cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clathrin-coated vesicles from bovine brain contain uncoupled GABAA receptors

Clathrin-coated vesicles are thought to be a vehicle for the sequestration of GABAA receptors. For coated vesicles from bovine cerebrum, we examined the binding properties of [3H]muscimol. a GABAA-specific agonist. [3H]flunitrazepam a benzodiazepine agonist, and [35S]t-butylbiocyclophosphorthionate (TBPS), a ligand for GABAA receptor channels. Under standard conditions, the binding level of [3H]muscimol, [3H]flunitrazepam, and [35S]TBPS to coated vesicles represented 12.3 +/- 1.8%, 7.9 +/- 1%, and 10.2 +/- 1.8%, respectively, of that in crude synaptic membranes. Coated vesicles showed a single [3H]flunitrazepam binding site with a KD value (12 nM) which was 9-fold that for synaptic membranes. The allosteric coupling between binding sites was measured by the addition of GABA to [3H]flunitrazepam and [35S]TBPS binding assays. For [3H]flunitrazepam binding to synaptic membranes, GABA gave an EC50 = 2.0 microM and at saturation (100 microM) an enhancement of 122%. This stimulation was completely blocked by the GABA antagonist SR95531. In contrast, neither GABA nor SR95531 had a significant effect on [3H]flunitrazepam binding to CCVs, indicating that the allosteric interaction between GABA and benzodiazepine binding sites is abolished. Likewise, GABA displaced nearly all of the [35S]TBPS binding to synaptic membranes but had no effect on binding to coated vesicles, indicating that coupling between the GABA binding sites and chloride channel is also impaired. Thus GABAA receptors appear to be uncoupled during normal intracellular trafficking via coated vesicles. The presence of major GABAA receptor subunits on these particles was verified by quantitative immunoblotting. Relative to the levels in synaptic membranes, CCVs contained 110 +/- 14% and 29.5 +/- 3.8%, respectively, of the immunoreactivity for GABAA receptor beta 2 and alpha 1 subunits. Thus, in comparison to GABAA receptors on synaptic membranes, those on CCVs have a reduced alpha 1/beta 2-subunit ratio. It may be suggested that a selective decline in the content of alpha 1 subunits in coated vesicles could in part account for GABAA receptor uncoupling.
TCR ligand density and affinity determine peripheral induction of Foxp3 in vivo

T cell receptor (TCR) ligation is required for the extrathymic differentiation of forkhead box p3+ (Foxp3+) regulatory T cells. Several lines of evidence indicate that weak TCR stimulation favors induction of Foxp3 in the periphery; however, it remains to be determined how TCR ligand potency influences this process. We characterized the density and affinity of TCR ligand favorable for Foxp3 induction and found that a low dose of a strong agonist resulted in maximal induction of Foxp3 in vivo. Initial Foxp3 induction by weak agonist peptide could be enhanced by disruption of TCR–peptide major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) interactions or alteration of peptide dose. However, time course experiments revealed that Foxp3-positive cells induced by weak agonist stimulation are deleted, along with their Foxp3-negative counterparts, whereas Foxp3-positive cells induced by low doses of the strong agonist persist. Our results suggest that, together, pMHC ligand potency, density, and duration of TCR interactions define a cumulative quantity of TCR stimulation that determines initial peripheral Foxp3 induction. However, in the persistence of induced Foxp3+ T cells, TCR ligand potency and density are noninterchangeable factors that influence the route to peripheral tolerance.
Reflection Using an Online Discussion Forum: Impact on Student Learning and Satisfaction

The quasi‐experimental study reported in this paper examined whether students were more satisfied and learned more using an online discussion with peers or a hardcopy reflection with one‐time feedback from the facilitator/instructor. A t‐test was used to measure the difference between an experimental section and a comparison section of the same course on: post‐course ratings of how well the course objectives had been achieved, what students hoped to gain from the course, satisfaction with the course, and student end‐of‐the‐semester grades. Students in the group who participated in the weekly online discussions with peers indicated higher rates of accomplishing what they hoped to gain from the course than those who turned in weekly hardcopy reflections with one‐time feedback from the facilitator/instructor. Students expressed a preference for the method of reflection used in their course section. However, the students' ages emerged as an important variable in their preference for online discussion. There w...
NONLOCAL SU(3) CURRENT ALGEBRA

Abstract We construct the nonlocal (parafermionic) SU(3) current algebra with Z N -symmetry in two dimensions, following the Z-algebra a la Lepowsky and Wilson. By computing the characters of the representation, we show that the simplest N =2 algebra (central charge of the conformal sector c = 6 5 ) is equivalent to a combined system of the tri-critical ( c = 7 10 ) and the critical ( c = 1 2 ) Z 2 -Ising models.
Correlation of glass transition temperature and molecular weight: A model based on the principle of corresponding states

The molecular weight dependence of the glass transition temperatures of polystyrene, polyα-methyl styrene, polyisopropylα-methyl styrene, polymethylmethacrylate, polyvinylchloride, poly-isobutylene, polyisoprene, and poly-N-octadecylmaleimide is described by an equation developed from the Principle of Corresponding States. A statistical analysis is used to test the adequacy of the equation, and it is shown that from a statistical point of view the three molecular parameters, Se/Sm, e/e, and Ce/Cm, characterizing, respectively, the ratios of contact area, lattice energy, and segmental mobility of end groups relative to repeating segments along the chain, will adequately describe the data. It is also shown that in one limit the equation reduces to the well-known Ueberreiter-Kanig result, which for most cases is a good first approximation to the data. The molecular weight-TG data were used to estimate the depression of the glass transition temperature of polystyrene and polymethylmethacrylate by a series of plasticizers. It was concluded that in the absence of important changes in the molecular structure within a homologous series of polymers, the Principle of Corresponding States can be employed to describe the molecular weight dependence of glass transition temperature over the entire range of available data.
Cluster adsorption of argon on alumina

The self-consistent unrestricted Hartree-Fock method was used to study the adsorption of argon on cluster models of ${\mathrm{Al}}_{2}$${\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ surfaces. We have considered surfaces parallel and perpendicular to the hexagonal $c$ axis and obtained a maximum binding of 0.5 eV, in good agreement with experiment. We propose a simple electrostatic model to account for this binding.
Increasing selectivity in comprehensive three-dimensional gas chromatography via an ionic liquid stationary phase column in one dimension.

Abstract Recent advances in improving the selectivity and performance for a comprehensive, three-dimensional (3D) gas chromatograph (GC3) instrument are described. With GC3, two six-port diaphragm valves are utilized as the interfaces between three, in-series capillary columns housed in a standard GC instrument fitted with a high data acquisition rate flame ionization detector (FID). Modulation periods for sampling from one column to the next are set so that sufficient slices (i.e., modulations) are acquired by the subsequent dimension resulting in comprehensive data. We present GC3 instrumentation with significantly higher 3D peak capacity than previously reported. An average peak capacity production (i.e., per time) of 180 resolved peaks per minute was experimentally achieved for three representative analytes in a 3D diesel sample separation. This peak capacity production is about 4 times higher than our previous report. We also demonstrate the significant benefit of the added chemical selectivity of the three column GC3 instrument relative to a two column GC × GC instrument, in which one of the three columns is a triflate ionic liquid stationary phase column with a high selectivity for phosphonated compounds (i.e., di-methyl-methyl phosphonate, di-ethyl-methyl phosphonate and di-isopropyl-methyl phosphonate). Using all three separation dimensions, the 2D separation fingerprint of a diesel sample is simultaneously obtained along with selective information regarding the phosphonated compounds in the diesel samples in the additional dimension.
Automating financial markets

Abstract An electronic financial marketplace can be regarded as a single multiorganizational distributed system with a communications network at the centre and a number of linked peripheral elements. The paper describes the characteristics of electronic marketplaces, the progress being made in automating financial markets, some of the problems that may arise and likely future developments.
Extraction of hollow gastric foreign bodies by flexible upper endoscopy assisted by a through-the-scope balloon catheter for anchoring

Background Various methods have been used to remove foreign bodies; hollow foreign bodies deserve special consideration. The main difficulty encountered in such situations is the anatomic obstacle of the lower and upper esophageal sphincters along with a risk of perforation. Objective We describe a unique approach by using an esophageal balloon dilator to anchor a hollow foreign body onto an endoscope, which allows for the successful extraction of such objects with minimal risk. Design Case series. Setting Shands Jacksonville and University of Florida/Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida. Patients Two consecutive patients with hollow foreign bodies in the stomach that required removal. Interventions A combined approach by using an endoscope and a 20-mm by 8-cm esophageal balloon dilator to remove hollow foreign bodies from the stomach. Main Outcome Measurements Nonsurgical removal of hollow gastric foreign bodies. Results Both foreign bodies were successfully removed from the stomach and extracted by mouth with this technique. There were no complications after both procedures. Conclusions The inflated esophageal balloon that anchors a hollow foreign body onto a flexible endoscopic technique is a safe and effective alternative to previously described methods for removal of such foreign bodies in the gastric cavity. This method may be applicable to the removal of other hollow objects within the gastric lumen.
From Rhetoric to Reality: How Police Officers View the Implementation of Generalized Community Policing

Research literature on community policing has focused on its impact on police organizations or citizens, especially in jurisdictions where community policing was a specialized police function. Less is known about how police officers experience the process of implementing community policing, particularly when it is a generalized function affecting an entire organization and all of its employees. Using data from a midwestern agency, this study examines the way in which front line officers and supervisors experienced the implementation of a generalized community policing philosophy. Specific attention is given to factors that influenced the attitudes and experiences of those most directly affected by this organizational change. Findings suggest that perceptions and experiences were largely a product of the beliefs and attitudes of the individual officers. Implications for police managers and scholars are discussed.
Multiple light scattering in anisotropic random media

In the last decade diffusing wave spectroscopy (DWS) has emerged as a powerful tool to study turbid media. In this article we develop the formalism to describe light diffusion in general anisotropic turbid media. We give explicit formulas to calculate the diffusion tensor and the dynamic absorption coefficient, measured in DWS experiments. We apply our theory to uniaxial systems, namely, nematic liquid crystals, where light is scattered from thermal fluctuations of the local optical axis, called director. We perform a detailed analysis of the two essential diffusion constants, parallel and perpendicular to the director, in terms of Frank elastic constants, dielectric anisotropy, and applied magnetic field. We also point out the relevance of our results to different liquid crystalline systems, such as discotic nematics, smectic-A phases, and polymer liquid crystals. Finally, we show that the dynamic absorption coefficient is the angular average over the inverse viscosity, which governs the dynamics of director fluctuations.
Pulmonary Host Defenses and Factors Predisposing to Lung Infection

Hospital-acquired pneumonia remains a leading cause of nosocomial infections and is associated with significant rates of morbidity and mortality. Multiple host-, pathogen-, and intervention-related factors contribute to the development of pneumonia in this setting. Potentially deleterious impacts of illness or therapeutic modalities impair the host's ability to resist the development of pneumonia while in the hospital and predispose to a spectrum of pathogens of greater virulence than found in the community. Recognition of factors contributing to pneumonia in the hospital setting may offer the opportunity to intervene, minimizing, to the extent possible, the serious consequences of this nosocomial complication.
Table-driven input editing for a data-storage system

Abstract Traditional and table-driven methods of editing input data for a data-storage system are compared. An application of table-driven input editing is described for a high-volume, multiple-format, clinical data-base which is subject to frequent modification in form and content. Modification of formats in the data-base does not require a programmer, and can be handled in a matter of minutes rather than days.
An uncommon cause of acutely altered mental status in a renal transplant recipient

Abstract Introduction. Neurological complications are quite frequent in patients after solid organ transplantation presenting with focal or generalized neurologic symptoms as well as altered mental status. Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome is a rare cliniconeuroradiological entity characterized by headache, altered mental status, cortical blindness, seizures, and other focal neurological signs and a diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging. Case report. We present a case of a 57-year-old woman with one episode of seizures and sudden onset of altered mental status (time and person perception) accompanied with headache at the thirtieth postoperative day after renal transplantation. Conclusion. Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, although an uncommon post-renal transplantation complication, should be considered in these patients, as several factors surrounding the setting of transplantation have been implicated in its development. Thus, physicians should be aware of this condition in order ...
Den Ouden, Bernard D., Language and Creativity: An Interdisciplinary Essay in Chomskyian Humanism

La pritrakto de kreiveco en lingvo konfliktas kun la aserto pri la ekzisto de lingvaj universaloj. Post reeenzo pri la Chomsky-aj vidpunktoj, la aǔtoro konkludas, ke lingvaj malsameco kaj kreiveco estas plej taǔge klarigeblaj en terminoj de transformaj procezoj interne de sistemoj de neakiritaj, denaskaj strukturoj. Tiu konkludo antaǔen-pusas la demandon, cu eventuale konfliktoj en lingvo estas ciam laǔnature lingvaj - au eble ne. Le recenzanto konkludas, ke tiuj konfliktoj generale starigas pro malsamo de la bazaj hipotezoj ce la parolanto kaj ce la aǔdanto. Tiu emfazo pri la baza informo prefere ol pri la lingva kadro ankaǔ klarigas, kial miskompren-konfliktoj povas okazi inter esperantistoj, kiuj povas miskomuniki inter si, ec se ili uzas kune saman lingvon.
Search for the effect of weak photon localization in second-harmonic waves generated in a disordered anisotropic nonlinear medium

The possibility of observing the effect of weak photon localization in the second-harmonic waves generated in KH2PO4 (KDP) powder is investigated and discussed. The two primary factors for the negative observation are that the second-harmonic waves are generated by different primary wave vectors because of multiple scattering of the primary wave in the disordered medium and that the scattering amplitude for the two counterpropagating second-harmonic waves are different because of the anisotropy of the KDP microcrystals.
Vulnerability Discovery Modeling Using Weibull Distribution

A vulnerability discovery model describes the variation in the vulnerability discovery rate during the lifetime of a software system and can be used to assess risk and to evaluate possible mitigation approaches. A few vulnerability discovery models have recently been proposed. The AML Logistic model has been found to provide the best fit in several cases. Weibull distribution, which can model an asymmetric pdf, is often used for reliability evaluation in some fields but has not been used for modeling vulnerability discovery. Here we propose a new Weibull distribution based on vulnerability discovery model and compare it with the existing AML Model. The results show that the new model performs well in many cases, and may be considered as an alternative to the AML model.
Steady-state creep of hot-pressed SiC whisker-reinforced silicon nitride

Abstract Constant compressive stress creep experiments have been conducted in nitrogen on hot-pressed silicon nitride containing, as sintering aids, 6 wt% Y 2 O 3 and 1·5 wt% Al 2 O 3 , in addition to 0, 20 and 30 vol.% of SiC whiskers derived from rice hulls. The temperature and stress ranges of these studies were 1470–1720 K and 50–350 MPa, respectively. All materials showed a change in thermally-activated creep behavior above 1570 K. For example, under a constant stress of 300 MPa, the value of the activation energy for the 20 vol.% material increased from 403 kJ/mol to 715 kJ/mol for the temperature ranges 1470–1570 K and 1570–1670 K, respectively. In the higher temperature range both the 20 and 30 vol.% composites deformed at creep rates equal to or lower than that of the unreinforced material. This phenomenon, however, was reversed in the low temperature range where the composites consistently crept at higher than the unreinforced material. Under all conditions, the 30 vol.% material crept at a lower rate than the 20 vol.% material. In addition, the steady-state creep rate versus log stress curves for the composites showed a change in slope at 230 MPa. Below this stress, the composites showed a stress exponent of 0·4-1. Above 230 MPa, the stress exponent increased to 1·5-2·5, values which were approximately equal to those for the unreinforced material over the whole stress range. Kinetic data, coupled with the results of transmission electron microscopy, indicate that grain boundary sliding by viscous flow was the primary mechanism of steady-state creep in these materials. Viscous flow was limited by extensive crystallization of the grain boundary amorphous phase. In the low temperature regime, grain boundary sliding was controlled by diffusion through the glass phase. The higher creep rates in the composite were caused
Methods for evaluating birdsfoot trefoil for susceptibility to foliar and shoot blight caused by Rhizoctonia spp.

Production of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) is limited in humid, temperate regions by foliar and shoot blight caused by Rhizoctonia species. The objective of this study was to develop methods for quantifying blight symptoms on 14 plant introductions and three cultivars of birdsfoot trefoil. Susceptibility was evaluated in the greenhouse on the basis of shoot lesion formation and blight of leaves and apical meristems. On the basis of these symptoms, no entry of this limited collection of birdsfoot trefoil was completely resistant to infection. However, 4 d after inoculation, shoot lesion length differed significantly among entries. Additionally, lesion lengths varied between experiments in relation to environmental conditions. In contrast to shoot lesion length, foliar blight and the time to blight of apical meristems did not vary significantly among entries in either experiment. Shoot lesion development limits foliage production and survival under field conditions and should be considered an important factor in further screening of birdsfoot trefoil for disease resistance.
Survival through transformation: how China's Suzhou-centred world economy weathered the general crisis of the seventeenth century

In 1684, the Kangxi emperor (reigned 1661–1722) made the first of his Southern Tours. Reflecting on his inspection of Suzhou, he wrote: ‘I had always heard of the prosperity of Wu. Now I've seen it...
Native American Children's Performance on the Preschool Language Scale-3:

Recent literature indicates a need for culturally appropriate assessment instruments for Native American children. This study was designed to determine if available language assessment instruments could validly assess Native American children's language skills. Eighty Native American children, ages 3 to 5, participated in this study. Participants, obtained from three Head Start programs in northeastern Oklahoma, were administered the Preschool Language Scale-3 (PLS-3). Results indicated that the PLS-3 provided a valid assessment of the receptive and expressive language skills of 3- and 4-year-old Native American children. Use of the PLS-3 with 5-year-old Native American children is questionable.
Which color is more colorful, the lighter one or the darker one?

To answer a question often asked in industrial color reproduction, a series of highly chromatic color samples of the same CIELAB hue but of small variations of CIELAB chroma and lightness were prepared and scaled for perceived colorfulness. The results indicate that lightness contributes to the perceived colorfulness as defined by the observers according to their everyday color experiences. For the samples used, colorfulness can be modeled by factoring in the CIELAB L* value in addition to CIELAB C*. The results show that colorfulness, as implied in our everyday color experiences, can be a complex perceptual attribute. A newer psychophysical scaling model is also presented, since Thurstone's Case V model was shown to be inadequate. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 28, 168–174, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.10142
Extracellular matrix from normal but not Steel mutant mice enhances melanogenesis in cultured mouse neural crest cells

The Steel mutation is a non-cell-autonomous defect in mice that affects the development of several stem cell populations, including germ cells, hematopoietic cells, and neural crest-derived pigment cells. To characterize the environmental lesion caused by the Steel mutation, we have compared the ability of normal and mutant extracellular matrix material to support the differentiation of normal mouse neural crest cells in vitro. Extracellular matrix deposited by cultured skin cells isolated from normal fetuses enhanced melanogenesis by crest cells over that observed on plastic substrata. In contrast, matrix material produced by Steel-Dickie (Sld) fetal skin cells failed to enhance melanogenesis. Adrenergic differentiation by neural crest-derived cells was promoted equally by both normal and mutant extracellular matrix compared to control substrata. We conclude that the environmental defect in mutant embryos selectively affects a melanogenic subpopulation of neural crest cells and resides, at least in part, in the extracellular matrix.
Learning multi-scale sparse representation for visual tracking

We present a novel algorithm for learning multi-scale sparse representation for visual tracking. In our method, sparse codes with max pooling are used to form a multi-scale representation that integrates spatial configuration over patches of different sizes. Different from other sparse representation methods, our method uses both holistic and local descriptors. In the hybrid framework, we formulate a new confidence measure that combines generative and discriminative confidence scores. We also devised an efficient method to update templates for adaptation to appearance changes. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method with experiments and show that our method outperforms other state-of-the-art tracking algorithms.
GROWTH OF YOUNG WHEAT PLANTS IN AUTO-IRRIGATED SOILS, AS RELATED TO THE WATER-SUPPLYING POWER OF THE SOIL AND TO THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE AUTO-IRRIGATOR

The auto-irrigator (4, 5) furnishes a convenient means for maintaining approximately constant moisture contents in the soil masses of pot cultures, the maintained moisture content being dependent on the kind of soil used (indicated by its water-holding power, moisture equivalent, etc.), on the packing of the soil, and on the hydrostatic head against which water moves from the irrigator reservoir into the soil mass. The experiments briefly described below were planned as a preliminary study of the relations between the growth of young wheat plants in autoirrigated pot cultures and the water-supplying power of the soil about their roots, this dynamic soil feature being itself controlled, for each kind of soil used, by the water content of the soil, controlled in turn by the height of the mercury column introduced between the irrigator reservoir and the water-supplying, porous-porcelain cone. The experiment here reported was carried out by Hemmi in the greenhouse of the Laboratory of Plant Physiology of the Johns Hopkins University, in the winter of 1922-23, and he left his notes with the other authors of this paper when he returned to Japan. The results seem worthy of publication because of the great fundamental importance of the water-supplying power of the soil in plant physiology and plant culture, and because they add considerably to our knowledge of the manner in which the auto-irrigator operates in practice. It seems to be becoming more generally appreciated that the influential conditions of plant environments must be controlled or quantitatively recorded for effective experimentation in plant physiology, and the moisture conditions of the soil are now among the environmental conditions most susceptible of control and satisfactory measurement.
Influence of food abundance on competitive aggression in juvenile convict cichlids

Abstract Optimality models designed to explain the occurrence of feeding territoriality predict that the frequency or intensity of aggression will peak at intermediate levels of food abundance. To test whether this prediction applies to the competition for ephemeral patches of food, we manipulated food abundance over a broad range of values in two separate experiments (24- and 64-fold, respectively) while monitoring the aggressive behaviour of juvenile convict cichlids, Archocentrus nigrofasciatum , competing for the food. In both experiments, the rate of aggression was low when food was scarce, increased as food abundance increased, and decreased when food was provided in excess. This dome-shaped pattern of aggression was caused partly by higher encounter rates between fish and partly by a higher proportion of encounters resulting in aggression, when food was at intermediate levels of abundance. Our results suggest that convict cichlids display behavioural flexibility: in response to changes in food abundance, they appear to change both their likelihood of using aggression when encountering a conspecific and their willingness to enter an occupied patch.
Reproductive management of captive psittacine collections

Psittacine birds have a long history as companion animals, but psittacine aviculture is a relatively recent pursuit that began in earnest in Europe in the late 19th century. Acquisition of birds was difficult and expensive, and it was not until the middle of the 20th century, with the advent of increased mobility and air travel, that obtaining stock became less cumbersome [1]. Many challenges faced the early aviculturist. Birds were imported on an irregular basis and were prohibitively expensive. Furthermore, the monomorphic sexual nature of most psittacine species made it very difficult to determine the sex and create viable pairings. In addition, little was known about their diseases beyond psittacosis, and veterinarians had no interest or inadequate training in exotic avian medicine. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the demand for psittacine birds grew steadily. Domestic production of bugerigars and cockatiels had been considerable for some time, but with the exception of some Australian species, larger psittacine production was negligible and the trade relied upon infrequent importation of wild-caught birds. Reliable air transport from resource nations in the tropics permitted more facile import. Even with improved transport, however, losses could still be considerable [1]. Disease also became an important factor. At about the same time as import increased, a worldwide pandemic of exotic Newcastle’s disease resulted in the institution of the quarantine system in 1973, which was regulated by the US Department of Agriculture. This system resulted because of an outbreak in the United States that was traced to imported psittacine birds. A concomitant rise in the interest of the diseases of psittacine birds occurred. The avicultural community demanded more attention from veterinarians because many of these species commanded high prices and were difficult to replace; therefore,
DEVELOPMENT OF AN INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE THREAT RELATED TO CARDIAC EVENTS

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Cardiac Event Threat Questionnaire (CTQ). The CTQ is a 31-item instrument specific for cardiac events that was developed from a literature review and self-reports of persons who had experienced a recent cardiac event. A convenience sample (N = 270) of persons hospitalized for angina, myocardial infarction, or cardiac surgery completed the CTQ. Satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliabilities were found. Results of confirmatory factor analysis and correlation with the Profile of Mood States provide initial support for construct validity of the CTQ.
Cyclosporine A and palmitic acid treatment synergistically induce cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells

Immunosuppressant cyclosporine A (CsA) treatment can cause severe side effects. Patients taking immunosuppressant after organ transplantation often display hyperlipidemia and obesity. Elevated levels of free fatty acids have been linked to the etiology of metabolic syndromes, nonalcoholic fatty liver and steatohepatitis. The contribution of free fatty acids to CsA-induced toxicity is not known. In this study we explored the effect of palmitic acid on CsA-induced toxicity in HepG2 cells. CsA by itself at therapeutic exposure levels did not induce detectible cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells. Co-treatment of palmitic acid and CsA resulted in a dose dependent increase in cytotoxicity, suggesting that fatty acid could sensitize cells to CsA-induced cytotoxicity at the therapeutic doses of CsA. A synergized induction of caspase-3/7 activity was also observed, indicating that apoptosis may contribute to the cytotoxicity. We demonstrated that CsA reduced cellular oxygen consumption which was further exacerbated by palmitic acid, implicating that impaired mitochondrial respiration might be an underlying mechanism for the enhanced toxicity. Inhibition of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) attenuated palmitic acid and CsA induced toxicity, suggesting that JNK activation plays an important role in mediating the enhanced palmitic acid/CsA-induced toxicity. Our data suggest that elevated FFA levels, especially saturated FFA such as palmitic acid, may be predisposing factors for CsA toxicity, and patients with underlying diseases that would elevate free fatty acids may be susceptible to CsA-induced toxicity. Furthermore, hyperlipidemia/obesity resulting from immunosuppressive therapy may aggravate CsA-induced toxicity and worsen the outcome in transplant patients.
VI. Narrative Connections in the Family Context: Summary and Conclusions

The understanding of child development has required increased attention to the social context in which the child is reared. Initially, the focus was restricted to mother-child interactions as the sole context, but gradually an ecological model has been accepted in which increasing attention is paid not only to other parenting figures, beginning with fathers, but also to other generations of parenting figures. What we are proposing is that a representational aspect of this expanded social model must be assessed as well as the behavioral manifestations. Our entry into this effort is through family narratives.
Localized flow of nylon-6,6 rods under torsional loading

Torsional loading of solid rods is used to determine how the flow stress of nylon-6,6 depends on loading rate and temperature. Relatively modest rate sensitivity and very strong temperature dependence contribute to a high probability of strain localization during shearing of this material. The severity of this localization is assessed by using an imaging infrared radiometer to measure the evolution of a sample's surface temperature profiles are used to determine the limit of uniform deformation in a sample. Fundamental material properties are then derived unambigously from torque versus angle of twist data.
Evaluation of resuscitation skills in new residents before and after pediatric advanced life support course.

Objective. Acquisition of resuscitation skills taught in advanced resuscitation courses has not been evaluated. We sought to determine the interobserver reliability of a resuscitation performance skills checklist to assess resident performance of bag mask ventilation, intubation, defibrillation, and intraosseous vascular access, and to measure skill acquisition by entering residents after a pediatric advanced life support (PALS) course. Design. The resuscitation skills of all 39 pediatric R1’s in 2 university-based training programs were assessed immediately before and after completion of a PALS course just before starting residency. Independent observers scored and timed resident performance of bag mask ventilation, endotracheal intubation, intraosseous access, and defibrillation. Scores before and after the PALS course were compared. Four independent observers scored 4 residents’ videotaped skills performance. Observers’ scores for each resident were compared. Results. Successful performance improved for bag mask ventilation from 62% to 97% after the PALS course; for successful endotracheal intubation, from 64% to 90%; for successful intraosseous needle placement, from 54% to 92%; and for successful defibrillation, from 77% to 97%. Interobserver reliability was high for continuous and noncontinuous variables. Conclusions. New residents demonstrated significant acquisition of pediatric resuscitation skills immediately after completion of the PALS course. The skills performance checklist has excellent interobserver reliability and is a useful tool for evaluation of other training venues.
Automatic breakdown voltage measurement of polymer films

Automatic breakdown tester for film samples which employs metalized film electrodes has been developed and demonstrated. Using this system, up to 600 breakdowns have been carried out automatically on capacitor film with a Weibull characteristic breakdown voltage in the range of 5 kV. Breakdown data measured with this system agree with data measured manually using the same test method. Measurements of breakdown field as a function of active area agree well with theory based on an assumed Weibull distribution for the breakdown field. A duplicate of this system has been delivered to the Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, MD.
Inadequate Reimbursement for Care Management to Primary Care Offices

Background: Care management in primary care can be effective in helping patients with chronic disease improve their health; however, primary care practices are often challenged to identify revenue to pay for it. This study explored the impact of direct reimbursement on the provision of care management in a primary care physician organization. Methods: Using data on expenses and health plan reimbursement during the initial 16 months of care management implementation at 5 practices, we calculated the percentage of related costs that were covered by payments. Qualitative data from interviews with practice members were used to identify their perceived barriers to care management reimbursement and the impact of current reimbursement strategies on service delivery. Results: Direct reimbursement for care management covered only 21% of the costs. Reimbursement varied by care manager background, patient diagnoses, insurer, and indication for the visit. Barriers to gaining reimbursement included patient resistance to copay, clinician hesitation to bill for care management visits (for fear the patient may receive a bill), differential reimbursement policies of insurers, and general lack of reimbursement for care management in many cases. Although practice-level quality improvement incentives were an alternative means of supporting care management, because these incentives were not directly tied to the service of care management, they were used for other activities ultimately supporting patient care. Conclusions: This study highlights the need for sufficient reimbursement to initiate and maintain care management for patients in primary care as proposed for service reforms under the Affordable Care Act.
Degenerate parametric amplification in an optoelectronic GaAs CPW-to-slotline ring resonator

Nonlinear optical-microwave mixing is performed in an uniplanar CPW-to-slotline ring resonator on a semi-insulating GaAs substrate, in which a Schottky photodetector is monolithically integrated as a coupling gap. The parametric amplification effect of the mixer occurs when the capacitive reactance of the detector is modulated. In this structure, a parametric amplification gain of 20 dB, without the applied bias in the radio frequency (RF) signal, is obtained. This microwave optoelectronic mixer can be used in fiber-optic communication links.
A multiprocessor computer system for integrated numeric and symbolic computation

A class of problems, called signal understanding (SU) systems, that involves intensive numeric, as well as symbolic testing, is considered. A shared-memory multiprocessor computer system designed specifically to facilitate the development and evaluation of parallel SU algorithms, which would be a basic tool for developing real-time SU systems, is described. This machine, called the MX-1, runs Common LISP, which has been augmented with extensions for user-directed parallelism. It is, in essence, a parallel LISP machine with digital signal processors (DSPs) integrated into the architecture to provide powerful numeric computational capability. The MX-1 has 16 crossbar interconnected processing nodes, each with a Motorola 68020 CPU operating at 16 MHz, 8 Mbytes of dynamic random-access memory and its own Weitek DSP coprocessor that can do 10 million multiply-accumulate operations per second. High-speed I/O ports are provided for direct entry of sensor data into the DSPs. Two 4-node systems and a 16-node system have been fabricated, and several applications have been run on the systems. >
“IT'S A LOT OF WORK”: Racialization Processes, Ethnic Identity Formations, and Their Health Implications

Explanations for immigrant and Latino health outcomes often invoke culture through the use of the concept of acculturation. The use of acculturation models in health research has been, however, the topic of growing debate. Critics of acculturation-based explanations point out that despite the growing psychometric sophistication in measuring acculturation, the concept and its underlying assumptions remain flawed. Specifically, questions regarding how Mexicans experience and make sense of the ethnoracial structure of the United States and how racialization processes impact health and well-being remain largely ignored within acculturation-based models. By examining the processes Mexican women engage in as they construct ethnic identities within a stigmatizing social environment in the United States, this paper contributes answers to these questions. Based on a qualitative analysis of forty in-depth interviews conducted with first-generation Mexican immigrant women and second-generation Mexican American women in Detroit, this paper describes how Mexican women work through the tensions and complexities embedded in the process of constructing a sense of ethnic belonging while, at the same time, confronting and resisting racial stereotypes of Mexicans in the United States. Women’s narratives suggest that the stress involved in negotiating ethnic identities under stigmatizing environments might be one of the ways in which living in a racialized society affects health outcomes. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for Latino and immigrant health.
A decade of healthcare improvement in cystic fibrosis: lessons for other chronic diseases

From 2002 to 2012, the median predicted survival age for people with cystic fibrosis (CF) increased nearly 10 years—from 31.3 years to 41.1 years.1 ,2 Strategic efforts to improve care for CF marked this remarkable era. These efforts were supported by expert leadership among CF healthcare improvement professionals and resources from the CF Foundation. While process outcomes improved substantially—for example, more timely clinic visits, increased influenza immunisation rates, and more effective screening for associated problems such as depression and diabetes,1 ,2 clinical outcomes improved even more dramatically—notably, pulmonary function, nutritional status and predicted survival. This supplement, Ten Years of Improvement Innovation in Cystic Fibrosis Care , captures the larger perspective of this comprehensive improvement initiative and reports representative CF care centre-level examples. It also identifies strategies to widen the circle of improvement professionals who successfully publish their innovative work in scholarly journals.3 Institution-based …
Close & Closer: Discover social relationship from photo collections

“Close & Closer” is a social imaging application that performs analysis on photo collections to reveal closeness of people's relationship and presents the discovered relationship in an interactive manner to prompt photo sharing and people connection. It addresses two challenges with innovative solutions: first, a closeness measurement is proposed based on face detection and clustering result; Secondly, a computing framework is designed and implemented to execute computation extensive jobs, such as face detection and clustering, in a both distributed and parallel manner to assure the application's usability. The application is deployed on Facebook social networking platform. The effectiveness of the closeness measurement and computing framework are validated through the real user experience.
Longitudinal scalogram analysis: A methodology and microcomputer program for Guttman scale analysis of longitudinal data

Guttman scalogram analysis has been limited to cross-sectional analysis. Longitudinal scalogram analysis (LSA), a direct extension of cross-sectional scalogram analysis to longitudinal-data, is proposed as an alternative methodology. The benefits of LSA relative to cross-sectional methods of analysis are discussed.
Stability of L-Ascorbic Acid Added to Whole, Chocolate, and Low Fat Milks

Abstract Whole, chocolate-flavored whole, and 1% fat milks were fortified with 42.3mg L-ascorbic acid, 2113 IU vitamin A, and 422.7 IU vitamin D per liter. Sample treatments were: A) unpasteurized, no fortification; B) unpasteurized, vitamins A and D added; C) pasteurized, vitamins A and D added before pasteurization; D) unpasteurized, vitamins A, D, and C (ascorbic acid) added; E) pasteurized, all three vitamins added before pasteurization; and F) pasteurized, all three vitamins added after pasteurization. Samples were analyzed for ascorbic acid and vitamin A after 0, 2, 4, 7, 14, 21, and 36 days storage at 4C. Chocolate milk contained less ascorbic acid at day 0 than whole or 1% milk, but as time progressed, differences decreased. Ascorbic acid in chocolate milk decreased little after 14 days, with the result that all milks with a given treatment had approximately the same ascorbic acid content at 36 days. Within each type of milk, rates of ascorbic acid deterioration were similar with treatments E and F. There were no significant changes in vitamin A.
Ablation should not be first-line therapy for the treatment of atrial fibrillation.

The introduction of new techniques into medical practice frequently results in uncertainty for potential referring physicians and patients alike. The development of safe and effective percutaneous techniques for the cure of symptomatic Wolff–Parkinson–White (WPW) syndrome quickly led to near-elimination of the use of cardiac surgery and antiarrhythmic drugs to treat this proarrhythmic condition, and is justly regarded as a triumph of innovation by both electrophysiologists and biomedical engineers. The introduction of balloon angioplasty also led to a reduction in the number of patients referred for surgical procedures, although with arguably less rationale. An excess of popular enthusiasm among patients and physicians for this procedure made critical debate (continuing in academic circles) moot, at least in the USA. In this paper, I will argue that radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation is more akin to the use of angioplasty and less like the treatment of WPW, and cannot be just...
Tariff valuation bases and trade among developing countries : do developing countries discriminate against their own trade?

In establishing the value of imports for tariff assessment, most countries apply duties either to the cost-insurance-freight (c.i.f.) or the free-on-board (f.o.b.) value of the traded good. One effect of using the far more common c.i.f. base is to place a disproportinate burden on countries that have higher freight and insurance costs. Distant countries often not only pay higher transport costs, but are further penalized by disproportionate tariff costs that worsen their competitive disadvantage. The f.o.b. valuation procedure does not penalize exporters for their location, but applies a nominal tariff rate directly to the export costs of each country. Using cost information for six Latin American countries, this paper examines the influence of the two procedures on the level and incidence of tariff protection. It concludes that transport and insurance costs generally put developing countries at a disadvantage (compared to developed countries) on interregional trade and that the relatively high Latin American tariffs on c.i.f. prices further worsen their competitive position. To correct the bias against trade between developing countries, it is recommended that f.o.b. valuation procedures used by developed countries be adopted. This change would also reduce tariff barriers considerably.
Novel in vivo model of inducible multi-drug resistance in acute lymphoblastic leukemia with chromosomal translocation t(4;11)

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with translocation t(4;11) is found in 60-85% of infants with ALL and is often refractory to conventional chemotherapeutics after relapse. Using the t(4;11) ALL line SEM, we evaluated chemotherapy resistance in NOD.CB17-Prkdcscid/J mice. SEM cells were injected into the tail vein and engraftment was monitored by flow cytometry. Once engraftment was observed, mice were injected intraperitoneally with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), or vincristine (0.5mg/kg body weight) three times per week for 4weeks (n=8 per group). The level of P-glycoprotein in SEM cells was increased 3-fold by vincristine treatment compared to PBS-treated mice. Survival curves showed that leukemia cell growth was initially delayed by vincristine treatment, but the mice eventually succumbed to disease. These data describe a novel inducible model for investigating multi-drug resistance mechanisms in high-risk t(4;11) ALL.