cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Genetic analysis of an endemic archipelagic lizard reveals sympatric cryptic lineages and taxonomic discordance

The importance of genetic data in biodiversity conservation is well established, and knowledge of standing genetic variation within and between populations is important for designing conservation strategies. We investigated partitioning of genetic diversity in an endemic lizard (Leiocephalus psammodromus) distributed in the Turks and Caicos archipelago using mtDNA and AFLP data from 259 individuals sampled across 13 islands. Current taxonomy identifies six or more subspecies of L. psammodromus within the archipelago, several of which have undergone recent drastic reductions in range due to extirpation. However, our results indicate the presence of two independent lineages, one on each of the Turks and Caicos banks, and a third sympatric cryptic lineage on both banks. These lineages do not correspond to current taxonomy and alter our understanding of diversity and conservation of this species. Gross morphological data (mass and snout-vent length) indicate some variation in female size among lineages, indicating the possibility of cryptic morphological variation. Instead of initiating separate conservation measures for nominate subspecies, we recommend a more thorough investigation of the morphology and genetics of this group and a more inclusive conservation program. Our surprising results indicate that other endemic squamates in the Bahamas Archipelago might also exhibit sympatric cryptic diversity that does not correspond to current taxonomic understanding and could have significant impacts on our approach to conservation in this region.
Histocompatibility antigen-activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes. II. Estimates of the frequency and specificity of precursors.

Using limiting dilutions of responding cells in mouse mixed leukocyte cultures, we obtained direct estimates of the minimum frequency of precursors of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL.P) for a variety of antigens. Depending on the strain combination, there were as many as 4-15 CTL.P reactive to DBA/2 among 10(4) lymph node cells. Taking into account that only 5-10% of peripheral T lymphocytes have the potential to develop into cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) (6), this implies that at least 1-2% of all CTL.P are responsive to any given H-2 haplotype difference. Precursors of cytotoxic cells thus have the same high frequency of cells reactive to alloantigens of the major histocompatibility complex as found among proliferating cells in graft-vs.-host reactions and mixed lymphocyte interactions. The frequencies of CTL.P reactive to xenoantigens (rat) or trinitrophenyl-modified self were less than half the frequency of alloreactive CTL.P. A minority of the CTL.P specific for one H-2 haplotype were also reactive to a third party H-2 haplotype, presumably on the basis of recognition of shared determinants. By dilution of sensitized cells from single microcultures, it was shown that a single CTL.P undergoes a minimum of three to four cell divisions and generates at least 8-16 CTLs after antigenic activation.
Do competitors modulate rare plant response to precipitation change

Ecologists increasingly suspect that climate change will directly impact species physiology, demography, and phenology, but also indirectly affect these measures via changes to the surrounding community. Unfortunately, few studies examine both the direct and indirect pathways of impact. Doing so is important because altered competitive pressures can reduce or magnify the direct responses of a focal species to climate change. Here, we examine the effects of changing rainfall on three rare annual plant species in the presence and absence of competition on the California Channel Islands. We used rain-out shelters and hand watering to exclude and augment early, late, and season-long rainfall, spanning the wide range of precipitation change forecast for the region. In the absence of competition, droughts reduced the population growth rates of two of three focal annuals, while increased rainfall was only sometimes beneficial. As compared to the focal species, the dominant competitors were more sensitive to the precipitation treatments, benefiting from increased season-long precipitation and harmed by droughts. Importantly, the response of two of three competitors to the precipitation treatments tended to be positively correlated with those of the focal annuals. Although this leads to the expectation that increased competition will counter the direct benefits of favorable conditions, such indirect effects of precipitation change proved weak to nonexistent in our experiment. Competitors had little influence on the precipitation response of two focal species, due to their low sensitivity to competition and highly variable precipitation responses. Competition did affect how our third focal species responded to precipitation change, but this effect only approached significance, and whether it truly resulted from competitor response to precipitation change was unclear. Our work suggests that even when competitors respond to climate change, these responses may have little effect on the focal species. Ultimately, the strength of the indirect effect depends on how strongly climate change alters competition, and how sensitive focal species are to changes in competition.
Endovascular Stent-Graft Repair of a Tuberculous Mycotic Aortic Aneurysm

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a rare cause of mycotic aortic aneurysms, which have been classically treated with a combination of antimycobacterial medical therapy and open surgery. Endovascular therapy has been gaining popularity as an alternative to open surgery for mycotic aneurysms. We report a case of a tuberculous mycotic aneurysm of the descending thoracic aorta that was successfully treated with endovascular stent-graft placement with complete resolution of the pseudoaneurysm at 1 year. We also review other cases in the previously published data to identify factors that may affect the outcome of endovascular treatment of tuberculous mycotic aneurysms.
RadSensor: x-ray detection by direct modulation of an optical probe beam

We present a new x-ray detection technique based on optical measurement of the effects of x-ray absorption and electron hole pair creation in a direct band-gap semiconductor. The electron-hole pairs create a frequency dependent shift in optical refractive index and absorption. This is sensed by simultaneously directing an optical carrier beam through the same volume of semiconducting medium that has experienced an xray induced modulation in the electron-hole population. If the operating wavelength of the optical carrier beam is chosen to be close to the semiconductor band-edge, the optical carrier will be modulated significantly in phase and amplitude. This approach should be simultaneously capable of very high sensitivity and excellent temporal response, even in the difficult high-energy xray regime. At xray photon energies near 10 keV and higher, we believe that sub-picosecond temporal responses are possible with near single xray photon sensitivity. The approach also allows for the convenient and EMI robust transport of high-bandwidth information via fiber optics. Furthermore, the technology can be scaled to imaging applications. The basic physics of the detector, implementation considerations, and preliminary experimental data are presented and discussed.
Recent developments in transport theory

A rigorous methos is presented for obtaining the solution of the neutron transport equation in the one-dimensional multigroup case with isotropic scattering, and the property of orthogonality and completeness on the «half-range», essential for solving boundary value problems. In the simplest case, the results obtained by Case and other authors with heuristic methods are reproduced. Some conjectures on still open problems are indicated.
The Quality of Survey Data Obtained from Elderly Adults

The quality of survey data obtained from elderly adults has important implications for nutrition status assessment, policy decisions and program development. Self-reported information by adults of all ages is subject to inaccuracies. Accuracy of data obtained from older respondents may be lower than that of younger respondents. Errors made by older adults are largely due to misinterpretation of the questions asked, motivations related to participation and reporting of information, and changes in memory associated with aging and other factors which may impact respondent accuracy. Cooperative efforts by cognitive psychologists, survey researchers and nutritionists are necessary for improving both questionnaire design and the accuracy of information obtained.
Distribution and correlates of lipoproteins and their subclasses in black and white young adults. The Bogalusa Heart Study.

Lipoprotein subclasses vary in CAD risk potential, but their distribution and correlates are not well documented in black and white young adults. A subsample of 449 (32%) young adults (67% white, 58% female) aged 20–37 years examined in the Bogalusa Heart Study had lipoprotein subclasses measured in terms of cholesterol by vertical spin density-gradient ultracentrifugation. LDL subclass pattern was characterized as either predominantly LDL1 (large, buoyant), LDL2 (intermediate) or LDL3 (small, dense). Whites had significantly higher levels of VLDL, VLDL3, and LDL and lower levels of HDL2 and HDL3 than blacks. White females had significantly higher levels of HDL2 than white males. Visceral fatness, measured as waist circumference, and race were the major contributors to the explained variance (6–22%) of these lipoproteins, with adverse trends seen among whites and persons with large waist circumferences. Sex (malesfemales), waist circumference (positive), HDL2 (negative), and HDL3 (positive) were the predictor variables for the likelihood of having the LDL3 pattern. When glucose and insulin were included in the multivariate analysis, insulin (positive), sex (males females), HDL2 (negative) and HDL3 (positive) became significant predictors of LDL3 pattern. Positive parental history of CAD was associated with LDL (P= 0.009) in white males, and HDL2 (P=0.008) and LDL3 subclass pattern (P =0.038) in white females; whereas none in blacks. The observed correlates of lipoprotein subclasses and patterns need to be considered in estimating CAD risk in young adults. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Observability of a heavy Higgs boson at hadron supercolliders

We present a coherent analysis of Higgs-boson production in the channels $\mathrm{pp}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\mathrm{ZZX}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{l}^{+}{l}^{\ensuremath{-}}{l}^{\ensuremath{'}+}{l}^{\ensuremath{'}\ensuremath{-}}X(l, {l}^{\ensuremath{'}}=e, \ensuremath{\mu})$ and $\mathrm{pp}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\mathrm{ZZX}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{l}^{+}{l}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\nu}\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}X(\ensuremath{\nu}={\ensuremath{\nu}}_{e}, {\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}, {\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\ensuremath{\tau}})$ for ${m}_{H}\ensuremath{\ge}600$ GeV at hadron supercolliders, using the exact matrix elements for $\mathrm{gg}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\mathrm{ZZ}$ and $\mathrm{qq}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\mathrm{qqZZ}$. The importance of a complete understanding of the shape of the perturbative $\mathrm{pp}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\mathrm{ZZX}$ background from nonresonant diagrams is emphasized. We find that for the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to have a Higgs-boson discovery potential comparable to that of the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) requires at least a factor of 10 times more integrated luminosity. In particular, assuming an integrated luminosity of ${10}^{4}$ ${\mathrm{pb}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ and perfect lepton identification efficiency, the LHC (SSC) can identify Higgs bosons as resonances with mass up to 600 (800) GeV in $\mathrm{pp}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\mathrm{ZZX}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{l}^{+}{l}^{\ensuremath{-}}{l}^{\ensuremath{'}+}{l}^{\ensuremath{'}\ensuremath{-}}X$. To extend the discovery range of the LHC to ${m}_{H}=800$ GeV in this channel requires an integrated luminosity of at least ${10}^{5}$ ${\mathrm{pb}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. For ${m}_{H}g800$ GeV, a clear resonance structure is missing; however, one can still discriminate between a heavy Higgs boson with ${m}_{H}\ensuremath{\sim}1$ TeV and a light Higgs boson (${m}_{H}\ensuremath{\lesssim}2{M}_{z}$) at the SSC.
Retrieval effectiveness of table of contents and subject headings

The effectiveness of two modes of subject representation - table of contents (TOC) and subject headings - in subject searching in an online public access catalog (OPAC) system was investigated. The retrieval difference between TOC and the Library of Congress subject headings (LCSH) was statistically significant; the effect of subject domain was not statistically significant; users had better success matching their keywords to TOC than to LCSH; but their keywords often failed to retrieve items similar to the target items. These findings underscore the need to bridge user keywords to both TOC and LCSH.
Legalization of crimes against the moral order: Results from the 1995 United States survey of gaming and gambling

A survey of 1,514 American adults revealed a substantial range of support for legalization of selected substances, sexual activities, and gambling behavior perceived by some as potentially threatening to the moral order. Alcohol use, gambling, and smoking received majority support for legalization, whereas substantial minority support was found for gentlemen's clubs, prostitution, and marijuana use. There was little support for legalization of cocaine. Support for the legalization of the various “offenses against the moral order” was found generally to vary by five factors: (a) gender— males with higher rates than females, (b) race—Whites with higher rates than non‐Whites, (c) religion— Catholics with higher rates than Protestants, (d) age— young and middle‐aged adults with higher rates than the elderly, and (e) region—West, Northeast, and Midwest with higher rates than the South.
Hypnotherapy with Hispanic burn patients.

Abstract This paper examines a culturally sensitive hypnotherapeutic intervention for Hispanic burn patients who suffer symptoms of the post-traumatic stress disorder and discusses the outcome of 27 patients seen by the authors (a medical anthropologist and a clinical psychologist), over a 3.5-year period. Given the diaculties of recent monolingual, Mexican migrants in responding to psychological interventions that are not culturally sensitive, the hypnotherapeutic interventions and procedures developed by the authors provide a plan for systematic desensitization and cultural concordance to make rehabilitation of Hispanic burn patients more effective.
Selective looking and the noticing of unexpected events

Subjects in a selective-looking paradigm (Neisser & Becklen, 1975) attended to one of two visually superimposed videotaped ballgames by responding every time the ball was passed in the target game. An unexpected, yet highly visually conspicuous, event, occurring about halfway through the l-rain game sequence, was noticed by only 18 of 85 subjects. Noticing was unrelated to the delay between the event and the posttrial inquiry, and explicit “iconic” instructions to describe the last image seen immediately after interruption proved ineffective in enhancing noticing rates, despite optimal visual conditions). Instead, noticing appeared to be related to the specific anticipatory possibilities within the attended sequence itself. Content analysis indicated that the latter part of the unexpected event sequence afforded greater anticipatory opportunities, and the findings suggested that noticers who were skilled at the main task were more likely to detect the event during this part, whereas unskilled noticers showed no such pattern. Results were consistent with and interpreted in terms of Neisser’s (1976) notion of the “perceptual cycle.”
A COMPARISON OF THE PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING OF NORMALS AND PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS

The present study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between acute severe psychological condition and physiological functioning at rest and during stress. Measures of autonomic function...
Application of a Delta-Method for Random Operators to Testing Equality of Two Covariance Operators

In this paper some useful mathematical tools for the analysis of functional data are applied to the problem of testing the equality of two covariance operators. The test to be used is derived from a univariate likelihood ratio test in conjunction with Roy’s union-intersection principle. The asymptotic distribution and asymptotic power against rather general local alternatives are calculated. Perturbation theory of operators, in particular, a delta-method for smooth functions of operators, is exploited to obtain these theoretical results that are corroborated by some simulations.
Kinetics of the thermal isomerization of 1,1,2‐trimethylcyclopropane

The Arrhenius parameters for the gas phase, unimolecular structural isomerizations of 1,1,2-trimethylcyclopropane to three isomeric methylpentenes and two dimethylbutenes have been determined over a wide range of temperatures, 688–1124 K, using both static and shock tube reactors. For the overall loss of reactant, Ea = 63.7 (± 0.5) kcal/mol and log10A = 15.28 (± 0.12). These values are higher by 2.6 kcal/mol and 0.7–0.8 than previously reported from experimental work or predicted from thermochemical calculations. Ea for the formation of trans-4-methyl-2-pentene is 1.5 kcal/mol higher than Ea for the formation of the cis isomer, which is identical to the Ea difference previously reported for the formation of trans- and cis-2-butene from methylcyclopropane. Substitution of methyl groups for hydrogen atoms on the cyclopropane ring is expected to weaken the CC ring bonds, and it has been reported previously that activation energies for structural isomerizations of methylcyclopropanes do decrease substantially over the series cyclopropane > methylcyclopropane > 1,1- or 1,2-dimethylcyclopropane. However, the present study shows that the trend does not continue beyond dimethylcyclopropane isomerization. Besides reductions in CC bond energy, steric interactions may be increasingly important in determining the energy surface and conformational restrictions near the transition state in isomerizations of the more highly substituted methylcyclopropanes. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 38: 475–482, 2006
Challenges for lasers in liquid oxygen

We review some aspects of the spectroscopy and kinetics of excited electronic states and vibrational levels and identify challenges that may impede development of high-energy lasers based on optical pumping of liquid oxygen.
Foreign Investment and Ethics: How to Contribute to Social Responsibility by Doing Business in Less-Developed Countries.

Do foreign direct investment (FDI) and international business ventures promote positive social and economic development in emerging nations? This question will always prove contentious. First, the impacts differ according to context. Second, the social consequences and spillover effects of knowledge diffusion and technology-sharing may be limited and hard to measure. Third, contributions to enhancing social responsibility and improving living standards in host countries are delayed in effect, causally complex, and also hard to measure. Outcomes often critically depend on collaboration of governments, international institutions, the business world, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Research in this area is challenging and requires interdisciplinary collaboration between economists, financial experts, sociologists, ethicists, and other specialists. This paper explores: (1) the evidence to support the proposition that FDI and international business improve social conditions in less-developed countries, and: (2) how these improvements are linked to strategies of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ethical business practice. The paper draws insights from development, FDI, poverty alleviation, and bottom-of-the-pyramid (BOP) literature. Applications are demonstrated using examples from poverty-stricken areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper attempts not only to argue theoretically but also to provide practical evidence. The approach is simultaneously descriptive, analytical, and prescriptive in order to address a wide audience. It also highlights issues and trends for further academic research and presents the viewpoint that some limitations lie in the nature of ethics frameworks widely referenced in business and that these often fail to consider the compatibility of ethical constructs with relevant incentives. In this vein, we explore the application of Homann’s framework for advantage and incentive-based ethics.
Application and classification of fuzzy dynamic system and fuzzy linguistic controller with examples illustrated

This paper presents the classification of fuzzy dynamic systems and fuzzy linguistic controllers (FLC) into standard types (TYPE 1 through TYPE 7). The need, utility value, and the logic behind this classification are given. The proposed classification is the result of studying many known examples of FLC applications. The impact of this classification to new designs and to the improved performance of classical and modern control systems is an important consideration.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Immunity, trauma and the elderly

It is believed that an uncontrolled or poorly coordinated immune reaction can be stimulated by major trauma and be responsible for the development of the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). The elderly have a reduced ability to mount an effective immune reaction with deficiencies involving both humoral and cellular aspects of immunity that involve poor function of both the stimulatory and immuno-suppressive sides of the immune process. However, there is currently no hard evidence that the excess mortality after major trauma in the elderly is associated with an impaired or excessive immune response. It is possible that their poor resistance to infection is important and immune modulated but the dominant factor in the excess mortality in the elderly population is probably associated with their lack of physiological reserve to respond to a major physiological challenge.
Alcohol consumption, ART usage and high-risk sex among women infected with HIV.

We examine the role of alcohol consumption on sexual risk behavior among a cohort of 187 sexually active HIV-infected women (aged 18–61) in care at an urban ambulatory clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. Sexual risk behavior among women on and off antiretroviral therapy (ART) and the relationship between alcohol use, ART, and behavior was also explored. One-fourth of respondents were classified as binge drinkers and the average number of drinking occasions per week ranged from none to 10–12. Approximately 60% were prescribed ART and self-reported adherence was 90%. One-third of the women reported no condom use at last vaginal sex, 62% reported inconsistent condom use for vaginal sex, and 7% had multiple male sex partners in the last month. Binge alcohol users and women on ART were significantly more likely to participate in each sexual risk outcome examined. Partner refusal of condom use was also significantly associated with binge drinking patterns. Results lend strength to the equivocal literature on the relationship between both alcohol and prescription of ART and sexual behavior. Enhanced detection of alcohol abuse, coupled with risk reduction counseling especially among women prescribed ART are important clinical practices in treating women with HIV.
What a Difference a Year Makes: Time Lag Effect of Information Technology Investment on Firm Performance

How long does it take for a firm to realize the performance benefits of its IT investment? This article explores the time lag effects of IT investment on firm performance. Using longitudinal data of 1421 firm-time observations over a period of six years (1991–1996) as the initial time point of IT investment, we examined time lag effect on firm performance in a five-year time window. The performance data for the sample spans 12 years, from 1989 to 2000. The results demonstrate a strong support for time lag effects on the relationship between IT investment and firm performance. Specifically, our study found that it took an average of approximately three to four years after the year of investment for the firms in our sample to realize the greatest performance benefits. The findings offer useful implications for researchers and managers to better understand the link between IT and firm performance so that they can make wiser decisions to maximize the business value of their investments.
Major perturbation in sulfur cycling at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary

Stable sulfur isotopes from the reduced sulfur fraction of Late Triassic–Early Jurassic marine sediments at Kennecott Point in British Columbia, Canada, show evidence for a major perturbation in sulfur cycling coincident with a major carbon cycle perturbation in the wake of a mass extinction event at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. The δ 34 S of reduced sulfur shifts from values consistent with open system bacterial sulfate reduction (−30‰) to values higher than any previously reported for Early Jurassic sulfates (20‰) and consistent with complete utilization of sulfate and Rayleigh fractionation in a closed system. We suggest that this isotopic shift was initiated by declining seawater sulfate concentration due to evaporite deposition in nascent Atlantic rift zones and enhanced by a local mechanism, such as a decoupling of the zone of sulfate reduction from the sulfate supply due to a catastrophic increase in the flux of land-derived sediments reaching the sea in the wake of massive terrestrial plant die-off during the Triassic–Jurassic mass extinction.
Effects of Varenicline on Smoking Cessation in Patients With Mild to Moderate COPD: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Smoking is the most important risk factor for COPD and accelerates its progression. Despite the health implications, a large proportion of patients with COPD continue to smoke, so finding effective smoking cessation interventions for this population is paramount. To our knowledge, this is the first randomized clinical trial to compare the efficacy and safety of varenicline tartrate vs placebo in smokers with mild to moderate COPD. Methods In a 27-center, double-blind, multinational study, 504 patients with mild to moderate COPD (postbronchodilator FEV 1 /FVC, 1 percent predicted normal value, ≥ 50%) and without known psychiatric disturbances were randomized to receive varenicline (n = 250) or placebo (n = 254) for 12 weeks, with a 40-week nontreatment follow-up. The primary end point was carbon monoxide-confirmed continuous abstinence rate (CAR) for weeks 9 to 12. A secondary end point was CAR for weeks 9 to 52. Results CAR for weeks 9 to 12 was significantly higher for patients in the varenicline group (42.3%) than for those in the placebo group (8.8%) (OR, 8.40; 95% CI, 4.99-14.14; P P Conclusions Varenicline was more efficacious than placebo for smoking cessation in patients with mild to moderate COPD and demonstrated a safety profile consistent with that observed in previous trials. Trial registry ClinicalTrials.gov ; No.: NCT00285012 ; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov
Virus–host interactions: from systems biology to translational research

Research embracing systems biology approaches and careful analysis of the critical host response has greatly expanded our understanding of infectious diseases. First-generation studies based on genomics and proteomics have made significant progress in establishing the foundation for network-based investigations on virus-host interactions. More recently, data from complementary high-throughput technologies, such as siRNA and microRNA screens and next-generation sequencing, are augmenting systems level analyses and are providing a more detailed and insightful multidimensional view of virus-host networks. Together with advances in data integration, systems biology approaches now have the potential to provide profound impacts on translational research, leading to the more rapid development of new therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases. In this review, we highlight new high-throughput technologies, a new philosophy for studying virus-host interactions, and discuss the potential of systems biology to facilitate bench-to-bedside research and create novel strategies to combat disease. Can we save the world using these approaches? Read on.
Override of the Osteoclast Defect in Osteopontin-Deficient Mice by Metastatic Tumor Growth in the Bone

Osteopontin (OPN) is a major noncollagenous protein of bone that is frequently up-regulated in tumors, where it enhances tumor growth. OPN-deficient mice are resistant to stimulated bone resorption, including that occurring after ovariectomy. Using a new syngeneic model of bone metastasis (r3T), we examined whether OPN-deficient mice are similarly resistant to bone loss resulting from osteolytic tumor growth. Transformed mammary epithelial cells, r3T, which express parathyroid hormone-related protein but not receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand, were injected via the intracardiac route into both wild-type and OPN−/− mice. We measured tumor burden in the bone by quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay and evaluated bone loss by X-ray and microCT. Unexpectedly, bone loss was similar in OPN−/− and wild-type mice bearing similar-sized tumors. Osteoclast number was comparable in both genotypes, and the expression of bone sialoprotein was similar in tumor-bearing bones of both genotypes, excluding two potential mechanisms of overriding the defect. Taken together, these results indicate that in the absence of OPN, the bone loss associated with tumor growth at the bone site proceeds rapidly despite the osteoclast defects documented in OPN−/− mice, suggesting that the mechanism of bone loss due to tumor growth differs from that occurring in other pathologies.
Domains of macaque DC-SIGN essential for capture and transfer of simian immunodeficiency virus.

Abstract The C-type lectin DC-SIGN mediates the capture and transfer of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) from macaque dendritic cells (DCs) to permissive T-cells. To further identify the determinants in macaque DC-SIGN required for capture and transfer of virus, we created mutants containing deletions or point mutations in the extracellular domains, and tested their ability to capture and transmit SIV. We found that SIV bound to the carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) of macaque DC-SIGN via the envelope protein. In addition, deleting the C-terminal half of the CRD, or mutating amino acids within this region that contact Ca 2+ or mannose, disrupted virion capture activity. However, an N-terminal CRD deletion mutant was capable of binding SIV, indicating that this region was not necessary for binding. Finally, deletion of the neck domain also reduced the capacity for macaque DC-SIGN to capture SIV. Interestingly, ICAM-3, the cellular ligand for DC-SIGN, did not bind to any of the DC-SIGN mutants, including mutants with amino acid changes in the N-terminal region of the CRD. These data suggest that the binding sites for SIV and ICAM-3 may be distinct but overlapping. Together, the data demonstrate the importance of both the neck and the CRD of macaque DC-SIGN for efficient capture of SIV and binding to ICAM-3.
Street characteristics to encourage children to walk

An experiment tested whether physical disorder affected low to moderate income African–American children’s choice of street to walk on and their parents’ choice of a street for them to walk on. The experiment used an innovative desktop simulation in which 32 fourth and fifth grade African–American children and 30 parents viewed and explored pairs of virtual walk-through streets manipulated on disorder (across three contexts and two other street and sidewalk characteristics) and picked from each pair the one to walk on (child) or for the child to walk on (parent). Each participant was asked to report the reasons for the choices. The analysis revealed that children and their parents were more likely to walk (or have the child walk) on streets lower in disorder. Reported reasons for choices confirmed the importance of physical disorder in affecting walking choices. Low-cost improvements in order may make streets more desirable for recreational walking.
Phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) inhibits 17 β -estradiol binding to estrogen receptor from human prostate

Abstract Estrogen receptor binding studies were performed on cytosol obtained from human benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) tissue. Binding assays were done in the absence of presence of various concentrations of phenylmethysulfonyl fluoride (PMSF). Saturation analysis and Scatchard plots showed that the binding of 17 β -estradiol to the estrogen receptor (ER) was inhibited by PMSF. The nature of the inhibition appears to be uncompetitive, as determined from double- reciprocal plots. Glycerol density gradient centrifugation analysis also confirmed the results obtained with Scatchard plots. The inhibition observed in the presence of dithiothreitol (DTT) was greater than the inhibition observed in the absence of DTT. The maximum number of binding sites (B max ) observed in our present study was 59.1 ± 34.1 fmol/mg protein with an equilibrium dissociation constant (K D ) of 2.2 ± 2.2 nM. Our study indicates that PMSF significantly affects 17 β -estradiol binding to ER and consequently alters the estimation of ER in Human BPH.
Incorporation of structurally defective type II collagen into cartilage matrix in kniest chondrodysplasia.

Kniest dysplasia, a human chondrodysplasia that severely affects skeletal growth, is caused by mutations in the type II collagen gene, COL2A1. We report here on abnormal type II collagen in the cartilage from a lethal Kniest dysplasia case and identify a novel exon-skipping mutation. Screening of cyanogen bromide (CB) peptides from the cartilage samples by SDS-PAGE indicated an abnormality in peptide alpha1(II)CB11. Further peptide mapping and N-terminal sequence analysis showed a 15-amino-acid deletion encoded by exon 15 in about 25% of the alpha1(II) chains in the cartilage. The mutation responsible for exon skipping was found by sequencing amplified genomic DNA. The baby was heterozygous for a G to A transition at the first position of the splice donor of intron 15. Pepsin-solubilized type II collagen from the cartilage matrix contained both normal alpha1(II) and shortened chains expressed from the mutant allele. Trypsin cleaved the native molecules below 37 degrees C selectively at a site within the exon 15-encoded domain of the normal alpha1(II) chains. This is best explained by the coassembly of normal and truncated alpha1(II) chains into heterotrimers in which the triple helix is normally folded in both directions from the deletion site but the latter presents a region of local disruption. The findings support an emerging pattern of COL2A1 mutations that can cause Kniest dysplasia. Short deletions (single or partial exon) clustered in one region of the alpha1(II) chain are favored, resulting in abnormal heterotrimeric molecules that become a significant component of the cartilage extracellular matrix.
How Many Genes are Needed for a Discriminant Microarray Data Analysis

The analysis of the leukemia data from Whitehead/MIT group is a discriminant analysis (also called a supervised learning). Among thousands of genes whose expression levels are measured, not all are needed for discriminant analysis: a gene may either not contribute to the separation of two types of tissues/cancers, or it may be redundant because it is highly correlated with other genes. There are two theoretical frameworks in which variable selection (or gene selection in our case) can be addressed. The first is model selection, and the second is model averaging. We have carried out model selection using Akaike information criterion and Bayesian information criterion with logistic regression (discrimination, prediction, or classification) to determine the number of genes that provide the best model. These model selection criteria set upper limits of 22∼25 and 12∼13 genes for this data set with 38 samples, and the best model consists of only one (no.4847, zyxin) or two genes. We have also carried out model averaging over the best single-gene logistic predictors using three different weights: maximized likelihood, prediction rate on training set, and equal weight. We have observed that the performance of most of these weighted predictors on the testing set is gradually reduced as more genes are included, but a clear cutoff that separates good and bad prediction performance is not found.
Microwatt Embedded Processor Platform for Medical System-on-Chip Applications

Battery life specifications drive the power consumption requirements of integrated circuits in implantable, wearable, and portable medical devices. In this paper, we present an embedded processor platform chip using an ARM Cortex-M3 suitable for mapping medical applications requiring microwatt power consumption. Ultra-low-power operation is achieved via 0.5-1.0 V operation, a 28 fW/bit fully differential subthreshold 6T SRAM, a 90%-efficient DC-DC converter, and a 100-nJ fast Fourier transform (FFT) accelerator to reduce processor workload. Using a combination of novel circuit design, system architecture, and SoC implementation, the first sub-microwatt per channel electroencephalograph (EEG) seizure detection is demonstrated.
Multiple-period adaptive-repetitive control of a hard disk drive

This paper introduces a new method for synthesizing multiple-period repetitive controllers, which are suitable for integration into a combined adaptive-repetitive control scheme. The proposed synthesis method can be implemented recursively reducing the complexity of controller design considerably when compared with other methods available in the literature. In order to exemplify the synthesis procedure, a multiple-period adaptive-repetitive controller is designed for track-following control of a commercial hard disk drive and implemented in real-time using a digital signal processor. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the approach introduced in this work.
Women’s mate retention behaviors, personality traits, and fellatio

Women perform oral sex on their male partner (i.e., fellatio) as part of a Benefit-Provisioning mate retention strategy, and women’s personality predicts their interest in, and time spent, performing fellatio. We explored whether women’s mate retention behavior mediates the relationship between their personality traits and their performance of fellatio in a long-term romantic relationship. Women (n = 401) reported their personality traits, the frequency with which they performed mate retention behaviors during the past month, and their interest in and the time they spent performing fellatio on their partner during their most recent sexual encounter. The results indicate that women higher in Conscientiousness spend more time performing fellatio on their partner, and this relationship is mediated by their Benefit-Provisioning mate retention. Women higher in Agreeableness report greater interest in performing fellatio on their partner, and less Cost-Inflicting mate retention, but mate retention behaviors do not mediate the relationship between their Agreeableness and their interest in performing fellatio. The current research is the first to investigate the relationship between women’s personality traits and oral sex behaviors, and contributes to research documenting that mate retention strategies are associated with sexual behavior.
Evaluation of genome-wide association study results through development of ontology fingerprints

Motivation: Genome-wide association (GWA) studies may identify multiple variants that are associated with a disease or trait. To narrow down candidates for further validation, quantitatively assessing how identified genes relate to a phenotype of interest is important. Results: We describe an approach to characterize genes or biological concepts (phenotypes, pathways, diseases, etc.) by ontology fingerprint—the set of Gene Ontology (GO) terms that are overrepresented among the PubMed abstracts discussing the gene or biological concept together with the enrichment p-value of these terms generated from a hypergeometric enrichment test. We then quantify the relevance of genes to the trait from a GWA study by calculating similarity scores between their ontology fingerprints using enrichment p-values. We validate this approach by correctly identifying corresponding genes for biological pathways with a 90% average area under the ROC curve (AUC). We applied this approach to rank genes identified through a GWA study that are associated with the lipid concentrations in plasma as well as to prioritize genes within linkage disequilibrium (LD) block. We found that the genes with highest scores were: ABCA1, lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and cholesterol ester transfer protein, plasma for high-density lipoprotein; low-density lipoprotein receptor, APOE and APOB for low-density lipoprotein; and LPL, APOA1 and APOB for triglyceride. In addition, we identified genes relevant to lipid metabolism from the literature even in cases where such knowledge was not reflected in current annotation of these genes. These results demonstrate that ontology fingerprints can be used effectively to prioritize genes from GWA studies for experimental validation. Contact: [email protected] Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Prevalence of unknown thyroid disorders in a Sardinian cohort

Objective: To assess thyroid function, the presence of thyroid antibodies, as well as the presence of goiter and/or nodules in subjects without a prior diagnosis of thyroid disorders, in a region with mild to moderate iodine deficiency. Design and methods: This cross-sectional study is based on data obtained from first and third visits of participants in the Sardinian survey. We performed two different analyses. In one, we assessed the prevalence of unknown thyroid dysfunctions among 6252 subjects who had a medical examination and blood collection for assays of thyrotropin, free thyroxine, and antibodies against thyroperoxidase (AbTPO) and against thyroglobulin (AbTG). In a second analysis, we evaluated the frequency of undiagnosed goiter and nodules among 3377 subjects who had a thyroid ultrasound scan. Subjects were excluded if they had a previous history of thyroid disorders or presence of goiter and/or nodules, or thyroid surgery, or if they were taking drugs that could impair thyroid function. Results: We found a low prevalence of overt thyroid dysfunction (hyperthyroidism 0.4% and hypothyroidism 0.7%). The rates of subclinical hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism were 4.7 and 2.4% respectively. Almost 16% of participants were positive for at least one antibody and 5.2% for both AbTG and AbTPO. Nodules were detected in 17.4% of subjects and the prevalence of goiter was 22.1%. Conclusions: Undiagnosed biochemical thyroid dysfunctions, unknown nodules, and goiter were common in subjects living in a mild to moderate iodine-deficient area. In this community, thyroid disorders often go undetected and screening could be reasonable in subjects at a higher risk.
Soft-switching single-stage power factor correction converter

A single-stage, ZVT-PWM, power factor correction converter is proposed in this paper. Zero-voltage switching for the main switch and zero-current switching for the auxiliary switch are realized by utilizing the leakage inductance of the output transformer and the capacitance of the switches. As a result, no additional resonant components need to be added. ZVS operation is realized for a wide range of load and line. High frequency operation of the proposed converter makes the AC-DC power supply possible to be minimized in size and weight and the soft switching scheme reduces the electromagnetic interference (EMI). The proposed converter uses a grounded auxiliary switch so that the isolated driving circuit is not required. The simplified driving circuitry again improves the overall efficiency and power density. Practically, the direct driving schemes of both the main and the auxiliary switches allows the proposed converter to operate in even high switching frequency and have good regulation capability. A 50-W 500-kHz prototype has been built in the laboratory to experimentally verify the analysis and simulation results.
Low-energy meson action from QCD: Extended Skyrme model.

In the limit of extremely low energies QCD describes essentially the interactions between the approximately massless pseudoscalars. They are the bound states of the ''chiral'' quarks. Equivalently they are collective Goldstone modes of dynamically broken chiral symmetry, and interact in a nonlinear way with the ''constituent'' quarks. These two pictures are related by going into the ''constituent gauge,'' which we define in this paper as a QCD analog of the unitary gauge in theories with Higgs scalars. We develop a framework for extracting the low-energy dynamics of pions directly from QCD in the limit of a large number of colors, and under some additional assumptions we calculate the pure pion theory truncated to four derivatives. The model obtained is a somewhat extended Skyrme model, and contains the anomaly term (Wess-Zumino term) as well as the nontopological terms, the coefficients of which depend on a classical scalar-meson-field background. Stability of the soliton is discussed. We show that in the limit in which symmetry breaking is turned off, the coefficients in front of the pseudoscalar interactions vanish. Under a plausible assumption about the behavior of a scalar-meson background, we interpret this as a natural realization of the space cutoff entering the topologicalmore » soliton bag model.« less
Changes in seasonality and timing of peak streamflow in snow and semi-arid climates of the north-central United States, 1910–2012

Changes in the seasonality and timing of annual peak streamflow in the north-central USA are likely because of changes in precipitation and temperature regimes. A source of long-term information about flood events across the study area is the U.S. Geological Survey peak streamflow database. However, one challenge of answering climate-related questions with this dataset is that even in snowmelt-dominated areas, it is a mixed population of snowmelt/spring rain generated peaks and summer/fall rain generated peaks. Therefore, a process was developed to divide the annual peaks into two populations, or seasons, snowmelt/spring, and summer/fall. The two series were then tested for the hypotheses that because of changes in precipitation regimes, the odds of summer/fall peaks have increased and, because of temperature changes, snowmelt/spring peaks happen earlier. Over climatologically and geographically similar regions in the north-central USA, logistic regression was used to model the odds of getting a summer/fall peak. When controlling for antecedent wet and dry conditions and geographical differences, the odds of summer/fall peaks occurring have increased across the study area. With respect to timing within the seasons, trend analysis showed that in northern portions of the study region, snowmelt/spring peaks are occurring earlier. The timing of snowmelt/spring peaks in three regions in the northern part of the study area is earlier by 8.7– 14.3 days. These changes have implications for water interests, such as potential changes in lead-time for flood forecasting or changes in the operation of flood-control dams. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.