cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Determinants of Social Policy a Case Study: Regulating Health and Safety at the Workplace in Sweden:

This article presents an analysis and critique of the "technocratic" view of occupational health and safety policies, which sees the values of the personnel of the "postindustrial" regulatory agencies as the most important determinant of those policies. An alternate position is put forth which explains those occupational health and safety policies as primarily the result of different degrees of political power of the two major classes (capital and labor) and the set of influences exerted on the regulatory agencies by the instruments (e.g., political parties, unions, trade organizations) of those classes. It is shown how an analysis of the historical evolution of those classes in Sweden and their conflict in both civil and political societies better explains the Swedish occupational health and safety policies than the mere analysis of the regulators' views. It is concluded that the occupational health and safety policies in Sweden are not identical to the U.S. policies--as the "technocratic" theorists assume--but rather they offer more protection to the workers than the U.S. ones. This situation is a result of labor's greater power in Sweden than in the United States. The different class formations and class behavior in both societies are compared, and the implications of this comparison for occupational health and safety policies are discussed.
The Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Child and Adolescent Physical Health: An Organization and Systematic Comparison of Measures

Prior research has established a link between SES and early life health without providing clear theoretical or empirical evidence for using any particular conceptualization or operationalization of SES. Researchers refer to almost any combination of variables related to families’ economic, educational, or occupational circumstances as SES. This abundance of operationalizations makes it difficult to determine how exactly SES shapes early life health. Childhood and adolescence are unique periods of life delineated by extensive social, psychological, and physical transitions. Although these changes may make children and adolescents sensitive to different aspects of SES, research has yet to systematically compare an array of SES measures extensive enough to rigorously examine this possibility. To address this gap, I merge the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and the NLSY79 Children and Young Adults datasets. In analyses, I consider multiple operationalizations of SES derived from the distinct components conceptualization of SES. I find that the best model of SES and early life health includes family income, wealth, education, and occupational prestige. Family income and wealth play especially important roles in early life health but also impact child and adolescent health differently. Children’s health is more vulnerable to their families’ wealth, while adolescents’ health is more sensitive to their families’ current income. Together, the countervailing effects of family income and wealth negate one another such that the overall effect of economic conditions on health is the same for children and adolescents. My findings provide evidence that future research should carefully consider multiple measures of SES when studying the relationship between SES and early life health.
NMDA Receptor Function and Human Cognition: The Effects of Ketamine in Healthy Volunteers

A rapidly growing body of preclinical data has implicated the glutamatergic N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor in memory and other cognitive processes. There is comparatively less information about this receptor system in human cognition. We examined the effects of subanesthetic doses of ketamine, a noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist, on two forms of memory, free recall and recognition, as well as attention and behavior in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, 1-hour infusion in 15 healthy volunteers. Ketamine produced decrements in free recall, recognition memory, and attention. In addition, ketamine induced a brief psychosis in our healthy volunteers marked by thought disorder and withdrawal-retardation. Ketamine-induced memory impairments were not accounted for by changes in subject's attention and were not significantly related to psychosis ratings. These data suggest that the NMDA receptor plays a direct role in two types of explicit memory. The implications of these data for the pathophysiology of schizophrenia are discussed.
Neural Network Pattern Recognition of Lingual–Palatal Pressure for Automated Detection of Swallow

We describe a novel device and method for real-time measurement of lingual–palatal pressure and automatic identification of the oral transfer phase of deglutition. Clinical measurement of the oral transport phase of swallowing is a complicated process requiring either placement of obstructive sensors or sitting within a fluoroscope or articulograph for recording. Existing detection algorithms distinguish oral events with EMG, sound, and pressure signals from the head and neck, but are imprecise and frequently result in false detection. We placed seven pressure sensors on a molded mouthpiece fitting over the upper teeth and hard palate and recorded pressure during a variety of swallow and non-swallow activities. Pressure measures and swallow times from 12 healthy and 7 Parkinson’s subjects provided training data for a time-delay artificial neural network to categorize the recordings as swallow or non-swallow events. User-specific neural networks properly categorized 96 % of swallow and non-swallow events, while a generalized population-trained network was able to properly categorize 93 % of swallow and non-swallow events across all recordings. Lingual–palatal pressure signals are sufficient to selectively and specifically recognize the initiation of swallowing in healthy and dysphagic patients.
DNA double-strand break processing: the beginning of the end

Nucleolytic processing of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) generates 3' ssDNA tails that are essential for the assembly of DNA damage checkpoint signaling and DNA repair protein complexes. Genetic studies have provided evidence that multiple nuclease activities are involved in DSB end resection. Three recent studies, including work by Jackson and colleagues (pp. 2767- 2772) in the October 15, 2008, issue of Genes & Development, have begun to shed some light on the intricacy of this process.
Hyperreactivity of Coxiella burnetii infected guinea pigs to subsequent injections of bacterial endotoxins.

SummaryGuinea pigs infected for 3 days with C. burnetii demonstrated a hyperreactivity to injections of bacterial endotoxins, with deaths occurring 6–24 hours after treatment. The preparative infectious dose of C. burnetii could be as low as 106 guinea pig IP ID50. The reaction has been provoked with 25 μg of Brucella endotoxin while 10 μg of purer preparations from E. coli and S. typhosa have produced a similar response. An optimal period of reactivity existed from 48–72 hours post infection. Formalin inactivated rickettsiae did not prepare animals for this reaction and infected guinea pigs treated with either rickettsial antiserum or Tetracyn could not be provoked by subsequent injections of endotoxin. The gross and microscopic studies of selected tissues taken from hyperreactive animals consistently revealed hyperemia and hemorrhage of the adrenals. The described hyperreactivity appears to be a manifestation of the generalized Shwartzman reaction.
Tracking-Based Trajectory Data Reduction in Wireless Sensor Networks

This work addresses the problem of balancing the trade-off between the energy expenses due to communication vs. the accuracy of the trajectories representation in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) where the spatio-temporal data is obtained by tracking. We consider some of the approaches used by the Moving Objects Databases (MOD) and Computational Geometry (CG) communities, and we demonstrate that, with appropriate modifications, they can yield benefits in WSN in terms of energy savings. Towards that, we developed distributed algorithms that implement the Dead-Reckoning policy for managing the transient location-in-time information of mobile entities, whose localization is done by tracking sensors. In addition, we developed a distributed variant of the Douglas-Peuker heuristic for polyline reduction from CG literature, augmented with temporal awareness. Our experiments demonstrate the benefits in terms of reducing the communication overheads, while keeping the error boundaries at acceptable levels. Although it may seem counter-intuitive at first, we also demonstrate that an attempt to merge the Dead-Reckoning and Douglas-Peuker approaches, need not yield additional improvements of the in-network energy savings, due to the complementary nature of the data reduction in the two approaches.
The Rate of Intramolecular Loop Formation in DNA and Polypeptides: The Absence of the Diffusion-Controlled Limit and Fractional Power-Law Viscosity Dependence

The problem of determining the rate of end-to-end collisions for polymer chains has attracted the attention of theorists and experimentalists for more than three decades. The typical theoretical approach to this problem has focused on the case where a collision is defined as any instantaneous fluctuation that brings the chain ends to within a specific capture distance. In this paper, we study the more experimentally relevant case, where the end-to-end collision dynamics are probed by measuring the excited state lifetime of a fluorophore (or other lumiphore) attached to one chain end and quenched by a quencher group attached to the other end. Under this regime, a "contact" is defined not by the chain ends approach to within some sharp cutoff but, instead, typically by an exponentially distance-dependent process. Previous theoretical models predict that, if quenching is sufficiently rapid, a diffusion-controlled limit is attained, where such measurements report on the probe-independent, intrinsic end-to-end collision rate. In contrast, our theoretical considerations, simulations, and an analysis of experimental measurements of loop closure rates in single-stranded DNA molecules all indicate that no such limit exists, and that the measured effective collision rate has a nontrivial, fractional power-law dependence on both the intrinsic quenching rate of the fluorophore and the solvent viscosity. We propose a simple scaling formula describing the effective loop closure rate and its dependence on the viscosity, chain length, and properties of the probes. Previous theoretical results are limiting cases of this more general formula.
Valvular pulmonary stenosis with intact ventricular septum; clinical and physiologic response to open valvuloplasty.

Clinical and physiologic studies have been carried out in 25 patients following surgical correction of congenital valvular pulmonary stenosis. The patients were operated upon under conditions of hypothermia and circulatory occlusion and the approach to the valve was transarterial, permitting plastic repair of the stenotic pulmonary valve with unimpaired vision and a dry operative field. The systolic pressure gradient between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery has been completely abolished in 17 of the 25 patients. The results as reported in this series are considered to be superior to those obtained with the blind transventricular approach and the operative mortality certainly compares favorably with the transventricular approach.
Medical use, medical misuse, and nonmedical use of prescription opioids: Results from a longitudinal study

The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence and patterns associated with past-year medical use, medical misuse, and nonmedical use of prescription opioids (NMUPO) among adolescents over a 2-year time period and to examine substance abuse, sleeping problems, and physical pain symptoms associated with these patterns of medical use, medical misuse, and NMUPO. A Web-based survey was self-administered by a longitudinal sample of 2050 middle and high school students in 2009-2010 (Year 1) and again in 2010-2011 (Year 2). The study was set in 2 southeastern Michigan school districts. The longitudinal sample consisted of 50% females, 67% Whites, 28% African-Americans, and 5% from other racial/ethnic categories. Main outcome measures were past-year medical use, medical misuse, and NMUPO. Of those reporting appropriate medical use of prescription opioids in Year 1, approximately 34% continued medical use in Year 2. Of those reporting past-year NMUPO in Year 1, approximately 25% continued NMUPO in Year 2. Appropriate medical use and NMUPO for pain relief was more prevalent among girls than boys. Multiple logistic regression analyses indicated that the odds of a positive screen for substance abuse in Year 2 were greater for adolescents who reported medical misuse or NMUPO for non-pain-relief motives in Year 1 compared with those who did not use prescription opioids. The findings indicate an increased risk for substance abuse among adolescents who report medical misuse or NMUPO for non-pain-relief motives over time. The findings have important clinical implications for interventions to reduce medical misuse and NMUPO among adolescents.
Size Distribution of Gel and Fluid Clusters in DMPC/DSPC Lipid Bilayers. A Monte Carlo Simulation Study†

Proteins and lipid components are organized into domains in many biological membranes. With different experimental techniques vastly different cluster sizes have been measured in an equimolar mixture of a DMPC/DSPC two-component lipid bilayer: very small ones in the nanometer range and very large ones of size comparable with the size of the bilayer. In this paper the lateral distribution of gel and fluid lipid molecules in a DMPC/DSPC bilayer is simulated by using a two-state, Ising type model with the application of Monte Carlo methods. The same model has been able to predict the excess heat capacity curves, FRAP threshold temperatures, average coherence length between DSPC clusters, and the fractal dimension of gel clusters, in agreement with the respective experimental data. In this work, similarly to the experimental results, the calculated equilibrium distributions of cluster size show that, between the onset temperature of the gel-to-fluid transition and the percolation threshold temperature of the...
Experience with as 800 artificial sphincter in pediatric and young adult patients

Congenital or acquired sphincteric urinary incontinence in children and young adults is a severe social and physical burden. As a therapeutic option, we implanted 61 AS 800 artificial sphincters in 59 patients (46 males and 13 females). The mean age of the patients was 17.5 years (range, 6 to 34 years), and mean follow-up was forty-three months (range, 5 to 84 months). In addition to artificial sphincter implantation, intestinal cystoplasty was required in 22 patients to obviate problems of increased detrusor contractility or decreased detrusor compliance, or both. Continence was good in 47 patients (80%) and fair in 8 (14%). Four patients (7%) were awaiting sphincter modification or cystoplasty, or both. Careful and prolonged follow-up is mandatory in all patients managed in this fashion to preclude the deleterious effects of subtle changes in detrusor or ureteral function on the integrity of the upper urinary tracts.
Classification of fatigue crack growth behavior

A self-consistent theory has been developed to account for the variation in fatigue crack growth rates with load ratio,R, without reference to crack closure concepts. The theory states that (a) for an unambiguous description of cyclic damage, two loading parameters are required; (b) consequently, there are two thresholds corresponding to each parameter that must be satisfied for a crack to grow; (c) these two thresholds are intrinsic and are independent of specimen geometry; (d) a fundamental threshold curve can be developed that is independent of test methods defining these two thresholds from the asymptotic values, and last; (e) the two thresholds vary with the degree of slip planarity, microstructure, and environment. Based on these new concepts, we have classified the entire fatigue crack growth behavior into five different classes using the experimental ΔKth-R data. The characteristic feature of each class is discussed, and the supporting examples of materials behavior are provided. This classification could provide a basis for understanding the synergistic effects of mechanical and chemical driving forces and microstructure contributing to fatigue crack growth.
Global economic effects of US biofuel policy and the potential contribution from advanced biofuels

Background: This study evaluates the global economic effects of the current US RFS2, and the potential contribution from advanced biofuels. Results & discussion: Our simulation results suggest that these mandates lead to an increase of 0.21% in the global gross domestic product in 2022, including an increase of 0.8% in the USA and 0.02% in the rest of the world, relative to our baseline no-RFS scenario. The incremental contributions to gross domestic product from advanced biofuels in 2022 are estimated at 0.41 and 0.04% in the USA and the rest of the world, respectively. Conclusion: Although production costs of advanced biofuels are higher than for conventional biofuels in our model, their economic benefits result from reductions in oil use and their smaller impacts on food markets compared with conventional biofuels. Thus, the US advanced biofuels targets are expected to have positive net economic benefits.
What are the targets of photodynamic therapy

We previously classified photosensitizing agents based on sites of photodamage: mitochondria, lysosomes and the plasma membrane. More recent studies have indicated that the first target for the mitochondrial sensitizers is the anti-apoptotic protein bcl-2. Loss of bcl-2 results in a high bax/bcl-2 ratio, leading to an apoptotic response involving cytochrome c translocation. PDT with sensitizers that target lysosomes causes the release of lysosomal proteases that catalyze cleavage of the protein bid to a truncated form that can also initiate an apoptotic response. When the PDT target includes the plasma membrane, we found a greatly impaired apoptotic response, associated with caspase-3 photodamage. Sensitizers that localize in only lysosomes also catalyze variable levels of caspase photodamage, but apoptosis is only slightly impaired. PDT appears to be a highly-selective means for eradication of bcl-2, lysosomes or caspases, and can be a potentially useful tool in apoptosis research.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
N-terminal fragments of tau inhibit full-length tau polymerization in vitro.

The polymerization of the microtubule-associated protein, tau, into insoluble filaments is a common thread in Alzheimer's disease and in a variety of frontotemporal dementias. The conformational change required for tau to transition from an extended monomeric state to a filamentous state with a high β-sheet content involves the extreme N-terminus coming into contact with distal portions of the molecule; however, these exact interactions are incompletely understood. Here we report that a construct representing amino acids 1−196 (Tau196), which itself does not polymerize, inhibits polymerization of full-length tau (hTau40) in vitro. In addition, we trace the inhibitory effect of Tau196 to amino acids 18−42 of the construct. We also provide evidence that the N-terminal tau fragments require a specific C-terminal region of tau (residues 392−421) to exert their inhibitory effect. The fragments are most effective at inhibiting polymerization when present during the initial 5 min; they remain in the soluble frac...
Weismann Rules! OK? Epigenetics and the Lamarckian temptation

August Weismann rejected the inheritance of acquired characters on the grounds that changes to the soma cannot produce the kind of changes to the germ-plasm that would result in the altered character being transmitted to subsequent generations. His intended distinction, between germ-plasm and soma, was closer to the modern distinction between genotype and phenotype than to the modern distinction between germ cells and somatic cells. Recently, systems of epigenetic inheritance have been claimed to make possible the inheritance of acquired characters. I argue that the sense in which these claims are true does not challenge fundamental tenets of neo-Darwinism. Epigenetic inheritance expands the range of options available to genes but evolutionary adaptation remains the product of natural selection of ‘random’ variation.
The New Realities of Money and Politics in Complementary/Alternative Medicine

AbstractIn the United States (U.S.) today, 90% of all health care consumers use some form of complementary alternative medicine (CAM) as a method of health care and they pay out of pocket. Legitimizing CAM in the U.S. was spearheaded when congress funded the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCAM) as part of the National Institute of Health (NIH). Health care providers and insurance companies are following suit because legal issues about CAM are less obtuse and treatment is less expensive. Additionally, there is less chance of providers being sued for malpractice with fewer invasive treatment and outcome promises.
User Verification Leveraging Gait Recognition for Smartphone Enabled Mobile Healthcare Systems

The rapid deployment of sensing technology in smartphones and the explosion of their usage in people’s daily lives provide users with the ability to collectively sense the world. This leads to a growing trend of mobile healthcare systems utilizing sensing data collected from smartphones with/without additional external sensors to analyze and understand people’s physical and mental states. However, such healthcare systems are vulnerable to user spoofing, in which an adversary distributes his registered device to other users such that data collected from these users can be claimed as his own to obtain more healthcare benefits and undermine the successful operation of mobile healthcare systems. Existing mitigation approaches either only rely on a secret PIN number (which can not deal with colluded attacks) or require an explicit user action for verification. In this paper, we propose a user verification system leveraging unique gait patterns derived from acceleration readings to detect possible user spoofing in mobile healthcare systems. Our framework exploits the readily available accelerometers embedded within smartphones for user verification. Specifically, our user spoofing mitigation framework (which consists of three components, namely Step Cycle Identification, Step Cycle Interpolation, and Similarity Comparison) is used to extract gait patterns from run-time accelerometer measurements to perform robust user verification under various walking speeds. We show that our framework can be implemented in two ways: user-centric and server-centric, and it is robust to not only random but also mimic attacks. Our extensive experiments using over 3,000 smartphone-based traces with mobile phones placed on different body positions confirm the effectiveness of the proposed framework with users walking at various speeds. This strongly indicates the feasibility of using smartphone based low grade accelerometer to conduct gait recognition and facilitate effective user verification without active user cooperation.
Daphnid Filtering Comb Area and the Control of Filtering Rate

ABSTRACT Filtering comb areas were greatest for Daphnia pulex and D. similis, and least for D. parvula, relative to body length. The slopes of the regressions of comb area body length were different from expected (based on simple geometry) for D. pulex and D. similis. Filtering rates of these daphnids in suspensions of inert sediment particles were less related to comb areas than they were to the gut filling capacity of these particles.
Algebra Word Problem Solutions: Thought Processes Underlying a Common Misconception

This article describes test data showing that a large proportion of science-oriented college students were unable to solve a very simple kind of algebra word problem. Several thinking-aloud protocols are presented in order to (a) formulate hypotheses for why the errors occurred, (b) examine the phenomenon of shifts between inconsistent approaches within a single solution, and (c) illustrate a method of diagramming thought processes. The data indicate that relatively advanced students can experience serious difficulties in symbolizing certain meaningful relationships with algebraic equations. Paige and Simon (1966) have shown that syntactic methods-that is, methods not dependent on comprehending the meaning of the described problem situation-are adequate for solving some algebra word problems in one variable. They point out, however, that these methods can produce incorrect or meaningless results in other problems. They also present evidence for the idea that some students use an internal "physical representation" that encodes qualitative features of a situation in solving word problems. A number of misconceptions concerning the meaning of algebraic equations have also been discussed by Wagner (Note 1), Collis (1978), Herscovics and Kieran (1980), Galvin and Bell (Note 2), Kiichemann (1978), and Matz (Note 3). Several of these researchers have noted a tendency on the part of some students to treat numerical variables as if they stood for objects rather than numbers. This study concentrates on one particular type of misconception in order to obtain a deeper understanding of its cognitive sources. Research attempting to describe thought processes in this area must be considered exploratory, since the processes involved are rather complex.
Reduced NODAL signaling strength via mutation of several pathway members including FOXH1 is linked to human heart defects and holoprosencephaly.

Abnormalities of embryonic patterning are hypothesized to underlie many common congenital malformations in humans including congenital heart defects (CHDs), left-right disturbances (L-R) or laterality, and holoprosencephaly (HPE). Studies in model organisms suggest that Nodal-like factors provide instructions for key aspects of body axis and germ layer patterning; however, the complex genetics of pathogenic gene variant(s) in humans are poorly understood. Here we report our studies of FOXH1, CFC1, and SMAD2 and summarize our mutational analysis of three additional components in the human NODAL-signaling pathway: NODAL, GDF1, and TDGF1. We identify functionally abnormal gene products throughout the pathway that are clearly associated with CHD, laterality, and HPE. Abnormal gene products are most commonly detected in patients within a narrow spectrum of isolated conotruncal heart defects (minimum 5%–10% of subjects), and far less commonly in isolated laterality or HPE patients (∼1% for each). The difference in the mutation incidence between these groups is highly significant. We show that apparent gene dosage discrepancies between humans and model organisms can be reconciled by considering a broader combination of sequence variants. Our studies confirm that (1) the genetic vulnerabilities inferred from model organisms with defects in Nodal signaling are indeed analogous to humans; (2) the molecular analysis of an entire signaling pathway is more complete and robust than that of individual genes and presages future studies by whole-genome analysis; and (3) a functional genomics approach is essential to fully appreciate the complex genetic interactions necessary to produce these effects in humans.
Optimal compensation for directionality in processes with a saturating actuator

Abstract For discrete–time input-constrained systems, the notion of directionality is defined, and an optimal directionality compensator is presented. According to the definition, a single-input single-output (SISO) process may exhibit the directionality. Two examples of such processes are given and simulated. Given a controller output, the compensator calculates an optimal constrained (feasible) process input that results in a process response as ‘close’ as possible to the response of the process to the controller output. The compensator can be used for both linear and nonlinear processes, irrespective of the type of controller being used. For processes whose nonsingular characteristic (decoupling) matrix is independent of manipulated inputs and can be made diagonal by row or column rearrangements, the optimal directionality compensation is identical to clipping; this class of processes does not exhibit the directionality over very short time horizons. By three examples the performance of the optimal directionality compensator is shown and compared with those of clipping and direction preservation.
Gathering customer feedback via the Internet: instruments and prospects

For many years companies have collected feedback from customers through means such as comment cards and toll‐free telephone numbers. The feedback data can be used by companies to track quality, locate quality problems, and identify suggestions for improvement. Gathering feedback from customers has become a recent but prevalent phenomenon on the Internet. Many companies designate an e‐mail address for submitting comments and questions. Companies with information on the World Wide Web frequently include a feedback form that customers can complete on screen and send at the click of a mouse. This article considers current practice and the potential for customer feedback collection over the Internet. The nature of Web‐based feedback forms is compared to corresponding features of conventional (paper) comment cards. Explanations for differences are supposed, and future prospects for Web‐based feedback are discussed.
Elective nodal irradiation in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer with three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy.

Abstract Purpose: Dose escalation using three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) has been investigated as a means to improve local control. However, with higher doses, the risk of toxicity increases. Early in our experience, we ceased treating elective nodal areas (lymph node stations without evidence of tumor involvement) in an effort to decrease toxicity while treating the gross tumor to higher doses. This report measures the rate of regional failure without elective radiation therapy to uninvolved lymph nodes. Methods and Materials: A total of 171 patients with non–small-cell lung cancer treated with 3D-CRT at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center between 1991 and 1998 were reviewed. Only lymph node regions initially involved with tumor either by biopsy (55%) or radiographic criteria (node ≥15 mm in the short axis on CT) were included in the clinical target volume. Elective nodal failure was defined as a recurrence in an initially uninvolved lymph node in the absence of local failure. Results: Only 11 patients (6.4%) with elective nodal failure were identified. With a median follow-up of 21 months in survivors, the 2-year actuarial rates of elective nodal control and primary tumor control were 91% and 38%, respectively. In patients who were locally controlled, the 2-year rate of elective nodal control was 85%. The median time to elective nodal failure was 4 months (range, 1–19 months). Most patients failed in multiple lymph node regions simultaneously. Conclusion: Local control remains one of the biggest challenges in the treatment of non–small-cell lung cancer. Most patients in our series developed local failure within 2 years of radiation therapy. The omission of elective nodal treatment did not cause a significant amount of failure in lymph node regions not included in the clinical target volume. Therefore, we will continue our policy of treating mediastinal lymph node regions only if they are clinically involved with tumor.
Siderophore-mediated iron acquisition systems in Bacillus cereus: identification of receptors for anthrax virulence-associated petrobactin

During growth under iron limitation, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus anthracis, two human pathogens from the Bacillus cereus group of Gram-positive bacteria, secrete two siderophores, bacillibactin (BB) and petrobactin (PB), for iron acquisition via membrane-associated substrate-binding proteins (SBPs) and other ABC transporter components. Since PB is associated with virulence traits in B. anthracis, the PB-mediated iron uptake system presents a potential target for antimicrobial therapies; its characterization in B. cereus is described here. Separate transporters for BB, PB, and several xenosiderophores are suggested by (55)Fe-siderophore uptake studies. The PB precursor, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (3,4-DHB), and the photoproduct of FePB (FePB(nu)) also mediate iron delivery into iron-deprived cells. Putative SBPs were recombinantly expressed, and their ligand specificity and binding affinity were assessed using fluorescence spectroscopy. The noncovalent complexes of the SBPs with their respective siderophores were characterized using ESI-MS. The differences between solution phase behavior and gas phase measurements are indicative of noncovalent interactions between the siderophores and the binding sites of their respective SBPs. These studies combined with bioinformatics sequence comparison identify SBPs from five putative transporters specific for BB and enterobactin (FeuA), 3,4-DHB and PB (FatB), PB (FpuA), schizokinen (YfiY), and desferrioxamine and ferrichrome (YxeB). The two PB receptors show different substrate ranges: FatB has the highest affinity for ferric 3,4-DHB, iron-free PB, FePB, and FePB(nu), whereas FpuA is specific to only apo- and ferric PB. The biochemical characterization of these SBPs provides the first identification of the transporter candidates that most likely play a role in the B. cereus group pathogenicity.
Volumetric imaging and quantification of cytoarchitecture and myeloarchitecture with intrinsic scattering contrast.

We present volumetric imaging and computational techniques to quantify neuronal and myelin architecture with intrinsic scattering contrast. Using spectral / Fourier domain Optical Coherence Microscopy (OCM) and software focus-tracking we validate imaging of neuronal cytoarchitecture and demonstrate quantification in the rodent cortex in vivo. Additionally, by ex vivo imaging in conjunction with optical clearing techniques, we demonstrate that intrinsic scattering contrast is preserved in the brain, even after sacrifice and fixation. We volumetrically image cytoarchitecture and myeloarchitecture ex vivo across the entire depth of the rodent cortex. Cellular-level imaging up to the working distance of our objective (~3 mm) is demonstrated ex vivo. Architectonic features show the expected laminar characteristics; moreover, changes in contrast after the application of acetic acid suggest that entire neuronal cell bodies are responsible for the “negative contrast” present in the images. Clearing and imaging techniques that preserve tissue architectural integrity have the potential to enable non-invasive studies of the brain during development, disease, and remodeling, even in samples where exogenous labeling is impractical.
A local glucose-and oxygen concentration-based insulin secretion model for pancreatic islets

Because insulin is the main regulator of glucose homeostasis, quantitative models describing the dynamics of glucose-induced insulin secretion are of obvious interest. Here, a computational model is introduced that focuses not on organism-level concentrations, but on the quantitative modeling of local, cellular-level glucose-insulin dynamics by incorporating the detailed spatial distribution of the concentrations of interest within isolated avascular pancreatic islets. All nutrient consumption and hormone release rates were assumed to follow Hill-type sigmoid dependences on local concentrations. Insulin secretion rates depend on both the glucose concentration and its time-gradient, resulting in second-and first-phase responses, respectively. Since hypoxia may also be an important limiting factor in avascular islets, oxygen and cell viability considerations were also built in by incorporating and extending our previous islet cell oxygen consumption model. A finite element method (FEM) framework is used to combine reactive rates with mass transport by convection and diffusion as well as fluid-mechanics. The model was calibrated using experimental results from dynamic glucose-stimulated insulin release (GSIR) perifusion studies with isolated islets. Further optimization is still needed, but calculated insulin responses to stepwise increments in the incoming glucose concentration are in good agreement with existing experimental insulin release data characterizing glucose and oxygen dependence. The model makes possible the detailed description of the intraislet spatial distributions of insulin, glucose, and oxygen levels. In agreement with recent observations, modeling also suggests that smaller islets perform better when transplanted and/or encapsulated. An insulin secretion model was implemented by coupling local consumption and release rates to calculations of the spatial distributions of all species of interest. The resulting glucose-insulin control system fits in the general framework of a sigmoid proportional-integral-derivative controller, a generalized PID controller, more suitable for biological systems, which are always nonlinear due to the maximum response being limited. Because of the general framework of the implementation, simulations can be carried out for arbitrary geometries including cultured, perifused, transplanted, and encapsulated islets.
Dynamics of superconducting cosmic strings

Abstract This paper introduces a covariant classical action for a superconducting string and derives the equations of motion for the string and its charge carriers. A formula for the electromagnetic power emitted by the moving string is calculated and is applied in the near-cusp region. The string emits beamed electromagnetic radiation, as well as relativistic particles, from the near-cusp region. A net current along the string can arise from either primordial flux threading the string loop or from a net asymmetry in the quantum number of the charge carriers. The string's motion in an external magnetic field can produce an oscillating current whose amplitude grows secularly. The implications of these results are discussed in the context of current astrophysical motins.
Spontaneous formation of one-dimensional ripples in transit to highly ordered two-dimensional herringbone structures through sequential and unequal biaxial mechanical stretching

The authors report the formation of various submicron wrinkle patterns and their transition from one-dimensional (1D) ripples to two-dimensional (2D) herringbone structures on poly(dimethylsiloxane) films. Using mechanical force they can separately control the amount and timing of strain applied to the substrate on both planar directions (either simultaneously or sequentially), which appears to be critical to maneuver the pattern formation in real time. They demonstrate reversible transitions from flat to 1D ripple, to ripple with bifurcation, to ripple/herringbone mixed features, and to well-controlled formation of a highly ordered zigzag-based 2D herringbone structures.
The Class C Vps Complex Functions at Multiple Stages of the Vacuolar Transport Pathway

The Class C Vps complex, consisting of Vps11, Vps16, Vps18, and Vps33, is required for SNARE-mediated membrane fusion at the lysosome-like yeast vacuole. However, Class C vps mutants display more severe and pleiotropic phenotypes than mutants specifically defective in endosome-to-vacuole transport, suggesting that there are additional functions for the Class C Vps complex. A SNARE double mutant which is defective for both Golgi-to-endosome and endosome-to-vacuole trafficking replicates many of the phenotypes observed in Class C vps mutants. We show that genetic interactions exist between Class C vps alleles and alleles of the Class D vps group, which are defective in the docking and fusion of Golgi-derived vesicles at the endosome. Moreover, the Class D protein Vac1 was found to physically bind to the Class C Vps complex through a direct association with Vps11. Finally, using a random mutagenic screen, a temperature-conditional allele which shares many of the phenotypes of mutants which are selectively defective in Golgi-to-endosome trafficking was isolated (vps11–3ts). Collectively, these results indicate that the Class C Vps complex plays essential roles in the processes of membrane docking and fusion at both the Golgi-to-endosome and endosome-to-vacuole stages of transport.
Caregivers of Stroke Patient Family Members: Behavioral and Attitudinal Indicators of Overprotective Care

Three models of the sources of overprotection in stroke patients were tested in a study of the behavioral and attitudinal concomitants of overprotective caregiving. Stroke patients and their family member caregivers were interviewed to assess feelings of overprotection, physical and mental functioning, and caregiving-related attitudes. The couples were then videotaped as they interacted on four tasks and the tapes were coded for specific behaviors and affect directed toward the patient. Strong support was found for the Resentment model that overprotection will be associated with an overcontrolling caregiving style, negative affect, and resentment toward the stroke patient. No support was found for the model that overprotection is related to overhelping. In addition, feeling overprotected was associated with patient dependency. Two conclusions are discussed: the variety of potential sources of overprotection found in the study and the importance of the emotional tone with which caregivers provide assistance.
Precipitation of Ag2Te in the thermoelectric material AgSbTe2

Abstract The microstructure of AgSbTe2, prepared by solidification, is investigated using electron microscopy. During solidification and thermal treatment, the material separates into a two-phase mixture of a rocksalt phase, which is Ag22Sb28Te50, and silver telluride, Ag2Te. Ag2Te formation results either from eutectic solidification (large lamellar structures), or by solid-state precipitation (fine-scale particles). The crystal structure of the AgSbTe2 phase determined by electron diffraction is consistent with a rocksalt structure that has a disordered cation sublattice. A preferred crystallographic orientation relationship at the interface between the matrix and the low-temperature monoclinic Ag2Te phase is defined and discussed. This orientation relationship is observed for both second-phase morphologies. In both cases, the orientation relationship originates from a topotactic (cube-on-cube) alignment of the Te sublattices in the initially cubic Ag2Te and the matrix at elevated temperature. This Te sublattice alignment is retained as the Ag2Te undergoes a cubic-to-monoclinic transformation during cooling. This orientation relationship is observed for both second-phase morphologies.
The Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire: an american sample

Abstract A sample of 1838 students enrolled in public schools in Merced, CA, responded to the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (JEPQ). The students ranged in age from 7 to 15 yr and included 938 boys and 900 girls. Means and SDs for each age and sex were computed and compared to the corresponding values for the British sample presented in the manual. Differences between the two samples were small. In addition, a factor analysis of the item responses was conducted for the American sample. This analysis produced four factors closely corresponding to the scales on the JEPQ. This study along with previous literature indicate that the JEPQ is appropriate for use in the United States.
Frame Indifference and Relative Frame Indifference

The concepts of frame indifference and relative frame indifference are discussed critically in the context of materials with memory. It is shown that frame indifference implies relative frame indifference and relative frame indifference implies frame indifference if and only if the material is isotropic.
Interprocedural compilation of Fortran D for MIMD distributed-memory machines

Algorithms exist for compiling Fortran D for MIMD (multiple-instruction multiple-data) distributed-memory machines, but they are significantly restricted in the presence of procedure calls. The authors present interprocedural analysis, optimization, and code generation algorithms for Fortran D that limit compilation to only one pass over each procedure. This is accomplished by collecting summary information after edits, and then compiling procedures in reverse topological order to propagate necessary information. Delaying instantiation of the computation partition, communication, and dynamic data decomposition is key to enabling interprocedural optimization. Recompilation analysis preserves the benefits of separate compilation. Empirical results show that interprocedural optimization is crucial in achieving acceptable performance for a common application. >
Retinoic Acid Induces the Degradation of the Leukemogenic Protein Encoded by the Promyelocytic Leukemia Gene Fused to the Retinoic Acid Receptor α Gene

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells carry a mutated gene that is the result of a translocation in which the retinoic acid receptor α (RARα) gene is fused to the promyelocytic leukemia (PML) gene, coding for a fusion protein, PML/RARα. Its presence is the single event that causes APL in transgenic mice. All-trans-retinoic acid (atRA) induces the proteolytic degradation of PML/RARα by ubiquitination and proteolysis. RARα itself is also degraded by atRA treatment, a process representing a possible feedback mechanism to turn off RARα's stimulation of transcription.
Superoxide levels and function of cerebral blood vessels after inhibition of CuZn-SOD.

The goal of this study was to examine the role of endogenous copper/zinc (CuZn)-superoxide dismutase (SOD) on superoxide levels and on responses of cerebral blood vessels to stimuli that are mediat...
Evidence-Based Approach to Imaging of Congenital Heart Disease

■ Chest radiographs do not function as a screening test for suspected CHD in neonates. If CHD cannot be excluded by clinical examination, echo is the preferred modality (moderate evidence).
Using context with statistical relational models: object recognition from observing user activity in home environment

Object recognition from images in a home environment is challenging since the object usually has low resolution in the image and the scene is usually cluttered. However, many objects have specific functions to the user and the interactions between the user and the object provides useful contextual information to recognize the object. In this paper, we use Markov logic network (MLN) to model such context information as relationship between the objects and user activities. We demonstrate that Markov logic network provides a flexible way in the syntax of first-order logic to incorporate relational context information. It is also a probabilistic graphical model which handles uncertainty in the knowledge base, observations and decisions. In our experiment, objects in the living room and kitchen in a home are recognized based on only user's activity. The user's activity is analyzed from images of cameras installed in the home. Relationship between user activity and objects is defined in a knowledge base with MLN. Experiments show that objects in the home can be recognized irrespective of their position, size and appearance in the image.