cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Severe postpartum headache

A 35 year old primiparous woman presented four days postpartum with a two day history of severe bilateral parietal occipital headache extending from the top to the back, as well as blurring of vision and vomiting. She had had a normal vaginal delivery with epidural anaesthesia during labour. During pregnancy she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus. Her headache was better when lying down and worse when sitting up. She had no medical history except for occasional migraines and was not on any acute or chronic medications. Her blood pressure on arrival was 158/94 mm Hg, and her other vital signs were normal. She was afebrile. Clinical examination showed diplopia worse on the left gaze and which disappeared on covering the left eye. Funduscopic examination was normal. She had mild global hyper-reflexia; but pronator drift and Babinski responses were negative. The rest of her neurological examination was normal. Her white blood cell count and liver function tests were normal. ### Answers ### 1. What are the differential diagnoses and how are they investigated? #### Short answer Intracranial pathology—investigated through imaging of the brain. Cerebral venous thrombosis—investigated through contrast imaging of the brain. Pre-eclampsia—urine dipstick, full blood count, creatinine, liver function tests. Post dural puncture headache—diagnosed on history and trial of treatment. …
Emotional Mimicry Beyond the Face?: Rapid Face and Body Responses to Facial Expressions

Emotional mimicry—quick and spontaneous matching of another’s expressions—is a well-documented phenomenon that is associated with numerous social outcomes. Although the mechanisms underlying mimicr...
Relational Grammar and Arc-Pair Grammar

Relational Grammar (RG) is a generative framework that developed in the 1970s as an alternative to Standard Transformational Grammar. The basic premise of RG is the primitive nature of grammatical relations (GRs) such as subject, predicate, direct object, etc. This contrasts with the position taken in Standard Theory, where GRs are derived from phrase structure configurations. RG made numerous theoretical, analytical, and empirical contributions to the field of theoretical syntax. Theoretical contributions include the shift from a derivational to a representational, constraint-based grammar, the use of GRs in grammatical analysis, and an explicit use of a multi-stratal architecture. Analytical contributions include a number of influential analyses of syntactic constructions, e.g., a universal characterization of Passive, the Unaccusative Hypothesis, a typology of Inversion constructions, and a typology of impersonal constructions. RG's work was carried out in a large number of languages, including previously under-studied languages; thus, RG research balances its theoretical and analytical contributions with significant empirical work.
Genome-wide association studies suggest that APOL1-environment interactions more likely trigger kidney disease in African Americans with nondiabetic nephropathy than strong APOL1-second gene interactions.

African Americans carrying two apolipoprotein L1 gene (APOL1) renal risk variants have a high risk for nephropathy. However, only a minority develops end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Hence, modifying factors likely contribute to initiation of kidney disease such as endogenous (HIV infection) or exogenous (interferon treatment) environmental modifiers. In this report, genome-wide association studies and a meta-analysis were performed to identify novel loci for nondiabetic ESRD in African Americans and to detect genetic modifiers in APOL1-associated nephropathy. Two African American cohorts were analyzed, 1749 nondiabetic ESRD cases and 1136 controls from Wake Forest and 901 lupus nephritis (LN)–ESRD cases and 520 controls with systemic lupus erythematosus but lacking nephropathy from the LN-ESRD Consortium. Association analyses adjusting for APOL1 G1/G2 renal-risk variants were completed and stratified by APOL1 risk genotype status. Individual genome-wide association studies and meta-analysis results of all 2650 ESRD cases and 1656 controls did not detect significant genome-wide associations with ESRD beyond APOL1. Similarly, no single nucleotide polymorphism showed significant genome-wide evidence of an interaction with APOL1 risk variants. Thus, although variants with small individual effects cannot be ruled out and are likely to exist, our results suggest that APOL1-environment interactions may be of greater clinical importance in triggering nephropathy in African Americans than APOL1 interactions with other single nucleotide polymorphisms.
Cutaneous Subsets of Lupus Erythematosus

Identifying apparently distinctive cutaneous subsets of lupus erythematosus is useful to the physician in the management of patients. Defining patients who share similar clinical and laboratory features makes it possible to predict more accurately the natural history of the disease: Individual patients generally have only one form of cutaneous lupus erythematosus, and within certain limits, the clinical features of the skin lesions remain constant. The three major cutaneous subsets specific to lupus erythematosus are elucidated.
On Asymmetric Error Detection with Feedback

The asymmetric nature of bit errors in optical communication provides the grounds for efficient error control techiques; the Z-channel and systematic asymmetric error detection (AED) codes can be succesfully combined with ARQ protocols for feedback error control enhancement. The throughput and the accepted packet error rate for such systems are derived from the codes construction. The results show that only a few check bits can provide a great deal of error protection, almost error free transmission in optical networks.
The Relational Dimension of Sustainability Ethics and the Role of Individual Morality

In this chapter, I develop the first part of my approach of sustainability ethics and focus on the individual within the sustainability relations. This approach is a relational ethical approach which refers to some elements of virtue ethics and ethics of care. I argue that one crucial fundamental of sustainability ethics is the identity and self-understanding of the individual as a relational, interdependent, and virtuous person in the context of the sustainability relations, i.e., as a sustainable person. To develop this approach, I go back to the sustainability relations and proceed with the analysis of their characteristics and ethical implications. I discuss each of the three relationships—the relation with nature, with future generations, and with nature—in detail, and develop a set of characteristics of the sustainable person.
Predicting Epilepsy Surgery Outcomes from Presurgical Temporal Lobe Network Architecture (S9.006)

Objective: We aimed to determine whether presurgical plastic reorganization of temporal lobe structures is related to the likelihood of seizure freedom after surgery. Background: Even though surgery for medial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is one of the most effective treatments in modern medicine, many patients remain with seizures after surgery, and the reasons for suboptimal outcomes are not well known. Design/Methods: We constructed the individual presurgical structural brain connectome of 50 patients with MTLE who underwent surgery for epilepsy and computed betweenness centrality (BC) (an integration measure of regional network hubness derived from graph theory), of all gray matter regions of interest (ROIs) throughout the brain. Only ipsilateral temporal ROIs were entered into a discriminant analysis function and then cross-validated classification outcomes by using a leave-one-out approach. We also derived discriminant functions from clinical variables alone and a combination of clinical and connectome measures. Results: Our results revealed that a discriminatory function constituted by the BC of six ipsilateral temporal ROIs had a classification accuracy of 90% for the original cases and 82% on cross-validation, and was especially reliable at predicting which patients would be seizure free after surgery (97.2% of the original group, 91.6% on cross-validation). In addition, the discriminatory function based on connectome measures alone was more accurate in classifying surgical outcomes than the functions based on clinical data alone (accuracy of 46%). Conclusions: Our results indicate that increased structural integration of gray matter regions in the temporal lobe ipsilateral to seizure onset is largely associated with lower probability of seizure freedom after surgery. Disclosure: Dr Gleichgerrcht has nothing to disclose. Dr. Bhatia has nothing to disclose. Dr. Edwards has nothing to disclose. Dr. Vandergrift has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kuzniecky has nothing to disclose. Dr. Bonilha has nothing to disclose.
Flavonoids enhance rod opsin stability, folding, and self-association by directly binding to ligand-free opsin and modulating its conformation

Rhodopsin (Rho) is a visual G protein–coupled receptor expressed in the rod photoreceptors of the eye, where it mediates transmission of a light signal into a cell and converts this signal into a nerve impulse. More than 100 mutations in Rho are linked to various ocular impairments, including retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Accordingly, much effort has been directed toward developing ligands that target Rho and improve its folding and stability. Natural compounds may provide another viable approach to such drug discovery efforts. The dietary polyphenol compounds, ubiquitously present in fruits and vegetables, have beneficial effects in several eye diseases. However, the underlying mechanism of their activity is not fully understood. In this study, we used a combination of computational methods, biochemical and biophysical approaches, including bioluminescence resonance energy transfer, and mammalian cell expression systems to clarify the effects of four common bioactive flavonoids (quercetin, myricetin, and their mono-glycosylated forms quercetin-3-rhamnoside and myricetrin) on rod opsin stability, function, and membrane organization. We observed that by directly interacting with ligand-free opsin, flavonoids modulate its conformation, thereby causing faster entry of the retinal chromophore into its binding pocket. Moreover, flavonoids significantly increased opsin stability, most likely by introducing structural rigidity and promoting receptor self-association within the biological membranes. Of note, the binding of flavonoids to an RP-linked P23H opsin variant partially restored its normal cellular trafficking. Together, our results suggest that flavonoids could be utilized as lead compounds in the development of effective nonretinoid therapeutics for managing RP-related retinopathies.
SecDir: a secure directory to defeat directory side-channel attacks

Directories for cache coherence have been recently shown to be vulnerable to conflict-based side-channel attacks. By forcing directory conflicts, an attacker can evict victim directory entries, which in turn trigger the eviction of victim cache lines from private caches. This evidence strongly suggests that directories need to be redesigned for security. The key to a secure directory is to block interference between processes. Sadly, in an environment with many cores, this is hard or expensive to do. This paper presents the first design of a scalable secure directory. We call it SecDir. SecDir takes part of the storage used by a conventional directory and re-assigns it to per-core private directory areas used in a victim-cache manner called Victim Directories (VDs). The partitioned nature of VDs prevents directory interference across cores, defeating directory side-channel attacks. The VD of a core is distributed, and holds as many entries as lines in the private L2 cache of the core. To minimize victim self-conflicts in a VD during an attack, a VD is organized as a cuckoo directory. Such a design also obscures the victim's conflict patterns from the attacker. For our evaluation, we model with simulations the directory of an Intel Skylake-X server with and without SecDir. Our results show that SecDir has a negligible performance overhead. Furthermore, SecDir is area-efficient.
Love in the Time of Covid-19: Or, Nicaragua, the Strange Country Where Children Still Go to School

The Nicaraguan government's response to the coronavirus pandemic has been nothing short of absurd Rather than implementing measures advised by the public health experts, the government has been organizing mass gatherings and hiding the scale of infection This essay argues that current governmental behavior is both consistent with and a continuation of the crimes against humanity committed in 2018 and 2019
Can you hear me now? A review of signal transmission and experimental evidence for the acoustic adaptation hypothesis

The Acoustic Adaptation Hypothesis (AAH) posits that animal acoustic signals used in long-range communication should be adapted to transmit well within the habitats in which they evolved. However, ...
Time multiplex phase only sub holograms

Computer-generated holography (CGH) is a technique to generate holographic Interference patterns for various applications. Typical applications are in the area of information displays, but dynamic illumination application, as an example, an automotive glare free headlamp, would be another possible application. For most applications a real-time computation of the CGH and a high contrast ratio needs to be achieved. One of the major issues related to computer hologram generation is the computational power required to archive high quality images. With emerging MEMS based phase modulators the cross talk between pixels will be removed and the modulation speed will be much higher than in existing LC based micro displays. A novel not iterative algorithm will be used to construct time multiplex phase only sub holograms (TPOSH). Based on the TPOSH we will generate various high dynamic range light distribution for typical automotive headlamps scenarios. To verify the method, simulations and experiments are performed. Numerical simulations and optical experiments are showing good consistence with each other. Finally we will compare the TPOSH results with Gerchberg Saxton (GS) based computer generated holograms.
Chapter 30 The Economics of Climate Policy

Economics has played an increasingly important role in shaping policy, in the United States and elsewhere. This chapter reviews some of the dimensions of the economic approach to analyzing, understanding, and developing solutions to the problem of climate change. We then turn to the issue of designing regulatory instruments to control the problem. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the political economy of greenhouse gas control in an international context.
The new Brazilian Anti-trafficking Law: challenges and opportunities to cover the normative lack

The Brazilian counter-trafficking in persons has given rise to a complex, deficient, confusing anti-trafficking system that presents legal obstacles. Derived from this lack of harmonization in the Brazilian context, there were different ways of interpreting what trafficking was, which has also generated a confusing framework regarding the interpretation of the concept itself. Hence, the new anti-trafficking law in Brazil (13.344/2016), was approved in order to cover this normative vacuum and act as a useful instrument that builds a proactive counter-trafficking in Brazil. The general objective is to examine the irrelevance of the argument of consent in crimes of Trafficking in Persons, based on the remarks in the new anti-trafficking law in Brazil. For this purpose, I carry out a thematic qualitative text analysis approach in order to identify and analyse the changes in the Brazilian system of counter-trafficking. Thereby, the methodology aims to identify actors involved, as well as the content and meaning of the new Brazilian anti-trafficking law. In this sense, this article is based on a traditional literature review of the results from a bibliographic, doctrinal revision, and a documentary survey of the laws applied to the subject. The conclusions of this study show that Brazilian counter-trafficking demands a much-needed multidirectional action and protection of the human rights of victims/survivors in the context of trafficking. The results of the analysis indicate the irrelevance of the victims’ consent. Hence, the premise of the State should be to guarantee the protection of their rights.
A survey of university students on attitudes, behaviors, and intentions toward influenza vaccination.

Objective To determine attitudes, behaviors, and intentions of university students regarding influenza vaccination.Participants Undergraduate, graduate, and professional students enrolled at a priv...
Research on Optimization Design of UHV Transformer Based on Railway Transportation

The UHV grid backbone grid is an important support for the construction of “three-type two-network”. UHV AC transformer is one of the most core equipments in UHV AC engineering. It has the characteristics of large transportation size and heavy weight. This has led to the question of how to ensure its transportability while ensuring safety and reliability has always been a key concern. This paper studies and analyzes the current transportation limits of various modes of transportation in China, selects the appropriate mode of railway transportation, determines the transportation vehicles and transportation boundary conditions of UHV transformers. From the aspects of body structure, insulation design and fuel tank structure, the optimized design and measures for reducing the size and weight of UHV transformer transportation are studied. The research results show that the existing UHV transformers can meet the boundary requirements of railway transportation after reasonable optimization and design, and can realize railway transportation. It provides more flexible and diverse options for the subsequent UHV engineering transformer transportation mode, effectively supporting the construction of the project.
A Reanalysis for the Seasonal and Longer-Period Cycles and the Trends in Middle Atmosphere Temperature from the Haloe

Previously published analyses for the seasonal and longer-period cycles in middle atmosphere temperature versus pressure (or T(p)) from the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) are extended to just over 14 years and updated to properly account for the effects of autocorrelation in its time series of zonally-averaged data. The updated seasonal terms and annual averages are provided, and they can be used to generate temperature distributions that are representative of the period 1991-2005. QBO-like terms have also been resolved and are provided, and they exhibit good consistency across the range of latitudes and pressure-altitudes. Further, exploratory analyses of the residuals from each of the 221 time series have yielded significant 11-yr solar cycle (or SC-like) and linear trend terms at a number of latitudes and levels. The amplitudes of the SC-like terms for the upper mesosphere agree reasonably with calculations of the direct solar radiative effects for T(p). Those SC amplitudes increase by about a factor of 2 from the lower to the upper mesosphere and are also larger at the middle than at the low latitudes. The diagnosed cooling trends for the subtropical latitudes are in the range, -0.5 to -1.0 K/decade, which is in good agreement with the findings from models of the radiative effects on pressure surfaces due to known increases in atmospheric CO2. The diagnosed trends are somewhat larger than predicted with models for the upper mesosphere of the northern hemisphere middle latitudes.
Preschoolers' Funds of Knowledge Displayed through Sociodramatic Play Episodes in a Bilingual Classroom.

Funds of knowledge displayed by young children during sociodramatic play in a two-way bilingual preschool classroom are identified. Twelve preschoolers participated in a microethnographic study of children's language and culture in a small rural community of South Texas. The study sought to identify cultural elements or traits of Mexican American children exhibited during sociodramatic play. The cultural traits identified as funds of knowledge include language, values and beliefs, ways of discipline, and the value of education, among others. It is suggested for teachers to use sociodramatic play as a tool to observe children and learn about their funds of knowledge in order to implement a culturally reflective curriculum.
Toxicity of a Complex Munitions Wastewater to Aquatic Organisms

The toxicity to freshwater organisms of a complex munitions effluent called condensate wastewater was determined using a novel and relatively economical approach proposed by Pearson and co-workers at the Second Annual ASTM Symposium on Aquatic Toxicology. Applicable only to complex wastewaters in which the concentrations of the individual chemical components are relatively constant over time, the approach emphasizes performing toxicity and related tests on a chemical mixture representative of the actual wastewater, with secondary attention being directed toward testing the individual chemical components, which is the conventional approach. The testing program comprised several series of static acute toxicity tests on authentic wastewater, artificial wastewater, and selected components to identify the conditions under which they are most toxic and to identify the most sensitive species; a series of flow-through acute toxicity tests on the artificial wastewater using the most sensitive species; a series of short-term bioconcentration tests; several early life-stage tests; and, finally, several life-cycle chronic tests. Twelve species representing three trophic levels were employed in the program. It was concluded that the approach economically and rapidly provided a sufficient data base for assessing the effects of the wastewater on aquatic life. Two modifications were recommended to decrease the cost andmore » time of obtaining the data. One was to perform a static and a flow-through test early in the testing program to identify the most appropriate exposure condition to use in the initial portion of the program. The other was to compute the octanol-water partition coefficients of the organic components of the wastewater before performing any bioconcentration test and to use the coefficients to determine if bioconcentration tests are necessary.« less
CNF and DNF Considered Harmful for Computing Prime Implicants/Implicates

Several methods to compute the prime implicants and the prime implicates of a negation normal form (NNF) formula are developed and implemented. An algorithm PI is introduced that is an extension to negation normal form of an algorithm given by Jackson and Pais. A correctness proof of the PI algorithm is given. The PI algorithm alone is sufficient in a computational sense. However, it can be combined with path dissolution, and it is shown empirically that this is often an advantage. None of these variations rely on conjunctive normal form or on disjunctive normal form. A class of formulas is described for which reliance on CNF or on DNF results in an exponential increase in the time required to compute prime implicants/implicates. The possibility of avoiding this problem with efficient structure preserving clause form translations is examined briefly and appears unfavorable.
Identification of Human Remains

Chapter 9 presents the very important topic of identification. Introductory comments discuss the importance of establishing and following specific identification protocols when dealing with dead bodies. Non-scientific methods of identification (visual identification and hospital identification) are presented, as are scientific methods (fingerprint, dental, X-ray, DNA). The chapter concludes by discussing circumstantial identification and unidentified remains.
Effect of Arginine-deficient Media on the Herpes-Type Virus Associated with Cultured Burkitt Tumor Cells

After incubation at 37 C for 2 or more days, Basal Medium Eagle (BME) supplemented with 25% fetal calf serum (FCS) was not able to support adequate growth of EB3 and other lines of Burkitt tumor cells. The medium did, however, increase, by a factor of about 10, the number of cells synthesizing herpes-type virus with which the cultures were persistently infected. Not every lot of FCS produced these effects, nor were these effects seen when BME and FCS were incubated separately for 7 days before the medium was completed. At 37 C, appropriate lots of FCS interacted with several of the amino acids present in BME; this interaction resulted in an inhibition of cellular growth, whereas interaction with arginine yielded the virus-enhancing effect. Arginine-free BME, supplemented with 25% FCS and used without prior incubation, prevented cellular replication and promoted viral infection to a similar extent as did preincubated complete medium. Replenishment of arginine reduced, but did not regularly abolish, the virus-enhancing activity of preincubated media. RPMI-1629 medium was less affected by preincubation with FCS because it contained twice the amount of arginine that BME contained. The FCS factors which act upon arginine and other amino acids are not dialyzable and are partially resistant to heating at 56 or 60 C for 30 to 60 min. Calf and horse sera appear to be devoid of these activities. The nature of these interactions, as well as the mechanism by which arginine deficiency enhanced the viral infection, remains to be ascertained.
The genetics of aflatoxin B1 metabolism. Association of the induction of aflatoxin B1-4-hydroxylase with the transcriptional activation of cytochrome P3-450 gene.

The association between murine cytochrome P3-450 and hepatic aflatoxin B1-4-hydroxylase, a cytochrome P-450-dependent enzyme which converts aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) to aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), was examined by (a) purification of the cytochrome P-450 which preferentially metabolizes AFB1 to AFM1; (b) isolation of the specific cDNA clone; and (c) correlating induction of transcriptional activation of the specific message with the enzyme activity in the hepatic microsomes. Isolation of cytochromes P-450 from C57BL/6 mice, an Ah-responsive strain, pretreated with a 150 mg/kg dose of beta-naphthoflavone resulted in the partial purification of the cytochrome P-450 with preference for the metabolism of AFB1 to AFM1. Antibodies raised against this cytochrome P-450 were used to enrich hepatic mRNA for cDNA cloning. A cDNA library screened with a rat cytochrome P-450c gene probe yielded only two types of cDNA clones that contained inserts corresponding to cytochrome P1-450 and cytochrome P3-450. Specific restriction fragments of near full-length P1-450 cDNA and full-length P3-450 cDNA, hybridizing only with their respective messages, were isolated and used to assess transcriptional activation of these messages in liver and extrahepatic tissues from C57BL/6 mice treated with 3-methylcholanthrene, beta-naphthoflavone, indolylacetonitrile, and Aroclor-1254. Dose-dependent induction of the two messenger RNAs, when compared with the induction of specific enzyme activities, demonstrated the association of cytochrome P1-450 with aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity and the association of cytochrome P3-450 with AFB1-4-hydroxylase activity. This supports our earlier hypothesis that AFB1-4-hydroxylase and aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase, although regulated by the Ah locus, are the products of two separate genes (Gurtoo, H.L., Dahms, R.P., Kanter, P., and Vaught, J.B. (1978) J. Biol. Chem. 253, 3952-3961).
Results of Treatment of Femoroacetabular Impingement in Adolescents with a Surgical Hip Dislocation Approach

Background The literature contains few studies of open treatment with an open surgical hip dislocation approach for treatment of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) in adolescents. The average age and associated disorders in adolescents with FAI reveal a critical need to study younger patients whose hip disorder has not had time to progress.
South-East Asian export performance: external market access and internal supply capacity

Abstract This paper investigates the determinants of divergent export performance across countries and regions, focusing in particular on South-East Asia. We begin with a general decomposition of export growth into the contributions of increased external demand (foreign market access) and improvements in internal supply-side conditions (supply capacity). Foreign market access growth is shown to make a substantial contribution to explaining divergent export performance and to be highly geographically concentrated. Building on the results of the decomposition, we move on to an econometric analysis of the determinants of export performance, where we find important roles for external geography, internal geography and institutional quality. J. Japanese Int. Economies 17 (4) (2003) 404–431.
Teacher professional identity development with social networking technologies: learning reform through blogging

Implementing student‐centered, inquiry‐based science pedagogy in secondary classrooms, though identified as the goal by all science education professional organizations, is rarely a reality in today's classrooms. Therefore, teachers committed to reform often lack a “local” network with whom they can interact around this new professional discourse of reform‐minded teaching. Emerging social networking technologies such as blogging offer potential to support professional learning through the development of like‐minded communities not geographically or temporally constrained. This article reports on how 15 secondary science teachers committed to reform used blogs to support their efforts to develop reform‐based practices. Findings illuminate varied ways in which participants did so and what they gained as a result. Le developpement de l'identite professionnelle des enseignants par les technologies de mise en reseau social: apprendre la reforme par les blogs La mise en place dans les classes du secondaire d'un...
The interaction index, a novel information-theoretic metric for prioritizing interacting genetic variations and environmental factors

We developed an information-theoretic metric called the Interaction Index for prioritizing genetic variations and environmental variables for follow-up in detailed sequencing studies. The Interaction Index was found to be effective for prioritizing the genetic and environmental variables involved in GEI for a diverse range of simulated data sets. The metric was also evaluated for a 103-SNP Crohn's disease dataset and a simulated data set containing 9187 SNPs and multiple covariates that was modeled on a rheumatoid arthritis data set. Our results demonstrate that the Interaction Index algorithm is effective and efficient for prioritizing interacting variables for a diverse range of epidemiologic data sets containing complex combinations of direct effects, multiple GGI and GEI.
Prolonged elevation in hippocampal Aβ and cognitive deficits following repeated endotoxin exposure in the mouse

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by neuronal cell death and atrophy in regions of the adult brain, including the hippocampus and cortex, due to formation of amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The presence of these pathologies can limit normal signaling properties and ultimately lead to learning and memory deficits. Chronic inflammation has been implicated in the onset and progression of these AD-related pathologies. Our study was designed to assess the effects of peripheral inflammation on pathologies associated with AD by using the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). C57BL/6J mice were given intraperitoneal injections of LPS or saline for 1, 3, or 7 consecutive days. Hippocampal tissue from animals receiving LPS contained significantly higher levels of Aβ1-42, a peptide component of AD plaques, than did those from saline control animals. Central and peripheral pro-inflammatory cytokine levels were increased following a single injection of LPS, but retuned to baseline levels before cognitive testing began. We show that one injection of LPS leads to sickness behavior, but 7 consecutive days does not, indicating tolerance to the endotoxin. Cognitive testing was then conducted to determine if whether deficits from increased Aβ1-42 was evident. Results from both Morris water maze and contextual fear conditioning revealed cognitive deficits in LPS-treated mice. In summary, multiple injections of LPS resulted in increased Aβ1-42 in the hippocampus and cognitive deficits in mice.
Bioenergetics parameters and transport in obligate acidophiles

Obligate acidophiles, which grow optimally in the pH range of 2-4, are an intriguing group of organisms. They span the taxonomic and physiological groupings from archaebacteria (e.g., Sulfolobus acidocaldarius) to eukaryotes (e.g., Cyanidium caldarius) and strict autotrophs to strict heterotrophs. The acidic environments they inhabit abound: vast areas of low-lying soils, mining regions, diverse aquatic environments, and sulfur rich geothermal areas [1]. The acidophilic bacteria have considerable economic importance in bioremediation of environmental acid pollution [2], biodesulfurization of fossil fuels [3], and biomining [3,4]. The latter technologies depend on biological activities possible only at very low pH values. The most striking bioenergetic characteristic of acidophiles is their ability to maintain a large pH gradient, even under highly stressful conditions of pH and nutrition. Thus, these organisms possess to an exquisite degree a vital property of all living cells, namely the ability to maintain a different ionic milieu compared to the external environment. This magnified perspective makes it likely that the relevant mechanisms would be more easily amenable to study and dissection in these bacteria. The acidophilic way of life, since it depends on the existence of pH gradients, is also of interest in the context of evolution of chemiosmotic mechanisms.
Henry Granjon Prize Competition 2007 Winner, Category B “Materials Behaviour and Weldability” Development of a Compressive Residual Stress Field Around a Weld Toe by Means of Phase Transformations

Mechanically- or thermally-induced compressive stress fields have been used for decades to increase the fatigue performance of welded joints. By means of partial stabilization of austenite in the weld metal and subsequent controlled decomposition into martensite, a compressive residual stress field can be induced at the weld toe without the need of post weld processing. By proper adjustment of manganese and chromium content, a weld metal that produces a martensitic microstructure has been developed. This alloy begins its austenite-to-martensite transformation at a temperature below that at which the thermal contraction effects can negate the phase-induced volumetric expansion. The transformation also ends above room temperature to ensure the maximum volumetric expansion. Silicon additions to the manganese-chromium alloy produced welds with large weld toe radii of curvature.
Bayesian Approach Based on Geographic Information System to Identify Hazardous Roadway Segments for Traffic Crashes

This paper presents a Bayesian approach based on a geographic information system (GIS) for areawide identification of hazardous roadway segments for traffic crashes. The conventional observed relative crash risks of roadway segments are based on the observed crash count data and often feature very small or very large outlying relative risks in segments with low traffic volumes or short segment lengths; thus the risk maps based on observed crash risks show a high uncertainty. The Bayesian approach can incorporate both the variability in the observed risks and spatial autocorrelation and use the typical Bayesian "borrow of strength" from adjacent segments to filter out the uncertainties, smooth the relative risks, and accurately identify and rank roadway segments with potentially high relative risks for crashes. To capture the real safety indications better, this paper also disaggregates different road segment types and utilizes GIS to analyze the crash data and visualize the spatial relative crash risks in...
Placental buffering of maternal steroid hormone effects on fetal and yolk hormone levels: a comparative study of a viviparous lizard, Sceloporus jarrovi, and an oviparous lizard, Sceloporus graciosus.

We investigated maternal-fetal hormone transfer in the mountain spiny lizard, Sceloporus jarrovi, a viviparous species with a simple chorioallantoic placenta. In one experiment, we examined the effect of elevated maternal progesterone on fetal and yolk hormone levels. Progesterone implants increased maternal progesterone nearly 100-fold; however, the resulting increase in fetal and yolk progesterone was only about 2% of that seen in mothers, providing evidence that the placenta buffers hormone diffusion. In addition, some effects of progesterone treatment differed between male and female fetuses, suggesting that this buffering may differ between the sexes. In a second experiment, we examined the relationship between maternal and fetal hormone levels in viviparous versus oviparous species. We measured endogenous progesterone, testosterone, estradiol, and corticosterone levels in pregnant S. jarrovi and their fetuses and neonates, and in gravid S. graciosus (an oviparous congener) and their fetuses and hatchlings. No clear relationship was identified between maternal and fetal or hatchling S. graciosus hormone levels. However, the data for S. jarrovi suggest that maternal hormones may inhibit perinatal hormone secretion. These findings indicate that, despite the relatively recent evolutionary origin and simple structure of the S. jarrovi placenta, mechanisms for placental mediation of the maternal-fetal endocrine relationship have evolved. Although the placenta appears to buffer hormone transport, maternal hormones can affect fetal and yolk hormone levels, suggesting that disruption of endocrine regulation could be a physiological cost of the evolution of viviparity.
Guiding Explanation Construction by Children at the Entry Points of Learning Progressions.

Policy documents in science education suggest that even at the earliest years of formal schooling, students are capable of constructing scientific explanations about focal content. Nonetheless, few research studies provide insights into how to effectively provide scaffolds appropriate for late ele- mentary-age students' fruitful creation of scientific explanations. This article describes two research studies to address the question, what makes explanation construction difficult for elementary students? The studies were conducted in urban fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classrooms where students were learning science through curricular units that contained 8 weeks of scaffold-rich activities focused on explanation construction. The first study focused on the kind and amount of information scaffold-rich assessments provided about young students' abilities to construct explanations under a range of scaffold conditions. Results demonstrated that fifth and sixth grade tests provided strong information about a range of students' abilities to construct explanations under a range of supported conditions. On balance, the fourth grade test did not provide as much information, nor was this test curricular-sensitive. The second study provided information on pre-post test achievement relative to the amount of curricular intervention utilized over the 8-week time period with each cohort. Results demonstrated that when taking the amount of the intervention into account, there were strong learning gains in all three grade- level cohorts. In conjunction with the pre-post study, a type-of-error analysis was conducted to better understand the nature of errors among younger students. This analysis revealed that our youngest stu- dents generated the most incomplete responses and struggled in particular ways with generating valid evidence. Conclusions emphasize the synergistic value of research studies on scaffold-rich assessments, curricular scaffolds, and teacher guidance toward a more complete understanding of how to support young students' explanation construction. 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 141-165, 2012
Morphogenesis of retinal ganglion cells during formation of the fovea in the Rhesus macaque

The morphology of retinal ganglion cells within the central retina during formation of the fovea was examined in retinal explants with horseradish-peroxidase histochemistry. A foveal depression was first apparent in retinal wholemounts at embryonic day 112 (E112; gestational term is approximately 165 days). At earlier fetal ages, the site of the future fovea was identified by several criteria that included peak density of ganglion cells, lack of blood vessels in the inner retinal layers, arcuate fiber bundles, and the absence of rod outer segments in the photoreceptor layer. Prior to E112, the terminal dendritic arbor of retinal ganglion cells within the central retina extended into the inner plexiform layer and were located directly beneath their somas of origin or at most were slightly displaced from it. For example, at E90 the mean horizontal displacement of the geometric center of the dendritic arbor from the somas of cells within 600 microns of the estimated center of the future fovea was 4.1 microns (S.D. 2.7, range 1.0-10.0, n = 97). Following formation of the foveal depression the dendritic arbors of cells were significantly displaced from their somas. For example, at E138 the mean displacement was 41.2 microns (S.D. 12.2, range 12.0-56.0, n = 97). The displacement of the dendritic arbor which occurred during this period was not accounted for by areal growth of the dendritic arbor, the somas, or the retina, but was produced by the lengthening of the primary dendritic trunk. Moreover, no significant displacement was observed within the remaining 1.5-6.5 mm of the central retina. These observations provide evidence supporting early speculations that the formation of the foveal pit occurs, in part, by the radial migration of ganglion cells from the center of the fovea during its formation. Our analyses suggest that this migration occurs by the lengthening of the primary dendrite presumably by the addition of membrane. This migration is in a direction opposite to the inward movement of photoreceptors that occurs during late fetal and early postnatal periods (Packer et al., 1990, Journal of Comparative Neurology 298, 472-493).
A nonparametric analysis on the environmental Kuznets curve

Economic research on income's impact on environmental quality is well summarized by the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), a relationship between environmental quality and per capita income (PCI). In this paper, a flexible nonparametric approach is adopted to study this relationship in which polynomial splines are employed to approximate the EKC function. New spline confidence bands via wild bootstrap are proposed to examine the adequacy of certain specifications of the EKC. In time series context, a novel method is developed to investigate the EKC by decomposing the countrywise time series into a polynomial trend and a stationary noise sequence. The trends are examined for conformance to the EKC hypothesis, while the impact of economic intervention on environmental quality change is analyzed via the proposed confidence bands. Simulation studies illustrate the properties of the proposed methodology. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sensitive measurement of total protein phosphorylation level in complex protein samples

Measurement of protein phosphorylation plays an essential role in delineating cell signaling pathways. Although the detection of a specific phosphoprotein has been largely accomplished by immunological methods, a specific and sensitive assay to measure total protein phosphorylation level in complex samples such as whole cell extracts has yet to be established. Here, we present a sensitive phosphorylation assay on a microwell plate to determine total protein phosphorylation level calibrated to a phosphoprotein standard. The core of the assay is a reagent termed pIMAGO that is multi-functionalized with titanium ions for its superior selectivity towards phosphorylated proteins and with fluorophores for quantification. The specificity, sensitivity, and quantitative nature of the assay were demonstrated with standard proteins and whole cell lysates. The method was then employed to measure the overall protein phosphorylation level of human cells under different treatments. At last, we investigated the practicability of the assay to serve as a sensitive tool to estimate the amount of phosphorylated samples prior to a mass spectrometry-based phosphoproteomic analysis.
A generalised model of milling forces

This paper presents the development of a generalised cutting force model for both end-milling and face-milling operations. The model specifies the interaction between workpiece and multiple cutter flutes by the convolution of cutting-edge geometry function with a train of impulses having the period equivalent to tooth spacing. Meanwhile, the effect of radial and axial depths of cut are represented by the modulation of the cutting-edge geometry function with a rectangular window function. This formulation leads to the development of an expression of end/face-milling forces in explicit terms of material properties, tool geometry, cutting parameters and process configuration. The explicitness of the resulting model provides a unique alternative to other studies in the literature commonly based on numerical integrations. The closed-form nature of the cutting force expression can facilitate the planning, optimisation, monitoring, and control of milling operations with complicated tool—work interactions. Experiments were performed over various cutting conditions and results are presented, in verification of the model fidelity, in both the angle and frequency domains.
Cyclosporine-induced hypertension after transplantation.

Objective To describe the features and mechanisms of posttransplantation hypertension and suggest appropriate management of the disorder. Design We review our own experience and reports from the literature on hypertension in cyclosporine A (CSA)-treated transplant recipients. Results Soon after immunosuppression with CSA and corticosteroids, hypertension develops in most patients who undergo transplantation. The blood pressure increases, which are usually moderate, occur universally because of increased peripheral vascular resistance. Disturbances in circadian patterns of blood pressure lead to loss of the normal nocturnal decline, a feature that magnifies hypertensive target effects. Changes in blood pressure sometimes are severe and associated with rapidly developing target injury, including intracranial hemorrhage, left ventricular hypertrophy, and microangiopathic hemolysis. The complex mechanisms that underlie this disorder include alterations in vascular reactivity that cause widespread vasoconstriction. Vascular effects in the kidney lead to reduced glomerular filtration and impaired sodium excretion. Many of these changes affect local regulation of vascular tone, including stimulation of endothelin and suppression of vasodilating prostaglandins. Effective therapy includes use of vasodilating agents, often calcium channel blocking drugs. Caution must be exercised to avoid interfering with the disposition of CSA or aggravating adverse effects relative to kidney and electrolyte homeostasis. Conclusion Recognition and treatment of CSA-induced hypertension and vascular injury are important elements in managing the transplant recipient.
A tetrachromatic hypothesis for human color vision.

Abstract The hypothesis is advanced that human foveal color vision might be tetrachromatic at the first, or photopigment, stage, with immediate convergence to three channels. Evidence taken to support this is: the breakdown of color matches at high intensities ; the similarity of the breakdown condition to protanomaly ; the questionableness of the high-density hypothesis ; the failure of the submaximum of the luminosity curve at 605 nm to shift with selective adaptation : and the marked reduction of this submaximum at high intensities.