cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CARM1 (PRMT4) Acts as a Transcriptional Coactivator during Retinoic Acid-Induced Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation.

Activation of the retinoic acid (RA) signaling pathway is important for controlling embryonic stem cell differentiation and development. Modulation of this pathway occurs through the recruitment of different epigenetic regulators at the retinoic acid receptors (RARs) located at retinoic acid responsive elements (RAREs) and/or RA-responsive regions of RA-regulated genes. Coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 (CARM1, PRMT4) is a protein arginine methyltransferase that also functions as a transcriptional coactivator. Previous studies highlight CARM1’s importance in the differentiation of different cell types. We address CARM1 function during RA-induced differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells (mESCs) using shRNA lentiviral transduction and CRISPR/Cas9 technology to deplete CARM1 in mESCs. We identify CARM1 as a novel transcriptional coactivator required for the RA-associated decrease in Rex1 (Zfp42), and for the RA induction of a subset of RA-regulated genes, including CRABP2 and NR2F1 (Coup-TF1). Furthermore, CARM1 is required for mESCs to differentiate into extraembryonic endoderm in response to RA. We next characterize the epigenetic mechanisms that contribute to RA-induced transcriptional activation of CRABP2 and NR2F1 in mESCs and show for the first time that CARM1 is required for this activation. Collectively, our data demonstrate that CARM1 is required for transcriptional activation of a subset of RA target genes, and we uncover changes in the recruitment of Suz12 and the epigenetic H3K27me3 and H3K27ac marks at gene regulatory regions for CRABP2 and NR2F1 during RA-induced differentiation.
Cloud Datacenter Workload Prediction Using Complex-Valued Neural Networks

Cloud computing infrastructures and datacenters depend on intelligent management of underlying CPU, memory, network, and storage resources. A variety of techniques such as load balancing, load consolidation, and remote memory allocation are used to maintain a fine balance between conflicting goals of high performance, and low costs and energy consumption. To meet these goals, successful prediction of the workloads is an important problem. By accurately predicting the resource utilization of host machines, datacenter owners can better manage the available resources. This paper presents a host resource usage prediction approach, based on a Multilayer Neural Network with Multi-Valued Neurons (MLMVN). An enhancement is further implemented to MLMVN to make it suitable for cloud datacenter applications. The approach is evaluated on real world load traces from Google's cluster data, as well as two grid based load traces. The algorithm is compared against some current state-of-the-art host-load prediction algorithms to show its accuracy, as well as performance gains.
Pushing the Boundaries of Motorsports Simulation

The benefits of bringing the racetrack into the testing laboratory are many: conducting laboratory simulations can provide the levels of repeatability, accuracy, observability, objectivity, privacy and cost-effectiveness that are difficult to come by at the test track.
Somatostatin and 1-Dopa loading for study of Growth Hormone reserve

Author's earlier studies /Peter and Szentistvanyi, 1977/ were continued in which a moderate rise of GH serum level was detected mainly at 150' and 180' after iv. bolus administration of somatostatin/SRIF/ in children. This rise is regular but the peak mean serum level is very low /8,05±3,02 ng/ml/. An iv. bolus of SRIF and p.o. 1-Dopa was administered in a combination for 16 normal children with the parental consent according to the following protocol: at 0 minute 5μg/ Kgbw SRIF and 120' later 250-500 mg 1-Dopa were given. The increase of GH level was significant at 150' and 180' /the peak mean serum level is 22,5±16,04 ng/ml; extreme values 9,7-57,5 ng/ml. The dose- and time relations are very important because the somatostatin can suppress the rise in serum GH evoked by 1-Dopa! By means of SRIF-1-Dopa loading test can help the differential diagnosis of dwarfism in a harmless form too.
Effect of student transrectal palpation on early pregnancy loss in dairy cattle

Transrectal palpation of the reproductive tract is the most common method for pregnancy determination in cattle and is considered a veterinary skill that new veterinary medicine (DVM) graduates should perform proficiently. However, using privately owned cattle to train students can be difficult because producers may believe that transrectal palpation by inexperienced students increases the risk of pregnancy wastage compared with examination by an experienced clinician. We used a randomized field trial of 1,216 healthy Holstein and Jersey cattle in 2 commercial dairy herds to estimate the effect of veterinary student transrectal palpation on early pregnancy loss. All cattle were determined to be pregnant using transrectal ultrasonography at approximately 37 d after artificial insemination. Cattle were then allocated into 2 groups based upon their ear tag number (study group = 598; control group = 618). Cattle in the study group were immediately palpated after ultrasonography by a fourth-year veterinary student, whereas control cattle were not subject to any additional pregnancy assessment. For analysis, the student palpators were divided into 2 groups: students who had previously had formal palpation training via an elective bovine palpation class (n = 30) and students who had not had palpation training (n = 134). All cattle were reevaluated using transrectal ultrasonography approximately 70 d after artificial insemination. A total of 53 (4.36%) animals lost their pregnancy between the first and second pregnancy assessments. Of the animals that lost their pregnancy, 26 (4.35%) were study group cows and 27 (4.37%) were control cows. Of the 26 cows documented to have had pregnancy loss within the study group, 20 out of 378 (5.3%) had been palpated by students who had not taken the palpation elective and 6 out of 220 (2.7%) had been palpated by students who had completed the elective. We found no difference in pregnancy loss between student-palpated and clinician-ultrasounded cattle, supporting the safety of using privately owned animals for student bovine palpation and pregnancy diagnosis training without affecting early pregnancy loss.
Treatment with Nitrate, but Not Nitrite, Lowers the Oxygen Cost of Exercise and Decreases Glycolytic Intermediates While Increasing Fatty Acid Metabolites in Exercised Zebrafish

BACKGROUND Dietary nitrate improves exercise performance by reducing the oxygen cost of exercise, although the mechanisms responsible are not fully understood. OBJECTIVES We tested the hypothesis that nitrate and nitrite treatment would lower the oxygen cost of exercise by improving mitochondrial function and stimulating changes in the availability of metabolic fuels for energy production. METHODS We treated 9-mo-old zebrafish with nitrate (sodium nitrate, 606.9 mg/L), nitrite (sodium nitrite, 19.5 mg/L), or control (no treatment) water for 21 d. We measured oxygen consumption during a 2-h, strenuous exercise test; assessed the respiration of skeletal muscle mitochondria; and performed untargeted metabolomics on treated fish, with and without exercise. RESULTS Nitrate and nitrite treatment increased blood nitrate and nitrite levels. Nitrate treatment significantly lowered the oxygen cost of exercise, as compared with pretreatment values. In contrast, nitrite treatment significantly increased oxygen consumption with exercise. Nitrate and nitrite treatments did not change mitochondrial function measured ex vivo, but significantly increased the abundances of ATP, ADP, lactate, glycolytic intermediates (e.g., fructose 1,6-bisphosphate), tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates (e.g., succinate), and ketone bodies (e.g., β-hydroxybutyrate) by 1.8- to 3.8-fold, relative to controls. Exercise significantly depleted glycolytic and TCA intermediates in nitrate- and nitrite-treated fish, as compared with their rested counterparts, while exercise did not change, or increased, these metabolites in control fish. There was a significant net depletion of fatty acids, acyl carnitines, and ketone bodies in exercised, nitrite-treated fish (2- to 4-fold), while exercise increased net fatty acids and acyl carnitines in nitrate-treated fish (1.5- to 12-fold), relative to their treated and rested counterparts. CONCLUSIONS Nitrate and nitrite treatment increased the availability of metabolic fuels (ATP, glycolytic and TCA intermediates, lactate, and ketone bodies) in rested zebrafish. Nitrate treatment may improve exercise performance, in part, by stimulating the preferential use of fuels that require less oxygen for energy production.
Evaluating uncertainty in Landsat-derived postfire recovery metrics due to terrain, soil, and shrub type variations in southern California

Temporal trajectories of apparent vegetation abundance based on the multi-decadal Landsat image series provide valuable information on the postfire recovery of chaparral shrublands, which tend to m...
Dietary Pyrethroid Exposures and Intake Doses for 188 Duplicate-Single Solid Food Items Consumed by North Carolina Adults.

Few studies have measured pyrethroid residue concentrations in food items consumed by adults in their daily environments. In a further analysis of study data, the objectives were to determine pyrethroid residue levels in single, solid food items consumed by adults and to estimate dietary pyrethroid exposures and intake doses per food item. A total of 50 adults collected 782 duplicate-diet solid food samples over a six-week monitoring period in North Carolina between 2009 and 2011. Of these samples, 188 contained a single, solid food item (i.e., lasagna). Levels of eight pyrethroids were quantified in the 188 food items using LC–MS/MS. At least one pyrethroid was detected in 39% of these food items. Cis-permethrin (17%), bifenthrin (15%), trans-permethrin (14%), and deltamethrin (14%) were detected the most often. Cyfluthrin, cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, and esfenvalerate were all detected in <6% of the samples. The highest residue level was found in a pizza sample containing both cis-permethrin (96.4 ng/g) and trans-permethrin (73.7 ng/g). For cis-permethrin, median residue levels (≥LOQ) were significantly higher (p = 0.001) in foods that contained a fruit/vegetable compared to foods that did not. For individual pyrethroids, the participants’ maximum dietary intake doses in the single food items ranged from 38.1 (deltamethrin) to 939 ng/kg/day (cis/trans-permethrin).
Septic arthritis of hip joint and its devastating complications.

A 47-year-old man with history of intravenous drug abuse presented to the emergency room complaining of worsening right-sided pelvic swelling and difficulty in walking for the last 2 weeks. Two months before, he had been admitted for methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) hip septic
Case 25: Difficulty with Breathing in the Postoperative Period

You are called to the recovery as a patient is complaining of difficulty in breathing. It is late in the day and you are on call. The anesthesiologist who had anesthetized the patient has gone home. In the recovery room you find a 28 year old woman who has undergone a robot-assisted salpingo-oophorectomy for an adnexal mass. Her past history is significant for hypertension, asthma (which is recorded in the preoperative note as not response to asthma drugs), and anxiety. She is 85 kg and 5 ft 9 in. The operative course and the first 10 min in the recovery room had been uneventful. The nurse tells you that she has suddenly now started complaining about difficulty in breathing. Her vital signs are HR 96 bpm, BP 160/96 and the oxygen saturation is 100%. A facemask with 10 L of oxygen is flowing through the mask. She states she cannot breathe and you can see that she is obviously very anxious. She tells you the tightness is not in her chest but in her throat. You note that her neck is a flexed position. You examine her and discover that she has an inspiratory stridor. She has no difficulty in speaking. There is no cough or sputum.
Multifidelity flutter prediction using local corrections to the generalized AIC

Abstract This work adopts the manifold mapping multifidelity modeling technique for frequency-domain flutter prediction. While this type of multifidelity model is usually employed in a trust-region optimization framework, the current approach uses it, in combination with the p-k method, to find a critical point in the high-fidelity Mach-reduced frequency space (namely, the matched flutter point for a given density and sound speed). This is done by first computing a grid of low-fidelity (doublet lattice-based) aerodynamic influence coefficients in modal coordinates. After starting at the low-fidelity match point, the process iteratively approaches the high-fidelity (Euler-based) match point using a single Mach and reduced frequency evaluation per iteration. The locally accurate multifidelity model operates by applying a correction matrix to the low-fidelity response using the changes in high- and low-fidelity response vectors between iterations; the correction matrix is computed using the Moore-Penrose pseudoinverse operator, making it reminiscent of various doublet lattice correction methods. When applied to a common test case, the process is shown to converge in 4 to 8 high-fidelity evaluations, depending on the fluid density and sound speed. For comparison, standard time- and frequency domain methods are estimated to be 3 to 10 times more costly in terms of time steps or frequency evaluations.
Thermal, Structural, and Mechanical Effects of Nanofibrillated Cellulose in Polylactic Acid Filaments for Additive Manufacturing

As the additive manufacturing process gains worldwide importance, the need for bio-based materials, especially for in-home polymeric use, also increases. This work aims to develop a composite of polylactic acid (PLA) and nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) as a sustainable approach to reinforce the currently commercially available PLA. The studied materials were composites with 5 and 10% NFC that were blended and extruded. Mechanical, structural, and thermal characterization was made before its use for 3D printing. It was found that the inclusion of 10% NFC increased the modulus of elasticity in the filaments from 2.92 to 3.36 GPa. However, a small decrease in tensile strength was observed from 55.7 to 50.8 MPa, which was possibly due to the formation of NFC aggregates in the matrix. This work shows the potential of using PLA mixed with NFC for additive manufacturing.
Increased Incidence of Chronic Kidney Injury in African Americans Following Cardiac Transplantation

This study examined whether African American race was associated with an elevated risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) post-cardiac transplantation. CKD often occurs after cardiac transplantation and may require renal replacement therapy (RRT) or renal transplant. African American patients have a higher risk for kidney disease as well as worse post-cardiac transplant morbidity and mortality. It is unclear, however, if there is a propensity for African Americans to develop CKD after cardiac transplant. The Institutional Review Board of Columbia University Medical Center approved the retrospective study of 151 adults (57 African American and 94 non-African American) who underwent single-organ heart transplant from 2013 to 2016. The primary outcome was a decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), development of CKD, and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring RRT after 2 years. African American patients had a significant decline in eGFR post-cardiac transplant compared to non-African American patients (− 34 ± 6 vs. − 20 ± 4 mL/min/1.73 m2, p < 0.0006). African American patients were more likely to develop CKD stage 2 or worse (eGFR < 90 mL/min/1.73 m2) than non-African American patients (81% vs. 59%, p < 0.0005). This is the first study to report that African American patients are at a significantly higher risk for eGFR decline and CKD at 2 years post-cardiac transplant. Future investigation into risk reduction is necessary for this patient population.
Multi-Stage Quadratic Flexible Optimal Power Flow With a Rolling Horizon

Optimal power flow (OPF) has always played an important role in optimizing the operation of power systems, which are complex and highly nonlinear networks. The need for optimization is even more pressing in modern power grids with distributed energy resources (DERs, with or without storage) that introduce more flexibility, dynamics, and uncertainties to power grids. Most importantly, they add the time dimension to the optimization process: DERs generate the need to optimize systems in real time over a time horizon considering forecasts. This article proposes a multi-stage OPF formulation and solution method based on object-oriented device models with a rolling horizon incorporated for real-time optimizations to achieve optimal feedback control. The process also takes into account changing forecasts. The proposed approach is tested on a real distribution feeder and the results indicate that the method is very promising.
A Single Center Analysis of Increased Risk Donors Utilized in Lung Transplantation

Purpose In 2013, the US Public Health Service (PHS) established new guidelines for high risk donor organs and renamed the category “increased risk” (IR). We compared survival outcomes of lung transplant (LTx) patients that received either IR or non-IR donor lungs to determine if IR donor lungs are an underutilized resource. Methods This study retrospectively analyzed and compared survival and utilization rates of IR and non-IR donor lung recipients at a single center from Feb-2012 to Mar-2020. LTx recipients were stratified by PHS IR status of the donor lung(s) received. Survival of IR and non-IR donor lung recipients was assessed using Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival analysis and compared by log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to control for variables significantly associated with IR/non-IR status, including recipient race, average warm ischemic time, transplant type, and donor age. Results Of 742 LTx patients at the center (Feb-2012 to Mar-2020), there were 193 (26%) recipients of IR organs. In 2012 and 2013, 7% and 0% respectively of the lungs transplanted at the institution were IR labeled. After the PHS guidelines were nationally implemented in Feb-2014, the proportion of IR labeled lung transplants rose to 8% (2014), 26% (2015), 40% (2016), 53% (2017), 38% (2018), and 37% (2019). Median survival times were 1.8 years for IR and 2.0 years for non-IR LTx recipients. KM survival analysis and log-rank test comparison showed no statistically significant difference in survival between IR and non-IR donor lung recipients (p = 0.606) over the 8-year period. Cox regression controlling for significant variables suggested none of the covariates significantly affected survival. Conclusion While the 2013 guidelines caused a sharp increase in lungs labeled IR, our survival analysis suggests the criteria may be misleading and of little help when assessing risks and estimating probability of survival. IR designations risk underutilization of viable lungs, a serious concern considering the waitlist demand for donors.
Assortment and Inventory Planning Under Dynamic Substitution with MNL Model: Structural Results and a Near-Optimal Heuristic

We revisit the uncapacitated single-period joint assortment and inventory problem in the presence of dynamic (stockout-based) substitution behavior (i.e., the so-called "dynamic assortment problem"). This is a very important practical problem faced by many retailers; at the same time, it is also a very difficult analytical problem. Indeed, despite recent progresses in the literature, little is known about the structure of its optimal solution. The key technical challenge here is due to the fact that customer substitution behavior may change depending on product availability. In this paper, we consider the version of this problem under Multinomial Logit (MNL) choice model. We first consider the setting with deterministic fluid demand and deterministic choice in which customers are infinitesimal, arrive into the system at a constant rate, and can simultaneously purchase fractional amounts of different products, which we call the "DD" model for brevity. We study the structures of its optimal solution. In particular, we show that there exists an optimal solution that satisfies a property similar to the well-known revenue-ordering property of optimal assortment in the "static assortment problem" under MNL. The running time complexity of our algorithm is at most O(M^2) where M is the number of products. We then consider a more realistic setting with random Poisson arrivals and random choice, which we call the "RR" model. We show that the optimal value of the DD model is not always an upper bound for the optimal value of the RR model. However, we are able to show that the optimal solution for the DD model is asymptotically optimal in the RR model when the expected number of customers is large. Thus, overall, our results contribute to the literature by providing both deeper insights into the structure of the optimal solution, in some settings, and an asymptotically optimal heuristic.
Strong pseudo-contractions perturbed by compact operators in Banach spaces

Let X be a (real) Banach space, let D be an open subset of X, and let B(X) denote the collection of all nonempty bounded and closed subsets of X. Suppose T is continuous from D into B(X) with respect to the Hausdorff metric and strongly pseudo-contractive, while g is compact from D into X. Then T+g has a fixed point if it satisfies the classical Leray-Schauder condition on the boundary of D.
Deception in journalism

Does the Journalist have the ethical right to deceive in pursuit of a story? This article discusses the ethical implications of deception in the news‐gathering process and offers some suggestions to aid journalists in knowing when to go undercover in pursuit of a story. The essay was written by Paul Braun, a spohomore, for an ethics course taught by Prof essor Ronald Koshoshek.
Effect of urea on the divalent cation binding site of pyruvate kinase.

Abstract The longitudinal and transverse relaxation rate enhancement parameters of water protons, the number of manganese binding sites, and the dissociation constants (Kd) were correlated with enzyme activity and molecular weight changes which occur as a function of urea concentration. The results suggest that there are 4 manganese binding sites per 237,000 daltons. Upon the addition of urea to cause the transition from tetramer to still enzymatically active dimer, the total number of manganese binding sites does not change, but the Kd increases by an order of magnitude. In the transition from the active dimer to the inactive monomer by increasing the urea concentration, the number of binding sites becomes large and indeterminate, and further increases in the Kd are seen. The enhancement of both the longitudinal and transverse relaxation rates correlate with the catalytic activity of the enzyme. With aging of the enzyme, a decrease in the number of binding sites is observed, which correlates with specific activity, and there is no change in Kd.
The β2-Microglobulin Locus of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Contains Three Polymorphic Genes

β 2 -microglobulin (β 2 m) associates with MHC and related class I H chains to form cell surface glycoproteins that mediate a variety of functions in defense. In humans, monomorphism of a single β 2 m gene contrasts with the diversity and polymorphism of the class I H chain genes, and a similar picture was seen in almost all other species examined. In this regard, rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) appeared unusual: trout β 2 m genes gave a complicated and polymorphic pattern in Southern blots, and a minimum of 10 different mRNA encoding two distinct types of β 2 m were expressed by a single fish. Characterization of genomic clones from the same fish now shows that the rainbow trout β 2 m locus consists of two expressed genes and one partial gene that are closely linked. Four copies of the locus were identified and allelic variants of each gene defined, largely through comparison of the noncoding regions. A dramatic variation in the lengths of introns is caused by variable repetitive elements and accounts for the complex pattern seen in Southern blots. By comparison to noncoding sequences, the coding regions are conserved but the three loci differ within a cluster of codons that encode residues of β 2 m that do not interact with class I H chains. Additional diversity in the trout β 2 m genes appears to be due to somatic mutation that might be facilitated by the abundance of repetitive DNA elements within the 12 β 2 m genes of an individual rainbow trout.
The Lawyer's Moral Obligation to Write Well

In this short article, and drawing upon George Steiner's famous article about the death of the German language, I argue that it is only when the language of the law is "living speech," in James Boyd White's terminology, that the law can perform well its moral purpose. This is, in part, because of the unique form of judgment that the law is.
The Principle of Legality in International and Comparative Criminal Law

1. Legality in criminal law, its purposes, and its competitors 2. A partial history to World War II 3. Nuremberg, Tokyo, and other post-war cases 4. Modern development of international human rights law: practice involving multilateral treaties and the universal declaration of human rights 5. Modern comparative law development: national provisions concerning legality 6. Legality in the modern international and internationalized criminal courts and tribunals 7. Legality as a rule of customary international law today Conclusion: the endurance of legality in national and international criminal law.
Mathematical Issues in Optimal Design of a Vapor Transport Reactor

In this paper the optimal design of a vertical reactor for growing crystals and epitaxial layers by physical vapor transport technique is discussed. The transport phenomena involved in the deposition process is modeled by the gasdynamics equations and chemical kinematics. The problem is formulated as a shape optimization with respect to the geometry of the reactor and an optimal control problem by controlling the wall temperature. The material and shape derivatives of solutions to the so-called Boussinesq approximation are derived. Optimality condition and a numerical optimization method based on the augmented Lagrangian method are discussed for the boundary control of the Boussinesq flow. A numerical approximation based on the Jacobi polynomials for the axi-symmetric flow is developed along with a discussion of an iterative method based on GMRES for solving the resulting system of nonlinear equations.
Integrated Electromechanical Controls Laboratory using Programmable Logic Controllers

The energy conversion laboratory at Christian Brothers University was reorganized in the summer of 1992 in an effort to design and build a new integrated electomechanical controls laboratory. The laboratory is a multidimentional facility in a sense that it will allow the students from three engineering disciplines, chemical, electical and mechanical to run experiments in linear controls, energy conversion, digital controls, and robotics using state of the art data acquisiton tools and Allen-Bradley Programmable Logic Controllers. This laboratory was set up under the NSF grant USE-91-51213 and utilizes the same space as the previous energy conversion laboratory facility. A survey of components and tools used in the new facility are presented as well as results of some design projects currently being developed in the new facility. This paper also describes the use of Local Area Networks, Robotics, and future directions in the use of the facility for education of linear, digital and mulivariable controls as well as engineering management.
Optimization of bus routing strategies for evacuation

Efficient transportation of evacuees during an emergency has long been recognized as a challenging issue. This paper investigates emergency evacuation strategies that rely on public transit, where buses run continuously, rather than fixed route, based upon the spatial and temporal information of evacuee needs. We formulated an optimal bus operating strategy that minimizes the exposed casualty time rather than operational cost, as a deterministic mixed-integer program, and investigated the solution algorithm. A Lagrangian-relaxation-based solution algorithm was developed for the proposed model. Numerical experiments with different problem sizes were conducted to evaluate the method. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Language: en
Time-dependent effects of CX3CR1 in a mouse model of mild traumatic brain injury

Neuroinflammation is an important secondary mechanism that is a key mediator of the long-term consequences of neuronal injury that occur in traumatic brain injury (TBI). Microglia are highly plastic cells with dual roles in neuronal injury and recovery. Recent studies suggest that the chemokine fractalkine (CX3CL1, FKN) mediates neural/microglial interactions via its sole receptor CX3CR1. CX3CL1/CX3CR1 signaling modulates microglia activation, and depending upon the type and time of injury, either protects or exacerbates neurological diseases. In this study, mice deficient in CX3CR1 were subjected to mild controlled cortical impact injury (CCI), a model of TBI. We evaluated the effects of genetic deletion of CX3CR1 on histopathology, cell death/survival, microglia activation, and cognitive function for 30 days post-injury. During the acute post-injury period (24 h–15 days), motor deficits, cell death, and neuronal cell loss were more profound in injured wild-type than in CX3CR1−/− mice. In contrast, during the chronic period of 30 days post-TBI, injured CX3CR1−/− mice exhibited greater cognitive dysfunction and increased neuronal death than wild-type mice. The protective and deleterious effects of CX3CR1 were associated with changes in microglia phenotypes; during the acute phase CX3CR1−/− mice showed a predominant anti-inflammatory M2 microglial response, with increased expression of Ym1, CD206, and TGFβ. In contrast, increased M1 phenotypic microglia markers, Marco, and CD68 were predominant at 30 days post-TBI. Collectively, these novel data demonstrate a time-dependent role for CX3CL1/CX3CR1 signaling after TBI and suggest that the acute and chronic responses to mild TBI are modulated in part by distinct microglia phenotypes.
Low-energy electron scattering from CO

The scattering of electrons from carbon monoxide has been studied in the framework of a previously proposed pseudopotential method. It is found that the single-center expansion of the continuum electron orbital about the center of mass of the molecule is very well converged when the two noncoincident nuclear singularities and the nonlocal exchange interactions are properly taken into account in the scattering equations. An analytical proof has been given to show that unlike the total cross section, the momentum-transfer cross section in the fixed-nuclei approximation is finite even for polar molecules. The calculated results of the momentum-transfer cross section for e(-)-CO scattering in the energy range between 0.1 and 10.0 eV are in good accord with the experimental measurements.
Evaluation of scintillator afterglow for use in a combined optical and PET imaging tomograph

The design of a dual modality imaging system for small animal optical and positron emission tomography imaging (OPET) is underway. Its detector must be capable of imaging high energy γ-rays from PET while also resolving optical wavelength photons from bioluminescence. GSO, high purity GSO, BGO, LSO, LYSO, and LaBr scintillators were investigated for their use in the OPET detector. Of specific interest were scintillators with low afterglow, since afterglow photons in the decay of the larger γ-ray events are indistinguishable from the photons generated by bioluminescence. Samples from these crystals were coupled to a photomultiplier tube (PMT) and produced scintillation light from γ-ray events originating from a positron source. The PMT output was directed to a special signal processing circuit that allowed measurement of single photons at different times in the decay of the scintillation. GSO and BGO exhibited optimal performance for use in the OPET system due to their low afterglow. LSO, LYSO, and LaBr were determined unsuitable for use with the current OPET design due to their significant afterglow components. The effect of the afterglow of GSO on the detection of the bioluminescence signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was evaluated for the OPET system.
The safety, efficacy, and durability of external carotid endarterectomy

Abstract Results of 21 external carotid endarterectomies (ECEAs) in 19 patients with symptoms were reviewed retrospectively. No patients died or had new strokes referable to ECEA within 30 days of surgery. Overall, six (32%) patients died during an average 41 months of follow-up (range 1 to 134 months). Persistent symptoms followed five (71%) of seven ECEAs performed for cerebrovascular insufficiency or transient ischemic attacks. One patient treated urgently for an evolving stroke failed to improve and died after hospital discharge. Another patient with crescendo transient ischemic attacks had a preoperative deficit that did not resolve for 6 months and had a second stroke 2 years later. Another patient had a stroke after a contralateral carotid reconstruction but recovered. In contrast, only two (14%) of 14 ECEAs performed for monocular amaurosis fugax had persistent symptoms after surgery. Durability of 16 ECEAs was evaluated by arteriography or duplex scanning. Of six ECEAs closed primarily, three (50%) occluded, one has 60% restenosis, and only two (33%) had no restenosis (mean follow-up 36 months). Of 10 ECEAs closed by patch angioplasty, none occluded, 2 had 20% restenosis, and eight (80%) had no restenosis (mean follow-up 47 months). Life-table analysis indicated improvement in ECEA patency and durability with patch angioplasty ( p = 0.011). From these data, ECEA can be performed with relative safety but is more effective for treatment of monocular amaurosis fugax in patients with a microembolic source at the external carotid origin. Patients with any other indications for ECEA did not benefit consistently from this operation. (J Vasc Surg 1992;16:407–13.)
Management of vesicoureteral reflux in children

Although much has been learned about the diagnosis and management of vesicoureteral reflux, several important areas of investigation remain. Because not all children with reflux are equally susceptible to renal scarring and the development of reflux nephropathy, controversy surrounds the need to evaluate all children with urinary tract infection or to continue prophylaxis in known refluxing children after a certain age. In addition to age, other factors such as sex, grade of reflux, and the presence of voiding dysfunction can all play a role. The grade of reflux as seen on the contrast voiding cystourethrogram is the best predictor of reflux resolution in large numbers of patients, but grade alone cannot predict spontaneous cessation in any one individual. Attempts at refining more quantitative imaging modalities have so far proved unsuccessful. Open ureteral reimplanta-tion remains the standard for surgical care if surgery is necessary. Both cystoscopic and laparoscopic techniques, however, may ultimately prove to be reliable, minimally invasive approaches to definitive correction. Finally, there are data to support continued diagnosis and treatment of reflux in at-risk populations. The incidence of reflux-related morbidity in children has significantly diminished over the last three decades. A major challenge is to better identify at-risk subpopulations of children with reflux, so that not every child will require intensive, long-term medical treatment or surgery.
Status of the cheetah Acinonyx jubatus in Kenya: a field-interview assessment

Abstract A field-interview survey of the distribution and abundance of the cheetah Acinonyx jubatus was conducted in Kenya between May and September 1989, and June and August 1990. Two hundred and twenty respondents ranging from wildlife conservationists to traditional pastoralists gave precise descriptions of cheetah observations, including dates and locations of sightings, and number, age class, and sex of the cheetahs observed. The 369 detailed sightings collected consisted of 249 observations of all-adult groups and 120 observations of family groups. The average number of adults in all-adult sightings was 1·8 + SE 0·07, and the average litter size in family groups was 2·6 + SE 0·10. Density estimates across the country ranged from 0·009 to 0·102 cheetah km−2, and were generally higher than elsewhere in Africa. A total number of 793 cheetahs was estimated in Kenya protected areas, and Masailand and the dry northern Districts appear to offer the best prospects for cheetah conservation in Kenya based on relative prey availability. The proportion of family groups among all sightings was twice as high in protected areas as on rangelands, and protected areas also held larger groups of males. The results do not support the thesis that cheetahs fare better on rangelands than in protected areas. Comparison with earlier surveys in Kenya showed remarkable stability in cheetah distribution and social structure over time. No firm conclusion could be drawn on trends in cheetah numbers, although scattered evidence supported a scenario of stability rather than decline in the last decades. Despite their limitations, interview based surveys can produce valuable results for monitoring elusive high-profile carnivores.
Faculty self-archiving: Motivations and barriers

This study investigated factors that motivate or impede faculty participation in self-archiving practices—the placement of research work in various open access (OA) venues, ranging from personal Web pages to OA archives. The author's research design involves triangulation of survey and interview data from 17 Carnegie doctorate universities with DSpace institutional repositories. The analysis of survey responses from 684 professors and 41 telephone interviews identified seven significant factors: (a) altruism—the idea of providing OA benefits for users; (b) perceived self-archiving culture; (c) copyright concerns; (d) technical skills; (e) age; (f) perception of no harmful impact of self-archiving on tenure and promotion; and (g) concerns about additional time and effort. The factors are listed in descending order of their effect size. Age, copyright concerns, and additional time and effort are negatively associated with self-archiving, whereas remaining factors are positively related to it. Faculty are motivated by OA advantages to users, disciplinary norms, and no negative influence on academic reward. However, barriers to self-archiving—concerns about copyright, extra time and effort, technical ability, and age—imply that the provision of services to assist faculty with copyright management, and with technical and logistical issues, could encourage higher rates of self-archiving. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A Spectrum Decision Framework for Cognitive Radio Networks

Cognitive radio networks have been proposed as a solution to both spectrum inefficiency and spectrum scarcity problems. However, they face to a unique challenge based on the fluctuating nature of heterogeneous spectrum bands as well as the diverse service requirements of various applications. In this paper, a spectrum decision framework is proposed to determine a set of spectrum bands by considering the application requirements as well as the dynamic nature of spectrum bands. To this end, first, each spectrum is characterized by jointly considering primary user activity and spectrum sensing operations. Based on this, a minimum variance-based spectrum decision is proposed for real-time applications, which minimizes the capacity variance of the decided spectrum bands subject to the capacity constraints. For best-effort applications, a maximum capacity-based spectrum decision is proposed where spectrum bands are decided to maximize the total network capacity. Moreover, a dynamic resource management scheme is developed to coordinate the spectrum decision adaptively dependent on the time-varying cognitive radio network capacity. Simulation results show that the proposed methods provide efficient bandwidth utilization while satisfying service requirements.
Passive transfer of maternal immunoglobulin isotype antibodies against tetanus and influenza and their effect on the response of foals to vaccination

Influenza and tetanus-specific antibodies of the IgG sub-isotypes are posively transferred to foals via colostrum and inhibit their response to inactivated influenza vaccines and tetanus toxoid. High titres of influenza antibodies of IgGa and IgGb subisotypes and tetanus antibodies of the IgGa, IgGb and IgG(T) subisotypes were detected in postsucking serum samples collected from foals born to mares that had received booster doses of multicomponent vaccines during the last 2 months of gestation. Thereafter, titres declined in an exponential manner but were still detectable in all foals at age 26 weeks, regardless of whether they had been vaccinated prior to age 26 weeks. Mean +/- s.e. half-life of decline of influenza IgGa antibodies (27.0 +/- 2.3 days) was significantly shorter than that of influenza IgGb antibodies (39.1 +/- 2.7 days; P<0.005). Tetanus IgGa and IgGb antibodies declined with half-lives of 28.8 +/- 3.0 and 34.8 +/- 5.1 days, respectively. Titres of tetanus IgG(T) antibodies were substantially higher than those of influenza IgG(T) antibodies in postsucking samples and remained so through age 26 weeks, declining with a half-life of approximately 35 days. Postsucking titres of tetanus and influenza antibodies of the IgA isotype were low and declined rapidly to undetectable levels. Yearlings showed significant increases in titre of influenza IgGa, IgGb and IgG(T) subisotype antibodies but no increase in influenza IgA antibodies in response to 2 doses of multicomponent vaccines containing tetanus toxoid and inactivated influenza A-1 and A-2 antigens. Yearlings also showed strong tetanus IgGa, IgGb and IgG(T) subisotype responses to one dose of vaccine and a substantial further rise in titre in response to administration of a second dose 3 weeks later, but failed to show an increase in titre of tetanus IgA antibodies. The influenza and tetanus IgGa, IgGb and IgG(T) subisotype responses of 6-month-old foals to vaccination followed the same pattern as those shown by yearlings but titres were generally lower. In contrast, 3-month-old foals failed to show increases in titre of either influenza or tetanus IgG subisotypes in response to 2 doses of vaccine and generally needed 1-3 additional booster doses of vaccine to achieve titres similar to those achieved by yearlings after 2 doses. Based on the finding that maternal antibodies exert a significant inhibitory effect on the response of foals to tetanus toxoid and inactivated influenza antigens, it is recommended that primary immunisation of foals born to vaccinated mares should not commence before age 6 months.
Outer Automorphisms of Upper Triangular Matrices

Abstract The outer automorphism group of the upper triangular matrices over the field of two elements is calculated. A. J. Weir (Proc. Amer. Math. Soc.6 (1955), 454-464) performed a similar calculation for Fields of odd characteristic, and we borrow the term extremal automorphism from his work. The results have implications in the study of stable splittings: the classifying space of Un has three dominant summands when n = 4 and only one dominant summand when n ≥ 5, in the sense of G. Nishida (Stable homotopy type of classifying spaces of finite groups, preprint (1986)).
The surface chemistry of bastnaesite, barite and calcite in aqueous carbonate solutions

Abstract The surface chemistry of bastnaesite, barite and calcite in aqueous carbonate solutions was investigated to delineate the performance of a flotation scheme used for separating barite and calcite from bastnaesite. Sodium carbonate additions to suspensions of these minerals affect both the pH of the system and the zeta potential of the mineral. Significant pH and zeta potential changes, however, are mineral dependent and occur at different levels of added carbonate. They appear to be controlled by the solubility of the mineral in the case of bastnaesite and calcite, and by the formation of a new surface compound, namely barium carbonate, in the case of barite. The conditions for the onset of barium carbonate precipitation in barite suspensions containing fixed concentrations of added carbonate were determined from computations of barite—aqueous carbonate equilibria, and they closely correlate with the experimental results. Using soda ash as a pH modifier in the flotation beneficiation of a rare-earth ore containing barite can lead to carbonation of the barium sulfate surface, thereby causing this mineral to exhibit the flotation behavior of barium carbonate.
Current Status of Anti–Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 Therapies: Predicting and Overcoming Herceptin Resistance

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-overexpressing (HER2+) breast cancer occurs in 20% to 25% of cases and is associated with poor prognosis. Trastuzumab (Herceptin; Genentech, South San Francisco, CA) is a monoclonal antibody targeting the HER2 extracellular domain that has been shown to significantly reduce relapse rates. However, some patients with HER2+ tumors do not respond to Herceptin, and 60% to 85% of patients with HER2+ metastatic breast cancer acquire resistance within a short time period. In this review, we discuss proposed mechanisms of action of trastuzumab and trastuzumab resistance and various drugs that have been developed to overcome drug resistance. We introduce the basal molecular subtype as a predictor of increased risk in HER2+ breast cancer and a possible alternative cause of drug resistance.
HEALTH, JUSTICE, AND THE ENVIRONMENT

In this article, we argue that the scope of bioethical debate concerning justice in health should expand beyond the topic of access to health care and cover such issues as occupational hazards, safe housing, air pollution, water quality, food and drug safety, pest control, public health, childhood nutrition, disaster preparedness, literacy, and many other environmental factors that can cause differences in health. Since society does not have sufficient resources to address all of these environmental factors at one time, it is important to set priorities for bioethical theorizing and policy formation. Two considerations should be used to set these priorities: (1) the impact of the environmental factor on health inequality, and (2) the practicality of addressing the factor.
On the theory and measurement of reading comprehension

Abstract This paper suggests that reading comprehension must involve an interaction between the reader's world knowledge and the incoming linguistic message. We call this the minimal comprehension principle. After examining the measurement of reading comprehension from the perspective of the minimal comprehension principle, we conclude that most existing tests of reading comprehension are likely to be unsatisfactory for the purposes of assessing educational gain and diagnosing reading difficulty. We suggest several techniques which might be more suitable for these purposes.