cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Activation of Human Phospholipase C-η2 by Gβγ

Physiological responses to a variety of extracellular stimuli result from phospholipase C-catalyzed conversion of the minor membrane phospholipid PtdIns(4,5)P2 1 into the Ca2+-mobilizing second messenger, Ins(1,4,5)P3, and the protein kinase C-activating second messenger, diacylglycerol (1, 2). Membrane inositol lipids specifically bind to conserved PH, FYVE, PX (phox), and other domains found in key proteins in a broad range of signaling pathways (3, 4). Thus, by altering the ratio of membrane phosphoinositides, PLC isozymes also affect membrane association and activity of many signaling proteins. A large family of PLC isozymes exists that includes six subfamilies of PLC (PLC-β, -γ, -δ, -ζ, -e, and -η) and a total of 13 members (5). All PLC isozymes contain canonical PH, EF-hand, catalytic TIM barrel, and C2 domains, with the exception of sperm-specific PLC-ζ (6), which lacks a PH domain. PLC-δ isozymes are broadly distributed, but a description of their mechanism of regulation remains elusive (5). PLC-γ isozymes contain SH2 and SH3 (Src homology 2 and 3, respectively) domains and are regulated by receptor and nonreceptor tyrosine kinases (5, 7–10). PLC-γ2 also was shown recently to be regulated by Rac GTPases (11). PLC-β isozymes are elaborated with a helical C-terminus (12) and are activated directly by Gα subunits of the Gq family of heterotrimeric G proteins (13–15). Gβγ dimers released from heterotrimeric G proteins of the Gi family also activate PLC-β2 and PLC-β3 (16–18). Rac GTPases bind to the PH domain and activate PLC-β2 (19, 20), and a crystal structure of Rac in GTP-dependent complex with PLC-β2 has provided new insight into the molecular mechanism of G protein-mediated regulation of PLC-β isozymes (21). PLC-e contains a CDC25 guanine nucleotide exchange factor domain at the amino terminus and two tandem RA domains at the carboxy terminus. Ras and Rho GTPases bind to the RA domains and the catalytic core, respectively, and directly regulate the activity of PLC-e by distinct mechanisms (22–27). Four research groups recently reported identification of a pair of novel PLC isozymes, PLC-η1 and PLC-η2 (28–31). PLC-η2 contains a long alternatively spliced variably expressed carboxy terminus (31), and the mouse ortholog was proposed to be involved in developmental aspects of neuronal function (30). We now illustrate that PLC-η2 is directly activated by Gβγ subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins by a mechanism that requires the canonical catalytic core of the isozyme.
Distinguishing characteristics of the life roles of worker, student, and homemaker for young adults☆

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine if three adult life roles could be distinguished by career and achievement motivation and antecedents to such motivation. Subjects were a sample of 212 young adults who had graduated 3 years prior to data collection from two high schools in the state of Illinois and were classified according to the three life roles of worker, student, and homemaker. Four indicators of career motivation, one indicator of achievement motivation, and a broad range of antecedent factors, including background characteristics, self-concept factors, and context factors, were used to distinguish among the life roles. Results from discriminant analyses on the three role groups indicate that in general students are distinguished from homemakers and workers on functions characterized by higher education and career aspirations, greater perceived support from parents for their achievement, and lower attributions of cooperation for achievements; homemakers are distinguished from students and workers on functions characterized by endorsing higher social approval values for their successes, lower career commitment, and lower perceived teacher support for achievement. Workers are distinguished from students on some factors and distinguished from homemakers on others. Implications for future research and practice indicate the usefulness of life roles when investigating the career and achievement patterns of young adults and designing interventions for the enhancement of life role choices.
Immunological correspondence of transferrins and the relationships of colubrid snakes.

Abstract 1. 1. Transferrins of numerous snakes were compared by microcomplement fixation and immunoelectrophoresis. 2. 2. The evidence was used to test the validity of current, conflicting classifications of colubrid snakes. 3. 3. Natricine, colubrine and xenodontine snakes seem to have diverged to the family level. 4. 4. Within the natricine snakes, species of Natrix from Europe and Asia were more divergent from Thamnophis than were species of Natrix from North America. 5. 5. Homalopsis and Acrochordus showed little affinity to either natricine or colubrine species.
Power signatures of high-performance computing workloads

Workload-aware power management and scheduling techniques have the potential to save energy while minimizing negative impact on performance. The effectiveness of these techniques depends on the stability of a workload's power consumption pattern across different input data, resource allocations (e.g. number of cores), and hardware platforms. In this paper, we show that the power consumption behavior of HPC workloads can be accurately captured by concise signatures built from their power traces. We validate this approach using 255 traces collected from 13 high-performance computing workloads on 4 different hardware platforms. First, we use both feature-based and time-series-based distance metrics to cluster our traces, and we quantitatively show that feature-based clusterings segregate traces by workload just as effectively as the more compute- and space-intensive time-series-based clusterings. Second, we demonstrate that unlabeled traces can be classified by workload with over 85% accuracy, based only on these concise statistical signatures.
Episodic Frames, HIV/AIDS, and African American Public Opinion:

How are African American political attitudes influenced by the mass media? Cathy Cohen’s theory of marginalization suggests that media narratives about African Americans influence their public opin...
Cups and glasses: learning that boundaries are vague

The boundaries of many categories, and hence the boundaries between their names, are often vague (Lehrer 1970, Labov 1973). At the same time, the child who is just learning the denotation of a word often makes ‘mistakes’ and may over-extend words to include objects that do not belong to the adult category (e.g. Clark 1973). The present study is concerned with when children learn that boundaries are vague. It was hypothesized that children would first over-extend the use of terms such as cup and define the domain of denotation discretely on the basis of one or two perceptual factors, and only later would they learn that category boundaries are often vague because of the interdependence of physical and functional (i.e. cultural) properties. Children aged 3, 6, 9 and 12 years were asked to name and to sort twenty-five different drinking vessels; then they were asked for definitions of cup and glass and were also asked to choose the best exemplar present of each category. The results showed that children go through three stages. First, they over-extend the term cup. Next, they focus only on certain perceptual properties. Finally, they show growing awareness of functional properties and hence of the vagueness of the boundary between cups and glasses.
Annotation: Recent Research Examining the Role of Peer Relationships in the Development of Psychopathology

This Annotation highlights recent research on the role of peer group and friendship factors in the development of psychopathology in childhood and adolescence. Several processes are considered, including peer rejection (e.g., exclusion and victimization), social withdrawal and avoidance of peer interaction, and the socialization of deviant behavior and internalizing problems. The mediating influences of several proximal components are examined, including cognitive-perceptual factors and emotion regulation. In addition, the moderating influences of close friendship, age, gender, ethnicity, and group norms are considered. Several promising avenues for future directions in research are highlighted, including the examination of heterogeneity in developmental processes, further investigation of gender-based norms, and the application of multi-level modeling techniques and gene-environment process models.
Micropolarographic determination of oxygen uptake of 7-day chick neural retina cells.

Abstract 1. 1. Neural retinas from 7-day chick embryos were dissociated by use of trypsin and oxygen uptake of these dissociated cells was determined micropolarographically. 2. 2. Oxygen consumption was measured from preparations of embryo cells obtained from eggs produced at various times during the year. 3. 3. A value of 4·85 ±0·08 μ 1/min per 10 9 cells was obtained.
Blunt knife-edge and disk surface viscometers

Abstract Previously developed bounding principles are applied to the blunt knife-edge and disk surface viscometers for the case of a gas—liquid interface that is described by the Boussinesq surface fluid model. The results are in the form of approximate relationships with error bounds for the torque exerted upon the knife-edge or disk as a function of the surface shear viscosity.
Use of cadaveric fascia lata for closure of bladder exstrophy with diplomyelia

We describe a technique for the repair of bladder exstrophy using cadaveric fascia lata. The graft is folded in a four-layer configuration, passed through the obturator foramina, and then wrapped and anchored in front of the pubis. The resultant ring-shaped graft is useful when complex deformities preclude proper apposition of the pelvis anteriorly.
Estradiol reduces dendritic spine density in the ventral striatum of female Syrian hamsters

Estradiol affects a variety of brain regions by modulating physiological and cellular functions as well as neuronal morphology. Within the striatum, estradiol is known to induce physiological and molecular changes, yet estradiol’s effects on striatal dendritic morphology have not yet been evaluated. Using ballistic delivery of the lipophilic dye DiI to tissue sections, we were able to evaluate estradiol’s effects on striatal morphology in female Syrian hamsters. We found that estradiol significantly decreased spine density within the nucleus accumbens core, with no effect in the nucleus accumbens shell or caudate. Interestingly, estradiol treatment caused a significant deconstruction of spines from more to less mature spine subtypes in both the nucleus accumbens core and shell regardless of changes in spine density. These results are significant in that they offer a novel mechanism for estradiol actions on a wide variety of nucleus accumbens functions such as motivation or reward as well as their pathological consequences (e.g. drug addiction).
On a regularized Levenberg–Marquardt method for solving nonlinear inverse problems

We consider a regularized Levenberg–Marquardt method for solving nonlinear ill-posed inverse problems. We use the discrepancy principle to terminate the iteration. Under certain conditions, we prove the convergence of the method and obtain the order optimal convergence rates when the exact solution satisfies suitable source-wise representations.
Nitrate leaching from intensive fiber production on abandoned agricultural land

Abstract Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) and sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.) were grown with irrigation, continuous fertilization, and insect pest control on a one-year-old abandoned peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) field. Wells and tension lysimeters were used to measure nitrate in soil moisture and groundwater on three replicate transects for two years. Each replication had five treatments: maximum plantation management, minimum plantation management, old field, natural forest, and lake edge. Maximum plantation management included select genetic stock, irrigation, fertilization, complete elimination of competing vegetation, and insect pest control. Minimum plantation management included select genetic stock and complete elimination of competing vegetation. The old field was the abandoned peanut field with no treatment. The natural forest was a 50-year-old longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forest. The lake edge was a narrow wetland transition form the longleaf forest to the lake. Groundwater nitrate concentration beneath the minimum treatment (8.10 mg NO3-N/l) was significantly higher than the maximum treatment and the old field (5.84 and 5.05 mg NO3-N/l, respectively). All three treatments frequently exceeded the 10 mg NO3-N/l drinking-water standard. The forest and lake edge were both significantly lower at 0.30 and 0.32 mg NO3-N/l, respectively. Averaged over all depths, soil-moisture nitrate concentrations in the two plantation treatments were significantly higher (11.4 and 11.5 mg NO3-N/l) than the old field (5.40 mg NO3-N/l) which was significantly higher than the forest edge (0.24 mg NO3-N/l). Nitrate leaching contaminated groundwater throughout the abandoned field, and all plantation treatments exacerbated the problem.
Programmed Experimental Teaching Exercises

Programmed Experimental Teaching Exercises have been developed as part of an attempt to create a complete laboratory program which will meet the needs of today's electrical engineering students. These exercises are used as part of the classroom presentation and allow the students, using laboratory procedures, to demonstrate for themselves basic phenomena being studied in the classroom. Each exercise is a carefully worked out demonstration which is performed by a team of two students at an instrumented work station with the aid of an assembled circuit configuration and a detailed program. Each program contains theoretical and explanatory material, detailed instructions for performing the demonstration including the operation of all equipment, and questions and discussion designed to insure the student's understanding of the phenomenon being demonstrated. The exercises are assigned as part of the classroom homework and are performed in a selfdemonstration laboratory during a 2-hour period which the students schedule themselves.
The Relation of Disparity in Student and Faculty Educational Attitudes to Early Student Transfer from College.

Educational attitudes of entering students (N=236) and full-time faculty (N = 48) at a liberal-arts college for women were measured by the Student Orientations Survey (SOS) and the Faculty Orientations Survey (FOS). Attitudes of students who transferred from the college prior to the sophomore year were similar to those who remained on dimensions of educational purpose, peer relationships, and public position. Attitudes of transfers differed significantly from those of remaining students on dimensions concerned with the process of education and faculty-student power relationships. The absolute disparity between faculty and student attitudes on these same dimensions of process and power was greater for students who transferred than for students who remained.
Heat Capacity of Aluminum between 2.7 and 20°K

The heat capacity of aluminum has been measured between 2.7 and 20\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K, and the results are in quantitative agreement with results derived from inelastic neutron scattering experiments. There is an initial increase of ${\ensuremath{\Theta}}_{D}$ at low temperatures which cannot be accounted for in terms of the elastic constants.
IQGAP1 in microbial pathogenesis: Targeting the actin cytoskeleton

Microbial pathogens cause widespread morbidity and mortality. Central to the pathogens' virulence is manipulation of the host cell's cytoskeleton, which facilitates microbial invasion, multiplication, and avoidance of the innate immune response. IQGAP1 is a ubiquitously expressed scaffold protein that integrates diverse signaling cascades. Research has shown that IQGAP1 binds to and modulates the activity of multiple proteins that participate in bacterial invasion. Here, we review data that support a role for IQGAP1 in infectious disease via its ability to regulate the actin cytoskeleton. In addition, we explore other mechanisms by which IQGAP1 may be exploited by microbial pathogens.
Disruption of posterior brain systems for reading in children with developmental dyslexia.

Abstract Background: Converging evidence indicates a functional disruption in the neural systems for reading in adults with dyslexia. We examined brain activation patterns in dyslexic and nonimpaired children during pseudoword and real-word reading tasks that required phonologic analysis (i.e., tapped the problems experienced by dyslexic children in sounding out words). Methods: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study 144 right-handed children, 70 dyslexic readers, and 74 nonimpaired readers as they read pseudowords and real words. Results: Children with dyslexia demonstrated a disruption in neural systems for reading involving posterior brain regions, including parietotemporal sites and sites in the occipitotemporal area. Reading skill was positively correlated with the magnitude of activation in the left occipitotemporal region. Activation in the left and right inferior frontal gyri was greater in older compared with younger dyslexic children. Conclusions: These findings provide neurobiological evidence of an underlying disruption in the neural systems for reading in children with dyslexia and indicate that it is evident at a young age. The locus of the disruption places childhood dyslexia within the same neurobiological framework as dyslexia, and acquired alexia, occurring in adults.
Determination of soil water content by X-ray computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging

Experiments were conducted to compare the use of X-ray computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods for determining water content in soil. Soil cores of Mexico silt loam packed at bulk densities of 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, and 1.5 Mg/m3 and Crider silty clay packed at bulk densities of 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6 Mg/m3 were evaluated using a CT scanner. Results indicate that the X-ray CT explained 98% of the variation in water content over a range from air-dry to saturation. Three attempts were made to obtain MRI scans of soil cores varying in soil water content. Two of these attempts were made with contrasting agents. No images were obtained of the soil cores during all three attempts. It is suggested that the failure to obtain images of soil cores is closely related to the settings of the pulse repetition time and the spin echo time on the MRI unit. The range in settings for these two parameters on the commercial MRI unit used in this study did not allow short increments to be selected and therefore it was not possible to obtain reconstructed images of the soil cores for this experiment. However accessibility to a prototype MRI unit should allow more conclusive work to determine the full capabilities of MRI for determining soil water content.
Performance analysis of least squares-based multichannel decision feedback equalization of time-varying channels

Most of the techniques developed for mitigating the problems caused by multipath and Doppler effects in wireless communication channels rely on equalization. The Decision Feedback Equalizer (DFE) is a widely used equalization method which is particularly robust for underwater acoustic channels. However, in this and many other applications, the characteristics of the communications channel are unknown and time-varying so the DFE must adapt its filter coefficients based upon observations of the received signal. This paper presents a theoretical characterization of the performance of the multi-channel DFE equalizer when the number of symbols that can be received in the time period over which the channel can be considered time-invariant is limited. The derived result highlights that the optimal equalizer design is a trade-off between the MMSE requirement for longer constituent filters and the insight that the limit on the number of stationary observations also limits the number of filter coefficients that can be effectively adapted. The derived characterization and its interpretation are validated via simulations and processing of experimental data.
The Influence of Managed Care on Job-Related Attitudes of Social Workers

This study explores the relationships between the levels of conflict that social workers experience when interfacing with managed care organizations and outcome variables including job satisfaction, organizational commitment, emotional exhaustion, and turnover intentions. A total of 591 social workers practicing in mental health agencies in New York State completed self-administered and anonymous questionnaire packets that included several measures: Level of conflict that workers experience when interfacing with managed care organizations (CMC), job satisfaction, organizational commitment, emotional exhaustion, and turnover intentions. Results showed that CMC had statistically significant correlations with organizational commitment and with emotional exhaustion. The author discusses the role of social work schools and agencies in offering new educational opportunities and training in order to improve workers' skills, which are necessary for communicating and negotiating with managed care organizations.
Experimental and Computational Studies of the Aortic Bi-leaflet Mechanical Heart Valve (BMHV) Hemodynamics in an Idealized Left Ventricle

Abstract We aim to validate the performance of our fluid structure interaction (FSI) simulations of a bi-leaflet mechanical heart valve in the aortic position., whose motion is driven by the beating left ventricle. We compare in vitro experiments and computations performed on an idealized model of the left ventricle (LV) with a St. Jude Medical Regent heart valve in the aortic position. The idealized LV consists of a truncated tetrahedron representing a simplified LV chamber with a single deformable surface made of silicone. The silicone surface simulates the lateral wall of the LV. The deformation of the LV is controlled by pressurizing the fluid surrounding the LV chamber via a Vivitro Superpump (Vivitro Systems; British Columbia). The experimental model simulates physiological flow rates and pressures that occur in the LV. The three-dimensional motion of the deformable surface is tracked using high speed cameras and reconstructed using a direct linear transformation. The reconstruction of the motion of the deformable surface has been validated against fluid volume flux of the LV measured using two Transonic Systems Inc. flow probes (Model ME-PXN; Ithaca, NY). The leaflet motion of the SJM is tracked using 2D photogrammetry with a single high speed camera. A two-dimensional DPIV system (LaVision GmbH; Goettingen, Germany) is used to acquire fluid velocity measurements within the ventricle and in the aortic position of the flow field through the cardiac cycle. In the computation, the ventricle kinematics, measured from experiment, is treated as an immersed boundary by the Curvilinear Immersed Boundary (CURVIB) method ( Ge et al., J. Comp. Physics, 2007). The leaflet kinematics of the BMHV are computed from the fluid-structure interaction solver FSI-CURVIB (Borazjani et al., J. Comp. Physics, 2008). The computational domain is a structured mesh of 8 million grid points with a physical timestep of 1 ms. We have previously shown the capability of the FSI solver to resolve the BMHV kinematics and the resulting flow patterns in a stand-alone aorta (Borazjani et al., J. Comp. Physics, 2008). The comparison between the experimental and computational results shows good agreement for the ventricular flow pattern. The details of the validation of coupled LV-BMHV simulations will be discussed in the presentation.
Experimental Investigation of Friction Effects Enhanced by Tool Geometry and Forming Method on Plane Strain Sheet Metal Forming

An experimental study on friction was conducted on aluminum and steel sheets for automotive applications. Cold-rolled mild and high strength steel, electrogalvanized steel and aluminum grades Al6111T4 and Al 2008T4 were tested under various levels of bending under tension, plain strain forming mode. The friction and forming severity of the tests were promoted through the use of a set of tools of decreasing radii sizes. The test methods includes flat platens, draw bead simulation, 90-degree bending under tension and tools with rectangular geometry. A systematic pattern of frictional behavior, common to all tests was observed. An initial spike, associated to static friction, was followed by a more stable plateau. The effects of the static friction on the forward flow were studied in function of parameters such as the testing method, the tool radii, the testing speed, etc. The results showed that the static friction may be increased by the forming method, and its effects on the forward flow varied significan...
Articulation error migration: A comparison of single word and connected speech samples

In this study frequency and type of articulation error, including error migration, were compared between single word production and connected speech samples when vocabulary was held constant. Spontaneous single word and connected speech samples were obtained from 20 articulation disordered children ages 5-4 to 12-8 years. There were significantly more errors in connected speech samples than single word utterances. The difference between samples, i.e., error migration, is discussed, as is the predictive value for speech-language clinicians.
An analysis of current transients during electrophoretic deposition (EPD) from colloidal TiO2 suspensions.

Abstract This is a simple quantitative analysis of the electrical current transients recorded during the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of TiO 2 particles from ethanol-based suspensions in which the linear correlation between the mass deposited and the charge passed was verified experimentally. Using this experimental knowledge as our starting point, we were able to test a simple electrical model of a deposition cell for its consistency with electrical current density data measured during EPD. Assuming that the background electrochemistry was controlled resistively rather than diffusively, we then tentatively exploited the electrochemical data to gain information on the structure of the deposit during its growth.
Lifetime of 120 keV level of Lu177

Abstract The lifetime of the 120 keV state of Lu 177 has been measured using plastic scintillators and a fast time-to-amplitude converter. The life-time was derived from the observed exponential decay of the “time” spectrum. It is τ 1 2 = (1.16±0.08) × 10 −10 sec . Values of B (E2), g k and g R for this first excited state of the ground state rotational band are presented. They are close to those previously obtained in neighbouring nuclei.
MODIFIED YOUNG-DEES-LEADBETTER BLADDER NECK RECONSTRUCTION IN PATIENTS WITH SUCCESSFUL PRIMARY BLADDER CLOSURE ELSEWHERE: A SINGLE INSTITUTION EXPERIENCE

Purpose: Achievement of urinary continence in patients with the exstrophy-epispadias complex remains a challenge. We reviewed our experience with the modified Young-Dees-Leadbetter bladder neck repair in patients with bladder exstrophy who underwent primary bladder closure elsewhere.Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed exstrophy charts and database of 57 male and 11 female with classic bladder exstrophy who underwent bladder neck repair at our institute and successful primary bladder closure elsewhere during the last 2 decades. Osteotomy was performed at primary closure in 14 (20%) cases and 9 (13%) patients at bladder neck repair in 9 (13%) to aid in stabilizing the urethra and pelvic ring, and to help reapproximate the pelvic floor musculature facilitating urinary continence.Results: Primary closure was done within 72 hours of life elsewhere in 41 (60%) patients, and between ages 72 hours and 5 years (most during the first month of life) in 27. Paraexstrophy skin flaps were used in 33 (48%...
A population dynamics analysis of the cladoceran disappearance from Lake Tahoe, California‐Nevada1

Ahstruct A comparison of the population dynamics of Duphnia pulicuriu and Daphnia roseu in 1967-1969 and during their decline from Lake Tahoe in 1970 showed that the decline resulted from a combination of increased death rates and decreased birth rates. The remaining cladoceran, Bosmina Zongirostris, disappeared from the plankton in 1971. The elimination of cladocerans coincided with high densities of the opossum shrimp, Mysis relicta, and the kokanee salmon, Oncorhynchus nerku. Predation by these two introduced species is believed to have increased cladoceran death rates. Changes in the timing of the peaks of primary productivity are a possible cause for the decline in birth rates. A brief resurgence of Bosminu in late 1974 was associated with a dramatic decline of the mysid population and the continued decline of kokanee which began in 1970. The mysids recovered by late 1975 but Bosmina again disappeared and has remained absent since. The failure of Duphnia to reappear suggests that factors in addition to predation by kokanee and Mysis exclude them from Lake Tahoe. Changes in the phytoplankton community composition may have altered the ability of the cladocerans to maintain birth rates sufficiently high to offset increased losses due to predation.
Individual consistency, learning and memory in a parasitoid fly, Ormia ochracea

Search images are expected to be important components of predator and parasitoid search strategies as they reduce the search time for prey and hosts. Fixed search images, however, may constrain predators and parasitoids, and render them ineffective at switching to new more abundant prey or hosts. For switching behaviour to be effective, parasitoids need to be able to learn cues associated with abundant hosts, and they need to be able to extinguish preferences for the cues of hosts that are no longer abundant. Here we use the Gryllus cricket and Ormia ochracea parasitoid fly system to show (1) individual consistency in fly preference for song in the field, (2) learning of host song in the laboratory and (3) that the flies’ memory for learned host cues is very short term. These results are interesting and novel in several respects. First, our demonstration that O. ochracea satisfies each of the characteristics of an optimally foraging temporary specialist is new. Second, this is only the third demonstration of learning in the Tachinidae, a family of more than 9000 species, all of which are parasitoids. Third, the flexibility inherent in learning and host switching may have been instrumental in allowing expansion of the fly’s geographical and host range.
Tragedy, Plot, Fiction: A Study of Sameness and How You May Have Been Duped

This article provides a textual analysis of Aristotle's Poetics (2011) and how it has affected the ways that plot is discussed in creative writing handbooks, especially in regards to fiction writing. Nearly all of the handbooks selected for this article have moved beyond first editions, suggesting they are used both in creative writing classrooms and by creative writers. What is more, these handbooks span a period of nearly 40 years, which helps to represent the timelessness of some of the trends discussed herein. This research suggests there is a strong association between the writing espoused in creative writing handbooks and the antiquated tenets of Greek tragedy, though the relationship is rarely acknowledged. To ignore the relationship between Aristotle and contemporary handbooks on creative writing means we, as educators, run the risk of espousing a writing pedagogy without either questioning it or being aware of its origins. This is especially problematic because it is difficult to reflect on and m...
Fever After Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: A Case of Brucella Sepsis

Fever during acute rehabilitation in patients with a spinal cord injury is a common problem. Infection, typically of the urinary or respiratory tract, is the most frequent cause of fever in these circumstances. We report a case of Brucella sepsis as a cause of fever in a patient with a spinal cord injury who was undergoing acute rehabilitation. We discuss the epidemiology, differential diagnosis, and evaluation of fever in persons with Brucella infection, as well as fever in patients with a spinal cord injury in the acute rehabilitation setting.
An analysis of vector startup access delays

In a multiport memory access vector processor such as the CRAY X-MP, the numbering of section (lines) relative to bank numbering affects the delay characteristics of vector memory accesses. The author examines numberings which affect the vector startup delay. It has been shown previously that section numberings now associated with the X-MP-4 reduced the steady-state section delays of randomly conflicting vector accesses, vis-a-vis the X-MP-2 numberings. For the present study, it is shown that these same numberings increase the startup delays of such accesses, thus establishing a tradeoff between numbering protocols. >
Reduced cholesterol and triglycerides in mice with a mutation in Mia2, a liver protein that localizes to ER exit sites

Through forward genetic screening in the mouse, a recessive mutation (couch potato, cpto) has been discovered that dramatically reduces plasma cholesterol levels across all lipoprotein classes. The cpto mutation altered a highly conserved residue in the Src homology domain 3 (SH3) domain of the Mia2 protein. Full-length hepatic Mia2 structurally and functionally resembled the related Mia3 protein. Mia2 localized to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) exit sites, suggesting a role in guiding proteins from the ER to the Golgi. Similarly to the Mia3 protein, Mia2’s cytosolic C terminus interacted directly with COPII proteins Sec23 and Sec24, whereas its lumenal SH3 domain may facilitate interactions with secretory cargo. Fractionation of plasma revealed that Mia2cpto/cpto mice had lower circulating VLDL, LDL, HDL, and triglycerides. Mia2 is thus a novel, hepatic, ER-to-Golgi trafficking protein that regulates cholesterol metabolism.
Zooplankton provide early warnings of a regime shift in a whole lake manipulation

Regime shifts are massive changes among alternate ecosystem states. Predicting regime shifts is difficult, but statistical indicators such as increasing variance or autocorrelation may provide early warnings of their impending onset. We conducted a 4 yr lake manipulation to test for early warnings prior to a food-web transition by adding largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) to a lake dominated by small fishes, and thereby drive a trophic cascade that altered zooplankton biomass, community composition, and body size. Declining catches of small fishes were associated with shifts to larger bodied species of Daphnia. We measured zooplankton biomass daily in a reference and manipulated lake and calculated variance and autocorrelation of the zooplankton time series using 28 d rolling windows. We asked whether the variance in the manipulated lake (relative to the reference lake) increased and whether autocorrelation approached unity (a value suggested by theory) prior to the food-web regime shift. The variance and autocorrelation of zooplankton biomass were similar between the two lakes in the first 2 yr of the manipulation. During the third year, variance was much higher and autocorrelation approached unity for sustained periods in the manipulated but not in the reference lake. Variance and autocorrelation were similar between the two lakes during the fourth year as the food-web transition moved to completion. The joint response of variance and autocorrelation in year 3 provided an early warning of the food-web transition consistent with theoretical expectation.
Differential effect of subthalamic nucleus ablation on dopamine D1 and D2 agonist-induced rotation in 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats.

The effect of unilateral subthalamic nucleus ablation on rotation in response to dopamine D1 and D2 agonists was examined in rats with a unilateral 6-OHDA lesion of the nigrostriatal pathway. Four to five weeks following subthalamic nucleus lesion, D2 agonist-induced rotation was reduced in subthalamic nucleus-lesioned rats relative to sham controls, although no such reduction in D1 agonist-induced circling occured. However, 1–2 weeks following subthalamic nucleus lesion marked reductions occurred in both D1 and D2 agonist-induced rotation in subthalamic nucleus lesioned rats compared to sham controls. These results suggest that the subthalamic nucleus contributes primarily to the expression of D2-mediated motor behaviors, although ablation of the subthalamic nucleus may induce certain time-dependent compensatory mechanisms in other basal ganglia structures which affect D1-mediated actions.
The Effects of crowding on the behavior and perception of 10-year-old boys

The present study integrated observational and self-report methods to investigate the effects of low and high spatial density on 10-year-old boys in an experimental setting. The differential effects of density on acquaintances versus strangers and on close versus far personal-space boys were analyzed. From a factor analysis of variables that were either rated during a free-play session or were scored responses from a postexperimental interview, five factors emerged: (1)Discomfort and Dislike of Room; (2)Active Play, (3)Avoidance, (4)Positive Group Interactions, and (5)Anger and Aggression.
Evaluation of practical diets containing different protein levels, with or without fish meal, for juvenile Australian red claw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus)

Abstract Six practical diets containing increasing percentages of crude protein (CP) (30%, 35%, and 40%) with or without anchovy fish meal (FM) were fed to juvenile red claw crayfish (mean individual weight=1.12 g) during an 8-week feeding trial. Growth, survival, feed conversion ratio, and amino acid composition of tail-muscle meat of juvenile red claw were determined. At the conclusion of the experiment, specific growth rate (SGR) and percent survival among treatments, which averaged 3.91%/day and 80.7%, overall, were not significantly different among treatments. The percent weight gain of red claw fed a diet containing 20% fish meal and 40% crude protein was significantly higher (1352%) than that of red claw fed a diet containing 0% fish meal and 30% crude protein (828%), but not different from red claw fed all other diets. Red claw fed Diet 3 had significantly higher FCR (5.73) compared to red claw fed Diet 6 (3.03) but not different from red claw fed the other four diets. Results from this study indicate that juvenile red claw can be fed a practical diet containing 35% CP with 0% FM if a combination of less expensive plant protein ingredients (SBM, wheat, BGY, and milo) is added. CP levels can be reduced to 30% if 15% anchovy fish meal is included. Reducing CP levels and the reliance of fish meal in Australian red claw diets may help reduce operating costs and thereby increase producers profits.
Do objective measurements of physical function in ambulatory nursing home women improve assessment of functional status

Objective To compare the functional status of ambulatory women in four academic nursing homes using standardized rating scales and physical performance measures used in community settings. Design Observational cohort. Participants Women older than 65 years, ambulatory with or without an assistive device. Interventions Direct comparison of the Functional Independence Measure and the Performance Self Maintenance Score with objective measure of the Get-up-and-go test, a six minute walk, and a six meter walk. Results Two variables, the gait speed and creatinine clearance, correctly classified 80% of subjects with higher functional status defined by subjective rating scales. Conclusion Although gait speed calculated by a six meter walk is easily performed and highly correlated with subjectively assessed functional status, the majority of these ambulatory women nursing home residents exceeded the population means for each of the performance-based physical function measures.
Epoxyeicosatrienoic Acids and Dihydroxyeicosatrienoic Acids Are Potent Vasodilators in the Canine Coronary Microcirculation

Cytochrome P450 epoxygenases convert arachidonic acid into 4 epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (EET) regioisomers, which were recently identified as endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factors in coronary blood vessels. Both EETs and their dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid (DHET) metabolites have been shown to relax conduit coronary arteries at micromolar concentrations, whereas the plasma concentrations of EETs are in the nanomolar range. However, the effects of EETs and DHETs on coronary resistance arterioles have not been examined. We administered EETs and DHETs to isolated canine coronary arterioles (diameter, 90.0+/-3.4 microm; distending pressure, 20 mm Hg) preconstricted by 30% to 60% of the resting diameter with endothelin. All 4 EET regioisomers produced potent, concentration-dependent vasodilation (EC50 values ranging from -12.7 to -10.1 log [M]) and were approximately 1000 times more potent than reported in conduit coronary arteries. The vasodilation produced by 14,15-EET was not attenuated by removal of the endothelium and indicated a direct action of 14,15-EET on microvascular smooth muscle. Likewise, 14,15-DHET, 11,12-DHET, 8,9-DHET, and the delta-lactone of 5,6-EET produced extremely potent vasodilation (EC50 values ranging from -15.8 to -13.1 log [M]). The vasodilation produced by these eicosanoids was highly potent in comparison to that produced by other vasodilators, including arachidonic acid (EC50=-7.5 log [M]). The epoxide hydrolase inhibitor, 4-phenylchalone oxide, which blocked the conversion of [3H]14,15-EET to [3H]14,15-DHET by canine coronary arteries, did not alter arteriolar dilation to 11,12-EET; thus, the potent vasodilation induced by EETs does not require formation of DHETs. In contrast, charybdotoxin (a KCa channel inhibitor) and KCl (a depolarizing agent) blocked vasodilation by 11,12-EET and 11,12-DHET. We conclude that EETs and DHETs potently dilate canine coronary arterioles via activation of KCa channels. The preferential ability of these compounds to dilate resistance blood vessels suggests that they may be important regulators of coronary circulation.
Alternating droplet generation and controlled dynamic droplet fusion in microfluidic device for CdS nanoparticle synthesis

A multifunctional and high-efficiency microfluidic device for droplet generation and fusion is presented. Through unique design of the micro-channels, the device is able to alternately generate droplets, generating droplet ratios ranging from 1 ratio 5 to 5 ratio 1, and fuse droplets, enabling precise chemical reactions in several picoliters on a single chip. The controlled fusion is managed by passive control based on the channel geometry and liquid phase flow. The synthesis of CdS nanoparticles utilizing each fused droplet as a microreactor for rapid and efficient mixing of reagents is demonstrated in this paper. Following alternating droplet generation, the channel geometry allows the exclusive fusion of alternate droplets with concomitant rapid mixing and produces supersaturated solution of Cd2+ and S2- ions to form CdS nanoparticles in each fused droplet. The spectroscopic properties of the CdS nanoparticles produced by this method are compared with CdS prepared by bulk mixing.
Parasite-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/trans-Sialidase of Trypanosoma cruzi Links Neurotrophic Signaling to Cardiac Innate Immune Response

The Chagas' disease parasite Trypanosoma cruzi elicits a potent inflammatory response in acutely infected hearts that keeps parasitism in check and triggers cardiac abnormalities. A most-studied mechanism underlying innate immunity in T. cruzi infection is Toll-like receptor (TLR) activation by lipids and other parasite molecules. However, yet-to-be-identified pathways should exist. Here, we show that T. cruzi strongly upregulates monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1)/CCL2 and fractalkine (FKN)/CX3CL1 in cellular and mouse models of heart infection. Mechanistically, upregulation of MCP-1 and FKN stems from the interaction of parasite-derived neurotrophic factor (PDNF)/trans-sialidase with neurotrophic receptors TrkA and TrkC, as assessed by pharmacological inhibition, neutralizing antibodies, and gene silencing studies. Administration of a single dose of intravenous PDNF to naive mice results in a dose-dependent increase in MCP-1 and FKN in the heart and liver with pulse-like kinetics that peak at 3 h postinjection. Intravenous PDNF also augments MCP-1 and FKN in TLR signaling-deficient MyD88-knockout mice, underscoring the MyD88-independent action of PDNF. Although single PDNF injections do not increase MCP-1 and FKN receptors, multiple PDNF injections at short intervals up the levels of receptor transcripts in the heart and liver, suggesting that sustained PDNF triggers cell recruitment at infection sites. Thus, given that MCP-1 and FKN are chemokines essential to the recruitment of immune cells to combat inflammation triggers and to enhance tissue repair, our findings uncover a new mechanism in innate immunity against T. cruzi infection mediated by Trk signaling akin to an endogenous inflammatory and fibrotic pathway resulting from cardiomyocyte-TrkA recognition by matricellular connective tissue growth factor (CTGF/CCN2).
Feedback Stabilization of High-Speed Planing Vessels by a Controllable Transom Flap

This paper focuses on the mitigation of porpoising instability of high-speed planing vessels using controllable transom flap and dynamic feedback. A control oriented model that captures both steady-state and dynamic characteristics is presented and used to facilitate the model-based control design. A nonlinear controller is developed based on the feedback linearization method to achieve asymptotic stability of the planing boat, thus avoiding porpoising at high speeds. We first show that the full-state nonlinear dynamic model describing the ship motion is not feedback linearizable. A state transformation is then constructed to decompose the model into a linearizable subsystem and a nonlinear internal dynamic subsystem. A reduced order state feedback is shown next to stabilize the planing vessel motion around the equilibrium point. Analysis of the region of attraction is also performed to provide an assessment of the effective safe operating range around the equilibrium point
The Ets dominant repressor En/Erm enhances intestinal epithelial tumorigenesis in ApcMin mice

Ets transcription factors have been widely implicated in the control of tumorigenesis, with most studies suggesting tumor-promoting roles. However, few studies have examined Ets tumorigenesis-modifying functions in vivo using model genetic systems. Using mice expressing a previously characterized Ets dominant repressor transgene in the intestinal epithelium (Villin-En/Erm), we examined the consequences of blocking endogenous Ets-mediated transcriptional activation on tumorigenesis in the ApcMin model of intestinal carcinoma. En/Erm expression in the intestine, at levels not associated with overt crypt-villus dysmorphogenesis, results in a marked increase in tumor number in ApcMin animals. Moreover, when examined histologically, tumors from En/Erm-expressing animals show a trend toward greater stromal invasiveness. Detailed analysis of crypt-villus homeostasis in these En/Erm transgenic animals suggests increased epithelial turnover as one possible mechanism for the enhanced tumorigenesis. Our findings provide in vivo evidence for a tumor-restricting function of endogenous Ets factors in the intestinal epithelium.