cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
It's time for a change!: The appreciative inquiry/bootcamp translation to address disparities in the Latino community with autism spectrum disorders

Objective Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is underidentified and misidentified in the Latino community, and numerous barriers limit this community's ability to access quality health care for ASD. Appreciative inquiry/boot camp translation (AI/BCT) is a novel method of community engagement that can be used within community-based participatory research partnerships. AI/BCT uses qualitative methods to uncover strategies that the community is already successfully using and develops actionable messages to increase the use of those strategies throughout the community. We describe this method and outline how it is likely to be more effective at reducing disparities related to ASDs in the Latino community than traditional methods. Conclusion AI/BCT is a promising method of community engagement that is responsive to cultural differences. It is a strength-based approach focused on increasing the use of strategies that already work within the community. Therefore, it has the potential to reduce health disparities in the Latino community who have loved ones with autism ASD much more rapidly than traditional methods of inquiry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
All about that bass: Audio filters on basslines determine groove and liking in electronic dance music:

Groove is defined as wanting to move the body to music. Most empirical groove research has focused on rhythmic features like microtiming and syncopation, while research on musical liking has focuse...
Genetic variants that associate with cirrhosis have pleiotropic effects on human traits.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Cirrhosis is characterized by extensive fibrosis of the liver and is a major cause of liver-related mortality. Cirrhosis is partially heritable but genetic contributions to cirrhosis have not been systemically explored. Here, we carry out association analyses with cirrhosis in two large biobanks and determine the effects of cirrhosis associated variants on multiple human disease/traits. METHODS We carried out a genome-wide association analysis of cirrhosis as a diagnosis in UK BioBank (UKBB; 1088 cases vs. 407 873 controls) and then tested top-associating loci for replication with cirrhosis in a hospital-based cohort from the Michigan Genomics Initiative (MGI; 875 cases of cirrhosis vs. 30 346 controls). For replicating variants or variants previously associated with cirrhosis that also affected cirrhosis in UKBB or MGI, we determined single nucleotide polymorphism effects on all other diagnoses in UKBB (PheWAS), common metabolic traits/diseases and serum/plasma metabolites. RESULTS Unbiased genome-wide association study identified variants in/near PNPLA3 and HFE, and candidate variant analysis identified variants in/near TM6SF2, MBOAT7, SERPINA1, HSD17B13, STAT4 and IFNL4 that reproducibly affected cirrhosis. Most affected liver enzyme concentrations and/or aspartate transaminase-to-platelet ratio index. PheWAS, metabolic trait and serum/plasma metabolite association analyses revealed effects of these variants on lipid, inflammatory and other processes including new effects on many human diseases and traits. CONCLUSIONS We identified eight loci that reproducibly associate with population-based cirrhosis and define their diverse effects on human diseases and traits.
Sensory information in children’s statements of sexual abuse

The credibility of children’s statements of sexual abuse is a controversial issue in forensic psychiatry and psychology. Neurobiological and clinical laboratory studies show that real memories cont...
Robotics in Vitreoretinal Surgeries

This chapter summarizes the progress made toward the goal of robotic-assisted vitreoretinal surgery for clinical patient care. A brief history of early robotic systems specifically designed for intraocular surgical procedures is presented followed by a more detailed account of robotic systems over the past decade. Only vitreoretinal surgical robots with significant scientific or engineering contributions are introduced. The chapter ends with a discussion on the future of vitreoretinal surgical robotics.
Novel Mineral Regulatory Pathways in Ovine Pregnancy: II. Calcium Binding Proteins, Calcium Transporters, and Vitamin D Signaling

Mineralization of the fetal mammalian skeleton requires a hypercalcemic gradient across the placenta from mother to fetus. However, the mechanisms responsible for maintaining the placental transport of calcium remain poorly understood. This study aimed to identify calcium and vitamin D regulatory pathway components in ovine endometria and placentae across gestation. Suffolk ewes were bred with fertile rams upon detection of estrus (Day 0). On Days 9, 12, 17, 30, 70, 90, 110, and 125 of pregnancy (n=3–14/Day), ewes were euthanized and hysterectomized. Calcium abundance was influenced by gestational day in uterine flushings and allantoic fluid (P<0.05). The expression of S100G, S100A9, S100A12, ATP2B3, ATP2B4, TRPV5, TRPV6, CYP11A1, CYP2R1, CYP24, and VDR mRNAs known to be involved in calcium binding, calcium transport, and vitamin D metabolism were quantified by qPCR. Mediators of calcium and vitamin D signaling were expressed by Day 17 conceptus tissue, and endometria and placentae across gestation. Gestational day influenced the expression of S100G, S100A9, S100A12, TRPV6, VDR, and CYP24 mRNAs in endometria and placentae (P<0.05). Gestational day influenced endometrial expression of ATP2B3, and placental expression of TRPV5, ATP2B4, and CYP11A1 (P<0.05). VDR protein localized to the endoderm and trophectoderm (Day 17 conceptus) and was expressed in endometria and placentae throughout gestation. The observed spatiotemporal profile suggests a potential role of calcium and vitamin D in the establishment of pregnancy and regulation of fetal and placental growth, providing a platform for further mechanistic investigation.Summary sentenceComponents of vitamin D signaling, calcium transporters, and calcium-binding proteins are present at the ovine conceptus-maternal interface suggesting a potential role in mineral transport throughout gestation.
DSN diplexer, noise burst testing

The testing of a new design high power S-band diplexer is reported. The megawatt Cassegrain diplexer (MCD) is to be used for DSN operations. The tests described were performed at 100 kW at the Venus Deep Space Station (DSS 13) transmitter test area. At 100 kW or less no degradation of receive performance was detected.
Endothelium--Chicken Soup for the Endoderm

Endothelial cells in blood vessels are known to be important during the later stages of organ development in the embryo. However, their involvement at the induction stage of organ formation has not been previously documented. As Bahary and Zon explain in their Perspective, new work demonstrates that endothelial cells secrete factors early in development that induce embryonic endoderm to become liver or pancreas ( Matsumoto et al., Lammert et al.).
Molecular and cellular development of spinal cord locomotor circuitry

The spinal cord of vertebrate animals is comprised of intrinsic circuits that are capable of sensing the environment and generating complex motor behaviors. There are two major perspectives for understanding the biology of this complicated structure. The first approaches the spinal cord from the point of view of function and is based on classic and ongoing research in electrophysiology, adult behavior, and spinal cord injury. The second view considers the spinal cord from a developmental perspective and is founded mostly on gene expression and gain-of-function and loss-of-function genetic experiments. Together these studies have uncovered functional classes of neurons and their lineage relationships. In this review, we summarize our knowledge of developmental classes, with an eye toward understanding the functional roles of each group.
Mobile Geographic Education: The MoGeo System

Recent developments in technology such as mobile computing devices, global positioning systems, and wireless networks provide avenues for the development of innovative educational alternatives to traditional computer laboratory exercises. We have created a mobile geographic education (MoGeo) system that places students in the environments they are studying while retaining access to network accessible knowledge repositories and the laboratory instructor. Students can simultaneously gain first-hand experience in the field coupled with planimetric and analytical views created by GIS software. This chapter demonstrates features of the MoGeo system and provides an example of how it is currently being used in the GIScience curriculum in the Department of Geography at The University of Iowa. The framework provided by this system is easily extensible.
Command and control of teams of autonomous systems

The command and control of teams of autonomous vehicles provides a strong model of the control of cyber-physical systems in general. Using the definition of command and control for military systems, we can recognize the requirements for the operational control of many systems and see some of the problems that must be resolved. Among these problems are the need to distinguish between aberrant behaviors and optimal but quirky behaviors so that the human commander can determine if the behaviors conform to standards and align with mission goals. Similarly the commander must able to recognize when goals will not be met in order to reapportion assets available to the system. Robustness in the face of a highly variable environment can be met through machine learning, but must be done in a way that the tactics employed are recognizable as correct. Finally, because cyber-physical systems will involve decisions that must be made at great speed, we consider the use of the Rainbow framework for autonomics to provide rapid but robust command and control at pace.
A novel approach for nonlinear element characterization and sensitivity analysis for nonlinear system design

A new technique is presented for determining the sensitivity of performance parameters to individual device nonlinearities and for development of simplified models for application to the design of nonlinear circuits such as mixers, frequency multipliers, modulators, etc. Application of this technique is demonstrated for characterization of the nonlinearities present in the active device used in the design of a single-ended microwave mixer. A simplified model is found which identifies the significant nonlinear effects and accurately predicts overall nonlinear circuit performance. >
Statins’ effect on plasma levels of Coenzyme Q10 and improvement in myopathy with supplementation

Purpose Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, or statins, are medications at the forefront of the battle against cardiovascular disease. Despite their effectiveness, patient compliance with statins has lagged because of medication cost and adverse effects, namely myopathy. Myopathy is the most common side effect of statin use. The purpose of this review is to report plasma levels of CoQ10 in patients taking statins and then to determine the benefit of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplementation on statin-related myopathy as evidenced by symptomatic improvement and increase in serum levels of CoQ10. Data sources CINAHL, Medline, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, and Cochrane Library. Conclusions Evidence from this review suggests that studies showed a significant relationship between statin intake and decreased serum levels of CoQ10. A few studies showed a benefit in symptoms of myalgia or improvement of serum levels of CoQ10 with supplementation. One study showed no benefit of CoQ10 supplementation when taken with statins. There were no risks of supplementation reported in any of the studies. Implications for Practice CoQ10 supplementation might benefit those patients suffering from statin-induced myopathy as evidenced by the results of these studies. Supplementation of CoQ10 at a dose of between 30 and 200 mg daily has shown to have beneficial effects on statin myopathy with no noted side effects. Further research is necessary.
Computation of k1via mennicke symbols

For any ring A, the group K1A is filtered by the Whitehead determinants of invertible matrices over A of different sizes. We want to compute the corresponding graded group (especially the highest degree non-zero term) in terms of symbols which generalize Mennicke’s symbol. In particular, we generalize the Bass-Milnor-Serre result which presents SK1A of a Dedekind ring A via the Mennicke symbol, to an arbitrary commutative ring A satisfying the Bass second stable range condition. As an application, SK1 is computed for some rings of continuous functions. Some of our theorems are partially known, but we have often weakened hypotheses, using stable range conditions rather than Krull dimension (having in mind applications to rings of continuous functions).
Verbal concept sorting as a function of response dominance and sorting method

Summary In a study of verbal concepts, Ss sorted words (unsorted instances) from four concepts to other words (sample instances) from the same concepts. Response dominance, the probability that a concept instance will elicit the concept response, was varied independently, high or low, both in the sample and in the unsorted words. The third variable was method of presentation of the unsorted words: whole (all words in view) or successive (words drawn from a deck one at a time). All three variables had highly significant effects on sorting performance. High sample-word dominance, and high unsorted-word dominance produced more correct responses and faster sorting times than low dominance. Whole presentation produced more correct responses, but slower sorting-times, than successive presentation. The effects of response dominance were attributed in part to the presence or absence of response interference.
HIV neuropathy: an in vivo confocal microscopic study

Several approaches exist for quantitative assessment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated distal sensory polyneuropathy (DSP). While useful, each has some limitations. This study evaluated non-invasive, in vivo reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) of Meissner corpuscles (MCs) as a measure of HIV-DSP. Forty-eight adults (29 HIV-infected, 19 controls) underwent RCM of MC density (MCs/mm2) at the arch, fingertip, and thenar eminence (TE); ankle skin biopsy to measure epidermal nerve fiber density (ENFD); electrophysiologic studies; and tactile, vibration, and thermal threshold testing. HIV+ subjects were clinically categorized as having DSP signs or no signs. MC densities were lower in HIV+ subjects with DSP signs than in controls (arch, p = 0.0003; fingertip, p < 0.0001; TE, p = 0.0002). Tactile thresholds in the TE and foot were worse in HIV-DSP than in controls, but in this mild DSP cohort, sural amplitudes, ENFD, and vibration and thermal thresholds did not differ significantly from controls. Fingertip MC densities and tactile thresholds at the foot were also lower in HIV+ subjects without DSP signs than in controls. Other sensory measures were not significantly different in HIV+ subjects without DSP signs than in controls. MC density correlated inversely with tactile thresholds at each imaging location. The results suggest that RCM of MC density complements existing sensory DSP measures and discriminates mild HIV-DSP from controls at a stage when sural amplitudes do not. Further studies are required to determine whether RCM of MC density can establish quantitative changes in DSP, in response to treatment or disease progression.
Impact of anterior scalene lidocaine blocks on predicting surgical success in older patients with neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome

Objective Surgical management of neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome (NTOS) is controversial due to the lack of predictors of success and difficulties in patient selection. We sought to examine the effects of patient demographics, etiology, duration of symptoms, and the selective use of lidocaine and botulinum toxin anterior scalene blocks on outcomes of patients undergoing transaxillary decompression with first rib resection and scalenotomy for NTOS. Methods Patients with NTOS who had failed physical therapy and had transaxillary decompression between 2003 and 2009 were reviewed retrospectively from a prospectively maintained database. Patients were stratified to age groups Results One hundred fifty-nine procedures (16 patients bilateral; three patients with cervical ribs; 84.3% women; median age, 37 years; range, 21-64 years) were identified. Ninety-six patients were P P P 40 group vs 7% in the P = .05). Botulinum toxin blocks were successful in less patients, 38% (eight of 21 patients) in the Conclusions Although patients with NTOS
Bradykinin induced mitogenesis of androgen independent prostate cancer cells.

Purpose: We investigated the mitogenic role of bradykinin (BK) in the regulation of the extracellular signal regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK), and the growth of androgen insensitive prostate cancer cells.Materials and Methods: Androgen insensitive PC3 cells were used in these studies. BK and epidermal growth factor were used as mitogens. The chemical inhibitors tyrphostin AG1478 (epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor), bisindolylmaliemide (protein kinase C inhibitor) and PD98059 (MEK inhibitor) were applied 30 minutes before stimulation with agonist. Down-regulation of protein kinase C was accomplished by incubating cells overnight with phorbol ester. Cell proliferation was measured using WST-1 reagent and the trypan blue exclusion assay. ERK expression and activation were assayed by immunoblotting for total and phosphorylated ERK.Results: Bradykinin induced the proliferation of PC3 cells in a pathway that requires the activation of ERK. The BK regulated activation of ERK was time and dose dependent, y...
Complex Interactions of Sexual Identity, Sex/Gender, and Religious/Spiritual Identity on Substance Use Among College Students

Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use pose serious health problems on college campuses. A significant body of research shows student religiosity to be a protective factor, but a very little research has examined influences of sexual identities on alcohol and other drug use among college students, and its associations with religious or spiritual identity. This study examined the relationships of sex/gender, sexual identity, and religious/spiritual identity on current alcohol use, drug use, and smoking via an online survey of 2,204 college students. We found a three-way interaction between sex/gender, sexual identity, and religious/spiritual identity, with religion showing protective value for nonheterosexual women, but not nonheterosexual men, related to alcohol use. Nonheterosexual students also showed different patterns of risk and protective factors. A subset of the sample that indicated that they did not use sexual identity labels showed very high rates of alcohol, tobacco, and drug use, often exceeding the lesbian, gay, and bisexual group on these measures. These findings provide new information on nonheterosexual student drug and alcohol use and indicate the need for additional research in this area of study.
Unexpected Functional Diversity among FadR Fatty Acid Transcriptional Regulatory Proteins

The FadR protein of Escherichia coli has been shown to play a dual role in transcription of the genes of bacterial fatty acid metabolism. The protein acts as a repressor of β-oxidation and an activator of unsaturated fatty acid synthesis. FadR DNA binding is antagonized by long chain acyl-CoAs, and thus FadR acts as a sensor of fatty acid availability in the environment. When viewed from a genomic viewpoint, FadR proteins are unusual in that the DNA binding domain is very highly conserved among FadR-containing bacteria, whereas the C-terminal acyl-CoA binding domain shows only weak conservation. To further our understanding of the role of FadR in bacterial lipid metabolism we have examined the in vivo and in vitro properties of a diverse set of FadR proteins expressed in E. coli. In addition to E. coli FadR the proteins examined were those of Salmonella enterica, Vibrio cholerae, Pasteurella multocida, and Haemophilus influenzae. These FadR proteins were found to differ markedly in their effects on repression and induction of β-oxidation in E. coli and in their acyl-CoA binding abilities as measured by isothermal titration calorimetry. The E. coli and S. enterica proteins were the most similar, although they differed in their effects on utilization of oleic acid and acyl-CoA binding affinities, whereas the P. multocida and H. influenzae proteins showed only weak repression and poor acyl-CoA binding affinities. The V. cholerae FadR was strikingly superior to the other proteins in the amplitude of its regulatory response, and it bound long chain acyl-CoAs appreciably more strongly than the E. coli and S. enterica proteins. The significance of these findings is discussed in view of the protein sequences and the physiological niches occupied by these organisms.
Performance investigation for a silicon nanowire FET biosensor using numerical simulation

Silcion field-effect transistor (SiNW FET) biosensors have recently been demonstrated experimentally for direct, label free, high sensitive, high selective and real time detection of DNA and proteins at very low concentration. Among these experiments, the detection of Biotin/Streptavidin binding is of special interest since the biotin/ Streptavidin system exhibits the strongest noncovalent biological interaction known and is widely demonstrated as a model system to study biorecognition between proteins and other biomolecules. In this paper, a comprehensive modeling theory and simulation approach is presented to account for the underlying detection mechanism of biotin/Streptavidin binding using SiNW FET biosensor. The influence of parameters like the dimension of the SiNW, the doping of the SiNW, and surrounding environment are investigated for the performance optimization of the SiNW FET biosensor. The preliminary simulation results indicate that the optimal sensor performance can be ensured by careful optimization of its parameters and it is feasible to detect binding of single streptavidin molecule when optimal parameters are chosen.
Syntheses and structures of rhenium(IV) and rhenium(V) complexes with ethanedithiolato ligands.

A novel dimeric rhenium(IV) complex, [Re2(SCH2CH2S)4], and a monomeric methyloxorhenium(V) complex, [CH3ReO(SCH2CH2S)PPh3], were synthesized from methyloxorhenium(V) complexes and characterized crystallographically. The structure of [Re2(SCH2CH2S)4], the formation reaction of which showed surprising demethylation conceivably through the homolytic cleaveage of the rhenium−carbon bond, features distorted trigonal prismatic coordination of sulfurs around the metal center and a rhenium−rhenium triple bond. A revised structure, [Tc2(SCH2CH2S)4], is proposed for a related technetium complex, originally identified as [Tc2(SCH2CH2S)2(SCHCHS)2] (Tisato et al. Inorg. Chem. 1993, 32, 2042). Additionally, a new compound, CH3Re(O)(SPh)2PPh3, was prepared.
Recurrent Neoaortic Insufficiency After the Switch Back Operation With Previous Repair of Transposition With Ventricular Septal Defect and Aortic Arch Hypoplasia

Neoaortic insufficiency is not uncommon after the arterial switch operation (ASO) for d-Transposition, yet surgery is rarely required. In a patient with worsening neoaortic regurgitation post-arterial switch and ventricular septal defect (VSD) closure, we performed a successful "switch back" operation with documented aortic valve competence on discharge echocardiography. However, recurrent severe aortic insufficiency required valve replacement, and histopathology of the excised valve indicated abnormal leaflet/vascular wall structure. We question whether the switch back operation is a viable option for neoaortic insufficiency after an ASO in patients with previous d-Transposition and VSD, when the native pulmonary valve may have structural deficiencies.
The effect on word recall when storage and retrieval cues differ

Ss were presented 32 stimulus words from the Underwood & Richardson (1956) norms over six presentation-recall trials. The independent variable was the trial of presentation of retrieval information in the form of category names. These were presented between presentation and recall on Trials 2, 4, or 6 for the three experimental groups. Two control groups were also used; one was presented the category information before recall trials started, and one was never presented the information. The major finding was a decreased recall on trials in which the information was presented. Also, category clustering increased on trials subsequent to the information trial, but number of words recalled did not differ from the control group on subsequent trials.
Isolation of a dialyzable growth factor for chick tissue culture; identification of the ninhydrin reactive band.

Abstract It has been shown that the elsewhere (1) reported ultrafilterable fraction from chick embryo extract contains three ninhydrin-positive compounds. These have now been identified by chromatography in three solvents as serine, glutamic acid, and taurine. These three compounds are not by themselves capable of promoting growth when added to dialyzed embryo extract, and it appears that the cells require the addition of other components in the preparation.
Regulation, market power, and labor earnings: Evidence from the cable television industry

Labor economists have suggested that employee earnings may be relatively higher in firms possessing market power, such as that which may stem from government regula-tion of prices or entry of firms. We test this hypothesis, which previously has been inves-tigated in the context of industries such as trucking and air transportation, using earnings data for the cable television industry. Our empirical findings suggest that cable TV employees capture some of the benefits producers receive from regulations restricting competition.
A test of the sympatric host race formation hypothesis in Neodiprion (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae)

Theory suggests that sympatric speciation is possible; however, its prevalence in nature remains unknown. Because Neodiprion sawflies are host specialists and mate on their hosts, sympatric speciation via host shifts may be common in this genus. Here, we test this hypothesis using near-complete taxonomic sampling of a species group, comprehensive geographical and ecological data, and multiple comparative methods. Host-use data suggest that host shifts contributed to the evolution of reproductive isolation in Neodiprion and previous work has shown that gene flow accompanied divergence. However, geographical data provide surprisingly little support for the hypothesis that host shifts occurred in sympatry. While these data do not rule out sympatric host race formation in Neodiprion, they suggest that this speciation mode is uncommon in the genus and possibly in nature.
Limits on the Halo White Dwarf Component of Baryonic Dark Matter from the {\em Hubble Deep Field}

The MACHO collaboration lensing event statistics suggest that a significant fraction of the dark galactic halo can be comprised of baryonic matter in the form of white dwarf stars with masses between 0.1 and 1.0 \Msun . Such a halo white dwarf population, in order to have escaped detection by those who observe the white dwarf luminosity function of the disk, must have formed from an old population. The observations indicate that the number of halo white dwarfs per cubic parsec per unit bolometric magnitude is less than $10^{-5}$ at $10^{-4.5}$\Lsun; the number must rise significantly at lower luminosities to provide the needed baryonic halo mass. Such white dwarfs may easily escape detection in most current and earlier surveys. Though it is limited in angular extent, the {\em Hubble Deep Field} (HDF) probes a sufficient volume of the galactic halo to provide interesting limits on the number of halo white dwarf stars, and on the fraction of the halo mass that they can make up. If the HDF field can be probed for stars down to $V=29.8$ then the MACHO result suggests that there could be up to 12 faint halo white dwarfs visible in the HDF. Finding (or not finding) these stars in turn places interesting constraints on star formation immediately following the formation of the galaxy.
The Multiprocess Degradation of PEMFC Performance Due to Sulfur Dioxide Contamination and Its Recovery

The effects of trace concentrations of SO 2 contaminant present in the cathode feed stream on proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) performance are studied. Contaminant concentrations of 1, 2, and 10 ppm were exposed to the cell applying a total dosage of 160 μmol of SO 2 at 80°C and a current density of 0.6 A cm ―2 . All experiments show significant cell performance degradation before the steady-state poisoning state is reached. The performance degradation shows an inflection in the cell voltage, which is attributed to at least two different poisoning processes. The overall poisoning process is shown to consist of an irreversible part and a reversible part. While the performance loss of the reversible part is dependent on the SO 2 concentration and is recoverable during a H 2 /air operation, that of the irreversible part is greatly recoverable by potential cycling in the H 2 /N 2 mode. Evidence is also presented that cathode exposure to SO 2 results in a performance impact at the anode. Furthermore, sulfur species that remain in the membrane electrode assembly accelerate the cell performance degradation during a neat H 2 /air operation and subsequent SO 2 contaminant exposure.
One university's approach to defining and supporting professional doctorates

The changing market for doctorally prepared workers led one institution to examine its overall approach to defining and supporting professional doctorates. After a review of existing scholarship and internal practices, a white paper was created to capture the various ways that these degrees can be distinguished from the academic doctorate (PhD) at this university. This article summarizes its key conclusions in areas such as relationship to the masters, program goals and foci, research training, the doctoral capstone, and faculty selection. Ways that these recommendations have begun to effect policies and practices at this particular institution are also highlighted, especially program development and evaluation.
Rectification of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator chloride channel mediated by extracellular divalent cations

We report here distinct rectification of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channel reconstituted in lipid bilayer membranes. Under the symmetrical ionic condition of 200 mM KCl (with 1 mM MgCl2 in cis intracellular and 0 MgCl2 in trans extracellular solutions, pH in both solutions buffered at 7.4 with 10 mM HEPES), the inward currents (intracellular-->extracellular chloride movement) through a single CFTR channel were approximately 20% larger than the outward currents. This inward rectification of the CFTR channel was mediated by extracellular divalent cations, as the linear current-voltage relationship of the channel could be restored through the addition of millimolar concentrations of MgCl2 or CaCl2 to the trans solution. The dose responses for [Mg]zero and [Ca]zero had half-dissociation constants of 152 +/- 72 microM and 172 +/- 40 microM, respectively. Changing the pH buffer from HEPES to N-tris-(hydroxymethyl)methyl-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid did not alter rectification of the CFTR channel. The nonlinear conductance property of the CFTR channel seemed to be due to negative surface charges on the CFTR protein, because in pure neutral phospholipid bilayers, clear rectification of the channel was also observed when the extracellular solution did not contain divalent cations. The CFTR protein contains clusters of negatively charged amino acids on several extracellular loops joining the transmembrane segments, which could constitute the putative binding sites for Ca and Mg.
On the stability against shear waves of steady flows of non-linear viscoelastic fluids

A shear-acceleration wave is a propagating singular surface across which the velocity vector and the normal component of the acceleration are continuous, while the tangential component ] of a shear-acceleration wave propagating into a region undergoing a steady but not necessarily homogeneous shearing flow. When this expression is specialized to the case in which the velocity gradient is constant in space ahead of the wave, it assumes a form familiar in the theory of longitudinal acceleration waves in compressible materials with fading memory (cf., e.g., Coleman & Gurtin 1965, equation (4.12)).In earlier work (1965) we observed that a planar shear-acceleration wave cannot grow in amplitude if it is propagating into a fluid in a state of equilibrium. It is clear from our present results that if the fluid ahead of the wave is being sheared, |a(t)| not only increases, but can approach infinity in a finite time, provided a(0) is of proper sign and |a(0)| exceeds a certain critical amplitude. We expect this critical amplitude to decrease as the rate of shear ahead of the wave is increased.
Cellular binding partners of the human papillomavirus E6 protein

The high-risk strains of human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) are known to be causative agents of cervical cancer and have recently also been implicated in cancers of the oropharynx. E6 is a potent oncogene of HR-HPVs, and its role in the progression to malignancy has been and continues to be explored. E6 is known to interact with and subsequently inactivate numerous cellular proteins pivotal in the mediation of apoptosis, transcription of tumor suppressor genes, maintenance of epithelial organization, and control of cell proliferation. Binding of E6 to these proteins cumulatively contributes to the oncogenic potential of HPV. This paper provides an overview of these cellular protein partners of HR-E6, the motifs known to mediate oncoprotein binding, and the agents that have the potential to interfere with E6 expression and activity and thus prevent the subsequent progression to oncogenesis.
Re-uptake of nascent low-density lipoproteins by HepG2 cells.

Abstract The kinetics and specificity of the interaction of nascent HepG2 LDL with the HepG2 LDL receptor were examined. 125I-Labeled HepG2 LDL and plasma LDL were bound by HepG2 cells in a specific and saturable manner at 4°C. Competition studies with HepG2 LDL and plasma LDL indicated that both ligands bound to the same receptor. Scatchard analyses of the specific 4°C-binding data revealed a Kd of 75 nM for HepG2 LDL and a Kd of 30 nM for plasma LDL suggesting that HepG2 LDL bind less efficiently to the HepG2 LDL receptor than plasma LDL. Binding, internalization and degradation studies carried out at 37°C indicated that HepG2 cells are capable of catabolizing their own nascent LDL; however, under normal experimental conditions re-uptake of nascent LDL is quantitatively insignificant.
Attitudes about Children and Fertility Limitation Behavior.

The relationship between attitudes and individual behavior is at the core of virtually all demographic theories of fertility. This paper extends our understanding of fertility behavior by exploring how psychic costs of childbearing and contraceptive use, conceptualized as attitudes about children and contraception, are related to the transition from high fertility and little contraceptive use to lower fertility and wide spread contraceptive use. Using data from rural Nepal, I examine models of the relationship between multiple, setting-specific attitudes about children and contraception and the hazard of contraceptive use to limit childbearing. Specific attitude measures attempt to capture the relative value of children versus consumer goods, the religiously based value of children, and the acceptability of contraceptive use. Findings demonstrate that multiple measures of women’s attitudes about children and contraception were all independently related to their fertility limitation behavior.
Collaboration Online: the Example of Distributed Computing

Distributed Computing is a new form of online collaboration; such projects divide a large computational problem into small tasks that are sent out over the Internet to be completed on personal computers. Millions of people all over the world participate voluntarily in such projects, providing computing resources that would otherwise cost millions of dollars. However, Distributed Computing only works if many people participate. The technical challenge is to slice a problem into thousands of tiny pieces that can be solved independently, and then to reassemble the solutions. The social problem is how to find all those widely dispersed computers and persuade their owners to participate. This article examines what makes a collaborative Distributed Computing project successful. We report on data from a quantitative survey and a qualitative study of participants on several online forums, and discuss and analyze Distributed Computing using Arquilla and Ronfeldt's (2001) five-level network organization framework.
Autologous human plasma in stem cell culture and cryopreservation in the creation of a tissue-engineered vascular graft

Objective Previous work demonstrated the effectiveness of autologous adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) as endothelial cell (EC) substitutes in vascular tissue engineering. We further this work toward clinical translation by evaluating ASC function after (1) replacement of fetal bovine serum (FBS) with autologous human plasma (HP) in culture and (2) cryopreservation. Methods Human ASCs and plasma, isolated from periumbilical fat and peripheral blood, respectively, were collected from the same donors. ASCs were differentiated in endothelial growth medium supplemented with FBS (2%) vs HP (2%). Proliferation was measured by growth curves and MTT assay. Endothelial differentiation was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, assessment of acetylated low-density lipoprotein uptake, and cord formation after plating on Matrigel (BD Biosciences, San Jose, Calif). Similar studies were conducted before and after cryopreservation of ASCs and included assessment of cell retention on the luminal surface of a vascular graft. Results ASCs expanded in HP-supplemented medium showed (1) similar proliferation to FBS-cultured ASCs, (2) consistent differentiation toward an EC lineage (increases in CD31, von Willebrand factor, and CD144 message; acetylated low-density lipoprotein uptake; and cord formation on Matrigel), and (3) retention on the luminal surface after seeding and subsequent flow conditioning. Cryopreservation did not significantly alter ASC viability, proliferation, acquisition of endothelial characteristics, or retention after seeding onto a vascular graft. Conclusions This study suggests that (1) replacement of FBS with autologous HP—a step necessary for the translation of this technology into human use—does not significantly impair proliferation or endothelial differentiation of ASCs used as EC substitutes and (2) ASCs are tolerant to cryopreservation in terms of maintaining EC characteristics and retention on a vascular graft.
Gender differences in lipid alterations following combined pancreas-kidney transplantation

We have previously demonstrated that the lipid profile improves following successful combined pancreas-kidney transplantation (PKT). In this study, we examined whether changes in the lipid profile were different in men than in women following PKT. Fasting total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and the TC to HDL ratio (TC/HDL) were evaluated in 47 patients (27 men and 20 women) with normal graft function following PKT. Lipids were evaluated at regular intervals 3.5 months to 2.2 years post-PKT (a total of 317 observations). After PKT, TC/HDL decreased (P .05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Abnormal release of storage pool adenine nucleotides from platelets of dogs affected with basset hound hereditary thrombopathy

Platelets from dogs affected with Basset Hound Hereditary Thrombopathy (BHT), have a thrombasthenia-like aggregation defect but release storage pool ATP in quantities not significantly different from normal controls or BHT heterozygotes when stimulated with 1 X 10(-5)M ADP and 0.22 U/ml thrombin. However, the release occurs so rapidly in the BHT platelets stimulated with ADP that it is complete in approximately one-sixth of the time required for release from normal control and heterozygote platelets. Sequential electron micrographs reveal early release of BHT dense body constituents 30 seconds after stimulation with 1 X 10(-5)M ADP while resting BHT morphology is indistinguishable from normal control animals.
OH production by transient plasma and mechanism of flame ignition and propagation in quiescent methane–air mixtures

Abstract Transient plasma induced production of OH is followed in a quiescent, stoichiometric CH4–air mixture using the planar laser induced fluorescence technique. Ignition and subsequent flame propagation, for both the transient plasma and traditional spark ignition, are observed with a high speed camera (2000 fps). The transient plasma is generated using a 70 ns FWHM, 60 kV, 800 mJ pulse. OH production was confirmed throughout the chamber volume; however, the mean number density was found to decay below 1.3 × 10 14 cm −3 near 100 μs. Nonetheless, ignition induced by transient plasma was decidedly faster than by spark ignition. Using the high speed camera, ignition initiated by transient plasma was found to occur along the length of the anode at approximately 1 ms, leading to the formation of a wrinkled, cylindrically-shaped flame. Analysis of the flame front propagation rates shows that flames ignited by transient plasma propagate essentially at the speed consistent with well accepted literature values for the stoichiometric methane–air mixture. This supports the notion that residue plasma, if any, has little effect on flame propagation.
Muscle spindles form in paralyzed but not in aneural hindlimbs of fetal rats.

Abstract The necessity of innervation and/or neural activity for the formation of muscle spindles was investigated by treating fetal rats with neurotoxins on embryonic day 16 or 17 (E16–17), one or two days prior to the onset of spindle assembly. The neurotoxin-treated soleus muscles were examined on E21 for the presence of spindles and immunocytochemical expression of the slow-tonic myosin heavy-chain (MHC) isoform, which is characteristic of intrafusal fibers. Irreversible destruction of sensory and motor nerves by β-bungarotoxin prevented the formation of spindles and expression of the slow-tonic MHC. Abolishment of nerve and muscle activity by tetrodotoxin did not block the spindle assembly or expression of the slow-tonic MHC. Thus, the formation and differentiation of spindles is dependent on innervation, but is independent of activity in nerve fibers or muscle cells.
Exposure to 60-Hz Magnetic Fields and Proliferation of Human Astrocytoma Cells in Vitro

Epidemiological studies have suggested that exposure to electric and magnetic fields (EMF) may be associated with an increased incidence of brain tumors, most notably astrocytomas. However, potential cellular or molecular mechanisms involved in these effects of EMF are not known. In this study we investigated whether exposure to 60-Hz sinusoidal magnetic fields (0.3–1.2 G for 3–72 h) would cause proliferation of human astrocytoma cells. Sixty-Hertz magnetic fields (MF) caused a time- and dose-dependent increase in proliferation of astrocytoma cells, measured by 3H-thymidine incorporation and by flow cytometry, and strongly potentiated the effect of two agonists (the muscarinic agonist carbachol and the phorbol ester PMA). However, MF had no effect on DNA synthesis of rat cortical astrocytes, i.e., of similar, nontransformed cells. To determine the amount of heating induced by MF, temperatures were also recorded in the medium. Both 1.2 G MF and a sham exposure caused a 0.7°C temperature increase in the medium; however, 3H-thymidine incorporation induced by sham exposure was significantly less than that caused by MF. GF 109203X, a rather specific protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, and down-regulation of PKC inhibited the effect of MF on basal and on agonist-stimulated 3H-thymidine incorporation. These data indicate that MF can increase the proliferation of human astrocytoma cells and strongly potentiate the effects of two agonists. These findings may provide a biological basis for the observed epidemiological associations between MF exposure and brain tumors.
Low bit-rate design considerations for wavelet-based image coding

Biorthogonal and orthogonal filter pairs derived from the class of binomial product filters are considered for wavelet transform implementation with the goal of high performance lossy compression. To help narrow the potential candidate filters, a number of design objectives based on filter frequency response and orthonormality are introduced with final selection being determined by experimental rate-distortion performance. While image data compression is specifically addressed, many of the proposed techniques are applicable to other coding applications.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
p‐type conduction in stacking‐fault‐free m ‐plane GaN

Transport measurements of p-type m -plane GaN films grown on low extended-defect density, free-standing m -plane (100) GaN substrates are presented. No significant anisotropy in in-plane mobility was found for hole concentrations between 2.45 × 1017 and 8.7 × 1018 cm–3. Since faulted, heteroepitaxial m -plane films showed significant anisotropy in electron and hole mobility a microstructural feature with anisotropic distribution (basal plane stacking faults) is discussed as a possible source of anisotropic scattering in non-polar and semi-polar films. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Energetics of oxygen-induced faceting on Cu(115)

We have used surface x-ray diffraction to observe the oxygen-induced faceting of the Cu(115) surface in real time. We find that the surface morphological evolution is driven by the formation of O/Cu(104) facets: O exposure induces spinodal decomposition of the (115) surface into (104) and (014) facets, which form spontaneously, and also stepped facets, whose orientation gradually changes from (115) to (113) as the (104) facets grow. We identify three temperature regimes that have qualitatively different faceting processes, allowing us to determine the temperature-dependent equilibrium crystal shape for part of the O/Cu system. Semiquantitative explanations are given in terms of the Wulff construction. During the faceting process, the time evolution follows a slow dynamic scaling, consistent with either a logarithmic or power-law behavior, driven by the rate of incorporation of O onto the surface.
Longitudinal Course and Family Correlates of Sibling Relationships From Childhood Through Adolescence.

Changes in sibling intimacy and conflict were charted from middle childhood through adolescence, and family structure and relationship correlates of change were examined. Participants were mothers, fathers, and firstborn (M=11.82 years at Time 1) and secondborn (M=9.22 years) siblings from 200 White, working/middle class, 2-parent families. Sibling intimacy was highest for sisters, stable over time for same-sex dyads, and showed a U-shaped change pattern in mixed-sex dyads. Sibling conflict declined after early adolescence at the same time (but at different ages) for firstborn and secondborns. Maternal acceptance covaried positively with sibling intimacy, and father–child conflict covaried positively with sibling conflict over time; fathers' marital love was linked to sibling intimacy in a pattern suggestive of compensation.