cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Changes in Depression, Anxiety, and Social Support in Heart Failure Outpatients with Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators

Objectives: This study examined changes in depression, anxiety, and social support over time in heart failure (HF) outpatients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and compared them with similar patients without ICDs. Background: The Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT) international clinical trial indicated that ICDs are effective for primary prevention of mortality in HF outpatients. Patients given ICDs after arrhythmic events or sudden cardiac arrest experience psychological distress. The psychosocial impact of ICDs in patients who receive them for primary prevention is unknown. Methods: SCD-HeFT patients randomly assigned to ICDs (n 5 57) or medication (n 5 96) completed depression, anxiety, and social support scales at entry and every 6 months. Results: At entry, 36% of patients with ICDs reported depression; 45% reported anxiety. In linear mixed models, depression decreased over time for patients with ICDs but did not change for those without ICDs. In HF outpatients with ICDs, anxiety was highest at entry and decreased over 2 years. Shocks did not predict depression, anxiety or social support or changes in them. Overall, social support did not change. Among patients with ICDs, changes in social support depended on the patients’ age; the younger the patient, the more social support decreased over time. Shocks did not predict psychosocial status or changes. Conclusion: Depression and anxiety are common in HF outpatients. Anxiety and depression decreased over time in patients with but not without ICDs. ICDs may provide reassurance once patients are accustomed to them.
Thermokinetics and combustion phenomena in nonflowing gaseous systems - An invited review.

The current status of our understanding of combustion phenomena observed in nonflowing premixed gaseous systems is reviewed. The phenomena include slow oxidation, explosion, multiple ignition, oscillatory oxidation, as well as photolytic phenomena. Detailed experimental data on each of these phenomena are given, and analytical methods of analyzing them are outlined. The correlation between theory and experiment is studied for several special cases.
Mitochondria-derived Hydrogen Peroxide Selectively Enhances T Cell Receptor-initiated Signal Transduction

T cell receptor (TCR)-initiated signal transduction is reported to increase production of intracellular reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide (O2⨪) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), as second messengers. Although H2O2 can modulate signal transduction by inactivating protein phosphatases, the mechanism and the subcellular localization of intracellular H2O2 as a second messenger of the TCR are not known. The antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) catalyzes the dismutation of highly reactive O2⨪ into H2O2 and thus acts as an intracellular generator of H2O2. As charged O2⨪ is unable to diffuse through intracellular membranes, cells express distinct SOD isoforms in the cytosol (Cu,Zn-SOD) and mitochondria (Mn-SOD), where they locally scavenge O2⨪ leading to production of H2O2. A 2-fold organelle-specific overexpression of either SOD in Jurkat T cell lines increases intracellular production of H2O2 but does not alter the levels of intracellular H2O2 scavenging enzymes such as catalase, membrane-bound peroxiredoxin1 (Prx1), and cytosolic Prx2. We report that overexpression of Mn-SOD enhances tyrosine phosphorylation of TCR-associated membrane proximal signal transduction molecules Lck, LAT, ZAP70, PLCγ1, and SLP76 within 1 min of TCR cross-linking. This increase in mitochondrial H2O2 specifically modulates MAPK signaling through the JNK/cJun pathway, whereas overexpressing Cu,Zn-SOD had no effect on any of these TCR-mediated signaling molecules. As mitochondria translocate to the immunological synapse during TCR activation, we hypothesize this translocation provides the effective concentration of H2O2 required to selectively modulate downstream signal transduction pathways. Background: H2O2 mediates signal transduction in response to TCR activation. Results: Overexpressing mitochondrial Mn-SOD increases H2O2, enhancing intensity and duration of tyrosine phosphorylation after TCR activation, whereas overexpressing cytosolic Cu,Zn-SOD has no effect. Conclusion: Mitochondrial H2O2 enhances TCR-mediated signal transduction selectively through JNK/cJun. Significance: Mitochondrial translocation to the immunological synapse provides necessary proximity to raise effective H2O2 concentration to modulate TCR signaling.
Lehman's laws in agile and non-agile projects

Software team leaders and managers must make decisions on what type of process model they will use for their projects. Recent work suggests the use of agile processes since they promote shorter development cycles, better collaboration, and process flexibility. Due to the many benefits of agile processes, many software organizations have shifted to using more agile process methodologies. However, there is limited research that studies how agile processes affects the evolution of a software system over time. In this paper, we perform an empirical study to better understand the effects of using agile processes. We compare two open source projects, one of which uses a tailored agile process (i.e., Xtreme Programming) and another that has no formal process methodology. In particular, we compare the two projects within the context of Lehmans Laws for continuing growth, continuing change, increasing complexity, and conservation of familiarity. Our findings show that all four of the laws held true for the project that uses an agile process and that there are noticeable differences in the evolution of the two projects, many of which can be traced back to specific practices used by the agile team.
Some numerical and physical aspects of unsteady Navier-Stokes computations over airfoils using dynamic meshes

An upwind-biased implicit approximate factorization algorithm is applied to several unsteady flows on dynamic meshes. The thin-layer form of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations is used to solve both laminar and turbulent flows over airfoils pitching about the quarter chord. Numerical aspects of the solutions are investigated, including grid and time step effects. Two methods for determining fluxes - flux-vector splitting and flux-difference splitting - are compared. Flux-difference splitting predicts results more accurately than flux-vector splitting on a coarse mesh, but both methods agree on a fine mesh. Physical aspects of the computations are also examined. An equilibrium turbulent boundary layer model computes generally better unsteady results in comparison with experiment than a nonequilibrium model for the transonic case analyzed. Also, the size and location of the primary shed vortex for an airfoil pitching up at a constant rate is calculated in good agreement with experiment for two pitch rates.
Association phenomena in a ferromagnetic colloid

We discuss the equation of state and the static correlations in a system of spherical ferromagnetic grains suspended in a magnetically passive fluid. In the domain where dipole-dipole interactions between the grains are large (low temperature) we show that the variation of the small-angle X-ray scattering with magnetic field provides a sensitive test of the model proposed to treat this system. We discuss the condensation of the grains into linear chains at low density, high magnetic field, and low temperature. The possibility of resonances in the small-angle X-ray scattering is demonstrated and certain other consequences of chain formation are indicated.
Marginalization and health geomatics

Marginalized groups have been defined as groups that have been peripheralized from the center of society. Increasing nursing knowledge of marginalized groups and the dynamics of population diversity will enable nurses to better recognize shifting health patterns, plan for utilization of health services, and determine ethnic and cultural differences that exist in marginalized populations. The authors of this article review theoretical models responsible for defining the concept marginalization, describe geographical information systems as a recommended tool to evaluate marginalized groups, and provide a case study utilizing tools and maps as a means of assessing marginal situations.
Eigen-Template-Based HRR-ATR with Multi-Look and Time-Recursion

Automatic target recognition (ATR) using high range resolution (HRR) radar signatures is developed using classical Bayesian multiple hypothesis theory. An eigen-template-based matched filtering (ETMF) algorithm is presented where the templates are formed using the dominant range-space eigenvector of detected HRR training profiles and classification is performed using normalized matched filtering (MF). The proposed approach is extended to multi-look and sequential ATR where new observation profiles are recursively combined probabilistically with previous steps to update ATR results, which is useful for simultaneous recognition and tracking of moving targets. An HRR-specific profile normalization scheme is presented to satisfy matched filter requirements. Classification performance of the proposed method has been compared with a linear least-squares method and hidden Markov model (HMM) approach using MSTAR data collection.
Mucosal Glycan Foraging Enhances Fitness and Transmission of a Saccharolytic Human Gut Bacterial Symbiont

The distal human gut is a microbial bioreactor that digests complex carbohydrates. The strategies evolved by gut microbes to sense and process diverse glycans have important implications for the assembly and operation of this ecosystem. The human gut-derived bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron forages on both host and dietary glycans. Its ability to target these substrates resides in 88 polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs), encompassing 18% of its genome. Whole genome transcriptional profiling and genetic tests were used to define the mechanisms underlying host glycan foraging in vivo and in vitro. PULs that target all major classes of host glycans were identified. However, mucin O-glycans are the principal host substrate foraged in vivo. Simultaneous deletion of five genes encoding ECF-sigma transcription factors, which activate mucin O-glycan utilization, produces defects in bacterial persistence in the gut and in mother-to-offspring transmission. Thus, PUL-mediated glycan catabolism is an important component in gut colonization and may impact microbiota ecology.
A survey for phosphoglucose isomerase with lysyl aminopeptidase activity in Vibrionaceae and non-Vibrio pathogens.

Abstract Phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) with a novel lysyl aminopeptidase (LysAP) activity was recently purified and characterized from Vibrio vulnificus. We showed that it cleaves the amino-terminal lysyl residue from des-Arg10-kallidin to produce des-Arg9-bradykinin, suggesting that it plays a role in virulence. A survey was conducted to determine the presence of this potential virulence-enhancing enzyme among twenty-three halotolerant human and fish pathogens from eleven species within the Vibrionaceae family, including V. vulnificus, V. parahaemolyticus, V. cholerae, Aeromonas hydrophila, and Plesiomonas shigelloides. In addition, fourteen species of non-Vibrionaceae pathogens were screened for LysAP activity. Cell lysates were partially purified by anion exchange chromatography and fractions were screened for LysAP and isomerase activities. PGI-LysAP activity was detected in chromatographic fractions from all the Vibrio species tested, but was not detected in any of the non-Vibrionaceae pathogens. Levels of isomerase and LysAP activity correlated (R2=0.92) for nine strains of V. vulnificus. Since the Vibrionaceae represent an important family of human and fish pathogens, our identification of PGI-LysAP activity in a broad array of vibrios may lead to the development of improved analytical methods for their identification as well as interventions to reduce the high morbidity and mortality associated with some Vibrionaceae infections in clinical, veterinary, and aquaculture settings.
Is information systems a discipline? Foucauldian and Toulminian insights

Following the Kleinian spirit, this study takes a critical view of the existing orthodoxy within information systems (IS) and reframes the ongoing discussion concerning the intellectual core, identity and disciplinary status of IS using the disciplinary analysis of Michel Foucault and Stephen Toulmin. Instead of limiting the discussion to specific paradigms, topics, subjects or content, it focuses on the characteristics, rules and goals of IS as an academic field. A disciplinary lens is used to frame what it means to be a field, discipline and science, and in the process the study uncovers four doxas that have shaped the development of the IS field: (1) the IS research community sees no difference between fields, disciplines or sciences; (2) IT changes so rapidly, and thus the IS field needs to change to remain relevant; (3) disciplines are by definition rigid, inflexible and uni-theoretical and (4) because IS is pluralistic, IS should not become a discipline. This study's analyses of the IS field's discursive formation and intellectual ideals offer novel perspectives that allow for the integration of the IS field's plurality and diversity. To transform the IS field from its multimodal existence into a vibrant, diverse, academically and socially relevant and influential discipline, the study proposes actionable strategies that include (1) agreeing on the intellectual ideals for IS, (2) focusing on conceptual formation, (3) focusing on theory construction, (4) erecting genealogical boundaries and (5) fostering the development of professional bodies.
The Frame Problem and Theories of Belief

The frame problem is the problem of how we selectively apply relevant knowledge to particular situations in order to generate practical solutions. Some philosophers have thought that the frame problem can be used to rule out, or argue in favor of, a particular theory of belief states. But this is a mistake. Sentential theories of belief are no better or worse off with respect to the frame problem than are alternative theories of belief, most notably, the “map” theory of belief.
Orbital resonances and planetary formation sites

A cascaded resonance structure where planetesimal growth was accelerated at 2:1 interior and 1:2 exterior resonances, with an early-formed Jupiter producing runaway growth of planetary embryos, is hypothesized in a solar system formation model. The planetary embryos produce their own resonances, and these in turn lead to additional embryos in a process that successively propagates inwardly and outwardly to generate a resonant configuration of embryos. The early presence of Jupiter would in this way have imposed a harmonic structure on the accumulating planetesimal swarm. The positions of the planetary embryos can be moved into a degree of agreement with most of the present planetary positions which is comparable to that given by the Titius-Bode law, for the case of an accretion disk whose surface density obeys a power law of index -1.2.
Simulated impacts of insect defoliation on forest carbon dynamics

Many temperate and boreal forests are subject to insect epidemics. In the eastern US, over 41 million meters squared of tree basal area are thought to be at risk of gypsy moth defoliation. However, the decadal-to-century scale implications of defoliation events for ecosystem carbon dynamics are not well understood. In this study, the effects of defoliation intensity, periodicity and spatial pattern on the carbon cycle are investigated in a set of idealized model simulations. A mechanistic terrestrial biosphere model, ecosystem demography model 2, is driven with observations from a xeric oak‐pine forest located in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Simulations indicate that net ecosystem productivity (equal to photosynthesis minus respiration) decreases linearly with increasing defoliation intensity. However, because of interactions between defoliation and drought effects, aboveground biomass exhibits a nonlinear decrease with increasing defoliation intensity. The ecosystem responds strongly with both reduced productivity and biomass loss when defoliation periodicity varies from 5 to 15 yr, but exhibits a relatively weak response when defoliation periodicity varies from 15 to 60 yr. Simulations of spatially heterogeneous defoliation resulted in markedly smaller carbon stocks than simulations with spatially homogeneous defoliation. These results show that gypsy moth defoliation has a large effect on oak‐pine forest biomass dynamics, functioning and its capacity to act as a carbon sink.
Data analysis and integration: of steps and arrows.

In the film What About Bob, comic wizard Bill Murray plays Bob Wiley, a mental patient with a multi-phobic personality whose fear of almost everything leaves him in a constant state of panic. Richard Dreyfus plays Dr Leo Marvin, an eminent psychiatrist whose therapy goals for Bob are summed up in his crowning professional accomplishment, a book entitled Baby Steps, in which he advocates setting small, reasonable goals one day a time—one tiny step at a time. The multiphobic character played by Murray will resonate all too well with the geneticist who faces the rapid evolution of bioinformatics driven by the massive quantities of data produced by genomescale technologies. Impressive though the evolution of bioinformatic analysis may be, the problems associated with mapping and sequencing are dwarfed in comparison with the mathematical challenges generated by recent progress in parallel gene expression analysis using microarrays 1 . This new type of expression data brings us face to face with the
UV-Absorbing Materials Eluted from Plastic Equipment While Collecting Rabbit Ovarian Venous Blood

An earlier report suggested that novel compounds, presumably steroids, might have been produced following the removal of ova from follicles in rabbits (1). Here, these compounds are shown to be artefacts eluted from plastic equipment used in blood collection.
Rapid and Efficient Identification of Caenorhabditis elegans Legacy Mutations Using Hawaiian SNP-Based Mapping and Whole-Genome Sequencing

The production of viable embryos requires the coordination of many cellular processes, including protein synthesis, cytoskeletal reorganization, establishment of polarity, cell migration, cell division, and in Caenorhabditis elegans, eggshell formation. Defects in any of these processes can lead to embryonic lethality. We examined six temperature-sensitive mutants as well as one nonconditional mutant that were previously identified in genetic screens as either embryonic lethal (maternal-effect or zygotic lethal) or eggshell defective. The responsible molecular lesion for each had never been determined. After confirmation of temperature sensitivity and lethality, we performed whole-genome sequencing using a single-nucleotide polymorphism mapping strategy to pinpoint the molecular lesions. Gene candidates were confirmed by RNA interference phenocopy and/or complementation tests and one mutant was further validated by CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palidromic Repeats)/Cas9 gene editing. This approach identified new alleles of several genes that had only been previously studied by RNA interference depletion. Our identification of temperature-sensitive alleles for all of these essential genes provides an extremely useful tool for further investigation for the C. elegans community, such as the ability to address mutant phenotypes at various developmental stages and the ability to carry out suppressor/enhancer screens to identify other genes that function in a specific cellular process.
Eleven new microsatellite loci for the tiger rattlesnake (Crotalus tigris)

Eleven microsatellite loci were isolated from an enriched genomic library from the tiger rattlesnake Crotalus tigris. Average observed heterozygosities in two populations were 0.456 and 0.427, respectively, and mean number of alleles were 7.54 (range 2-14) and 4.72 (range 2-13) respectively. No evidence of linkage disequilibrium was found across pairs of loci. The markers will be used in a long-term study examining the potential effects of urbanization on population dynamics and connectivity of this species in the mountain ranges surrounding Tucson, Arizona.
Bending of a Cosserat Elastic Bar of Square Cross Section: Theory and Experiment

Pure bending experiments on prismatic bars of square cross-section composed of reticulated polymer foam exhibit deformation behavior not captured by classical elasticity theory. Perhaps the clearest example of this is the observed sigmoidal deformation of the bars’ lateral surfaces, which are predicted by classical elasticity theory to tilt but remain planar upon pure moment application. Such foams have a non-negligible length scale compared to the bars’ cross-section dimensions, whereas classical elasticity theory contains no inherent length scale. All these facts raise the intriguing question: is there a richer, physically-sensible, yet still continuum and relatively simple elasticity theory capable of modeling the observed phenomenon in these materials? This paper reports our exploration of the hypothesis that Cosserat elasticity can. We employ the principle of minimum potential energy for homogeneous isotropic Cosserat elastic material in which the microrotation vector is taken to be independent of the macrorotation vector (as prior experiments indicate it should be in general to model such materials) to obtain an approximate three-dimensional solution to pure bending of a prismatic bar having a square crosssection. We show that this solution, and hence Cosserat elasticity, captures the experimentallyobserved nonclassical deformation feature, both qualitatively and quantitatively, for reasonable values of the Cosserat moduli. A further interesting conclusion is that a single experiment { the pure bending one { suces to reveal directly, via the observation of surface deformation, the presence of nonclassical elastic eects describable by Cosserat elasticity.
A circular smoothing edge detector

A method of detecting step edges based on an edge-preserving circular smoothing technique is presented. The detection procedure consists of two stages: circular smoothing and thresholding. To achieve better results, multiple windows are used. Experimental results utilizing real images show that using multiple windows can more efficiently remove noise, reduce edge width, and detect weak edges. Based on the edge quality, the method is comparable to the commonly used edge detectors, but it requires fewer steps. Since the edge detector can be implemented in parallel, it is suitable for VLSI implementations leading to a real-time edge detector chip. >
Guided mode resonance filters as stable line-narrowing feedback elements for Tm fiber lasers

Guided mode resonance filters produced a stable spectrally narrow Thulium fiber laser, at ∼1985nm. Laser spectral linewidths of 10–30pm with a slope efficiency of ∼35% were demonstrated. Spectral reflectivity was explored and showed 0.4–1.0nm FWHM.
Dietary steatotic liver attenuates acetaminophen hepatotoxicity in mice.

Objective: To determine whether hepatic steatosis is susceptible to acetaminophen (APAP) hepatotoxicity. Methods: Male C57Bl/6 mice were fed a “Western-style’’ diet (high fat and high carbohydrate) for 4 months to develop severe hepatic steatosis with mild increases in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. These were compared to mice fed a standard chow diet. Results: Treatment with APAP (300 mg/kg, orally) to mice fed a regular chow increased ALT levels (519-fold) and caused hepatic centrilobular injury at 6 h. APAP increased hepatic cytochrome-P (CYP)-2E1 mRNA levels (17-fold). In vivo microscopic studies showed that APAP caused a 30% decrease in sinusoidal perfusion and the infiltration of red blood cells into the space of Disse. Electron microscopy demonstrated that numerous gaps were formed in sinusoidal endothelial cells. Mice fed the “Western-style’’ diet were protected from APAP hepatotoxicity as evidenced by 89% decrease in ALT levels and less centrilobular injury, which was associated with 42% decrease in CYP2E1 mRNA levels. The APAP-induced liver microcirculatory dysfunction was minimized in mice fed the “Western-style’’ diet. Conclusions: These results suggest that hepatic steatosis elicited by the “Western-style’’ diet attenuated APAP-induced hepatotoxicity by inhibiting CYP2E1 induction and by minimizing sinusoidal endothelial cell injury, leading to protection of liver microcirculation. Microcirculation (2006) 13, 19‐27. doi:10.1080/10739680500383423
Nucleotide Triphosphates Are Required for the Transport of Glycolate Oxidase into Peroxisomes

All peroxisomal proteins are nuclear encoded, synthesized on free cytosolic ribosomes, and posttranslationally targeted to the organelle. We have used an in vitro assay to reconstitute protein import into pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) glyoxysomes, a class of peroxisome found in the cotyledons of oilseed plants, to study the mechanisms involved in protein transport across peroxisome membranes. Results indicate that ATP hydrolysis is required for protein import into peroxisomes; nonhydrolyzable analogs of ATP could not substitute for this requirement. Nucleotide competition studies suggest that there may be a nucleotide binding site on a component of the translocation machinery. Peroxisomal protein import also was supported by GTP hydrolysis. Nonhydrolyzable analogs of GTP did not substitute in this process. Experiments to determine the cation specificity of the nucleotide requirement show that the Mg2+ salt was preferred over other divalent and monovalent cations. The role of a putative protonmotive force across the peroxisomal membrane was also examined. Although low concentrations of ionophores had no effect on protein import, relatively high concentrations of all ionophores tested consistently reduced the level of protein import by approximately 50%. This result suggests that a protonmotive force is not absolutely required for peroxisomal protein import.
Sensorimotor gating in NTS1 and NTS2 null mice: effects of d-amphetamine, dizocilpine, clozapine and NT69L

Pre-pulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle reflex is deficient in patients with schizophrenia. This deficiency is mimicked in mice by the use of the psychotomimetic drugs d-amphetamine and dizolcipine. Antipsychotic drugs such as clozapine are used to treat schizophrenic patients and are also administered to mice to prevent PPI disruption. Neurotensin (NT) produces antipsychotic-like effects when injected into rodent brain through its effects at NT subtype 1 (NTS1) and 2 (NTS2) receptors. We hypothesized that the NT receptor agonist (NT69L) would prevent PPI disruption in mice challenged with d-amphetamine (10 mg kg(-1)) and dizocilpine (1 mg kg(-1)). We investigated the role of NTS1 and NTS2 in PPI using wild-type (WT), NTS1 (NTS1(-/-)) and NTS2 (NTS2(-/-)) knockout mice, via its disruption by psychotomimetic drugs, as well as the ability of clozapine and NT69L to block these PPI disruptions. There were no differences in baseline PPI across the three genotypes. d-Amphetamine and dizocilpine disrupted PPI in WT and NTS2(-/-) mice but not in NTS1(-/-) mice. In WT mice, clozapine (1 mg kg(-1)) and NT69L (1 mg kg(-1)) significantly blocked d-amphetamine-induced disruption of PPI. Similarly, in WT mice, clozapine significantly blocked dizocilpine-induced PPI disruption, but NT69L did not. In NTS2(-/-) mice clozapine blocked d-amphetamine-but not dizocilpine-induced PPI disruption, while NT69L blocked both d-amphetamine- and dizocilpine-induced PPI disruption. Our results indicate that NTS1 seems essential for d-amphetamine and dizocilpine disruption of PPI. Additionally, this report provides support to the hypothesis that NT analogs could be used as novel antipsychotic drugs.
Mechanism Mediating Reticuloendothelial System Depression After Surgery

SummarySurgery induced a significant and transient depression of the reticuloendothelial system (RES) as characterized by the impaired phagocytic clearance of colloidal carbon and the gelatinized “RP test lipid emulsion.” RE recovery was observed at approximately 2.5-hr postsurgery, and a phase of RE stimulation existed by 3- and 4-hr postsurgery. Circulating opsonic activity was decreased during RE depression after surgery, and recovered toward control levels during the period of RE recovery. Comparative phagocytic and opsonic determinations suggested that RE depression after surgery was due to the decrease in opsonin activity. These findings support the concept that the increased host susceptibility to disease after surgery may be mediated in part by an alteration of the opsonic system and reticuloendothelial function.
Autonomic Myocardial Influences as a Factor Determining Inter-Task Consistency of Heart Rate Reactivity

This study assessed the consistency of subjects’relative heart rate (HR) responsivity across four tasks and examined the role played by autonomic myocardial influences on this consistency. HR responses across tasks were predicted to covary to the extent that they reflected a similar autonomic mediation, assessed by measurement of pulse transit time (PTT). Forty-eight male subjects performed two sensory intake (Tones and Lights RT) and two sensory rejection (Mental Arithmetic and Word Formation) tasks. Consistency of HR responsivity was revealed by significant positive correlations observed between HR changes during all task pairs. High HR reactors in rejection tasks displayed HR decreases during an intake task (Tones), whereas low reactors displayed the expected bradycardia. Significant correlations between HR and PTT changes suggested that SNS influences were evoked by mental arithmetic, whereas a dissociation of these indices in the Tones task implied a predominance of PNS influence in that task. Nevertheless, HR changes covaried reliably between these tasks, suggesting that HR responsivity is consistent across situations evoking different patterns of autonomic influence on the heart.
Fixed-dose rate gemcitabine plus docetaxel as first-line therapy for metastatic uterine leiomyosarcoma: A Gynecologic Oncology Group phase II trial

Objective Doxorubicin-based treatment is standard therapy for metastatic uterine leiomyosarcoma. There is no standard second-line therapy. We determined activity of fixed-dose rate gemcitabine plus docetaxel as second-line treatment for metastatic uterine leiomyosarcoma.
Flush mounted rectangular cavity slot antennas--Theory and design

The loaded rectangular cavity slot antenna is analyzed using variational methods in conjunction with simplified equivalent circuit techniques to derive accurate design guides for efficiency, bandwidth, and resonant frequency. The aperture admittance is computed and the effects of a compound aperture plane iris and of material loading are analyzed. The aperture admittance of all such loaded cavity antennas is proportional to \mu_{r} , \sqrt{\mu_{r}/\epsilon_{r}} , or 1/\epsilon_{r} , which characteristic lends to a common method of optimization of |T|^{2} (transmission cofficient). Experimental results include: 1) measurements of aperture field; 2) a comparison of theoretical and experimental value of bandwidth, efficiency, resonant frequency, and beam pattern for several experimental models; and 3) the measurement of the effect of applied dc magnetic field.
Morphological constrained feature enhancement with adaptive cepstral compensation (MCE-ACC) for speech recognition in noise and Lombard effect

The use of present-day speech recognition techniques in many practical applications has demonstrated the need for improved algorithm formulation under varying acoustical environments. This paper describes a low-vocabulary speech recognition algorithm that provides robust performance in noisy environments with particular emphasis on characteristics due to the Lombard effect. A neutral and stressed-based source generator framework is established to achieve improved speech parameter characterization using a morphological constrained enhancement algorithm and stressed source compensation, which is unique for each source generator across a stressed speaking class. The algorithm uses a noise-adaptive boundary detector to obtain a sequence of source generator classes, which is used to direct noise parameter enhancement and stress compensation. This allows the parameter enhancement and stress compensation schemes to adapt to changing speech generator types. A phonetic consistency rule is also employed based on input source generator partitioning. Algorithm performance evaluation is demonstrated for noise-free and nine noisy Lombard speech conditions that include additive white Gaussian noise, slowly varying computer fan noise, and aircraft cockpit noise. System performance is compared with a traditional discrete-observation recognizer with no embellishments. Recognition rates are shown to increase from an average 36.7% for a baseline recognizer to 74.7% for the new algorithm (a 38% improvement). The new algorithm is also shown to be more consistent, as demonstrated by a decrease in standard deviation of recognition from 21.1 to 11.9 and a reduction in confusable word-pairs under noisy, Lombard-effect stressed speaking conditions. >
Experimental Models of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

The understanding of the intestinal inflammation occurring in the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) has been immeasurably advanced by the development of the now numerous murine models of intestinal inflammation. The usefulness of this research tool in IBD studies has been enabled by our improved knowledge of mucosal immunity and thus our improved ability to interpret the complex responses of mice with various causes of colitis; in addition, it has been powered by the availability of models in which the mice have specific genetic and/or immunologic defects that can be related to the origin of the inflammation. Finally, and more recently, it has been enhanced by our newly acquired ability to define the intestinal microbiome under various conditions and thus to understand how intestinal microorganisms impact on inflammation. In this brief review of murine models of intestinal inflammation, we focus mainly on the most often used models that are, not incidentally, also the models that have yielded major insights into IBD pathogenesis.
Green renewal: incorporating environmental factors in equipment replacement decisions under technological change

Abstract Equipment replacement is a fact of life in every industrial setting, and this paper seeks to answer the question: How can firms and policy makers effectively balance environmental and economic concerns with respect to replacement decisions? A replacement model which includes both economic and environmental factors is presented. One must decide whether to keep the existing technology, upgrade to a newer technology which produces a smaller environmental burden, or wait for an even newer, cleaner technology which may be introduced soon. More than 25 000 test problems are solved, examining different objectives and covering a wide range of applications. Including environmental costs does not lead to a consistent increase in the adoption of cleaner technologies; however, including incentives to adopt newer technologies does. When one accounts for the environmental impact of producing new equipment and disposing of old equipment, earlier adoption of new technologies actually increases the total environmental burden in some cases.
Gothic: a group access control architecture for secure multicast and anycast

Multicast and anycast have received considerable attention due to their ability to support networked services. There are distinct and significant security vulnerabilities in both the multicast and anycast model including denial of service, theft or service, eavesdropping, and masquerading. The multicast problem requires a secure IGMP. The anycast problem requires secure anycast server advertisements. We generalize these two problems into a problem of group access control and propose Gothic, a complete architecture for providing group access control. Gothic centers around a novel authorization architecture. This is complemented by a proposal for a group policy management system that allows the group owner to be authenticated before being allowed to specify the group access rights. This system can be applied to other works that involve group policy. We show how Gothic operates in a number of environments including application-layer multicast, source-specific multicast, application-layer anycast and global IP-anycast. We evaluate the security and scalability of the architecture and show that it improves scalability over previous solutions while maintaining or increasing the level of security. We also propose methods of integrating Gothic with the group key management system and content distribution tree. We propose and evaluate a group access control aware group key management technique that leverages the existence of a group access control system to substantially reduce overhead.
A new pan-cultural facial expression of emotion

We obtained the first evidence of a facial expression unique to contempt. Contrary to our prediction, this contempt expression was not culture-specific but was recognized by people in Estonia S.S.R., Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Scotland, Turkey, the United States, and West Sumatra. Pan-cultural agreement about the contempt expression was as high as has been found previously for other emotions.
Continuous Cotemporal Probabilistic Modeling of Systems Biology Networks from Sparse Data

Modeling of biological networks is a difficult endeavor, but exploration of this problem is essential for understanding the systems behavior of biological processes. In this contribution, developed for sparse data, we present a new continuous Bayesian graphical learning algorithm to cotemporally model proteins in signaling networks and genes in transcriptional regulatory networks. In this continuous Bayesian algorithm, the correlation matrix is singular because the number of time points is less than the number of biological entities (genes or proteins). A suitable restriction on the degree of the graph's vertices is applied and a Metropolis-Hastings algorithm is guided by a BIC-based posterior probability score. Ten independent and diverse runs of the algorithm are conducted, so that the probability space is properly well-explored. Diagnostics to test the applicability of the algorithm to the specific data sets are developed; this is a major benefit of the methodology. This novel algorithm is applied to two time course experimental data sets: 1) protein modification data identifying a potential signaling network in chondrocytes, and 2) gene expression data identifying the transcriptional regulatory network underlying dendritic cell maturation. This method gives high estimated posterior probabilities to many of the proteins' directed edges that are predicted by the literature; for the gene study, the method gives high posterior probabilities to many of the literature-predicted sibling edges. In simulations, the method gives substantially higher estimated posterior probabilities for true edges and true subnetworks than for their false counterparts.
When Does Business Turn Violent

A conventional wisdom shared by many policy-makers, academics, and the general public holds that the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a decade-long “wild capitalism” in many countries of the Former Soviet Union. In this model, a virtual absence of the central state situated the economic sphere of these territories under the conditions of anarchy, and frequent outbreaks of violence between various groups signified periods of its breakdown. Many believe that in Russia, this period ended in 2000, when the central state regained its bearings and started “putting things in order.” It is interesting that neither part of this conventional wisdom was ever subjected to thorough empirical testing. Yet, the importance of understanding when and why economic agents resort to the use of force in their activities can hardly be overestimated because the consolidation of a mature market economy is only possible if these agents agree to abstain from arbitrary use of violence in competition for markets, defense of property rights, and enforcement of contracts. Another way to phrase this question is to ask under what conditions business turns violent? This paper aims to test one hypothesis, namely, the impact of government turnover on the intensity of business-related violence. Government turnover can induce violence through various channels including possible expropriation and reassignment of property rights, formation of coalitions unfavorable for certain organized interests, as well as temporarily impaired efficiency of law enforcement.
Defective break-induced replication leads to half-crossovers in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Break-induced replication (BIR) is an important process of DNA metabolism that has been implicated in the restart of collapsed replication forks, as well as in various chromosomal instabilities, including loss of heterozygosity, translocations, and alternative telomere lengthening. Therefore, knowledge of how BIR is carried out and regulated is important for better understanding the maintenance of genomic stability in eukaryotes. Here we present a new yeast experimental system that enables the genetic control of BIR to be investigated. Analysis of mutations selected on the basis of their sensitivity to various DNA-damaging agents demonstrated that deletion of POL32, which encodes a third, nonessential subunit of polymerase δ, significantly reduced the efficiency of BIR, although some POL32-independent BIR was still observed. Importantly, the BIR defect in pol32Δ cells was associated with the formation of half-crossovers. We propose that these half-crossovers resulted from aberrant processing of BIR intermediates. Furthermore, we suggest that the half-crossovers observed in our system are analogous to nonreciprocal translocations (NRTs) described in mammalian tumor cells and, thus, our system could represent an opportunity to further study the NRT mechanism in yeast.
Implementing HeiTS: Architecture and Implementation Strategy of the Heidelberg High-Speed Transport System

The Heidelberg High Speed Transport System (HeiTS) is a new-generation end-to-end communication system currently under development at the IBM European Networking Center (ENC) in Heidelberg. HeiTS is aimed at a heterogeneous environment comprising several computers with different operating systems and a variety of underlying local, metropolitan, and wide-area networks. It incorporates both end-system and gateway communication functions.
Expression and molecular regulation of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase after renal ischemia

Renal ischemia causes redistribution of Na(+)-K(+)-adenosinetriphosphatase (Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase) to the apical membrane of proximal tubules. We determined the time course of regeneration of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase polarity and sought evidence of increased enzyme production during recovery as a means to restore polarity. Anesthetized rats underwent 45 min renal ischemia and reflow of 15 min, 2 h, 6 h, and 24 h. Immunofluorescent and electron microscopy showed loss of strict basolateral localization of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase at 15 min reflow with repolarization by 24 h in sublethally injured cells. Both alpha 1- and beta-subunits were only in microsomal fractions at all reflow intervals. Immunodetectable levels of both subunits declined to 60-70% of control by 24 h reflow. Levels of mRNA for each subunit declined in parallel through 24 h to 55% of control. Overall transcription was profoundly depressed through 6 h but had recovered to near control by 24 h. Specific transcription of alpha 1- and beta-subunit mRNA was markedly decreased after ischemia and only partially recovered by 24 h. These results suggest that recycling of misplaced units rather than new Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase production is the means by which renal epithelia initially repolarize after ischemic injury.
How to Explore Consumers’ Privacy Choices with Behavioral Economics

This chapter aims to equip researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with the tools and the evidence to understand consumers’ privacy behaviors. It explains why experiments are needed and how to design and deploy them.
Influence of block copolymer compatibilizers on the morphologies of semiflexible polymer/solvent blends.

We study the influence of block copolymer (BCP) compatibilizers on the domain and interfacial characteristics of the equilibrium morphological structures of semiflexible polymer/solvent blends. Our study is motivated by the question of whether block copolymer compatibilizers can be used to influence the phase separation morphologies resulting in conjugated polymer/fullerene blends. Toward this objective, we use a single chain in mean field Monte Carlo simulations for the phase behavior of semiflexible polymer/solvent blends and study the influence of BCP compatibilizers on the morphologies. Our results reveal a range of blend compositions and molecular chemistries that result in equilibrium structures with domain sizes on the order of 5–20 nm. To elucidate the morphological characteristics of these structures, we first present a series of ternary phase diagrams and then present results demonstrating that the blend composition, semiflexible chain rigidity, BCP composition, and component miscibility each pr...
Messenger RNA decay in mammalian cells: The exonuclease perspective

The majority of messenger RNA (mRNA) decay in mammalian cells appears to be the work of a series of RNA exoribonucleases. A set of multiple poly(A)-specific deadenylases has been identified, some, if not most, of which are likely to play a role in the key first step of mRNA turnover—the regulated shortening of the poly (A) tail. After deadenylation, the transcript likely gets degraded by either a 5′-to-3′ or a 3′-to-5′ exonucleolytic pathway. Interestigly, multiple exonucleases have been identified for both of these pathways that appear to form multicomponent complexes with diverse roles in cellular biology. Therefore these enzymes appear not only to be important components of the mRNA turnover machinery, but also may function in a networked fashion in the post-transcriptional control of gene expression.
The anatomy of the mammalian spermatozoon with particular reference to the guinea pig.

A description of the guinea pig spermatozoon has been presented using descriptive terms that are applicable to mammalian spermatozoa in general. The spermatozoon consists of two principal parts, the head and the tail. The tail is further subdivided into four regions, the neck, middle-piece, principal-piece and end-piece. The principal components of the head are the acrosomal cap and the nucleus. On its posterior surface, the nucleus bears a shallow implantation fossa lined by the nuclear envelope which is locally specialized to form the basal plate. The neck contains a connecting-piece bearing an articular surface that attaches to the basal plate lining the implantation fossa. The connecting-piece is formed by the convergence and fusion of nine longitudinal segmented columns which merge caudally with nine outer dense fibers that surround the axial filament complex throughout the major part of the length of the flagellum. In the middle-piece, the core of longitudinal fibers is surrounded by a mitochondrial sheath. The end of the middle-piece is marked by the annulus, a thin dense ring to which the flagellar membrane is firmly adherent. In the principal-piece, the core of longitudinal fibers is enclosed in a fibrous sheath composed of closely spaced circumferential ribs that attach to two longitudinal columns running along opposite sides of the sheath for its entire length. It is suggested that accurate communication would be facilitated by abandonment of the terms “galea capitis”, “head cap”, “post-nuclear cap”, “implantation plates”, “thin laminated fibers”, “protoplasmic bead”, “middle-piece bead”, “ring-centriole”, “Jensen's ring”, “spiral sheath”, “tail helix”, and “tail sheath”.