small perpendicular wave numbers) is given in the vicinity of the zero crossing.
External Radiation Dosimetry

Radiation dosimetry encompasses the theory and application of principles and techniques associated with the measurement of ionizing radiation. While there is concern regarding exposure to radiation both externally and internally, this article refers only to exposure to radiation that is external to the body. Particular focus is put on methods of radiation detection and the application of these radiation detectors to the assessment of the energy deposited (i.e., the absorbed dose) in the human body. The article includes an introductory section to define terms and explain concepts as well as brief discussions of the dosimeters used in radiation protection. Keywords: absorbed dose; dosimeters; dosimetry; radiation detectors; radiation measurements
Embodied Metaphors: Exposing Informatic Control Through First-Person Shooters

This article argues that the game player's epiphany when regaining control after an aporia is similar to the metaphorical awareness of the connection between representation and meaning in other art forms. The player may experience what the article calls an embodied metaphor, a heightened sense of the linkage between two different orders of reality, real physical gesture and its on-screen representation. Beyond the aesthetic, this metaphor may also increase the player's sensitivity to broader informatic or protocological control outside of the game world, a concept Alexander Galloway develops from Gilles Deleuze's Societies of Control. The embodied metaphor attaches a kinetic materiality to the abstractions of contemporary informatic organization, making them, at least momentarily, concrete and tangible.
MATERNAL ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND SPONTANEOUS ABORTION

This review examines the relationship between maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and spontaneous abortions. Although very high spontaneous abortion rates have been reported for alcoholic women, it is still uncertain if this is due to the direct effects of alcohol or the indirect effects of alcoholism-re lated disorders such as cirrhosis. The higher rates of spontaneous abortion among alcoholics may also be due to their higher pregnancy rates. Studies in animals indicate that blood alcohol levels >200 mg/dl can directly precipitate spontaneous abortion. The association between lower levels of maternal alcohol consumption and spontaneous abortion is much less clear. There is a definite effect of study site in these latter studies: those conducted in North America nearly always report statistically significant associations; those conducted in Europe or Australia nearly always report no significant associations. The reason for this difference is not related to differences in alcohol consumption. Possible explanations for this geographical difference include difference in the socioeconomic status of the women being studied and artefacts associated with the designs used to study these relationships.
Aging, Speed of Processing Training, and Everyday Functioning: Implications for Practice and Research

Studies show the importance of speed of processing in performing everyday activities such as safe driving. Unfortunately, normal nonpathological age-related changes in the brain can reduce speed of processing. Fortunately, speed of processing training exercises can improve driving ability, instrumental activities of daily living, and health-related quality of life. Speed of processing training may also prove invaluable in improving speed of processing in more cognitively vulnerable clinical populations, such as those with mild cognitive impairment and those aging with HIV. Implications for practice and research are posited.
Electronic system, platform, and package codesign

Integrating multicore heterogeneous systems into a system-in-package has challenged many design and test engineers. To overcome these obstacles, we need a common EDA tool for digital, analog, RF, and thermal designs. This article proposes a platform-centric design methodology for modern electronic systems that could incorporate system-on-chip, system-in-package, and system-on-package technologies