cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Life events, chronic strain, and psychological distress: Longitudinal causal models

This prospective study examines the causal relations among life events, chronic strain, and psychological distress. The influence of total number of life events; recent events; and undesirable, disruptive, and unanticipated events on marital strain and work/economic strain is assessed using latent variable structural equation modeling. It is hypothesized that chronic strain mediates the effects of life events on psychological distress. The data analyzed are from the first two waves of a prospective study on psychosocial factors and cancer mortality in a sample of skilled blue collar workers exposed to asbestos. A subsample of married and employed men within a relatively narrow age range was selected for this study to facilitate the investigation of the relations among life events, strain, and distress among individuals similarly situated in the life course. The results show that total number of events and recent, undesirable, disruptive, and unanticipated events increase work/economic strain and that, through this increase in strain, life events influence both contemporaneous levels of psychological distress and changes in distress. Life events do not have a direct effect on psychological distress when prior levels of events, work/economic strain, and distress are controlled. In contrast, life events do not have an impact on marital strain; rather, marital strain exerts a direct effect on distress. Undesirable, unanticipated, and disruptive events exert modest but significant direct effects on psychological distress in models including marital strain. These findings are discussed in terms of the place of the sample of workers in the life course, and implications for the design of preventive intervention programs are presented.
Presynaptic modulation of evoked NE release contributes to sympathetic activation after pressure overload.

Activation of the sympathetic nervous system is well documented in heart failure. Our previous studies demonstrated an increase in evoked norepinephrine (NE) release from left ventricle (LV) slices...
A new species of Camptosema (Leguminosae: Lotoideae) from the Planalto of Brazil

Camptosema douradense (Leguminosae: Lotoideae) is described. The species is known only from the type locality and its vicinity, the summit of the Serra Dourada near the town of Goias Velho in the State of Goias, Brazil.
Properties of Epitaxial SrTiO3 Thin Films Grown on Silicon by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Single crystalline perovskite oxides such as SrTiO3 (STO) are highly desirable for future generation ULSI applications. Over the past three decades, development of crystalline oxides on silicon has been a great technological challenge as an amorphous silicon oxide layer forms readily on the Si surface when exposed to oxygen preventing the intended oxide heteroepitaxy on Si substrate. Recently, we have successfully grown epitaxial STO thin films on Si(001) surface by using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) method. Properties of the STO films on Si have been characterized using a variety of techniques including in-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), ex-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD), spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The STO films grown on Si(001) substrate show bright and streaky RHEED patterns indicating coherent two-dimensional epitaxial oxide film growth with its unit cell rotated 450 with respect to the underlying Si unit cell. RHEED and XRD data confirm the single crystalline nature and (001) orientation of the STO films. An X-ray pole figure indicates the in-plane orientation relationship as STO[100]//Si[110] and STO(001)// Si(001). The STO surface is atomically smooth with AFM rms roughness of 1.2 AA. The leakage current density is measured to be in the low 10−9 A/cm2 range at 1 V, after a brief post-growth anneal in O2. An interface state density Dit = 4.6 × 1011 eV−1 cm−2 is inferred from the high-frequency and quasi-static C-V characteristics. The effective oxide thickness for a 200 A STO film is around 30 A and is not sensitive to post-growth anneal in O2 at 500-700°C. These STO films are also robust against forming gas anneal. Finally, STO MOSFET structures have been fabricated and tested. An extrinsic carrier mobility value of 66 cm2 V−11 s−1 is obtained for an STO PMOS device with a 2 μm effective gate length.
Lower bounds on the number of edges in edge-chromatic-critical graphs with fixed maximum degrees

In this article, we provide new lower bounds for the size of edge chromatic critical graphs with maximum degrees of 10,11,12,13, 14, furthermore we characterize their class one properties.
Security for Web Services: Standards and Research Issues

This article discusses the main security requirements for Web services and it describes how such security requirements are addressed by standards for Web services security recently developed or under development by various standardizations bodies. Standards are reviewed according to a conceptual framework that groups them by the main functionalities they provide. Covered standards include most of the standards encompassed by the original Web Service Security roadmap proposed by Microsoft and IBM in 2002 (Microsoft and IBM 2002). They range from the ones geared toward message and conversation security and reliability to those developed for providing interoperable Single Sign On and Identity Management functions in federated organizations. The latter include Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), WS-Policy, XACML, that is related to access control and has been recently extended with a profile for Web services access control; XKMS and WS-Trust; WS-Federation, Liberty Alliance and Shibboleth, that address the important problem of identity management in federated organizations. The article also discusses the issues related to the use of the standards and open research issues in the area of access control for Web services and innovative digital identity management techniques are outlined.
Polymeric nanogel formulations of nucleoside analogs

Nanogels are colloidal microgel carriers that have been recently introduced as a prospective drug delivery system for nucleotide therapeutics. The crosslinked protonated polymer network of nanogels binds oppositely charged drug molecules, encapsulating them into submicron particles with a core-shell structure. The nanogel network also provides a suitable template for chemical engineering, surface modification and vectorisation. This review reveals recent attempts to develop novel drug formulations of nanogels with antiviral and antiproliferative nucleoside analogs in the active form of 5'-triphosphates, discusses structural approaches to the optimisation of nanogel properties, and discusses the development of targeted nanogel drug formulations for systemic administration. Notably, nanogels can improve the CNS penetration of nucleoside analogs that are otherwise restricted from passing across the blood-brain barrier. The latest findings reviewed here demonstrate an efficient intracellular release of nucleoside analogs, encouraging further applications of nanogel carriers for targeted drug delivery.
Semi-empirical modeling of the sputter deposition of coatings onto spherical capsules

Abstract The sputter deposition of coatings onto spherical capsules is accomplished using a chambered substrate platform. Oxides and metal coatings are sputter deposited through a screen-aperture array onto a 0.3–1.2 mm diameter, solid spheres and hollow shells. Each capsule is individually chambered within a larger array. Ultrasonic vibration is used to produce a random bounce of each chambered capsule in order to produce a coating with uniform thickness. Characterization of aluminum-oxide coated, platinum solid spheres and copper–gold layer coated, hollow capsules indicate that uniform coatings can be produced using a screen-apertured chamber as the substrate platform. Potential advantages of this approach compared to open-bounce pans include improved sample yield and reduced surface roughness since exposure to debris is minimized. A semi-empirical process model for the coating growth on the capsules is developed to assess selection of the screen aperture based on the sputtering parameters and the coating materials.
Plasma Carotenoids and Tocopherols and Cognitive Function: a prospective study

As a site of high metabolic activity, the brain is particularly susceptible to oxidative damage. We explored the association between plasma antioxidants and cognition. In 858 female participants of the Nurses' Health Study, aged 70+ years, we measured plasma carotenoids and tocopherols in 1989-1990, and assessed cognitive function by telephone beginning in 1995-2001; assessments were repeated twice at 2-year intervals. We used linear regression to estimate multivariable-adjusted mean cognitive performance at the initial assessment by quartile of antioxidants, and longitudinal models for analyzing cognitive decline over 4 years. Higher antioxidant levels were not associated with initial performance or decline. Mean difference in initial global composite score (averaging all six cognitive tests) for the top versus bottom quartile of total carotenoids was -0.05 standard units (95% confidence interval [CI] -0.19, 0.09), and 0.04 units for total tocopherols (95% CI -0.10, 0.18). Individual antioxidants were not associated with cognition. Overall, total plasma carotenoids or tocopherols were not related to cognition in women.
Predicting outcomes in renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose of reviewRenal cell carcinoma is estimated to account for more than 35 000 new diagnoses and more than 12 000 cancer-related deaths in the United States in 2005, making it the most lethal of genitourinary malignancies. Approximately 25% of patients with renal cell carcinoma present with meta
Randomized, controlled trial of home telemanagement in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC HAT)

Introduction Outcomes are suboptimal in ulcerative colitis (UC). Telemedicine for UC is feasible and improves outcomes. Our goals were to evaluate a home telemanagement system for UC (UC HAT) on disease activity, quality of life (QoL), and adherence compared to best available care (BAC) in a randomized, controlled trial.
Real‐time video postprocessing for deblocking and deringing on mediaprocessors

Blocking and ringing are two major artifacts in highly compressed images and videos coded by block-based discrete cosine transform. Many existing deblocking and deringing algorithms are computationally very expensive and/or cannot produce satisfactory results at very low bit rates. We have developed an adaptive deblocking algorithm and a clustering-based deringing algorithm. These algorithms can smooth out the blocking and ringing artifacts while preserving the strong edges and texture areas. In addition, our postprocessing algorithms have low computational cost. We have implemented them on a commercially available, programmable processor. For an image size of 352 × 288, our algorithms take only 3.17 ms, demonstrating the feasibility of real-time video postprocessing. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol 13, 161–168, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ima.10052
PU.1 exhibits partial functional redundancy with Spi-B, but not with Ets-1 or Elf-1

Previously it was shown that the Ets proteins, PU.1 and Spi-B, exhibit functional redundancy in B lymphocytes. To investigate the possibility that PU.1 or Spi-B or both share overlapping roles with Ets-1 or Elf-1, PU.1(+/-)Ets-1(-/-), PU.1(+/-)Elf-1(-/-), and Spi-B(-/-)Ets-1(-/-) animals were generated. No blood cell defects were observed in these animals except those previously reported for Ets-1(-/-) mice. Therefore, no genetic overlap was detected between PU.1 or Spi-B with Ets-1 or Elf-1. In contrast, the results confirmed functional redundancy for PU.1 and Spi-B in that PU.1(+/-)Spi-B(-/-) bone marrow progenitors yielded smaller colonies in methylcellulose cultures than did wild-type, PU.1(+/-) or Spi-B(-/-) progenitors. In addition, PU.1(+/-)Spi-B(+/+), PU.1(+/-)Spi-B(+/-), and PU.1(+/-) Spi-B(-/-) mice displayed extramedullary splenic hematopoiesis. In summary, PU.1 and Spi-B regulate common target genes required for proliferation of hematopoietic progenitors or their committed descendants, whereas Ets-1 or Elf-1 do not appear to regulate shared target genes with PU.1 or Spi-B.
Are helmet laws protecting young motorcyclists

Abstract Problem The trend in state mandatory motorcycle helmet laws is away from universal coverage to partial coverage statutes that require only young riders to wear a helmet. Among partial coverage states substantial variation exists in this age requirement. How effective are motorcycle helmet laws at reducing young motorcyclist fatalities? Method The dependent variable is the number of motorcyclist fatalities 15–20 years of age. Fixed effects negative binomial regression models are estimated using panel data for all 50 states and Washington DC, for the period 1975–2004. Results Universal helmet laws are associated with fatality rates that are 31% lower among motorcyclists 15–20 years of age. In contrast, partial coverage laws targeting young motorcyclists are statistically unrelated to a reduction in the fatality rates of this age group. Discussion The long-term consequence of the move away from universal helmet laws will be an increased level of risk faced by young motorcyclists. In many states, mandatory motorcycle helmet laws are not protecting even young riders.
Proactive content download and user demand shaping for data networks

In this paper, we propose and study optimal proactive resource allocation and demand shaping for data networks. Motivated by the recent findings on the predictability of human behavior patterns in data networks, and the emergence of highly capable handheld devices, our design aims to smooth out the network traffic over time and minimize the data delivery costs. Our framework utilizes proactive data services as well as smart content recommendation schemes for shaping the demand. Proactive data services take place during the off-peak hours based on a statistical prediction of a demand profile for each user, whereas smart content recommendation assigns modified valuations to data items so as to render the users' demand less uncertain. Hence, our recommendation scheme aims to boost the performance of proactive services within the allowed flexibility of user requirements. We conduct theoretical performance analysis that quantifies the leveraged cost reduction through the proposed framework. We show that the cost reduction scales at the same rate as the cost function scales with the number of users. Furthermore, we prove that demand shaping through smart recommendation strictly reduces the incurred cost even below that of proactive downloads without recommendation.
Mithramycin inhibits myointimal proliferation after balloon injury of the rat carotid artery in vivo.

BACKGROUNDSmooth muscle proliferation and extracellular matrix formation in the subintimal region of blood vessels that have been subjected to intimal injury are responsible for restenosis following balloon angioplasty of the coronary arteries and for accelerated atherosclerosis in a variety of other pathophysiological states. The immediate early-response gene c-myc is overexpressed in proliferating vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro, and c-myc antisense oligomers have been shown to reduce c-myc expression and to inhibit proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells in culture. Mithramycin is a commercially available G-C-specific DNA binding drug that selectively inhibits transcription of genes, such as c-myc, that have G-C-rich promoter sequences. This study tested the hypothesis that mithramycin inhibits transcription of the c-myc proto-oncogene and prevents myointimal proliferation after balloon injury of the rat carotid artery in vivo.METHODS AND RESULTSTen-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats receive...
Postpartum diagnosis demonstrates a high risk for metastasis and merits an expanded definition of pregnancy-associated breast cancer.

Previous studies report conflicting data on outcomes of pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC). Our aim was to examine the effect of a postpartum diag- nosis on maternal prognosis in a young women's breast cancer cohort. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of women age B45 years, diagnosed with breast cancer (n = 619) during 1981-2011 at the University of Colorado Hospital and The Shaw Cancer Center in Edwards, CO. Breast cancer cases were grouped according to time between giving birth and diagnosis: nulliparous (n = 125), pregnant (n = 24), \ 5 years postpartum (n = 136), (5— \10 postpartum (n = 130), and C10 years postpartum (n = 147), to examine the clinicopathologic features and the risk of distance recurrence and death. Cases diagnosed after pregnancy, but within five-years postpartum, had an approximate three fold increased risk of distant recurrence (HR 2.80, 95 % CI: 1.12-6.57) and death (HR 2.65, 95 % CI: 1.09-6.42) compared to nulliparous cases. Postpartum cases diagnosed within five years of last childbirth dem- onstrated a higher five-year distant recurrence probability (31.1 %) and a markedly lower five-year overall survival probability (65.8 %) compared to nulliparous cases (14.8 and 98.0 %, respectively). A diagnosis of breast cancer during the first five-years postpartum confers poorer maternal prognoses after adjustment for biologic subtype, stage, and year of diagnosis. We propose that the definition of PABC should include cases diagnosed up to at least five-
The politics of attention: gaze-cuing effects are moderated by political temperament

Gaze cues lead to reflexive shifts of attention even when those gaze cues do not predict target location. Although this general effect has been repeatedly demonstrated, not all individuals orient to gaze in an identical manner. For example, the magnitude of gaze-cuing effects have been reduced or eliminated in populations such as those scoring high on the Autism-Spectrum Quotient and in males relative to females (since males exhibit more autism-like traits). In the present study, we examined whether gaze cue effects would be moderated by political temperament, given that those on the political right tend to be more supportive of individualism—and less likely to be influenced by others—than those on the left. We found standard gaze-cuing effects across all subjects but systematic differences in these effects by political temperament. Liberals exhibited a very large gaze-cuing effect, whereas conservatives showed no such effect at various stimulus onset asynchronies.
Measurement issues of organic solar cell

Organic solar cells (OSCs) have been extensively studied and significant improvements have been demonstrated in recent years. Along with the excitement in technology development, the accurate measurement of OSCs has become critical for the healthy development of this promising technology. The limited absorption and spectral response of organic based solar cells could lead to significant derivation in solar cell measurement. In this paper, we will discuss several issues in the measurement of organic solar cells, including spectral mismatch factor, elimination of the mismatch by proper selection of reference cell, external quantum efficiency testing, device area issue etc. Results on both polymer based bulk hetero-junction solar cell and small molecule based solar cell will be presented.
Monitoring the World's Published Literature for Adverse Drug Experiences

Objectives of the Burroughs Wellcome Company's Product Information Section include locating, organizing, processing, storing, retrieving, and disseminating published information on the company's investigational and marketed products. Literature is collected from a wide range of international resources and integrated into a computerized INQUIRE® database called PRODBIB. PRODBIB contains bibliographic information and detailed subject indexing for over 58,000 papers. The file is utilized for answering inquiries and for generating bibliographies in support of Investigational New Drug (IND), New Drug Application (NDA), and other submissions to the FDA. In January 1982 a joint project was undertaken with the Product Surveillance and Epidemiology Department to add meaningful data from the literature to the “Adverse Reaction Reporting System,” which is a separate INQUIRE database originally designed for unpublished reports. The integration of published adverse drug experiences into this system has provided us wit...
Peripheral and Central Mechanisms of NGF‐induced Hyperalgesia

Abstract Mechanisms underlying the hyperalgesia induced by a single systemic injection of nerve growth factor (NGF) in adult rats were studied in vivo. A single dose of NGF initiated a prolonged thermal hyperalgesia to a radiant heat source within minutes that lasted for days. Animals which had been pretreated with the mast cell degranulating compound 48/80 or either one of two specific 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor antagonists (ICS 205-930 and methiothepin) also developed an NGF-induced thermal hyperalgesia, but onset was delayed by more than 3 h. In the presence of ICS 205-930 or methiothepin the early component NGF-induced hyperalgesia was reversed and the animals responded with an initial hypoalgesia to the thermal stimuli. Whereas these results indicate a peripheral mechanism for the initial thermal hyperalgesia, the later phase (7 h-4 days after NGF) appeared to be centrally maintained, since it could be selectively blocked by the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801. In contrast to the almost immediate thermal hyperalgesia following a single injection of NGF, a significant mechanical hyperalgesia began only after a 7 h latency. This NGF-induced mechanical hyperalgesia was not blocked by any of the treatments that attenuated the thermal hyperalgesia, indicating that a separate mechanism may be involved. Additional electrophysiological experiments showed that NGF-induced hyperalgesia was not maintained by an increased amount of spontaneous activity in C-fibres. A final result showed that endogenous release of NGF in a model of acute inflammation (complete Freund's adjuvant-induced inflammation) may be involved in the development of thermal hyperalgesia, since it could be blocked by concomitant treatment with anti-NGF antisera. These data indicate that NGF-induced thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia are mediated by different mechanisms. The rapid onset component of thermal hyperalgesia is due to a peripheral mechanism involving the degranulation of mast cells, whereas the late component involves central NMDA receptors. In contrast, the NGF-induced mechanical hyperalgesia seems to be independent of mast cell degranulation or central NMDA receptor sites.
Approaching an Objective System for Observation and Measurement: Infant-Parent Social Interaction Code:

The purpose of the project was to develop an objective instrument for assessing infant-parent interaction. The Infant Parent Social Interaction Code (IPSIC) provides a means for measuring four pare...
Regional and seasonal differences in concentrations of androgen and estrogen receptors in ram epididymal tissue.

Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is essential for sperm maturation within the epididymis, but the roles of estradiol-17� (E2) and progesterone (P) in epididymal function are unknown. To identify sites of potential action of these hormones, and any effect of season on their concentrations, specific binding of steroids to receptors in extracts of ram epididymal tissue was quantified in two studies. Tissue was taken from three broad regions of the epididymis (cap Ut, corpus, and cauda; Study 1) or from seven discrete regions of the epididymis (Study 2) in February to May (nonbreeding season; NBS) or late August to October (breeding season; BS). Specific binding of P was not detected. Saturable high-affinity binding sites specific for DHT (Ka = 2.6 x 10’ ‘M’) and E2 (Ka = 5.4 x 10’ ‘M’) were detected. Binding was not to androgen-binding protein, testosterone-estradiol-binding globulin, or sperm nuclei. There was no regional or seasonal difference in affinity of DHT or E2 binding. In both studies, concentration of DHT-binding sites (fmol/mg protein for low- plus high-salt extracts) was higher (p.<O.05) in the BS than NBS. In Study 1, mean concentration of DHT-binding sites was higher (p<O.05) in the cap ut than in the corpus and cauda. The more definitive localization possible in Study 2 revealed that concentration of DHT-binding sites was highest in the distal caput, lowest in the proximal cauda (p<O.O5), and intermediate in other regions. For E2, however, concentration of binding sites was higher (p<O.05) in the BS than NBS only in Study 1, and was higher (p<O.05) in the cauda or corpus than in the caput epididymidis. In Study 2, the season by region interaction was significant (p<O.05); concentration of E2 -binding sites was higher in the distal cauda during the NBS. These data support the concept that the central cap Ut through proximal corpus epididymidis are most dependent on androgenic stimulation, whereas distal regions may respond to estrogenic stimulation.
Knowledge-based segmentation of Landsat images

A knowledge-based approach for Landsat image segmentation is proposed. The image segmentation problem is solved by extracting kernel information from the input image to provide an initial interpretation of the image and by using a knowledge-based hierarchical classifier to discriminate between major land-cover types in the study area. The proposed method is designed in such a way that a Landsat image can be segmented and interpreted without any prior image-dependent information. The general spectral land-cover knowledge is constructed from the training land-cover data, and the road information of an image is obtained through a road-detection program. >
Stochastic vs. Deterministic Modeling of Intracellular Viral Kinetics

Within its host cell, a complex coupling of transcription, translation, genome replication, assembly, and virus release processes determines the growth rate of a virus. Mathematical models that account for these processes can provide insights into the understanding as to how the overall growth cycle depends on its constituent reactions. Deterministic models based on ordinary differential equations can capture essential relationships among virus constituents. However, an infection may be initiated by a single virus particle that delivers its genome, a single molecule of DNA or RNA, to its host cell. Under such conditions, a stochastic model that allows for inherent fluctuations in the levels of viral constituents may yield qualitatively different behavior. To compare modeling approaches, we developed a simple model of the intracellular kinetics of a generic virus, which could be implemented deterministically or stochastically. The model accounted for reactions that synthesized and depleted viral nucleic acids and structural proteins. Linear stability analysis of the deterministic model showed the existence of two nodes, one stable and one unstable. Individual stochastic simulation runs could access and remain at the unstable node. In addition, deterministic and averaged stochastic simulations yielded different transient kinetics and different steady-state levels of viral components, particularly for low multiplicities of infection (MOI), where few virus particles initiate the infection. Furthermore, a bimodal population distribution of viral components was observed for low MOI stochastic simulations. The existence of a low-level infected subpopulation of cells, which could act as a viral reservoir, suggested a potential mechanism of viral persistence.
The Dynamic Responses of Crop and Livestock Prices to Money-Supply Shocks: A Bayesian Analysis Using Long-Run Identifying Restrictions

The impact of monetary policy on agriculture has been much debated. This study examines the dynamic responses of U.S. agricultural prices to money-supply shocks using three innovations. First, the variables' responses are identified by long-run money neutrality restrictions instead of the more common contemporaneous ordering. Second, a Bayesian approach to model uncertainty is used to add robustness to the estimation process. Third, agricultural prices are disaggregated into crop and livestock components. The empirical results find that both agricultural sectors benefit in the short run from positive money-supply shocks with agricultural prices increasing relative to the general price level.
Identification of Brucella abortus OxyR and Its Role in Control of Catalase Expression

We report the cloning and sequencing of the Brucella abortus oxyR homolog and provide evidence that the transcription product of this gene binds to the B. abortus catalase promoter region. A gene replacement/deletion Brucella oxyR mutant exhibits increased sensitivity to prolonged exposure to H(2)O(2) and is unable to adapt to H(2)O(2) in the environment.
Mixed-model coexpression

Motivation: The analysis of gene coexpression is at the core of many types of genetic analysis. The coexpression between two genes can be calculated by using a traditional Pearson's correlation coefficient. However, unobserved confounding effects may cause inflation of the Pearson's correlation so that uncorrelated genes appear correlated. Many general methods have been suggested, which aim to remove the effects of confounding from gene expression data. However, the residual confounding which is not accounted for by these generic correction procedures has the potential to induce correlation between genes. Therefore, a method that specifically aims to calculate gene coexpression between gene expression arrays, while accounting for confounding effects, is desirable. Results: In this article, we present a statistical model for calculating gene coexpression called mixed model coexpression (MMC), which models coexpression within a mixed model framework. Confounding effects are expected to be encoded in the matrix representing the correlation between arrays, the inter-sample correlation matrix. By conditioning on the information in the inter-sample correlation matrix, MMC is able to produce gene coexpressions that are not influenced by global confounding effects and thus significantly reduce the number of spurious coexpressions observed. We applied MMC to both human and yeast datasets and show it is better able to effectively prioritize strong coexpressions when compared to a traditional Pearson's correlation and a Pearson's correlation applied to data corrected with surrogate variable analysis (SVA). Availability: The method is implemented in the R programming language and may be found at http://genetics.cs.ucla.edu/mmc. Contact:nfurlott@cs.ucla.edu; eeskin@cs.ucla.edu
One-year weight losses in the Look AHEAD study: factors associated with success.

This report provides a further analysis of the first year weight losses in the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) study and identifies factors associated with success. Participants were a total of 5,145 men and women with type 2 diabetes who were recruited at 16 sites and randomly assigned to an intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) or a control condition, Diabetes Support and Education (DSE). During year 1, participants in ILI received comprehensive diet and physical activity counseling in a total of 42 group and individual sessions, compared with three educational sessions for DSE participants. As reported previously, at the end of the year, ILI participants lost 8.6% of initial weight, compared to 0.7% for DSE (P 5.5%), although there were significant differences among groups. For the year, ILI participants attended an average of 35.4 treatment sessions and reported exercising a mean of 136.6 min/week and consuming a total of 360.9 meal replacement products. Greater self-reported physical activity was the strongest correlate of weight loss, followed by treatment attendance and consumption of meal replacements. The use of orlistat, during the second half of the year, increased weight loss only marginally in those ILI participants who had lost <5% of initial weight during the first 6 months and chose to take the medication thereafter as a toolbox option. The lifestyle intervention was clinically effective in all subsets of an ethnically and demographically diverse population.
The Generation of Synthetic Sea Surface Temperature Data for the Equatorial Pacific Ocean

Abstract Synthetic monthly SST anomaly data are constructed using frequency domain analyses of significant principle components derived from reconstructed SST data in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The model provides insight into the dominant physical processes contained in each component and retains the relevant statistical properties of the original data, such as the mean, variance, and autocorrelation. Thus, numerous sets of synthetic SST anomaly data can be produced for the equatorial Pacific that are statistically indistinguishable from the original SST anomaly data. The spatial and temporal SST signatures of the biennial, intradecadal, and decadal pseudoperiodicities are reproduced, including their frequency and duration of occurrence. Specifically, the ENSO warm and cold event signatures recur in the synthetic data at peak return periods of 2.4, 3.5, 5.0, and 6.4 yr. Moreover, the anticipated return period of an extreme ENSO event with a maximum SST anomaly magnitude of 1.7°C is approximately every ...
Increased Neural Response to Peer Rejection associated with Adolescent Depression and Pubertal Development

Sensitivity to social evaluation has been proposed as a potential marker or risk factor for depression, and has also been theorized to increase with pubertal maturation. This study utilized an ecologically valid paradigm to test the hypothesis that adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) would show altered reactivity to peer rejection and acceptance relative to healthy controls in a network of ventral brain regions implicated in affective processing of social information. A total of 48 adolescents (ages 11–17), including 21 with a current diagnosis of MDD and 27 age- and gender-matched controls, received rigged acceptance and rejection feedback from fictitious peers during a simulated online peer interaction during functional neuroimaging. MDD youth showed increased activation to rejection relative to controls in the bilateral amygdala, subgenual anterior cingulate, left anterior insula and left nucleus accumbens. MDD and healthy youth did not differ in response to acceptance. Youth more advanced in pubertal maturation also showed increased reactivity to rejection in the bilateral amygdala/parahippocampal gyrus and the caudate/subgenual anterior cingulate, and these effects remained significant when controlling for chronological age. Findings suggest that increased reactivity to peer rejection is a normative developmental process associated with pubertal development, but is particularly enhanced among youth with depression.
High-power vertical-cavity surface-emitting arrays

We present record output power levels (a few hundred Watts) in continuous-wave (CW) and quasi-CW (QCW) from 2D vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays, corresponding to power densities exceeding 1kW/cm 2 in CW and 3.5kW/cm 2 in QCW. These VCSEL arrays emit around 975nm with narrow spectral width (<1nm) and excellent wavelength stability (<0.07nm/K). Peak power conversion efficiency of properly designed arrays exceeds 50%. Additional features of these arrays include emission in a circular, low-diverging beam, and reliable high-temperature operation. These arrays can also be operated reliably in short pulses (<200nsec) at many times their roll-over CW current, making them useful for high-energy applications. VCSEL arrays with 2.2kW peak output power operating under 100nsec pulse-width have been demonstrated.
ATM call admission control using neural networks

We propose a novel call admission control (CAC) algorithm for ATM networks using neural networks (NNs). The proposed algorithm employs neural networks to calculate the bandwidth required for heterogeneous multimedia traffic with multiple quality of service (QOS) requirements. The NN controller calculates the required bandwidth per call from online measurement of the traffic via its count process, instead of relying on simple parameters such as the peak and average bit rate and burst length. In order to simplify the design and obtain a small reaction time, the controller was realized using a hierarchical structure of a bank of small size, parallel NN units. Each unit is a feed forward backpropagation NN that has been trained to learn the complex nonlinear function that relates different traffic patterns and their required QOS with the corresponding bandwidth. A large set of training data that represents different traffic patterns with different QOS requirement has been used to ensure that the NN can generalize and produce accurate results when confronted with new test data. The reported results prove that the NN approach is extremely effective in achieving more accurate results than other traditional methods that are based upon mathematical or simulation approximations.
ROBERT D. MCCHESNEY, Kabul under Siege: Fayz Muhammad's Account of the 1929 Uprising (Princeton, N.J.: Marcus Weiner, 1999). Pp. 319. $49.95 cloth, $25.95 paper.

The year 1929 was a particularly disruptive period for the city of Kabul (perhaps the only comparable time was when the mujahedin fought over it in the 1990s). In January of that year, under pressure from a band of Tajik rebels who entered Kabul almost unopposed, the ruler of Afghanistan, Amir Aman Allah, abdicated his throne and fled the capital. The man who occupied his office was a former soldier-turned-highwayman from the village of Kalakân some twenty miles north of Kabul. He was named Habib Allah (and is so called throughout the work under review), but he is better remembered by the epithet “Bacha-i Saqqaw,” or “Water Carrier's Son,” his father having once served in that role for the military. A Tajik, he was the first non-Pushtun to occupy the throne since the birth of Afghanistan in the 18th century. He would hold it for only nine months.
Schwann Cell-conditioned Medium Inhibits Angiogenesis

Neuroblastomas are biologically heterogeneous tumors that consist of two main cell populations: neuroblastic/ganglionic cells and Schwann cells. The amount of Schwannian stroma strongly impacts prognosis, and favorable outcome is associated with tumors that are Schwannian stroma rich/stroma dominant. At the present time, there is controversy regarding the origin of Schwann cells in neuroblastoma tumors. However, recent studies have suggested that the Schwann cells in mature neuroblastoma tumors may be normal cells that produce soluble substances that enhance the survival and differentiation of neuroblastoma cell lines. Previously, we reported that in neuroblastoma, high vascular index correlated with clinically aggressive disease. In contrast, tumors with favorable histology and abundant Schwannian stroma had low tumor vascularity. As a first step toward investigating whether Schwann cells also play a role in inhibiting angiogenesis in neuroblastoma tumors, we examined the ability of conditioned medium collected from normal human Schwann cells to affect basic fibroblast growth factor- and vascular endothelial growth factor-induced endothelial cell proliferation and migration and in vivo angiogenesis. In vitro angiogenesis assays were also performed with conditioned medium collected from Schwann cells derived from a Schwannian stroma-dominant neuroblastoma tumor. Our results indicate that Schwann cells derived from either adult nerve or tumor tissue produce a potent inhibitor(s) of angiogenesis. Expression studies revealed tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-2 in conditioned medium collected from both normal and tumor-derived Schwann cells. In addition, TIMP-2 was detected in the cytoplasm of Schwann cells and ganglion cells in stroma-rich/stroma-dominant neuroblastoma tumors by immunohistochemistry studies. We postulate that the low level of vascularity and more benign clinical behavior of Schwannian stroma-rich/stroma-dominant neuroblastoma tumors result from the Schwann cell production of TIMP-2 and/or other inhibitors of angiogenesis.
Analysis of a probe-fed microstrip disk antenna

The input impedance of a probe-fed, annular-ring-loaded, circular-disk microstrip antenna is analysed using three methods of increasing complexity and sophistication. The first method uses a new variational formula which is more suitable for antennas driven by a voltage gap. The second method uses a mode-matching method where the field inside the coaxial line is expanded in terms of waveguide modes. The third method uses the mode-matching method with a diaphragm at the coaxial aperture. The mode-matching methods are identical to the variational formula under the single-mode approximation. However, when a diaphragm is present, the single-mode approximation is insufficient, implying that the variational formula is inaccurate when a diaphragm exists. The theory is used to study the effect of the gap capacitance at the coaxial aperture on the input impedance of the microstrip antenna. It is found that this gap capacitance is important when the dielectric substrate is thick.
Novel relationships of growth factors to the G1/S transition in cultured astrocytes from rat forebrain.

The cell cycle encompasses the sequential events regulating cell division. In mammalian brain, initiation of astrocyte cycling is critical during development and injury. To investigate the timing of growth factor requirements as they commit to passing through the G1 phase, primary and secondary rat astrocytes were stimulated to enter the cycle after serum or growth factor deprivation. Bromodeoxyuridine immunofluorescence was used to monitor S phase nuclei after growth factor re-addition (at time 0). Cycle kinetics were identical whether quiescent cultures were exposed to 10% (vol/vol) calf serum, or to a defined medium containing fibroblast growth factor, insulin, and epidermal growth factor. The control point in late G1 that represents commitment to achieving the G1/S transition was identified by cycloheximide (CHX, 0.1 μg/ml) addition. Sensitivity to cycle arrest by CHX disappeared at 9–10 h. In contrast, shift-down to growth factor-deficient medium arrested cell cycling virtually until G1/S (12 h). With selective exposure during late G1 (9–12 h), no single agent permitted cycle progression. However, any two agents enabled cycling, and complementary or synergistic effects were apparent. These requirements were identical in astroglia from newborn and long-term cultures. Thus, temporal dissociation exists between the processes of escape from CHX sensitivity and from requirements for growth factors, two recognized hallmarks of commitment to cycle progression. Furthermore, simultaneous presence of at least two growth factors is necessary at or near G1/S. Both findings distinguish astrocytes from several other cell types. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Decentralized Dynamic Control of a Nonholonomic Mobile Manipulator Collective: A Simulation Study

In this paper, we present a decentralized dynamic control algorithm for a robot collective consisting of multiple nonholonomic wheeled mobile manipulators (NH-WMMs) capable of cooperatively transporting a common payload. In this algorithm, the high level controller deals with motion/force control of the payload, at the same time distributes the motion/force task into individual agents by grasp description matrix. In each individual agent, the low level controller decomposes the system dynamics into decoupled task space (end-effector motions/forces) and a dynamically-consistent null-space (internal motions/forces) component. The agent level control algorithm facilitates the prioritized operational task accomplishment with the end-effector impedance-mode controller and secondary null-space control. The scalability and modularity is guaranteed upon the decentralized control architecture. Numerical simulations are performed for a 2-NH-WMM system carrying a payload (with/without uncertainty) to validate this approach.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Learning a Part-of-Speech Tagger from Two Hours of Annotation

Most work on weakly-supervised learning for part-of-speech taggers has been based on unrealistic assumptions about the amount and quality of training data. For this paper, we attempt to create true low-resource scenarios by allowing a linguist just two hours to annotate data and evaluating on the languages Kinyarwanda and Malagasy. Given these severely limited amounts of either type supervision (tag dictionaries) or token supervision (labeled sentences), we are able to dramatically improve the learning of a hidden Markov model through our method of automatically generalizing the annotations, reducing noise, and inducing word-tag frequency information.
Dynamic profiling of mRNA turnover reveals gene-specific and system-wide regulation of mRNA decay

RNA levels are determined by the rates of both transcription and decay, and a mechanistic understanding of the complex networks regulating gene expression requires methods that allow dynamic measurements of transcription and decay in living cells with minimal perturbation. Here, we describe a metabolic pulse-chase labeling protocol using 4-thiouracil combined with large-scale RNA sequencing to determine decay rates of all mRNAs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Profiling in various growth and stress conditions reveals that mRNA turnover is highly regulated both for specific groups of transcripts and at the system-wide level. For example, acute glucose starvation induces global mRNA stabilization but increases the degradation of all 132 detected ribosomal protein mRNAs. This effect is transient and can be mimicked by inhibiting the target-of-rapamycin kinase. Half-lives of mRNAs critical for galactose (GAL) metabolism are also highly sensitive to changes in carbon source. The fast reduction of GAL transcripts in glucose requires their dramatically enhanced turnover, highlighting the importance of mRNA decay in the control of gene expression. The approach described here provides a general platform for the global analysis of mRNA turnover and transcription and can be applied to dissect gene expression programs in a wide range of organisms and conditions.
Confinement Effects on Phase Behavior of Hydrocarbon in Nanochannels

Several researchers have recently studied the phase behavior of petroleum fluids in shale systems. There is a general agreement that the confined PVT properties in shale are substantially different from the corresponding bulk properties. These differences have significant impact on the prediction of well performance and ultimate recovery in shale reservoirs. Experimental measurements of fluid properties in shale rocks are currently not available. This has led to significant amount of uncertainty in phase behavior calculations for shale reservoirs.In this study, experimental validation of numerical predictions for phase behavior of various hydrocarbons confined in nanochannels was performed using a nanofluidics platform. The nanofluidics platform was designed, fabricated and tested at different temperatures. Design of the nanochannel is described in this paper.In this study, a nanochannel device (similar to Duan and Majumdar 2010) was designed, fabricated, packaged and tested. The reservoirs in the nanofluidic chip were filled with various hydrocarbon liquids (e.g. n-decane). The temperature was varied at a constant pressure, during which epifluorescence imaging was performed to measure the bubble nucleation temperature, i.e., the temperature corresponding to the formation of the first bubble of gas (i.e., to determine bubble-point pressure and temperature relationship).Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Preliminary observations on glycerol in spinal cord and root disease.

Effet benefique du glycerol administre per os chez 2 patients souffrant d'une compression d'origine neoplasique de la moelle epiniere et de ces racines et dans un cas de malformation arterio-veineuse