cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Incorporation of Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System to assess quality of life among patients with breast cancer initiating care at an academic center

Background Symptom burden and reduced quality of life (QOL) are considerable hurdles in oncology. The authors used the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS), which assesses physical and psychosocial health, to establish a mean symptom burden, examine potential drivers, and characterize severe symptom burden in breast cancer patient subgroups with the goal of characterizing stage IV patient QOL and triaging patients to individualized supportive care services. Methods New patients at the University of California San Francisco Breast Care Center received questionnaires with 8 PROMIS domains: depression, anxiety, fatigue, sleep-related impairment, sleep disturbance, cognitive function, cognitive abilities, and physical function. PROMIS values were scored with the HealthMeasures service and were compared by age, cancer stage, and educational status. Results Stage IV patients with breast cancer (n = 169) reported higher depression and fatigue and worse cognitive function, cognitive abilities, and physical function than patients with stage 0 to III disease (n = 2577). As age increased, cognitive function impairment, depression, anxiety, and sleep-related symptoms decreased. More educated patients showed better physical function and less severe sleep disturbance and fatigue. Across all subgroups, patients with high anxiety had the greatest probability of worse symptom burden and function in other domains. Conclusions This study provides an additional set of PROMIS population estimates across breast cancer demographic groups. The analysis of a large stage IV population reinforces that metastatic patients have impaired QOL across multiple domains. Because anxiety emerged as a potential driver of impaired QOL in other domains, earlier interventions to reduce anxiety could improve QOL overall. These analyses will help to determine appropriate thresholds of intervention. Lay summary Patients receiving treatment for breast cancer can experience decreased quality of life. This study characterized differences in self-reported quality of life among patients of different ages, with different stages of cancer, and with different educational backgrounds. This study also examined the effect of decreased quality of life in one area (eg, anxiety) on another area (eg, difficulty in sleeping). Patients who were younger, had not attended college or technical school, or had stage IV cancer tended to have worse quality of life. Patients who had high levels of anxiety also tended to have high levels of impairment in other areas.
Outcomes Following Implementation of a Hospital-Wide, Multicomponent Delirium Care Pathway.

BACKGROUND Delirium is associated with poor clinical outcomes that could be improved with targeted interventions. OBJECTIVE To determine whether a multicomponent delirium care pathway implemented across seven specialty nonintensive care units is associated with reduced hospital length of stay (LOS). Secondary objectives were reductions in total direct cost, odds of 30-day hospital readmission, and rates of safety attendant and restraint use. METHODS This retrospective cohort study included 22,708 hospitalized patients (11,018 preintervention) aged ≥50 years encompassing seven nonintensive care units: neurosciences, medicine, cardiology, general and specialty surgery, hematology-oncology, and transplant. The multicomponent delirium care pathway included a nurse-administered delirium risk assessment at admission, nurse-administered delirium screening scale every shift, and a multicomponent delirium intervention. The primary study outcome was LOS for all units combined and the medicine unit separately. Secondary outcomes included total direct cost, odds of 30-day hospital readmission, and rates of safety attendant and restraint use. RESULTS Adjusted mean LOS for all units combined decreased by 2% post intervention (proportional change, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.96-0.99; P = .0087). Medicine unit adjusted LOS decreased by 9% (proportional change, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.83-0.99; P = .028). For all units combined, adjusted odds of 30-day readmission decreased by 14% (odds ratio [OR], 0.86; 95% CI, 0.80-0.93; P = .0002). Medicine unit adjusted cost decreased by 7% (proportional change, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.89-0.96; P = .0002). CONCLUSION This multicomponent hospital-wide delirium care pathway intervention is associated with reduced hospital LOS, especially for patients on the medicine unit. Odds of 30-day readmission decreased throughout the entire cohort.
Transposases and Integrases

Transposases and integrases are the proteins that mediate transposition reactions, i.e. the recombination reaction in which discrete DNA segments move between nonhomologous sites. Keywords: transposition; recombination
Aromatase, The Enzyme Responsible for Estrogen Biosynthesis

This article has no abstract. Keywords: aromatase, the enzyme responsible for estrogen biosynthesis
Q: Is the cerebellum an adaptive combiner of motor and mental/motor activities? A: Yes, maybe, certainly not, who can say?

The target article reviews studies of human cerebellar functional imaging and ablation in motor learning. This material is integrated with anatomical and physiological work in laboratory animals. A synthesis is presented as a working hypothesis on how the cerebellum might adapt, learn, and coordinate movement. An attempt is made to extend the motor role to certain mental operations, particularly those associated with mental movement. These notions met with varying enthusiasm. A few commentators seemed pleased with the overall result and offered supportive ideas. Some were critical of the proposed contributions to cognition and motor learning. A surprising number insisted that the cerebellum was more concerned with sensory processing than with movement management. Some thought we know too little to attempt such a synthesis.
Induction of Alloreactive CD4 T Cell Tolerance in Molecular Chimeras: A Possible Role for Regulatory T Cells

Induction of molecular chimerism following reconstitution of mice with autologous bone marrow cells expressing a retrovirally encoded allogeneic MHC class I Ag results in donor-specific tolerance. To investigate the mechanism by which CD4 T cells that recognize allogeneic MHC class I through the indirect pathway of Ag presentation are rendered tolerant in molecular chimeras, transgenic mice expressing a TCR on CD4 T cells specific for peptides derived from K b were used. CD4 T cells expressing the transgenic TCR were detected in mice reconstituted with bone marrow cells transduced with retroviruses carrying the gene encoding H-2K b , albeit detection was at lower levels than in mice receiving mock-transduced bone marrow. Despite the presence of CD4 T cells expressing an alloreactive TCR, mice receiving H-2K b -transduced bone marrow permanently accepted K b disparate skin grafts. CD4 + CD25 + T cells from mice reconstituted with H-2K b -transduced bone marrow prevented rejection of K b disparate skin grafts when adoptively transferred into immunodeficient mice along with effector T cells, suggesting that induction of molecular chimerism leads to the generation of donor specific regulatory T cells, which may be involved in preventing alloreactive CD4 T cell responses that lead to rejection.
Motor Control: Models

The term ‘motor control’ refers to the ability of biological and artificial systems to plan, initiate, maintain, monitor, and correct movements to attain physically realizable goals. A ‘model’ is a system or process that permits predictions. Keywords: feedback; feedforward; motor learning; perceptual-motor integration; timing
Deflection and Ponding of Steel Joists

The techniques of discrete field analysis are utilized to investigate the response of steel joists (idealized as warren trusses) to various static loading conditions. Deflection formulas for arbitrary static loads are presented in finite Fourier series form. These formulas are specialized for the case of a uniformly distributed loading and a highly accurate approximate formula obtained for vertical deflections. The effect of web strain for both short and long spans is accurately reflected and generally will result in less than 2% error. Deflection formulas in the form of finite Fourier series are also obtained for the case of rainwater ponding loads combined with static live and dead loads. For ponding with a uniformly distributed live or dead loading, highly accurate equivalent beam approximate formulas are presented which should be quite useful to the practitioner. In addition to providing insight into the parameters affecting joint behavior, heretofore unavailable analysis techniques are presented to aid designers in steel joist construction.
Antigenic relationship of streptococcal diphosphopyridine nucleotidases.

SummaryDPNases from various groups and types of hemolytic streptococci are antigenically related. Group A streptococci not producing DPNase in vitro also failed to make detectable enzyme in vivo.
An examination of Minnesota’s muskellunge waters

We examined Minnesota’s muskellunge, Esox masquinongy, populations using various data sets including spring trap net assessments and angler diary surveys. We confronted a potentially problematic data set that had a large number of zero catches by fitting logistic models to the presence/absence data set and linear models to the subset of data that included catches with one fish or more. Currently, 105 lakes have been identified as muskellunge waters, of which 61 lakes have been created and maintained by stocking. Although the proportion of successful anglers has increased over time, catch rates have remained the same. It appears from analysis of trap net catches that the abundance of 102 cm (40 in) and larger muskellunge has been increasing over time. Both trap net and angler data provide some indications that size of muskellunge caught has also increased over time. Angler-harvested muskellunge averaged 11 years of age and 115 cm (45 in) total length. For Minnesota waters, muskellunge ultimate length averaged 134 cm (53 in) for females and 119 cm (47 in) for males. All evidence indicates a successful management program.
Legal interviewers use children’s affect and eye contact cues to assess credibility of their testimony

Based on interviews with 120 children ranging from age 3 to 12, legal interviewers rated the grade school and middle school age children as competent and as understanding the meaning of lying. The interviewers rated the grade school children as more credible ‘witnesses in court’ than either the preschool or the middle school age children. The cues they reported using most frequently were affect and eye contact.
Cores of spaces, spectra, and E∞ ring spectra

In a paper that has attracted little notice, Priddy showed that the Brown-Peterson spectrum at a prime p can be constructed from the p-local sphere spectrum S by successively killing its odd dimensional homotopy groups. This seems to be an isolated curiosity, but it is not. For any space or spectrum Y that is p-local and (n0A1)-connected and has on0(Y ) cyclic, there is a p-local, (n0 A 1)-connected “nuclear” CW complex or CW spectrum X and a map f : X ! Y that induces an isomorphism on on0 and a monomorphism on all homotopy groups. Nuclear complexes are atomic: a self-map that induces an isomorphism on on0 must be an equivalence. The construction of X from Y is neither functorial nor even unique up to equivalence, but it is there. Applied to the localization of MU at p, the construction yields BP.
ASYMPTOTIC IDENTIFIABILITY OF NONPARAMETRIC ITEM RESPONSE MODELS

The identifiability of item response models with nonparametrically specified item characteristic curves is considered. Strict identifiability is achieved, with a fixed latent trait distribution, when only a single set of item characteristic curves can possibly generate the manifest distribution of the item responses. When item characteristic curves belong to a very general class, this property cannot be achieved. However, for assessments with many items, it is shown that all models for the manifest distribution have item characteristic curves that are very near one another and pointwise differences between them converge to zero at all values of the latent trait as the number of items increases. An upper bound for the rate at which this convergence takes place is given. The main result provides theoretical support to the practice of nonparametric item response modeling, by showing that models for long assessments have the property of asymptotic identifiability.
Glomerular disease: ANCA-associated GN--to PLEX or not to PLEX?

Plasma exchange (PLEX) is often included in the initial therapy of patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated glomerulonephritis who present with severe kidney failure. However, new long-term follow-up data from the MEPEX trial suggest that PLEX may not improve survival in these patients.
Electrophoretic mobility as a function of pH for disaggregated amphibian gastrula cells.

Abstract To explore possible chemical differences between the cell surfaces of endoderm, chordamesoderm, and inner ectoderm cells of the Rana pipiens gastrula, their electrophoretic mobilities have been measured as a function of pH. In this communication, we present evidence for an electrophoretic hierarchy consistent over a wide pH range, which suggests quantitative differences in surface components between the tissues of the gastrula.
On the role of subsecond dopamine release in conditioned avoidance

Using shock avoidance procedures to study conditioned behavioral responses has a rich history within the field of experimental psychology. Such experiments led to the formulation of the general concept of negative reinforcement and specific theories attempting to explain escape and avoidance behavior, or why animals choose to either terminate or prevent the presentation of an aversive event. For example, the two-factor theory of avoidance holds that cues preceding an aversive event begin to evoke conditioned fear responses, and these conditioned fear responses reinforce the instrumental avoidance response. Current neuroscientific advances are providing new perspectives into this historical literature. Due to its well-established role in reinforcement processes and behavioral control, the mesolimbic dopamine system presented itself as a logical starting point in the search for neural correlates of avoidance and escape behavior. We recently demonstrated that phasic dopamine release events are inhibited by stimuli associated with aversive events but increased by stimuli preceding the successful avoidance of the aversive event. The latter observation is inconsistent with the second component of the two-factor theory of avoidance and; therefore, led us propose a new theoretical explanation of conditioned avoidance: 1) fear is initially conditioned to the warning signal and dopamine computes this fear association as a decrease in release, 2) the warning signal, now capable of producing a negative emotional state, suppresses dopamine release and behavior, 3) over repeated trials the warning signal becomes associated with safety rather than fear; dopaminergic neurons already compute safety as an increase in release and begin to encode the warning signal as the earliest predictor of safety 4) the warning signal now promotes conditioned avoidance via dopaminergic modulation of the brain’s incentive-motivational circuitry.
Glycosylation in the control of selectin counter-receptor structure and function

Leukocyte trafficking is characterized by sequential cell adhesion and activation events that deliver specific leukocyte subsets to distinct extravascular locations under different pathophysiological circumstances. E-, P- and/or L-selectin-dependent leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesive interactions contribute essentially to this process. Selectin counter-receptor activity on leukocyte and high endothelial venules is borne by specific glycoproteins whose ability to support adhesion requires specific post-translational modifications. These modifications are typified by serine/threonine-linked oligosaccharides capped with the sialyl Lewis x moiety, an alpha2-3sialylated, alpha1-3ucosylated tetrasaccharide synthesized by specific glycosyltransferases. Recent advances in glycan structure analysis and in characterizing mice with targeted deletions of glycosyltransferase and sulfotransferase genes discloses an essential role for 6-O GlcNAc sulfate modification of the sialyl Lewis x tetrasaccharide in L-selectin counter-receptor activity. Related studies identify novel extended Core 1 type O-glycans bearing the 6-sulfosialyl Lewis x moiety, define the molecular nature of the MECA-79 epitope, and disclose a requirement for the alpha1-3fucosyltransferases FucT-IV and FucT-VII in the elaboration of L-selectin counter-receptor activities. Parallel studies also demonstrate that these 2 fucosyltransferases, a core 2 GlcNAc transferase, and core 2-type sialyl Lewis x determinants make essential contributions to leukocyte P-selectin counter-receptor activity, and figure prominently in the control of leukocyte E-selectin counter-receptor activity.
The periodic structure of the natural record, and nonlinear dynamics

Concepts of cyclicity in geology have involved many famous protagonists in the history of Earth sciences. Early in this century, sophisticated theories of terrestrial rhythms had been formulated by such pioneers as T. C. Chamberlin [1909], R. T. ,Chamberlin [1914], Barrell [1917], Stille [1924], Joly [1925, 1930], Holmes [1926], Lull [1929], Schuchert [1932], Grabau [1940], and Umbgrove [1939a,b, 1947] (see the review by Williams [1981]). The physical chemist S. Arrhenius [1908] had also formulated a general hypothesis for cosmological origins of terrestrial phenomena. Khain [1964] later proposed resonances between terrestrial and cosmological rhythms, and McCrea [1975] and Williams [1975] summarized evidence of galactic correlations with glaciation.
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in murine cryptococcosis

In this investigation, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ElISA) procedures were used to study the time of appearance and the duration of demonstrable antigen and antibody in body fluids of mice with disseminated cryptococcosis. The ELISA antigen procedure detected cryptococcal capsular polysaccharide (CCP) in the serum and urine of infected mice 3 days after infection--4 days before it could be demonstrated by the latex agglutination procedure. ELISA-reactive antibody was present throughout the course of infection (mean death time, 32 days), whereas antibody was not detected by whole cell agglutination after day 20. High serum concentrations of CCP (titers to 64,000) persisted throughout the course of infection, while antibody declined to low levels with progression of disease. ELISA provides a sensitive system for quantitation and monitoring of antigen (CCP) processing and clearance (or storage), and for cryptococcal antibody formation in progressive cryptococcosis.
Advanced IRFPAs for next-generation sensors

ABSTRACT Raytheon Vision Systems (RVS) has invented and demonstrated a new class of advanced focal plane arrays. These Advanced FPAs are sometimes called 3 rd Generation or Next Generation FPAs b ecause they have integrated onto the FPA the ability to sense multiple IR spectrums, have improved resolution and performance, and conduct image processing on the FPA ROIC. These next generation of FPAs are allowing more functionality and the detection of a more diverse set of data than previously possible with 2 nd Gen FPAs. Examples and histor y of advanced next generation FPAs are reviewed including RVSs Multispectral, Uncooled, Adaptive Sensors and other advanced sensors. Keywords: Multispectral, Uncooled, Focal Plane Arra y, On FPA Processing, Biological Vision. 1. NEXT GENERATION IRPFAS  AN INTRODUCTION There are several definitions of what constitutes a 3 rd Generation FPA. There is general agreement that 3 Generation means an FPA with some advanced capabilities. For example advanced image detection and processing such as multispectral, temporal or spatial processing built onto the FPA could be considered a 3
GABAA Receptors as Broadcasters of Sexually Differentiating Signals in the Brain

Epileptic seizures are more common in males than in females. One of the areas that has recently been implicated in the higher susceptibility of males to seizures is the substantia nigra reticulata (SNR). Several studies support the existence of phenotypic differences between male and female infantile SNR neurons, and particularly in several aspects of the GABAergic system, including its ability to control seizures. We have recently found that at postnatal day 14-17 (PN14-17) rats, which are equivalent to infants, activation of GABA A receptors has different physiological effects in male and female SNR neurons. This is likely due to the differences in the expression of the neuronal-specific potassium-chloride co-transporter KCC2, which regulates the intracellular chloride concentration. In male PN14-17 SNR neurons, GABA A -receptor activation with muscimol causes depolarization and increments in intracellular calcium concentration and the expression of calcium regulated genes, such as KCC2. Blockade of L-type voltage-sensitive calcium channels (L-VSCC) by nifedipine decreases KCC2 mRNA expression. However, in PN14-17 females, muscimol hyperpolarizes the SNR neurons, does not increase intracellular calcium, and decreases KCC2 mRNA expression. In PN15 females, nifedipine has no effect on KCC2 mRNA expression in the SNR. This sexually dimorphic function of GABA A receptors also creates divergent patterns of estradiol signaling. In male PN15 rats, estradiol decreases KCC2 mRNA expression in SNR neurons. Pretreatment with the GABA A -receptor antagonist bicuculline or with nifedipine, prevents the appearance of estradiol-mediated downregulation of KCC2 mRNA expression. In contrast, in PN15 females, estradiol does not influence KCC2 expression. These findings show that, in infantile rats, drugs or conditions that modulate the activity of GABA A receptors or L-VSCCs have different effects on the differentiation of the SNR. As a result, they have the potency of causing long-term changes in the function of the SNR in the control of seizures, movement, and the susceptibility to and course of epilepsy and movement disorders.
A Comparative Assessment of Public Opinion toward Immigrants and Immigration Policies

"This article is part of a larger study of public attitudes toward immigration in seven countries that historically and currently have had different policies and practices vis-a-vis immigration. The countries involved are Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan and the United States. The time frame for which most of the public opinion data will be reported is from 1970 through 1995. The data have been collected from national surveys that were conducted in each of the countries."
Resolving design problems in equivalency trials

Equivalency trials provide a practical means of demonstrating the efficacy of new interventions when ethical issues prevent comparing the intervention to a placebo.1 Generally in equivalency trials, a new intervention is compared with a currently accepted standard treatment. The goal of such a trial is not to test whether the new intervention is better than the current standard, but rather to determine whether there is any important clinical difference between the new intervention and the current standard. When no important difference exists, then a cheaper or more easily tolerated intervention may be justified. Equivalency trials generally require larger sample sizes than superiority trials because studies with small sample sizes that find no difference between the new intervention and a current standard are often underpowered to detect a meaningful difference. Nevertheless, even with an adequate number of subjects, equivalency trials can sometimes make 2 interventions appear equivalent, even when they are not. General issues with equivalency trials have been detailed elsewhere, 1-4 most of which concern lack of incentive for rigorous designs. 5-9 This paper explores design methods for equivalency trials that can substantially increase confidence in claims of equivalence. Dagan and McCracken describe how, with commonly used methods, antibiotic equivalency trials often show that 2 drugs are equivalent when strong differences truly exist.10 This effect, originally described by Marchant and colleagues and termed the "Pollyanna Phenomenon," 11 (in reference to the overly optimistic character of Porter's novel 12 ), creates an environment that can exaggerate the benefits of an inferior drug when compared with a drug that is actually therapeutically superior.
Ending the Confusion over Commercial Speech: Returning to the Central Hudson Test

(1995). Ending the Confusion over Commercial Speech: Returning to the Central Hudson Test. Free Speech Yearbook: Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 1-12.
The future belongs to a social economy of human solidarity: a new orientation in theory and practice

The economic and financial picture of the whole world in the early 1980s does not look at all good despite the optimistic rhetoric used by the leaders of the seven major industrial democracies during the May 1983 Summit Conference held in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. Almost everywhere there are artificial monetary injections to produce another problematic boom with the well‐known residual effects, negative social and financial consequences. But beyond there are no visible signs that on this road the prevailing conditions of disequilibrium embedded in contemporary economies will vanish and a new, better international economic and financial order will emerge.
Metabolism and toxicity of drugs. Two decades of progress in industrial drug metabolism

The science of drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) has developed significantly over the past 20 years, and its functional role in today’s pharmaceutical industry has matured to the point where DMPK has become an indispensable discipline in support of drug discovery and development. While contributions to the lead optimization phase of discovery efforts have been particularly noteworthy in helping to select only the best drug candidates for entry into development, it should be recognized that the scope of DMPK spans the continuum of discovery through clinical evaluation and even into the post-marketing phase; as such, the breadth of DMPK’s involvement is almost unique in contemporary pharmaceutical research. This perspective summarizes notable advances in the field, many of which have been made possible by technological developments in areas such as molecular biology, genetics, and bioanalytical chemistry, and highlights the critical nature of key partnerships between Drug Metabolism, Medicinal Che...
Saving threatened species in Afghanistan: snow leopards in the Wakhan Corridor

The Wakhan Corridor in northeast Afghanistan is an area known for relatively abundant wildlife and it appears to represent Afghanistan’s most important snow leopard landscape. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has been working in Wakhan since 2006. Recent camera trap surveys have documented the presence of snow leopards at 16 different locations in the landscape. These are the first camera trap records of snow leopards in Afghanistan. Threats to snow leopards in the region include the fur trade, retaliatory killing by shepherds and the capture of live animals for pets. WCS is developing an integrated management approach for this species, involving local governance, protection by a cadre of rangers, education, construction of predator-proof livestock corrals, a livestock insurance program, tourism and research activities. This management approach is expected to contribute significantly to the conservation of snow leopards and other wildlife species in the Wakhan.
Electron microscopy of corneal wound healing.

Abstract Perforating incisions about 1·5 mm in length were made in the center of rabbit corneas. The eyes were enucleated after various periods, and the corneal wound was studied by light and electron microscopy. The cuts showed excellent apposition anteriorly, and were closed posteriorly by a fibrin clot. The epithelium had started proliferation by 3·5 hr, reaching its peak in 2 days, and a large epithelial plug was formed. The keratocytes in a 300 μm zone adjacent to the cut degenerated and disappeared. Intact peripheral keratocytes migrated toward this acellular zone and underwent mitosis. They reached the cut edge after 2 days, and showed characteristics of fibroblasts. After 3 and 4 days the epithelial plug regressed, and fibroblasts entered the anterior cut in large numbers, forming collagen fibers. However, fibroblasts did not enter the posterior part of the cut. Intact endothelial cells remained very near the cut edge of Descemet's membrane, and began proliferating by 24 hr. Regenerating endothelial cells extended on the posterior surface of the fibrin clot toward the center, covering the wound completely in 4–8 days. These cells were separated from the stroma by the fibrin mass. In late stages, they formed a mass of endothelial cells which filled the posterior portion of the incision. A normal endothelium and a new Descemet's membrane formed on the posterior surface of the mass between the cut edges of the old Descemet's membrane. Finally, the cellular elements in both anterior and posterior portions of the cuts were reduced in number until the border of the scar could not be detected. It is concluded, therefore, that the corneal healing process is different in the anterior and posterior portions of the incision, and that both epithelial cells and fibroblasts participate in healing of the anterior portions, while only endothelial cells play a role in the most posterior portion of the corneal wound.
Smad Proteins Bind a Conserved RNA Sequence to Promote MicroRNA Maturation by Drosha

Summary The signal transducers of the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ)/bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), the Smads, promote the expression of a subset of miRNAs by facilitating the cleavage reaction by Drosha. The mechanism that limits Smad-mediated processing to a selective group of miRNAs remained hitherto unexplored. In this study, we expand the number of TGFβ/BMP-regulated miRNAs (T/B-miRs) to 20. Of interest, a majority of T/B-miRs contain a consensus sequence (R-SBE) within the stem region of the primary transcripts of T/B-miRs (pri-T/B-miRs). Here, we demonstrate that Smads directly bind the R-SBE. Mutation of the R-SBE abrogates TGFβ/BMP-induced recruitment of Smads, Drosha, and DGCR8 to pri-T/B-miRs and impairs their processing, whereas introduction of R-SBE to unregulated pri-miRNAs is sufficient to recruit Smads and to allow regulation by TGFβ/BMP. Thus, Smads are multifunctional proteins that modulate gene expression transcriptionally through DNA binding and posttranscriptionally through pri-miRNA binding and regulation of miRNA processing.
Bio-molecular architects: a scaffold provided by the C-terminal domain of eukaryotic RNA polymerase II.

In eukaryotic cells, the transcription of genes is accurately orchestrated both spatially and temporally by the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II (CTD). The CTD provides a dynamic platform to recruit different regulators of the transcription apparatus. Different posttranslational modifications are precisely applied to specific sites of the CTD to coordinate transcription process. Regulators of the RNA polymerase II must identify specific sites in the CTD for cellular survival, metabolism, and development. Even though the CTD is disordered in the eukaryotic RNA polymerase II crystal structures due to its intrinsic flexibility, recent advances in the complex structural analysis of the CTD with its binding partners provide essential clues for understanding how selectivity is achieved for individual site recognition. The recent discoveries of the interactions between the CTD and histone modification enzymes disclose an important role of the CTD in epigenetic control of the eukaryotic gene expression. The intersection of the CTD code with the histone code discloses an intriguing yet complicated network for eukaryotic transcriptional regulation. Keywords: C-terminal domain; RNA polymerase II; transcription regulation; phosphorylation; CTD code; WW domain; CID domain; SRI domain; FF domain; histone code; epigenetic regulation (Published: 30 August 2010) Citation: Nano Reviews 2010, 1: 5502 - DOI: 10.3402/nano.v1i0.5502
Adaptive Acceleration Factors for the Newton-Raphson Power Flow Study

Abstract A discussion and analysis of adaptive acceleration factors for the Newton-Raphson power flow study are presented in this paper. The adaptive character is dependent on the improvement obtained at each iteration step. The problems of initialization are also discussed. A very special application of the procedure is motivation for the study: the harmonic power flow study. In that special purpose algorithm, the point of initialization is subject to be at a considerable distance from the solution. The poor convergence properties of the Newton-Raphson method are alleviated through the use of an adaptive acceleration factor. Also, in the harmonic power flow study, the Jacobian matrix is weakly coupled. The adaptive acceleration factor is proposed for any special case of a power flow study in which initialization difficulties are encountered and/or weak coupling or decoupling in the Jacobian occurs. Experience with the method and a description of the convergence rate is given.
Factors That Influence the Decision of Preservice Elementary Teachers to Concentrate in Science.

(1993). Factors that influence the decision of preservice elementary teachers to concentrate in science. Journal of Science Teacher Education: Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 109-114.
Radiographic techniques and efficacy in evaluating esophageal dysphagia

The radiographic examination of the esophagus to determine structural and/or functional causes of dysphagia is best performed with multiple techniques. These include full-column studies to produce distended films with or without the use of a solid bolus, mucosal relief films to identify mucosal defects such as esophagitis or the presence of varices, double-contrast films, and motion recording (fluoroscopy). The efficacy of each technique depends on the quality of the study and the specific disorder to be detected. Esophageal lesions producing dysphagia are classified into extrinsic structural lesions, intrinsic structural lesions, and esophageal motility disorders. Radiographic studies are the preferred screening techniques for patients with dysphagia. Although not as sensitive for the evaluation of mucosal lesions, radiographic studies are superior to endoscopy for the detection of abnormal motility, esophageal rings, and strictures.
Low Incidence of Toxic Shock Syndrome in Children with Staphylococcal Infection

Children have frequent staphylococcal infections, and many lack antibody to TSST-1, a toxin associated with the toxic shock syndrome (TSS). To determine why there have been no nonmenstrual cases of TSS reported in children in Utah, the authors tested S. aureus isolated from children for TSST-1 by radial immunodiffusion and sera from other hospitalized children by radioimmunoassay for antibody to TSST-1. TSST-1 was produced by 25% of S. aureus. Fifty-two children had infections with toxin producing strains. None had TSS. The prevalence of presumably protective levels of antibody (greater than or equal to 1:100) was high in newborns (80%), declined until age 2 years and then gradually increased with age. Therefore, there may have been about 20 children with toxigenic infection who lacked protective antibody but did not show the usual features of TSS. We conclude that the rarity of TSS in children is not caused by misdiagnosis, underreporting, or the absence of toxigenic strains or susceptible patients. Additional factors, such as local conditions or duration of carriage, may influence the clinical presentation of infection with TSST-1 producing staphylococci.
A theory of state covariance assignment for discrete systems

In many regulation control problems it is desired to design the controller so that various system states have acceptable root mean squared values. This is a multiple objective problem. One way to satisfy these objectives is to assign a specified state covariance to the system. This paper introduces and solves the following problem: 1) characterize the entire set of state covariances which may be assigned to a linear discrete-time system by state feedback; and 2) find the set of all state feedback gains which will assign an admissible state covariance to the system. Extensions are also presented for state estimate feedback.
Preparation of thyroid plasma membranes containing a TSH-responsive adenyl cyclase☆

Abstract Adenyl cyclase activity was assayed in a plasma membrane fraction prepared from bovine thyroid using sucrose gradients. Its specific activity was ten times greater than that of the original homogenate. The activity in the plasma membrane fraction was stimulated five-fold by TSH as compared to only a two-fold increase in the whole homogenate. Electron microscopy of the membrane fraction indicated that it was contaminated by only a minimum amount of other cellular components. The Na + -K + -activated ATPase in this fraction had a specific activity ten times that in the original homogenate. The membrane fraction was devoid of cytochrome C oxidase but did contain higher specific activity DPNH-cytochrome C reductase than the original homogenate.
Response of infinite length rods and beams with periodically varying area

Abstract This paper develops a solution method for the longitudinal motion of a rod or the flexural motion of a beam of infinite length whose area varies periodically. The conventional rod or beam equation of motion is used with the area and moment of inertia expressed using analytical functions of the longitudinal (horizontal) spatial variable. The displacement field is written as a series expansion using a periodic form for the horizontal wavenumber. The area and moment of inertia expressions are each expanded into a Fourier series. These are inserted into the differential equations of motion and the resulting algebraic equations are orthogonalized to produce a matrix equation whose solution provides the unknown wave propagation coefficients, thus yielding the displacement of the system. An example problem of both a rod and beam are analyzed for three different geometrical shapes. The solutions to both problems are compared to results from finite element analysis for validation. Dispersion curves of the systems are shown graphically. Convergence of the series solutions is illustrated and discussed.
Catalytic and regulatory functions of N-bromosuccinimide-modified bovine thrombin

At pH 4.1, bovine thrombin reacts rapidly with N-bromo-succinimide to yield modified enzyme containing oxidized tryptophan residue. Both fibrinogen clotting activity and esterase activity are reduced considerably when three moles of tryptophan residues per mole of thrombin are oxidized, but the Michaelis constants for synthetic substrates are not appreciably altered. Reaction of NBS also results in a decrease in the affinity of thrombin for heparin. The dissociation constant for heparin-thrombin complex is increased by 2.6-fold due to the modification of one tryptophan residue. However, the magnitude of the increase in the dissociation constant remains the same for modified enzymes containing approximately two or three oxidized tryptophan residues. The rate constant for the inactivation of thrombin by antithrombin III is increased by 2.5-fold due to the modification of a single tryptophan residue. This increase in rate constant is not further amplified when more than one tryptophan residue is oxidized. In contrast, in the presence of heparin the rate of inactivation of modified and unmodified thrombins by antithrombin III are not significantly different. Thus, the heparin-sensitized inactivation of thrombin by antithrombin III is affected by the modification of one tryptophan residue. Spectrophotometric titrations of the phenolic hydroxyl groups suggest that the structural environments of tyrosyl groups for both unmodified and modified thrombin containing one oxidized tryptophan residue, are similar. The temperature for half loss of catalytic activity of control and NBS-modified thrombin, containing one oxidized tryptophan, are 52 and 51.5 degrees C respectively. It appears that the one tryptophan residue of thrombin is situated at or close to the binding site of heparin.
Cardiac-specific gene expression: a HANDful of factors.

Abstract J. M. Miano. Cardiac-specific Gene Expression: a Handful of Factors. Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology (2002) 34 , 000–000.
The Narcissistic Personality Inventory: Test–retest stability and internal consistency

Abstract The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) is a self-report measure that assesses subclinical levels of narcissism. It evolved through a 54-item, four-factor version to its current 40-item, seven-factor version. This study focuses on the 40-item NPI that produces a full-scale narcissism score and seven-factor-based subscale scores: authority , exhibitionism , superiority , entitlement , exploitativeness , self-sufficiency , and vanity . This study is the first to examine its test–retest reliability. The stability coefficients are expected to be high as personality characteristics are presumed to represent enduring and stable traits. The internal consistency is also investigated, particularly as this version has fewer items, yet a greater number of factor-based subscales than its predecessor. The alpha coefficients produced by data from test, retest, and previously published research are compared. The NPI was administered to 175 American college students, and re-administered 13 weeks later. The NPI demonstrated significant test–retest correlations for all scales. Across all results, only the full-scale and authority subscale possessed adequate ( α > .70) internal consistency, thus raising questions regarding the utility of the remaining scales.
Anthropological dermatoglyphics: A review†

Research in dermatoglyphics having direct interest and application to anthropology has continued to grow since the turn of the century. Anthropological dermatoglyphics can offer important perspectives in viewing the nature and significance of human variation. Several forefronts of ongoing research are reviewed. First, methodology continues to improve definition and classification of variables. A second line of inquiry deals with hereditary aspects. Inheritance models, both monogenic and polygenic, have been proposed. Single locus systems seem to have limited application, as in the transmission of triradial excess or deficiency illustrated by the missing c triradius. Polygenic inheritance has been demonstrated in quantitative phenotypic expressions exemplified by the total finger ridge-count. Exciting recent research employing the “field concept” has discovered a small number of developmental factors which correspond well with earlier findings on volar pad development and dermatoglyphic features. Maternal and other environmental effects have been shown to operate on dermatoglyphic expression. Human population studies using dermatoglyphics began with early racial descriptions and currently utilize multivariate procedures for detecting evolutionary processes. Congruence testing between dermatoglyphics and other biological distance measures is also an active endeavor. In this connection, dermatoglyphic variable selection has become important in recognizing that different variables might well be useful in micro- and macroevolutionary situations. Finally, dermatoglyphic analysis has. been applied to primate studies. Although this area has not kept pace with human studies, primate work has been crucial for the important matters of taxonomic assessment and functional dermatoglyphics.
Determination of steady state generation time distributions from labelled mitosis experimental data.

The proper application of detailed deterministic cell kinetic models depends on the way in which cells are assigned their generation times. A method is presented for the determination of population generation time distributions from labelled mitoses experiments. the model assumes that the generation time of each new cell is a function of both the steady-state generation time distribution function of the population, and also the generation time frequency-function of the previous generation of cells. This approach is applied to two different cell types to successfully simulate extended labelled mitoses curves using a population balance model with constant maturation rates.
Optimum junction depth design of the S/D extension regions (MDD) for sub-0.18-μm CMOS technologies

For scaled CMOS technologies, the source/drain-extension (MDD) junction depth (Xj) is important in achieving optimized device performance. According to the SIA roadmap, Xj is about 0.3 - 0.5 times the nominal gate length (Lgnom) for previous device generations as shown in Fig. 1. For devices with fixed Lgnom, shallower MDD can improve the short channel effects and the drive current sensitivity, however, trade-off occurs due to the increase in effective gate length and channel resistance. Various engineering techniques such as pocket implant can also change the requirement for Xj. It is therefore important to predict the Xj requirement for various transistor designs and facilitate faster turn-around time and minimize the design cost. In this work, a tuned 2-D MEDICI simulator is used to investigate the effect of Xj for 0.1 micrometer to 0.15 micrometer gate length devices. Effects of pocket implant and the use of an additional MDD spacer are compared. Both high performance (maximum off current equals lnA/micrometer) and low power (maximum off current equals 0.01nA/micrometer) devices are studied. For a given device design, an optimum Xj is found where the nominal drive current is maximized for fixed Lgnom and source/drain resistance (R SD ). Key results are as following. (1) For high performance devices with pocket implant, the optimum Xj for S/D extension is approximately 300A (450A) for 0.1 micrometer (0.13 micrometer) Lgnom devices. Without pocket implant, the optimum Xj is reduced to approximately 250A (300A) which falls below the predicted lower limit of 0.3xLgnom. The improvement in the short channel roll-off by pocket implant allows the use of deeper junctions. Furthermore a 5% increase in nominal drive current is also observed for 0.1 micrometer devices with pocket implant. (2) The Xj requirement can be relaxed by using a thin MDD sidewall spacer. By adding a 200A MDD spacer, the optimum Xj for high performance device with pocket implant is approximately 450A and 550A for 0.1 micrometer and 0.13 micrometer node devices. However, addition of a MDD spacer will result in reduced gate overlap and hence larger R SD . It is found that a 200A spacer would result in an additional S/D resistance of 80 (Omega) for nMOS devices and cause 3 - 6% degradation in drive current. (3) For low power version devices with higher threshold voltage, Lgnom is adjusted to 0.11 micrometer and 0.15 micrometer while the minimum gate length (Lgmin) is set to be 85% Lgnom to account for the better short channel effects. The optimum Xj for low power devices with pocket implant is 250A (350A) for 0.11 micrometer (0.15 micrometer) Lgnom devices which is about 50 - 100A shallower than the Xj for high power devices. MDD spacer is more effective for low power devices and a 200A MDD spacer increases optimum Xj by 200A, matching the requirement for high power devices.