cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Disambiguation of PharmGKB drug-disease relations with NDF-RT and SPL

We disambiguate PharmGKB drug and disease associations by NDF-RT and SPL.Detailed clinical associations are clearly represented in PharmGKB.The work helps to understand drug and disease relations in details from PharmGKB.Reveals standardized drug information will accelerate clinical drug integration. PharmGKB is a leading resource of high quality pharmacogenomics data that provides information about how genetic variations modulate an individual's response to drugs. PharmGKB contains information about genetic variations, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic pathways, and the effect of variations on drug-related phenotypes. These relationships are represented using very general terms, however, and the precise semantic relationships among drugs, and diseases are not often captured. In this paper we develop a protocol to detect and disambiguate general clinical associations between drugs and diseases using more precise annotation terms from other data sources. PharmGKB provides very detailed clinical associations between genetic variants and drug response, including genotype-specific drug dosing guidelines, and this procedure will armGKB. The availability of more detailed data will help investigators to conduct more precise queries, such as finding particular diseases caused or treated by a specific drug.We first mapped drugs extracted from PharmGKB drug-disease relationships to those in the National Drug File Reference Terminology (NDF-RT) and to Structured Product Labels (SPLs). Specifically, we retrieved drug and disease role relationships describing and defining concepts according to their relationships with other concepts from NDF-RT. We also used the NCBO (National Center for Biomedical Ontology) annotator to annotate disease terms from the free text extracted from five SPL sections (indication, contraindication, ADE, precaution, and warning). Finally, we used the detailed drug and disease relationship information from NDF-RT and the SPLs to annotate and disambiguate the more general PharmGKB drug and disease associations.
Elastin-mimetic protein polymers: biologically derived smart materials

At present the ability to control the properties of polymeric materials through manipulation of microstructure is limited due to synthetic procedures that usually afford materials with considerable heterogeneity of molecular architecture. Although conventional polymer synthesis has enabled the preparation of wide variety of materials for diverse technological applications, the next generation of advanced materials will likely encompass design concepts from natural systems, such as tissues and bone, in which complex hierarchical structures are synthesized with very high specificity. Emulation of these natural systems requires the precise specification of intermolecular interactions between materials components, which necessitates the near-absolute control of molecular structure that is currently inaccessible via conventional materials synthesis. However, protein-based materials can be synthesized with near absolute uniformity of macromolecular architecture using in vivo biosynthesis, and may be considered model uniform polymers capable of forming hierarchically ordered systems with multiple levels of interactive structure. By utilizing the principles of protein structure and the concepts of polymer materials science, non-natural protein-based polymers can be designed that are capable of being elaborated into materials targets with unique properties that arise as a consequence of their structural specificity (Scheme 1). Novel methods for the facile construction of concatameric genes that encode precisely defined, repeating peptide blocks have been developed,1 which have enabled the preparation of protein polymers with near-absolute control of size, composition, sequence, and stereochemistry. Using this approach, protein polymers have been designed on the basis of structural features programmed into the polypeptide at the molecular level that self-assemble into lamellar crystallites,2 lyotropic smectic mesophases,3 and thermo-reversible nanoparticles.4 Study of these materials is essential for understanding the elements of structure-based design in materials research, but the design principles elucidated in these studies may have potential for applications in medicine and nanotechnology.
Tunable Coherent X-rays

A modern 1- to 2-billion-electron-volt synchrotron radiation facility (based on high-brightness electron beams and magnetic undulators) would generate coherent (laser-like) soft x-rays of wavelengths as short as 10 angstroms. The radiation would also be broadly tunable and subject to full polarization control. Radiation with these properties could be used for phase- and element-sensitive microprobing of biological assemblies and material interfaces as well as reserch on the production of electronic microstructures with features smaller than 1000 angstroms. These short wavelength capabilities, which extend to the K-absorption edges of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, are neither available nor projected for laboratory XUV lasers. Higher energy storage rings (5 to 6 billion electron volts) would generate significantly less coherent radiation and would be further compromised by additional x-ray thermal loading of optical components.
How Flies Fly

Summary form only given. Like all forms of locomotion, the flies flight behavior results from a complex set of interactions. The goal of this research is to 'reverse engineer' this flight control system, and thus determine the means by which the nervous system controls the animal's trajectory through space.
Evidence of Teaching Anxiety Among Accounting Educators

Abstract In this study, the authors investigated teaching anxiety among accounting professors in the United States. The vast majority of respondents (78%) in our study reported having experienced some type of teaching anxiety, and a substantial proportion (69%) indicated that it was a continuing problem. In addition, 38.5% of the respondents reported specific physical symptoms such as heart-rate acceleration, gastrointestinal distress, or being flushed while experiencing teaching anxiety, and 80% reported general psychological reactions such as apprehension. Occurrence of teaching anxiety was associated with academic rank, age, years of teaching experience, the nature of the institution (whether doctoral granting or not), and whether the accounting department had separate American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation.
Preparation of diazabicyclo[4.3.0]nonene-based peptidomimetics.

Several functionalized diazabicyclo[4.3.0]nonenes and other heterocycles have been prepared as potential peptidomimetic scaffolds. A novel and efficient method has been developed for the preparation of N-substituted γ-lactams 13. Preparation of amidine-containing 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]nonenes 43 and 44 has been achieved through Hg-mediated cyclization of the precursor N-aminopropyl-γ-thiolactams and subsequent functional group manipulation. Bicycle 43 represents a novel scaffold for potential peptide turn mimetics, whereas 44 could potentially be employed as an α-helix template attached to the C-terminus of peptides. These compounds are novel additions to the current range of small-molecule constrained peptidomimetics.
Enhanced Emission of Highly Labeled DNA Oligomers near Silver Metallic Surfaces

Fluorescein is a widely used fluorescent probe in DNA analysis. One difficulty with fluorescein is its self-quenching due to resonance energy transfer between the residues, which results in decreased intensities with increasing labeling density. We examined the emission spectral properties of DNA oligomers labeled with one or five fluorescein residues. The emission intensity of the more highly labeled oligomer was decreased due to self-quenching. The self-quenching was mostly eliminated when this oligomer was held ∼90 A from the surface of metallic silver particles. The intensities increased 7- and 19-fold for the oligomers with one or five fluoresceins, respectively. The increased intensity did not result in increased photobleaching. These results suggest the use of substrates coated with silver particles for increased sensitivity on DNA arrays or for DNA analysis.
Describing Preservice Instrumental Music Educators’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge:

In this descriptive study, I investigated the pedagogical content knowledge of 206 undergraduate music education students by presenting video recordings of beginning band students playing excerpts ...
Adaptive Class-Based Scheduling of Continuous Queries

The emergence of Data Stream Management Systems (DSMS) facilitates implementing many types of monitoring applications via continuous queries (CQs). However, these applications usually have different quality-of-service requirements for different CQs. In this work, we are proposing the Adaptive Broadcast Disks (ABD) scheduler, a new scheduling policy which employs two-level scheduling that can handle different ranks of CQ classes. The ABD scheduler optimizes the weighted average response time of the CQ classes while still preserving the relative importance of each class. We demonstrate that ABD outperforms state-of-the-art schedulers and adapts to changes in the workload without manual intervention.
The relative weighting of acoustic properties in the perception of [s] + stop clusters by children and adults.

We examined the perceptual weighting by children and adults of the acoustic properties specifying complete closure of the vocal tract following a syllable-initial [s]. Experiment 1 was a novel manipulation of previously examined acoustic properties (duration of a silent gap and first formant transition) and showed that children weight the first formant transition more than adults. Experiment 2, an acoustic analysis of naturally producedsay andstay, revealed that, contrary to expectations, a burst can be present instay and that first formant transitions do not necessarily distinguishsay andstay in natural tokens. Experiment 3 manipulated natural speech portions to create stimuli that varied primarily in the duration of the silent gap and in the presence or absence of a stop burst, and showed that children weight these stop bursts less than adults. Taken together, the perception experiments support claims that children integrate multiple acoustic properties as adults do, but that they weight dynamic properties of the signal more than adults and weight static properties less.
Peripheral Nerve: From the Microscopic Functional Unit of the Axon to the Biomechanically Loaded Macroscopic Structure

Peripheral nerves are composed of motor and sensory axons, associated ensheathing Schwann cells, and organized layers of connective tissues that are in continuity with the tissues of the central nervous system. Nerve fiber anatomy facilitates conduction of electrical impulses to convey information over a distance, and the length of these polarized cells necessitates regulated axonal transport of organelles and structural proteins for normal cell function. Nerve connective tissues serve a protective function as the limb is subjected to the stresses of myriad limb positions and postures. Thus, the tissues are uniquely arranged to control the local nerve fiber environment and modulate physical stresses. In this brief review, we describe the microscopic anatomy and physiology of peripheral nerve and the biomechanical properties that enable nerve to withstand the physical stresses of everyday life.
Guanine nucleotide binding proteins in opioid-dependent patients.

Guanine nucleotide binding (G) protein levels and functioning in the platelets of 19 methadone-maintained patients were compared to age and sex matched, normal controls. We found that in the methadone patients, Gas-levels were significantly higher, while the levels of G α i 1/2 and pertussis toxin catalyzed [ 32 P]ADP ribosylation were significantly lower compared to control subjects in platelet membranes. We have further found that when all three of these biochemical indicators were combined in a discriminant function analysis, 79% of the methadone patients were correctly classified and 83% of the controls were correctly classified.
Demographic and health indicators in Gulf Cooperation Council nations with an emphasis on Qatar

Qatar is a rapidly developing wealthy state that is part of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a group of six countries that share relatively similar economic and cultural profiles. We aimed to capture key health indicators and demographic data from Qatar and GCC countries by examining 1980–2010 data from the World Bank Databank and WHO report. The results highlighted a unique demographic profile in Qatar, which has the lowest age dependency ratio, highest male to female ratio, and second highest migrant population in the world. In comparison to other GCC countries, Qatar had the highest life expectancy and the lowest communicable disease and-all cause mortality rates. The GCC countries generally had a low percentage of their population over age 65, a high percentage of migrants, a very low crude death rate and very high overweight and obesity prevalence. Examination of data trends showed a decline in birth rate and fertility rate with significant improvement in under-five and maternal mortality rates over the last three decades.
TILING STRATEGIES IN THE PATCHWORK METHOD AND THE DETERMINATION OF SCALE-AREA RELATIONS

The compass and patchwork methods estimate the length of a profile, or the area of a topographic data set, as a function of the scale of measurement. The strategy that is used for the patch placement, or the starting point used for the compass, appears to have some influence on the results. The results of different strategies are compared on the log-log plot of scale versus area or length. Positive slopes on these log-log plots indicate periodicity in the data set, at a wavelength corresponding to the local minimum.
The utility of clinical and radiographic features in the diagnosis of cytomegalovirus central nervous system disease in AIDS patients.

Background : Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA have facilitated the diagnosis of CMV-associated central nervous system disease in AIDS patients. We attempt to correlate clinical and radiographic features that are associated with CMV PCR-positivity in CSF from AIDS patients with neurologic disease. Methods and Results : A retrospective case controlled comparison was made of CMV PCR-positive and PCR-negative patients. Results : CMV PCR-positive patients were significantly more likely to have nystagmus, prior CMV retinitis, and CSF protein levels >90 mg/dL. Of patients with 0, 1, and >-2 of these features, 5.6%, 55.2%, and 88.9%, respectively, were PCR-positive. Ependymal enhancement was present by magnetic resonance imaging in 9 of 12 PCR-positive, and in 8 of 30 PCR-negative patients. Conclusion : These clinical and radiographic features may serve as useful adjuncts toward the establishment of the diagnosis of CMV-associated neurologic disease in AIDS patients.
Nuclear-receptor–mediated regulation of drug– and bile-acid–transporter proteins in gut and liver

Adverse drug events (ADEs) are a common cause of patient morbidity and mortality and are classically thought to result, in part, from variation in expression and activity of hepatic enzymes of drug metabolism. It is now known that alterations in the expression of genes that encode drug- and bile-acid-transporter proteins in both the gut and liver play a previously unrecognized role in determining patient drug response and eventual clinical outcome. Four nuclear receptor (NR) superfamily members, including pregnane X receptor (PXR, NR1I2), constitutive androstane receptor (NR1I3), farnesoid X receptor (NR1H4), and vitamin D receptor (NR1I1), play pivotal roles in drug- and bile-acid-activated programs of gene expression to coordinately regulate drug- and bile-acid transport activity in the intestine and liver. This review focuses on the NR-mediated gene activation of drug and bile-acid transporters in these tissues as well as the possible underlying molecular mechanisms.
A solution including skin effect for stiffness and stress field of sandwich honeycomb core

Honeycomb sandwich panels have been increasingly used in every possible field, and their efficient load carrying capacity attributes have attracted considerable attention. All previous studies have been focused mainly on stiffness, neglecting for the most part skin effects. This paper represents an important further contribution by developing an analytical model that permits the computation of stiffnesses as well as interfacial stresses considering the skin-effect for hexagonal honeycomb sandwich, subjected to in-plane and out-of-plane forces. An explicit analytical model is derived based on equilibrium equations, where boundary conditions imposed by the skin effect are appropriately considered. The accuracy of the solution is verified through close correlations with existing stiffness formulations and finite element results. The skin effect on both stiffness and interfacial stress distribution is analytically defined. The present model is then used to carry out a parametric study on interfacial stresses, and to detect the critical sections in the structure where further consideration should be given for design purposes. The method provided in this study can be used for accurate analysis and design of sandwich structures.
The potential utility of telomere‐related markers for cancer diagnosis

The role telomeres and telomerase play in the initiation and progression of human cancers has been extensively evaluated. Telomeres are nucleoprotein complexes comprising the hexanucleotide DNA repeat sequence, TTAGGG and numerous telomere-associated proteins, including the six member Shelterin complex. The main function of the telomere is to stabilize the ends of the chromosomes. However, through multiple mechanisms, telomeres can become dysfunctional, which may drive genomic instability leading to the development of cancer. The majority of human cancers maintain, or actively lengthen, telomeres through up-regulation of the reverse transcriptase telomerase. Because there are significant differences in telomere length and telomerase activity between malignant and non-malignant tissues, many investigations have assessed the potential to utilize these molecular markers for cancer diagnosis. Here, we critically evaluate whether measurements of telomere lengths and telomerase levels may be clinically utilized as diagnostic markers in solid tumours, with emphasis on breast and prostate cancer as representative examples. Future directions focusing on the direct detection of dysfunctional telomeres are explored. New markers for telomere dysfunction may eventually prove clinically useful.
The Effect of Directional Radiation Models on the Interpretation of Earth Radiation Budget Measurements.

A parameter estimation technique is presented to estimate the radiative flux density distribution over the earth from a set of radiometer measurements at satellite altitude. The technique analyzes measurements from a wide field of view, horizon to horizon, nadir pointing sensor with a mathematical technique to derive the radiative flux density estimates at the top of the atmosphere for resolution elements smaller than the sensor field of view. A computer simulation of the data analysis technique is presented for both earth-emitted and reflected radiation. The errors resulting from the assumed directional radiation model, spatial model and random measurement error have little effect on the global mean radiation. Zonal estimates were found to be more sensitive to the spatial model than to the directional radiation model. Results from analyzing medium field of view measurements showed a much greater sensitivity to the directional radiation model even on a global scale.
Effects of hearing and aging on sentence-level time-gated word recognition.

Purpose Aging is known to influence temporal processing, but its relationship to speech perception has not been clearly defined. To examine listeners' use of contextual and phonetic information, th...
Using Theory to Understand the Multiple Determinants of Low Participation in Worksite Health Promotion Programs

Low participation at the employee or worksite level limits the potential public health impact of worksite-based interventions. Ecological models suggest that multiple levels of influence operate to determine participation patterns in worksite health promotion programs. Most investigations into the determinants of low participation study the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional influences on employee participation. Community- and policy-level influences have not received attention, nor has consideration been given to worksite-level participation issues. The purpose of this article is to discuss one macrosocial theoretical perspective--political economy of health--that may guide practitioners and researchers interested in addressing the community- and policy-level determinants of participation in worksite health promotion programs. The authors argue that using theory to investigate the full spectrum of determinants offers a more complete range of intervention and research options for maximizing employee and worksite levels of participation.
The relationship between therapist-client interpersonal compatibility, sex of therapist, and therapeutic outcome.

Explored the relationship between therapist-client interpersonal compatibility, sex of therapist, and psychotherapeutic outcome. The research sample consisted of 48 therapist-client dyads. The therapists were all graduate students enrolled in an individual therapy practicum, while the client sample was composed of 48 undergraduate females (mean age 19.3 years). The interpersonal compatibility of the dyads was determined from the FIRO-B results for each of the members' using a modification of Schutz's (1966) original mathematical schema. Therapy outcome was determined from pretherapy and posttherapy testing with the Tennessee Self Concept Scale and Mooney Problem Check List. A 3 × 2 research design with one concomitant variable (pretest) was used and data were analyzed using an analysis of covariance procedure. Results suggested that among this sample the sex of therapist did not have a significant differential effect. There was also a consistent lack of intetration effects between dyadic compatibility and sex of therapist. However, significant differences in therapeutic outcome across the levels of compatibility were observed.
An effective capacitance based driver output model for on-chip RLC interconnects

This paper presents a new library compatible approach to gate-level timing characterization in the presence of RLC interconnecting loads. We describe a two-ramp model based on transmission line theory that accurately predicts both the 50% delay and waveform shape (slew rate) at the driver output when inductive effects are significant. The approach does not rely on piecewise linear Thevenin voltage sources. It is compatible with existing library characterization methods and is computationally efficient. Results are compared with SPICE and demonstrate typical errors under 10% for both delay and slew rate.
Experiences with morphine injected into the subarachnoid space in sheep.

The effects of morphine (M), 0.1 mg/kg, administered into the lumbosacral subarachnoid space of sheep used for experimental stifle surgery, were investigated. In a pilot study, preservative-free morphine was administered to three sheep, morphine containing preservatives to two sheep, and saline (S) to one sheep. After recovery from anesthesia, all five sheep administered M displayed rear limb weakness. One sheep, which had received morphine containing preservatives, also licked and chewed incessantly at its flank and hindquarters during recovery. A group of 24 sheep was used to study the effects of morphine containing preservatives, injected intrathecally, on recovery from general anesthesia and hindlimb orthopedic surgery. Eight sheep received M, eight sheep received S, and eight sheep had a needle placed in the subarachnoid space without any injection (N). Times from end of anesthesia to standing varied greatly and did not differ significantly among groups (P = .73), with M sheep averaging 119 minutes; S sheep, 87 minutes; and N sheep, 83 minutes. One sheep administered M licked and chewed at its hindquarters during recovery. Another group of 24 sheep was used to study the effects of morphine containing preservatives, injected intrathecally, on postoperative lameness. Treatments were as described previously. Sheep were videotaped intermittently for 36 hours after surgery, and each sheep was scored as follows: 0 = not lame; 1 = slightly lame; and 2 = very lame. The average lameness scores, which did not differ significantly among groups (P = .21), were: M sheep, 1.07; S sheep, 0.81; and N sheep, 0.68. One sheep administered M displayed extensor spasms of the hindlimbs, and could not stand until several hours after surgery. We conclude that subarachnoid morphine at the dosage used produces no apparent benefit in sheep which have had stifle surgery, and in fact may cause detrimental side effects, such as hindlimb weakness, and pruritus or irritation of the hindquarters.
Technologic advances in psychiatric nursing

This is an exciting time to be involved with the care of patients with mental illness. More and more information about what is happening in the brain when mental illness develops is becoming available. Even more important, however, clinicians need not be seduced by the secrets of the brain being discovered. Psychiatric nurses must remember that patients have real and frightening experiences. They alone must learn to adapt and function with their symptoms of mental illness. To the degree that clinicians become enamored of the science and technology, they may lose their empathy with the human experience of mental illness [11]. Nurses, who help people respond to their illnesses, must engage the science with curiosity and engage the person with empathy.
Improved recognition of figures containing fluorescence microscope images in online journal articles using graphical models

Motivation: There is extensive interest in automating the collection, organization and analysis of biological data. Data in the form of images in online literature present special challenges for such efforts. The first steps in understanding the contents of a figure are decomposing it into panels and determining the type of each panel. In biological literature, panel types include many kinds of images collected by different techniques, such as photographs of gels or images from microscopes. We have previously described the SLIF system ( http://slif.cbi.cmu.edu) that identifies panels containing fluorescence microscope images among figures in online journal articles as a prelude to further analysis of the subcellular patterns in such images. This system contains a pretrained classifier that uses image features to assign a type (class) to each separate panel. However, the types of panels in a figure are often correlated, so that we can consider the class of a panel to be dependent not only on its own features but also on the types of the other panels in a figure. Results: In this article, we introduce the use of a type of probabilistic graphical model, a factor graph, to represent the structured information about the images in a figure, and permit more robust and accurate inference about their types. We obtain significant improvement over results for considering panels separately. Availability: The code and data used for the experiments described here are available from http://murphylab.web.cmu.edu/software Contact: murphy@cmu.edu
FEA study on electrical interconnects for a power QFN package

This paper presents the results of a numerical analysis on the electrical interconnect options of a Power QFN (PQFN) package, to explore and compare the R DS(ON) performance at DC condition. The modeling involves the PQFN 5mm × 6mm package which initially uses Aluminum wire bonds for interconnection. Competition in the market in terms of better electrical performance packages challenge semiconductor companies to venture into new technology, innovation, process, wafer fabrication, package design changes. For the PQFN, apart from having a thin die with low specific R DS(ON) , it is necessary to choose an interconnect which is also electrically efficient. Among the choices aside from the traditional Aluminum round wires are Aluminum ribbon bonding and Cu clip bonding. The comparison is purely based on the electrical performance and the study does not include the cost factors and other material related effects such as stress performance, etc. A commercial FEA code, ANSYS®, is utilized in this study while Solidworks® is used for CAD.
Emerging Treatments for Autoimmune Hepatitis

Prednisone alone or a lower dose of prednisone in combination with azathioprine induces remission and enhances survival in autoimmune hepatitis. Treatment failure, incomplete response, drug-induced side effects, and relapse after drug withdrawal are unsatisfactory outcomes that justify the search for new therapies. Potent new drugs promise greater blanket immunosuppression than current regimens, and insights into the pathogenic mechanisms of the disease make site-specific interventions possible. Cyclosporine and tacrolimus are calcineurin inhibitors that impair the transcription of interleukin 2, reduce the expression of cytokines, and diminish T lymphocyte proliferation. Mycophenolate mofetil antagonizes the synthesis of purines and depletes stores of guanine nucleotides necessary for DNA synthesis and expansion of T cell clones. Controlled clinical trials are warranted to establish the role of these new drugs in the treatment of autoimmune hepatitis. Promising site-specific therapies include peptides that competitively block autoantigen presentation, agents such as cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 that inhibit the second co-stimulatory signal of immunocyte activation, T cell vaccination, oral tolerance therapy, and cytokine manipulation with monoclonal antibodies and recombinant supplements. Confident animal models of experimental autoimmune hepatitis are necessary to mature these interventions. In conclusion, promising immunosuppressive agents that alter cytokine expression and T lymphocyte proliferation may be of value in the treatment of autoimmune hepatitis. Critical mechanisms of immunocyte activation, cytotoxic T cell expansion, and cytokine modulation are the targets of site-specific interventions.
Target probability modulates neuronal activity in the primate saccadic system

The brain has a limited capacity to process information, so perceptual discriminations made when viewing natural visual scenes require that individual stimuli be singled out as targets for further analysis. Motor systems are similarly challenged since goal directed behaviors-by definition-require identification of a single goal. The current report focuses on whether neuronal activity within structures related to the generation of rapid reorienting movements of the eyes, saccades, show modulations related to the probability of selecting one target from among many. We recorded from neurons in the Superior Colliculus (SC) and the Substantia Nigra Pars Reticulata (SNr) while monkeys performed a task in which the number of possible targets was manipulated. We found that neurons in both regions were modulated with changes in target probability. When the probability of a particular saccade target was high, the activity of SC neurons was also high. When the probability was low, the activity was low. Neuronal activity in the SNr was modulated in a manner similar but not identical to that seen in SC. The results suggest that neuronal elements in these regions reflect task demands similar to that seen in cortical regions involved in visual perception.
GPU acceleration of linear systems for computational electromagnetic simulations

This paper has shown that simple algorithms used in many linear systems solvers can be effectively utilized on the GPU. For the case of matrix-vector multiplication it has been shown that speedups of almost 13 times can be achieved by using simple GPU methods over the speed of current CPU's. By understanding how the GPU works and creating the GPU programs to utilize its strengths, large speedups can be gained in a variety of linear systems solvers.
A HIGH-ORDER THEORY OF PLATE DEFORMATION, PART 1: HOMOGENEOUS PLATES

A theory of plate deformation is derived which accounts for the effects of transverse shear deformation, transverse normal strain, and a nonlinear distribution of the in-plane displacements with respect to the thickness coordinate. The theory is compared with lower-order plate theories through application to a particular problem involving a plate acted upon by a sinusoidal surface pressure. Comparison is also made with the exact elasticity solution of this problem. It is found that when the ratio of the characteristic length of the load pattern to the plate thickness is of the order of unity, lower-order theories are inadequate and the present high-order theory is required to give meaningful results. The present work treats homogeneous plates while Part 2 involves laminated plates. /Author/
Internationally speaking... [technical messages to international audiences]

The expansion of the international marketplace is posing greater communication challenges. Successful business negotiations will depend upon the skills that business professionals develop to ensure that their technical messages are undamaged in translation and easily understood by their foreign audiences. Step-by-step procedures for technical professionals to follow in planning, developing, and delivering technical messages to international audiences are presented.
“Managua Is Nicaragua” The Making of a Neoliberal City

The Changing Face of the city of Managua in Nicaragua reflects the current government's desire to erase evidence of the revolutionary past and to present a welcoming environment for foreign investors and the national elite. The use of urban space is inflected by gender and power in the neoliberal era as women and low-income residents in general are removed from public view or located in marginal sites. Ironically, harsh conditions may be catalyzing a more unified response from civil society to address the nation's problems. [Latin America, Nicaragua, neoliberalism, gender, cultural politics]
Financial Incentives Influencing the Integration of Mental Health Care and Primary Care

Psychiatric problems are common in general medical practice and strongly influence utilization of medical care. Although several studies have demonstrated the positive clinical and financial impact of psychiatric interventions for medical patients, historic and economic forces have tended to maintain the separation of the primary health and mental health components of care. The author discusses the financial incentives that influence the success or failure of initiatives to integrate mental health care and primary care. Most models for financing care that use fee-for-service, carve-out, or capitated arrangements have done little to encourage collaborative treatment planning and coordination of care or have created conditions that work against such integration. True financial incentives for integration of psychiatric and primary health care are provided only by a shared-risk model of capitation—a model that has long existed in staff-model health maintenance organizations. This model increases motivation to...
Implicit Stereotyping in Person Judgment.

Three experiments demonstrated implicit gender stereotyping. A target's social category determined the use of previously primed stereotyped information, without Ss' awareness of such influence. After unscrambling sentences describing neutral or stereotyped behaviors about dependence or aggression, Ss evaluated a female or male target. Although ratings of female and male targets did not differ after exposure to neutral primes, Ss exposed to dependence primes rated a female target as more dependent than a male target who performed identical behaviors (Experiment 1A). Likewise, Ss rated a male, but not a female, target as more aggressive after exposure to aggression primes compared with neutral primes (Experiment IB). Experiment 2 replicated the implicit stereotyping effect and additionally showed no relationship between explicit memory for primes and judgment of target's dependence. I consider extremely fruitful this idea that social life should be explained, not by the notions of those who participate in it, but by more profound causes which are unperceived by consciousness, and I think also that these causes are to be sought mainly in the manner according to which the associated individuals are grouped. —Emile Durkheim (1897, translation in Winch, 1958, pp. 23-24) Essential to social psychology is the question of how people are evaluated. Hence, social psychologists have placed person judgment at the center of the research agenda of the discipline. Among the various components of person judgment is the process of stereotyping, whereby beliefs about a social group are used in judgments of the group or individual members of the group. Because stereotyped judgments simplify and justify social reality, they are among the most fundamental psychological events that determine the course of social relations. Our approach to stereotyping draws on theoretical analyses of unconscious processes that have emerged in contemporary writing about cognition. In particular, we build on recent observations and experimental discoveries that (a) unconscious influences on behavior are common rather than rare (Greenwald & Banaji, 1993; Jacoby & Kelley, 1987), (b) examining the processes involved in unconscious learning and memory can advance the understanding of social behavior (Bargh, 1984; Lewicki & Hill, 1987; Smith, in press), and (c) stereotypes and attitudes can operate unconsciously (Banaji & Greenwald, in press; Bargh, 1992; Bargh, Chaiken, Govender, & Pratto, 1992;
Molecular Characterization of Conditionally Immortalized Cell Lines Derived From Mouse Early Embryonic Inner Ear

Inner ear sensory hair cells (HCs), supporting cells (SCs), and sensory neurons (SNs) are hypothesized to develop from common progenitors in the early embryonic otocyst. Because little is known about the molecular signals that control this lineage specification, we derived a model system of early otic development: conditionally immortalized otocyst (IMO) cell lines from the embryonic day 9.5 Immortomouse. This age is the earliest stage at which the otocyst can easily be separated from surrounding mesenchymal, nervous system, and epithelial cells. At 9.5 days post coitum, there are still pluripotent cells in the otocyst, allowing for the eventual identification of both SN and HC precursors—and possibly an elusive inner ear stem cell. Cell lines derived from primitive precursor cells can also be used as blank canvases for transfections of genes that can affect lineage decisions as the cells differentiate. It is important, therefore, to characterize the “baseline state” of these cell lines in as much detail as possible. We characterized seven representative “precursor-like” IMO cell populations and the uncloned IMO cells, before cell sorting, at the molecular level by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunocytochemistry (IHC), and one line (IMO-2B1) in detail by real-time quantitative PCR and IHC. Many of the phenotypic markers characteristic of differentiated HCs or SCs were detected in IMO-2B1 proliferating cells, as well as during differentiation for up to 30 days in culture. These IMO cell lines represent a unique model system for studying early stages of inner ear development and determining the consequences of affecting key molecular events in their differentiation. Developmental Dynamics 231:815– 827, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Modulation of GABAA receptors in cerebellar granule neurons by ethanol: a review of genetic and electrophysiological studies.

Abstract Cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) receive inhibitory input from Golgi cells in the form of phasic and tonic currents that are mediated by postsynaptic and extrasynaptic γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA A ) receptors, respectively. Extrasynaptic receptors are thought to contain α 6 β x δ subunits. Here, we review studies on ethanol (EtOH) modulation of these receptors, which have yielded contradictory results. Although studies with recombinant receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes indicate that α 6 β 3 δ receptors are potently enhanced by acute exposure to low (≥3 mM) EtOH concentrations, this effect was not observed when these receptors were expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Slice recordings of CGNs have consistently shown that EtOH increases the frequency of phasic spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs), as well as the tonic current amplitude and noise. However, there is a lack of consensus as to whether EtOH directly acts on extrasynaptic receptors or modulates them indirectly; that is, via an increase in spillover of synaptically released GABA. It was recently demonstrated that an R to Q mutation of amino acid 100 of the α 6 subunit increases the effect of EtOH on both sIPSCs and tonic current. These electrophysiological findings have not been reproducible in our hands. Moreover, it was shown the α 6 -R100Q mutation enhances sensitivity to the motor-impairing effects of EtOH in outbred Sprague-Dawley rats, but this was not observed in a line of rats selectively bred for high sensitivity to EtOH-induced motor alterations (Alcohol Non-Tolerant rats). We conclude that currently there is insufficient evidence conclusively supporting a direct potentiation of extrasynaptic GABA A receptors following acute EtOH exposure in CGNs.
What is the source of FIR radiation in spiral galaxies

We consider the main source of far infrared radiation (FIR) in normal spiral galaxies in the IRAS wavelength range 40–120 μ. There are two competing propositions: (a) the radiation comes from dust ...
Highly Specific and Efficient CRISPR/Cas9-Catalyzed Homology-Directed Repair in Drosophila

We and others recently demonstrated that the readily programmable CRISPR/Cas9 system can be used to edit the Drosophila genome. However, most applications to date have relied on aberrant DNA repair to stochastically generate frameshifting indels and adoption has been limited by a lack of tools for efficient identification of targeted events. Here we report optimized tools and techniques for expanded application of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in Drosophila through homology-directed repair (HDR) with double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) donor templates that facilitate complex genome engineering through the precise incorporation of large DNA sequences, including screenable markers. Using these donors, we demonstrate the replacement of a gene with exogenous sequences and the generation of a conditional allele. To optimize efficiency and specificity, we generated transgenic flies that express Cas9 in the germline and directly compared HDR and off-target cleavage rates of different approaches for delivering CRISPR components. We also investigated HDR efficiency in a mutant background previously demonstrated to bias DNA repair toward HDR. Finally, we developed a web-based tool that identifies CRISPR target sites and evaluates their potential for off-target cleavage using empirically rooted rules. Overall, we have found that injection of a dsDNA donor and guide RNA-encoding plasmids into vasa-Cas9 flies yields the highest efficiency HDR and that target sites can be selected to avoid off-target mutations. Efficient and specific CRISPR/Cas9-mediated HDR opens the door to a broad array of complex genome modifications and greatly expands the utility of CRISPR technology for Drosophila research.
Successful outcome in a dog with neurological and respiratory signs following smoke inhalation.

Objective To report the case management of a patient with smoke inhalation complicated by neurological impairment, carboxyhemoglobinemia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), upper airway obstruction, aspiration pneumonia, and bacteremia. Case Summary A 1.5-year-old male intact Beagle presented shortly after being involved in a household fire. Upon arrival the dog was diagnosed with ARDS and demonstrated acute neurological signs (eg, obtundation and seizures). Treatment included mechanical ventilation, temporary tracheostomy, and intensive supportive care. During hospitalization, the dog suffered multiple complications including prolonged neurological abnormalities, aspiration pneumonia, and bacteremia. The dog recovered over a 16-day period. New or Unique Information Provided This is the first description of extensive management of a patient suffering both neurological and respiratory complication due to smoke inhalation, and details the steps that were taken to achieve a successful outcome.
Effects of preovulatory estradiol on embryo survival and pregnancy establishment in beef cows

The role of preovulatory estradiol on post-fertilization embryo survival and pregnancy establishment has not been well characterized in beef cows. We hypothesized that preovulatory estradiol is important for embryo survival and pregnancy establishment in beef cows. Twenty-four ovariectomized multiparous cows were used in a replicated 3×3 Latin Square design. Cows received estradiol cypionate (ECP) 36h, estradiol benzoate (EB) 12h, or no estradiol (CON) before a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (d 0) induced LH surge. Luteal phase progesterone was mimicked with twice daily progesterone injections from d 3 to 6. On d 7 cows received one embryo and progesterone was supplemented with progesterone-releasing devices (CIDR). Expression of interferon stimulated genes, ISG15, MX2, and OAS1, in leukocytes was determined on d 17, 19, 21, and 28 to determine capability of embryonic signaling. Pregnancy specific protein B concentrations were measured in serum samples from d 17 through 29 to determine embryonic attachment. Transrectal ultrasonography was performed on d 29 and 32 to determine pregnancy viability (heartbeat). Serum estradiol profiles during simulated proestrus/estrus were different (P<0.001) between treatments. Mean serum progesterone concentrations from d 17 to 24 were decreased (P=0.05) in EB and ECP cows compared to CON. Transrectal ultrasonography indicated that fewer CON (4%) cows had a viable embryo present compared to estradiol treated cows (25%). Embryonic loss in cows that did not receive estradiol during the simulated preovulatory period occurred following maternal recognition of pregnancy, indicating that its impact was likely on uterine receptivity and embryonic attachment.
Congratulations on the Diabetes Special Issue

You are to be commended for this excellent special issue of PTJ concerned with diabetes. Given …