cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Interim mortality in infants with systemic-to-pulmonary artery shunts.

Abstract Background This retrospective review examines the risks and causes of death in infants with aortopulmonary shunts between the time of hospital discharge and planned reintervention. Methods From January 1991 through December 2000, a total of 146 infants aged 60 days or less underwent placement of systemic-to–pulmonary artery shunts and were discharged from the hospital alive. Inpatient, outpatient, and autopsy records were reviewed. Results Indications for surgery were single-ventricle anatomy in 90 cases and complex double-ventricle anatomy in 56. Of the patients, 21 (14%) died after discharge and before further planned surgery. Of these 21 infants, 17 (81%) were clinically doing well before sudden death. Autopsies were obtained in 15 cases and attributed the cause of death to shunt thrombosis in 5 infants (33%), myocardial infarction in 2 (13%), and pneumonia or lung disease in 3. Five autopsies were nondiagnostic. The mortality of patients discharged on aspirin (11.1%) was almost identical to that of patients discharged on no anticoagulation (12.3%). Four infants with sudden death had been notably irritable for 24 to 48 hours before death. Conclusions There is a significant incidence of sudden death among infants who have undergone shunting. Death may be preceded by unexplained irritability, and such symptoms should therefore be carefully evaluated. Autopsy-proven shunt thrombosis is one of the leading causes of interim sudden death, and aspirin therapy may not be helpful. Options to reduce interim mortality include alternative regimens of anticoagulation (such as low–molecular weight heparin), alternative conduit material, and earlier reoperation.
T helper subsets & regulatory T cells: rethinking the paradigm in the clinical context of solid organ transplantation.

Summary Recent years have witnessed remarkable expansion in the knowledge of how various immune/inflammatory cells and T helper (Th) cell subsets, including Th1, Th2, Th9, Th17, Th22, follicular T helper (Tfh) and Treg subpopulations, reciprocally regulate each other. This review highlights current understanding of the Th subsets paradigm, who are the old school players, who are the new kids on the block and how does each come to play in different clinical contexts in solid organ transplantation. The article commences with a brief overview of the development and characteristic cytokine profiles of individual members of the paradigm. However, the main focus of this review is on the current understanding of the Th subset paradigm, and how these unique subpopulations impact host responses towards solid organ allografts. More specifically, it will highlight the recent findings that implicate the paradigm in transplantation. The interplay among different subsets is discussed collectively in the clinical context of pretransplant immunological risk factors such as alloimmunization as well as post-transplant immunological consequences such as rejection. Accumulating evidence suggests that Th17 cells play a role in the development of chronic allograft injury in transplantation of various organs. In vitro, tacrolimus suppressed Th1 and Th2 cells but not Th17 cells. Animal studies suggest that regulatory T cells (Treg)-based therapies could be effective as mechanisms of long-term drug-free transplant tolerance in humans. Indeed, a dual role for TGF-β and Foxp3 in induced tolerance has been proposed, in which TGF-β stimulates Foxp3 expression and is associated with the induction of Treg-facilitating acquisition of tolerance. Exploiting Th subsets' regulatory functions could potentially offer opportunities for immunological interventions in solid organ transplantation.
A nonradioactive method for improved restriction analysis and fingerprinting of large P1 artificial chromosome clones

The P1 artificial chromosome (PAC) cloning system is very useful for physical mapping, however, the large insert sizes cause difficulty in routine restriction analysis. In order to facilitate restriction mapping and fingerprinting, we have developed a simple, nonradioactive method for end-labeling and detection of restriction fragments from PAC clones. This method is very easy to implement, gives good differentiation of restriction fragments, and uses comparatively small amounts of DNA. We have used this method for restriction analysis of PAC clones containing inserts from human as well as from lower vertebrates. The method should also be applicable to other large-insert plasmid systems.
The metabolism in vivo of [2-Me-14C]2,4-dimethylheptanoic acid☆

Abstract The metabolism in vivo of [2- Me - 14 C]2,4-dimethylheptanoic acid was studied in rats. 2,4-Dimethylheptanoic acid was found to be oxidized more slowly than [3- 14 C]propionate; about 60% of the activity of 2,4-dimethylheptanoic acid appeared in respiratory CO 2 in 24 h as compared to 80% for propionate. In addition, the oxidation of 2,4-dimethylheptanoic acid is not as complete as that of propionate, with approx. 20% of the activity of 2,4-dimethylheptanoic acid appearing in the urine. In contrast, 2,4-dimethylheptanoic acid was shown to be as effective a precursor of liver glycogen as is propionate in the rat in vivo . Furthermore, the ratio of the specific activity of the precursor was shown to be the same for both 2,4-dimethylheptanoic acid and propionate, indicating that 2,4-dimethylheptanoic acid and propionate may share a common pathway to glycogen. Finally, 2,4-dimethylheptanoic acid was shown to be a poor precursor of long-chain fatty acid in the rat in vivo . The results of this study were interpreted to mean that 2,4-dimethylheptanoic acid is probably metabolized to glycogen through propionate without formation of ketone bodies.
The Korean economic crisis and working women

Abstract This article evaluates the impact of the 1997 Korean economic crisis on female employees. Facts on employment, labour force participation, and the changing nature of jobs (permanent/temporary) tend to support “buffer” theories of women's employment. Occupational sex segregation was reduced substantially between 1997 and 2002; nonetheless, the unexplained portion of the wage differential between men and women (a proxy for wage discrimination) increased. The crisis created setbacks for the equality of working women in Korea; however, new realities stimulated a changed strategy in the form of a union for contingent and small-firm workers among Korean women.
AN UNUSUAL METHOD FOR CULTURE OF UNICELLULAR MARINE ALGAE1

SUMMARY A method for the axenic culture of marine microscopic algae that utilizes various types of paper as solid substrates for growth is described. Investigations into the growth of 39 algal, strains on various paper substrates were conducted. Applications of the method to bioassay are discussed.
Optimization of iron-dependent cyanobacterial (Synechococcus, Cyanophyceae) bioreporters to measure iron bioavailability

Complex chemistry and biological uptake pathways render iron bioavailability particularly difficult to assess in natural waters. Bioreporters are genetically modified organisms that are useful tools to directly sense the bioavailable fractions of solutes. In this study, three cyanobacterial bioreporters derived from Synechococcus PCC 7942 were examined for the purpose of optimizing the response to bioavailable Fe. Each bioreporter uses a Fe-regulated promoter (isiAB, irpA and mapA), modulated by distinct mechanisms under Fe deficiency, fused to a bacterial luciferase (luxAB). In order to provide a better understanding of the way natural conditions may affect the ability of the bioreporter to sense iron bioavailability, the effect of relevant environmental parameters on the response to iron was assessed. Optimal conditions (and limits of applicability) for the use of these bioreporters on the field were determined to be: a 12 h (12–24 h) exposure time, temperature of 15 C (15 C–22 C), photon flux density of 100 umol photons .m-2 . s-1 (37–200 umol photons m-2 . s-1), initial biomass of 0.6–0.8 ug chlorophylla (chl a) .L-1 (0.3–1.5 ug chl a .L-1) or approximately 1exp 5 bioreporter cells .mL-1, high phosphate (10 uM), and low micronutrients (absent). The measured luminescence was optimal with an exogenous addition of 60 uM aqueous decanal substrate allowing a 5 min reaction time in the dark before analysis. This study provides important considerations relating to the optimization in the use of bioreporters under field conditions that can be used for method development of other algal and cyanobacterial bioreporters in aquatic systems.
CUDSwap: Tolerating Memory Exhaustion Failures in Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is now being used by a wide variety of users, ranging from expert programmers and system administrators to scientists and laymen. Cloud providers are taking full advantage of all their resources as much as they can. Memory is the most expensive resource in terms of oversubscription and this has resulted in high price to the end user. Furthermore, performing swapping in Virtual Machines (VM) is expensive, so the cloud providers usually do not offer any swapping space for their systems. As a consequence, when a VM runs out of memory, user processes are killed. This scenario in cloud environment is especially critical, since the user loses all of his/her execution time and, by extension, the money invested in this computation. For cloud users such as life scientists with varying memory requirements, this is a critical problem. This paper presents CUD Swap, a kernel extension module designed to detect memory exhaustion in cloud instances, add more swap space, and thus prevent process failures. CUD Swap has been implemented in Linux kernel and has been evaluated over a variety of workloads as well as real-world life science applications. The paper describes CUD Swap design and implementation details, and reports performance details from the evaluation.
Hemoptysis: Prospective High-Resolution CT/Bronchoscopic Correlation

The precise roles of fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) and computed tomography (CT) of the chest in the evaluation of patients presenting with hemoptysis have not been clearly defined. On the assumption that both procedures would likely provide unique and complementary information, a prospective study with blinded interpreters using a modified high-resolution CT technique (HRCT) and FOB was designed to evaluate 57 consecutive patients admitted to Bellevue Hospital with hemoptysis. Etiologies included bronchiectasis (25 percent), tuberculosis (16 percent), lung cancer (12 percent), aspergilloma (12 percent), and bronchitis (5 percent): in an additional 5 percent of cases, hemoptysis proved to be due miscellaneous causes, while in 19 percent hemoptysis proved to be cryptogenic. Patients with lung cancer all were at least 50 years old, smoked an average of 78 pack-years, and had less severe hemoptysis but of longer duration. All had conditions diagnosed both by HRCT and FOB. High-resolution CT proved of particular value in diagnosing bronchiectasis and aspergillomas, while FOB was diagnostic of bronchitis and mucosal lesions such as Kaposi's sarcoma. Fiberoptic bronchoscopy localized bleeding in only 51 percent of cases. The high sensitivity of CT in identifying both the intraluminal and extraluminal extent of central lung cancers in conjunction with its value in diagnosing bronchiectasis suggest that CT should be obtained prior to bronchoscopy in all patients presenting with hemoptysis.
Maximally Correlated Orthogonal Composites and Oblique Factor Analytic Solutions.

Kaiser presented a method for finding a set of derived orthogonal variables which correlate maximally with a set of original variables. A simpler, more complete derivation of Kaiser's result is given and compared to related types of transformations. The transformation derived here suggests a direct method for finding the orthogonal factor solution which is maximally similar to a given oblique solution.
Hematologic screening tests in patients with operative prostatic disease

One hundred sixty-five patients with operative prostatic disease were investigated for hematologic abnormalities. The tests were useful in the clinical management of 6 (3.7 per cent) patients. Preoperative hematologic screening tests are recommended in patients with prostatic cancer, potential sepsis, and in patients with a known bleeding tendency.
Bond-angular order in two-dimensional Lennard-Jones and hard-disk systems

As a new probe of the nature of the two-dimensional melting transition, a Monte Carlo study of nearest-neighbor bond-angular susceptibility on various length scales has been performed. This probe has been used to distinguish between a hexatic phase and a two-phase region. We conclude that the melting transition of both the low-density Lennard-Jones potential system and the hard-disk system is first order in these finite simulations. No qualitative difference in behavior between the two systems was observed.
Aspect-oriented Approach for Non-functional Adaptation of Composite Web Services

We provide a novel approach for specifying and relating non-functional properties for distributed component Web services that can be used to adapt a composite Web service. Our approach uses distributed aspect-oriented programming (AOP) technology to model an adaptive architecture for Web services composition and execution. Existing Web service adaptation mechanisms are limited only to the process of Web service choreography in terms of Web service selection/invocation vis-a-vis pre-specifled (Service Level Agreement) SLA constraints. Our system extends this idea by representing the non-functional properties of each Web service - composite and component - via AOP. Hence our system models a relation function between the aspects of the composite Web service, and the individual aspects of the component Web services. This enables mid-flight adaptation of the composite Web service - in response to changes in non-functional requirements - via suitable modifications in the individual aspects of the component Web service. From the end users' viewpoint, such upfront aspect- oriented modeling of non-functional properties enables on-demand composite Web service adaptation with minimal disruption in quality of service.
GENETIC ANALYSIS OF A MOUSE t COMPLEX LOCUS THAT IS HOMOLOGOUS TO A KIDNEY cDNA CLONE

ABSTRACT A mouse kidney cDNA clone, pMK174, identifies restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) that map to two unlinked loci. One, designated D17Rp17 , has been mapped near quaking , ( qk ), on chromosome 17 using three sets of recombinant inbred (RI) strains. A study of several t haplotypes resulted in the identification of t -specific alleles of D17Rp17 that map to the proximal half of the t complex. Neither t -specific nor wild-type D17Rp17 alleles are present in chromosomes carrying either the T Orleans ( Tt Orl ) or the T hairpin tail ( T hp ) deletions. Comparison with other molecular markers indicates that pMK174 identifies a new proximal t complex locus, Rp17 . The second locus identified by pMK174, termed D4Rp18 , is tentatively assigned to chromosome 4 by mouse-Chinese hamster somatic cell hybrid analysis.
Archival and Library Theft

Abstract Information on the extent of book theft and the disappearance of other library materials precedes a discussion of some effective countermeasures that may help reduce the problem. A number of practical procedures are recommended that will assist the library in minimizing thefts and recovering stolen materials, should thieves succeed.
Pleiotropic Effects of Immune Responses Explain Variation in the Prevalence of Fibroproliferative Diseases

Many diseases are differentially distributed among human populations. Differential selection on genetic variants in ancestral environments that coincidentally predispose to disease can be an underlying cause of these unequal prevalence patterns. Selected genes may be pleiotropic, affecting multiple phenotypes and resulting in more than one disease or trait. Patterns of pleiotropy may be helpful in understanding the underlying causes of an array of conditions in a population. For example, several fibroproliferative diseases are more prevalent and severe in populations of sub-Saharan ancestry. We propose that this disparity is due to selection for an enhanced Th2 response that confers resistance to helminthic infections, and concurrently increases susceptibility to fibrosis due to the profibrotic action of Th2 cytokines. Many studies on selection of Th2-related genes for host resistance to helminths have been reported, but the pleiotropic impact of this selection on the distribution of fibrotic disorders has not been explicitly investigated. We discuss the disproportionate occurrence of fibroproliferative diseases in individuals of African ancestry and provide evidence that adaptation of the immune system has shaped the genetic structure of these human populations in ways that alter the distribution of multiple fibroproliferative diseases.
Sensitized (T6 × RFM)F1 donor B cells contribute to hypergammaglobulinemia and to poor primary responses in RFM mice with allogenic host versus graft disease☆

Abstract Experimental host versus graft (HVG) disease is the fatal immunodeficiency syndrome which is induced in susceptible strains of inbred mice by the perinatal inoculation of related F 1 hybrid spleen cells. The allogenic HVG reaction results in severe T-cell depletion, but hyperplasia of B cells, of which some are F 1 , donor in origin. To investigate the role of F 1 , donor B cells in the development of hyperglobulinemia in HVG mice which respond poorly to primary antigenic challenge, antibodies to horseradish peroxidase (HRP) of (T 6 × RFM)F 1 donor B-cell origin were used as markers for the engraftment of primed donor B cells in RFM hosts, and as sequential measures of the allogenic reaction on them. F 1 donor B cells sensitized to HRP survived different stages of the HVG reaction after inoculation on Day 1 or Day 8 after birth. Tests for the anti-HRP antibody output of RFM host cells, and engrafted HRP-primed and unprimed (T 6 × RFM)F 1 donor cells suggested that the hyperglobulinemia seen in HVG mice was caused principally by antigen-primed, F 1 donor B cells stimulated by the allogenic effect, with or without further exposure to the antigen(s) to which the donors had been sensitized prior to transplantation. The poor primary responses were attributed to the engraftment of the many donor B cells already committed, to the immunological immaturity of the host B cells, and to the lack of T-cell help for adult unprimed F 1 donor B cells. Taken together with previous work, the data also suggest that antigen-primed donor B cells were engrafted in preference to equally histoincompatible donor T cells and unprimed donor B cells.
A survey and experimental evaluation of proximity sensors for space robotics

This paper provides an overview of the authors' selection process for proximity sensors for manipulator collision avoidance. Five categories of sensors have been considered for this use in space operations: intensity of reflection, triangulation, time of flight, capacitive, and inductive. From these categories, the most promising commercial and mature laboratory prototype sensors have been selected and tested. After reviewing the selection process and the experimental results, conclusions are drawn about which sensors are best and why. >
Numerical Simulation of Creep-Induced Buckling of Thin-Walled Pipe Liners

Material properties obtained from characterization tests on a representative cured-in-place pipe material have been incorporated into a finite element model which employs a special composite beam element. The creep buckling behavior of constrained pipe liners are discussed, and a model correlating the critical time and the applied pressure is proposed. The influence of liner/host pipe geometric parameters on liner buckling is also investigated. The agreement of finite element predictions with physical test data shows the utility of the proposed model.
Synthesis of (chlorovinyl)cobaloxime complexes, model complexes of proposed intermediates in the B12-catalyzed dehalogenation of chlorinated ethylenes

(Chlorovinyl)cobaloxime complexes, (dmgH)2(py)CoR (R = cis-dichlorovinyl, trans-2-chlorovinyl or 1-chlorovinyl, dmgH = dimethylglyoximate) were synthesized from the reaction of chlorinated ethylenes with in situ generated (dmgH)2Co(I) in the presence of pyridine.
Automatic synthesis of computation interference constraints for relative timing verification

Asynchronous sequential circuit or protocol design requires formal verification to ensure correct behavior under all operating conditions. However, most asynchronous circuits or protocols cannot be proven conformant to a specification without adding timing assumptions. Relative Timing (RT) is an approach to model and verify circuits and protocols that require timing assumptions to operate correctly. The process of creating path-based RT constraints has previously been done by hand with the aid of a formal verification engine. This time consuming and error prone method vastly restricts the application of RT and the capability to implement circuits and protocols. This paper describes an algorithm for automatic generation of RT constraints based on signal traces generated from a formal verification (FV) engine that supports relative timing constraints. This algorithm has been implemented in a CAD tool called Automatic Relative Timing Identifier based on Signal Traces (ARTIST) which has been embedded into the FV engine. A set of asynchronous and clocked designs and protocols have been verified and proven to be hazard-free with the RT constraints generated by ARTIST which would have taken months to perform by hand. A comparison of RT constraints between hand-generated and ARTIST generated constraints is also described in terms of efficiency and quality.
ANGIOGRAPHIC APPEARANCE OF COMMON CAROTID COLLATERAL CIRCULATION IN THE GOAT RESULTING FROM PROSTHETIC GRAFT IMPLANTATION

Carotid arteriography was performed in six normal goats. The same procedure was performed on these six and 112 other goats at various time intervals after placement of an arterial graft in one or both carotid arteries. An arterial catheter was introduced into the femoral artery and advanced to the origin of the brachiocephalic trunk with the aid of image-intensified fluoroscopy. Hand-injection of the contrast medium resulted in complete opacification of both common carotid arteries in normal animals. Opacification of one or both of the vertebral arteries was usually seen in the goats with prosthetic grafts. The left vertebral artery was seen more often than the right, and when both vertebral arteries were seen together, the left was often larger. This angiographic method proved to be reliable for opacifying both common carotid arteries from their origin on the brachiocephalic trunk to the cranial cervical region. No clinical problems were associated with either the catheterization procedure or with the permanent ligation of the catheterized femoral artery.
A DLL-Based Programmable Clock Multiplier in 0.18- $\mu$ m CMOS With ${-}$ 70 dBc Reference Spur

This paper describes a 150-400 MHz programmable clock multiplier which uses a recirculating DLL. The clock multiplier uses a sampling phase detector and employs chopping, autozeroing and various other circuit techniques to reduce static phase offset and crosstalk between the reference and the output clock. The DLL is implemented in 0.18-mum CMOS, consumes 16 mW of power, and achieves 1-5 ps RMS jitter and -70 dBc reference spur level.
Effects of female and male smoking on success rates of IVF and gamete intra-Fallopian transfer

BACKGROUND: Smoking by both male and female partners may play a significant role in the success rates of assisted reproductive technologies. The objective of this 5-year prospective study was to investigate the influence of cigarette smoking by the wife, husband, and couple at various time points (e.g. lifetime, week prior, or during the procedures) on different biological parameters of IVF and gamete intra-Fallopian transfer (GIFT). METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 221 couples, aged >20 years, of Caucasian, Black, Asian or Hispanic descent were recruited from seven infertility clinics located in Southern California. Couples (i.e. either female or male or both) who ever smoked compared with non-smokers, had adjusted relative risks (RR) of 2.41 (95% CI 1.07-5.45, P = 0.03) of not achieving a pregnancy, and 3.76 (95% CI 1.40-10.03, P 5 years, there was an adjusted RR = 4.27 of not achieving a pregnancy (95% CI 1.53-11.97, P = 0.01). The number of oocytes retrieved decreased by 40% for couples (smokers, n = 6) and by 46% for men who smoked during the week of the visit for IVF or GIFT. Women who smoked in their lifetime had adjusted risks of 2.71 of not achieving a pregnancy (95% CI 1.37-5.35, P < 0.01), and 2.51 (95% CI 1.11-5.67, P < 0.03) of not having a live birth delivery. CONCLUSIONS: There is compelling evidence that couples should be made aware that smoking years before undergoing IVF and GIFT can impact treatment outcome. This study may also provide insight into the timing and effects of male and female smoking on natural reproduction.
Derivatives Risks, Old and New

There has been much discussion of risks tied to trading in derivatives, with some well-informed objective observers arguing that derivatives risks are not significantly greater or different from those associated with traditional financial instruments. Financial risks are often broken down into market risk, credit risk, operational risk and legal risk. We review the standard classification and observe that while derivatives are exposed to these types of risk, they are manifested quite differently in derivatives than in traditional securities. We then consider a 'new' type of risk that is particularly important for derivatives: model risk. Derivatives trading depends heavily on the use of theoretical valuation models, but these are susceptible to error from incorrect assumptions about the underlying asset price process, estimation error on volatility and other inputs that must be forecasted, errors in implementing the theoretical models, and differences between market prices and theoretical values. Empirical evidence drawn from several important asset markets shows that model error can be quite large and can be expected to lead to significant risk in derivatives pricing and risk management.
Use of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and cyclic polarization to evaluate the corrosion behavior of six nickel-chromium alloys before and after porcelain-fused-to-metal firing

Statement of problem. Nickel-chromium casting alloys rely on a surface oxide layer for corrosion resistance to the oral environment. Porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) firing procedures may alter the surface oxides and corrosion properties of these alloys. Changes in alloy corrosion behavior affect metal ion release and therefore local and/or systemic tissue responses. Purpose. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in alloy surface oxides and electrochemical corrosion properties after PFM firing. Material and methods. The electrochemical corrosion behavior of 6 commercial nickel-chromium alloys was evaluated in the as-cast/polished and PFM fired/repolished states. Surface chemistries of the alloys were analyzed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results. Results indicated an increase in corrosion rates after PFM firing and repolishing for alloys containing 14% to 22% Cr and 9% to 17% Mo. This increase in corrosion rates was attributed to a decrease, caused by the PFM and repolishing process, in the Cr and Mo levels in the surface oxides of these alloys. The PFM firing and repolishing process did not alter the corrosion behavior of the alloys containing lower levels of Cr and Mo and/or Be additions in their bulk composition. These alloys exhibited low levels of Cr and Mo surface oxides in both test conditions. Si particles became embedded in the surfaces of the fired alloys during repolishing and may have contributed to the changes in surface oxides and the corrosion behavior of some alloys. Conclusion. The effects of PFM firing and repolishing on Ni-Cr dental casting alloy surface oxides and corrosion properties appear to be alloy dependent. (J Prosthet Dent 2000;84:623-34.)
Two motivations for two dimensions of mind

Abstract Effective social interaction requires people to consider the minds of others. The present research suggests that different motivations systematically elicit attention to different components of mind. Four experiments manipulate either motivation for action prediction (effectance motivation) or motivation for affiliation and ask participants to evaluate the minds of outgroups. Experiments 1–2 feature hypothetical outgroups, while Experiment 3 targets Americans' relationship with China and also demonstrates consequences for moral judgment. Experiment 4 targets Americans' relationship with Iran and demonstrates consequences for moral and dispositional attribution toward groups. The findings reveal that effectance motivation relative to affiliation motivation triggers preferential focus toward agency (i.e., capacities for planning, thinking, intending), relative to experience (i.e., capacities for emotion and feeling). These results show that group mind judgments are determined not just by the features of the group but also by the motivations of the perceiver.
Decreased Number of Parvalbumin and Cholinergic Interneurons in the Striatum of Individuals with Tourette Syndrome

Corticobasal ganglia neuronal ensembles bring automatic motor skills into voluntary control and integrate them into ongoing motor behavior. A 5% decrease in caudate (Cd) nucleus volume is the most consistent structural finding in the brain of patients with Tourette syndrome (TS), but the cellular abnormalities that underlie this decrease in volume are unclear. In this study the density of different types of interneurons and medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the striatum was assessed in the postmortem brains of 5 TS subjects as compared with normal controls (NC) by unbiased stereological analyses. TS patients demonstrated a 50%-60% decrease of both parvalbumin (PV)+ and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)+ cholinergic interneurons in the Cd and the putamen (Pt). Cholinergic interneurons were decreased in TS patients in the associative and sensorimotor regions but not in the limbic regions of the striatum, such that the normal gradient in density of cholinergic cells (highest in associative regions, intermediate in sensorimotor and lowest in limbic regions) was abolished. No significant difference was present in the densities of medium-sized calretinin (CR)+ interneurons, MSNs, and total neurons. The selective deficit of PV+ and cholinergic striatal interneurons in TS subjects may result in an impaired cortico/thalamic control of striatal neuron firing in TS.
Phone clustering using the Bhattacharyya distance

The authors study the use of the classification-based Bhattacharyya distance measure to guide biphone clustering. The Bhattacharyya distance is a theoretical distance measure between two Gaussian distributions which is equivalent to an upper bound on the optimal Bayesian classification error probability. It also has the desirable properties of being computationally simple and extensible to more Gaussian mixtures. Using the Bhattacharyya distance measure in a data-driven approach together with a novel a-level agglomerative hierarchical biphone clustering algorithm, generalized left/right biphones(BGBs) are derived. A neural-net based phone recognizer trained on the BGBs is found to have better frame-level phone recognition than one trained on generalized biphones (BCGBs) derived from a set of commonly used broad categories. They further evaluate the new BGBs on an isolated-word recognition task of perplexity 40 and obtain a 16.2% error reduction over the broad-category generalized biphones (BCGBs) and a 41.8% error reduction over the monophones.
Temporal correlations of superconductivity above the transition temperature in La 2−x Sr x CuO 4 probed by terahertz spectroscopy

Above the superconducting temperature for a given material, correlations between pairs of electrons are already present. Many experiments indicate that such correlations may exist up to 100 K above the transition. However, a temporal probe of the superconducting fluctuations suggests that correlations only exist within a narrow temperature range.
Endogenous Bursting Patterns in Excitable Cells

Abstract The electrical burst pattern of pancreatic β-cells is quite different from that of neurons. Our goal is to find a unified model which gives rises to both types of patterns, and in this paper we consider such a model. The central features of the model are: (1) a voltage-activated fast inward conductance gI combined with a voltage-gate K+ conductance gK which creates spikes, (2) a voltage-activated Ca2+ conductance gs, which brings about a slow underlying wave, and (3) the intracellular Ca2+ concentration, [Ca2+]i, which inactivates gs. If the gs gate opens very fast (∼ms), the model gives rise to square-wave bursting as in the pancreatic β-cell; however, if the gate opens slowly (∼s), it gives rise to parabolic bursting as in R-15. Furthermore, as the dynamics of both gs and gn gating become slow variables, we find that small oscillations develop during the silent phase and the model may give rise to aperiodic chaos.
Automatic grading of student's programming assignments: an interactive process and suite of programs

A system for automatic grading of programming assignments is described here. This grading system consists of a suite of Perl and Java programs, linked by a database, and driven by an interactive, user-grader controlled grading process. The rationale for the process, the process itself-and the process's interaction-with the programs, the database, and the user himself are discussed. This grading system has the ability to discover and accommodate unanticipated solutions by means of a grading process that is highly interactive with its user-the grader. It also has the ability to automatically accommodate a wide range of simple student errors, which can easily befuddle a more naive grading system. This system has been used since the Spring 2000 semester at Rutgers University, as a core part of the students' performance evaluation activities, in the Introduction to computer science course, where it routinely grades some 300-600 weekly assignments.
I-Ep-bound self-peptides: identification, characterization, and role in alloreactivity.

T cell recognition of peptide/allogeneic MHC complexes is a major cause of transplant rejection. Both the presented self-peptides and the MHC molecules are involved; however, the molecular basis for alloreactivity and the contribution of self-peptides are still poorly defined. The murine 2.102 T cell is specific for hemoglobin(64–76)/I-E k and is alloreactive to I-E p . The natural self-peptide/I-E p complex recognized by 2.102 remains unknown. In this study, we characterized the peptides that are naturally processed and presented by I-E p and used this information to define the binding motif for the murine I-E p class II molecule. Interestingly, we found that the P9 anchor residue preferred by I-E p is quite distinct from the residues preferred by other I-E molecules, although the P1 anchor residue is conserved. A degree of specificity for the alloresponse was shown by the lack of stimulation of 2.102 T cells by 19 different identified self-peptides. The binding motif was used to search the mouse genome for candidate 2.102 reactive allopeptides that contain strong P1 and P9 anchor residues and possess previously identified allowable TCR contact residues. Two potential allopeptides were identified, but only one of these peptides, G protein-coupled receptor 128, was able to stimulate 2.102 T cells. Thus, the G protein-coupled receptor 128 peptide represents a candidate allopeptide that is specifically recognized by 2.102 T cells bound to I-E p and was identified using bioinformatics. These studies highlight the specific involvement of self-peptides in alloreactivity.
Cousinia hystricocephala (section Tianschanicae, Asteraceae), a new species from Central Asia

A new species of Cousinia section Tianschanicae is described from Western Tian-Shan (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). This species belongs to the C. tianschanica-complex and was previously misidentified as C. strobilocephala. A species description, distribution map, and images of a herbarium specimen and a plant in nature are provided.
Sympathetic nervous system and adrenal medullary responses to ischemic injury in mice.

Acute, severe injury is frequently attended by hypotension, hypothermia, and decreased metabolic rate despite elevated urine and plasma catecholamine levels. Because the combination of sympathetic ...
INTERRATER RELIABILITY FOR JUDGED QUALITY OF ARTISTIC PERFORMANCE

Ratings are frequently used as performance criteria in administration, e.g., artistic competition, as well as in research. Obviously investigation of interrater reliability of performance ratings is appropriate. Without such information, orgsn~zations (and comperitors) run risk of evaluating (and being evaluated) on basis of performance criteria of essentially randomly generated numbers (1, 2, 4, 5). The present investigation addresses issue of the interrater reliability of the performance criterion within an artistic context, specifically, ballet. Specifically the research investigated interrater reliability of performance ratings in a series of three artistic performances. Data were collected during ballet recital dress rehearsal. Three constant routines or job samples (3) were involved. The three job samples were barre work, floor work, and over-all control and retention. Using alternation ranking, the dance teacher and apprentice independently rated 15 performers immediately after each routine. The performers were girls, aged 5 to 8 yr., all in sixth month of ballet training. For each routine therefore, a data base of 2 raters X 15 ratees was generated, Inrerrarer reliabilicies (rhos) were .72 (barre work), .88 (floor work), and .78 (over-all control and retention) (all ps < .01). Adequate interrater reliability existed for each artistic performance rating. Possible explanations for adequate interrater reliability include raters' training, explicit guidelines for judging, and common terpsichorian values. Importance of continued attention to criterion (interrater) reliability in the present context, as well as other contexts both within artistic competition and outside artistic competition, is reemphasized. Given a need to know the reliability of a dependent variable, it is recommended organizations-and researchers within organizations-continue to devote time and effort to empirical demonstration of criterion reliability. Without such empirical data, interpretation of performance measures or research efforts which utilize performance measures of unknown reliability, e.g., performance prediction studies, will potentially be confounded. Application of present research paradigm in ocher settings is
Transport properties of partially filled skutterudite derivatives Ce 0.13 Co 4 Ge 6 Se 6 and Yb 0.14 Co 4 Ge 6 Se 6

We report on the synthesis and low-temperature transport properties of Ce${}_{0.13}$Co${}_{4}$Ge${}_{6}$Se${}_{6}$ and Yb${}_{0.14}$Co${}_{4}$Ge${}_{6}$Se${}_{6}$. Reitveld refinement was used to identify the structure and stoichiometry of the two compositions. The compounds are skutterudite derivatives with rhombohedral symmetry. The thermal conductivity data were investigated by employing the Debye model with different phonon-scattering parameters. The structural properties have a significant effect on the electrical and thermal properties. This work is part of the continuing effort to explore different skutterudite compositions and structure types, as this class of materials continues to be of interest for thermoelectrics applications.
Phylogenetic relationships within Sarcoscypha based upon nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer of nuclear ribosomal DNA

Nucleotide sequences of the internal tran- scribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA (including the 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene and the flanking ITS1 and ITS2 regions) were used as characters in a phylogenetic analysis of species of Sar- coscypha. The sequences of the ITS regions for 25 isolates, representing fourteen (nine described and five putative new) species of Sarcoscypha, and three outgroup species, Pithya vulgaris, P cupressina, and Phillipsia domingensis, were determined in both di- rections using primers ITS1, ITS2, ITS3, and ITS4. The complete sequences ranged from 485 to 764 base pairs in length; they were aligned using the pro- gram MALIGN. The sequence of Phillipsia domingen- sis was highly divergent from that of the other taxa; the alignment was therefore repeated excluding that taxon and subsequent phylogenetic analyses included only the species of Sarcoscypha and one outgroup, Pithya cupressina. The complete alignment contained 907 base pair sites; 446 of these were considered am- biguously aligned and were excluded from phyloge- netic analyses. Of the remaining 461 base pair sites, 91 were variable with 43 potentially informative char- acters. Cladistic analysis yielded two equally parsi- monious cladograms with NONA (these correspond- ed to two fully supported trees of the eight trees
Abstract LB-271: Loss of the transcription factor REST promotes breast cancer tumorigenicity in a LIN28-dependent manner

About 20% of the nearly 300,000 American women diagnosed with breast cancer this year will have a particularly aggressive form of the disease characterized by a lack of the transcription factor REST. These “RESTless” tumors are associated with particularly poor patient prognosis; 50% of patients with RESTless tumors experience disease recurrence within the first three years post-diagnosis, compared with less than 20% of patients whose tumors still express REST. Here, we use cell culture and xenograft models of RESTless breast cancer to demonstrate that REST loss causes the increased aggression of these tumors. Using lentiviral delivery of shRNAs, we generated several breast cell lines with a stable REST knockdown (“REST low ” cells; a non-targeting shRNA was used to generate control “REST norm ” cells). We find that REST knockdown increases focus formation in MCF10A, MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. REST low MCF10A and MCF7 cells also show enhanced anchorage-independent growth in soft agar. We performed xenograft experiments with REST low and REST norm MCF7 cells; the REST low cells have a greatly enhanced capacity to form tumors in nude mice. We further explore the molecular mechanism underlying the tumorigenicity of cells lacking REST. We demonstrate that REST is a direct transcriptional repressor of the RNA binding protein LIN28 in breast cancer cell lines; as predicted, LIN28 expression is increased upon REST knockdown. Knockdown of LIN28 in REST low cells ablates the ability of REST low MCF7 cells to form foci in culture, colonies in soft agar, and tumors in nude mice. We therefore conclude that the aberrant upregulation of LIN28 that occurs when REST is lost is required for the tumorigenicity of REST low cells. Finally, we show that in human RESTless breast tumors, LIN28 expression is significantly increased. This is the first report to demonstrate that REST loss causes increased tumor aggression and to propose an underlying mechanism for the tumorigenicity of cells lacking REST. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-271. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-LB-271
Acremonium-Associated CLABSI in a Multiple Myeloma Patient: Pitfalls in Diagnosis: A Rare Case Report

Acremonium species are hyaline hyphomycetes that are ubiquitous environmental contaminants occasionally involved in infections, including onychomycosis, keratitis, or even mycetoma. However, aggressive use of newer medical technologies like potent chemotherapy protocols and invasive central-line catheters and newer diseases like HIV infection have resulted in Acremonium and other hyaline molds being increasingly reported as the cause of fungemia. We present …
The relationship between decorrelation time and sample thickness in acute rat brain tissue slices(Conference Presentation)

The optical opacity of biological tissue has long been a challenge in biomedical optics due to the strong scattering nature of tissue in the optical regime. While most conventional optical techniques attempt to gate out multiply scattered light and use only unscattered light, new approaches in the field of wavefront shaping exploit the time reversible symmetry of optical scattering in order to focus light inside or through scattering media. While these approaches have been demonstrated effectively on static samples, it has proven difficult to apply them to dynamic biological samples since even small changes in the relative positions of the scatterers within will cause the time symmetry that wavefront shaping relies upon to decorrelate. In this paper we investigate the decorrelation curves of acute rat brain slices for thicknesses in the range 1-3 mm (1/e decorrelation time on the order of seconds) using multi-speckle diffusing wave spectroscopy (MSDWS) and compare the results with theoretical predictions. The results of this study demonstrate that the 1/L^2 relationship between decorrelation time and thickness predicted by diffusing wave spectroscopy provides a good rule of thumb for estimating how the decorrelation of a sample will change with increasing thickness. Understanding this relationship will provide insight to guide the future development of biophotonic wavefront shaping tools by giving an estimate of how fast wavefront shaping systems need to operate to overcome the dynamic nature of biological samples.
Causes of Power Cable Faults and Test Method Study

Power cable faults will have serious impacts on operation reliability of power grid.Analysis was made to typical power cable fault types,forming causes and test methods for various faults.The results show that the main causes leading to cable faults are mechanical damages,overload operation,cable end defect etc.In cable fault test,the reasonable fault test method should be selected according to fault types and nature.In order to prevent cable faults from taking place and to raise reliability of cable operation,cable load currents and cable temperature should be monitored on line so as to prevent from cable chemical corrosion and electrolysis corrosion.
Folate Transport Abnormalities and Congenital Defects

Birth defects occur in approximately 2–4% of babies born in the United States, ranging in severity from relatively benign (e.g. depressed nasal bridge) to severe and life threatening (e.g. cardiac malformations). The etiology of many of the most common birth defects in humans is multifactorial, and is considered to be the result of both environmental and genetic factors. The involvement of a wide range of environmental factors such as alcohol, certain medications and viral infections, has been well documented (1). However, the genetic factors leading to increased risk for birth defects remains largely unknown, and thus far, no human genes have been tightly associated with congenital malformations (2). Genetic linkage studies could have been a prime experimental methodology to address these questions; however, when studying non-syndromic neural tube defects (NTDs), which are a group of congenital malformations all of which involve incomplete closure of the brain and/or spinal cord, scientists face a critical shortage of families with multiple affected individuals. This is no doubt due in part to the fact that anencephaly is lethal, whereas the majority of individuals with spina bifida suffer life-long disabilities and medical complications, and rarely produce their own offspring. In recent years, investigators searching for the genetic basis of human NTDs, primarily focus on two aspects: the metabolic pathway of folic acid, and the human homologues of genes that were found to induce NTDs in experimental animals, including those genes that had been targeted knockouts.