cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
REGULATION OF HEPATIC CYTOCHROME P450 2C11 BY GLUCOCORTICOIDS

Abstract Previous studies have shown that the expression of cytochrome P450 2C11 is increased in primary hepatocyte culture in the presence of 10 −8 m dexamethasone (DEX). We and others have demonstrated that injection of rats with DEX resulted in 2C11 repression. In the present study, we show that regulation of 2C11 expression in hepatocytes by glucocorticoids is biphasic. Low concentrations ( −8 m ) of DEX activate 2C11 expression, while higher concentrations of (>10 −7 m ) suppress it. Corticosterone has a similar biphasic effect, although this physiological glucocorticoid was less potent than DEX. The transition between activation and suppression of 2C11 expression happens at glucocorticoid concentrations relevant to the transition between normal and stress levels of the hormones. Both the inductive and suppressive effects of glucocorticoids are blocked by RU486, a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist. We postulate that the biphasic nature of the 2C11 response to glucocorticoids may result in a high sensitivity of this P450 to stressful stimuli.
The relational selves of female graduate students during academic mentoring: from dialogue to transformation

This study, framed by social constructionism, retrospectively examines how faculty mentoring influenced the transformations of 10 female graduate students’ relational selves and their professional identities as qualitative researchers and scholars. Participants reported that effective mentorships often resulted in collaboration on research projects, as well as shared decision‐ and meaning‐making. Effective mentoring also led to the development of the students’ research skills while simultaneously constructing their professional and academic selves. These situated mentorships were shaped by the diverse values, expectations, and hopes that the participants associated with mentoring. Additionally, the local practices, power structures, and relationships at the department or university level influenced, and possibly discouraged, active communication and ongoing dialogue regarding the individuals’ experience of mentoring. Ultimately, participants described how their experiences of mentoring welcomed them into ...
The role of search speed in the contextual cueing of children's attention

The contextual cueing effect is a robust phenomenon in which repeated exposure to the same arrangement of random elements guides attention to relevant information by constraining search. The effect is measured using an object search task in which a target (e.g., the letter T) is located within repeated or nonrepeated visual contexts (e.g., configurations of the letter L). Decreasing response times for the repeated configurations indicates that contextual information has facilitated search. Although the effect is robust among adult participants, recent attempts to document the effect in children have yielded mixed results. We examined the effect of search speed on contextual cueing with school-aged children, comparing three types of stimuli that promote different search times in order to observe how speed modulates this effect. Reliable effects of search time were found, suggesting that visual search speed uniquely constrains the role of attention toward contextually cued information.
Intrinsic and extrinsic controls of the hypertrophic program of chondrocytes in the avian columella.

Abstract Immunohistochemical studies of the chick columella have shown that the extracellular matrix of this ossicular cartilage template is composed largely of type II collagen. As development proceeds, synthesis of type X collagen, a hypertrophic cartilage-specific molecule, is initiated by endochondral chondrocytes within the zone of cartilage cell hypertrophy. Subsequently, these cells and their surrounding extracellular matrix are removed, resulting in marrow cavity formation. We have examined which of these processes are programmed within the columella chondrocytes themselves, and which require involvement of exogeneous factors. Prehypertrophic columellae from 12-day chick embryos were grown either in organ culture on Nuclepore filters or as explants on the chorioallantoic membrane of host embryos. Chondrocytes from the same source were grown in monolayer cell cultures. In both organ culture and cell culture, chondrocytes developed to the stage at which some of them entered the hypertrophic program and initiated the production of type X collagen as determined by immunofluorescence histochemistry with a monoclonal antibody specific for that collagen type. The organ cultures, however, did not progress to the next stage, in which detectable removal of the type X collagen-containing matrix occurs. When identical columellae were grown on the chorioallantoic membrane of host chicks, the type X collagen-containing matrix which formed was rapidly removed, resulting in the formation of a marrow cavity. Thus, progression of endochondral chondrocytes to the deposition of type X collagen-containing matrix seems to be programmed within the cells themselves. Subsequent removal of this matrix requires the involvement of exogenous factors.
Relationships of Inservice Training Components and Changes in Teacher Concerns Regarding Innovations.

AbstractThe instructional elements of inservice training sessions that prepare teachers to implement innovations were investigated. Workshops conducted by trainers from exemplary programs sponsored by the National Diffusion Network were observed to describe the content and activities in terms of number of minutes and percentage of time. Changes in teachers' concerns were measured by the Stages of Concerns Questionnaire. The results indicated that content topics classified as introduction, skills, organization, and theory were related to changes in teachers' concerns following training. In contrast to previous research, the measure of time spent in training activities classified as presentation, example, application, and feedback were not as critical to resolution of concerns.
Role Transgressions, Shame, and Guilt Among Clergy

After committing an error or transgression, people may experience shame (they feel badly about themselves) or guilt (they feel badly about their action or inaction). This study investigated the possibility that people experience more shame in domains that are relevant to their self-concept and that shame in these domains is more strongly associated with distress. Work or vocation is one domain in which self-concept is often entangled. For instance, many clergy fail to differentiate between who they are and what they do in their role as pastor, raising the question of whether transgressions that are relevant to the pastoral role evoke greater shame than transgressions in other domains. Across two studies, seminary students generated scenarios involving failures that clergy may experience in their role as clergy, and seminarians and clergy rated their reactions to these scenarios and completed a measure of burnout. Results demonstrated that higher shame, both in ministry situations and in secular situations, was associated with higher negative affect among seminarians and less satisfaction and more emotional exhaustion in ministry among clergy. Contrary to expectations, clergy did not experience more ministry shame than general shame, nor was ministry shame more strongly associated with clergy burnout than was general shame. Implications for the mental health of ministers are explored.
Effects of Pulsation Rates of 44, 55, and 66 and Pulsation ratios of 50:50 and 60:40 on Milking Rate and Milking Time

Abstract Sixteen cows were used in a counter-balanced design to study the effects of three pulsation rates and two pulsation ratios on milking rate and milking time. It consisted of four periods (replications), four days in each period, four groups (four cows per group), and four treatments. Three of the treatments were pulsation rates of 44, 55, and 66 each, with a pulsation ratio of 50:50. The fourth treatment (66A) was a pulsation rate of 66 with a pulsation ratio of 60:40. There was a three-day preliminary period before each experimental period, for the cows to adjust to their respective pulsation rates and pulsation ratios. The cows were timed at morning and evening milkings for each four-day experimental period. There was a significant difference between (P
Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of growth hormone-releasing peptide-2: a phase I study in children.

Administration of GH-releasing peptide-2 (GHRP-2) represents a potential mode of therapy for children of short stature with inadequate secretion of GH. Requisite information to determine the dosing route and frequency for GHRP-2 consists of the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) for this compound, neither of which have been previously evaluated in children. The purpose of this study was to characterize the PK and PD of GHRP-2 in children with short stature. Ten prepubertal children (nine boys and one girl; 7.7 ± 2.4 yr old) received a single 1 μg/kg iv dose of GHRP-2 over 1 min, followed by repeated (n = 9) blood sampling over 2 h. GHRP-2 and GH were quantitated by specific RIA methods. PK parameters were calculated from curve fitting of GHRP-2 and GH vs. time data. Posttreatment plasma GH concentrations (normalized for pretreatment values) were used as the effect measurement. PD parameters were generated using the sigmoid Emax model. Disposition of GHRP-2 best fit a biexponential function. G...
Formwork Pressure of Self-Consolidating Concrete in Tall Wall Field Applications

The growing interest in the use of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) for a wide variety of structural applications has initiated a reexamination of its properties and current construction practices how they compare with those of conventional concrete. One property of interest is the form-work pressure of SCC and how it relates to that of conventional concrete. This work presents the results for three tall walls (28, 21.7, and 13 ft tall) cast slowly with SCC and a 10.6-ft-high column poured quickly by using the same concrete used in one of the walls. The research demonstrates that the pressure of SCC against the formwork drops quickly just after the concrete material is placed. Measurements from the walls poured slowly show that the maximum recorded pressure falls far below the hydrostatic pressure and is closely related to the pouring rate. The experiments also reveal that the formwork pressure exerted by SCC can be revitalized if the SCC is vibrated, even if stiffening is already in progress.
Preferred conformations of protected homo-oligo-L-glutamate peptides in CDCl3 and CDCl3/TFA mixtures

A conformational analysis of protected glutamate homo-oligopeptides Z-[Glu(OEt)]n-OEt (n = 2–7) was carried out in chloroform solution using high-resolution 1H-nmr spectroscopy. At dilute peptide concentrations, the backbone NH and α-CH resonances are well resolved and can be assigned by combining extensive homonuclear decoupling experiments with data for co-oligopeptide derivatives. The structure of these peptides in solution was then assessed using information from chemical shifts, coupling constants, temperature coefficients, and titration of each oligomer with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). The di- and tripeptides are found to be in disordered forms in deuterochloroform (CDCl3) and CDCl3/TFA mixtures. The tetrapeptide exhibits a folded structure with intramolecular hydrogen bonding at Glu2 in CDCl3 and undergoes a transition to increasingly disordered forms as TFA is added. The pentamer to heptamer show a folded structure with a strong intramolecular hydrogen bond at Glu2 and a weaker hydrogen bond at Glu3, which are disrupted as these peptides go to random coils at high TFA/CDCl3 ratios. In addition, the N-terminal portions of these glutamate peptides appear to be involved in side chain–main chain interactions. The results support the hypothesis that protected linear homo-oligopeptides may possess two or more segments of conformation with intramolecular folding preferred near the N-terminal portion.
An approximation of solutions of variational inequalities

We use a Mann-type iteration scheme and the metric projection operator (the nearest-point projection operator) to approximate the solutions of variational inequalities in uniformly convex and uniformly smooth Banach spaces.
P02-302 - The impact of binge eating symptomatology in the quality of life of obese patients suffering from a mood disorder

Introduction A significant number of patients suffering from a mood disorder gain weight either due to the medication side effect and/or the lack of exercise. Binge Eating disorder has a high comorbidity with mood disorders. Both disorders have been found separately to have a high negative impact ob the patients quality of life Aim The aim of the study was to investigate the possible impact of binge eating symptomatology in the quality of life of obese patients suffering from a mood disorder. Method We approached 117 obese patients treated for mood disorder (unipolar and/or bipolar). All patients were recruited from a free of charge anti-obesity program specifically designed for mental patients that have gained weight. Each participant filled in the WHO Quality of Life Brief Scale (WHOQOL-Bref), a questionnaire on Binge Eating symptomatology based on DSM-IV research criteria, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS). Results According to DSM-IV criteria 40 patients were suffering from Binge Eating Disorder. The comparison between Binge Eating and non Binge Eating group (t-test) showed that the former group had higher SPAS measurements (p=0.007) and lower WHOQOL-Bref measurements in the psychological (p=0.01) and physical (p=0.006) domains. All other measurements as well as age, body mass index and gender did not show any statistical significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion The presence of Binge Eating symptomatology might worsen patients quality of life especially when they are already carrying the burden of a mood disorder and obesity.
Variations of Mars gravitational field based on the NASA/Ames general circulation model

[1] The NASA/Ames general circulation model (GCM) has been used to compute time series for the variations in the Stokes coefficients expressing Mars' gravitational field in spherical harmonics. The sources of the variations are changes in the mass distribution of the atmosphere and changes in the planetary ice caps. The latter are due mainly to the condensation and sublimation of CO2 on the surface of Mars. Variations were obtained for coefficients up to degree and order 40, which is the maximum allowed by the spatial definition of the model. The time series covered a period of a full Martian year of 669 sols with a time step of 1.5 hours. The time series were analyzed by means of fast Fourier transforms. The largest variations occur in C10 corresponding to a 27.5-mm displacement of the center of mass in the z-direction. Other geoidal variations are C30 (17.7 mm), C20 (11.4 mm) and C50 (10.0 mm). The main harmonics are annual, (1/2)-annual and (1/3)-annual. Most of the power is due to ice caps variations. Mars Global Surveyor trajectory runs with and without the above orbit perturbations yield RMS differences in total position which range between 4.44 and 17.39 m over a 7-day arc, depending on the season. A 7-day simulated tracking data least squares solution in which some level of the perturbations is absorbed into initial state parameters yields RMS differences between 0.35 and 0.78 m in total position.
Power Electronic Circuits for Magnetic Energy Harvesters

Compared to many other energy harvesting schemes, harvesting energy from magnetic fields offers potential advantages for energy extraction and sensing. A magnetic energy harvester provides great flexibility for sensors and monitoring applications for condition-based monitoring of electromagnetic actuators, including vibration and thermal monitoring. A core must be managed or operated with carefully timed saturation to ensure maximum power extraction, a complex problem given the nonlinear saturation characteristics of a magnetic core [1] . This paper presents a simulator-friendly “circuit model” for a magnetic core, and uses this model to design and demonstrate several power electronic circuit solutions for harvesting energy. The circuit model has an excellent accuracy to represent the core regardless of the level of saturation. The design techniques to enhance power harvest are proposed, and verified through simulation and experiments, substantially boosting the amount of power harvest.
"Refer to folio and number": Encyclopedias, the Exchange of Curiosities, and Practices of Identification before Linnaeus

The Swiss natural historian Johann Amman came to Russia in 1733 to take a position as professor of botany and natural history at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. As part of the job, he corresponded, and exchanged plant specimens, with the English merchant collector Peter Collinson in London, and the Swedish scholar Carolus Linnaeus, among others. After briefly reviewing Amman's correspondence with these scholars and the growing commerce in exotic specimens of natural history, I explore how encyclopedias came to facilitate the exchange of zoological specimens in particular. I argue that, during the seventeenth century, a new genre of zoological encyclopedias appeared on the scene whose design was particularly well-suited for the purposes of identification, a key practice in long-distance exchanges.
On the optimality of localised distributed controllers

Design of optimal distributed controllers with a priori assigned localisation constraints is a difficult problem. Alternatively, one can ask the following question: given a localised distributed exponentially stabilising controller, is it inversely optimal with respect to some cost functional? We study this problem for linear spatially invariant systems and establish a frequency domain criterion for inverse optimality (in the LQR sense). We utilise this criterion to separate localised controllers that are never optimal from localised controllers that are optimal. For the latter, we provide examples to demonstrate optimality with respect to physically appealing cost functionals. These are characterised by state penalties that are not fully decentralised and they provide insight about spatial extent of the LQR weights that lead to localised controllers.
On the existence of limit cycles for the enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis reaction in a zero-dimensional representation of a membrane

This article is a continuation of the work done by N. J. Zabusky and R. H. Hardin [2] on an enzyme-catalyzed unbuffered hydrolysis reaction in a one-dimensional membrane. We consider the “zero-dimensional” approximation to a membrane. The system is then governed by a pair of ordinary differential equations. We give a sufficient condition on the parameters of the system for the existence of a limit cycle and present numerical solutions for realistic parameter ranges. Furthermore, we also give a sketched proof of the existence of a pH front for the stationary solutions of the full system of partial differential equations.
Ecdysteroids in testis sheaths of Heliothis virescens larvae: An immunocytological study

Testes of last-instar larvae of the lepidopteran, Heliothis virescens, were examined by an immunocytological technique to locate tissues associated with ecdysteroids. Antiecdysteroid antibody, prepared in rabbits, was incubated with sections of testis. Sections were then exposed to antirabbit antibody coupled to horseradish peroxidase. Oxidized 3,3-diaminobenzidine allowed visualization. Ecdysteroid was detected in tissues of the inner layer of the testis sheath and its extensions that form the follicle walls.
Fieldworker blues: Emotional stress and research underinvolvement in fieldwork settings

Abstract Field research leads participant observers to develop emotional responses that on the one hand preserve the symbolic order of these encounters, but on the other hand disengage these observers from critical research activity. Field research on a political campaigns in Boston and San Diego serve as examples.
Novel Design of Bicyclic β-Turn Dipeptides on Solid-Phase Supports and Synthesis of [3.3.0]-Bicyclo[2,3]-Leu-enkephalin Analogues

External bicyclic β-turn dipeptide mimetics provide an excellent design approach that can offer a rich chiral ensemble of structures with different backbone conformations. We report herein a novel design of a convergent combinatorial synthetic methodology, which is illustrated by the solid-phase synthesis of a series of [3.3.0]-bicyclo[2,3]-Leu-enkephalin analogues. The reactions were optimized and the epimeric configurations were determined by 2D NMR spectroscopy. Biological assays show that these analogues have more potent δ binding affinity and bioactivity for δ vs μ opioid receptor, which may be related to the different conformations preferred by these analogues in our modeling studies.
Development of a Thin Film Environmental Monitor

Abstract A device has been developed by researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for real-time monitoring of exposure to airborne contaminants, including in-mask respirator sampling. The device consists of a small breathing-zone sensor connected to a belt-mounted unit. The cylindrical sensor, which weighs 15 g and is 2 cm in diameter and 2.5 cm long, contains a thin film of chemical reagent that changes color upon exposure to a particular contaminant, and an optical system that monitors the color change. The belt-mounted unit (450 grams) provides power to the sensor, pulls air through it, and processes its electrical output. The output signal is a function of the total contaminant exposure, can be processed to provide real-time concentration data, can be recorded, or can be used to trigger an audible alarm. Five prototype devices were constructed and their capability to monitor ammonia and mercury was investigated. Evaluation of this device using a commercially-proc...
Design of Experiment Issues in Material Component Damage Detection Including Sensor Mass and Footprint Studies

In structural health monitoring, the reliability of measured data for use in damage detection is greatly influenced by the sensor characteristics. Specific issues related to design of experiments in structural health monitoring are analyzed including sensor attachment, mass, frequency range, and footprint. A circular plate instrumented with various sensors and attachment methods (adhesive, stud) is used to study the effects of sensor bond on dynamic measurements. Attachment types are shown to have different amounts of measurement variability using an ANalysis Of VAriance technique. Differences in the amount of measurement variability lead to different damage detection thresholds. A validated sandwich metallic honeycomb panel finite element model is also used to conduct a numerical sensitivity analysis. Sensor mass is shown to reduce the sensitivity of damage detection for realistic sensor masses. The sensor footprint is shown to become an issue, by an acceleration field analysis, when the wavelength of the frequency of excitation is on the order of the sensor diameter.© 2007 ASME
Proliferation-dependent vs. independent programmed cell death of prostatic cancer cells involves distinct gene regulation.

Androgen-independent Dunning R-3327 AT-3 rat prostatic cancer cells can be induced to undergo programmed cell death in either a proliferation-dependent or independent manner depending upon the therapeutic agent used. In the present study, 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (5-FrdU) was used to induce proliferation-dependent death of the AT-3 cells via its ability to inhibit thymidylate synthetase. Ionomycin and thapsigargin were used to induce proliferation-independent death of these cells via their ability to sustain an elevation in intracellular free Ca2+. Based upon the temporal sequence of DNA fragmentation, morphologic changes, and loss of cell viability, each of the three test agents, at the doses used, induces the programmed death of AT-3 cells with essentially identical kinetics. Based upon these similarities, comparisons of the pattern of gene expression during the proliferation-dependent (i.e., 5-FrdU-induced) vs. proliferation-independent (i.e., ionomycin and thapsigargin-induced) programmed death of AT-3 cells allow identification of genes whose enhanced expression is involved in the initiation vs. completion of programmed cell death. Based upon this approach, enhanced H-ras and TRPM-2 expression is associated with initiation of proliferation-dependent programmed death of AT-3 cells while enhanced c-myc, calmdulin, and α-prothymosin expression is associated with initiation of proliferation-independent programmed death of these cells. In contrast, enhanced expression of glucose-regulated 78 kilodalton and tissue transglutaminase genes are associated with the completion of programmed cell death, since their expression is enhanced in both proliferation-dependent and independent programmed cell death of AT-3 cells. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Flow Regime Identification in Large Diameter Pipe

Air-water vertical two-phase flow experiments were performed in a 0.15 m diameter and 4.4 m long test section. Superficial liquid velocity was varied from 0.05 m/s to 2.0 m/s and superficial gas velocity was varied to obtain the area averaged void fraction range of 0.1 to 0.7. Exit pressure was close to the atmospheric pressure. In order to study the development of flow structure over the length of test section, area averaged void fraction was measured using impedance meters at four different measuring ports. Pressure drop was also measured between these ports. Since the temporal variation of void fraction signal obtained from the impedance meter and its distribution are characteristic of the flow regime, a Cumulative Probability Distribution Function (CPDF) of the void fraction signal was utilized for the identification of flow regime at each port. The CPDFs of the impedance probe void fraction signal were supplied as an input to the Kohonen Self Organized neural network or the Self Organized Map (SOM) for the identification of the patterns by employing self organized neural network technique. The three flow regimes identified by the neural network are subjectively named as bubbly flow, cap-bubbly flow and cap-turbulent flow.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Interactions of dietary proteins with the mucosal immune system as a component of safety evaluation

Recent and historical data suggest that the interaction of antigenic materials, including food proteins, with the mucosal immune system is an important component of certain diseases, causative either of an important manifestation of or the disease itself. The adequacy of existing knowledge concerning digestion and absorption of dietary proteins, disposition of absorbed antigens, and potential adverse effects to meet requirements of a safety evaluation is addressed. Currently, the immunological consequences of introducing new food proteins (e.g., leaf and bean protein concentrates), new processing technologies (food irradiation, chemical sterilization), and changes in traditional foods through emerging technologies (genetic engineering) can be neither predicted nor routinely measured.
Fowler-Nordheim tunneling of carriers in MOS transistors: Two-dimensional simulation of gate current employing FIELDAY

Abstract Electron and hole current densities across the gate oxide layer of MOSFETs due to Fowler-Nordheim tunneling are calculated by employing the well-known two-dimensional device simulator FIELDAY. The parametric dependences of these currents on, for example, electric field across the oxide layer, effective masses of electrons and holes, and barrier heights are studied in some detail. Calculated gate currents due to tunneling, as functions of drain-source voltage and gate-source voltage, are compared with available experiments. The agreement between the theory and experiments appears encouraging.
High-performance liquid chromatographic and gas—liquid chromatographic determination of diazepam and nordiazepam in plasma

A one-step method for extraction of diazepam, nordiazepam, and internal standard into toluene is followed by chromatographic separation and detection with either dual-wavelength high-performance liquid chromatography or electron-capture gas—liquid chromatography. Agreement between the two methods was excellent for diazepam (r = 0.99, n = 38) and good for nordiazepam (r = 0.96, n = 79) over a concentration range that included subtherapeutic, therapeutic, and toxic plasma levels.
Electrical characterization of FinFETs with fins formed by directed self assembly at 29 nm fin pitch using a self-aligned fin customization scheme

In this work, we report electrical characterization FinFET devices with 29nm-pitch fins patterned using a technique called tone inverted grapho-epitaxy (TIGER). We use a topographic template to direct the self-assembly of block copolymers (BCP) to form small area gratings that are self-aligned to the template. After a tone-inversion operation, blocks of defect free SOI fins bounded by self-aligned exclude regions are formed with the spacing determined by the template line width (LW). This self-aligned customization enables further definition of the active region for FinFETs. Process window and design implications for directed self-assembly (DSA) with TIGER are also discussed.
Impingement heat transfer at a circular cylinder due to an offset or non-offset slot jet

Abstract Heat transfer coefficients were measured on a circular cylinder subjected to the crossflow impingement of a slot jet. In one set of experiments, the symmetry plane of the jet was aligned with the axis of the cylinder, while in other experiments the jet was offset from the cylinder. In addition to the offset, parametric variations were also made for the width of the jet-inducing slot, the distance between the slot and the cylinder, and the Reynolds number. Supplementary flow visualization experiments showed that even in the presence of offset, the jet impinged on the cylinder, although not at the cylinder apex as in the aligned case. It was found that the heat transfer coefficient increased with slot width and Reynolds number but decreased with slot-to-cylinder separation distance and offset. The effect of offset is accentuated for narrow slots and at small slot-to-cylinder separation distances. The largest measured offset-related reduction in the heat transfer coefficient was slightly in excess of 50%.
Sirt3 is essential for apelin‐induced angiogenesis in post‐myocardial infarction of diabetes

Heart failure following myocardial infarction (MI) is the leading cause of death in diabetic patients. Angiogenesis contributes to cardiac repair and functional recovery in post-MI. Our previous study shows that apelin (APLN) increases Sirtuin 3 (Sirt3) expression and ameliorates diabetic cardiomyopathy. In this study, we further investigated the direct role of Sirt3 in APLN-induced angiogenesis in post-MI model of diabetes. Wild-type (WT) and Sirt3 knockout (Sirt3KO) mice were induced into diabetes by i.p. streptozotocin (STZ). STZ mice were then subjected to MI followed by immediate intramyocardial injection with adenovirus-apelin (Ad-APLN). Our studies showed that Sirt3 expression was significantly reduced in the hearts of STZ mice. Ad-APLN treatment resulted in up-regulation of Sirt3, angiopoietins/Tie-2 and VEGF/VEGFR2 expression together with increased myocardial vascular densities in WT-STZ+MI mice, but these alterations were not observed in Sirt3KO-STZ+MI mice. In vitro, overexpression of APLN increased Sirt3 expression and angiogenesis in endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) from WT mice, but not in EPC from Sirt3KO mice. APLN gene therapy increases angiogenesis and improves cardiac functional recovery in diabetic hearts via up-regulation of Sirt3 pathway.
Severity of asthma and perinatal outcome.

Abstract OBJECTIVE : Our objective was to determine the impact of asthma and its severity, as determined by medication requirements, on perinatal outcome. STUDY DESIGN : A case-controlled study was conducted. Among 30,940 live births at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center Women's Hospital, 183 deliveries occurred between Jan. 1, 1985, and Dec. 31, 1990, that were coded for the diagnosis of asthma. Eighty-one that required the chronic use of medications to control their disease were identified. Thirty-one patients were steroid dependent and 50 were non-steroid-medication dependent. A control group was randomly selected (excluding maternal transports), and selected perinatal variables were compared between groups. RESULTS : When compared with controls, steroid-dependent asthmatics were at significantly increased risk for gestational (1.5% vs 12.9%) and insulin-requiring diabetes (0% vs 9.7%). Preterm delivery and preterm premature ruptured membranes occurred significantly more often in both asthmatic groups. Overall cesarean section rate was significantly increased in the non-steroid-medication-dependent asthmatic group when compared with controls (56.0% vs 30.0%). Delivery by primary cesarean section was significantly more common in the steroid-dependent group (38.7% vs 19.2%), and a strong trend was noted among the non-steroid-medication-dependent patients (34.0% vs 19.2%). Cesarean delivery for fetal distress was also more common in these two asthmatic groups. Neonates born to both groups of asthmatic pregnant women were significantly more likely to be of birth weight CONCLUSIONS : Perinatal outcome is compromised in the pregnancy complicated by chronic medication-dependent asthma. The extent is variable and is associated with disease severity, as measured by medication requirements. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1992;167:963–7.)
A note on the posterior expectation

A result by Ericson (1969) states that if are any jointly distributed random variables conditional on an unknown parameter θ which have common means μ(θ) and finite variances and the posterior expectation of μ(θ) is a linear function of , than the posterior expectation takes the form of a weighted average of [Xbar] and the prior expecta-tion of μ(θ), the weights being given in terms of the prior variance of u(9) and the prior expectation of the sampling variance of [Xbar] In this note we present a generalization of this result.
Surviving the transition

Observations of the birth of a superfluid have uncovered details of the microphysics of phase transitions. Whether these results can be used to model such transitions in the early Universe is an open question.
Corn Distillers Dried Grains Versus Soybean Meal in Lactation Diets

Abstract The responses to distillers dried grains were compared with soybean meal using 86 Holstein cows. Diet DM contained 50% ammoniated corn silage and 50% concentrate: negative control (urea), 14.5% CP; soybean meal test diet, 14.5% CP; distillers dried grains with solubles test diet, 14.5% CP; soybean meal positive control, 18% CP; and distillers dried grains with solubles positive control, 18% CP. Daily intake was higher (25.1 vs. 22.2kg) for the distillers grains test diet than for the negative control but not significantly greater than for the soybean meal test diet (23.7kg) and positive control (24.0kg) or the distillers grains positive controls (23.0kg). Yields of FCM were not significantly different for the soy and distillers test diets. However, the distillers test diet produced 2.3kg more FCM daily than the negative control compared with 1.7kg more for the soy test diet. Lactation performance was lowest for the distillers positive control diet. Although blood urea tended to be lower for the lower protein and distillers diets, neither protein source nor level in the diet affected reproductive performance significantly. Thus, these results indicate that dried distillers grains with solubles can be used effectively as a protein source in dairy rations, and yield lactation responses equal to or exceeding soybean meal when the amount in the total ration DM does not exceed 19%.
Sick of our loans: Student borrowing and the mental health of young adults in the United States

Abstract Student loans are increasingly important and commonplace, especially among recent cohorts of young adults in the United States. These loans facilitate the acquisition of human capital in the form of education, but may also lead to stress and worries related to repayment. This study investigated two questions: 1) what is the association between the cumulative amount of student loans borrowed over the course of schooling and psychological functioning when individuals are 25–31 years old; and 2) what is the association between annual student loan borrowing and psychological functioning among currently enrolled college students? We also examined whether these relationships varied by parental wealth, college enrollment history (e.g. 2-year versus 4-year college), and educational attainment (for cumulative student loans only). We analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), a nationally representative sample of young adults in the United States. Analyses employed multivariate linear regression and within-person fixed-effects models. Student loans were associated with poorer psychological functioning, adjusting for covariates, in both the multivariate linear regression and the within-person fixed effects models. This association varied by level of parental wealth in the multivariate linear regression models only, and did not vary by college enrollment history or educational attainment. The present findings raise novel questions for further research regarding student loan debt and the possible spillover effects on other life circumstances, such as occupational trajectories and health inequities. The study of student loans is even more timely and significant given the ongoing rise in the costs of higher education.
Race and Ethnicity Data Quality and Imputation Using U.S. Census Data in an Integrated Health System: The Kaiser Permanente Southern California Experience

Research on racial and ethnic disparities using health system databases can shed light on the usual health care and outcomes of large numbers of individuals so that health inequities can be better understood and addressed. Such research often suffers from limitations in race/ethnicity data quality. We examined the quality of race/ethnicity data in a large, diverse, integrated health system that repeatedly collects these data on utilization of services. We tested the accuracy of Bayesian Improved Surname Geocoding for imputation of race/ethnicity data. Administrative race/ethnicity data were accurate as judged by comparison with self-report in adults. The Bayesian Improved Surname Geocoding method produced imputation results far better than chance assignment for the four most common race/ethnicity groups in the health system: Whites, Hispanics, Blacks, and Asians. These results support renewed efforts to conduct studies of racial and ethnic disparities in large health systems.
Firm size and the pattern of diversification

Abstract In this paper, the entry of firms into the foreign market is treated as a form of diversification that is an alternative to the more conventional form of product diversification. We develop a firm-level total index of diversification which comprises of product-line and geographical diversities. Using semi-parametric regression techniques, we analyze the relationship between various forms of diversification and firm size in five major manufacturing industries in Taiwan. Our findings indicate that diversification need not be solely a large firm phenomenon as observed in developed countries. Among small and medium firms, the most common form of diversification consists of diversifying into a different geographical market. The positive relation between firm size and product diversification typically found in developed countries is limited to large exporting firms in Taiwan.
Heritability at the ecosystem level

In the first article of the first volume of Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, Lewontin (1) points out that any level of organization that can be grouped into a population of units has the potential to evolve by natural selection. Evolution by natural selection has been seen in experimental studies of individual and group selection, and now Swenson et al. (2) have demonstrated that selection acting at the level of the ecosystem can cause evolutionary change.
Effective Self- and Co-Regulation in Collaborative Learning Groups: An Analysis of How Students Regulate Problem Solving of Authentic Interdisciplinary Tasks

This study examined the use of collaborative interdisciplinary authentic tasks as a context in which learners develop and use self-regulated learning (SRL) processes. Participants included sixty-four students from a U.S. middle school whose residents are largely from low-income families. Students worked in groups to design and carry out an authentic, interdisciplinary project over a 9-week period. A Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis suggested that students’ individual SRL increased over the course of the project and that co-regulated learning (CRL) moderated this relationship. Furthermore, one group was selected as an exemplar case to provide an explanation of how co-regulation occurred and influenced SRL in this collaborative group. Theoretical and practical implications of the research are discussed.
SnapToTrace: a new e-textile interface and component kit for learning computation

Modular toolkits and electronic textiles have emerged as highly effective resources to engage new audiences in computational learning. This paper will briefly review past relevant research in these domains, paying close attention to different taxonomies that consider the role of personal fabrication. Based on this analysis and user research, I will then introduce an interface prototype that is pedagogically concerned with user scalability and multiple points of entry. A specific focus is placed on the role materials play in achieving these pedagogical goals. I will close with plans for future iterations of the circuit mat and possible directions for development.
Potential of constructed wetland in reducing total nitrogen loading into the Truckee River

A pilot-scale wetland was constructed along Steamboat Creek (SBC) at the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility (TMWRF), Sparks, Nevada. SBC is a major non-point source of total nitrogen (TN) for the Truckee River. In this study, four (16.2 m2) parallel wetland trains with two different experimental designs were utilized to assess seasonal variations in TN. The experimental designs included: (1) SBC water and SBC sediments (Configuration-1) and (2) TMWRF effluent and SBC sediments (Configuration-2). Over a period of 2 years, the TN in both designs was routinely monitored. TN was reduced by an average of 47% (0.60 mg/l) in Configuration-1 and an average of 24% (0.39 mg/l) in Configuration-2. Nitrogen speciation was an important factor influencing the effectiveness of nitrogen removal within the wetland system. Ammonia-N (NH3-N) and nitrate plus nitrite nitrogen ((NO3 + NO2)-N) were removed more effectively than organic nitrogen. The results obtained from this pilot-scale wetland system suggest that a proposed large-scale constructed wetlands system along SBC would be expected to overall reduce TN loading into the Truckee River from 19 to 30% on an annual basis.
Pyruvate kinase isozymes in neurons, glia, neuroblastoma, and glioblastoma.

– The distribution of pyruvate kinase isozymes (EC 2.7.1.40) was examined in cells and tissues from the central and peripheral nervous system of the rat. Most tissues contain significant quantities of both the K4 (fetal type) and M4 (skeletal muscle type) isozymes plus tetrameric hybrids comprised of various combination of the type M and type K subunits. Retina, for example, contains a five-mem-bered hybrid set weighted toward K4, while sciatic nerve and spinal cord have patterns very similar to that of adult brain, consisting predominantly of M4 with small amounts of K4 and K-M hybrids. This adult pattern is achieved by a gradual shift from a hybrid set dominated by K4 in fetal life, to the pattern at birth at which time the two most prominent bands were M4 and K2M2, and finally to the adult pattern by about 28 days after birth. Neurons and glial cells were isolated from rat and mouse brains at the various developmental levels. The pyruvate kinase isozyme patterns in the two cell types were similar to each other and to the patterns seen in whole brain homogenates at all ages, indicating similar rates of isozymic maturation in the two cell types. The correlation of maturation with pyruvate kinase isozyme patterns was further tested in cultures of malignant cell lines. A K-M hybrid set, weighted toward K4, was seen in two clonal lines of mouse neuroblastoma under normal culture conditions. However, lowering the serum concentration in the culture medium or adding bromodeoxyuridine caused a shift in the patterns toward type M as the cells differentiated, mimicking in part the in vivo maturation of normal cells. On the other hand, a rapidly growing and poorly differentiated line of rat glioblastoma had only K4 under all conditions examined.
Intraocular lens implantation in infant monkeys: Clinical and histopathological findings

Abstract Purpose: To determine the long-term effects of intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in infant monkey eyes. Setting: Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Methods: A 30.00 diopter (D), all-poly(methyl methacrylate) IOL with an overall diameter of 10.0 mm was implanted in the right eye of 11 infant monkeys. Seven monkeys developed postoperative complications and were not followed on a long-term basis. However, 4 monkeys were followed clinically for 41/2 years, after which their pseudophakic eyes were examined histopathologically. Results: The final refractive error in the four pseudophakic eyes with long-term follow-up ranged from −4.75 to +0.75 D. Three of the four eyes had a Soemmering's ring. Only one haptic was in the capsular bag, whereas five had eroded into the iris root/ciliary body. The corneas and posterior segments of the eyes were normal. Conclusion: Two-thirds of the eyes having neonatal IOL implantation experienced significant postoperative complications. Haptic location was suboptimal in all four eyes followed for 4 1/2 years. The diameter of the IOLs implanted in these eyes was probably too large. Some of these complications might have been averted by implanting an IOL with a smaller diameter.
The Chebyshev propagator for quantum systems

Abstract This paper provides an overview of some recent developments in quantum dynamic and spectroscopic calculations using the Chebyshev progagator. It is shown that the Chebyshev operator (Tk(Ĥ)) can be considered as a discrete cosine type propagator (cos(KΘ^)), in Which the angle operator (Θ^ = arccos Ĥ) is a single-valued mapping of the scaled Hamiltonian (Ĥ) and the order (k) is an effective time. Properties in the angle domain (thus in energy domain) can be obtained from those in the order domain via a cosine Fourier transform. The equivalence and parallelism between the order-angle formulation and the time-energy formulation allow one to transplant existing time-dependent quantum mechanical methods. Compared with the time propagator, the Chebyshev propagator has a number of numerical advantages. Because of its polynomial form, the action of the Chebyshev propagator can be evaluated exactly except for roundoff errors. The three-term recursion formula for Chebyshev polynomials is stable and requires minimal memory. The discretization error in time propagation can be avoided because the Chebyshev propagator is naturally disrcrete. Additional computational savings over the time propagation are possible because the Chebyshev wave packet can be propagated in the real space. Various applications of the Chebyshev propagator are discussed.
Effect of hydrostatic pressure on the phonon spectrum of PbIn alloys using electron tunneling

Abstract The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the phonon spectrum of PbIn alloys has been studied. A shift to higher frequencies of the transverse, longitudinal and impurity band peaks is observed as well as a reduction in amplitude.