cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Protein-protein interactions involving inducible nitric oxide synthase.

Aim: Nitric oxide (NO) is a signaling and effector molecule that contributes to multiple physiological and pathophysiological processes in the kidney, vasculature, and other tissues. High output NO generation by inducible NO synthase (iNOS) participates in host defense against pathogens and contributes to tissue injury during inflammatory states. Because of its potent reactivity and diffusibility, NO generation by iNOS is subject to multiple levels of regulation, inculding transcriptional, translational, and post-translational controls, inculding protein-protein interactions. This review examines the experimental basis for these protein-protein interactions and their known and potential importance for kidney and vascular physiology. Methods: Analysis of the biomedical literature in the area. Results: iNOS interacts with the inhibitory molecules Kalirin and NOS-associated protien 1.10 kd (NAP110), which inhibit iNOS homodimerization, as well as activator proteins, the Rac-GTPases. Interactions with caveolin-1 control the intracellular locale and degradation of iNOS in tumor cells. In polarized epithelial cells, associations of iNOS with the scaffolding protien EBP50 position iNOS in the apical membrane near key ion transport proteins that also interact with EPB50. In addition, protein-protein interactions of proteins governing iNOS transcription function to specify activation or suppression of iNOS induction by cytokines. Conclusion: Interactions of iNOS with a diverse group of heterologous proteins provides a selective mechanism to control the activity, spatial distribution, and proximity of iNOS to intended targets, while potentially limiting autotoxicity to the iNOS-expressing cell.
Arrangements that allow general practice trainees to provide longitudinal care for patients

Objectives: To delineate the arrangements that allow vocational trainees in general practice to provide longitudinal care for patients.Methods: A brief questionnaire was sent to representatives of all member-nations of the European Academy of Teachers in General Practice (EURACT) in December 1995.Results: Representatives of 23 of the 26 membernations returned completed questionnaires. Thirteen reported that typical trainees spend 12 or more consecutive months partly or entirely in a longitudinalcare setting. In 16 countries, some patients recognise trainees as their longitudinal-care physicians. All 16 report arrangements to inform patients of their relationships with trainees and to assure that patients see their trainee-physicians at most encounters. Common barriers to allowing trainees to provide longitudinal care include short duration of trainee stay and resistance by either patients or trainees.Conclusions: In many vocational programmes of EURACT nations, GP trainees function as longitudinal-care ph...
Clinical and Financial Effects of Psychoeducational Care Provided by Staff Nurses to Adult Surgical Patients in the Post-DRG Environment.

A three-hour, two-stage workshop for staff nurses on providing patient education and psychosocial support was evaluated in terms of its effects on patient welfare and recovery. Subjects were 148 persons who had either a cholecystectomy, other abdominal surgery, or transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). Two hundred and six additional control subjects were obtained from a nearby hospital. Both hospitals were owned by the same corporation and had many of the same surgeons. After the workshop, experimental subjects used fewer sedatives or antiemetics, fewer hypnotics, and were discharged from the hospital on the average half a day sooner.
Water-tight membranes from neuronal morphology files.

Abstract We present an algorithm to form watertight 3D surfaces consistent with the point-and-diameter based neuronal morphology descriptions widely used with spatial electrophysiology simulators. Such morphology descriptions are readily available online and may come from light-microscopy tracings or from an artificial cell grown algorithmically. These files contain only limited information about a neuron's full three-dimensional shape, as they consist mostly of a list of points and diameters with connectivity data. This representation is well-suited for electrophysiology simulations, where the space constants are larger than geometric ambiguities. However, the simple interpretations used for pure electrophysiological simulation produce geometries unsuitable for multi-scale models that also involve three-dimensional reaction–diffusion, as such models have smaller space constants. Although one cannot exactly reproduce an original neuron's full shape from point-and-diameter data, our new constructive tessellated neuronal geometry (CTNG) algorithm uses constructive solid geometry to define a plausible reconstruction without gaps or cul-de-sacs. CTNG then uses “constructive cubes” to produce a watertight triangular mesh of the neuron surface, suitable for use in reaction–diffusion simulations. CTNG provides the correspondence between internal voxels and surface triangles, needed to make connections between cytoplasmic and membrane mechanisms. Optimization of the underlying marching cubes algorithm and distance calculations enhanced the performance of constructive cubes for a neuronal geometry, where a large number of small objects sparsely occupy a large volume.
Salt-marsh benthic invertebrates: Small-scale patterns of distribution and abundance

Monitoring of small-scale distribution patterns of benthic invertebrates has demonstrated distinct trends in faunal abundances with position relative to individual culms of saltmarsh cordgrass,Spartina alterniflora, at Tar Landing Bay Marsh, near Morehead City, North Carolina. Samples containing culms ofSpartina yielded significantly higher abundances (at least three times) than did samples without them. Among common species, onlyNereis succinea did not show this effect. Matrix-arranged and randomly placed sets of samples have confirmed a positive relationship between cross-sectional area of culms in a sample (at the sediment-water interface) and contained numbers of macrofauna, juvenile macrofauna and meiofauna. These patterns occurred despite a decreased volume of sediment in samples containing culms. Heightened abundances of benthic invertebrates associated with structural elements at the sediment-water interface may result from either nonrandom recruitment (either active via recruit selectivity or passive through hydrogeographic effects of culms) or differential post-recruitment mortality (resulting from inhibition of epibenthic predators or from variable habitat quality).
Panic disorder and emergency services utilization.

Objectives: The characteristics of patients with panic disorder in emergency department (ED) patient populations are unknown. This study compares demographic information and emergency care use among patients identified as having a high likelihood of having panic disorder with that of patients who tested negative on the screening test for panic disorder. Methods: Prospective cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of patients presenting to an urban ED. Patients were excluded if they were aged 18 years or younger, were unstable, or could not speak English or Spanish. Of 968 patients, 813 agreed to participate. Over a period of 23 days, patients were administered a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-IV screening questionnaire (PRIME-MD) for panic disorder along with a survey assessing their use of medical services during the prior year. Results: One hundred patients (12.3%) met PRIME-MD criteria for having a high likelihood of panic disorder. Patients with Medicare were 2.84 times more likely to have a positive result on the screening test than those without insurance. Patients who had four to seven ED visits or eight or more ED visits in one year were 2.63 and 3.10 times more likely to screen positive on the PRIME-MD, respectively, compared with those who had one to three visits. Patients who activated 911 two to ten times or 11 or more times in one year were 2.02 and 4.99 times more likely to screen positive for panic disorder, respectively, compared with those who had never activated 911. Conclusions: Patients who screen positive for panic disorder use emergency medical services and ED services more frequently. In addition, the overall prevalence of screening positive for panic disorder in an ED is higher than previously reported.
An analysis of crack growth in thin-sheet metal via a cohesive zone model

A cohesive zone model (CZM) is applied to crack growth in thin sheet metal. CZM parameters are determined from results of global measurements and micromechanical damage models. Crack propagation in constrained center-cracked panels is analyzed to verify the choice of CZM parameters. Special attention is paid to the interaction between buckling and crack growth and to crack link-up in multi-site damaged specimens. The good agreement found between the predicted and experimental data demonstrates that the approach is attractive in investigation of structural integrity of thin-walled structures and does not require assumptions regarding the geometry and size dependence of crack growth parameters.
Morphological and physiological properties of chronically isolated immature neocortex.

Abstract Areas of neocortex were neuronally isolated in neonatal kittens and studied 2 to 9 days later. Electrocortical activities in these preparations were compared with evoked responses of acutely isolated neocortex in kittens 6 to 10 days old. Characteristics of superficial (negative) cortical responses in both acute and chronic preparations were similar to those previously reported for intact immature neocortex. Synaptic activation of elements in the cortical depths was readily elicited by weak surface stimulation of chronically isolated slabs, but was rarely observed in acute preparations. Complex 8 to 14 per second repetitive bursts were evoked only in chronic preparations. These bursts were restricted in distribution and remarkably stable in overt configuration. Predominantly surface-positive evoked repetitive responses were associated with subsurface focal negativities of maximum amplitude in regions corresponding to the lower limits of the isolated slab. Low-threshold sites for initiating repetitive bursts were found at similar locations in the cortical depths. Topically applied GABA first augmented early surface-positive components of the repetitive sequences, then eliminated them. Convulsant agents that block inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (ϵ-aminocaproic acid, C6, and strychnine) also depressed evoked repetitive bursts, but the depression produced by C6 was preceded by a phase of augmented surface and subsurface negativity. Attempts were made to correlate these observations with histological (Golgi-Cox) studies of chronically isolated immature neocortex. The postnatal development of cortical neurons was found to be unaffected by the isolation procedure carried cut in the immediate neonatal period. Pyramidal neurons, the main stem axons of which had been severed during the isolation procedure, possessed numerous axon collaterals with extensive intracortical ramifications. This conversion of Type I pyramidal neurons into Type II arciform cells of Cajal in chronically isolated immature cortex is considered to be the major factor responsible for the increase in excitatory synaptic drives that are reflected in evoked repetitive bursts.
Ethical Issues in Addiction Counseling.

Although all counselors face ethical challenges, addictions counselors encounter ethical issues that are, in many respects, unique to their discipline. This article provides an overview of these issues, which include but are not limited to (a) the lack of communication and continuity between research and clinical practice, (b) lack of agreement over the necessary professional credentials, (c) the questionable propensity of group work in the addictions field, (d) special issues of confidentiality and privileged communication, (e) boundaries of professional practice in making treatment decisions, and (f) unusual circumstances of informed consent. In addressing these issues, addictions counselors must not only uphold the ethical standards of their profession, they must also be cognizant of any federal statutes that may supersede their state regulations and act in accordance with them.
Modulation of proton efflux from chloroplasts in the light by external pH.

Abstract The effects of external pH on the efflux of protons from illuminated spinach chloroplasts have been studied by monitoring the rates of proton-pumping electron transport under a variety of steady-state conditions. Phosphorylation-coupled proton efflux through the ATP synthase (CF 0 -CF 1 ), determined from the rates of ATP formation and that portion of the total electron transport attributable to phosphorylation, is strongly dependent upon pH over the range 6–9, with little activity below pH 7 and half-maximal activity at pH ≈ 7.6. Noncoupled proton efflux through the ATP synthase, determined in the absence of ADP and phosphate, was also strongly pH sensitive, with little activity below pH 7.5 and half-maximal activity at pH ∼- 7.9. When proton efflux via CF 0 was prevented by triphenyltin, the rate of passive proton leakage across the membrane was very low and practically insensitive to external pH indicating that the major pH-sensitive pathway(s) for proton efflux in the light involves CF 0 · CF 1 . Modification of CF 1 sulfhydryls by Ag + resulted in an apparent increase in proton efflux via the normally coupled CF 0 · CF 1 pathway (half-maximal activity = pH 7.6), whereas modification by Hg 2+ resulted in an apparent increase in proton efflux via the noncoupled CF 0 · CF 1 pathway (half-maximal activity = pH 7.9).
hMOF, a KAT(8) with Many Lives

Dynamic lysine acetylation regulates proteins involved in diverse cellular processes, with individual enzymes often acetylating multiple substrates. Here, Li et al. (2009) show that the substrate specificity of hMOF/MYST1/KAT8 is controlled by differential interaction with two mutually exclusive partners.
Should calcium antagonists be first-line agents in the treatment of cardiovascular disease? The public health perspective.

The calcium antagonist (CA) controversy has been fueled in part by disagreements among scientists and clinicians over the scientific documentation required for drugs used to treat lifelong conditions. From a public health perspective, there are three unanswered questions: (1) Does long-term use of CAs convey health benefits to patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD)? (2) Is the long-term use of CAs safe? (3) Is the use of CAs cost effective? The answers to these questions determine the pertinence of three secondary questions: (4) Do the effects of CAs reflect a class action or are there important differences in health outcomes among subclasses of CAs? (5) Are the short-acting, immediate-release (IR) formulations different from the long-acting or the slow-release (SR) formulations? (6) What is prudent use of CAs? The purpose of this report is to summarize the answers to these questions from a public health perspective. (1) To data, use of CAs has not been documented to reduce the risks of cardiovascular complications of hypertension—stroke, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, or renal dysfunction. (2) The clinical trial database is inadequate to determine the long-term safety of CAs. The available data suggest that some formulations of CAs may be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and noncardiovascular events. (3) Even if slow-release CAs conveyed a benefit, their cost-effectiveness ratios are unlikely to be acceptable. (4) The non-dihydropyridines may offer an advantage over the dihydropyridines. (5) Whether the slow-release formulations differ from the immediate-release formulations in terms of their health effects remains to be seen. (6) It may be prudent clinically to restrict the use of CAs until proper documentation of long-term safety and efficacy and cost effectiveness is available.
Disappearance of hepatitis B surface antigen during an unusual case of fulminant hepatitis B

A 30-year-old surgical resident was admitted to the hospital with symptoms of acute hepatitis; two days later he became comatose. Hepatitis B surface antigen had been detected in his serum two days prior to admission, but it was not detected at any time thereafter. Hepatitis B e antigen, antibody to hepatitis B core antigen, and antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen were detected using sensitive radioimmunoassays at admission. Titers of antibody to hepatitis B core antigen increased over the next five weeks. Clearance of hepatitis B e antigen and subsequent appearance of antibody to hepatitis B e antigen accompanied clinical improvement and recovery. This unusual case documents that hepatitis B surface antigen can become undetectable during the course of fulminant hepatitis B and indicates the importance of tests for other serologic markers of hepatitis B virus in the evaluation of hepatitis B surface antigen-negative fulminant hepatitis.
Acoustic imaging of structures in the upper 10 cm of sediments using a megahertz backscattering system: Preliminary results

Abstract A rapid in-situ bottom survey technique is needed to provide information about sedimentary structures, boundary roughness and macrofaunal distributions in estuarine, continental shelf and deep sea sediments. We have made preliminary studies using ultrasound imaging as a possible means of providing this kind of information. Our laboratory studies have shown that a high-frequency acoustic backscattering system operated at 1.6 mHz can image the distribution of laminations and tubes in muddy sediments. We compare the acoustic images with radiographs taken from the same sections of the test sediment to demonstrate the accuracy and resolution of the acoustic record. This acoustic technique could be adapted to a towed sled vehicle to provide in-situ high-resolution (⩾ 1 cm) subbottom (0–10 cm) profiles of sedimentary fabrics and possibly biological structures.
A Dynamic Update Law for Adaptive Feedforward Control of Nonlinear Systems

Abstract The extension to nonlinear systems of adaptive feedforward control (AFC) techniques for harmonic disturbance rejection is an area of ongoing research. For nonlinear and linear systems alike, one of the longstanding open problems concerns the issue of robustness of the adaptive scheme with respect to the sign of the coefficients of the steady-state response of the plant. For linear systems, for instance, a standard assumption entails a positive-realness condition on the plant transfer function in the range of frequency of interest. In this paper, we take a first step towards the definition of a novel scheme for AFC that bears the promise of removing the aforementioned obstruction, without resorting to harsh techniques such as Nussbaum gains. Our attention shall be focused here to presenting a dynamic update law that may be used in combination with an existing AFC scheme in a restrictive class of nonlinear systems. The stability analysis of the closed-loop system is deferred to forthcoming works, while the extension to more general plant models is currently under investigation.
Local existence and uniqueness for the hydrostatic Euler equations on a bounded domain

Abstract We address the question of well-posedness in spaces of analytic functions for the Cauchy problem for the hydrostatic incompressible Euler equations (inviscid primitive equations) on domains with boundary. By a suitable extension of the Cauchy–Kowalewski theorem we construct a locally in time, unique, real-analytic solution and give an explicit rate of decay of the radius of real-analyticity.
Complementary bowtie aperture for localizing and enhancing optical magnetic field.

Nanoscale bowtie antenna and bowtie aperture antenna have been shown to generate strongly enhanced and localized electric fields below the diffraction limit in the optical frequency range. According to Babinet's principle, their complements will be efficient for concentrating and enhancing magnetic fields. In this Letter, we discuss the enhancement of magnetic field intensity of nanoscale complementary bowtie aperture as well as complementary bowtie aperture antenna, or diabolo nanoantenna. We show that the complementary bowtie antenna resonates at a smaller wavelength and thus is more suitable for applications near visible wavelengths. The near-field magnetic intensity can be further enhanced by the addition of groove structures that scatter surface plasmon. © 2011 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 240.0240, 050.1220, 240.6680. Babinet's principle is a classical theory in optics (1). It states that for an infinitely thin, perfectly conducting plane, a similar response can be anticipated if a comple- mentary structure is illuminated with a complementary wave. An extension of it was introduced to include the polarization effect (2). Recently, Babinet's principle has been applied as an approximation for metamaterials with a finite thickness (3). An important recent development in nano-optics is nanoantenna, which can localize and en- hance the electric field. Nanoscale bowtie antenna (BA) (4-6) and bowtie aperture antenna (BAA) (7-9) are two examples. On the other hand, it is also desirable to obtain strongly localized and enhanced magnetic field. Indeed, a recent work showed that by applying Babinet's principle, magnetic field confinement and enhancement could be achieved in near-IR by using the complement of a BAA called diabolo antenna (DA) (10). Figure 1 shows the geo- metry and relationship among the four bowtie-related structures. For electrical field enhancement in BA and BAA, when excited with correct polarization (indicated as black arrows in the figure), charges accumulate at the apexes of the two metal triangles, which cause a large electric field in the gap. For DA and complementary bow- tie aperture (CBA), the current along the metal strip leads to a large magnetic field around the metal strip. In this Letter, we numerically investigate CBA and DA for localizing and enhancing magnetic field in the optical and near-IR frequencies. We also investigate means to further increase the magnetic field enhancement. It is noted that there are methods other than Babinet's prin- ciple for studying the electric and magnetic enhance- ment, one of which is the use of charge and current reservoirs (11). A finite-element frequency-domain method (12), same as used in the study of BA and BAA (13), is employed to study CBA and DA. The model uses gold film deposited on a glass substrate (with an index of refractive of 1.5), and surrounded by air, as shown in the insert of Fig. 1(d).
Heideggerian Pathways Through Trauma and Recovery: A “Hermeneutics of Facticity”

This article focuses on demonstrating how a Heideggerian sensitivity to the meanings latent in our own challenges of living can serve to orient us, especially in times of difficulty, toward finding our path and, moreover, our foothold on the paths that we have chosen. Presenting my own life experience through the lens of Heidegger's (1927/1962) fundamental modes of disclosedness and care structure, this article examines the notion of one's own existentiell projection into possibilities from the perspective of thrownness and fallenness. From here I present a reflection on the possibility of finding alternative potentialities-for-Being within the context of what had originally presented itself as a rupture of my very Being—a detethering of myself from my ordinary totality of involvements. The reflections here serve as a hermeneutic retrieval (Wiederholung) of the kinds of personal meanings that one lives through in the process of recovering one's life, one's existence, one's Self, in the aftermath of trauma...
One-dimensional thin-film phonon transport with generation

The Boltzmann transport equation is often used for non-continuum transport when the mean free path of phonons is of the order of device sizes. One particular application involves heat generation in electronic devices. In a highly scaled MOSFET, for example, the majority of the heat is produced in a localized region immediately below the gate on the drain side. The size of this generation region is often smaller than the mean free path of phonons, which suggests the generation Knudsen number is large and non-continuum models are appropriate. Using a one-dimensional BTE and diffusion equation, a comparison between the continuum and non-continuum models is made. The focus of this comparative study is the behavior of each model for various Knudsen numbers for the device size and generation region. Results suggest that non-continuum distributions are similar to continuum distributions except at boundaries where the jump condition results in deviations from continuum distributions. Furthermore, the peak energy in a device predicted using the noncontinuum formulation is always less than that of the continuum model regardless of generation Knudsen number, which is in contrast to other prevailing studies.
A review of the role of tissue repair as an adaptive strategy: Why low doses are often non-toxic and why high doses can be fatal

Abstract The role of tissue repair as an adaptive strategy by species is important to consider in both evolutionary and toxicological perspectives. This paper assesses the distinct and integrative roles of early phase regeneration (EPR) (i.e. arrested G 2 hepatocytes chemically activated to proceed through mitosis) and secondary phase regeneration (SPR) (i.e. hepatocytes mobilized principally from G 0 /G I , to proceed through mitosis) in the repair of carbon tetrachloride (CC1 4 )-induced liver damage. The role of EPR as a triage system facilitating repair of minor toxic insults as well as providing an essential role in autoprotection as an initial step to augment and sustain SPR is proposed. The function of EPR is then compared with that of SPR in tissue recovery following more massive injury. The interrelationships of these two repair processes with EPR invoking an accelerated SPR following low-to-modest degrees of toxicant-induced hepatotoxicity as well as in auto- or hetero-protection supports the theory that the two responses are co-ordinated in time and functionality. The integration of these two repair processes as shown through experimental manipulation provides a new mechanistic framework to account for the previously reported profound (67-fold) potentiation of acute CC1 4 hepatotoxicity by chlordecone (kepone) in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats as well as important interspecies variation in susceptibility to hepatotoxic agents in general and CC1 4 in particular. On the basis of the distinct and integrative roles of EPR and SPR in liver responses to toxic injury, a generalized framework is presented that facilitates prediction of both toxic outcome, including shape of dose-response functions and interspecies variation to chemically induced liver damage.
A Hilbert-space approach to minimax state estimation for plants subject to a control energy constraint

In this paper, we study a class of continuous-time minimax estimation problems. We derive estimates for the terminal state of a linear plant whose control is unknown and may be any control function whose energy is bounded. We show that there exists a linear minimax estimator and a simple, highly-correlated maximim control policy.
A novel TLR4-mediated signaling pathway leading to IL-6 responses in human bladder epithelial cells.

The vigorous cytokine response of immune cells to Gram-negative bacteria is primarily mediated by a recognition molecule, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), which recognizes lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and initiates a series of intracellular NF-κB–associated signaling events. Recently, bladder epithelial cells (BECs) were reported to express TLR4 and to evoke a vigorous cytokine response upon exposure to LPS. We examined intracellular signaling events in human BECs leading to the production of IL-6, a major urinary cytokine, following activation by Escherichia coli and isolated LPS. We observed that in addition to the classical NF-κB–associated pathway, TLR4 triggers a distinct and more rapid signaling response involving, sequentially, Ca2+, adenylyl cyclase 3–generated cAMP, and a transcriptional factor, cAMP response element–binding protein. This capacity of BECs to mobilize secondary messengers and evoke a more rapid IL-6 response might be critical in their role as first responders to microbial challenge in the urinary tract.
INDEPENDENT ACTIONS OF PINEAL AND HYPOPHYSIS IN THE REGULATION OF CHROMATOPHORES OF ANURAN LARVAE.

Abstract Both hypophysioprivic and normal larvae of Hyla arenicolor and Rana pipiens exhibit blanching when they are placed in darkness; however, guanophores are unaffected. Melanophores of hypophysioprivic larvae treated with an MSH preparation are expanded in the light but are contracted in the dark. Melatonin has no effect on guanophores. It is concluded that the blanching reaction does not operate indirectly through a cessation of chromatotropic hormone from the hypophysis; instead, the hypothesis of direct pineal control is supported.
Mechanisms governing dendritic γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) release in the rat olfactory bulb

Abstract In the olfactory bulb, synaptic transmission between dendrites plays an important role in the processing of olfactory information. Glutamate released from the dendrites of principal mitral cells excites the dendritic spines of granule cells, which in turn release γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) back onto mitral cell dendrites. Slow N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors on granule dendrites are particularly effective in driving this reciprocal dendrodendritic inhibition (DDI), raising the possibility that calcium influx through NMDA receptors may trigger GABA exocytosis directly. In this study, I show that NMDA receptor activation is not an absolute requirement and that DDI can be evoked solely by α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors when granule cell excitability is increased or under conditions that slow AMPA receptor kinetics. In physiological extracellular Mg2+, DDI elicited by photolysis of caged calcium in mitral dendrites is blocked by cadmium and toxins to N- and P/Q-type voltage-gated calcium channels. DDI is largely unaffected after granule dendrites have been loaded with the slow calcium chelator EGTA, suggesting a tight coupling between the site of calcium influx and the release machinery governing GABA exocytosis. These results indicate that voltage-gated calcium channels play an essential role in dendritic GABA release during reciprocal feedback inhibition in the olfactory bulb.
On equilibrium refinement for discontinuous games

In moving from finite-action to infinite-action games, standard refinements of the Nash equilibrium concept cease to satisfy certain "natural" properties. For instance, perfect equilibria in compact, continuous games need not be admissible. This paper highlights additional properties of two standard refinement specifications that are not inherited by supersets of the set of finite games. The analysis reveals the following about the behavior of perfectness and strategic stability within a class of (possibly) discontinuous games: (1) Equilibria that assign positive probability to the interior of the set of strategies weakly dominated for some player can be chosen; (2) nonadmissible equilibria need not be ruled out when they are weakly dominated by admissible perfect equilibria; and (3) nonadmissible equilibria may be selected when admissible equilibria are ruled out.
Ten-year literature review of global endometrial ablation with the NovaSure ® device

This review examines the peer-reviewed literature describing prospective studies that report amenorrhea rates, patient satisfaction, and surgical reintervention rates following the NovaSure® endometrial ablation procedure. A search of the English-language literature published from 2000 to 2011 was conducted using PubMed. Ten prospective studies, six single-arm NovaSure trials, and four randomized controlled trials comparing the NovaSure procedure with other global endometrial ablation modalities met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. The follow-up periods ranged from 6 to 60 months. Amenorrhea rates for the NovaSure procedure ranged from 30.0% to 75.0%. Patients who reported being satisfied with the NovaSure procedure ranged from 85.0% to 94.0%. In randomized controlled trials with other global endometrial ablation modalities, amenorrhea rates at 12 months with the NovaSure procedure ranged from 43.0% to 56.0%, while other modalities ranged from 8% to 24%. In addition, this manuscript reviews the following: the NovaSure technology; use of the NovaSure procedure in the office setting; intraoperative and postoperative pain; effects on premenstrual syndrome (PMS); dysmenorrhea; special circumstances, including presence of uterine disease, history of cesarean delivery, coagulopathy, or use of anticoagulant medication; post-procedure uterine cavity assessment and cancer risk; contraception and pregnancy; and safety.
TU-D-AUD A-01: Informatics Needs in Radiation Oncology Research: Challenges and Potential Solutions

Radiation oncology research faces an explosion of data collection, analysis, and management issues. Clinical trials research requires interfacing multiple vendor systems, storage of large‐scale, multi‐type data in systems that provide convenient, and secure access for analyses, quality assurance/improvement, and monitoring. HIPPA concerns are making multi‐institutional datasharing and clinical trial cooperation more challenging. Relevant datatypes now span the spectrum of multiple types of imaging, traditional radiotherapy data objects, image‐guidance data, physician‐reported, or patient‐reported outcomes, and new biological datasets and tissue/fluid samples along with their various bioprofiles and ‘‐omics.’ Effective management schemes must preserve the context, storyline, and linkage amongst related data. Effective utilization and learning based on all the available data will require new informatics tools and a more open approach to realizing the extent of the challenge and how ineffctively it has been addressed to date. In this presentation I will discuss these challenges that vendors, physicians, physicists, and informaticists face in helping to build out effective tools to support radiation oncology research in the next ten years. I will particularly focus on the emerging informatics needs of clinical trial groups (such as RTOG), as well as academic research centers, who want to fully utilize and learn from modern image‐guided, adaptive, biologically‐stratified, treatment paradigms. We will discuss approaches to problems associated with collecting outcomes data, utilizing complex datasets within the clinical workflow, and effectively learning from clinical, imaging, and biological data.
Atomic and ionic fluorescence spectrometry with pulsed dye laser excitation in the inductively-coupled plasma

Abstract The atomic and ionic fluorescences of iron, tin, barium and indium excited by flash-lamp-and nitrogen laser-pumped pulsed dye lasers in the inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) are studied. Noise sources are investigated and detection limits are compared to the techniques of ICP-emission and laser-excited atomic fluorescence spectrometry.
Advances in intravenous thrombolytic therapy for treatment of acute stroke

Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is an effective therapy for treatment of acute ischemic stroke when administered within 3 hours of symptom onset. Three large randomized clinical trials that have attempted to extend the time window for tPA treatment beyond 3 hours have failed to demonstrate convincing evidence of efficacy. A recently published prospective, monitored, multicenter study of 389 patients, who were treated with tPA for ischemic stroke at 57 medical centers (24 academic, 33 community) across the United States, demonstrated favorable outcomes and low rates of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage. Recent advances in neuroimaging, including diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) and perfusion-weighted MRI (PWI), have the potential to differentiate salvageable ischemic brain tissue from irreversibly injured tissue. Preliminary data suggest that acute stroke patients who present with a PWI lesion that is considerably larger than the initial DWI lesion may be good candidates for intravenous thrombolysis, even beyond 3 hours after symptom onset. Additional research is required to clarify the optimal use of these diagnostic techniques and their cost-effectiveness.
Severe Q fever community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) mimicking Legionnaires' disease: Clinical significance of cold agglutinins, anti-smooth muscle antibodies and thrombocytosis

Atypical community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) may be caused by zoonotic or nonpulmonary pathogens. However, atypical pathogens are systemic infectious disease accompanied by pneumonia in contrast with typical bacterial pathogens with infection limited to the lungs and absent extrapulmonary findings. Clinically and radiologically, the atypical CAP pathogens that most closely resemble each other are psittacosis, Q fever, and Legionnaires' disease. Psittacosis can usually be readily suspected or eliminated on the basis of a recent psittacine bird contact history. The 2 atypical pneumonias that most closely resemble each other clinically are Q fever and Legionnaires' disease. The epidemiology of Q fever is related to livestock, and sporadic cases are related to contact to parturient cats. In nonendemic areas, Q fever CAP mimics Legionnaires' disease most closely. Both Q fever and Legionella CAP have several clinical and laboratory features in common. However, there are subtle but important differences that allow the astute clinician to differentiate between these 2 disorders on the basis of clinical and nonspecific laboratory findings before definitive diagnostic tests results are reported. We report a case of severe Q fever CAP mimicking Legionnaires' disease in a young adult normal host. Her initial zoonotic contact history was negative, and her clinical presentation suggested Legionnaires' disease as the most likely diagnosis. Against the diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease was the patient's age and occurrence of the disease in spring time. In contrast, Legionnaires' disease is usually an infection of older individuals and occurs in late summer/fall. Although the patient did not have splenomegaly, a common finding in Q fever CAP, she did have mild hepatomegaly. Hepatomegaly is a uncommon in Q fever CAP but is not a feature of Legionnaires' disease. In the absence of a positive zoonotic contact history, the cardinal findings pointing to the diagnosis of Q fever in this case were "multiple round opacities" on chest computed tomography scan and thrombocytosis during her hospitalization. Against the diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease was the absence of hypophosphatemia and highly elevated ferritin levels. In patients with atypical pneumonias in whom the clinical presentation and nonspecific laboratory findings suggest Legionnaires' disease, but in addition have findings not associated with Legionnaires' (eg, hepatomegaly, thrombocytosis), Q fever serology should be ordered. We conclude that Q fever may closely mimic Legionnaires' disease. Severe atypical CAP with "multiple round opacities" on chest x-ray/computed tomography chest scan with elevated anti-smooth muscle antibodies or thrombocytosis should suggest the diagnosis of Q fever and prompt specific testing for Q fever. Rarely, Q fever CAP may be associated with elevated cold agglutinin titers.
Complex hexacyanates of rhenium and molybdenum

Abstract The complex hexacyanates of Re(IV), Re(V), and Mo(III) have been prepared using molten dimethylsulfone as the reaction medium. These were isolated and characterized as the cesium or tetraphenylarsonium salts. Infrared spectra indicate these to be the first examples of oxygen-bonded cyanate complexes.
Decode and forward relaying in diffusion-based molecular communication between two populations of biological agents

Molecular communication allows bio nodes to communicate and cooperate in an aqueous environment. We recently proposed an m-ary modulation scheme in which the information is encoded into the concentration of molecules emitted by the bio nodes. The performance of such scheme, among other factors, is limited by the maximum concentration of molecules that can be induced by the transmitter at the receiver. This paper investigates relaying to improve the reliability of such molecular communication. We consider the case that nodes consist of a population of biological agents and study the scenario in which the relay node decodes the incoming information symbol and forwards it to the destination using the same or a different type of molecules as the transmitter. We show how the use of relaying in molecular communication can increase the effective range of molecular concentration induced at the receiver and also can help with achieving diversity at the receiver. We use a generalized form of Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC) and show as to how the probability of error is improved using the optimal relaying. We also compare this scenario with the case that the relay node uses the same type of the molecule.
Empirical evidence of climate's role in Rocky Mountain landscape evolution

[1] Climate may be the dominant factor affecting landscape evolution during the late Cenozoic, but models that connect climate and landscape evolution cannot be tested without precise ages of landforms. Zircon (U-Th)/He ages of clinker, metamorphosed rock formed by burning of underlying coal seams, provide constraints on the spatial and temporal patterns of Quaternary erosion in the Powder River basin of Wyoming and Montana. The age distribution of 86 sites shows two temporal patterns: (1) a bias toward younger ages because of erosion of older clinker and (2) periodic occurrence of coal fires likely corresponding with particular climatic regimes. Statistical t tests of the ages and spectral analyses of the age probability density function indicate that these episodes of frequent coal fires most likely correspond with times of high eccentricity in Earth's orbit, possibly driven by increased seasonality in the region causing increased erosion rates and coal exhumation. Correlation of ages with interglacial time periods is weaker. The correlations between climate and coal fires improve when only samples greater than 50 km from the front of the Bighorn Range, the site of the nearest alpine glaciation, are compared. Together, these results indicate that the interaction between upstream glaciation and downstream erosion is likely not the dominant control on Quaternary landscape evolution in the Powder River basin, particularly since 0.5 Ma. Instead, incision rates are likely controlled by the response of streams to climate shifts within the basin itself, possibly changes in local precipitation rates or frequency-magnitude distributions, with no discernable lag time between climate changes and landscape responses. Clinker ages are consistent with numerical models in which stream erosion is driven by fluctuations in stream power on thousand year timescales within the basins, possibly as a result of changing precipitation patterns, and is driven by regional rock uplift on million year timescales.
Rotational states produced in heavy-ion nuclear reactions

Abstract The de-excitation of the ground state rotational band in nine deformed even nuclei has been observed following heavy-ion nuclear reactions. The transitions from states up to spin 16 (on the average) were observed and their energies were measured with an accuracy of ±0.3%. The rotational spacings thus identified have been compared with several calculations, and much the best agreement is obtained with a simplified calculation by Davydov and Chaban taking into account the effects of centrifugal stretching of the nucleus.
VE-Cadherin mediates endothelial cell capillary tube formation in fibrin and collagen gels.

Various cell adhesion molecules mediate the diverse functions of the vascular endothelium, such as cell adhesion, neutrophil migration, and angiogenesis. In order to identify cell adhesion molecules important for angiogenesis, we used an in vitro model (Chalupowicz, Chowdhury, Bach, Barsigian, and Martinez, J. Cell Biol. 130, 207-215, 1995) in which human umbilical vein endothelial cell monolayers are induced to form capillary-like tubes when a second gel, composed of either fibrin or collagen, is formed overlying the apical surface. In the present investigation, we observed that a monoclonal antibody directed against the first extracellular domain of human vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin, cadherin 5) inhibited the formation of capillary tubes formed between either fibrin or collagen gels. Moreover, when added to preformed capillary tubes, this antibody disrupted the capillary network. In contrast, monoclonal antibodies directed against the extracellular domain of N-cadherin, the alphavbeta3 integrin, and PECAM-1 failed to inhibit capillary tube formation. During capillary tube formation, Western blot and RT-PCR analysis revealed no marked change in VE-cadherin expression. Immunocytochemical studies demonstrated that VE-cadherin was concentrated at intercellular junctions in multicellular capillary tubes. Thus, VE-cadherin plays a specific role in fibrin-induced or collagen-induced capillary tube formation and is localized at areas of intercellular contact where it functions to maintain the tubular architecture. Moreover, its function at tubular intercellular junctions is distinct from that at intercellular junctions present in confluent monolayers, since only the former was inhibited by monoclonal antibodies.
Phosphorylation of Serine 526 Is Required for MEKK3 Activity, and Association with 14-3-3 Blocks Dephosphorylation

MAPK/ERK kinase kinase 3 (MEKK3) is a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAP3K) that functions upstream of the MAP kinases and IkappaB kinase. Phosphorylation is believed to be a critical component for MEKK3-dependent signal transduction, but little is known about the phosphorylation sites of this MAP3K. To address this question, point mutations were introduced in the activation loop (T-loop), substituting alanine for serine or threonine, and the mutants were transfected into HEK293 Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen cells. MEKK3-dependent activation of an NF-kappaB reporter gene as well as ERK, JNK, and p38 MAP kinases correlated with a requirement for serine at position 526. Constitutively active mutants of MEKK3, consisting of S526D and S526E, were capable of activating a NF-kappaB luciferase reporter gene as well as ERK and MEK, suggesting that a negative charge at Ser526 was necessary for MEKK3 activity and implicating Ser526 as a phosphorylation site. An antibody was developed that specifically recognized phospho-Ser526 of MEKK3 but did not recognize the S526A point mutant. The catalytically inactive (K391M) mutant of MEKK3 was not phosphorylated at Ser526, indicating that phosphorylation of Ser526 occurs via autophosphorylation. Endogenous MEKK3 was phosphorylated on Ser526 in response to osmotic stress. In addition, phosphorylation of Ser526 was required for MKK6 phosphorylation in vitro, whereas dephosphorylation of Ser526 was mediated by protein phosphatase 2A and sensitive to okadaic acid and sodium fluoride. Finally, the association between MEKK3 and 14-3-3 was dependent on Ser526 and prevented dephosphorylation of Ser526. In summary, Ser526 of MEKK3 is an autophosphorylation site within the T-loop that is regulated by PP2A and 14-3-3 proteins.