cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Randomized comparison of rescue angioplasty with conservative management of patients with early failure of thrombolysis for acute anterior myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND When used in the setting of acute myocardial infarction, intravenous thrombolytic agents fail to achieve early infarct artery patency in 15% to 50% of patients. We tested the hypothesis that immediate balloon angioplasty applied to patients with failed early reperfusion would improve left ventricular function and clinical outcome at 30 days compared with conservative management alone. METHODS AND RESULTS One hundred fifty-one patients with first anterior wall infarction treated with any accepted intravenous thrombolytic regimen and angiographically demonstrated to have an occluded infarct vessel within 8 hours of chest pain onset were randomized to aspirin, heparin, and coronary vasodilators (conservative therapy) or to this therapy and balloon angioplasty supplemented by further thrombolytic therapy as needed. Left ventricular function was assessed using multiple-gated equilibrium radionuclide technique to determine ejection fraction, and adverse clinical outcome was assessed evaluating death, ventricular tachycardia, and class III or IV heart failure at 30 days. Seventy-three patients were randomized to conservative therapy and 78 to angioplasty. The two groups were well balanced for patient age (59 +/- 11 years), sex (82% were male), and time to randomization (4.5 +/- 1.9 hours). Angioplasty was technically successful in 72 of 78 randomized patients (92%). Two patients randomized to conservative therapy crossed over to angioplasty within 72 hours. Resting 30-day ejection fraction was 40 +/- 11% in the angioplasty group and 39 +/- 12% in the conservative group (P = .49), but ejection fraction with exercise was 43 +/- 15% and 38 +/- 13% for the angioplasty and conservatively treated groups, respectively (P = .04). Adverse clinical outcomes included death in 5% and 10% (P = .18), severe heart failure in 1% and 7% (P = .11), and either death or severe heart failure in 6% and 17% (P = .05) of the angioplasty and conservatively managed groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS When applied to patients with first anterior infarction, rescue angioplasty appears to be useful in the prevention of death or severe heart failure, with improvement in exercise, but not resting, ejection fraction. This strategy deserves further study and highlights the potential advantage of early mechanical restoration of infarct vessel patency when thrombolytic therapy has failed.
Mitigating concerns and maximizing returns: social media strategies for injury prevention non-profits

Injury prevention programs can use social media to disseminate information and recruit participants.Non-profit organizations have also used social media for fundraising and donor relationshipmanagement. Non-profit organizations (NPOs) with injury prevention missions often serve vulnerablepopulations. Social media platforms have varied levels of access and control of shared content. Thisvariability can present privacy and outreach challenges that are of particular concern for injuryprevention NPOs. This case report of social media workshops for injury prevention NPOs presentsconcerns and strategies for successfully implementing social media campaigns. [West J Emerg Med.2014;15(5):582–586.]
HIV serosorting in men who have sex with men: is it safe?

Background:Serosorting is the practice of preferentially having sex with partners of concordant HIV status or of selectively using condoms with HIV-discordant partners.Methods:We evaluated the epidemiology of serosorting among men who have sex with men (MSM) seen in a sexually transmitted disease cl
8.6.3 Maintenance Practices and Metrics across Defense and Commercial Systems

Systems and software engineering are converging disciplines with increasing evolution of modern complex systems towards increased information and knowledge content. Further, with the capital investment associated with such systems and their long operational life spans, a longer-term notion of quality during design and implementation is necessary. The realities of cost, safety, and staffing considerations are forcing increasing emphasis on reuse and reengineering strategies. This imperative becomes even more urgent with the thrust towards the inclusion of commercial-off-the-shelf components in system architectures. One key operational imperative for complex systems is the cost of maintenance. This paper presents an industry survey conducted to understand maintenance practices prevalent in commercial and defense industries. Results from an industry survey focused on system maintenance measures and metrics are also presented. This survey focused on information and knowledge intensive systems and was supported by INCOSE-The International Council on Systems Engineering and SOLE-The International Society of Logistics.
Identification of the membrane receptor of a class XIV myosin in Toxoplasma gondii

Apicomplexan parasites exhibit a unique form of substrate-dependent motility, gliding motility, which is essential during their invasion of host cells and during their spread between host cells. This process is dependent on actin filaments and myosin that are both located between the plasma membrane and two underlying membranes of the inner membrane complex. We have identified a protein complex in the apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii that contains the class XIV myosin required for gliding motility, TgMyoA, its associated light chain, TgMLC1, and two novel proteins, TgGAP45 and TgGAP50. We have localized this complex to the inner membrane complex of Toxoplasma, where it is anchored in the membrane by TgGAP50, an integral membrane glycoprotein. Assembly of the protein complex is spatially controlled and occurs in two stages. These results provide the first molecular description of an integral membrane protein as a specific receptor for a myosin motor, and further our understanding of the motile apparatus underlying gliding motility in apicomplexan parasites.
Subsurface drainage flow and soil water dynamics of reconstructed prairies and corn rotations for biofuel production.

Land management of agricultural crops can have impacts on soil hydrology. The objective of our research was to evaluate subsurface drain flow and soil water storage dynamics due to land management practices of select annual- and perennial-based biofuel cropping systems. The cropping systems were continuous corn ( Zea mays L.; harvested for both grain and ∼50% of the corn stover) with and without a winter cereal rye ( Secale cereale L. ssp. cereale ) cover crop, mixed prairies (harvested annually for aboveground biomass) with and without N fertilization, and corn–soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotations harvested only for grain. Subsurface drainage flows and soil water content profiles were continuously monitored when soils were unfrozen during 2010 through 2012. Cropping systems were evaluated based on cumulative drainage and drainage event peak flows, time lags, and total durations. Cropping system influence on soil water storage did affect subsurface drainage flow characteristics and cumulative drainage. Prairies or the use of a winter cereal rye cover crop had greater lag times by 127 to 179%, lower peak flow intensities by 23 to 36%, and lower cumulative drainage by 37 to 46% than either corn–soybean rotations or continuous corn without a cover crop. The lower cumulative drainage was attributed to greater evapotranspiration rates and lower stored soil water that resulted in a decrease in peak flow intensities and increased time lags of both peak flow and drainage initiation. Low antecedent soil moisture resulted in low peak flows and cumulative drainage. Based on these findings, prairie systems or the use of a cover crop may aid in mitigating flood frequency in subsurface-drained landscapes.
Effects of varying concentrations of formocresol on RNA synthesis of connective tissues in sponge implants.

Summary By means of quantitative radioautography, this study evaluated the synthesis of RNA by connective tissue cells subjected to varying concentrations of formocresol (FC). As indicated by the incorporation of uridine-H 3 , two pieces of polyvinyl alcohol sponge were implanted in the subcutis of the right and left dorsal scapular regions of Syrian hamsters and were left for 30 days. Then 50 μl of FC in full concentration and in dilutions of 1/5, 1/25, or 1/125 was injected into the sponge implant on one side, whereas the implant on the contralateral side was given the same amount of vehicle alone. The animals were sacrificed at various daily intervals. Thirty minutes or 3 hours prior to sacrifice they were injected with uridine-H 3 (10 μc per gram body weight). Implants were embedded in epoxy resin in a routine manner, and sections 1 μ thick were made on an ultramicrotome. The sections were coated with Kodak NTB-3 liquid emulsion. An evaluation of the labeling index in various sponges indicated a complete fixation of the tissue by the full concentration, whereas at a 1/5 concentration a similar obliteration of RNA synthesis was observed during the second week of the postoperative period. At lower concentrations, there is no sustained effect after the third day. The relative grain number of functioning cells was high throughout the series and was clearly higher in sponges receiving lower concentrations of FC, suggesting a stimulated synthesis of RNA. Similarly elevated counts are noted in control sponges during the first few days after injection of the vehicle. It is concluded that FC, at 1/5 of the usual concentration, might be an equally effective and possibly less damaging pulpotomy agent as compared to the traditional preparation.
Observations on the development of brainstem-spinal systems in the north american opossum†

The North American oppossum is born 12 to 13 days after conception and and is available for 90 days or more in an external pouch where it can be observed and experimentally manipulated. It is of particular interest that the hindlimbs of the newborn opossum are very immature and remain immobile for a week or more after birth. Degeneration techniques reveal that immature brainstem axons are present within the marginal zone of the lumbosacral cord before hindlimb movements begin (our state I) and material processed for formaldehyde induced fluorescence shows that some of them transport monoamines. Several lines of evidence suggest that part of the fluorescent axons arise within the nucleus locus coeruleus. At this early stage the electron microscope reveals that all brainstem-spinal axons are small (0.1--0.4 micrometer in diameter) and unmyelinated. By the time random hindlimb movements can be observed (stage II), brainstem axons, including those transporting monoamines, can be demonstrated to have grown into limited areas of the intermediate zone of the lumbosacral cord and to arise from most of the areas contributing to them in the adult animal (horseradish peroxidase technique). Such axons are still immature and it is not yet clear that they have formed synaptic terminals. Brainstem axons continue to grow into the intermediate zone of the lumbosacral cord for some time and come to occupy all of their adult territories before thoracic transection produces obvious change in hindlimb motility (beginning of stage III). It is still another 20 days or so before thoracic transection produces spinal shock comparable to that in the adult animal. The relatively mature use of the hindlimbs and the full expression of spinal shock correlate with changes in the technique and survival time needed to demonstrate degenerating brainstem axons in experimental material.
Whole-body vibration in the skeleton: development of a resonance-based testing device

Whole-body vibration (WBV) has been demonstrated to have a strong influence on physiological systems, ranging from severely destructive to potentially beneficial. Unfortutely, the study of WBV in a controlled manner is commonly constrained by space and budgetary factors, particularly where vibration in the low frequency range is considered. In the work presented here, a small, low-cost device for performing WBV of the human skeleton is developed to assist in studies of vertical acceleration in a clinical setting. The device design consists of a spring-supported plate driven by an 18N peak-force electromagnetic actuator, and the associated driving and monitoring electronics. Animal and human lumped-mass models have been coupled with a model of the loading device to seek a resonance response in the vicinity of 30Hz. This approach minimizes the loading requirements of such a device, and thus a major component of the cost, yet can provide peak accelerations of 0.15 g at a frequency of 30 Hz in a small, lightweight package capable of use in a clinical or laboratory setting.
The Effect of Weight Loss on Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Oxygen Desaturation in Morbidly Obese Men

Four morbidly obese men who had been found to have significant sleep-disordered breathing and oxygen desaturation were restudied after an average weight loss of 108 kg (range 53-155 kg). In all subjects, weight loss was accompanied by a significant reduction in the number of episodes per hour of sleep-disordered breathing events. In three of the four subjects, there was improvement in the severity of desaturation accompanying abnormal breathing. The two subjects with daytime somnolence and hypercapnia prior to weight loss showed the most dramatic improvement in desaturation. This suggests that obesity is a cause, rather than an effect, of the sleep apnea syndrome.
On growing random binary trees

Abstract A sequence {Tn}n = 1∞ of nested binary trees generated by an infinite sequence of i.i.d. random variables is studied. Two absolute constants β1,β2 are shown to exist (0.37 lim h n ln n = β 1 , lim H n / ln n = β 2 with probability one; here hn and Hn are respectively the lengths of the shortest and the longest branches of the tree Tn.
Amorphous phenolphthalein‐based poly(arylene ether)‐ modified cyanate ester networks: Effect of thermal cure cycle on morphology and toughenability

Reactive functional thermoplastic poly (arylene ether) toughness modifiers were demonstrated to enhance toughness of brittle thermosetting cyanate ester networks and also allowed retention ofa highly desirable stability to solvent stress cracking and a moderately high modulus. Careful control of the heterophase morphological structure was necessary to achieve significant toughening. In contrast to the well-defined morphologies of the reactive thermoplastic-modified networks, the use of nonreactive simple physical blend modifiers of the same molecular weight and backbone chemistry produced a macrophase separation and no apparent control over the sizes of the phase-separated domains. Macrophase-separated morphologies are inherently process-sensitive and less desirable from the point of performance control and prediction. Generation of controlled microphase-separated morphologies can be achieved by systematically varying thermal cure cycles in the case of the reactive thermoplastic-modified systems. Such a cure cycle dependence of the morphology was particularly demonstrated for the case of the 25 wt % 15,000 (Mn) (15K) phenolphthalein-based hydroxy-functionalized poly(arylene ether sulfone) (PPH-PSF-OH)-modified networks. Morphologies that exhibit finer textures of the phase separated domains usually result in lower fracture toughness values.
Poorly Cross-Linked Peptidoglycan in MRSA Due to mecA Induction Activates the Inflammasome and Exacerbates Immunopathology

Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is a leading health problem. Compared to methicillin-sensitive S. aureus, MRSA infections are associated with greater morbidity and mortality, but the mechanisms underlying MRSA pathogenicity are unclear. Here we show that the protein conferring β-lactam antibiotic resistance, penicillin-binding protein 2A (encoded by the mecA gene), directly contributes to pathogenicity during MRSA infection. MecA induction leads to a reduction in peptidoglycan cross-linking that allows for enhanced degradation and detection by phagocytes, resulting in robust IL-1β production. Peptidoglycan isolated from β-lactam-challenged MRSA strongly induces the NLRP3 inflammasome in macrophages, but these effects are lost upon peptidoglycan solubilization. Mutant MRSA bacteria with naturally occurring reduced peptidoglycan cross-links induce high IL-1β levels in vitro and cause increased pathology in vivo. β-lactam treatment of MRSA skin infection exacerbates immunopathology, which is IL-1 dependent. Thus, antibiotic-induced expression of mecA during MRSA skin infection contributes to immunopathology by altering peptidoglycan structure.
Effect of proton implantation on the degradation of GaAs/AlGaAs vertical cavity surface emitting lasers

The electroluminescence (EL) technique is used to analyse the degradation mode of VCSELs with proton implantation for current confinement. Point defects generated by the implantation in the active layer are believed to affect the VCSEL long term reliability.
Differential Effects of Maternal Sensitivity to Infant Distress and Nondistress on Social-Emotional Functioning

Associations between maternal sensitivity to infant distress and nondistress and infant social-emotional adjustment were examined in a subset of dyads from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (N = 376). Mothers reported on infant temperament at 1 and 6 months postpartum, and maternal sensitivity to distress and nondistress were observed at 6 months. Child behavior problems, social competence, and affect dysregulation were measured at 24 and 36 months. Maternal sensitivity to distress but not to nondistress was related to fewer behavioral problems and higher social competence. In addition, for temperamentally reactive infants, maternal sensitivity to distress was associated with less affect dysregulation. Sensitivity to nondistress only prevented affect dysregulation if sensitivity to distress was also high.
Delayed and Immediate Reinforcement Retarded Adolescents in an Educational Setting

Mentally retarded adolescents experienced both immediate and delayed reinforcement in a classroom setting. Appropriate work behavior was triggered using a token reinforcement system. A reversal design was used in which baseline periods alternated with each type of reinforcement period. Both delayed and immediate reinforcement conditions were accompanied by levels of appropriate behavior above that of the baseline condition. Immediate reinforcement procedures resulted in higher levels of behavior than during delayed reinforcement; delayed reinforcement resulted in greater resistance to extinction after reinforcement had been terminated. No differences in generalization of the appropriate work behavior to another class period occurred as a result of the different reinforcement conditions.
Vitamins and Sleep: An Exploratory Study

Abstract Study objective We analyzed archival data from an epidemiology study to test the association between vitamin use and sleep. Design Random digit dialing was used to recruit 772 people ranging in age from 20 to 98 for a study of people’s sleep experience. These individuals completed a set of questionnaires about their sleep, health, and daytime functioning. Five hundred and nineteen of these participants had available vitamin use data. Setting Home. Participants Five hundred and nineteen people participated. Recruitment applied minimal screening criteria and no attempt was made to favor people with or without sleep disturbance. Interventions This survey included no intervention. Participants completed 2 weeks of sleep diaries and a set of questionnaires. Of particular salience to the present study, participants reported their vitamin use in listing all medications and nutritional supplements being used currently. Measurements and results For those individuals taking a multivitamin or multiple single vitamins, sleep diaries revealed poorer sleep compared to non-vitamin users in the number and duration of awakenings during the night. After controlling for age, ethnicity, and sex the difference in number of awakenings was still marginally significant. The rate of insomnia, conservatively defined, and consumption of sleep medication were also marginally significantly higher among individuals taking multi-/multiple vitamins compared to those not taking vitamins. Conclusions Disturbed sleep maintenance was associated with multi-/multiple vitamin use. Five equally plausible explanations were advanced to explain this association including vitamins cause poor sleep, poor sleepers seek vitamins, and unidentified factors promote both poor sleep and vitamin use. These data are considered preliminary. Methodological characteristics of future studies were described that hold the promise of more clearly illuminating the association between vitamins and sleep.
Effects of induced moods on economic choices.

Emotions can shape decision processes by altering valuation signals, riskperception, and strategic orientation. Although multiple theories posit a role for affective processes in mediating the influence of frames on decision making, empirical studies have yet to demonstrate that manipulated affect modulates framing phenomena. The present study asked whether induced affective states alter gambling propensity and the influence of frames on decision making. In a between-subjects design, we induced mood (happy, sad, or neutral) in subjects (N=91) via films that were interleaved with the framing task. Happy mood induction increased gambling and apparently accentuated framing effects compared to sad mood induction, although the effect on framing could have resulted from the fact that the increased tendency to gamble made the framing measure more sensitive. Happy mood induction increased gambling, but not framing magnitude, compared to neutral mood induction. Subjects experiencing a sad mood induction did not exhibit behavioral differences from those experiencing a neutral mood. For those subjects who experienced the happy mood induction, both gambling propensity and framing magnitude were positively correlated with the magnitude of the change in their mood valence. We discuss the broader implications of mood effects on real-world economic decisions.
Genomic Association/Linkage of Sodium Lithium Countertransport in CEPH Pedigrees

Little is known about genetic determinants explaining variation in the erythrocyte sodium-lithium countertransport (SLC), an intermediate phenotype of essential hypertension. We characterized the SLC in immortalized lymphoblasts and showed that its behavior is similar to that of erythrocyte SLC. We then performed association and linkage analyses of the SLC in immortalized lymphoblasts from 5 large pedigrees from the Center d’Etude du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH) genomics repository. The results of these analyses showed that a number of genomic regions harboring genes involved in glutathione metabolism might explain variations in SLC activity. These findings support evidence that thiol groups play a central role in SLC activity.
Neoformalism and the Reemergence of the Rights/Privilege Distinction in Public Employment Law

The First Amendment speech rights of public employees, which have traditionally enjoyed protection under the doctrine of unconstitutional conditions, have suddenly diminished in recent years. At one time developed to shut the door on the infamous privilege/rights distinction, a new version of the unconstitutional conditions doctrine has been increasingly used to rob public employees of their constitutional rights. Three interrelated developments explain this state of affairs. First, a jurisprudential school of thought – the “subsidy school” – has significantly undermined the vitality of the unconstitutional conditions doctrine through its largely successful sparring with an alternative school of thought, the “penalty school.” Second, although initially developed in the government as sovereign context, this subsidy approach to the unconstitutional conditions doctrine has now infiltrated the government as employer context and eviscerated large parts of the holding in Pickering v. Bd. of Education. Third, and most significantly, the subsidy approach in the government as employer context has morphed into the government speech doctrine, through which the government employer claims the speech of its employees as its own and regulates it freely. It is this neoformalism of the subsidy school that explains the reemergence of the privilege-right distinction in public employment law. This article argues for the restoration of Pickering, its constitutional balancing standard, and the penalty version of the unconstitutional conditions doctrine. Only when government actions that practically truncate the rights of public employees are not tolerated, will public employees be able again to speak without fear of retribution, assume the role of the vanguard of the citizenry, and protect fellow citizens from government fraud, waste, and abuse.
Incidental adrenal lesions detected on enhanced abdominal dual-energy CT: Can the diagnostic workup be shortened by the implementation of virtual unenhanced images?

Abstract Objective To determine whether post-processing of the data from portal-phase enhanced dual-energy CT (DECT), with or without the addition of a late enhanced phase acquisition, may enable characterization of adrenal lesions without the need for acquisition of pre-contrast images. Materials and methods Twenty-two patients with 24 adrenal lesions underwent unenhanced, venous and delayed phase DECT. Of these lesions, 20 were found to be adrenal adenomas, on the basis of histopathology, unenhanced attenuation values between 0 and −10 HU, or stability over at least 6 months. For all 24 lesions, true and virtual unenhanced attenuation values were measured based on the data of the portal (VNCp) and the delayed (VNCd) DECT acquisition. The absolute washout values based on the true non-contrast (TNC) and the VNCp and VNCd image series were also measured. The washout was also calculated based on the iodine concentration measured from both contrast-enhanced acquisitions. Results Mean virtual unenhanced attenuation values of all lesions calculated from the portal phase images was 12.6 HU, and was 4.02 HU higher than the values based on true unenhanced images ( p = 0.020). Washout values calculated from virtual unenhanced attenuation based on the VNCp were also significantly different ( p = 0.0304) while those calculated from VNCd and from iodine concentration correlated with the corresponding values based on the true unenhanced values ( p > 0.999). Conclusions Our data indicate that attenuation values of adrenal adenomas based on virtual unenhanced images are significantly higher than those obtained with true unenhanced images. An incidental adrenal lesion with a virtual unenhanced attenuation lower than 10 HU can thus be safely characterized as an adenoma.
Reductions in the N1 and P2 Auditory Event-Related Potentials in First-Hospitalized and Chronic Schizophrenia

The N1 auditory event-related potential (ERP) is reduced in chronic schizophrenia, as is the P2 to attended tones. N1 reduction may be endophenotypic for schizophrenia, being reduced in twins of schizophrenic patients and showing heritability. Results in family members, however, are equivocal, with abnormally small N1 (consistent with an endophenotype) and abnormally large N1 (inconsistent with an endophenotype) reported. P2 has been little studied in schizophrenia or family members. One crucial step in establishing endophenotypes is to rule out causal chronicity factors. We examined schizophrenia patients within 1 year of first hospitalization (most within 2 wk), chronically ill patients, and matched controls to examine N1 and P2 reductions and disease stage. Two active target detection oddball tasks were used, one with 97-dB tones against 70-dB white masking noise, the second with 97-dB tones without noise. Results from 8 samples are reported: first-hospitalized patients and matched controls and chronic patients and matched controls for the 2 tasks. N1 and P2 were measured from the standard stimuli. N1 and P2 were significantly reduced in chronic patients, as expected, and reduced in first-hospitalized patients. Because N1 and P2 are reduced even at the first hospitalization for schizophrenia, they may serve as viable electrophysiological endophenotypes for the disorder. However, deficit early in the disease is necessary but not sufficient to establish these ERPs as endophenotypes. Deficits must next be demonstrated in at least a subset of unaffected family members, a crucial criterion for an endophenotype.
NUMERICAL SHOCK PROPAGATION USING GEOMETRICAL SHOCK DYNAMICS

A simple numerical scheme for the calculation of the motion of shock waves in gases based on Whitham's theory of geometrical shock dynamics is developed. This scheme is used to study the propagation of shock waves along walls and in channels and the self-focusing of initially curved shockfronts. The numerical results are compared with exact and numerical solutions of the geometrical-shock-dynamics equations and with recent experimental investigations.
IT Sourcing — A Dynamic Phenomenon: Forming an Institutional Theory Perspective

Research as well as industry surveys have shown that IS outsourcing is not a static phenomenon and success of it is not a definitive outcome. Lack of success in IS outsourcing has led companies to seek costly alterations in their IS outsourcing arrangements (Input 1999c). In general, companies shift IS sourcing due to lack of success or due to newly emerging conditions and needs. Therefore, improved understanding of the factors influencing such shifts in companies’ outsourcing arrangements may become useful in making better decisions and in developing the IS outsourcing research stream. Specifically, the following research questions can be raised at this stage. What are the concepts relevant for explaining the changes in sourcing and theoretical foundations that can explain the processes and antecedents to change? Review of past IS outsourcing research shows that there is a dearth of research on the continuation of IS outsourcing arrangements. Nam, Rajagopalan, Rao, and Chaudhury, (1996) investigated the determinants that would lead to continuation of IS outsourcing, which they referred to as a secondlevel decision to outsource and treated the continuation as an isolated static phenomenon and did not view it as a change process.
But Women Play the Game Too Communication Control and Influence in Administrative Decision Making

Studies on the sociolinguistic behavior of informal groups find that men largely control conversations by speaking longer and more often, interrupting women, and managing the topics discussed. This presents major implications for the effectiveness of women in administrative decision-making groups. Women administrators may not influence decisions commensurate with their presence if men control communications. This article assesses the gender dynamics of a state interagency task force to determine the prevalence and strength of power based on group roles compared to gender roles and to see whether and how women assert control in decision conversations. It has consequences for all routine bureaucratic policymaking.
Lichen aureus: A hemosiderin tattoo associated with perforator vein incompetence

We present evidence that lichen aureus results from extravasation of red blood cells into the dermis caused by incompetence of an underlying perforator vein. The sudden appearance of the lesion suggests a "blow out" of the microvasculature of the lower dermis caused by failure of the valves in the perforator vein. This incompetence of the perforator vein induces a permanent reversal in normal blood flow. The consequent continuous high pressure in the cutaneous microvasculature is responsible for long-term leakage of red blood cells. Digestion of the extravasated red cells by macrophages leaves an "auto-tattoo" of insoluble hemosiderin granules, which produce the distinctive golden or burnt orange color of lichen aureus.
Neural Control of Ocular Immune Privilege

Ocular immune privilege arises from interactions between the immune apparatus and the eye itself, thereby providing immune protection for the eye that is devoid of sight-threatening inflammation. On the one hand, antigens injected intraocularly elicit deviant systemic immune responses that are devoid of immunogenic inflammation (Anterior Chamber-Associated Immune Deviation, ACAID). On the other hand, the ocular microenvironment (aqueous humor, secreted by cells that surround this chamber) suppresses intraocular expression of immunogenic inflammation. Several lines of evidence indicate that ocular immune privilege is under neural control. First, aqueous humor contains neuropeptides (alpha-MSH, VIP, CGRP) that inhibit and alter the functional properties of T lymphocytes and macrophages. Second, when corneal nerves are severed, the tissues surrounding the anterior chamber cease secreting immunosuppressive factors and ACAID fails--until the nerves regrow. Third, light deprivation abolishes the capacity of the anterior chamber to support ACAID induction, a process that is sensitive to neuropeptides and melatonin. The photoreceptor(s) responsible for ACAID are connected to the nervous system and may reside in the anterior segment and/or the retina. Thus, neural elements from the central nervous system and within the eye help to shape both the induction and the expression of ocular immunity, thereby promoting immune privilege.
Frequency Limits of InP-based Integrated Circuits

We examine the limits in scaling of InP-based bipolar and field effect transistors for increased device bandwidth. With InP-based HBTs, emitter and base contact resistivities and IC thermal resistance are the major limits to increased device bandwidth; devices with 1-1.5 THz simultaneous ftau and fmax are feasible. Major challenges faced in developing either InGaAs HEMTs having THz cutoff frequencies or InGaAs-channel MOSFETs having drive current consistent with the 22 nm ITRS objectives include the low two-dimensional effective density of states and the high bound state energies in narrow quantum wells.
Arbuscular mycorrhizae respond to plants exposed to elevated atmospheric CO2 as a function of soil depth

The importance of arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) in plant and ecosystem responses to global changes, e.g. elevated atmospheric CO2, is widely acknowledged. Frequently, increases in AM root colonization occur in response to increased CO2, but also the lack of significant changes has been reported. The goal of this study was to test whether arbuscular mycorrhizae (root colonization and composition of root colonization) respond to plants grown in elevated CO2 as a function of soil depth. We grew Bromus hordeaceus L. and Lotus wrangelianus Fischer & C. Meyer monocultures in large pots with a synthetic serpentine soil profile for 4 yr in an experiment, in which CO2 concentration was crossed factorially with NPK fertilization. When analyzing root infection separately for topsoil (0–15 cm) and subsoil (15–45 cm), we found large (e.g., about 5-fold) increases of AM fungal root colonization in the subsoil in response to CO2, but no significant changes in the corresponding topsoil of Bromus. Only the coarse endophyte AM fungi, not the fine endophyte AM fungi, were responsible for the observed increase in the bottom soil layer, indicating a depth-dependent shift in the AM community colonizing the roots, even at this coarse morphological level. Other response variables also had significant soil layer * CO2 interaction terms. The subsoil response would have been hidden in an unstratified assessment of the total root system, since most of the root length was concentrated in the top soil layer. The increased presence of mycorrhizae in roots deeper in the soil should be considered in sampling protocols, as it may be indicative of changed patterns of nutrient acquisition and carbon sequestration.
Allometry and curvature in the long bones of quadrupedal mammals

The allometric relationships between basic structural proportions in long bones are examined in the humerus, radius, femur and tibia for a diverse group of 42 terrestrial quadrupedal mammals that span a size range from 0.02–6000 kg. Non-linear scaling is found for length vs. diameter in the tibia and radius, suggesting that the mechanical constraints on the skeleton differ within large and small body-size mammals. Curvature normalized to mid-shaft radius scales differently in the different long bones. Curvature is poorly related to size in the proximal limb bones (humerus and femur) while it decreases systematically with size in the tibia (mass exponent −0.13). The scaling of normalized curvature in the radius is unique among long bones. Variability of curvature in the radius is reduced at any size in comparison to that found in the other long bones. Normalized curvature is constant within the small body size group (0.02 to approximately 100 kg) while it decreases sharply with size within animals over 100 kg body mass. The unusual scaling found in the radius is probably the result of this bone's close alignment with the extrinsic forces which act on it during locomotion. The change in scaling within the radius for animals of different size may be indicative of more general size-dependent mechanical trade-offs which are masked by the complex loading circumstances of the other long bones.
Product Familiarity and the Expression of Preferences

Marketers often base decisions about marketing strategies on the results of research designed to elicit information about consumers' preferences. A large body of research indicates, however, that preferences often are labile. That is, preferences can be reversed depending on factors such as how the preference is elicited. In three studies, we examine the effect of familiarity in two preference-elicitation tasks, choice and matching judgments. We provide evidence of an interaction between familiarity and response mode (choice or matching) in each study. In study 3, we test the explanation that preference reversals may occur when the interaction of response mode with product-category familiarity leads to systematic changes in attribute weighting.
The Make Believe of Janus - A Brief Case Comment Examining Janus Capital Group, Inc. v. First Derivative Traders

Rule 10b-5 prohibits 'making any untrue statement of a material fact' in connection with the purchase or sale of securities. The critical question considered by the Janus Court was how the term 'make' in Rule 10b-5 should be construed. The SEC contended that 'make' is synonymous with 'create,' which would allow it (and private plaintiffs) to assert a claim against one who provides false or misleading material information to another, who later includes it in a statement. However, the Court rejected this definition and found the phrase at issue in Rule 10b-5, 'to make . . . any statement,' to be the approximate equivalent of 'to state.'
How Long? A Close Supreme Court Decision Trades Decades of Sentencing Reform for a Confusing Future

In Blakely v. Washington, the Supreme Court held that juries, not judges, must find facts that raise sentences under state sentencing guidelines and must find these facts beyond a reasonable doubt. The decision has thrown lower courts into disarray, with many courts striking down the Federal Sentencing Guidelines entirely and others warping them by knocking out the upward-enhancement provisions. The Blakely majority envisioned a regime of jury sentencing trials, but these days very few cases make it to juries; most plea bargain. The more likely result is more mandatory minimum penalties, that will ironically mean even more pressure to plea bargain and fewer jury trials in the long run.
The Minimax Theory and Expected-Utility Reasoning

It is widely believed that von Neumann and Morgenstern have provided a fully satisfactory theory of rational choice for a special class of situations in which a person is faced with choosing between various alternatives, and where the person knows that the outcome of his choice is in part a function of how another person, who is presumed to be equally rational, chooses. The class of situations in question are those which can be characterized as finite, two-person, zero-sum games. Their theory — the minimax (or equilibrium) theory — is said, among other things to have the virtue of being fully compatible with the hypothesis that each player is, as an individual decision maker, governed in his choice behavior by the principle of the maximization of expected utility (EUX).
What do phasic cholinergic signals do

In addition to the neuromodulatory role of cholinergic systems, brief, temporally discrete cholinergic release events, or "transients", have been associated with the detection of cues in attention tasks. Here we review four main findings about cholinergic transients during cognitive processing. Cholinergic transients are: (1) associated with the detection of a cue and influenced by cognitive state; (2) not dependent on reward outcome, although the timing of the transient peak co-varies with the temporal relationship between detection and reward delivery; (3) correlated with the mobilization of the cue-evoked response; (4) causal mediators of shifts from monitoring to cue detection. We next discuss some of the key questions concerning the timing and occurrence of transients within the framework of available evidence including: (1) Why does the shift from monitoring to cue detection require a transient? (2) What determines whether a cholinergic transient will be generated? (3) How can cognitive state influence transient occurrence? (4) Why do cholinergic transients peak at around the time of reward delivery? (5) Is there evidence of cholinergic transients in humans? We conclude by outlining future research studies necessary to more fully understand the role of cholinergic transients in mediating cue detection.
Electroassisted codeposition of sol-gel derived silica nanocomposite directs the fabrication of coral-like nanostructured porous gold.

Herein, we report on a one-step coelectrodeposition method to form gold–silica nanocomposite materials from which high surface area nanostructured gold electrodes can be produced. The as-prepared Au–SiO2 films possess an interconnected three-dimensional porous framework with different silica–gold ratios depending on the deposition solutions and parameters. Chemical etching of the nanocomposite films using hydrofluoric acid resulted in the formation of nanostructured porous gold films with coral-like structures and pores in the nanometer range. The cross-linkage of the gold coral branches resulted in the generation of a porous framework. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms the complete removal of silica. Well-controlled surface area enhancement, film thickness, and morphology were achieved by manipulating the deposition parameters, such as potential, time, and gold ion and sol–gel monomer concentrations in the deposition solution. An enhancement in the surface area of the electrode up to 57 times rel...
Effects of Wireless Signal Attenuation on Robot Team Performance.

This work investigates how wireless signal attenuation affects a team of mobile robots performing exploration. Many coverage tasks, such as search and rescue or exploration, can be performed more effectively when robots communicate with one other. However, in real world environments, maintaining communication can be difficult due to unpredictable wireless signal propagation. In this paper, we investigate the wireless network connectivity in an outdoor area that consist of concrete wall and pillars. Preliminary simulation and physical experimental results are compared to demonstrate the effects of signal attenuation on robot team performance.
Alterations in ribosomal protein L19 that decrease the fidelity of translation.

Ribosomal protein L19 is an essential ribosomal protein and is a component of bridge B8, one of the protein-RNA bridges linking the large and small ribosomal subunits. Bridge B8 also contributes to the accuracy of translation by affecting GTPase activation by ribosome-bound aminoacyl tRNA-EF-Tu•GTP ternary complexes. Previous work has identified a limited number of accuracy-altering alterations in protein L19 of Salmonella enterica and Thermus thermophilus. Here, we have targeted the Escherichia coli rplS gene encoding L19 for mutagenesis and have screened for mutants with altered levels of miscoding. We have recovered 14 distinct L19 mutants, all of which promote increased stop codon readthrough, but do not have major effects on subunit association or cell growth. Examination of the E. coli 70S ribosome structure indicates that the amino acid substitutions cluster in three distinct regions of L19 and thereby potentially affect its interactions with L14 and 16S rRNA.
Virtual Road Signs: Augmented Reality Driving Aid for Novice Drivers

Studies have shown that experts are more sensitive to changes in the road scene than novice drivers, and use the driving patterns of other cars to infer important information. A tool that can help ...
Integrative Signaling Networks of Membrane Guanylate Cyclases: Biochemistry and Physiology.

This monograph presents a historical perspective of cornerstone developments on the biochemistry and physiology of mammalian membrane guanylate cyclases (MGCs), highlighting contributions made by the authors and their collaborators. Upon resolution of early, contentious studies, cyclic GMP emerged, alongside cyclic AMP, as an important intracellular second messenger for hormonal signaling. However, the two signaling pathways differ in significant ways. In the cyclic AMP pathway, hormone binding to a G protein coupled receptor leads to stimulation or inhibition of an adenylate cyclase, whereas the cyclic GMP pathway dispenses with intermediaries; hormone binds to an MGC to affect its activity. Although the cyclic GMP pathway is direct, it is by no means simple. The modular design of the molecule incorporates regulation by ATP binding and phosphorylation. MGCs can form complexes with Ca2+-sensing subunits that either increase or decrease cyclic GMP synthesis, depending on subunit identity. In some systems, co-expression of two Ca2+ sensors, GCAP1 and S100B with ROS-GC1 confers bimodal signaling marked by increases in cyclic GMP synthesis when intracellular Ca2+ concentration rises or falls. Some MGCs monitor or are modulated by carbon dioxide via its conversion to bicarbonate. One MGC even functions as a thermosensor as well as a chemosensor; activity reaches a maximum with a mild drop in temperature. The complexity afforded by these multiple limbs of operation enables MGC networks to perform transductions traditionally reserved for G protein coupled receptors and TRP (Transient Receptor Potential) channels and to serve a diverse array of functions, including control over cardiac vasculature, smooth muscle relaxation, blood pressure regulation, cellular growth, sensory transductions, neural plasticity and memory.