cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Investigation of ErBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7//Cu/sub 2/ O/normal metal tunnel structures

Tunneling studies have been made using sputtered Cu/sub 2/O as an insulating barrier between an EBCO thin film and a normal metallic layer. Cu/sub 2/O was selected for its low potential for chemical reaction with the superconducting layer and for its photoconductive properties. Having a band gap in the visible (2 eV), Cu/sub 2/O is a suitable candidate for photosensitive tunneling experiments. EBCO thin films were deposited in situ onto MgO substrates using an off-axis sputtering technique. T/sub c/'s of as-deposited films were between 80 and 85 K. Inductively measured J/sub c/'s ranged between 10/sup 6/ and 10/sup 7/ A/cm/sup 2/ at 4 K. A 5-20-nm layer of Cu/sub 2/O was sputtered directly on top of the superconducting film. Room-temperature resistivities of the Cu/sub 2/O layer were typically greater than 10/sup 6/ Omega -cm. A normal metal layer (typically gold) was then deposited onto the Cu/sub 2/O layer. Transport properties of the structure were measured at temperatures ranging above and below the T/sub c/ of the superconducting layer. Measurements of structures fabricated to date showed no tunneling effects. Measurements of the I-V characteristic of a Cu/EBCO bilayer exhibited nonohmic behavior at 85 K and 4 K, indicating the existence of an extraneous interfacial layer. Preliminary results on one such structure indicate possible tunneling effects.
Fecal leukocytes in stool specimens submitted for Clostridium difficile toxin assay.

Abstract To determine their diagnostic utility, fecal leukocytes were sought by methylene blue stain in 502 consecutive stool specimens submitted for Clostridium difficile toxin assay. In addition, the stability of fecal leukocytes was assessed by daily examination of 23 stool specimens stored at 4°C and room temperature. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of fecal leukocytes in predicting C. difficile toxin assay results were 28%, 92%, 27%, and 93%, respectively. At 4°C, fecal leukocytes retained morphology for a minimum of 3 days. Leukocytes survived as long in stool specimens containing either C. difficile toxin or an enteric pathogen as they did in stool specimens with neither finding. We conclude that testing stool specimens for fecal leukocytes is not useful for predicting the presence of C. difficile toxin, because 72% of stool specimens positive for C. difficile toxin are negative for fecal leukocytes despite their stability.
Adaptation in short-bowel syndrome: reassessing old limits.

The improving survival of patients with severe short-bowel syndrome along with the advent of successful intestinal transplantation have accentuated the need to answer two questions. (1) Is there an intestinal length below which adaptation to full enteral nutrition can not be expected to occur? (2) How much time is necessary to complete intestinal adaptation? We reviewed the outcome of 21 infants with less than 50 cm of small intestine to answer these questions. Patients were divided into three groups based on intestinal length, regardless of ileocecal valve status: group I, 10 cm was 78%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Synaptic mechanisms underlying cholinergic control of thalamic reticular nucleus neurons

Neuronal networks of the thalamus are the target of extensive cholinergic projections from the basal forebrain and the brainstem. Activation of these afferents can regulate neuronal excitability, transmitter release, and firing patterns in thalamic networks, thereby altering the flow of sensory information during distinct behavioural states. However, cholinergic regulation in the thalamus has been primarily examined by using receptor agonist and antagonist, which has precluded a detailed understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics that govern cholinergic signalling under physiological conditions. This review summarizes recent studies on cholinergic synaptic transmission in the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), a brain structure intimately involved in the control of sensory processing and the generation of rhythmic activity in the thalamocortical system. This work has shown that acetylcholine (ACh) released from individual axons can rapidly and reliably activate both pre- and postsynaptic cholinergic receptors, thereby controlling TRN neuronal activity with high spatiotemporal precision.
ECOLOGICAL RESTRUCTURING AFTER EXTINCTION: THE LATE ORDOVICIAN (MOHAWKIAN) OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES

Most research regarding ecological response to extinction in the fossil record focuses on qualitative, taxonomically based analyses. Shifting to quantitative analyses that incorporate paleocommunity-level data offers a richer ecological perspective on how paleocommunities respond to extinction. During the Late Ordovician (Mohawkian), a regional extinction occurred among marine taxa in the Appalachian Basin of eastern North America. To examine community-level paleoecological change across this extinction boundary, field censusing of macroinvertebrate genera was completed for the Nashville Dome of Tennessee, the Jessamine Dome of central Kentucky, and the Valley and Ridge area of western Virginia. In each region, shallow and deep subtidal environments were sampled in four stratigraphic sequences representing preextinction and postextinction intervals (M3 and M4 sequences and M5 and M6 sequences, respectively). Diversity metrics calculated from subsampled field data generally decrease across the extinction boundary and into the M6 sequence, with more significant declines in the deep subtidal facies and Virginia samples. These facies and regional differences in diversity reflect environmental and geographic variability not only in the effects of the extinction but also in the extent of immigration of new taxa to different areas of the basin. Despite diversity declines, evenness varies little among sequences, facies, and regions across the extinction boundary, suggesting no major change to the relative abundance structure of paleocommunities. Analyses of shifts in ecospace use (particularly tiering and motility of taxa) and multivariate ordination, however, also reveal strong environmental and geographic differences in ecological response due to changes in rank abundance of common taxa.
Cerebral metabolism during cord occlusion and hypoxia in the fetal sheep: a novel method of continuous measurement based on heat production.

This study was undertaken to validate a new method of measuring cerebral metabolic rate in the fetal sheep based on heat production in a local region of the brain. Heat production was compared to oxygen use in 20 near-term fetuses during basal conditions, moderate hypoxia and cord occlusion. Thermocouples were placed to measure core and brain temperature and a composite probe placed in the parietal cortex to measure changes in cortical blood flow (CBF) using laser Doppler flowmetry and tissue PO2 using fluorescent decay. Catheters were inserted in a brachiocephalic artery and sagittal sinus for blood sampling. With moderate hypoxia, induced by administering 10−12 % oxygen to the ewes, fetal arterial PO2 declined from 23 ± 1 to 11 ± 1 Torr and brain tissue PO2 fell from 7.6± 0.7 to a nadir of 0.8 ± 0.4 Torr, while CBF increased to 139 ± 5 % of baseline. Cortical heat production, calculated as the product of CBF, the temperature gain from artery to brain tissue, and the specific heat of blood, decreased by 45 ± 11 % in parallel to similar declines in oxygen uptake. With severe asphyxia induced by complete cord occlusion for 10 min, fetal arterial PO2 declined from 23 ± 1 to 9 ± 2 Torr and brain tissue PO2 fell from 7.0 ± 0.7 to essentially 0 Torr while CBF decreased 40 ± 5 %. Cortical heat production decreased by 78 ± 6 % while oxygen use declined by 90 ± 3 %. Glucose uptake increased significantly relative to oxygen use and lactate concentration increased in sagittal sinus blood. We conclude that local measurements of heat production in the brain provide a useful index of overall metabolic rate, closely reflecting oxygen use in moderate hypoxia and indicating a significant contribution from anaerobic metabolism during severe asphyxia.
Electron Microscopic Study of the Phagocytosis Process in Lung

Diluted India ink was instilled into the nasal cavity of mice and the lungs of some animals were fixed with osmium tetroxide at various intervals after one instillation. The lungs of other animals were fixed after 4, 7, 9, 16, or 18 daily instillations. The India ink was found to be phagocytized almost exclusively by the free alveolar macrophages. A few particles are occasionally seen within thin portions of alveolar epithelium, within the "small" alveolar epithelial cells, or within occasional leukocytes in the lumina of alveoli. The particles are ingested by an invagination process of the plasma membrane resulting in the formation of intracellular vesicles and vacuoles. Ultimately large amounts of India ink accumulate in the cell, occupying substantial portions of the cytoplasm. The surfaces of phagocytizing macrophages show signs of intense motility. Their cytoplasm contains numerous particles, resembling Palade particles, and a large amount of rough surfaced endoplasmic reticulum. These structures are interpreted as indicative of protein synthesis. At the level of resolution achieved in this study the membranes of this reticulum appear as single dense "lines." On the other hand, the plasma membrane and the limiting membranes of vesicles and of vacuoles often exhibit the double-line structure typical of unit membranes (Robertson, 37). The inclusion bodies appear to be the product of phagocytosis. It is believed that some of them derive from the vacuoles mentioned above, and that they correspond to similar structures seen in phase contrast cinemicrographs of culture cells. Their matrix represents phagocytized material. Certain structures within this matrix are considered as secondary and some of these structures possess an ordered form probably indicative of the presence of lipid. The possible origin and the fate of alveolar macrophages are briefly discussed.
Root Collar Excavation for Postinfection Control of Armillaria Root Disease of Grapevine.

Baumgartner, K. 2004. Root collar excavation for postinfection control of Armillaria root disease of grapevine. Plant Dis. 88:1235-1240. Root collar excavation for control of Armillaria root disease of grapevine was investigated in two California vineyards (vineyard K1 and vineyard N1) from 2002 to 2004. The hypothesis tested was that root collar excavation, when timed in early stages of root collar infection, may cause mycelial fans of the pathogen Armillaria mellea to recede from the root collar before severe disease results from vascular tissue decay. In vineyard N1, excavation significantly increased yield and cluster weight of symptomatic grapevines; symptomatic-excavated grapevines had the same high mean cluster weight as healthy grapevines, and there were no significant effects of excavation on yield or pruning weight of healthy grapevines. In vineyard K1, where excavated root collars frequently refilled with soil, excavation had no significant effects on yield or pruning weight of symptomatic grapevines, and significantly reduced pruning weight and shoot weight of healthy grapevines. Reexamination in March 2004 revealed that mycelial fans had receded from root collars of symptomatic-excavated grapevines, but remained on root collars of symptomaticnonexcavated grapevines. Root collar excavation appears to be a promising cultural approach for control of Armillaria root disease, as long as excavated root collars are kept clear of soil. Additional keywords: Vitis vinifera
Force and power output of fast and slow skeletal muscles from mdx mice 6‐28 months old

1. Differences in the effect of age on structure-function relationships of limb muscles of mdx (dystrophin null) and control mice have not been resolved. We tested the hypotheses that, compared with limb muscles from age-matched control mice, limb muscles of 6- to 17-month-old mdx mice are larger but weaker, with lower normalised force and power, whereas those from 24- to 28-month-old mdx mice are smaller and weaker. 2. The maximum isometric tetanic force (P(o)) and power output of limb muscles from 6-, 17-, 24- and 28-month-old mdx and control mice were measured in vitro at 25 degrees C and normalised with respect to cross-sectional area and muscle mass, respectively. 3. Body mass at 6 and 28 months was not significantly different in mdx and control mice, but that of control mice increased 16 % by 17 months and then declined 32 % by 28 months. The body masses of mdx mice declined linearly with age with a decrease of 25 % by 28 months. From 6 to 28 months of age, the range in the decline in the masses of EDL and soleus muscles of mdx and control mice was from 16 to 28 %. The muscle masses of mdx mice ranged from 9 % to 42 % greater than those of control mice at each of the four ages and, even at 28 months, the masses of EDL and soleus muscles of mdx mice were 17 % and 22 % greater than control values. 4. For mdx mice of all ages, muscle hypertrophy was highly effective in the maintenance of control values for absolute force for both EDL and soleus muscles and for absolute power of soleus muscles. Throughout their lifespan, muscles of mdx mice displayed significant weakness with values for specific P(o) and normalised power approximately 20 % lower than values for control mice at each age. For muscles of both strains, normalised force and power decreased approximately 28 % with age, and consequently weakness was more severe in muscles of old mdx than in those of old control mice.
Establishing the Carcinogenic Risk of Immunomodulatory Drugs

The first effective immunosuppressive drug (ISD) was azathioprine, approved in 1968. Early experience with this drug suggested that patients might have an excess risk of tumors including lymphoma and skin tumors. Comparison among various registries has shown that the cumulative risk of tumors increases over time. The risk is additionally increased by the more intense immunosuppressive regimens needed for lung or heart-lung transplants. The link between immunosuppression and tumorigenesis was further reinforced by the high concordance of tumor types between transplant and HIV patients. The role of the immune system in tumor defense includes both direct tumor surveillance and immunity against oncogenic viruses. In transplant patients, at least two-thirds of the lymphomas are Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive. Existing methods of testing for carcinogenicity are not considered adequate to identify the hazard of tumorigenesis due to these drugs. Research is ongoing in Food and Drug Administration laboratories and at collaborators' laboratories to evaluate experimental systems that may have the ability to adequately identify this class of hazard. Initial work is on various model systems similar to EBV. These include the MHV-68 mouse model, lymphocryptovirus (LCV-1) in the cynomolgus monkey, and preliminary work with mice with humanized immune systems using EBV directly.
The Influence of Condition Parameters and Internalizing Symptoms on Social Outcomes in Youth With Spina Bifida

Objective To test a model of social competence in youth with spina bifida (SB). Involvement in social activities was expected to mediate associations between SB-related condition parameters (pain, body mass index, and motor function) and social competence. Internalizing symptoms were predicted to amplify the negative impact of condition parameters on social activity involvement. Methods 108 youth with SB, their caregivers, peers, and teachers participated in a multimethod study that included cognitive testing, questionnaires, and observational interaction tasks. Results Social activity involvement partially mediated the relation between pain and lower social competence. Internalizing symptoms had a significant indirect effect on social competence via decreased involvement in social activities. Conclusions Pain and internalizing symptoms interfere with social activity involvement, which is, in turn, important for social competence development in youth with SB. Assessing and treating these condition parameters and activity factors may be important areas of focus in clinical practice and research with these youth.
The Effect of Being Reared with an Alcoholic Half‐Sibling: A Classic Study Reanalyzed

Data from an early study of alcoholism among half-siblings of alcoholic probands (17) was reanalyzed using log-linear analysis. The original study, which used chi-square analysis, identified genetic factors but found no environmental effects that contributed to the prediction of alcoholism. Log-linear analysis, however, reveals that being reared with a proband is associated with a reduced incidence of alcoholism in half-siblings. The results do not disconfirm the presence of genetic factors, but they do indicate that family dynamics make an independent and statistically significant contribution to the development of alcoholism not heretofore demonstrated. Similarities between these results and the results from studies of identical twins are discussed.
An Investigation of the Profiles of Satisfying and Dissatisfying Factors in E‐Learning

Various factors influence e-learners' feelings of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with their e-learning experience, but from an extensive search with six major academic research databases we did not find any research that demonstrated comprehensive profiles of satisfying and dissatisfying factors in e-learning. We conducted a qualitative study to initiate the effort. We used Thorndike's law of effect and Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory as the conceptual frameworks for our study. Thorndike's law of effect applied to human psychology suggests that people would try to avoid annoying stimuli whereas they would try to preserve satisfying stimuli. Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory suggests that different factors influence extreme satisfaction and extreme dissatisfaction on the job. Using the two theories as the conceptual frameworks, we revealed profiles of satisfaction-dissatisfaction factors in e-learning by analyzing extant data of course evaluation obtained from 17 e-learning courses. In this article, we provide recommendations on how other e-learning institutions might utilize the research findings to optimize their e-learning programs and we discuss the potential impact of such interventions on overall institutional outcomes such as learner retention.
Hot topics from CDF

This is a report on selected CDF B physics recent results, namely on: B s mixing, charmless B decays and the search for FCNC B → μ μ . The analysis reviewed are based on data collected from CDF detector up to summer 2004 corresponding to 360 pb−1 of integrated Luminosity. Perspectives for CDF B physics are also outlined.
Methodologies and tools for proton beam design for lung tumors

Abstract Purpose: Proton beams can potentially increase the dose delivered to lung tumors without increasing the dose to critical normal tissues because protons can be stopped before encountering the normal tissues. This potential can only be realized if tissue motion and planning uncertainties are correctly included during planning. This study evaluated several planning strategies to determine which method best provides adequate tumor coverage, minimal normal tissue irradiation, and simplicity of use. Methods and Materials: Proton beam treatment plans were generated using one or more of three different planning strategies. These strategies included designing apertures and boluses to the PTV, apertures to the PTV and boluses to the CTV, and aperture and bolus to the CTV. Results: The planning target volume as specified in ICRU Report 50 can be used only to design the lateral margins of beams, because the distal and proximal margins resulting from CT number uncertainty, beam range uncertainty, tissue motions, and setup uncertainties, are different than the lateral margins resulting from these same factors. The best strategy for target coverage with the planning tools available overirradiated some normal tissues unnecessarily. The available tools also made the planning of lung tumors difficult. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that inclusion of target motion and setup uncertainties into a plan should be performed in the beam design step instead of creating new targets. New computerized treatment planning system tools suggested by this study will ease planning, facilitate abandonment of the PTV concept, improve conformance of the dose distribution to the target, and improve conformal avoidance of critical normal tissues.
A synthetic biology challenge: making cells compute

Advances in biology and engineering have enabled the reprogramming of cells with well-defined functions, leading to the emergence of synthetic biology. Early successes in this nascent field suggest its potential to impact diverse areas. Here, we examine the feasibility of engineering circuits for cell-based computation. We illustrate the basic concepts by describing the mapping of several computational problems to engineered gene circuits. Revolving around these examples and past studies, we discuss technologies and computational methods available to design, test, and optimize gene circuits. We conclude with discussion of challenges involved in a typical design cycle, as well as those specific to cellular computation.
The role of university-based industrial extension services in the business performance of small manufacturing firms: case-study evidence from Western New York

This paper investigates the role of university-based industrial extension services in the business performance of small manufacturing firms in an economically declining region of the United States (Western New York). The outreach initiatives of a specific University at Buffalo (UB) programme are described. Particular attention is given to the activities of UB's Centre for Industrial Effectiveness (CIE), an outreach unit with a mandate to improve the product and/or process development efforts of local manufacturing firms. Our data suggest positive returns on investment for firms that have sought technical support under CIE programmes. A key finding is that CIE's services typically entail the transmission of well-established procedures rather than radically new ways of doing things. A further finding is that firms that have used CIE to develop improved products have experienced stronger investment returns than their counterparts that have focused upon process development (although the returns are positive i...
The Drying of Soil: Thermal Regimes and Ambient Pressures

SUMMARY Evaporation from a loam soil was studied in the laboratory during the fallingrate stage of drying. The primary variables were temperatures regimes and ambient pressures. The data suggested that: (a) there is a significant relation between the soil temperature and the vapor pressure of water in the air above the surface; (b) the water vapor transfer through the dry layer at the surface is accomplished in part by viscous air flow; (c) diurnal thermal gradients may cause a significant movement of water near the soil surface during the falling-rate stage of drying. Consequently, the conclusion follows that the isothermal "soil-moisture diffusion theory" cannot be expected to describe drying during time intervals of less than 24 hours. Because of the periodic nature of the thermally induced transfer phenomena, the "diffusion /....--..theory" will give curves which approximate cumulative drying over long time periods, ' ough such relations must be considered as semi-empirical.
A method for diagnosing implementation errors in synchronous sequential circuits and its implications on synthesis

The authors consider the problem of diagnosing implementation errors in synchronous sequential circuits described by state tables. The diagnosis problem is formulated so as to provide the erroneously implemented entries of the state table, which are useful for the purposes of debugging the synthesis procedure. The diagnosis procedure developed is not limited to a specific error model and no bound is set on error multiplicity. Experimental results are presented to show the effectiveness of this procedure. The experiments indicate that state tables with certain properties make their implementations more amenable to diagnosis than others. These properties are used as guidelines for synthesis. >
Ketone body metabolism and cardiovascular disease

Ketone bodies are metabolized through evolutionarily conserved pathways that support bioenergetic homeostasis, particularly in brain, heart, and skeletal muscle when carbohydrates are in short supply. The metabolism of ketone bodies interfaces with the tricarboxylic acid cycle, β-oxidation of fatty acids, de novo lipogenesis, sterol biosynthesis, glucose metabolism, the mitochondrial electron transport chain, hormonal signaling, intracellular signal transduction pathways, and the microbiome. Here we review the mechanisms through which ketone bodies are metabolized and how their signals are transmitted. We focus on the roles this metabolic pathway may play in cardiovascular disease states, the bioenergetic benefits of myocardial ketone body oxidation, and prospective interactions among ketone body metabolism, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and atherosclerosis. Ketone body metabolism is noninvasively quantifiable in humans and is responsive to nutritional interventions. Therefore, further investigation of this pathway in disease models and in humans may ultimately yield tailored diagnostic strategies and therapies for specific pathological states.
Simulated Annealing for Convex Optimization

We apply the method known as simulated annealing to the following problem in convex optimization: Minimize a linear function over an arbitrary convex set, where the convex set is specified only by a membership oracle. Using distributions from the Boltzmann-Gibbs family leads to an algorithm that needs only O*(√n) phases for instances in Rn. This gives an optimization algorithm that makes O*(n4.5) calls to the membership oracle, in the worst case, compared to the previous best guarantee of O*(n5). The benefits of using annealing here are surprising because such problems have no local minima that are not also global minima. Hence, we conclude that one of the advantages of simulated annealing, in addition to avoiding poor local minima, is that in these problems it converges faster to the minima that it finds. We also give a proof that under certain general conditions, the Boltzmann-Gibbs distributions are optimal for annealing on these convex problems.
Porphyromonas gingivalis Lipids Inhibit Osteoblastic Differentiation and Function

Porphyromonas gingivalis produces unusual sphingolipids that are known to promote inflammatory reactions in gingival fibroblasts and Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2)-dependent secretion of interleukin-6 from dendritic cells. The aim of the present study was to examine whether P. gingivalis lipids inhibit osteoblastic function. Total lipids from P. gingivalis and two fractions, phosphoglycerol dihydroceramides and phosphoethanolamine dihydroceramides, were prepared free of lipid A. Primary calvarial osteoblast cultures derived from 5- to 7-day-old CD-1 mice were used to examine the effects of P. gingivalis lipids on mineralized nodule formation, cell viability, apoptosis, cell proliferation, and gene expression. P. gingivalis lipids inhibited osteoblast differentiation and fluorescence expression of pOBCol2.3GFP in a concentration-dependent manner. However, P. gingivalis lipids did not significantly alter osteoblast proliferation, viability, or apoptosis. When administered during specific intervals of osteoblast growth, P. gingivalis total lipids demonstrated inhibitory effects on osteoblast differentiation only after the proliferation stage of culture. Reverse transcription-PCR confirmed the downregulation of osteoblast marker genes, including Runx2, ALP, OC, BSP, OPG, and DMP-1, with concurrent upregulation of RANKL, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and MMP-3 genes. P. gingivalis total lipids and lipid fractions inhibited calvarial osteoblast gene expression and function in vivo, as determined by the loss of expression of another osteoblast differentiation reporter, pOBCol3.6GFPcyan, and reduced uptake of Alizarin complexone stain. Finally, lipid inhibition of mineral nodule formation in vitro was dependent on TLR2 expression. Our results indicate that inhibition of osteoblast function and gene expression by P. gingivalis lipids represents a novel mechanism for altering alveolar bone homeostasis at periodontal disease sites.
Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Approaches to the Treatment of African Trypanosomiasis

There are only a handful of drugs available today for treating African trypano­ somiasis, most of which were discovered more than forty years ago. These drugs are plagued by various problems, ranging from oral inabsorption, acute toxicities, short durations of action, and low efficacies to the emergence of trypanosomal resistance. Mechanisms of antitrypanosomal action of these drugs are mostly unknown, except for eflomithine, which is a suicide inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase. On the other hand, the African trypanosomes are among the most extensively studied parasitic
Climate Crisis and the Cosmic Bomb: Is the American Dream an Expression of Cultural Trauma?

Abstract By combining key principles from the theories of cultural trauma and developmental trauma and applying them to the collective unconscious from an ecopsychological perspective, America's persistent dysfunctional paralysis in the face of the mounting existential threats and ongoing ecological losses attributable to human-caused climate change can be viewed as a “developmental cultural trauma disorder” rooted in our assertion of dominion over the creative/destructive forces of nature in 1945 and the concurrent use of that awesome power to create hell on Earth. The consumption-driven American Dream itself, with the artificial suburban lifestyle at its atrophied heart, is seen in this shadow-casting light as the product of collectively repressing our natural grief over our lost connection to the natural world, the world soul, and human nature itself. By becoming self-aware of where we are collectively and individually in this suppressed grieving process, and by engaging in some form of truth and recon...
Activation Of TLR4-MyD88 Pathway Impairs HSC Function During Acute Inflammation

Sepsis is a clinical syndrome due to a systemic inflammatory response to severe microbial infection. High mortality rates in sepsis (200,000/yr in the USA) are associated with the host’s failure to eradicate pathogens due to the lack of neutrophils, excessive pro-inflammatory cytokines, tissue damage and multiple organ failure. While most studies have focused on the late consequences of sepsis, little is known about the changes occurring in the bone marrow (BM) at early stages of hematopoiesis and how they affect the hematopoietic response to bacterial infection. Using an animal model of severe sepsis induced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which closely recapitulate lethal sepsis in burn patients, we have previously reported that HSC undergo a significant expansion in the BM associated with a block of myeloid differentiation. Furthermore, we found that expanded HSC were unable to generate the downstream progenitors (common myeloid progenitors and granulocytes/monocytes progenitors) necessary to produce neutrophils, and had reduced self-renewal. All these effects were TLR4-dependent. TLR4 is activated by bacterial LPS and signal through two major pathways: TRIF-dependent and MyD88-dependent. In this study, we show the different contribution of the TLR4-TRIF and the TLR4-MyD88-dependent pathways to the BM response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa LPS. LPS challenge conducted on TRIF-null and MyD88-null mice demonstrated that TRIF was involved in the expansion of the HSC pool, but did not play a major role in the myelosuppression, whereas MyD88 activation was required for LPS-induced myeloid suppression. Moreover, we found that the impaired engraftment at long-term observed in wild-type LPS-challenged HSC during transplantation was rescued by MyD88 loss of function. Taken together, our results indicate a distinct role of theTLR4-TRIF and -MyD88 pathways in the regulation of the primitive stem/progenitor pool during sepsis and provide insights for a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms leading to neutropenia. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
State Education Trends: Academic Performance and Spending Over the Past 40 Years

Long-term trends in academic performance and spending are valuable tools for evaluating past education policies and informing current ones. But such data have been scarce at the state level, where the most important education policy decisions are made. State spending data exist reaching back to the 1960s, but the figures have been scattered across many different publications. State-level academic performance data are either nonexistent prior to 1990 or, as in the case of the SAT, are unrepresentative of statewide student populations. Using a time-series regression approach described in a separate publication, this paper adjusts state SAT score averages for factors such as participation rate and student demographics, which are known to affect outcomes, then validates the results against recent state-level National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test scores. This produces continuous, state-representative estimated SAT score trends reaching back to 1972. The present paper charts these trends against both inflation-adjusted per pupil spending and the raw, unadjusted SAT results, providing an unprecedented perspective on American education inputs and outcomes over the past 40 years.
Cutaneous Adverse Effects of Neurologic Medications

Life-threatening and benign drug reactions occur frequently in the skin, affecting 8 % of the general population and 2-3 % of all hospitalized patients, emphasizing the need for physicians to effectively recognize and manage patients with drug-induced eruptions. Neurologic medications represent a vast array of drug classes with cutaneous side effects. Approximately 7 % of the United States (US) adult population is affected by adult-onset neurological disorders, reflecting a large number of patients on neurologic drug therapies. This review elucidates the cutaneous reactions associated with medications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat the following neurologic pathologies: Alzheimer disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, epilepsy, Huntington disease, migraine, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease, and pseudobulbar affect. A search of the literature was performed using the specific FDA-approved drug or drug classes in combination with the terms 'dermatologic,' 'cutaneous,' 'skin,' or 'rash.' Both PubMed and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were utilized, with side effects ranging from those cited in randomized controlled trials to case reports. It behooves neurologists, dermatologists, and primary care physicians to be aware of the recorded cutaneous adverse reactions and their severity for proper management and potential need to withdraw the offending medication.
Viral Vaccination Via the Mucosal Routes

Viral vaccines have been successfully administered by the mucosal route for two decades now. However, only in the last 10 years have the concepts involved in mucosal immunocompetence been well characterized. It is apparent that the bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue, the gut-associated lymphoid tissue, and the immunocompetent cells present in ocular tissue, conjunctiva, nasopharynx, genital tract, and secretions of the mammary glands represent the components of the common mucosal immune system. The predominant immunologic activity in the external mucosal surfaces is associated with secretory IgA and T lymphocytes, with variable contributions from other immunoglobulins and macrophages. Evidence presented in this review suggests that immunization via the mucosal routes of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts is the most effective means of inducing effective immunity in the mucosal surfaces as well as in the systemic tissues. Available experience with mucosal immunization with poliovirus, rubella virus, measles virus, and adenovirus vaccines in humans and with other viral vaccines in animals is briefly reviewed. The foundations of the modern practice of immunization against infectious diseases were laid down by Jenner almost 200 years ago with the development of the vaccine against smallpox. The usefulness of immunoprophylaxis against other infections was clearly demonstrated by Pasteur in the later part of the nineteenth century with the development of vaccines against rabies, anthrax, and chicken cholera. The implementation of subsequent mass vaccination programs and the effective worldwide control of such infections as smallpox and poliomyelitis during the past three decades are fitting tributes to this early work on immunization. The development of inactivated (Salk) poliovaccine and the widespread successful use of diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus vaccines in the early 1950s led to the belief that all infectious diseases could be prevented or cured simply by the administration of vaccine prepared against the identified microorganism. Over the years, the attitudes of the general public and the biomedical community toward vaccination programs in general have ranged from intense optimism to extreme skepti
Engineering Spectral Variation of FSR by Tailoring Dispersion for Octave-Spanning Comb Generation Based on Micro-Resonators

The free spectral range of integrated resonators is engineered over an octave-spanning frequency range with greatly improved uniformity, which is enabled by dispersion tailoring using a nano-scale slot structure, for on-chip frequency comb generation.
Paramagnetic Susceptibility of the CMR Compound La1-xCaxMnO3

Measurements and analysis of the paramagnetic susceptibility of La1-xCaxMnO3+y (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) are reported. The magnetization was also measured in large fields (H ≤ 18 tesla) for a specimen of La0.79Ca0.21MnO3+y. The paramagnetic susceptibility is observed to be strongly enhanced for most compositions studied, including a number of antiferromagnetic compositions. This behavior is attributed to the existence of magnetic polarons.
Duloxetine:a novel antidepressant

Duloxetine is a new antidepressant and a dual inhibitor of serotonin and norepinephrine reup- take.It is used not only in treatment of depression,but also in treatment of stress urinary incontinence and dia- betic peripheral neuropathic pain.Duloxetine is also effective in the treatment of comorbid chronic pain in de- pression.The common adverse reactions are nausea,dry mouth,insomnia,dizziness,constipation,anorexia,fa- tigue,sleepiness and so on.The article is to provide an up-to date review of the agent.
Asialofibrinogen supports platelet aggregation and adhesion to glass.

Fibrinogen is required for the initial phase of platelet aggregation induced by ADP and epinephrine and the adhesion of platelets to glass. Since the carbohydrate moiety of glycoproteins has been implicated in their interactions with cell surfaces, I investigated the role of fibrinogen's sialic acid in these platelet cofactor functions. Plasminogen-free human fibrinogen (which had no detectable factor VIII/von Willebrand factor antigen by electroimmunoassay) was treated with 0.1 U/ml CI. perfringens neuraminidase at pH 6.2 for 3 hr at 37°C and then further purified by gel filtration and glycine precipitation. The neuraminidase had no detectable protease activity against casein, with a lower limit of sensitivity of 20 mU trypsin/U neuraminidase. Desialylation was greater than 95 % complete, since the treated fibrinogen had
The Effect of Propulsion Style on Wrist Movement Variability During the Push Phase After a Bout of Fatiguing Propulsion

Abstract Background Wheelchair propulsion has been linked to overuse injuries regardless of propulsion style. Many aspects of the arcing (ARC) and semicircular (SEMI) propulsion styles have been compared, but differences in intracycle movement variability, which have been linked to overuse injuries, have not been examined. Objective To explore how ARC and SEMI affect changes in intracycle wrist movement variability after a fatiguing bout of propulsion. Design Repeated measures crossover design. Setting Wheelchair rollers and wheelchair fatigue course in a research laboratory. Participants Twenty healthy, nondisabled adult men without previous wheelchair experience. Interventions Participants learned ARC and SEMI and used each to perform a wheelchair fatigue protocol. Main Outcome Measurements Thirty seconds of propulsion on rollers were recorded by motion-capture cameras before and after a fatigue protocol for each propulsion style on 2 testing days. Angular wrist orientations (flexion/extension and radial/ulnar deviation) and linear wrist trajectories (mediolateral direction) were computed, and intracycle movement variability was calculated as standard deviations of the detrended and filtered values during the push phase beginning and end. Paired samples t tests were used to compare ARC and SEMI based on the percent changes from pre- to postfatigue protocol. Results Both propulsion styles resulted in increased intracycle wrist movement variability postfatigue, but observed increases did not significantly differ between ARC and SEMI. Conclusions This study evinces that intersubject variability exceeded average changes in intracycle wrist movement variability for both propulsion styles. Neither propulsion style resulting in a greater change in intracycle movement variability may suggest that no single propulsion style is ideal for everyone. The large intersubject variability may indicate that the propulsion style resulting in the smallest increase in intracycle movement variability after a fatiguing bout of propulsion may differ for each person and may help explain why wheelchair users self-select to use different propulsion styles.
Categories of Learning and the Problem of Definition: COMMENTS ON PROFESSOR GRANT'S PAPER

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the categories of learning and the problem of definition. The problem of establishing a satisfactory taxonomy for learning is a definitional problem involving the same issues as other problems of this type: (1) there should be a clear operational distinction among categories of learning, and (2) these operationally established categories should have some significance for behavior. In the case of the distinction between instrumental and classical conditioning, the first of these requirements is clearly satisfied in terms of the contingency, or lack of it, between the response and reinforcement. The second requirement poses certain issues that have been of central interest to the psychology of learning for several decades. The significant differences between the classical and instrumental conditioning are: (1) classical conditioning is a process that applies only to involuntary, elicited behavior, whereas instrumental conditioning applies to voluntary, emitted behaviour; (2) the evidence suggests that classical conditioning involves the establishment of associations as a result of S—S or S—R contiguity and that instrumental conditioning obeys the law of effect; and (3) the partial reinforcement is a destructive procedure with classical conditioning and not with instrumental conditioning.
The Functional Neuroanatomy of Human Face Perception

Face perception is critical for normal social functioning and is mediated by a network of regions in the ventral visual stream. In this review, we describe recent neuroimaging findings regarding the macro- and microscopic anatomical features of the ventral face network, the characteristics of white matter connections, and basic computations performed by population receptive fields within face-selective regions composing this network. We emphasize the importance of the neural tissue properties and white matter connections of each region, as these anatomical properties may be tightly linked to the functional characteristics of the ventral face network. We end by considering how empirical investigations of the neural architecture of the face network may inform the development of computational models and shed light on how computations in the face network enable efficient face perception.
Product development: the supply chain management perspective

Currently, many companies consider product development to be a strategic activity. As product life cycles shorten and new products are released with increasing frequency, supply chain characteristics must adapt more frequently to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of new products. This article aims to identify and report the main elements considered in the product development process that connect to supply chain management. To achieve this goal, a literature review was conducted that shows that in the last two decades, both concepts have had, separately, great development in terms of process definitions, practices, and reference models. However, only recently can it be noted as an emerging trend in academia to treating them jointly. On the other hand, the review indicates that in companies much can be explored looking at the issues separately and even more when the topics are discussed jointly.
Designing Models for Software as a Service in Cloud Computing

This paper details the case study of the model development at a company that offers software as a service (SaaS) to clients in the services industry. The growing market for SaaS provides the company tremendous opportunities to succeed as a startup. A new cloud-based system is aimed at facilitating the automation of cross-department collaboration by integrating company's Web applications to other service providers and Enterprise Resource Planning systems. However, as it is challenging to dynamically integrate multiple autonomous software systems, the company has identified Web services technologies as the foundation of the next generation software solutions. To create an extensible solution, Event-Driven Process Chain and Unified Modeling Language models are developed to model enterprise business processes and their departmental functions. The models are abstract views of complex enterprise systems. After the implementation of such models, the management team can further address issues related to the cost effectiveness, reliability and data security of software-supported business processes.
Practices of Making as Forms of Knowledge: Creative Practice Research as a Mode of Documentary Making in Northeast India

Research-based creative practice documentaries pursue unexplored lines of inquiry and sensory trajectories. This chapter discusses two creative practice documentary projects that I have developed in the Northeast Indian state of Assam. My discussion takes up how the historical contexts of where I work inform the directions of my practice. My interest in documenting Assamese cultural practices as containers of living knowledges constitutes a counterpoint to dominant modes of representing the region that are identified with the ‘counter-insurgent gaze’ (Baruah 2005). The chapter raises my processes for developing Kamakha: Through Prayerful Eyes (2012) and When Women Weave (work-in-progress) to illustrate how documentary aesthetics construct meanings and discourses. I specifically discuss the influence of observational cinema and my approach to social aesthetics devised through haptic audio-visuality.