cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Feature-based technique for automated image registration of the brain

In this paper, we present an automated multi-modality registration algorithm based on hierarchical feature extraction. The approach, which has not ben used previously, can be divided into two distinct stages: feature extraction and geometric matching. Two kinds of corresponding features - edge and surface - are extracted hierarchically from various image modalities. The registration then is performed using least-squares matching of the automatically extracted features. Both the robustness and accuracy of feature extraction and geometric marching steps are evaluated using simulated and patient images. The preliminary results show the error is on the average of one voxel. We have shown the proposed 3D registration algorithm provides a simple and fast method for automatic registering of MR-to-CT and MR-to- PET image modalities. Our results are comparable to other techniques and require no user interaction.
Considerations of δ5-pregnenediol formation in ovarian tissue

Abstract 20α-Hydroxypregn-4-ene-3-one (20α-DHP) in ovarian tissue could be formed directly from progesterone (Pathway 1) or from pregnenolone via a Δ5-intermediate, pregn-5-ene-3β, 20α-diol (Pathway 2). The participation of Pathway 2 is demonstrated to the extent that pregnenediol can be formed from pregnenolone and that the Δ5-diol, in turn, can be a precursor to 20α-DH P in vitro, using ovarian tissue from cycling rats by both flask incubation and superfusion techniques. Pathway 2 would allow greater flexibility and local regulation with respect to potential steroid sulfate conjugates of Δ5-3β-OH intermediates. The existence of two pathways leading to 20α-DH P could explain the occurrance of variable levels of this steroid without a necessary direct or inverse relationship to progesterone secretion levels at different stages of the estrous cycle.
A geometric snow sculpture in Breckenridge, Colorado

The 2011 Breckenridge International Snow Sculpture Championship was held on 25–29 January 2011, in Breckenridge, Colorado. It brought 15 teams of artists from all over the world to spend 65 working...
Tumor-secreted Hsp90 Subverts Polycomb Function to Drive Prostate Tumor Growth and Invasion

Prostate cancer remains the second highest contributor to male cancer-related lethality. The transition of a subset of tumors from indolent to invasive disease is associated with a poor clinical outcome. Activation of the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) genetic program is a major risk factor for cancer progression. We recently reported that secreted extracellular Hsp90 (eHsp90) initiates EMT in prostate cancer cells, coincident with its enhanced expression in mesenchymal models. Our current work substantially extended these findings in defining a pathway linking eHsp90 signaling to EZH2 function, a methyltransferase of the Polycomb repressor complex. EZH2 is also implicated in EMT activation, and its up-regulation represents one of the most frequent epigenetic alterations during prostate cancer progression. We have now highlighted a novel epigenetic function for eHsp90 via its modulation of EZH2 expression and activity. Mechanistically, eHsp90 initiated sustained activation of MEK/ERK, a signal critical for facilitating EZH2 transcriptional up-regulation and recruitment to the E-cadherin promoter. We further demonstrated that an eHsp90-EZH2 pathway orchestrates an expanded repertoire of EMT-related events including Snail and Twist expression, tumor cell motility, and anoikis resistance. To evaluate the role of eHsp90 in vivo, eHsp90 secretion was stably enforced in a prostate cancer cell line resembling indolent disease. Remarkably, eHsp90 was sufficient to induce tumor growth, suppress E-cadherin, and initiate localized invasion, events that are exquisitely dependent upon EZH2 function. In summary, our findings illuminate a hitherto unknown epigenetic function for eHsp90 and support a model wherein tumor eHsp90 functions as a rheostat for EZH2 expression and activity to orchestrate mesenchymal properties and coincident aggressive behavior.
Prevalence of Asymptomatic Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction in At-risk Medical Inpatients

Abstract Background Asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction is an important risk factor for heart failure and death. Given the availability of patients, trained personnel, and equipment, the hospital is an ideal setting to identify and initiate treatment for left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction in patients 45 years of age or older with at least one clinical heart failure risk factor admitted to a general medical service. Methods Bedside, hand-carried echocardiography provided quantitative assessment of left ventricular systolic function in 217 medical inpatients 45 years of age or older who had at least one heart failure risk factor. Patients with known or suspected heart failure or with an assessment of left ventricular function in the past 5 years were excluded. We measured the prevalence of asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction, defined by left ventricular ejection fraction of 50% or lower, and its association with heart failure risk factors. Results Of 207 patients with interpretable images, 11 (5.3%) had a left ventricular ejection fraction of 50% or lower. Patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction had more heart failure risk factors than those without left ventricular systolic dysfunction (3.09±0.8 vs 2.5±1.0, P =.04). The total number of heart failure risk factors trended towards an association with a greater prevalence of asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction, but this did not reach significance (odds ratio 1.74; 95% confidence interval, 0.97-3.12, P =.06). Conclusions Asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction is present in about 1 of every 20 general medical inpatients with at least one risk factor for heart failure. Because treatment of asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction may reduce morbidity, further studies examining the costs and benefits of using hand-carried ultrasound to identify this important condition in general medical inpatients are warranted.
Oversewing staple lines to prevent anastomotic complications in primary ileocolic resections for Crohn's disease.

Oversewing staple lines may be a novel way to reduce anastomotic complications after primary ileocolic resections for Crohn’s disease (CD). This is a single-institution, non-concurrent cohort study of CD patients undergoing primary ileocolic resections (ICR) with stapled anastomoses from 2007 to 2013. Demographic and clinical characteristics were collected. Propensity scores were calculated for oversewing versus not. Postoperative outcomes within 30 days of surgery were collected. Anastomotic leak, intra-abdominal abscess, small bowel obstruction, and anastomotic bleed were considered major anastomotic complications (MACs). Multivariate analysis controlling for inverse probability weights was used to identify predictors of MACs. A total of 269 patients were included, of which 120 had undergone oversewing (OS). After controlling for propensity scores, not oversewing (NOS) and OS groups were similar in all preoperative characteristics with the exception of more laparoscopic resections and intracorporeal anastomoses in the NOS group. On univariate analysis, OS was protective against MACs (odds ratio (OR) 0.29, p < 0.01). In a multivariable model using inverse propensity weights and controlling for laparoscopic and intracorporeal approaches, oversewing remained a significant predictor of reduced MACs (OR 0.37, p < 0.001), while intracorporeal anastomoses increased their likelihood (OR 3.7, p < 0.001). After controlling for clinical and surgical factors, oversewing staple lines in primary ICRs for CD is correlated with reduced MACs.
Modeling magnetospheric current response to solar wind dynamic pressure enhancements during magnetic storms: 2. Application to different storm phases

[1] Two patterns of ground H perturbation as response to pressure enhancements during different phases of storms are found. One is polarity asymmetry under southward IMF Bz, e.g., 25 September 1998, 29 May 2003, and 10 January 1997 events; the other is positive H perturbation everywhere under northward IMF Bz, e.g., 7 November 2000 event. The polarity asymmetry can be further divided into two categories: dawn-dusk asymmetry with negative H perturbation at dusk extending through noon to late morning (25 September 1998 event) and positive H perturbation elsewhere, and day-night asymmetry with a smaller region of negative H perturbation extending less far toward dusk (29 May 2003 and 10 January 1997 events). The net field-aligned current (FAC) system from the R1, R2, and the partial ring current (PRC) closure FAC, the equatorial portion of the PRC, and Chapman-Ferraro (CF) current are responsible for the polarity asymmetry. The stronger effect of the R1 is primarily responsible for the negative H perturbation at noon and positive at midnight. The PRC strength at the onset of pressure enhancements determines how far the negative H perturbation at noon extends toward dusk and which pattern is most likely. A stronger (weaker) PRC extends negative H perturbation more (less) toward dusk and thus increases the likelihood of dawn-dusk (day-night) asymmetry. Positive H perturbation everywhere results from the dominant contribution of the CF and lack of significant preexisting PRC and R1 and R2.
Nonmedical Use of Sedative-Hypnotics and Opiates Among Rural and Urban Women with Protective Orders

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and risk factors for lifetime nonmedical use of sedative-hypnotics and opiates among a sample of rural and urban women with recent partner violence victimization (n = 756). Nearly one third of the sample (32.8%) reported ever using illicit sedative-hypnotics or opiates. Nonmedical use of sedative-hypnotics and opiates was significantly associated with lifetime cumulative exposure to interpersonal victimization, rural Appalachian residency, past-year use of other substances and other substance-related problems, and lifetime unmet health care needs. Findings have implications for substance abuse prevention and treatment and victim advocacy programs.
Kinetics and activation energy of recrystallization of intracellular ice in mouse oocytes subjected to interrupted rapid cooling

Abstract Intracellular ice formation (IIF) is almost invariably lethal. In most cases, it results from the too rapid cooling of cells to below −40 °C, but in some cases it is manifested, not during cooling, but during warming when cell water that vitrified during cooling first devitrifies and then recrystallizes during warming. Recently, Mazur et al. [P. Mazur, I.L. Pinn, F.W. Kleinhans, Intracellular ice formation in mouse oocytes subjected to interrupted rapid cooling, Cryobiology 55 (2007) 158–166] dealt with one such case in mouse oocytes. It involved rapidly cooling the oocytes to −25 °C, holding them 10 min, rapidly cooling them to −70 °C, and warming them slowly until thawed. No IIF occurred during cooling but intracellular freezing, as evidenced by blackening of the cells, became detectable at −56 °C during warming and was complete by −46 °C. The present study differs in that the oocytes were warmed rapidly from −70 °C to temperatures between −65 and −50 °C and held for 3–60 min. This permitted us to determine the rate of blackening as function of temperature. That in turn allowed us to calculate the activation energy ( E a ) for the blackening process; namely, 27.5 kcal/mol. This translates to about a quadrupling of the blackening rate for every 5 °C rise in temperature. These data then allowed us to compute the degree of blackening as a function of temperature for oocytes warmed at rates ranging from 10 to 10,000 °C/min. A 10-fold increase in warming rate increased the temperature at which a given degree of blackening occurred by 8 °C. These findings have significant implications both for cryobiology and cryo-electron microscopy.
Genetic improvement of tree species for remediation of hazardous wastes

Phytoremediation, using plants to clean up toxic wastes, is an idea that is attracting increasing attention from scientists, remediation engineers, and environmental professionals in government, industry, and universities. In situ remediation using plants has the potential to be less expensive than current technologies and to simultaneously initiate both detoxification of hazardous waste and site restoration. The perennial habit, extensive root mass, and large transpirational rates give trees advantages over other plants for use in remediation. Trees are already used for wastewater clean-up, for site stabilization, and as barriers to subsurface flow of contaminated groundwater. Clonal propagation and the genetic tools of both classical breeding and genetic engineering exist for a number of both angiosperm and gymnosperm species, opening the door to creation of tree “remediation” cultivars. Work is underway to screen tree species for their ability to tolerate, take up, translocate, sequester, and degrade organic compounds and heavy metal ions. Both an indirect approach to remediation, through enhancing rhizosphere degradation of pollutants by engineering larger root masses in trees usingAgrobacterium rhizogenes, and a direct approach to remediation, through transformation of trees with bacterial genes known to initiate the mineralization of halogenated phenolic compounds and trichloroethylene are reviewed.
Lymphokine-activated killer cells in rats: generation of natural killer cells and lymphokine-activated killer cells from bone marrow progenitor cells.

Abstract The coculture of rat bone marrow cells with recombinant interleukin-2 induced the generation of cells mediating natural killer (NK) activity and subsequent lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) activity depending upon the dose of IL-2 and time of culture. NK activity was detected as early as 4 to 5 days after the addition of IL-2 and could be evoked with as little as 5 to 50 U/ ml. The induced NK cells had large granular lymphocyte (LGL) morphology and expressed 0X8 and asialo GM 1 surface markers but did not express OX19 or W3/25 markers. LAK activity was detected only after 5 days of culture, and required above 100 U/ml IL-2. Cells mediating LAK activity also expressed OX8 and asialo GM 1 but not OX19. The generation of detectable NK and subsequent LAK activity was due to induction of early progenitor cells and not contaminating mature LGL/NK cells within the bone marrow population since of removal of such mature NK cells with l -leucine methyl ester (L-LME) did not affect the subsequent generation of either activity. Moreover, the removal of actively dividing cells as well as mature NK cells from the bone marrow by treatment with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in vivo enriched the remaining bone marrow population for both NK and LAK progenitor cells. The phenotype of the L-LME- and 5-FU-resistant NK and LAK progenitor cells within populations of bone marrow was determined by antibody plus complement depletion analysis. Although treatment of normal bone marrow with anti-asialo GM 1 + C reduced the induction of NK and LAK activity in 5-day cultures, treatment of 5-FU marrow with anti-asialo GM 1 + C did not affect either activity. Treatment with a pan-T cell antibody + C did not affect the development of NK or LAK activity under any conditions. Thus, the 5-FU-resistant NK/LAK progenitors were asialo GM 1 negative but became asialo GM 1 + after induction by IL-2. Finally, evidence that bone marrow-derived LAK cells were generated directly from the IL-2-induced NK cells was obtained by treating the IL-2-induced LGL/NK cells with L-LME. This eliminated the induced NK activity as well as the capacity of the remaining bone marrow cells to generate LAK activity. Thus, in rat bone marrow, NK cells appear to be derived from asialo GM 1 − , OX19 − , nongranular, 5-FU- and L-LME-resistant progenitor cells which can be induced to generate LGL with NK activity with low levels of IL-2. The IL-2-induced NK cells became asialo GM 1 + , OX8 + , OX19 − and have a granular morphology. Moreover these IL-2-induced NK cells can be further activated to mediate LAK activity by higher of IL-2
Physics of engineered protein hydrogels

Artificially engineered proteins and synthetic polypeptides have attracted widespread interest as building blocks for polymer hydrogels. The biophysical properties of the proteins, such as molecular recognition abilities, folded chain structures, and sequence-dependent thermodynamic behavior, enable advances in functional, responsive, and tunable gels. This review discusses the design of polymer hydrogels that incorporate protein domains, highlighting new challenges in polymer physics that are presented by this emerging class of materials. Five types of engineered protein hydrogels are discussed: (a) physically associating protein polymer gels, (b) amorphous artificially engineered protein networks, (c) engineered proteins with crystalline domains, (d) stretchable protein tertiary structures in gels, and (e) protein gels with biological recognition properties. The physics of the protein component and the physical properties of the resulting hydrogels are summarized, illustrating how advances in understanding these systems are leading to exciting novel biofunctional hydrogels. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2013
Layer-by-layer assembly of a conformal nanothin PEG coating for intraportal islet transplantation.

Encapsulation of cells and tissue offers a rational approach for attenuating deleterious host responses toward transplanted cells, but a need exists to develop cell encapsulation strategies that minimize transplant volume. In this report, we describe the formation of nanothin, PEG-rich conformal coatings on individual pancreatic islets via layer-by-layer self-assembly of poly(l-lysine)-g-poly(ethylene glycol)(biotin) (PPB) and streptavidin (SA). Through control of grafting ratio, PPB could be rendered nontoxic and facilitated growth of PPB/SA multilayer thin films that conformed to the heterogeneous islet surface. (PPB/SA)8 multilayer films could be assembled without loss of islet viability or function, and coated islets performed comparably to untreated controls in vivo in a murine model of allogenic intraportal islet transplantation.
Visually bootstrapped generalized ICP

This paper reports a novel algorithm for bootstrapping the automatic registration of unstructured 3D point clouds collected using co-registered 3D lidar and omnidirectional camera imagery. Here, we exploit the co-registration of the 3D point cloud with the available camera imagery to associate high dimensional feature descriptors such as scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) or speeded up robust features (SURF) to the 3D points. We first establish putative point correspondence in the high dimensional feature space and then use these correspondences in a random sample consensus (RANSAC) framework to obtain an initial rigid body transformation that aligns the two scans. This initial transformation is then refined in a generalized iterative closest point (ICP) framework. The proposed method is completely data driven and does not require any initial guess on the transformation. We present results from a real world dataset collected by a vehicle equipped with a 3D laser scanner and an omnidirectional camera.
Elevated Candida antigen titers are associated with neutrophil dysfunction after injury.

This study was undertaken to determine if impaired neutrophil (polymorphonuclear leukocytes [PMNL]) function is associated with an elevated Candida antigen titer after injury. PMNL from eight severely injured adults with Candida antigen titers of > or = 1:4 (titer positive) were evaluated for the ability to inhibit growth of Candida albicans in vitro by using a [3H]glucose incorporation assay. PMNL from eight severely injured adults with titers of
Murine Syngeneic Graft-Versus-Host Disease Is Responsive to Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic Therapy

Murine syngeneic graft-versus-host disease (SGVHD) initiates colon and liver inflammation following lethal irradiation, reconstitution with syngeneic bone marrow transplantation, and therapy with the immunosuppressive agent cyclosporine A. Previous studies have demonstrated that the inducible disease is mediated by CD4(+) T cells with increased reactivity of peripheral and liver-associated lymphocytes against intestinal microbial Ags. In the current report, studies were performed to analyze the specificity of the CD4(+) T cell response of T cells isolated from diseased animals and to determine the in vivo role of the microbiota to the development of SGVHD. Increased major histocompatibility Ag (MHC) class II-restricted responsiveness of SGVHD CD4(+) T cells against microbial Ags isolated from the ceca of normal animals was observed. The enhanced proliferative response was observed in the CD62L(-) memory population of CD4(+) T cells. To determine the role of the bacterial microbiota in the development of murine SGVHD, control and CsA-treated bone marrow transplantation animals were treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics (metronidazole, ciprofloxacin) after transplantation. Cyclosporine A-treated animals that were given antibiotic therapy failed to develop clinical symptoms and pathological lesions in the target tissues characteristic of SGVHD. Furthermore, the reduction in intestinal bacteria resulted in the elimination of the enhanced antimicrobial CD4(+) T cell response and significantly reduced levels of the inflammatory cytokines, IFN-γ, IL-17, and TNF-α. The elimination of the disease-associated inflammatory immune responses and pathology by treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics definitively links the role of the microbiota and microbial-specific immunity to the development of murine SGVHD.
Lessons learned from comparative and evolutionary physiology.

Comparative physiology is the exploration of physiological principles through examination of the functional diversity among animal species. Because diversity derives from evolution and natural selection, the work comparative physiologists do often extends beyond characterizing a physiological system
Hepatobiliary neoplasia in dogs and cats

Hepatobiliary tumors are uncommon in dogs and cats. They generally occur in older animals with nonspecific clinical signs, usually relating to the gastrointestinal tract. Liver enzyme concentrations are commonly elevated. Early detection for massive-type lesions may allow for surgical resection and prolonged survival especially for hepatocellular carcinomas. Chemotherapy, in general, is not effective for primary liver tumors.
Use of immunoassays for biomonitoring of herbicide metabolites in urine

Abstract Commercially available ground-water immunoassays (RaPID Assay ® ) are being evaluated to determine their potential value for measuring herbicides or their metabolites in urine. Preliminary investigations of matrix effects and cross-reactivities indicate potential usefulness for the atrazine kit, but not the metolachlor kit, as a urinary biomonitoring tool.
Targeted leukodystrophy diagnosis based on charges and yields for testing

Inherited leukodystrophies are a group of neurological disorders with significant morbidity and mortality. Children and their families can experience lengthy diagnostic odysseys; however, there is no data on the charges related to testing for diagnosis in leukodystrophy patients, compared to approaches using next-generation sequencing (NGS). Our objective was to determine charges related to the determination of diagnosis, and overall yield of diagnostic testing, for leukodystrophy patients. We determined and quantified all inpatient and outpatient lab testing, including brain MRIs, obtained for the purpose of diagnosis, in a retrospective population cohort of children with inherited leukodystrophies. Each patient had average charges of $8,231 (range $543–26,437) for diagnostic testing. Overall charges related to diagnosis for the entire cohort was $526,794. A final etiological diagnosis was determined in 34% of patients. In those in whom a specific diagnosis was determined, average time to diagnosis was 1.4 years. If NGS on the entire cohort had been performed instead, charges would have been ∼$359,600 (at $5,800/patient). Alternatively, a two-tier approach consisting of first, biochemical testing (serum very-long chain fatty acids and leukocyte lysosomal enzyme testing), and then with NGS for remaining undiagnosed patients, would have resulted in total cohort charges of $361,309. We have determined the charges directly associated with diagnostic testing in a population cohort of children with leukodystrophy. We conclude that appropriately incorporating NGS into diagnostic algorithms could lower charges; reduce time to diagnosis; and reduce amount of testing. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Circulating leptin concentrations do not distinguish menstrual status in exercising women

BACKGROUND: Low concentrations of leptin secondary to low body fat or other modulators are thought to be a key signal whereby an energy deficit suppresses the reproductive axis in exercising women resulting in functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA). The purpose of this study was to first examine leptin concentrations in exercising women with and without FHA to address whether there is a threshold concentration of leptin below which reproductive function is suppressed. Secondly, we examined the role of adiposity and other possible modulators of leptin to ascertain whether leptin regulation differs depending on reproductive status. METHODS: This study assessed 50 exercising, premenopausal women (aged 18―30 years) over the course of one menstrual cycle (eumenorrheic women) or one 28-day monitoring period (amenorrheic women). Quantification of daily urinary ovarian steroids and menstrual history were used to determine menstrual status. Body composition was assessed using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and leptin was determined by enzyme-linked immunoassay. Key modulators of leptin such as serum insulin concentration, carbohydrate intake, glucose availability, indirect indices of sympathetic nervous activity and other factors were assessed using linear regression. RESULTS: Percentage body fat (%BF) (2I.0 ± 1.0 versus 26.8 ± 0.7%; P < 0.00I) and leptin concentration (4.8 ± 0.8 versus 9.6 ± 0.9 ng/ml; P < 0.00I) were lower in the exercising women with amenorrhea (ExAmen; n = 24) compared with the exercising ovulatory women (ExOvul; n = 26). However, the ranges in leptin were similar for each group (ExAmen: 0.30―I6.98 ng/ml; ExOvul: 2.57― 18.28 ng/ml), and after adjusting for adiposity the difference in leptin concentration was no longer significant. Significant predictors of log leptin in ExAmen included %BF (β = 0.826, P < 0.00I), log insulin (β = 0.308, P = 0.0I2) and log glycerol (β = 0.258, P = 0.030), but in ExOvul only %BF predicted leptin. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that leptin concentrations per se are not associated with FHA in exercising women, but the modulation of leptin concentrations may differ depending on reproductive status.
Counseling-Related Research in Counseling Psychology: Creating Bricks, Not Edifices:

Three counseling psychology colleagues (Lichtenberg, 2011; Mallinckrodt, 2011; Murdock, 2011 [all this issue]) provide differing perspectives about the findings from our target article (Scheel et al., 2011) of the decline of published counseling-related research in our major journals. In this rejoinder we respond to each author’s viewpoints concerning the decline.We reiterate our explanations for the decline, which include (a) stringent and narrowly defined criteria for publication, (b) elimination of analogue research from publication, (c) fewer mentors of process and outcome research, (d) declining interest in counseling-related research, and (e) difficulties in gaining access to counseling-related data.We offer a metaphor for the current state of research in counseling psychology of creating a confusing pile of bricks, not building edifices, and suggest it is time to create specialized journal outlets in counseling psychology to focus and connect counseling-related research with other important context...
Dehydroepiandrosterone, a sex steroid metabolite in development for systemic lupus erythematosus.

Deficiency of the weak androgen dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfoconjugated metabolite DHEA-S has been associated with a number of serious illnesses, including lupus, diabetes, Alzheimer’...
Low stress high temperature creep in single crystal NaCl

Abstract Transient and steady-state creep of single crystal NaCl was measured in the temperature range 560–736°C and at stresses between 0.027 and 0.188 MPa. Samples were loaded parallel to the 〈100〉 direction and strain was measured using a capacitive transducer having a resolution of 10−7. The non-recoverable portion of the transient response can be represented by a power law in time with an exponent of about 0.55. The activation energy for transient creep in previously deformed crystals is 0.20 MJ mol−1, the same as that for steady-state creep, while the activation energy for transient creep in annealed crystals is 0.16 MJ mol−1 which is approximately equal to the activation energy for core diffusion. Transient strain rates are linearly proportional to stress. Steady-state strain rates are proportional to σ4 for stresses above 0.1 MPa, in agreement with previous studies. Below 0.1 MPa the strain rates have a linear dependence on stress. We interpret this behavior to be analogous to Harper-Dorn creep in metals, although higher dislocation densities and the observations of orthogonal slip bands suggest that a different micromechanism may control Newtonian flow in this non-metallic system.
Prediction of Neurological Impairment in Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy using a Combination of Diffusion MRI and Proton MR Spectroscopy

Purpose In the present study we investigated a combination of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopic (MRS) biomarkers in order to predict neurological impairment in patients with cervical spondylosis.
Dynamic meniscus profiles in free coating III predictions based on two‐dimensional flow fields

One challenging problem in liquid-gas, interfacial phenomena is the prediction of the size and location of a flowing meniscus because it involves surfaces which are highly curved. The paper presents one aspect of this problem. A numerical method is presented for predicting the dynamic meniscus profiles–specifically these distorted considerably by flow. The geometry considered to provide those free (liquid-gas) surfaces is coating of a moving sheet by upward withdrawal from a finite bath. The predicted profiles agree with data taken with a glycerine-water solution and with viscous oils. The method predicts the three parameters (coating thickness and two others) which are the minimum number of parameters necessary to describe the dynamic-meniscus profiles for this geometry. The numerical method is iterative, it simultaneously predicts the flow field in the bath, and it is based on the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations and appropriate boundary conditions. The interfacial boundary condition used for iteration is the normal stress condition which is composed of pressure, surface tension, and viscous terms.
Trends in children's exposure to violence, 2003 to 2011

IMPORTANCE The study suggests that years of public policy designed to reduce the burden of violence and victimization among youths is having some success. OBJECTIVE To identify trends in children's exposure to violence, crime, and abuse from 2003 through 2011. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Three national telephone surveys of representative samples of children and caregivers from 2003, 2008, and 2011 were compared, all obtained using the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire; samples included parents of children 2 to 9 years old and youth 10 to 17 years old. EXPOSURES Direct and indirect experiences of violence, abuse, and victimization during the previous year. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Change in rates between 2003 and 2011 and between 2008 and 2011. RESULTS Of 50 trends in exposure examined, there were 27 significant declines and no significant increases between 2003 and 2011. Declines were particularly large for assault victimization, bullying, and sexual victimization. There were also significant declines in the perpetration of violence and property crime. For the recession period between 2008 and 2011, there were 11 significant declines and no increases for 50 specific trends examined. Dating violence declined, as did one form of sexual victimization and some forms of indirect exposure. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Victimization surveys with general population samples confirm patterns seen in police data and adult surveys. Crime and violence have been declining in the child and youth population as well. Language: en
Effects of the red tide dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, on grazing and fecundity in the copepod Acartia tonsa

Among studies of copepod grazers fed harmful algae, decreased grazing and fecundity are the most common results. The causes of decreased grazing (physiological incapacitation, behavioral avoidance or lack of stimulation) and decreased fecundity (toxic versus nutritional effect) vary among studies. This study used a series of controlled laboratory experiments to investigate the cause of decreased grazing and fecundity in the copepod Acartia tonsa fed sole and mixed diets of the harmful alga, Karenia brevis. Copepods fed K. brevis mixed with the nutritionally viable dinoflagellate Peridinium foliaceum had higher ingestion rates and offspring production than copepods fed a sole diet of K. brevis (even when K. brevis was virtually nontoxic). Copepods fed mixtures did not discriminate between P. foliaceum and K. brevis while feeding. The results of this study suggest that K. brevis is not toxic to A. tonsa but lacks some chemical component responsible for stimulating a grazing response in A. tonsa as well as the nutritional requirements for normal offspring production.
School‐Based Mental Health Checkups: Ready for Practical Action?

Fox, Halpern, and Forsyth (2008) offer a compelling case for school-based mental health checkups for children at risk for developing anxiety and depressive disorders. Although the concept of universal mental health screening has obvious merits, a number of important issues in clinical science, practice, and training need to be addressed in order to promote successful implementation. With regard to clinical science, issues pertaining to risk assessment, screening implementation, and prevention effects for anxiety and depression deserve additional attention. Many of the challenging issues involved in the dissemination and utilization of evidence-based treatments, including current training of school-based clinicians, apply to screening and prevention efforts. We highlight some of what needs to be done in order to transport the concept of mental health checkups into school-based practice.
Miniature protein inhibitors of the p53-hDM2 interaction.

We have developed a strategy for the design of miniature proteins that bind DNA or protein surfaces with high affinity and selectivity. This strategy, which is often called protein grafting, involves dissecting a functional recognition epitope from its native a-helical or polyproline type II (PPII) helical context and presenting it on a small but structured protein scaffold (Figure 1A). Here we describe the development and characterization of miniature proteins that bind the human double-minute 2 oncoprotein (hDM2) in the nanomolar concentration range, and inhibit its interaction with a peptide (p53AD15–31) derived from the activation domain of p53 (p53AD). hDM2 is the principal cellular antagonist of the tumor-suppressor protein p53. Elevated hDM2 levels are found in many solid tumors that express wild-type p53 and there is considerable interest in hDM2 ligands that are capable of up-regulating p53 activity in vitro or in vivo. The high-resolution structure of the p53AD–hDM2 complex has revealed a recognition epitope that is composed primarily of three p53AD residues (F19, W23, and L26); these are located on one face of a short a-helix. Although the p53AD peptide possesses little a-helical structure in the absence of hDM2, augmenting the level of intrinsic a-helix structure in p53AD by using constrained, unnatural amino acids dramatically increases affinity for hDM2 in vitro and activity in vivo. In addition, several other scaffolds have been used to display the p53AD epitope, including large proteins, cyclic b-hairpin peptides, retro-inverso peptides, and b-peptides. The first highly active small-molecule inhibitors were reported in 2004 and had IC50 values for inhibiting the p53–hDM2 interaction in the 100–300 nM range. These molecules also resembled p53AD’s primary recognition epitope. Since all these inhibitors appear to preorganize the p53AD epitope to some degree, we reasoned that protein grafting would be a logical route to developing miniature protein hDM2 ligands. In contrast with the previously reported molecules, miniature protein-based inhibitors would be both synthetically tractable and genetically encodable. This would facilitate their use as in vitro and in vivo tools for probing the intricate p53/hDM2 pathway. Avian pancreatic polypeptide (aPP, Figure 1B) is a small, well-folded miniature protein that consists of an eight-residue PPII helix linked through a type I b-turn to an eighteen-residue a-helix. Structure-guided alignment of the a-helical segments of p53AD and aPP (Figure 1B) positions the three critical hDM2 contact residues (F22, W26, and L29 in the aPP-aligned sequence) and five residues important for aPP folding (L17,
Formal semantics of weak references

Weak references are references that do not prevent the object they point to from being garbage collected. Many realistic languages, including Java, SML/NJ, and Haskell to name a few, support weak references. However, there is no generally accepted formal semantics for weak references. Without such a formal semantics it becomes impossible to formally prove properties of such a language and the programs written in it.We give a formal semantics for a calculus called λweak that includes weak references and is derived from Morrisett, Felleisen, and Harper's λgc. The semantics is used to examine several issues involving weak references. We use the framework to formalize the semantics for the key/value weak references found in Haskell. Furthermore, we consider a type system for the language and show how to extend the earlier result that type inference can be used to collect reachable garbage. In addition we show how to allow collection of weakly referenced garbage without incurring the computational overhead often associated with collecting a weak reference which may be later used. Lastly, we address the non-determinism of the semantics by providing both an effectively decidable syntactic restriction and a more general semantic criterion, which guarantee a unique result of evaluation.
Skewness and the Bubble

Motivated by the Internet bubble in the late 1990’s and early years of this century, we explore the possibility that higher moments of the returns distribution may be important in explaining security returns. Using a sample of option prices from 1996-2005, we estimate individual securities’ volatility, skewness and kurtosis using the method of Bakshi, Kapadia and Madan (2003). We flnd that higher moments are strongly related to returns, even after controlling for difierences in size and book-to-market. Consistent with Ang, Hodrick, Xing and Zhang (2006), we flnd a negative relation between cross-sectional volatility and returns. We also flnd a signiflcant relation between skewness and returns, with more negatively skewed returns associated with subsequent positive returns. Kurtosis has a strong positive relation with returns. In an examination of industry portfolios, we flnd that technology stocks have strikingly higher exposure to skewness risk, and, in a cross-sectional test, we flnd evidence that higher moments are priced.
Natural cell-mediated immunity during viral infections.

Viral infections elicit both specific and nonspecific responses in infected hosts. The specific responses include the production of antiviral antibody and the generation of virus-specific cytotoxic T cells. The non-specific responses include the elevation of body temperature, the synthesis of interferon, and the activation of macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells. While most of these parameters have been studied for a number of years, only recently has the concept been proposed that NK cells may contribute to the resistance or pathology in viral infections (reviewed in Welsh 1978a). This concept is particularly intriguing because NK cells may have the capacity to mediate both nonspecific and specific arms of the host response. Many investigators agree that NK cells and K lymphocytes, mediators of antibody-dependent, cell mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), may represent identical, overlapping, or similar populations of effector cells (Ojo and Wigzell 1978; Herberman et al. 1979; Pape et al. 1979; Timonen 1979).
Micro Genetic and Evolutionary Feature Extraction: An Exploratory Data Analysis Approach for Multispectral Iris Recognition

Most of the current iris recognition methods utilize the iris images that are captured between the 700 and 900 nm range for verification and identification purposes. However, iris images acquired beyond this narrow range have shown to uncover identifiable information not previously available within the 700 − 900 nm near-infrared range (NIR). In this work, we will employ a feature extraction technique on iris images from 450 nm to 1550 nm to elicit iris information on a wider electromagnetic spectrum. We will employ the use of a Genetic and Evolutionary Feature Extraction technique (GEFE) and compare the performance against an exploratory data analytic approach, referred to as mGEFE. The mGEFE technique discovers salient pixel regions in iris images. We also perform cross spectral analysis among the wavelengths. Results show that GEFE outperforms mGEFE and LBP in regards to recognition accuracy, but mGEFE produces FEs that show salient areas of iris images to explore for optimal recognition.
Interaction Between Acetylcholine and Sotalol (MJ-1999) in Adrenal Medulla:

SummarySotalol (MJ-1999) appears to act as a weak agonist in releasing catecholamines from isolated perfused bovine adrenals. Low concentrations of sotalol enhance and high concentrations inhibit acetylcholine-induced adrenal catecholamine release. Adrenal catecholamine release by high potassium media is decreased by sotalol only at high concentrations. Thus ganglionic actions of sotalol are seen at lower concentrations than are the local anesthetic actions. This study supports the suggestion that the effect of sotalol on blood sugar is due to enhanced adrenal catecholamine release and suggests that ganglionic blockade can be produced by sotalol in concentrations below those required for local anesthetic action.
Some Chalcid-Wasps Reared from Cecidomyid Galls

All except two of the species of Chalcidoidea described and listed in this paper are stated by the collectors, Mr. V. L. Wildermuth and Mr. E. G. Smyth, to have been reared from galls of the alfalfa gall-midge, Asphondylia websteri Felt. The two exceptions were reared from unidentified gall-making Cecidomyids, one being from a gall on Pluchea borealis and the other on Suaeda sp.
The Method of "Experience" and Law Research

In the history of science,the breakthrough of methodology often brings great breakthrough in science development.Historically,"positive" research method,of which scientific name is experience research,is a forgotten method in social science development.Experience method is based on the amount of fact,and it emphasizes that scientific research must treat the objective material from the objective observation as it's base.In law research,experience method is only applied to the issues connected with efficiency,rather than the issues of value.With experience method,the paradigm must be changed from theoretical thinking or logical thinking to figure-thinking.
An interpretation of Fizeau’s experiment

The qualitative explanation and quantitative calculation to Fizeau’s experiment explore the essence of physical laws. And they can help us understand the dragging effect in Fizeau’s experiment that the light exerts onto the water. The propagation of light also needs propagating medium, just as other fluctuations. The No-Shape-Substance is the propagating medium of light. The propagating velocity of light to the No-Shape-Substance space is fixed. The reason for the carrying effect on the light by water is that water can carry the No-Shape-Substance that the light depends on.
Process as a Fundamental Principle in Mathematics Education

The process of exploring and utilizing mathematical way of thinking is the process of abstracting mathematical symbols from practical problems,using the symbols to conduct calculations,applying the calculation results to the real-world scenarios.
Spatial Transformations used in Imagination, Perception and Action

The work described in this chapter was originally motivated by an interest in understanding a fundamental unsolved problem in human perception—how we recognize an object, in view of the fact that there is an ambiguous and indirect mapping between information in the array of light intensities at the retina and the object. Movement of the observer’s eyes or body or of the object affect in highly variable ways the image of the object projected on the retina. The approach taken to this problem was to investigate the theoretical and psychophysical aspects of the ability to discriminate between identical or mostly similar objects at different orientations. As discussed below, people often find this discrimination too difficult and “correct” for the difference in the orientation of the objects by either imagining or physically producing a compensatory spatial transformation to align the objects with respect to either a scene-based or egocentric frame of reference. What happens is people do some initial perceptual processing of the objects, then produce some action or mental simulation of action, and then do more perceptual processing to form an internal representation of the object sufficiently detailed to allow a discrimination. So information and processes related to action interact (cyclically) with information and processes related to the perception of object shape. Although this kind of information processing has recently been the subject of theoretical concern,1 I will mostly discuss recent empirical findings.2
Effects of Stress and Deformation on Martensite Formation

Martensite formation under the influence of externally applied load is a well established deformation mode of various types of alloys that often give distinctive mechanical effects. A phenomenal increase in elongation is achieved in steel when strain induced martensite is formed during deformation. Large strains attained as a result of loading can be recovered upon unloading because of the disappearance of elastic martensite that was formed during deformation, when applied stress is removed. This article describes the significance of deformation induced martensite through transformation induced plasticity and shape memory effects.