cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cell attachment to frozen sections of injured adult mouse brain: Effects of tenascin antibody and lectin perturbation of wound-related extracellular matrix molecules

Abstract Previous studies describing the use of cryoculture methods have focused on the efficacy of the method for studying neuron attachment and neurite outgrowth on intact sections of nerve, and rodent and even human brain. The cryoculture method has shown promise for determining the presence of cell attachment- and neurite-growth-inhibiting molecules in such specimens, and some studies have also attempted to neutralize such molecules with antibodies to myelin inhibitory proteins, nerve growth factor, or factors present in conditioned media that may counteract the repulsiveness of some of these molecules preserved in sections of, for example, myelinated nerves or adult brain white matter. The present study describes the novel use of lesioned central nervous system cryocultures as substrates for investigating the attachment of embryonic neurons and PC12 cells. In addition to demonstrating the use of this novel scar substrate to extend previous ‘scar-in-a-dish’ models (David et al. (1990) Neuron, 5: 463–469; Rudge and Silver (1990) J. Neurosci., 10: 3594–3603; Rudge et al. (1989) Exp. Neurol., 103: 1–16), the present study also describes antibody and lectin perturbations of putative inhibitory molecules that result in an enhanced attachment of cells to cryosection cultures of brain and spinal cord wounds.
Introduction to using online surveys

This chapter describes the benefits and limitations of using online surveys and the conditions under which this data collection method may be appropriate for evaluation. It also covers how online surveys can be used during stages of the evaluation process as well as ethical considerations in using this methodology.
What Was Stonewall? The Role of GLB Knowledge in Marriage Amendment-Related Affect and Activism among Family Members of GLB Individuals

Drawing on sexual identity development theory and interpersonal contact theory, this study explored GLB knowledge and GLB internalized affirmation as mediators of connection to GLB community and outcomes including negative marriage amendment-related affect and level of activism among family members of GLB individuals (N = 206). Using structural equation modeling, knowledge of GLB history and symbols mediated the relationship between the connection of family members to GLB community and negative marriage amendment affect as well as reported GLB activism. Although GLB connection positively predicted internalized affirmation, a mediating relationship was not found. The findings suggest family members who engage with GLB issues beyond interpersonal contact and self-disclosure to encompass a broad civil rights perspective on GLB rights are most negatively impacted by marriage amendments in terms of affect and are most likely to engage in GLB-specific activism. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Angle Metrology of Dispersion Prisms

Abstract We present a new technique for calibrating the apex angles of dispersion prisms, which are used in the measurement of the index of refraction of optical glasses. The new method requires only a phase measuring interferometer, together with an electronic autocollimator, and eliminates the need for a rotary or indexing table. The apex angles of a nominally equilateral prism of fused silica were measured and the results compare favorably with a traditional calibration using an indexing table comparator.
Gas exchange in a cerianthid.

Analysis of the determinants of oxygen exchange in Ceriantheopsis americanus, a tubicolous anthozoan, indicates that in the natural habitat the site of oxygen entry is restricted to the tentacular crown. Predicted rates of oxygen diffusion solely across the marginal tentacles are sufficient to account for observed uptake rates in intact animals. The anatomical restriction of the site of exchange is, in part, a result of the absence of active irrigation of the tube. This pattern of gas exchange is more like that in epifaunal anemones than in a previously studied burrowing anemone. Gradual decline in ambient pO2 leads to a gradual decrease in oxygen consumption rate. Although the partial pressure differential across the exchange surface drops with declining ambient pO2, this decrease is not sufficient in itself to explain the relationship between oxygen consumption rate and ambient pO2. We suggest that differential oxygen sensitivities of the epidermis and gastrodermis and changes in surface area and diffusion distance during expsure to lowered pO2 may modify the oxygen consumption response.
Obturator neuropathy: causes and outcome.

To study causes of obturator neuropathy and to correlate them with outcome, we retrospectively studied patients seen at the Mayo Clinic electromyography (EMG) laboratory from 1975 through 1999 with a diagnosis of obturator neuropathy. Twenty-two patients with obturator neuropathy were identified. The clinical outcome of patients with acute obturator neuropathy treated conservatively was good regardless of etiology or severity.
Pharmacological characterization of the Raji lymphoblast platelet-activating factor receptor

Previous studies in our laboratory have described the presence of high-affinity plateletactivating factor (PAF) binding sites on the B lymphoblast cell line, Raji. In the present study, PAF receptor antagonists were used to examine the specificity of [3H]PAF binding and PAF-induced intracellular calcium mobilization in this human lymphocyte cell line. In binding studies conducted at 4°C, PAF receptor antagonists competed with [3H]PAF for binding to Raji lymphocytes with the following rank order of potency: Ro 19-3704 ∼ CV-6209 > CV-3988 > BN52021 > alprazolam. This order of potency is similar to those described for binding studies in platelets and neutrophils. The PAF receptor antagonists CV-6209 and alprazolam inhibited the PAF-induced calcium changes and PAF binding with similar potencies, indicating that the high-affinity PAF binding sites are functional receptors coupled to calcium mobilization. The calcium channel antagonists verapamil, diltizem, and nimodipine inhibited Raji lymphoblast PAF binding with similar potencies, but had no effect on PAF-induced intracellular calcium changes, suggesting the possibility that these compounds are not true competitive antagonists. These studies provide evidence that the Raji lymphoblast PAF receptor is pharmacologically similar to PAF receptors found on platelets and neutrophils, and thus could be of use as a model system to study the PAF receptor.
Fluid interactions with metafilms/metasurfaces for tuning, sensing, and microwave-assisted chemical processes

In this paper we demonstrate tunability of a metasurface, which is the two-dimensional equivalent of a metamaterial, also referred to as a metafilm, by changing the permittivity in a continuous flow channel that interacts with the metasurface. Numerical simulations and experimental results are presented for a metasurface consisting of metallic electric-field coupled resonators operating in $S$ band near 3.6 GHz. The localization and enhancement of the electric field in the metasurface that interacts with the fluid channels is explored as a means for implementing and aiding microwave assisted chemical processes. Applications of such continuous flow tunable metasurfaces are discussed.
Reactive oxygen species may cause myocardial reperfusion injury

Summary The pathogenic mechanisms responsible for heart damage following temporary coronary artery occlusion are unknown. Some damage may be mediated by a normal cellular enzyme, xanthine dehydrogenase, which converts to xanthine oxidase during myocardial ischemia. Reperfusion, with restoration of oxygen supply, may then lead to formation of superoxide by xanthine oxidase, possibly initiating a cascade of oxidative events. In support of this, reperfusion of transiently ischemic canine myocardium leads to a rapid loss of cellular glutathione and a decrease in catalase activity, both indicative of enhanced generation of activated oxygen. Allopurinol-an inhibitor of xanthine oxidase — ameliorates both biochemical damage and functional deficits ordinarily triggered by ischemia and reperfusion, suggesting one possible mode of pharmacologic intervention following acute myocardial infarction.
Sociability behavior and the social environment

The relationship between social living and sociability was studied in two experiments. The Ss’ social living conditions, established at weaning, were reversed 48 h prior to testing. Variations in sociability occur in the mature rat after 2–5 days of changed conditions and can be reversed by changes in social living conditions. Isolated Ss have higher sociability scores. If the differences in sociability are due to stimulus habituation, recency appears to be more important than frequency.
Timing and positioning of reopening of the occluded spinal neurocele in the chick embryo

Occlusion and reopening of the spinal neurocele are important morphogenetic events occurring during rapid brain enlargement in amphibians, birds, and mammals. The purpose of the present study, a companion to a previous one on occlusion, is to examine reopening. We determined when reopening occurred and at what frequency, whether it occurred suddenly or gradually, the extents of the neurocele that were patent at particular stages of reopening, and the morphological pattern of reopening. Reopening begins at stages 14 + to 15 and is virtually complete at stages 16–17. Thus, reopening of the spinal neurocele occurs suddenly and occlusion is a relatively short-lived developmental event. Because rapid brain enlargement still occurs after reopening, occlusion probably functions principally in the initial phases of enlargement prior to closure of the posterior neuropore. Further studies on the mechanisms of occlusion and reopening are under way.
Locally conservative, stabilized finite element methods for variably saturated flow

Standard Galerkin finite element methods for variably saturated groundwater flow have several deficiencies. For instance, local oscillations can appear around sharp infiltration fronts without the use of mass-lumping, and velocity fields obtained from differentiation of pressure fields are discontinuous at element boundaries. Here, we consider conforming finite element discretizations based on a multiscale formulation along with recently developed, local postprocessing schemes. The resulting approach maintains the basic flexibility and appeal of traditional finite element methods, while controlling nonphysical oscillations and producing element-wise mass-conservative velocity fields. Accuracy and efficiency of the proposed schemes are evaluated through a series of steady-state and transient variably saturated groundwater flow problems in homogeneous as well as heterogeneous domains. The schemes are formulated for a generic nonlinear advection–diffusion equation and are thus applicable to many other flow models.
The Secret Identity of Science Education: Masculine and Politically Conservative?.

This response to Jesse Bazzul and Heather Sykes’ paper, The secret identity of a biology textbook: straight and naturally sexed, explores their critiques of textbooks and curricula that authoritatively present scientific accounts of the natural world without engaging students in critical thinking. It proposes that we need to go beyond such useful critiques to develop alternatives to the unsatisfactory heteronormative status quo in biology textbooks and in science education more generally.
Enhancing Beginning Language Courses Through Content-Enriched Instruction.

In the traditional foreign language curriculum, content-based instruction (CBI) is postponed until at least the second year of study when, it is perceived, learners have the necessary linguistic repertoire with which to begin to deal with content. The author's analysis of 12 first-year college-level Spanish textbooks reveals that, in general, little cultural or real-world information is provided to beginning learners. The purpose of this paper is to describe a variation of CBI for beginning-level language learners called content-enriched instruction (CEI). In CEIan emphasis is placed on cultural and real-world information. Vocabulary, grammar, and content are integrated to reflect a specific theme or converge to represent a specific topic. Learners use Spanish to acquire new information and to relate new content knowledge to their own lives. All new information is designed to meet appropriate linguistic, cognitive, and affective needs of the learner. To illustrate the uses and benefits of CEI, the author describes a unit lesson plan for six class periods and offers suggestions on how to implement CEI.
NSA using EXCEL '97 with GPIB allows making measurement and analysis less tedious

Performing normalized site attenuation (NSA) measurements and reporting the results is a tedious process. Usually the data is obtained manually or with a program developed using an instrument control language. Analyzing, comparing and reporting the data usually requires importing the current and past data into a spreadsheet to perform the needed calculations. The theoretical NSA values were normally taken from tables buried in different standards. Up to now the tables in various standards had errors which required mitigation. Calculating NSA on the fly removes the potential data entry and interpolation errors. With the release of Excel 97 the process is streamlined without the need for additional add ins. Microsoft /spl reg/ Excel 97 includes Microsoft Visual Basic that can be used to control GPIB, serial and general purpose input output devices.
Vocational-technical schooling and occupational matching in Thailand: differences between men and women

Using data from Thailand's National Labor Force Survey, this paper provides estimates of the proportion of men and women who complete a vocational-technical education at the secondary or post-secondary level and obtain employment in a related field. The results show that completing a vocational education and working in a related occupation offers a benefit to women but not to men, after controlling for the interaction between years of work experience and matched occupations. These findings must be clarified with data that allow for narrower occupational matching. Nevertheless, the research offers some confirmation of the importance of vocational-technical schooling in national workforce development strategies.
Hyperbranched Poly(p-phenylene ethynylene)s

Hyperbranched poly(p-phenylene ethynylenes) (HB-PPEs) were synthesized in an A 2 +B 3 one-pot approach by the Pd/Cu-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of 1,4-diethynyl-2,5-bis-(octyloxy)benzene and 1,2,4-tribromobenzene. Reaction conditions were varied with the objective to obtain well-defined HB-PPEs of different molecular weights. HB-PPEs with M w from 11000 to 237 000 g mol -1 and PDIs of 1.5-10.7 were prepared. All polymers that comprised unreacted ethynyl groups eventually became insoluble upon drying, presumably as a result of solid-state cross-linking. This reaction could be prevented by endcapping the polymers with an excess of 4-iodotoluene.
Finding bugs by isolating unit tests

Even in simple programs there are hidden assumptions and dependencies between units that are not immediately visible in each involved unit. These dependencies are generally hard to identify and locate, and can lead to subtle faults that are often missed, even by extensive test suites.We propose to leverage existing test suites to identify faults due to hidden dependencies and to identify inadequate test suite design. Rather than just executing entire test suites within frameworks such as JUnit, we execute each test in isolation, thus removing masking effects that might be present in the test suites. We hypothesize that this can reveal previously hidden dependencies between program units or tests.A preliminary study shows that this technique is capable of identifying subtle faults that have lived in a system for 120 revisions, despite failures being reported and despite attempts to fix the fault.
A validation model for verbal descriptor scaling of human clinical pain

Abstract Twenty-nine subjects used quantified verbal descriptors of sensory intensity (i.e., weak, mild, intense) or unpleasantness (i.e., annoying, unpleasant, distressing) to assess the intensity or unplesantness of sensations evoked by painful electrical stimulation of the tooth pulp over a broad stimulus range, and by a natural thermal tooth pulp stimulus, cold spray applied to exposed dentin. In addition, subjects matched the intensity or unpleasantness of the sensations evoked by the natural stimulus to that of the electrical stimuli by both the Method of Limits and the Method of Constant Stimuli. Quantified verbal descriptor values of either the sensory intensity or unpleasantness of the electrical stimuli were linearly related to stimulus intensity on a log scale, indicating that the relationships can be described by power functions. The quantified verbal description of the natural thermal stimulus and the intensity of the electrical stimulus directly matched to the thermal stimulus determined the coordinates of the clinical stimulus data point. This point was close to the experimental stimulus power function, indicating that the verbal magnitude of the clinical stimulus is predicted by the verbal magnitude of the specific electrical stimulus intensity that was matched to the clinical stimulus. This consistency supports the validity of the use of quantified verbal descriptors for the assessment of both experimentally controlled noxious stimulation and uncontrolled clinical pain sensations. It also supports the validity of direct matches between clinical and experimental pain sensations and the unpleasantness of these sensations. This procedure provides a useful independent validational paradigm for clinical pain assessment.
The Colonial State, Capital and the Peasantry in Bombay Presidency

Despite the commodification of land and labor in colonial Bombay Presidency, capitalism and its associated dynamic (modern economic growth via innovation, specialization, and so on resulting in the improved productiveness of labor) did not, by and large, develop.The colonial state reformed the property structure, bringing the notion of a single owner for each property, ending the overlapping property rights of the pre-colonial regimes. Capital was freely deployed to make profits of alienation, if not profits of enterprise. Yet, small-scale family-labor farms continued as the backbone of Bombay agriculture. The peasantry could not sustain capitalist-style growth but did maintain a tenacious hold on the land with the help of the state, and its own capacity to endure horrendous levels of exploitation and poverty; the former symptomized by high land prices and low crop prices paid to the producer; the latter by mass peasant insolvency. The power of capital was in direct proportion to the peasants' desperate need for land and loans. The colonial state was fully aware that this kind of relationship was inimical to development, but did little to bring capital into a productive relationship with landed property. The colonial state came to resemble a classic agrarian bureaucracy rather than a capitalist state. Despite some commitments to modernization, it ruled over an impoverished agrarian society. This paper attempts to locate this result in the specific interests and interactions of the major social agents of rural Bombay: the state, capital and the peasantry.
Cost-effectiveness of preoperative autologons donation in coronary artery bypass grafting

Abstract Concern about the safety of the aliogeneic blood supply has made preoperative autologous blood donation (PAD) routine before major noncardiac operations. However, the costs and benefits of PAD in elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are not well established. We used decision analysis to (1) calculate the cost-effectiveness of PAD in CABG, expressed as cost per year of life saved, and (2) compare the health benefits of reducing aliogeneic transfusions with the potential risks of autologous blood donation by patients with coronary artery disease. A prospective study of 18 institutions provided data on transfusion practice and blood product costs in CABG. On average, PAD in CABG costs $508,000 to $909,000 per quality-adjusted year of life saved, depending on the number of units donated. Pieoperative autologous blood donation is more cost-effective (as low as $158,000 per year of life saved) when targeted to younger patients undergoing CABG at centers with high transfusion rates. The cost-effectiveness of PAD is strongly dependent on estimates of posttransfusion hepatitis incidence, but less so on plausible estimates of the current risk of human immunodeficiency virus transmission. Although the actual risk of PAD is uncertain, even a small fatality rigk (>1 per 101,000 donations) associated with blood donation by patients awaiting CABG negates all life expectancy benefits of PAD. At current costs, FAD by patients awaiting CABG is not cost-effective, producing small health benefits at high societal cost. For the individual patient, the risk of donating blood before CABG may well outweigh the benefits associated with fewer allogeneic transfusions.
EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON ENCEPHALITIS : I. TRANSMISSION OF ST. LOUIS AND KANSAS CITY ENCEPHALITIS TO MICE.

1. Mice of special strains injected intracerebrally with a 10 per cent emulsion of bacteria-free brain tissue from fatal cases of encephalitis in St. Louis and Kansas City develop a characteristic and fatal encephalitis. 2. Transmission of the disease can be continued indefinitely by injecting the bacteria-free brain tissue from the infected mice into healthy mice. 3. In the injected mice there is a 3 to 4 day incubation period, followed by hyperesthesia, coarse tremors, convulsions, prostration, and death in from 4 to 6 days. 4. The lesions in the mice with experimental encephalitis consist chiefly of perivascular accumulations of mononuclear leucocytes throughout the brain, stem, cord, and the pia, and destruction of pyramidal cells in the lobus piriformis and cornu Ammonis. 5. The human encephalitis brain tissue preserved in glycerine from the time of death of the patient apparently loses its infectivity for mice in about 32 days.
The Role of Women in the Utilization of Inquiry-Based Science Instruction

Historically women have been excluded from the domain of science since antiquity. Women were viewed as lacking the attributes necessary to carry out rational thought. However, women such as American astronomer Maria Mitchell in the 19th century during her tenure as Professor of Astronomy at Vasser College in the United States may have been the first scientist to utilize inquiry-based science instruction. During the 20th century an elementary teacher named Vivian Coulter was one of the first teachers at an elementary school in the Midwestern United States to utilize the learning cycle which is a form of structured inquiry-based science instruction. This led to a partnership with the University of Oklahoma that has led the learning cycle to be disseminated to many school districts in the Midwestern United States.
New Method for optimal nonlinear filtering of noisy observations by multiple stochastic fractional integral expansions

Multiple stochastic fractional integral expansions are applied to the problem of non-linear filtering of a signal observed in the presence of an additive noise, where the noise is modelled by a fractional Brownian motion with Hurst index greater than 1/2. It is shown that the best mean-square estimate of the signal can be represented as a ratio of two multiple integral series, where the stochastic integrals are defined in either the Ito or Stratonovich sense and taken with respect to the observation process, which is a persistent fractional Brownian motion under a suitable probability measure. Finally, motivated by practical considerations, finite expansion approximations to the optimal filter are studied.
National Stereotypes As Weapons in the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Nations in conflict generally internalize a stereotype of their enemy that consists exclusively of evil or contemptible characteristics, but, on the other hand, of themselves and their allies as possessors of the best human qualities. In the battle to win the hearts and minds of world public opinion, each side attempts to transmit its own stereotypes of the other to third parties, and the result may well be to influence the policies of the latter. It is, for example, questionable whether the United States government, in the face of a massive threat to US economic and other interests in the Arab world, would have pursued its pro-Israeli policy of the past years, had its leaders not had to reckon with a powerfuil Zionist lobby, capable of bringing great public pressure to bear on the government to pursue this line of policy.
Response of γδ T cells to plant-derived tannins

Many pharmaceutical drugs arc isolated from plants used in traditional medicines, and new plant-derived pharmaceutical drugs continue to be identified. Relevant to this review, different plant-derived agonists for gammadelta T cells are described that impart effector functions upon distinct subsets of these cells. Recently, plant tannins have been defined as one class of gammadelta T cell agonist and appear to preferentially activate the mucosal population. Mucosal gammadelta T cells function to modulate tissue immune responses and induce epithelium repair. Select tannins, isolated from apple peel, rapidly induce immune gene transcription in gammadelta T cells, leading to cytokinc production and increased responsiveness to secondary signals. Activity of these tannin preparations tracks to the procyanidin fraction, with the procyanidin trimer (C1) having the most robust activity defined to date. The response to the procyanidins is evolutionarily conserved in that responses are seen with human, bovine, and murine gammadelta T cells, although human cells show less selectivity. Procyanidin-induced responses described in this review likely account for the expansion of mucosal gammadelta T cells seen in mice and rats fed soluble extracts of tannins. Use of procyanidins to activate gammadelta T cells may represent a novel approach for the treatment of tissue damage and autoimmune diseases.
Identification and characterization of gene-based SSR markers in date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.)

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is an important tree in the Middle East and North Africa due to the nutritional value of its fruit. Molecular Breeding would accelerate genetic improvement of fruit tree through marker assisted selection. However, the lack of molecular markers in date palm restricts the application of molecular breeding. In this study, we analyzed 28,889 EST sequences from the date palm genome database to identify simple-sequence repeats (SSRs) and to develop gene-based markers, i.e. expressed sequence tag-SSRs (EST-SSRs). We identified 4,609 ESTs as containing SSRs, among which, trinucleotide motifs (69.7%) were the most common, followed by tetranucleotide (10.4%) and dinucleotide motifs (9.6%). The motif AG (85.7%) was most abundant in dinucleotides, while motifs AGG (26.8%), AAG (19.3%), and AGC (16.1%) were most common among trinucleotides. A total of 4,967 primer pairs were designed for EST-SSR markers from the computational data. In a follow up laboratory study, we tested a sample of 20 random selected primer pairs for amplification and polymorphism detection using genomic DNA from date palm cultivars. Nearly one-third of these primer pairs detected DNA polymorphism to differentiate the twelve date palm cultivars used. Functional categorization of EST sequences containing SSRs revealed that 3,108 (67.4%) of such ESTs had homology with known proteins. Date palm EST sequences exhibits a good resource for developing gene-based markers. These genic markers identified in our study may provide a valuable genetic and genomic tool for further genetic research and varietal development in date palm, such as diversity study, QTL mapping, and molecular breeding.
Identification of stress-related proteins in Escherichia coli using the pollutant cis-dichloroethylene

Aims: To complement our proteome study, whole-transcriptome analyses were utilized here to identify proteins related to degrading cis-1,2-dichloroethylene (cis-DCE). Methods and Results: Metabolically engineered Escherichia coli strains were utilized expressing an evolved toluene ortho-monooxygenase along with either (i) glutathione S-transferase and altered c-glutamylcysteine synthetase or (ii) a rationally engineered epoxide hydrolase. cis-DCE degradation induced 30 known stress genes and 32 uncharacterized genes. Because of the reactive cis-DCE epoxides formed, we hypothesized that some of these uncharacterized genes may be related to a variety of stresses. Using isogenic mutants, IbpB, YchH, YdeI, YeaR, YgiW, YoaG and YodD were related to hydrogen peroxide, cadmium and acid stress. Additional whole-transcriptome studies with hydrogen peroxide stress using the most hydrogen peroxide-sensitive mutants, ygiW and ychH, identified that FliS, GalS, HcaR, MglA, SufE, SufS, Tap, TnaB, YhcN and YjaA are also involved in the stress response of E. coli to hydrogen peroxide, cadmium and acid, as well as are involved in biofilm formation. Conclusion: Seventeen proteins are involved in the stress network for this organism, and YhcN and YchH were shown to be important for the degradation of cis-DCE. Significance and Impact of the Study: Six previously uncharacterized proteins (YchH, YdeI, YgiW, YhcN, YjaA and YodD) were shown to be stress proteins.
Enhancing the engineering curriculum through project-based learning

Project-based learning (PBL) is an instructional approach that is gaining increasing interest within the engineering education community. The benefits of PBL include enhanced student participation in the learning process (active learning and self-learning), enhanced communication skills, addressing of a wider set of learning styles, and promotion of critical and proactive thinking. PBL also facilitates the development of many of the "soft skills" demanded from engineering graduates, as embodied in the ABET EC 2000. Examples include effective teaming skills, project management, communications, ethics, engineering economics, etc. At Stevens Institute of Technology the undergraduate engineering curriculum has undergone significant revisions to reflect the latest trend towards enhancement of traditional lecture-based courses with both a design spine and a laboratory experience propagating through the entire educational program. Project-based learning is also being integrated throughout the curriculum. An initial implementation of PBL and its preliminary assessment in a freshman-level course on Mechanics of Solids and a junior-level course on Mechanisms and Machine Dynamics is presented.
The Capacitance of Skeletal Muscle Fibers in Solutions of Low Ionic Strength

The capacitance of skeletal muscle fibers was measured by re- cording with one microelectrode the voltage produced by a rectangular pulse of current applied with another microelectrode. The ionic strength of the bath- ing solution was varied by isosmotic replacement of NaCl with sucrose, the (K) (C1) product being held constant. The capacitance decreased with de- creasing ionic strength, reaching a value of some 2 F/cm 2 in solutions of 30 mM ionic strength, and not decreasing further in solutions of 15 mM ionic strength. The capacitance of glycerol-treated fibers did not change with ionic strength and was also some 2 uF/cm 2 . It seems likely that lowering the ionic strength reduces the capacitance of the tubular system (defined as the charge stored in the tubular system), and that the 2 ptF/cm 2 which is insensitive to ionic strength is associated with the surface membrane. The tubular system is open to the external solution in low ionic strength solutions since peroxidase is able to diffuse into the lumen of the tubules. Twitches and action potentials were also recorded from fibers in low ionic strength solutions, even though the ca- pacitance of the tubular system was very small in these solutions. This finding can be explained if there is an action potential-like mechanism in the tubular membrane.
Early soft tissue healing around one-stage dental implants: clinical and microbiologic parameters.

Background: Despite the potential significance of early soft tissue healing to long-term outcomes, this aspect of one-stage dental implants has not been investigated. The purpose of this prospective study was to characterize clinical and microbiologic parameters of early soft tissue healing around dental implants placed following a one-stage protocol.Methods: Twenty-one patients (11 females and 10 males, aged 18 to 78 years; two smokers) needing a single implant were included. Clinical parameters included probing depth, buccal flap thickness, papilla height, and bleeding on probing. Subgingival plaque samples were obtained pre- and postoperatively and analyzed using molecular techniques.Results: The newly formed peri-implant sulcus probing depth remained fairly stable from 4 to 12 weeks (P >0.05). There was no statistically significant association between flap thickness or papillary height and number of implant bleeding sites at 12 weeks (P >0.05). Detection of known periodontal pathogens was rare. Fusoba...
Tumor suppressor INK4: comparisons of conformational properties between p16(INK4A) and p18(INK4C).

The INK4 (inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinase 4) family consists of four tumor-suppressor proteins: p15INK4B, p16INK4A, p18INK4C, and p19INK4D. While their sequences and structures are highly homologous, they show appreciable differences in conformational flexibility, stability, and aggregation tendency. Here, p16 and p18 were first compared directly by NMR for line broadening and disappearance, then investigated by three different approaches in search of the causes of these differences. From denaturation experiments it was found that both proteins are marginally stable with low denaturation stability (1.94 and 2.98 kcal/mol, respectively). Heteronuclear 1H-15N nuclear Overhauser enhancement measurements revealed very limited conformational flexibility on the pico- to nanosecond time-scale for both p16 and p18. H/2H exchange of amide protons monitored by NMR on three proteins (p16, p18 as well as p15), however, revealed markedly different rates in the order p18<p16⩽p15. A subset of very slowly exchanging residues (about 19 in total) was identified in p18, including 16 residues in the region of the fourth ankyrin repeat, probably as a result of a stabilizing effect by the extra ankyrin repeat. Thus, while INK4 proteins may have similar low thermodynamic stability as well as limited flexibility on the pico- to nanosecond time-scale, they display pronounced differences in the conformational flexibility on the time-scale of minutes to hours. Further analyses suggested that differences in H/2H exchange rates reflect differences in the kinetic stability of the INK4 proteins, which in turn is related to differences in the aggregation tendency.
Procedure cloning and integration for converting parallelism from coarse to fine grain

This paper introduces a method for improving program run-time performance by gathering work in an application and executing it efficiently in an integrated thread. Our methods extend whole-program optimization by expanding the scope of the compiler through a combination of software thread integration and procedure cloning. In each experiment we integrate a frequently executed procedure with itself twice or thrice, creating two clones. Then, based on profile data we select at compile time the fastest version (original or clone) and modify call sites as needed. We demonstrate our technique by cloning and integrating three procedures from cjpeg and djpeg at the C source code level, compiling with four compilers for the Itanium EPIC architecture and measuring the performance with the on-chip performance measurement units. For cjpeg, which is not significantly constrained by the i-cache, we find integration consistently improves code generated by all compilers but one, with a mean program speedup of 11.99%.
Searching in clutter: Visual attention strategies of expert pilots

Clutter can slow visual search. However, experts may develop attention strategies that alleviate the effects of clutter on search performance. In the current study we examined the effects of global and local clutter on visual search performance and attention strategies. Pilots and undergraduates searched for an elevation marker in charts of high, medium, and low global clutter. The target was in a low or high local clutter region of the chart or it was absent. High global and local clutter slowed search performance for both pilots and undergraduates. Pilots were more accurate but slower. Pilots’ search strategies differed from undergraduates in the following ways: they had more conservative criteria for responding target absent and spent more time processing the information within each fixation. Pilots and undergraduates used a coarse-to-fine search strategy in which, as the trial progressed, fixation durations increased and saccade distance decreased.
Integrated decision support for aviation safety inspectors

Abstract This paper presents a systems viewpoint for developing an advanced decision support system for aircraft safety inspectors. Research results from a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sponsored project to use neural network and expert systems technology to analyze aircraft maintenance databases are summarized. One of the main objectives of this research is to define more refined “alert” indicators for national comparison purposes that can signal potential problem areas by aircraft type for safety inspector consideration. Integration aspects are addressed on two levels: (1) integration of the various technical components of the decision support system, and (2) integration of the decision support system with individual behavior, management systems and organizational structure, as well as corporate culture across both formal and informal dimensions. The paper summarizes the creation of strategic “inspection profiles” for aging aircraft and reliability curve fitting for structural components both based upon using neural network technology. Also, the potential use of a model-based expert system to facilitate field inspection diagnostics is presented. Finally, a framework for developing an intelligent decision system to support aircraft safety inspections is proposed that links expert systems, neural networks, as well as a paradigm of the decision making process typically used in unstructured situations.
Global health and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why is an article about global health included in a special issue on health in the USA? About half the produce that Americans consume is cultivated in other countries, 60 million Americans travel or work outside the USA, and most patients with measles and tuberculosis in the USA acquired their infection elsewhere. Emerging diseases, globalisation of foods and medicines, the rise in antimicrobial resistance, and the ease with which pathogens can be manipulated for good or harm increase each nation’s vulnerability and interdependence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has engaged in global health for more than 60 years. Although tackling infectious disease threats has been a constant, the agency has also provided humanitarian assistance in natural disasters, refugee crises, and famines; improved child survival; and strengthened scientifi c measurement of health metrics. CDC’s workforce includes more than 300 internationally deployed public health professionals in addition to around 1330 locally employed staff working in about 60 countries (fi gure). CDC’s global health strategy aims to: achieve optimum health eff ects; strengthen global health capacity; improve global health security; and strengthen the organisation’s capacity. This report describes selected programmes that illustrate these goals. Leveraging the strengths of the US-implementing agencies for a whole-of-government approach, the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) targets resource-constrained countries that are hardest hit by the HIV epidemic. CDC has played a central role in PEPFAR since its inception, bringing more than 30 years of experience of work in HIV/AIDS. CDC staff work with peers in Ministries of Health and other host country entities to implement eff ective national programmes in HIV care and treatment, tuberculosis–HIV integration, maternal and child health, HIV prevention, and HIV counselling and testing. Through PEPFAR, CDC is also strengthening public health systems through focused investments in local workforce capacity and health systems that are essential to the scale-up and sustainability of priority PEPFAR programmes and to the strengthening of the broader public health system. For example, growing HIV treatment pro grammes were shown to be positively correlated with increased rates of facility deliveries by non-HIV infected women. In late 2011, President Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton advanced the vision of an AIDS-free generation, defi ned as almost complete elimination of vertical transmission of HIV, greatly reduced incidence of sexual transmission of HIV in adults and adolescents, and universal access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) to people who become infected. President Obama announced in December, 2011, ambitious new targets for priority evidence-based interventions that were to be realised in just 2 years’ time: PEPFAR, in 2013, was committed to Lancet 2014; 384: 98–101
Distributed MIMO technologies in cooperative wireless networks

Multiple-input multiple-output techniques enhance wireless communications performance by taking advantage of spatial diversity. However, most traditional MIMO systems hardly achieve large spatial diversity because of limited terminal size. In this article, we present recent advances of the distributed MIMO technologies in cooperative wireless networks. We also compare and discuss various relay protocols and cooperative strategies. Our simulation results indicate that distributed MIMO systems can provide larger spatial diversity, and the data rate in cooperative networks can be significantly increased.
Yield and layout issues in fault tolerant VLSI architectures

Yield and layout are two important but often ignored issues in the design of fault tolerant VLSI systems. The authors present a framework for the systematic analysis of yield and area-efficient layout of fault-tolerant architectures. A multiple level redundancy tree is considered as a target architecture to demonstrate their analysis technique. >
Fast identification of oscillatory stability margin and damping margin using continuation of invariant subspaces with sensitivity

An improved continuation of invariant subspaces with sensitivity is proposed for fast identification of oscillatory stability margin and damping margin in power systems. Spectrum transformation based methods are introduced to efficiently calculate the critical eigenvalues of interest for initialization. The predictor-corrector method is applied to trace the movement of eigenvalues as power system parameter changes. Eigenvalue sensitivity is a by-product of the algorithm. From the sensitivity information, a step size control method is introduced to fast identify both the oscillatory stability margin and damping margin. The simulation results on New England 39-bus system are demonstrated in details.
Identifying RF Identification Cards From Measurements of Resonance and Carrier Harmonics

We show that careful measurements of the unloaded resonance frequency and quality factor of RF identification proximity cards allow identification of different card models and, for the set of cards we studied, identification with minimal error of individual cards of the same model. Furthermore, we show that card identification performance is improved by considering an electromagnetic signature that combines measurements of the energy at carrier harmonics during a reader/card transaction together with measurements of unloaded resonance frequency and quality factor.
The Hippo Pathway Is Activated and Is a Causal Mechanism for Adipogenesis in Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy

Rationale: Mutations in the intercalated disc proteins, such as plakophilin 2 (PKP2), cause arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (AC). AC is characterized by the replacement of cardiac myocytes by fibro-adipocytes, cardiac dysfunction, arrhythmias, and sudden death. Objective: To delineate the molecular pathogenesis of AC. Methods and Results: Localization and levels of selected intercalated disc proteins, including signaling molecules, were markedly reduced in human hearts with AC. Altered protein constituents of intercalated discs were associated with activation of the upstream Hippo molecules in the human hearts, in Nkx2.5-Cre:Dsp W/F and Myh6:Jup mouse models of AC, and in the PKP2 knockdown HL-1 myocytes (HL-1 PKP2:shRNA ). Level of active protein kinase C-α isoform, which requires PKP2 for activity, was reduced. In contrast, neurofibromin 2 (or Merlin), a molecule upstream of the Hippo pathway and that is inactivated by protein kinase C-α isoform, was activated. Consequently, the downstream Hippo molecules mammalian STE20-like protein kinases 1/2 (MST1/2), large tumor suppressor kinases 1/2 (LATS1/2), and Yes-associated protein (YAP) (the latter is the effector of the pathway) were phosphorylated. Coimmunoprecipitation detected binding of phosphorylated YAP, phosphorylated β-catenin, and junction protein plakoglobin (the latter translocated from the junction). RNA sequencing, transcript quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and reporter assays showed suppressed activity of SV40 transcriptional enhancer factor domain (TEAD) and transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2), which are transcription factors of the Hippo and the canonical Wnt signaling, respectively. In contrast, adipogenesis was enhanced. Simultaneous knockdown of Lats1/2 , molecules upstream to YAP, rescued inactivation of YAP and β-catenin and adipogenesis in the HL-1 PKP2:shRNA myocytes. Conclusions: Molecular remodeling of the intercalated discs leads to pathogenic activation of the Hippo pathway, suppression of the canonical Wnt signaling, and enhanced adipogenesis in AC. The findings offer novel mechanisms for the pathogenesis of AC.
Current tobacco use is associated with higher rates of implant revision and deep infection after total hip or knee arthroplasty: a prospective cohort study.

Tobacco smoking is a risk factor for several adverse post-operative outcomes. We aimed to compare the rates of complications in current tobacco users and non-users who underwent primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA). All patients who underwent primary THA or TKA at the Mayo Clinic from 2010–2013 were included in the study. Current tobacco use was defined as the use of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, or smokeless tobacco reported at the time of index THA or TKA; current non-users were former users or never users. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to assess the association of current tobacco use status with each post-THA/TKA complication, using hazard ratios and 95 % confidence intervals (CI). Tobacco use status was available for 7926 patients (95 %) and not available for 446 patients (5 %); 565 (7 %) were current tobacco users. Compared to non-users, current tobacco users were more likely to be male (p 0 or have undergone TKA rather than THA (p < 0.001 each). The hazard ratios for deep infection (2.37; 95 % CI 1.19, 4.72; p = 0.01) and implant revision (1.78; 95 % CI 1.01, 3.13; p = 0.04) were higher in current tobacco users than in non-users. No significant differences were noted for periprosthetic fractures or superficial infections. We noted that current tobacco use was associated with high risk of deep infection and implant revision after primary THA or TKA. Future studies should determine the optimal time for tobacco use cessation before elective surgeries such as THA and TKA to improve short-term and long-term arthroplasty outcomes.