cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SH2-B promotes insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1)- and IRS2-mediated activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway in response to leptin

Leptin regulates energy homeostasis primarily by binding and activating its long form receptor (LRb). Deficiency of either leptin or LRb causes morbid obesity. Leptin stimulates LRb-associated JAK2, thus initiating multiple pathways including the Stat3 and phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase pathways that mediate leptin biological actions. Here we report that SH2-B, a JAK2-interacting protein, promotes activation of the PI 3-kinase pathway by recruiting insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) and IRS2 in response to leptin. SH2-B directly bound, via its PH and SH2 domain, to both IRS1 and IRS2 both in vitro and in intact cells and mediated formation of a JAK2/SH2-B/IRS1 or IRS2 tertiary complex. Consequently, SH2-B dramatically enhanced leptin-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS1 and IRS2 in HEK293 cells stably expressing LRb, thus promoting association of IRS1 and IRS2 with the p85 regulatory subunit of PI 3-kinase and phosphorylation and activation of Akt. SH2-B mutants with lower affinity for IRS1 and IRS2 exhibited reduced ability to promote association of JAK2 with IRS1, tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS1, and association of IRS1 with p85 in response to leptin. Moreover, deletion of the SH2-B gene impaired leptin-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of endogenous IRS1 in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF), which was reversed by reintroduction of SH2-B. Similarly, SH2-B promoted growth hormone-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of IRS1 in both HEK293 and MEF cells. Our data suggest that SH2-B is a novel mediator of the PI 3-kinase pathway in response to leptin or other hormones and cytokines that activate JAK2.
“Taking Back Our Country”: Tea Party Membership and Support for Punitive Crime Control Policies

The Tea Party Movement (TPM) emerged shortly after the 2008 election, with members rallying behind the call to “take back our country.” Many observers suggest that the movement represents, in part, a racialized backlash against the election of Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president, motivated by perceived threats to the racial hierarchy. Racial threat theory predicts that if the TPM is motivated by and reinforces racial concerns, racialized support for punitive crime policies that disproportionately impact blacks should be higher among Tea Partiers. Drawing on recent national survey data, this study tests this prediction. The results show that TPM membership is positively associated with punitiveness and that this relationship is mediated, in part, by Tea Partiers’ animus toward blacks. We discuss the import of these findings for competing accounts of the TPM, racial threat theory, and the argument that the United States has become a “post-racial society.”
The impact of the "Put Prevention into Practice" initiative on pediatric nurse practitioner practices.

Abstract Introduction: Pediatric nurse practioners (PNPs) are committed to health promotion and disease prevention especially for children and adolescents. In this project the "Put Prevention into Practice" materials, developed by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion of the United States Public Health Service, were disseminated to members of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates and Practitioners and evaluated for their impact on child health outcomes. Method: The evaluation was conducted by chart review of patients seeing PNPs during the first year of national implementation of the project. Data were collected on a form designed for the study at the time of introduction of the materials into the PNPs' practice and 6 months later. Numbers of visits for health maintenance, illness, and emergency department use were compared before and after introduction of materials. Whether the parent brought the Cbild Health Guide to the visit was also compared before and after materials were introduced. In addition, immunization status, recording of height, weight, developmental screening, and hearing and vision screening were compared before and after introduction of materials. To obtain information about the materials and their applicability to patients, focus groups were used to elicit information from PNPs at two national meetings. Results: Usable data were received from 14 PNPs representing 194 patients. The results indicated that use of the "Put Prevention into Practice" program increased immunization rates, health maintenance visits, documentation of developmental, hearing and vision screening, and car seat use. No change was seen in documentation of height, weight, and emergency department and illness visits. Members found that the materials were difficult to implement in some populations. Despite the small numbers of participants, these data suggest that use of the "Put Prevention into Practice" materials can improve consistency of preventive care for young children.
Autonomous Alignment of Free-Space-Optical Links Between UAVs

Free-Space-Optical (FSO) communication has the potential to make high data rate point-to-point transfers possible. Despite its capacity advantages, FSO communication (FSOC) requires establishment and maintenance of line-of-sight (LOS) alignment. We consider two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), each with one FSO transceiver mounted on a hemispherical structure/head capable of rotating 360\degree~in the horizontal plane and 180 degree in the vertical plane. We propose a novel scheme that deals with the problem of automatic establishment and maintenance of LOS alignment between the UAVs with mechanical steering of the FSO transceivers. The proposed method shows that using such mechanically steerable transceivers and a simple auto-alignment mechanism, it is possible to maintain an optical wireless link between two UAVs with nominal disruption.
Backward Masking Spatial Frequency Effects Among Hypothetically Schizotypal Individuals

The present investigation relied upon a neurophysiological explanation of visual masking and compared the backward masking susceptibility of hypothetical schizotypal individuals to that of controls. In order to assess the relative contributions of the visual system's transient and sustained channels to the backward masking deficit characteristic of the schizophrenia spectrum, performance within low spatial frequency (LSF) and high spatial frequency (HSF) masking conditions was compared. Because this design was intended to test the hypothesis that a transient channel abnormality underlies the spectrum masking deficit, only the transient facilitating, LSF masking condition was expected to produce group differences. Although the two masking conditions were equivalent in their stimulus energies, as predicted, the at-risk subjects evidenced an LSF masking deficit, but did not differ from controls in the sustained facilitating, HSF masking condition. These results suggest that multichannel neurophysiological models of masking may help to direct research designed to gain an increased understanding of the specific nature of the spectrum masking deficit.
Electromigration Lifetimes of Single Crystal Aluminum Lines with Different Crystallographic Orientations

Near-bamboo interconnects are susceptible to failure either at polygranular clusters or within bamboo grains (transgranular failure). Polygranular failure mechanisms are often dominant in lines with near-bamboo structures at test conditions, but at service conditions, transgranular failure mechanisms are expected to dominate. In order to study the temperature and current density dependence as well as the crystallographic dependence of these transgranular failure mechanisms, it is necessary to isolate them from other mechanisms. To do this, we have studied single crystal Al lines on oxidized silicon. We have tested lifetimes of passivated and unpassivated Al single crystal lines with various textures. In both passivated and unpassivated lines, the median time to failure, tso, was found to be texture-dependent, with t50(111) > t50(133) > t50(110), and with t50(111) ~ 10xt50(1 10). The activation energy for failure for both passivated and unpassivated (110) single crystal lines was about 1 eV. This value differs from that of aluminum bulk diffusion (1.4 eV), suggesting that interface diffusion is the dominant diffusion mechanism in these lines, and perhaps in bamboo regions of near-bamboo lines as well.
Market Research of Domestic Ducks for the HR Trade

Abstract Per capita consumption in the duck industry has remained static due to (1) seasonal production and demand, (2) more convenience and profitability of competitive meats, (3) small, widely dispersed nature of the duck industry, and (4) inability of the industry to conduct meaningful marketing programs. In an effort to solve this static growth, a market research telephone and mail survey was conducted to determine the image of duck held by the hotel, restaurant and institution trade (HRI) and to understand the HRI market needs for duck. A major reason for the static growth was lack of demand from HRI patrons. Poor familarity, adverse images and other unfavorable characteristics were given as causes related to patrons, but lack of convenience, preparation personnel and profitability were given by HRI respondents. Responses from HRI respondents serving duck (users) were similar to those not serving duck (nonusers). However, raw duck was preferred by most users, and nonusers preferred both raw and precooked products. A half duck has shown much interest over the traditional whole duck. Several advantages and disadvantages were given for using duck. Suggestions are given to help the duck industry increase demand.
Position calibration of large-aperture microphone arrays

Large-aperture microphone arrays have the potential for providing quality speech acquisition from multiple talkers over a large focal area for such applications as teleconferencing and speech-recognition input. The cost of supporting computing technology is quickly approaching the point in which these arrays will be practical in many common environments. However, an important issue is the calibration of an array that has been instal1ed in some medium-sized to large room. By calibration, we mean the determination of the precise set of coordinates in three-dimensions for the positions of the microphones. Calibration by direct measurement or even by a 'laser transit is simply too error-prone, time-consuming and painful. This paper describes new apparatus and techniques for automatic calibration using acoustic signals. Experimental results using our large-aperture microphone array system show the automatical1y-determined positions to be even more consistent than the ones measured directly. The paradigm for using the apparatus and technique most advantageously is also presented.
Can the cyanobacterial carbon-concentrating mechanism increase photosynthesis in crop species? A theoretical analysis.

Experimental elevation of [CO2] around C3 crops in the field has been shown to increase yields by suppressing the Rubisco oxygenase reaction and, in turn, photorespiration. Bioengineering a cyanobacterial carbon-concentrating mechanism (CCM) into C3 crop species provides a potential means of elevating [CO2] at Rubisco, thereby decreasing photorespiration and increasing photosynthetic efficiency and yield. The cyanobacterial CCM is an attractive alternative relative to other CCMs, because its features do not require anatomical changes to leaf tissue. However, the potential benefits of engineering the entire CCM into a C3 leaf are unexamined. Here, a CO2 and HCO3− diffusion-reaction model is developed to examine how components of the cyanobacterial CCM affect leaf light-saturated CO2 uptake (Asat) and to determine whether a different Rubisco isoform would perform better in a leaf with a cyanobacterial CCM. The results show that the addition of carboxysomes without other CCM components substantially decreases Asat and that the best first step is the addition of HCO3− transporters, as a single HCO3− transporter increased modeled Asat by 9%. Addition of all major CCM components increased Asat from 24 to 38 µmol m−2 s−1. Several Rubisco isoforms were compared in the model, and increasing ribulose bisphosphate regeneration rate will allow for further improvements by using a Rubisco isoform adapted to high [CO2]. Results from field studies that artificially raise [CO2] suggest that this 60% increase in Asat could result in a 36% to 60% increase in yield.
Reorienting When Cues Conflict Evidence for an Adaptive-Combination View

Proponents of a geometric module claim that human adults accomplish spatial reorientation in a fundamentally different way than young children and nonhuman animals do. However, reporting two experiments that used a conflict paradigm, this article shows striking similarities between human adults and young children, as well as nonhuman animals. Specifically, Experiment 1 demonstrates that adults favor geometric information in a small room and rely on features in a larger room, whereas Experiment 2 demonstrates that experience in a larger room produces dominance of features over geometric cues in a small room-the first human case of reliance on features that contradict geometric information. Thus, use of features during reorientation depends on the size of the environment and learning history. These results clearly undermine the modularity claim and the view that feature use during reorientation is purely associative, and we discuss the findings within an adaptive-combination view, according to which a weighting system determines use of feature or geometric cues during reorientation.
Sex differences in the thermoregulation and evaporative water loss of a heterothermic bat, Lasiurus cinereus, during its spring migration.

This study quantifies sex differences in thermoregulation and water loss of a small (20-35 g) insectivorous heterothermic mammal, the hoary bat Lasiurus cinereus, during its spring migration. We measured body temperature, metabolic rate and evaporative water loss, and calculated wet thermal conductance, for bats exposed to air temperatures ranging from 0 to 40 degrees C for periods of 2-5 h. Pregnant females maintained normothermic body temperatures (35.7+/-0.7 degrees C; mean +/- S.E.M.) independent of air temperature. In contrast, males became torpid during the majority (68%) of exposures to air temperatures <25 degrees C. The thermal neutral zone (TNZ) ranged between approximately 30 degrees C and 34 degrees C in both sexes and, within the TNZ, females had lower mass-specific metabolic rates (6.1+/-0.2 mW g(-1)) than males (9.0+/-0.9 mW g(-1)). Wet thermal conductance values in torpid bats (0.7+/-0.5 mW g(-1) deg.(-1)) were lower than those of normothermic individuals (1.1+/-0.3 mW g(-1) deg.(-1)). Mass-specific rates of evaporative water loss in males were consistently higher than in females at most air temperatures and rates of water loss in torpid bats were 63+/-6% of normothermic values. These results suggest that male and pregnant female L. cinereus employ different thermoregulatory strategies during their spring migration. Females defend normothermic body temperatures, presumably to expedite embryonic growth, while males use torpor, presumably to minimize energy and water deficits. These variable thermoregulatory strategies may reflect continental differences in the summer distribution of the sexes.
Can the Government Govern? Lessons from the Formation of the Veterans Administration

The federal hospital system for veterans, established in the aftermath of World War I in a context of decentralization, privatization, and rejection of compulsory health insurance, seems an anomaly in health care policy-making. It is actually a good case of how the federal government achieves results in an area fraught with conflict: via normalization of crisis, containment of political decision making, and the association of the program with previously accepted goals (in this instance, workers' compensation). In the veterans' case, political judgments were transformed into scientific and bureaucratic decisions via the pragmatic use of experts. The system worked; the federal government governed.
The effect of ionophores on the production of extracellular dextransucrase by Leuconostoc mesenteroides

The effects of several ionophores on the production of extracellular dextransucrase by Leuconostoc mesenteroides were examined at different pH values. Valinomycin severely inhibited extracellular dextransucrase production at culture pH values greater than 6.3 in complex medium containing 250 mM K+. The inhibitory action of valinomycin was a function of the culture pH as no effect on dextransucrase production could be demonstrated at pH 5.5. The ΔpH dissipating agent nigericin did not inhibit dextransucrase production at a culture pH of 6.4 but affected it severely as the pH decreased. Extracellular dextransucrase was not detected in cultures treated with a combination of valinomycin and nigericin. The results suggest a role for the total protonmotive force in the production of extracellular dextransucrase by L. mesenteroides.
Drug Court as Both Legal and Medical Authority: A Research Note

Since their creation in 1989, drug courts have served as an alternative to incarceration for drug offenders, with much research having been focused on evaluating the effectiveness of the compromise between strictly punitive measures and rehabilitative strategies on rates of recidivism. Far fewer studies have addressed how drug courts impact criminal justice processing and these courts’ integration of addiction services into their programs. This article is a review of one such study conducted in the drug court of a large northeastern U.S. city
Unexplained visual loss

Dominant optic atrophy is the most common heredodegenerative optic neuropathy. Typically, patients present with slowly progressive, bilaterally decreased central visual acuity. Subtle central or cecocentral visual field defect and normal peripheral isopters are demonstrated with perimetry. A defect in blue-yellow discrimination (tritan error axis) is the most common type of dyschromatopsia, however protan and deutan axes may be superimposed. A characteristic optic disk appearance includes temporal disk pallor with excavation. An autosomal dominant inheritance pattern can often be elicited from the family history.
A Window of Vulnerability: Health Insurance Coverage Among Women 55 to 64 Years of Age

Abstract Introduction Largely a consequence of historical gender differences in labor force attachment in the United States, many women rely on their spouse for health insurance coverage, particularly during late middle age. Prior research finds that this creates a window of vulnerability for women during late middle age who may lose their (older) spouse’s employment-based coverage when he retires from the labor force and enrolls in Medicare. However, the few studies that have examined this window of vulnerability have been based primarily on white adults. Methods We used the 2004 and 2006 Annual Social and Economic Supplements to the Current Population Survey to examine whether the window of vulnerability exists among non-Hispanic Black, Mexican-origin, and non-Hispanic White women 55 to 64 years of age, and whether similar factors contribute to the vulnerability across these race/ethnic groups. Results Women 55 to 64 years of age married to men 65 years or older had an elevated risk of lacking coverage at a time of life when health problems are common and expensive. Among non-Hispanic White women, their husband’s exit from full-time employment accounted for the higher risk, whereas a more complex and systemic set of social factors contributed to the higher risk among non-Hispanic Black and Mexican-origin women. Conclusion Ensuring adequate and affordable health insurance coverage among women during late middle age may require additional health care reforms such as extending Medicare eligibility to younger adults or basing Medicare age eligibility on the age of the older partner within a married couple.
Grimsdalea magnaclavata Germeraad, Hopping & Muller: an enigmatic pollen type from the Neogene of northern South America

Grimsdalea magnaclavata was first described by Germeraad, Hopping and Muller from Miocene and Pliocene deposits of northern South America, specifically Colombia and Venezuela. The specific epithet, ‘magnaclavata’, was selected by the authors to draw attention to the distinctive clavate processes of the pollen. A revised taxonomic description is supported by illustrations of fossil specimens from outcrop and well sections that show the range in morphology not previously recorded in the original description; the key difference is the wide variation in process morphology from clavae to clavae with interspersed echinae. Based on the new observations of the pollen morphology we conclude that the records from Cretaceous and Paleogene sediments in North and West Africa are invalid. G. magnaclavata is clearly restricted to northern South America from the Miocene to Pleistocene. The parent plant of G. magnaclavata probably grew in upper coastal plain or around swamps, commonly associated with shrubs and herbaceous...
Thermodynamics of surface degradation, self-organization and self-healing for biomimetic surfaces

Friction is a dissipative irreversible process; therefore, entropy is produced during frictional contact. The rate of entropy production can serve as a measure of degradation (e.g. wear). However, in many cases friction leads to self-organization at the surface. This is because the excess entropy is either driven away from the surface, or it is released at the nanoscale, while the mesoscale entropy decreases. As a result, the orderliness at the surface grows. Self-organization leads to surface secondary structures either due to the mutual adjustment of the contacting surfaces (e.g. by wear) or due to the formation of regular deformation patterns, such as friction-induced slip waves caused by dynamic instabilities. The effect has practical applications, since self-organization is usually beneficial because it leads to friction and wear reduction (minimum entropy production rate at the self-organized state). Self-organization is common in biological systems, including self-healing and self-cleaning surfaces. Therefore, designing a successful biomimetic surface requires an understanding of the thermodynamics of frictional self-organization. We suggest a multiscale decomposition of entropy and formulate a thermodynamic framework for irreversible degradation and for self-organization during friction. The criteria for self-organization due to dynamic instabilities are discussed, as well as the principles of biomimetic self-cleaning, self-lubricating and self-repairing surfaces by encapsulation and micro/nanopatterning.
A Rotation and Translation Invariant Discrete Saliency Network

We describe a neural network which enhances and completes salient closed contours. Our work is different from all previous work in three important ways. First, like the input provided to V1 by LGN, the input to our computation is isotropic. That is, the input is composed of spots not edges. Second, our network computes a well defined function of the input based on a distribution of closed contours characterized by a random process. Third, even though our computation is implemented in a discrete network, its output is invariant to continuous rotations and translations of the input pattern.
Activity in Right Temporo-Parietal Junction is Not Selective for Theory-of-Mind

Recent researchers have suggested that a region of right temporo-parietal junction (RTPJ) selectively subserves the attribution of beliefs to other people (Saxe R, Kanwisher N. 2003. People thinking about thinking people: fMRI investigations of theory of mind. NeuroImage. 19:1835-1842; Saxe R, Powell LJ. 2006. It's the thought that counts: specific brain regions for one component of theory of mind. Psychol Sci. 17:692-699; Saxe R, Wexler A. 2005. Making sense of another mind: the role of the right temporo-parietal junction. Neuropsychologia. 43:1391-1399). At the same time, a similar RTPJ region has been observed repeatedly in a variety of nonsocial tasks that require participants to redirect attention to task-relevant stimuli (e.g., Corbetta M, Shulman GL. 2002. Control of goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention in the brain. Nat Rev Neurosci. 3:201-215; Serences JT, Shomstein S, Leber AB, Golay X, Egeth HE, Yantis S. 2005. Coordination of voluntary and stimulus-driven attentional control in human cortex. Psychol Sci. 16:114-122). However, because these 2 sets of tasks have never been compared within the same participants, it remains unclear whether these observations refer to the exact same region of RTPJ or may instead involve neighboring regions with distinct functional profiles. To test the claim that there is a region of RTPJ selective for belief attribution, the current study used functional neuroimaging to examine the extent to which cortical loci identified by a "theory-of-mind localizer" also distinguish between trials on a target detection task that varied demands to reorient attention (i.e., a version of the "Posner cueing task"). Results were incompatible with claims of RTPJ selectivity for mental state attribution. Regardless of whether regions were defined from group analyses or were individually tailored for each participant, RTPJ activity was also modulated by the nonsocial attentional task. The overlap between theory-of-mind and attentional reorienting suggests the need for new accounts of RTPJ function that integrate across these disparate task comparisons.
Developing an understanding of cross-protection by Citrus tristeza virus.

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) causes two citrus diseases that have caused devastating losses in global citrus production. The first disease is quick decline of trees propagated on the sour orange rootstock. The second disease is stem pitting, which severely affects a number of economically important citrus varieties regardless of the rootstock used and results in reduced tree growth and vigor as well as in reduced fruit size and quality. Both diseases continue to invade new areas. While quick decline could be effectively managed by the use of resistant and/or tolerant rootstocks, the only means to protect commercial citrus against endemic stem pitting isolates of CTV has been cross-protection with mild isolates of the virus. In some citrus areas cross-protection has been successful and allowed production of certain citrus cultivars despite the presence of severe stem pitting isolates in those regions. However, many other attempts to find isolates that would provide sustained protection against aggressive isolates of the virus had failed. In general, there has been no understanding why some mild isolates were effective and others failed to protect. We have been working on the mechanism of cross-protection by CTV. Recent considerable progress has significantly advanced our understanding of how cross-protection may work in the citrus/CTV pathosystem. As we demonstrated, only isolates that belong to the same strain of the virus cross protect against each other, while isolates from different strains do not. We believe that the results of our research could now make finding protecting isolates relatively straightforward. This review discusses some of the history of CTV cross-protection along with the recent findings and our ‘recipe’ for selection of protecting isolates.
Geography and gender: Feminism and a feeling of justice

The recent emphasis on emotional geographies has turned critical attention to the connections linking affect and social justice. It is hard to imagine this ‘emotional turn’ in the field without muc...
A solder joint inspection system for automated printed circuit board manufacturing

The design of a solder joint inspection system which will be used as an integral part of the PCB/AID (automated inspection and diagnosis for PC board manufacturing) system is presented. The inspection system utilizes four frames of solder joint images, extracts 15 features from the images to categorize the most important seven classes of solder joint defects, and provides two forms of inspection results according to their applications (touch-up of defects and fault diagnosis for online process control). The system has been tested for several PC boards provided by electronics firms, and experimental results have shown that it has exceptional promise. >
A reliability output Viterbi algorithm with applications to hybrid ARQ

We present an algorithm that permits a receiver to calculate the probability of packet error in parallel with the Viterbi decoding process. This packet reliability value may be used to request retransmissions in a type-I hybrid ARQ scheme. It is shown that this scheme can be used to guarantee any required bound on the packet error probability. In addition, this scheme can be used in conjunction with packet combining. The performance of this scheme is compared with that of the Yamamoto-Itoh algorithm and is shown to provide a significant improvement in throughput.
Urinary Excretion of Pantothenic Acid by Diabetic Patients and by Alloxan-Diabetic Rats

persons amId! on normal and alloxan-diabetic rats. We further wished to determine whetiler the increased urinary excretion of PaA observed in diabetic patients might represent a “washing out” phenomenon similar to that reported for riboflavin (9) and whether some specific enilancement of tile excretory mechanism occurs in tiiabetes mellitus. Our studies were conducted in both normal ant! diabetic subjects. In the tiiabetic group a brief period of ketosis was induced to determine wilether metaboiic derangement would infiuence the i-ate of pantothenic loss. Animal stutlies conducted in parallel included normal conti-ol rats, diuretic-treated normal rats, anti alioxan-diabetic rats. Thus we sought to differentiate between the effects of dinresis per se and tiiabetic ketosis with its accompanying polyuria. We measured pan
Analysis of Noncanonical Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinases in Toxoplasma gondii by Targeted Gene Deletion Using CRISPR/Cas9

Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) are expanded in apicomplexan parasites, especially in Toxoplasma gondii where 14 separate genes encoding these enzymes are found. Although previous studies have shown that several CDPKs play a role in controlling invasion, egress, and cell division in T. gondii, the roles of most of these genes are unexplored. Here we developed a more efficient method for gene disruption using CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) that was modified to completely delete large, multiexonic genes from the genome and to allow serial replacement by recycling of the selectable marker using Cre-loxP. Using this system, we generated a total of 24 mutants in type 1 and 2 genetic backgrounds to ascertain the functions of noncanonical CDPKs. Remarkably, although we were able to confirm the essentiality of CDPK1 and CDPK7, the majority of CDPKs had no discernible phenotype for growth in vitro or infection in the mouse model. The exception to this was CDPK6, loss of which leads to reduced plaquing, fitness defect in a competition assay, and reduced tissue cyst formation in chronically infected mice. Our findings highlight the utility of CRISPR/Cas9 for rapid serial gene deletion and also suggest that additional models are needed to reveal the functions of many genes in T. gondii.
A Decision Support Tool for Optimal Design of Integrated Biorefineries under Strategic and Operational Level Uncertainties

In this work, a decision support tool is presented to carefully design and optimize the business value of a renewable energy endeavor considering all types of uncertainties, including uncertainties at strategic and operational levels. A stochastic linear model is first developed to optimize production capacity of the plant, and then process simulation coupled with a stochastic optimization algorithm is employed to optimize the operating conditions of the plant. Market uncertainties are taken into account at the strategic planning level, and uncertainties related to parameters characterizing the processing technologies are addressed in operational level optimization. Monte Carlo-based simulation and global sensitivity analysis are utilized to identify the most critical parameters and optimize the operating conditions of the plant accordingly. Additionally, risk measurement strategies are introduced to the framework for explicit treatment of strategic and operational risks. For a demonstration of the effect...
Local Generation of Kynurenines Mediates Inhibition of Neutrophil Chemotaxis by Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

During epithelial infections, pathogenic bacteria employ an array of strategies to attenuate and evade host immune responses, including the influx of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN; neutrophils). Among the most common bacterial infections in humans are those of the urinary tract, caused chiefly by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC). During the establishment of bacterial cystitis, UPEC suppresses innate responses via multiple independent strategies. We recently described UPEC attenuation of PMN trafficking to the urinary bladder through pathogen-specific local induction of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), a tryptophan catabolic enzyme previously shown to have regulatory activity only in adaptive immunity. Here, we investigated the mechanism by which IDO induction attenuates PMN migration. Local tryptophan limitation, by which IDO is known to influence T cell longevity and proliferation, was not involved in its effect on PMN trafficking. Instead, metabolites in the IDO pathway, particularly L-kynurenine, directly suppressed PMN transepithelial migration and induced an attached, spread morphology in PMN both at rest and in the presence of chemotactic stimuli. Finally, kynurenines represent known ligands of the mammalian aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), and UPEC infection of Ahr(-/-)mice recapitulated the derepressed PMN recruitment observed previously in Ido1(-/-)mice. UPEC therefore suppresses neutrophil migration early in bacterial cystitis by eliciting an IDO-mediated increase in local production of kynurenines, which act through the AHR to impair neutrophil chemotaxis.
A multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of endovenous thermal ablation with or without polidocanol endovenous microfoam treatment in patients with great saphenous vein incompetence and visible varicosities

Objectives * Varithena 017 Investigator Group: Michael Vasquez, MD, Venous Institute of Buffalo, Amherst, NY; Antonios Gasparis, MD, Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, NY; Kathleen Gibson, MD, Lake Washington Vascular, Bellevue, WA; James Theodore King, MD, Vein Clinics of America, Oakbrook Terrace, IL; Nick Morrison, MD, Morrison Vein Institute, Scottsdale, AZ; Girish Munavalli, MD, Dermatology, Laser & Vein Specialists of the Carolinas, Charlotte, NC; Eulogio J. Sanchez, MD, Batey Cardiovascular Center, Bradenton, FL. Varithena® is a trademark of Provensis Ltd, a BTG International group company. To determine the efficacy and safety of polidocanol endovenous microfoam (PEM 0.5%, 1.0%) and placebo each administered with endovenous thermal ablation. Methods A multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded study was conducted in patients with great saphenous vein incompetence and symptomatic and visible superficial venous disease. Co-primary endpoints were physician-assessed and patient-assessed appearance change from Baseline to Week 8. Results A total of 117 patients received treatment (38 placebo, 39 PEM 0.5%, 40 PEM 1%). Physician-rated vein appearance at Week 8 was significantly better with PEM ( p = 0.001 vs. placebo); patient-assessed appearance trended similarly. Polidocanol endovenous microfoam provided improvements in clinically meaningful change in patient-assessed and physician-assessed appearance ( p < 0.05), need for additional treatment ( p < 0.05), saphenofemoral junction reflux elimination, symptoms, and QOL. In PEM recipients, the most frequent adverse event was superficial thrombophlebitis (35.4%) Conclusions Endovenous thermal ablation + PEM significantly improved physician-assessed appearance at Week 8, increased the proportion of patients with a clinically meaningful change in appearance, and reduced need for additional treatment. www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01197833).
Digestive Carbohydrases in the Cuban Burrowing Cockroach

Separate homogenates of salivary systems, crops, midguts, and hindguts of adult male Cuban burrowing cockroaches, Byrsotria fumigata (Guerin), were assayed for carbohydrase activity with the substrates: starch, cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, “native chitin,” sucrose, trehalose, maltose, cellobiose, melibiose, and lactose. All substrates gave positive results with two or more homogenate sources, although α-galactosidase (melibiose) activity was very low. A midgut-secreted cellulase, active in crop and midgut, was found. Chitinase studies were extended to 5 other species. Salivary chitinase was strongest in American, Australian, Cuban, and Oriental cockroaches; midgut chitinase was strongest in Madeira and Nauphoeta cinerea (Olivier) cockroaches.
Differences between felons and students on the Minnesota Counseling Inventory.

The investigation of differences between criminals and non-criminals may be useful in the pursuit of knowledge about criminality and the determinants of deviant behavior. To find personality factors which reliably discriminate non-offenders from convicted felons, the Minnesota Counseling Inventory (Berdie & Layron, 1957) was administered to 40 incarcerated male felons and 60 male undergraduate smdents. As the inventory is designed for use in Grades 9 through 12, the language is easily understandable, and suited for use with a prison population. The college students were tested during regular classes; the felons completed the questionnaire while attending high school level classes conducted at the California Conservation Center, Jamestown, California. Multiple discriminant analysis (Veldman, 1967) was used to compare the profiles of the two groups. Factors affording maximum discrimination between groups are identified by this technique, and the significance of the over-all discrimination is tested. In this manner differences between groups or between individual scales can be determined. Table 1 shows mean raw scores for each group and discriminant function weights for each dimension of the test.
MAPPING ACID MINE DRAINAGE AT AN ABANDONED MINE SITE IN OTTAWA COUNTY, OKLAHOMA USING 3D ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY TOMOGRAPHY

The Park Walton Mine is an abandoned mining site in the Melrose Mining District, Ottawa County, Oklahoma. The site was mined for lead and zinc ores in the 1940s. Today, a 40,000 m2 area is covered with waste rock and fine tailings discarded at the site as part of the mining process. Four vent shafts are present that extend into mine voids located approximately 100 m below ground surface. The vent shafts discharge water contained in mine voids to the surface during times when the underlying aquifer is overpressured. No data exist regarding heavy metal contamination at the site or the extent to which heavy metals have mobilized off-site. The present study aimed to assess the extent to which the shallow subsurface at the site was contaminated with acid mine drainage products using 3D electrical resistivity tomography. Electrical resistivity surveys are commonly applied to acid mine drainage studies because the products of acid mine drainage (SO42- , H , metal ions) cause affected waters to be highly conductive to electrical current. Inversion results indicated conductivity anomalies in the shallow subsurface related to fluid flow associated with contaminant transport away from the waste rock pile and vent pipe discharges. Results from this study provided insight into the hydrodynamics at the site and will be used to plan future contamination surveys and mitigation efforts.
What Happened Next: Interviews With Mothers After a Finding of Child Maltreatment in the Household.

Child Protective Services (CPS) identifies over 700,000 victims of child maltreatment in the United States annually. Research shows that risk factors for these children may persist despite CPS intervention. Mothers have unique and often untapped perspectives on the experiences and consequences of CPS intervention that may inform future practice. We explored these perspectives through interviews with 24 mothers after a first-time CPS finding of maltreatment not resulting in out-of-home placement. Male partners were primary perpetrators in 21 cases, with mothers or sitters identified as perpetrators in remaining cases. Data were analyzed using grounded theory. Mothers described risk factors or Roots of maltreatment prior to CPS involvement and reported variable experiences with Recognition of and Response to maltreatment. Divergent Outcomes emerged: I Feel Stronger and We’re No Better. These findings provide an understanding of household experiences around child maltreatment that may support practice and po...
Productivity analysis of fractured wells in two-area composite reservoir by finite element method

The mathematic model of transient flow of finite conductivity vertically fractured well in composite reservoir with arbitrary shape is established and solved by finite element method(FEM).The well bore storage factor and the skin factor are introduced by Laplace transformation and Stethfest inversion.And its typical productivity performance curves are drawn and analyzed.By analysos,it shows that the fractural conductivity,the skin effect and the heterogeneity all have a great effect on the productivity of fractured wells.The greater the fractural conductivity,the higher the output of fractured wells,but the effect is diminishing when the fractural conductivity reaches a certain number.The more obvious the skin effect,the lower the output of fractured wells.And the worse the formation is,the lower the output of fractured well.
3D integration and characterization of high Q passives on multilayer liquid crystalline polymer (M-LCP) based substrate

This paper presents 3D integration and characterization of high Q passives on a novel multilayer LCP based substrate. Twelve inductors were characterized from two different locations of the 9" /spl times/ 12" multilayer LCP panel. The highest Q of 126 was achieved with 2.75nH at 3.7GHz. The inductors range from 2.75 to 17.8nH and Qs range from 50-126. Inductors in various embedded layers have been characterized for realization of 3D integration in multilayer LCP substrate for multi-band systems. Using these high Q passives, three different band pass filters were simulated and measured. This 3D integration and characterization provides an optimized 3D integration for high performance and compact size.
Mutation-Induced Functional Alterations of CCR6.

The Cys-Cys chemokine receptor 6 (CCR6) is a well-established modulator of inflammation. Although several genetic associations have been identified between CCR6 polymorphisms and immune system disorders (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease), the pharmacological effects of naturally occurring missense mutations in this receptor have yet to be characterized. In this study, we initially assessed G protein–mediated signaling and observed that wild-type (WT) CCR6 exhibited ligand-independent activity. In addition, we found that the five most frequent CCR6 missense variants (A89T, A150V, R155W, G345S, and A369V) exhibited decreased basal and/or ligand induced Gαi protein signaling. To complement the study of these loss-of-function variants, we engineered a set of constitutively active CCR6 receptors. Selected mutations enhanced basal G protein–mediated signaling up to 3-fold relative to the WT value. Using a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer assay we investigated the ability of each naturally occurring and engineered CCR6 receptor mutant to recruit β-arrestin. In contrast to G protein–mediated signaling, β-arrestin mobilization was largely unperturbed by the naturally occurring loss-of-function CCR6 variants. Elevated recruitment of β-arrestin was observed in one of the engineered constitutively active mutants (T98P). Our results demonstrate that point mutations in CCR6 can result in either a gain or loss of receptor function. These observations underscore the need to explore how CCR6 natural variants may influence immune cell physiology and human disease.
The Language application grid and galaxy

The NSF-SI2-funded LAPPS Grid project is a collaborative effort among Brandeis University, Vassar College, Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU), and the Linguistic Data Consortium (LDC), which has developed an open, web-based infrastructure through which resources can be easily accessed and within which tailored language services can be efficiently composed, evaluated, disseminated and consumed by researchers, developers, and students across a wide variety of disciplines. The LAPPS Grid project recently adopted Galaxy (Giardine et al., 2005), a robust, well-developed, and well-supported front end for workflow configuration, management, and persistence. Galaxy allows data inputs and processing steps to be selected from graphical menus, and results are displayed in intuitive plots and summaries that encourage interactive workflows and the exploration of hypotheses. The Galaxy workflow engine provides significant advantages for deploying pipelines of LAPPS Grid web services, including not only means to create and deploy locally-run and even customized versions of the LAPPS Grid as well as running the LAPPS Grid in the cloud, but also access to a huge array of statistical and visualization tools that have been developed for use in genomics research.
Factors That Should Shape Clinical Strategies

Since the end of the Middle Ages and the demise of the Galenic model of human biology and illness, a reductionist, mechanistic, evidence-based paradigm has prevailed. During the several centuries since this transformation in our worldview, there has been a complete revision in our concepts of how to conceptualize health and manage human disorders. Galileo’s pronouncement, “Measure all that is measurable, and make those things measurable which have hitherto not been measured” has found applications unimaginable by Galileo himself (1). The contents of this book are an extension of this concept, as the authors have quantified their current recommendations about medical care for a well-defined group of patients. We expect that these recommendations will serve as the starting points for the generation of evidence concerning their actual value.
Computation in the Enumeration of Integer Matrices II

The enumeration of integer-matrices has been the subject of considerable study and it is unlikely that a simple formula exists. The number in question can be related in various ways to the representation theory of the symmetric group or of the complex general linear group, but this does not make their computation any easier. This paper is the continuation of our previous paper, under the same title , which we refer to as Part I. In Part I: we discussed the following three problems: (1) the number of m×n matrices over {0,1} with each row summing to s and each column summing to t; (2) the number of nonnegative integer matrices of size m×n with each row sum equal to s and each column sum equal to t; (3) the number of (0,1) - matrices of size n×n such that each row has exactly s 1's and each column has exactly s 1's and with the restriction that no 1 stands on the main diagonal. We presented many conjectures based on our computation. In this paper, we will prove several conjectures in Part I, that is case (s,t): (2, 2), (2, 3), (3, 3), (2, 4), (3, 4), (4, 4), and (5, 2).