cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Gaussian Processes for Traffic Speed Prediction at Different Aggregation Levels.

Dynamic behavior of traffic adversely affect the performance of the prediction models in intelligent transportation applications. This study applies Gaussian processes (GPs) to traffic speed prediction. Such predictions can be used by various transportation applications, such as real-time route guidance, ramp metering, congestion pricing and special events traffic management. One-step predictions with various aggregation levels (1 to 60-minute) are tested for performance of the generated models. Univariate and multivariate GPs are compared with several other linear, nonlinear time series, and Grey system models using loop and Inrix probe vehicle datasets from California, Portland, and Virginia freeways respectively. Based on the test data samples, results are promising that GP models are able to consistently outperform compared models with similar computational times.
Verification of Autonomous Vehicles: Scenario Generation based on Real World Accidents

With the advent of technologies that allow for selfdriving and autonomous vehicles, it is of the utmost importance to ensure the safety of occupants, pedestrians, and other motorists. Investigating when, why, and how these vehicles fail is integral to preventing future recurrences of these kinds of incidents. By gathering these accidents, their associated data, and simulating them, it is possible to identify the major reasons for the accident as well as allowing for the testing and verification of autonomous vehicles (AVs), before they encounter the real world. This knowledge can then be further refined for the purposes of establishing a set of standards for AV safety and capabilities. This paper proposes a novel system for crash scenario generation which works based on actual AV crashes. In addition, there does not yet exist a cloud based database for housing AV crashes, locations, and descriptions. Furthermore, there also does not exist an automated system that creates simulated testing scenarios based on real AV crashes. Our proposed algorithm checks the AV crash location and designs virtual roads from map data about the crash location, retrieved from Open Street Maps. Then it is planned to use natural language processing (NLP) to generate the crash scenario based on the crash description. The virtual scenario, which includes real features of roads – such as curvature, number of lanes, and speed limits – will be used to test AVs. Another portion of the proposed system will allow for important features to be extracted automatically from these crashes, which will be used for improving the road designs capable of addressing AV’s needs.
Analysis of foodborne pathogens in food in Xianyang city during 2010~2012

Objective To find out the pollution situation of foodborne pathogens in food in Xianyang city and to identify the kinds of food which were possibly polluted by pathogenic bacteria. Methods According to GB method, the bacteria from foods were incubated in chromogenic medium, and biochemical reactions were used to identify the pathogens. Results Seventy-four strains of pathogenic bacteria were detected from 803 food samples, the detection rate was 9.02%. Conclusion There are foodborne pathogens pollution in the main consumption food of Xianyang city, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella are the main bacteria that will cause food pollution, and it is found that the cooked meat products, Chinese salad and cold noodle are those foods that most likely to be polluted.
Spyros Pharmaceutics (A): The Booklet Label Decision

A packaging supplier for a pharmaceutical firm proposes an innovative cost-saving measure for the next clinical trial: instead of dozens of custom labels for participating countries, the company can create one universal booklet label with a page for each. A senior clinical-supplies manager must weigh the proposal before presenting it to the clinical team. Were the efficiency and cost savings worth the hassle? This fictional case is designed for a first-year operations module on supply chain management. Excerpt UVA-OM-1682 Jan. 27, 2020 Spyros Pharmaceutics (A): The Booklet Label Decision Once again, Milad Milachi, senior clinical supply manager at Spyros Pharmaceutics Inc. (Spyros), reviewed the documents on his desk. It was May 2018, and he had just received a proposal from one of his packaging suppliers for Spyros's latest drug, Blissify. This proposal was unlike any he had seen in the past regarding complexity, operational design, and—consequently—cost. The supplier was proposing an innovative way to label the supplies for the drug. Although the new label would cost $ 4.00 more per label, the supplier promised significant operational and manufacturing savings that would more than make up for the cost. Milachi knew the clinical team would want his recommendation at its next biweekly meeting—which happened to be the following morning. Spyros Pharmaceuticals and the Development of Blissify . . .
Translating Scientific Findings on Environment and Health for Relevance to Decision Making

There is extensive scientific work and publications on exposures to industrial chemicals and pollution and their relationship to adverse health outcomes across the population. However, much of this...
Joint perceptions of the risk and availability of Cannabis in the United States, 2002-2018.

Abstract Background Prior work suggests that perceived risk and perceived availability of cannabis independently affect cannabis use. However, perceived risk likely modifies the effect of perceived availability, and vice versa. This study explored trends in joint perceived risk and availability of cannabis from 2002 to 2018 and the relationship between combined perceptions and cannabis use, frequent use, and cannabis use disorder (CUD). Methods National Surveys on Drug Use and Health data (n = 949,285, ages 12+) were used to create combined categories of perceived risk of weekly cannabis use and perceived cannabis availability. Descriptive analyses compared joint perceived risk/availability trends (pre/post-2015 due to survey redesign) overall and stratified by age, gender, past-year cannabis use, frequent use, and CUD. Regression analysis estimated associations between perceived risk/availability and cannabis outcomes. Results From 2002 to 2018, the prevalence of perceiving cannabis as low-risk doubled while perceiving cannabis as available remained unchanged. The proportion of individuals perceiving cannabis as Low-risk/Available increased by 86% from 2002 to 2014 (16.8%–31.2%) and 19% from 2015 to 2018 (30.1%–35.8%) while High-risk/Available and High-risk/Unavailable proportions declined. Differing patterns were observed by age and gender. Compared with individuals perceiving cannabis as High-risk/Unavailable, people in all other perception categories had greater risk of all cannabis outcomes. Results were consistent with additive interaction between perceived risk and availability in their effects on cannabis use. Conclusions Trends and associations with cannabis outcomes differ when considering perceived risk and availability independently versus jointly. Longitudinal studies and cannabis policy evaluations would advance understanding of links between cannabis perceptions and use.
Using Microsoft Teams to keep the E-resources department organized during a pandemic and beyond By Megan M. Ruenz, Wheaton College (IL)

Microsoft Teams is a user-friendly, collaboration platform that unifies chat, voice, video, and file sharing to help groups stay organized. It was launched in 2017 as a replacement for Microsoft Cl...
Analysis of Coherent Microwave Data Collected on the Ocean over Two Decades

Abstract : The long-term goal of this project is to fully utilize microwave backscattering data sets that have been collected on the ocean over the last two decades. The prime objective is to better understand the formation of breaking waves on the ocean and their effect on microwave backscatter. The scientific objectives of this study are to investigate wave shadowing and wave modulation in low-grazing-angle backscatter from the ocean. Our approach is to reanalyze data sets taken with Doppler radars over the last two decades in an attempt to extract additional information on microwave backscatter from the ocean. These data sets have been taken from a variety of platforms ranging from airplanes and towers to blimps and ships using a variety of coherent microwave radars. In the work that we carried out in the past year, we looked for evidence of shadowing of microwave backscatter by ocean waves and applied bound/breaking wave theory to observed phase differences between modulated received power and scatterer velocities. It is common to think of low-grazing-angle backscatter from the ocean in terms of geometric shadowing. This work shows that on the open ocean this is a very bad model. Our work indicates that on the open ocean no evidence exists to indicate that any reduction at all in the incident fields takes place in geometrically shadowed regions at either VV or HH polarization. Therefore, models of low-grazing-angle backscatter will have to focus on more realistic causes in regions of very low backscatter, such as very low scatterer intensities. They cannot simply be brushed aside as shadowed regions.
Effect of Helix Angle on Flow in Corrugated Pipes

New measurements of the Darcy friction factor in helical corrugated pipes are combined with earlier measurements to show general trends. These indicate that for a given pipe diameter, friction factor decreases as helix angle decreases and that for a given helix angle, friction factor decreases as pipe diameter increases. Some analyses of velocity profile measurements are also presented. The idea is advanced that the decrease in friction factor is associated with reduced turbulence because of the rotating flow component.
The genetic correlation between impulsivity and sensation seeking traits.

A number of studies have demonstrated associations between sensation seeking traits and measures of impulsivity. This study examined genetic contributions to the observed correlations between imupulsivity and sensation seeking traits. Fifty-seven pairs of identical and 49 pairs of fraternal twins who were reared apart and 90 individuals who also participated in the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart completed the Control scale of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ; Tellegen, 1982) and the four subscales of the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS; Zuckerman, 1979), Consistent with previous studies, the Control scale was significantly correlated with the SSS. A Cholesky decomposition of the data indicated that the phenotypic correlations between the Control scale and the four subscales of the SSS were mediated almost entirely by genetic factors. In the final reduced model the proportion of the genetic variance of the Control scale in common with the SSS was estimated as 55%, and the rest of the genetic variance (45%) was attributed to the genetic variance specific to the Control scale. The results emphasize the importance of common biological mechanisms underlying associations between impulsivity and sensation seeking traits.
A general framework for automated physics-based reduced-order modeling of electromechanical systems

Physics-based models of electromechanical systems, such as finite element-based models and/or high-fidelity magnetic equivalent circuits, accurately represent underlying magnetic devices. However, these models usually introduce hundreds to thousands of state variables and are computationally intensive. Moreover, including relative motion in the physics-based dynamic modeling of electromechanical systems is not a trivial task. In this paper, relative motion is incorporated in highly accurate full-order models that are based on geometrical and material data. Automated linear and nonlinear order-reduction techniques are introduced to mathematically extract the essential system dynamics in the desired bandwidth, thus preserving both accuracy and computational efficiency. The resulting reduced-order systems are verified using finite element-based models and magnetic equivalent circuits in both time and frequency domains.
Quasi-Varieties, Congruences, and Generalized Dowling Lattices

Dowling lattices and their generalizations introduced by Hanlon are interpreted as lattices of congruences associated to certain quasi-varieties of sets with group actions. This interpretation leads, by a simple application of Mobius inversion, to polynomial identities which specialize to Hanlon's evaluation of the characteristic polynomials of generalized Dowling lattices. Analogous results are obtained for a few other quasi-varieties.
Reversion of Transcriptional Repression of Sp1 by 5 aza-2′ Deoxycytidine Restores TGF-β Type II Receptor Expression in the Pancreatic Cancer Cell Line MIA PaCa-2

The pancreatic cancer cell line, MIA PaCa-2 is not responsive to transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) because of a lack of expression of the TGF-beta type II receptor (RII). We show that the lack of RII expression is caused by a deficit of the transcription factor Sp1. Nuclear run-off assays and Western immunoblot showed low levels of transcription and protein levels of Sp1, respectively. Treatment of MIA PaCa-2 cells with the DNA methyl transferase inhibitor, 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine, resulted in an increase in the rate of Sp1 transcription, in Sp1 protein expression, and in the binding of Sp1 to the RII promoter. Ectopic expression of Sp1 cDNA in MIA PaCa-2 cells led to an increase in RII promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity and RII expression. Expression of Sp1 cDNA also caused a reduction in both growth and clonogenicity that was associated with restoration of responsiveness to TGF-beta. Conversely, cells that express RII (BxPC-3 and MIA PaCa-2 Sp1 transfectants) when treated with mithramycin, an inhibitor of Sp1 binding, showed a reduction in RII mRNA expression. The reduction of RII mRNA was attributed to a decrease in RII promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity that was associated with a decrease in Sp1 binding to the RII promoter. These data indicate that transcriptional repression of the Sp1 gene in MIA PaCa-2 cells plays a role in the transcriptional inactivation of the RII gene and thus lack of responsiveness to TGF-beta.
DELAWARE’S RELEVANCE IN CHAPTER 22: WHO IS “COURTING FAILURE” NOW?

This study presents surprising new statistical evidence that contributes to the current “over-heated” academic debate about the Delaware courts’ role in Chapter 11 failure. In 2001, Professor LoPucki published an influential article suggesting that when large corporations file for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, they fail at a dramatically higher rate in Delaware courts than in other jurisdictions. He attributed this to corruption. His article enraged many academics and practitioners, and ignited many articles in the past two decades. This study presents startling evidence that while Chapter 11s filed in Delaware courts did have much higher failure rates from 1991-1996, after 1996, the failure rates for Delaware-cases and non-Delaware cases have been converging. In fact, in very recent years, failure rates have been approximately the same for Delaware cases and non-Delaware cases. While this study suggests that the debate about Delaware’s relevance is now obsolete, it also offers important insight into Professor LoPucki’s theory, as well as his critics’ arguments.
Chapter 1 Getting There Is Only Half the Fun

Publisher Summary The chapter describes membrane-protein organization in lipid bilayers. Lipid composition, inclusion of small molecules, and application and insertion of proteins all contribute to the baroque architecture of fully differentiated and functioning membranes, but do not change their character; they are two-dimensional fluids. Given this character, it has been expected that integral membrane proteins can diffuse freely, walking random to sample all areas of a membrane and so randomizing over the entire membrane surface. The dynamics of biological membranes are more complex than was first imagined when the fluid properties of these membranes were first characterized. A protein molecule diffusing in the membrane is rarely free to explore the entire area in which it resides. As it diffuses, it may meet many fates, with different probabilities. There are higher probabilities that it may be trapped, aggregated, or internalized long before it reaches that goal. It is likely that the balance between these probabilities is an important determinant of membrane function.
A constrained transport scheme for MHD on unstructured static and moving meshes

Magnetic fields play an important role in many astrophysical systems and a detailed understanding of their impact on the gas dynamics requires robust numerical simulations. Here we present a new method to evolve the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations on unstructured static and moving meshes that preserves the magnetic field divergence-free constraint to machine precision. The method overcomes the major problems of using a cleaning scheme on the magnetic fields instead, which is non-conservative, not fully Galilean invariant, does not eliminate divergence errors completely, and may produce incorrect jumps across shocks. Our new method is a generalization of the constrained transport (CT) algorithm used to enforce the $\nabla\cdot \mathbf{B}=0$ condition on fixed Cartesian grids. Preserving $\nabla\cdot \mathbf{B}=0$ at the discretized level is necessary to maintain the orthogonality between the Lorentz force and $\mathbf{B}$. The possibility of performing CT on a moving mesh provides several advantages over static mesh methods due to the quasi-Lagrangian nature of the former (i.e., the mesh generating points move with the flow), such as making the simulation automatically adaptive and significantly reducing advection errors. Our method preserves magnetic fields and fluid quantities in pure advection exactly.
Impact of abuse-deterrent OxyContin on prescription opioid utilization

PURPOSE: We quantified the degree to which the August 2010 reformulation of abuse-deterrent OxyContin affected its use, as well as the use of alternative extended-release and immediate-release opioids. METHODS: We used the IMS Health National Prescription Audit, a nationally representative source of prescription activity in the USA, to conduct a segmented time-series analysis of the use of OxyContin and other prescription opioids. Our primary time period of interest was 12 months prior to and following August 2010. We performed model checks and sensitivity analyses, such as adjusting for marketing and promotion, using alternative lag periods, and adding extra observation points. RESULTS: OxyContin sales were similar before and after the August 2010 reformulation, with approximately 550 000 monthly prescriptions. After adjusting for declines in the generic extended-release oxycodone market, the formulation change was associated with a reduction of approximately 18 000 OxyContin prescription sales per month (p = 0.02). This decline corresponded to a change in the annual growth rate of OxyContin use, from 4.9% prior to the reformulation to -23.8% during the year after the reformulation. There were no statistically significant changes associated with the sales of alternative extended-release (p = 0.42) or immediate-release (p = 0.70) opioids. Multiple sensitivity analyses supported these findings and their substantive interpretation. CONCLUSIONS: The market debut of abuse-deterrent OxyContin was associated with declines in its use after accounting for the simultaneous contraction of the generic extended-release oxycodone market. Further scrutiny into the effect of abuse-deterrent formulations on medication use and health outcomes is vital given their popularity in opioid drug development. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Language: en
Neurofibromatose tipo 1: relato de um caso clínico

Introduction: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a common neurocutaneous condition with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. A new mutation occurs in about half of the cases. The diagnosis is based on clinical assessment so family physicians should be aware of the manifestations of the disease. Case presentation: A 29 year-old female patient presented with a history of numerous skin lesions since childhood. The lesions were getting progressively worse. The patient also had learning disabilities. Her mother had similar skin lesions. She was referred to a General Surgery clinic in 2008 because of “multiple moles and warts”. After excision of skin lesions, a pathological diagnosis, of neurofibromas was made in 2009. She was referred to a Neurology clinic and the clinical diagnosis of NF1 was confirmed by the presence of neurofibromas, freckles, and more than 6 cafe au lait spots on the skin. It was also noted that her three year-old son had one cafe au lait patch on his skin. The child was referred to a Dermatology clinic in 2012. At this time the child fulfilled the clinical criteria for the diagnosis of NF1. Commentary: Because of the prevalence (1/2500-3000) and severity of complications of NF1, the early detection of the disease is important. As is evident in this case, clinicians are not always aware of its manifestations, missing opportunities for genetic counselling and preventing complications of the disease.
Superstorm Sandy's forgotten patient: A lesson in emergency preparedness in severe obesity

Superstorm Sandy gained national attention in late 2012 after its impact on the Northeastern US. In New York City, thousands of residents lost power, and multiple hospitals were forced to evacuate. Bellevue Hospital Center (BHC), the nation's oldest public hospital, was forced to close for the first time in over 275 years. Two patients remained in BHC three days after the primary evacuation without water service and minimal power. Herein, we describe the challenges associated with evacuating a severely obese patient. Obesity management is challenging and at an institutional level must be addressed in emergency preparedness plans.
Complement Inhibitors Targeted to the Proximal Tubule Prevent Injury in Experimental Nephrotic Syndrome and Demonstrate a Key Role for C5b-9

In glomerular diseases of diverse etiologies, dysfunction of the glomerular barrier to protein passage results in proteinuria, and proteinuria is considered an independent risk factor that plays a direct role in inflammation, interstitial fibrosis, and renal failure. The mechanism by which proteinuria leads to nephrotoxic injury is unclear, but a role for complement in mediating interstitial damage appears likely. We describe a strategy for Ag-specific targeting of complement inhibitors using a single chain Ab fragment and show that complement inhibitors targeted to the tubular epithelium protect against tubulointerstitial injury and renal dysfunction in a rat model of puromycin-induced nephrosis. The targeting of systemically administered complement inhibitors markedly enhanced their efficacy and obviated the need to systemically inhibit complement, thus reducing the risk of compromising host defense and immune homeostasis. Targeted inhibition of complement activation by Crry, and of membrane attack complex (MAC) formation by CD59 was equally therapeutic, demonstrating that the MAC plays a key role in proteinuria-induced tubulointerstitial injury. CD59 activity was dependent on its being targeted to the site of complement activation, and this is the first report of specific inhibition of the MAC in vivo after systemic administration of inhibitor. The data establish the MAC is a valid target for pharmaceutical intervention in proteinuric disorders and provide an approach to investigate the role of the MAC in complement-dependent disease under clinically relevant conditions.
Identification of novel retinal target genes of thyroid hormone in the human WERI cells by expression microarray analysis

Using the human WERI-Rb1 cell line as a model system, we performed a genome-wide search for retinal target genes of thyroid hormone (TH) via expression microarray analysis followed by quantitative real-time RT-PCR verification. We identified 12 novel retinal targets of TH, including 10 up-regulated genes (OPN1MW, OPN1LW, TIMP3, RP1L1, GNGT2, CRX, ARR3, GCAP1, IMPDH1, and PDE6C) and 2 down-regulated genes (GNGT1 and GNB3). In addition, we found a number of novel TH-targets that are not currently known to be retinal genes. This is the first report of human retinal targets regulated by thyroid hormone.
Musings on genome medicine: the Obama effect

The inauguration of the Obama administration is likely to enhance the role of genome medicine in clinical care and national economics.
The Problem of Bias in Mail Returns: A Solution

The desirability-and sometimes the necessity-of using mail ballots under certain conditions has led to considerable experimentation with methods of detecting or compensating for bias in this type of survey. This article summarizes the literature on the subject, and examines several methods which have been proposed to increase the reliability of mail surveys. It then goes on to develop a method for detecting bias in mail returns by applying "random order" tests. The author is Research Assistant Professor at the Bureau of Economic and Business Research of the University of Illinois.
Superimposed RF/DC magnetron sputtering of transparent Ga:ZnO with high conductivity for photovoltaic contacts applications

Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) based on gallium-doped ZnO (GZO) are deposited using a radio-frequency (RF) superimposed direct current (DC) magnetron system. The electrical, optical, and structural properties of GZO films deposited by varying the RF/ DC power ratio are presented. Our results indicate an increase in conductivity of GZO films up to 3800 S/cm when grown in a pure argon atmosphere at an RF/DC power ratio of 1∶1. Optical transmittance for all films is ∼90% in the visible range. We find our high-conductivity samples to be highly textured wurtzite ZnO with the c-axis oriented perpendicular to the substrate. The films are relatively smooth with root-mean-square surface roughness of 2.0 nm. This high-performance GZO material deposited using this approach can pave the way to development of high-conductivity TCOs at low cost from Earth-abundant materials to enable cost-effective solar conversion technologies.
Steady-state [Ca2+]i-force relationship in intact twitching cardiac muscle: direct evidence for modulation by isoproterenol and EMD 53998

We have developed a novel method for measuring steady-state force-[Ca2+]i relations in isolated, membrane-intact rat trabeculae that are microinjected with Fura-2 salt. Twitches are markedly slowed after inhibition of phasic Ca2+ release and uptake from the sarcoplasmic reticulum by addition of cyclopiazonic acid and ryanodine. During relaxation of slowed twitches, force and [Ca2+]i trace a common trajectory in plots of force versus [Ca2+]i, despite very different histories of contraction. The common trajectory thereby provides a high resolution determination of the steady-state relation between force and [Ca2+]i. Using this method, we show that 1 microM isoproterenol, a beta-adrenergic agonist, causes a rightward shift (Hill function K1/2 increased from 0.39 +/- 0.07 microM to 0.82 +/- 0.23 microM, p
Periods of mixed cusp forms

We define the periods of mixed cusp forms and establish generalized Eichler-Shimura relations for the periods of mixed cusp forms. We also construct modular symbols for mixed cusp forms and express the periods of mixed cusp forms in terms of these modular symbols.
Nature of static friction time dependence

Magnetic storage systems, like disk-head and tap-head interfaces, machine tool guideways, and many other friction pairs, are vulnerable to so-called 'stiction'. Stiction is a contact phenomenon whereby static friction increases relative to kinetic friction. As a rule, this effect increases dramatically with time of stationary contact. Thus, the time dependence of static friction is an important subject of tribological studies. The motivation of this work is to understand the static friction mechanism at both extremes of the rest time or dwell range: short-term dwell is in the order of seconds or minutes, and long-term dwell is in the order of days or months. The stiction models reviewed cover a wide spectrum of static friction processes related to material deformation, meniscus formation and viscous lubricant flow.
Polyomavirus Encephalopathy in a Ducorps Cockatoo (Cacatua Ducorpsii) with Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease

Necropsy tissues were examined from an adult wild-caught Ducorps' cockatoo (Cacatua ducorpsii) with progressive neurologic signs. Of the tissue specimens selected for histologic evaluation, only the brain contained rare amphophilic, glassy intranuclear inclusions within astrocytes and some neurons. Astrocyte and neuronal degeneration and necrosis also were observed. Scattered astrocytes, with and without discernable inclusions, contained avian polyomavirus (APV) nucleic acid, as determined by DNA in situ hybridization. In addition, endothelial cells and intravascular leukocytes contained psittacine beak and feather disease viral nucleic acid, as determined by DNA in situ hybridization, indicating dual viral infection. Electron microscopic examination of formalin-fixed brain tissue revealed typical intranuclear APV particles in some astrocytes. Encephalopathy ultimately was attributed to APV infection.
English Country Psalmodists and their Publications, 1700–1760

The singing of metrical psalms, canticles, some anthems and a few hymns in the ‘old way’ constituted almost the sole musical activity in English parish church services after the Restoration. By the start of the eighteenth century a reform was under way. Parish clerks ceased to line out the psalms for the benefit of congregations. As the clergy and gentry generally disdained to assist the improvement of music and only the wealthiest urban churches could afford organs, congregations took their lead from choirs trained by itinerant singing-masters. Church music became divided between the art music of cathedrals, chapels and rich parishes and the popular psalmody performed elsewhere.
Spatial Segregation of GαsmRNA and Vasopressin mRNA to Distinct Domains of the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum within Secretory Neurons of the Rat Hypothalamus

Abstract The comparative subcellular localization of the mRNAs encoding the stimulatory subunit of heterotrimeric G-proteins (G αs ) and the vasopressin-secreted peptide was performed at the light and electron microscopic level. We find that although the Gαs membrane protein is devoid of signal peptide sequence at its N-terminal extremity, its mRNA is aggregated on defined domains of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER). This suggests that the Gαs protein is probably synthesized close to the RER, and that, on the pathway to the plasma membrane, this protein might be primarily associated with RER membranes. We further find that the mRNAs encoding the Gαs membrane-attached protein and the secreted peptide vasopressin have different patterns of distribution within the neuronal perikarya. Overall, our results show that these two mRNAs are segregated to distinct domains of the RER. We speculate that the RER might be organized in specialized domains involved in distinct functions with respect to mRNA translation and/or protein postranslational modifications.
Correspondence of biological condition models of California streams at statewide and regional scales

We used boosted regression trees (BRT) to model stream biological condition as measured by benthic macroinvertebrate taxonomic completeness, the ratio of observed to expected (O/E) taxa. Models were developed with and without exclusion of rare taxa at a site. BRT models are robust, requiring few assumptions compared with traditional modeling techniques such as multiple linear regression. The BRT models were constructed to provide baseline support to stressor delineation by identifying natural physiographic and human land use gradients affecting stream biological condition statewide and for eight ecological regions within the state, as part of the development of numerical biological objectives for California’s wadeable streams. Regions were defined on the basis of ecological, hydrologic, and jurisdictional factors and roughly corresponded with ecoregions. Physiographic and land use variables were derived from geographic information system coverages. The model for the entire state (n = 1,386) identified a composite measure of anthropogenic disturbance (the sum of urban, agricultural, and unmanaged roadside vegetation land cover) within the local watershed as the most important variable, explaining 56 % of the variance in O/E values. Models for individual regions explained between 51 and 84 % of the variance in O/E values. Measures of human disturbance were important in the three coastal regions. In the South Coast and Coastal Chaparral, local watershed measures of urbanization were the most important variables related to biological condition, while in the North Coast the composite measure of human disturbance at the watershed scale was most important. In the two mountain regions, natural gradients were most important, including slope, precipitation, and temperature. The remaining three regions had relatively small sample sizes (n ≤ 75 sites) and had models that gave mixed results. Understanding the spatial scale at which land use and land cover affect taxonomic completeness is imperative for sound management. Our results suggest that invertebrate taxonomic completeness is affected by human disturbance at the statewide and regional levels, with some differences among regions in the importance of natural gradients and types of human disturbance. The construction and application of models similar to the ones presented here could be useful in the planning and prioritization of actions for protection and conservation of biodiversity in California streams.
Conservation of hearing and protection of auditory hair cells against trauma-induced losses by local dexamethasone therapy: molecular and genetic mechanisms.

Abstract Hypothesis: Dexamethasone (DXM) protects hearing against trauma-induced loss. Materials: in vivo: A guinea pig model of electrode induced trauma (EIT)-induced hearing loss was used to locally deliver dexamethasone. In vitro: TNF-α-challenged organ of Corti explants treated with DXM or polymer-eluted DXM +/− PI3K/Akt/PkB/NFkB inhibitors were used for hair cells count and gene expression studies. Results: in vivo: local DXM treatment of EIT-animals prevents trauma-induced loss of ABR thresholds that occurs in EIT-animals and EIT-animals treated with the carrier solution (i.e., AP), and prevented loss of auditory hair cells. In vitro: DXM and polymer-eluted DXM were equally effective in protecting hair cells from ototoxic levels of TNF-α Inhibitor treated explants demonstrated that DXM treatment requires both Akt/PKB and NFkB signalling for otoprotection. DXM treatment of explants showed up regulation of anti-apoptosis related genes (i.e., Bcl-2, Bcl-xl) and down regulation of pro-apoptosis related ...
Punishment of irritable aggression

In a series of three experiments using a restrained target procedure the influence of shock punishment of shock-induced aggression in rats was assessed. Regardless of prior experience with shock-induced aggression, punishment resulted in a suppression of the frequency and total duration of the fighting behavior. In addition, possible alternative explanations that have clouded studies of punishment of irritable aggression were ruled out by demonstrating that the suppression was not a consequence of altered parameters of shock frequency and duration.
Hypertension in chronic renal failure and ESRD: prevalence, pathophysiology, and outcomes.

Hypertension and cardiovascular disease were detected to be major problems in end-stage renal disease patients soon after the application of chronic dialysis to treat uremia. Nearly 40 years later, and despite awesome technological and pharmacological advances, cardiovascular diseases remain the number one cause of death in all categories of renal patients, ie, chronic renal insufficiency, end-stage renal disease on dialysis and the renal transplant recipient. This is quite likely related to the massive clinical burden of cardiovascular risk factors: hypertension, cardiac fibrosis and hypertrophy, abnormal lipid profiles, smoking, dietary factors, and enhanced sympathetic activity. For example, left ventricular hypertrophy and abnormal echocardiograms are present in up to 75% to 80% of incident dialysis patients related to the interactions of these cardiovascular risks. It is important to understand how hypertension and the other cardiovascular disease risk factors interact in these patients. Based on the latest national data from the USRDS, the prevalence of underlying cardiac disease is increasing during the period of chronic renal failure. A proper understanding of the pathophysiology and prevalence of hypertension and its consequences in renal patients may lead to more rational therapies and clinical trials. At this time, the nephrologists are dealing with an epidemic of cardiovascular diseases in their patients.
Experimental demonstration of a theoretically optimum optical duobinary transmission system

A theoretically optimum optical duobinary transmission system is demonstrated experimentally at 10 Gb/s. The optimum duobinary system achieves a 4.4 dB enhancement in optically pre-amplified receiver sensitivity compared to a conventional duobinary system.
An inelastic model with indiscernibles

Let L be a countable language including the unary relation symbol U . Let and be L-structures such that is a proper elementary U -extension of ; i.e., , and . Under what conditions will have a proper elementary U -extension? In [2], it was shown that this is not always the case, even if and are countable. However, the examples given are completely artificial, and it still seems that in most cases will have a proper elementary U -extension. Lascar asked whether will necessarily have a proper elementary U -extension whenever it contains an infinite set of indiscernibles over . This paper gives a counterexample for Lascar's question. The example is produced by modifying one of the examples in [2], using an idea of Marcus [5]. Models containing an infinite set of indiscernibles can often be “stretched” to produce larger models that share some desired nonelementary property with the original [1], [6]. However, the mere presence of indiscernibles in a model does not guarantee that it can be used in this way. If the model is not completely determined by the indiscernibles, the nonelementary property may not carry over to larger models. An example of this is given in [3]. The example for Lascar's question is further evidence that models with indiscernibles need not be “elastic”.
Robust product family consolidation and selection

The design and development of effective product lines is a challenge in modern industry. Companies must balance diverse product families that satisfy wide-ranging customer demands with practical business needs such as integrative manufacturing processes and material and supplier selection. In a global marketplace, this is an increasingly difficult challenge. In this paper, the issue of consolidating an existing product family is addressed. Specifically, the hypothetical equivalents and inequivalents method (HEIM) is utilised in order to select an optimal product family configuration. In previous uses, HEIM has been shown to assist a decision maker in selecting design concepts when performance attributes conflict and trade-offs must be made. In the extension of HEIM presented in this work, the constraints of an optimisation problem are formulated using two different value functions, and common solutions are identified in order to select an optimal family of staplers. The result is then compared with the re...
Enabling verification and conformance testing for access control model

Verification and testing are the important step for software assurance. However, such crucial and yet challenging tasks have not been widely adopted in building access control systems. In this paper we propose a methodology to support automatic analysis and conformance testing for access control systems, integrating those features to Assurance Management Framework (AMF). Our methodology attempts to verify formal specifications of a role-based access control model and corresponding policies with selected security properties. Also, we systematically articulate testing cases from formal specifications and validate conformance to the system design and implementation using those cases. In addition, we demonstrate feasibility and effectiveness of our methodology using SAT and Alloy toolset.
Is a low-mass top quark ruled out?

In view of the recent ARGUS measurement of Bd0−Bd0 mixing, we carefully reexamine the mass limits for the top quark. The actual limit depends critically on the value of the confinement parameters for the Bd0−Bd0 and the K0−K0 systems, as well as on the structure of the Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix which we reconsider ab initio. The large uncertainties associated with these parameters as well as with input experimental errors allow us to accomodate any top mass above the present PETRA limit of 23 GeV. We also discuss other measurements relevant to the top mass and conclude that the experimental search for small top mass at TRISTAN and SLC is still relevant.
Asymmetric total synthesis of (-)-alpha-kainic acid using an enantioselective, metal-promoted ene cyclization.

A short and efficient asymmetric total synthesis of the title compound 1, which is an important neurotransmitter, has been achieved. The synthesis features a metal-promoted, enantioselective ene reaction that provides entry into the kainic acid ring system from very simple precursors. Moreover, the zirconium-mediated Strecker reaction, which represents an outgrowth of earlier amide-to-imine methodology developed in our laboratory, demonstrates remarkable chemoselectivity and stereoselectivity.
Attachment Anxiety as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Interpersonal Trauma and Posttraumatic Symptomatology Among College Women

The identification of variables that mediate the relationship between traumatic life events and posttraumatic symptomatology could help elucidate underlying causal mechanisms and improve therapeutic intervention offered to individuals suffering from posttraumatic stress. The authors examined whether adult attachment, as measured by Brennan, Clark, and Shaver's Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory, mediates the relationship between a broad range of traumatic life events and posttraumatic symptomatology. Participants were 224 ethnically diverse college women. Path analysis indicated that attachment anxiety partially mediated the link between intimate partner violence and posttraumatic symptomatology, as well as the link between adolescent or adult sexual victimization and posttraumatic symptomatology. Attachment avoidance, although associated with posttraumatic stress, did not mediate the relationship between traumatic life events and PTSD symptoms.
Combination of Anomaly Algorithms and Image Features for Explosive Hazard Detection in Forward Looking Infrared Imagery

A novel approach is proposed for combining multiple anomaly algorithm decisions with image space cell-structured features in a long wave infrared (LWIR) system in the context of forward looking (FL) buried explosive hazard detection along a road. A pre-screener is applied first, which is an ensemble of trainable size-contrast filters with mean shift clustering in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) space. Next, features from image chips representing anomaly decisions from different algorithms are extracted from UTM confidence maps based on maximally stable extremal regions (MSERs) and Gaussian mixture models (GMMs). Pre-screener hits in UTM space are back-projected into the video at multiple standoff distances and cell-structured local binary patterns (LBPs), histogram of gradients (HOGs) and mean-variance descriptors are extracted. Experiments are conducted using buried materials with varying metal contents and depths at a U.S. Army test site. Results are extremely encouraging for FL imaging and show a significant decrease in the number of false alarms (FAs). Targets not currently detected by our system are also not detected by a human under manual visual inspection.
Food Insecurity and Obesity Among American Indians and Alaska Natives and Whites in California

Food insecurity is linked to obesity among some, but not all, racial and ethnic populations. We examined the prevalence of food insecurity and the association between food insecurity and obesity among American Indians (AIs) and Alaska Natives (ANs) and a comparison group of whites. Using the 2009 California Health Interview Survey, we analyzed responses from 592 AIs/ANs and 7371 white adults with household incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Food insecurity was measured using a standard 6-item scale. Sociodemographics, exercise, and obesity were all obtained using self-reported survey data. Logistic regression was used to estimate associations. The prevalence of food insecurity was similar among AIs/ANs and whites (38.7% vs 39.3%). Food insecurity was not associated with obesity in either group in analyses adjusted for sociodemographics and exercise. The ability to afford high-quality foods is extremely limited for low-income Californians regardless of race. Health policy discussions must include increased attention on healthy food access among the poor, including AIs/ANs, for whom little data exist.
Pets and rheumatoid arthritis. An epidemiologic survey.

The prevalence of pets in households of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is compared to arthritic (non-RA) and nonarthritic control patients in this epidemiologic survey. During the 5-year period prior to diseaseonset RA patients had greater exposure to dogs, cats, or birds (combined), dogs, and sick animals than control patients. This finding raises the possibility that pets might serve as a reservoir for an infectious agent(s) capable of initiating RA.
COMPARISON OF AGE MATCHED REGRESSED PATIENTS ON THE MINIMAL SOCIAL BEHAVIOR SCALE

Research with the Minimal Social Behavior Scale (MSBS) has shown that it can successfully differentiate between levels of regression in chronic psychiatric patients (Dinoff, Raymaker, & Morris, 1962; Dinoff & Morris, 1964; Dinoff, Finch, Finch, & Hobbs, 1969; Dinoff, Finch, Clements, & Hodo, 1970; Finch, Welsh, Haney, & Dinoff, 1970). Prior research with the MSBS using hospitalized patients indicates that age and degree of regression vary concomitantly with the exception of Finch, et al. (1970). This paper represents an attempt to determine whether the MSBS differentiates groups based upon age or levels of regression. Thirty chronically regressed geriatric neuropsychiatric patients were selected from two wards on the same unit of the Veterans Administration Hospital, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and given the MSBS. Only physically handicapped Ss were eliminated. The one distinction between the two wards was degree of regression (as manifested in lack of ability to care for oneself); Ss on one ward were without privileges and were closely supervised while on the other ward Ss were given more hospital privileges. The two group age means were closely matched (Group I, M = 73.29 yr., range, 55-11 to 80-2; Group 11, M = 72.86 yr., range, 64-4 to 77-10). The difference in age means is not statistically significant (t = .1897). Ss were brought to one of the two interview rooms by an assistant and introduced co one of rwo interviewers who proceeded to administer the MSBS without prior knowledge as to S's ward assignment. A statistically significant difference was found between the MSBS means (Group I,