cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Applying the cognitive theory of multimedia learning: an analysis of medical animations

Context Instructional animations play a prominent role in medical education, but the degree to which these teaching tools follow empirically established learning principles, such as those outlined in the cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML), is unknown. These principles provide guidelines for designing animations in a way that promotes optimal cognitive processing and facilitates learning, but the application of these learning principles in current animations has not yet been investigated. A large-scale review of existing educational tools in the context of this theoretical framework is necessary to examine if and how instructional medical animations adhere to these principles and where improvements can be made. Methods We conducted a comprehensive review of instructional animations in the health sciences domain and examined whether these animations met the three main goals of CTML: managing essential processing; minimising extraneous processing, and facilitating generative processing. We also identified areas for pedagogical improvement. Through Google keyword searches, we identified 4455 medical animations for review. After the application of exclusion criteria, 860 animations from 20 developers were retained. We randomly sampled and reviewed 50% of the identified animations. Results Many animations did not follow the recommended multimedia learning principles, particularly those that support the management of essential processing. We also noted an excess of extraneous visual and auditory elements and few opportunities for learner interactivity. Conclusions Many unrealised opportunities exist for improving the efficacy of animations as learning tools in medical education; instructors can look to effective examples to select or design animations that incorporate the established principles of CTML.
Surface Pattern Recognition by a Colloidal Particle

This paper's focus is on understanding how surface heterogeneity alters surface forces. An atomic force microscope was used to measure interactions between a 20 μm hydrophobic (−CH3) sphere and a p...
Programmed Dairy Herd Health

Abstract The operation of a dairy herd for maximum profit is based on good feeding, management, records, and a programmed disease control plan. This means that the veterinary practices on a dairy farm must be done at the proper time, at the proper place, and in a coordinated manner to ensure the dairyman the maximum profit and most efficient use of veterinary service. The most important single factor responsible for the rapid recovery of a sick animal is early veterinary diagnosis and treatment. This program is designed to have each calf born healthy and remain that way throughout its growing and productive life. It enables the high-producing cow to remain relatively free of disease and fulfill inherited potential during each lactation. This type of practice can be accomplished best by the veterinarian making monthly visits to the farm. A general health program designed to carry out these objectives is discussed for dairy calves, heifers, cows, and bulls. The procedures for prevention and control of reproductive problems are outlined. An Individual Cow Lifetime Health Record Card and Barn Sheet for recording health information are discussed.
Stress, relaxation, and saliva: A pilot study involving endodontic patients

Thirty-four endodontic patients completed dental anxiety questionnaires and had saliva samples taken prior to and at the conclusion of their initial endodontic treatment. Pain and anxiety were managed with local anesthesia, nitrous oxide--oxygen psychosedation, hypnosis, and meditation, either alone or in combination. For most patients, by the conclusion of the treatment, anxiety had decreased, salivary volume had increased, and salivary protein was reduced. Meditation and hypnosis, either alone or in combination with local anesthesia, were most effective in anxiety reduction as measured by questionnaire and/or salivary changes.
Targeting Postprandial Hyperglycemia: A Comparative Study of Insulinotropic Agents in Type 2 Diabetes

This study was designed to compare the efficacy of three insulinotropic agents in the control of postprandial hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes. Fifteen subjects with noninsulin-requiring type 2 diabetes were admitted to the General Clinical Research Center on four separate occasions. During the control study and following 7-10 d on each study medication, daylong glucose profiles were performed to investigate the effects of the assigned medication on postprandial hyperglycemia. During each admission, placebo or study medications were administered before three isocaloric meals as follows: immediate-release glipizide 30 min before breakfast and 30 min before supper, glipizide gastrointestinal therapeutic system (GITS) 30 min before breakfast, or nateglinide 120 mg 10 min before breakfast, before lunch, and before supper. Blood was drawn for analysis of glucose, insulin, and C-peptide at -0.05, 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 h relative to each test meal. Immediate-release glipizide, nateglinide, or glipizide GITS administration resulted in significantly lower integrated daylong (glucose area under the curve) and peak glucose levels, compared with placebo. There were no significant differences in the daylong integrated glucose levels among the three study medications. The peak postbreakfast glucose level (but not glucose area under the curve) was lower with nateglinide, compared with either immediate-release glipizide or glipizide GITS. Postlunch and postdinner integrated glucose levels were significantly lower with immediate-release glipizide or glipizide GITS, compared with nateglinide. C-peptide levels were significantly higher with immediate-release glipizide, compared with glipizide GITS. Insulin levels did not differ among the three study medications. Once-daily glipizide GITS, twice-daily immediate-release glipizide, or three-times-a-day administration of nateglinide results in equivalent control of postmeal hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes. The decision to prescribe one of these three insulinotropic agents should be based on factors such as the patient's ability to comply with complex dosing regimens, the need to control fasting hyperglycemia, the risk of interprandial hypoglycemia, and pharmacoeconomic considerations, rather than postprandial glucose-lowering efficacy.
Stroke in surgery of the thoracic aorta: Incidence, impact, etiology, and prevention

Abstract Objectives: To determine the incidence, impact, etiology, and methods for prevention of stroke after surgery of the thoracic aorta. Methods: A total of 317 thoracic aortic operations on 303 patients (194 male, 109 female) aged 13 to 87 years (mean 61 years) were reviewed. There were 218 procedures on the ascending aorta and arch and 99 on the descending aorta. Of the 218 procedures on the ascending aorta and arch, 86 involved cardiopulmonary bypass, 122 involved deep hypothermic circulatory arrest, 2 involved antegrade cerebral perfusion, and 8 involved "clamp and sew" or left heart bypass. Of the 99 procedures on the descending aorta, 20 involved "clamp and sew," 69 involved left heart or full bypass, and 10 involved deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. A total of 206 cases were elective and 97 were emergency operations. Results: Twenty-three (7.3%) of 317 patients had a stroke. Fifteen strokes occurred in operations on the ascending aorta and 8 in operations on the descending aorta (6.9% vs 8.1%; P =.703). Stroke occurred in 16 (16.5%) of 97 emergency operations and 7 (3.4%) of 206 elective operations ( P =.001). In the 300 patients surviving the operation, stroke was a significant predictor of postoperative death (9/23 [39.1%] vs 23/277 [8.3%]; P =.001). Analysis of operative reports, brain images, and neurologic consultations revealed 15 of the 23 strokes were embolic, 3 were ischemic, 3 hemorrhagic, and 2 indeterminate. Patients with stroke had longer intensive care unit stays (18.4 vs 6.8 days; P =.0001), longer times to extubation (12.7 vs 3.8 days; P ||.0012), longer postoperative stays (31.4 vs 14.3 days; P =.001), and decreased age-adjusted survival (relative risk 2.775; P =.0013). After implementation of a rigorous antiembolic regimen, both strokes and mortality trended downward. Conclusions: (1) Stroke complicates surgery of both the ascending and descending thoracic aorta and warrants consideration in decision making. (2) Strokes are largely embolic. (3) Antiembolic measures for particles and air are essential, including gentle aortic manipulation, thorough debridement, transesophageal echocardiography to identify aortic atheromas, carbon dioxide flooding of the field, and (in descending cases) proximal clamp application before initiating femoral perfusion. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2001;122:935-45
On the description of physiological systems: Epistemological considerations

Various points of view concerning what is required for a description to be adequate have appeard in the history of physiology since mathematics began to be used for that description. Three main themes are described in the present paper, and the criteria underlying them are examined. Certain additional criteria are considered for judging among the descriptive themes. The proposition is advanced that questions of heuristic value and questions of relevance to major current themes in the discipline tend to dominate consideration. Judged by these criteria, the suggestion is made that an instrumentalist position may be the most satis-factory epistemological one, and that the application to physiology of finite level models may represent a successful example of the application of this position to physiological description.
Global Importance of Ticks and Associated Infectious Disease Agents

Abstract Ticks are medically important ectoparasites that have global distribution. They live in diversified habitats, have close contact with a wide range of vertebrate hosts, and can transmit a variety of disease agents to human beings, domesticated animals, and wildlife. Tick-borne infections can cause acute or chronic illnesses, such as Lyme disease, relapsing fever, Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever, human babesiosis, Texas cattle fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, Boutonneuse fever, tularemia, Colorado tick fever, and encephalitis. Human fatalities have been reported for some of these diseases. Certain tick species are also suspected vectors of Bartonella organisms. Having high reproductive potential, few natural parasites and predators, the ability to live several months or years, and relatively broad host ranges, ticks are well adapted for survival and difficult to control. Certain practices, however, such as early removal of attached ticks from skin, use of repellents, and landscape modifications near human dwellings can reduce tick bites and risk of infection.
Predicted Optical Properties for Clear Natural Water

This paper presents the results of an effort to predict the optical properties of a clean-water type as a function of wavelength. The prediction is based on extensive experimental spectral values for the irradiance-attenuation coefficient and the irradiance reflectance for clean, naturally occurring water, together with an analytical expression for the shape of the asymptotic radiance distribution and a synthesized table of spectral values for the total scattering coefficient based on recent experimental data obtained by Morel in the Mediterranean Sea. The values predicted for the total attenuation coefficient are found to compare favorably with recent data for the total attenuation coefficient obtained at several wavelengths by Austin, in the Sargasso Sea. Other optical properties predicted herein are found to be consistent with experimental values recently reported in the literature.
A nonlinear stress-strain relation

Abstract A new nonlinear stress-strain relation for an isotropic, homogeneous material is presented. It provides a realistic nonlinear uniaxial stress-strain curve and accounts for the apparent variation of Poisson's ratio found experimentally when classical linear theory is assumed. It also accounts for the Poynting effect, for the nonlinear effect of hydrostatic stress superimposed upon simple tension and upon simple shear. The conditions set forth by Truesdell for the acceptability of a constitutive equation are met, and the nonlinear stress-strain relation reduces to the classical linear stress-strain relation for sufficiently small stresses.
The phenotype of lymphocytes in a thymoma as studied with monoclonal antibodies

In a thymoma, with lymphocytic predominance, we characterized the lymphocytes using a battery of monoclonal antibodies. The T lymphocytes had a phenotype most characteristic of cortical thymocytes (T3+, T4+, T6+, T8+, T11+, TdT+, PNA+).
Interactions between Molecular Hydrogen and Alkali Halide Ion-Pairs in Neon Matrices

Neon matrices of the alkali halide ion-pairs and H2 give evidence of associations as characterized by infrared absorptions in the H−H stretching region. With the exception of KF, none of the absorptions correlated with analogous species in argon matrices. It was exceedingly difficult to obtain the 1:1 complex of MX:H2 because of the extreme mobility of H2 in the developing matrix, and concentrations of less than 70 ppm were necessary to achieve adequate dilution. LiI, LiCl, and CsF all induce infrared intensity in H2 that is at higher wavenumber than what is seen in argon, and it is argued that the differences are due to an interaction which is fundamentally different from what is seen in argon. While it has been argued that dihydrogen interacts exclusively with the anion of alkali halides in argon, it is clear from these spectra that there must be at least some cation interaction as well.
Mean squared error performance of adaptive matched field localization under environmental uncertainty

Matched field processing (MFP) is the use of full-field acoustic modeling to obtain improved detection and localization over conventional planewave and range focused beamforming in passive sonar signal processing. MFP localization (MFL), however, is a challenge in practice due to high ambiguities in the search surface that introduce large errors. In addition, uncertainties in environmental characterizations lead to mismatched field replicas that ultimately limit localization performance. Also, the adaptive nature of MFP requires use of estimated data covariances whose impact must be accounted for. The goal of this paper is to use the method of interval errors (MIE) to predict mean-squared error localization performance of MFL at moderate to low SNRs in the presence of mismatch, to assess system performance and sensitivities.
Varying Hydrogen Ion Concentration upon Rate of Action of Proteolytic Enzymes in Gastric Mucous Membrane.

Summary1. The inactive principles of an extract of gastric mucosa can be activated to various degrees by varying the degree of original activity.2. The activity developed at a given degree of acidity can be destroyed by 30 minutes' exposure to a weakly alkaline solution and cannot be restored on acidification to a point below or equivalent to the original H-ion concentration.3. Further activity can be demonstrated by acidifying to higher degrees than the primary acidity.4. The proportionate loss in digestive power is greater, upon making the solution alkaline, the higher the degree of preliminary acidity.5. The activity shown by an acidified extract of gastric mucosa is dependent in part upon the actual amount of active enzyme present.6. The effect of alkalinity upon the unactivated extract is to lower the resultant activity after acidification. The effect increases rapidly with increasing alkalinity, and all digestive action may be lost around pH 12 to pH 13.7. Except for the very slight alkalinity of pH...
Inhibition of prostaglandin biosynthesis by human low-density and high-density lipoproteins.

Abstract The ability of human low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) to inhibit the biosynthesis of prostaglandin (PG) E 2 , F 2 and prostacyclin from arachidonic acid by bull seminal vesicle (BSV α ) PG synthase was studied. Both LDL and HDL inhibited the PG synthase activity in BSV microsomes. The greatest inhibitory effect was observed against the biosynthesis of PGE 2 . These results show an hitherto unrecognised property of human lipoproteins that may mediate some of the biological actions of these substances.
Simon: scriptable interactive monitoring for SDNs

Although Software-Defined Networking can simplify network management, it also poses new testing and debugging challenges for operators. Debugging is often an interactive process that involves stepping through data- and control-plane events and performing actions in response. Sometimes, however, this interactive process can become highly repetitive; in such cases, we should be able to script the activity to reduce operator overhead and increase reusability.We introduce Simon, a Scriptable Interactive Monitoring system for SDN. With Simon, operators can probe their network behavior by executing scripts for debugging, monitoring, and more. Simon is independent of the controller platform used, and does not require annotations or intimate knowledge of the controller software being run. Operators may compose debugging scripts both offline and interactively at Simon's debugging prompt. In the process, they can take advantage of the rich set of reactive functions Simon provides as well as the full power of Scala. We present the design of Simon and discuss its implementation and use.
Calculation of the thermodynamic and transport properties of aqueous species at high pressures and temperatures: Standard partial molal properties of organic species

Consideration of interactions between neutral aqueous species and H2O dipoles in terms of effective Born coefficients permits extension of the revised HKF (Helgeson, Kirkham and Flowers, 1981) equations of state (Tanger and Helgeson, 1988) for the standard partial molal properties of ionic species at high pressures and temperatures to include inorganic gases, acids, and other neutral aqueous species. Correlation algorithms similar to those used to estimate equation of state parameters for ions and electrolytes (shock, and Helgeson, 1988) have also been developed for neutral aqueous species. Calculation of the standard partial molal thermodynamic properties of dissolved inorganic gases as well as other neutral aqueous species as a function of pressure and temperature indicates that the standard partial molal volume (V0), heat capacity (C0p), and entropy (S0), together with the apparent standard partial molal enthalpy of formation (ΔH0) of many of these species in the liquid phase minimize with increasing temperature at PSAT∗ and approach ∞ at the critical point of H2O. In the case of other neutral aqueous species such as SiO2(aq), V0, C0p, S0, and ΔH0 behave as functions of temperature and pressure like those of electrolytes in the liquid phase and maximize with increasing temperature at PSAT, approaching — ∞ at the critical point of H2O. Which of these types of behavior is exhibited by V0, C)p, S0, and ΔH0 for a given neutral aqueous species depends in part on the relative volatility of the aqueous species and the effect of the species on solvent dipole-dipole interaction. Close agreement between predicted and experimentally determined equilibrium constants for gas solubility and inorganic acid dissociation reactions at high temperatures and pressures supports the validity and generality of the equations of state and the predictive algorithms. High temperature/pressure equilibrium constants can be predicted for reactions involving a wide variety of neutral aqueous species for which few or no experimental data are available at temperatures > 25°C. Present capabilities permit such predictions to be made for hydrothermal and magmatic conditions at pressures and temperatures to 5 kb and 1000°C.
Image compression on a VLSI neural-based vector quantizer

Abstract A self-organization algorithm for image compression and the associated VLSI architecture are presented. A frequency upper-threshold is effectively used in the centroid learning method. Performances of the self-organization networks and traditional nonself-organization algorithms for vector quantization are compared. This new algorithm is quite efficient and can achieve near-optimal results. A trainable VLSI neuroprocessor based upon this new self-organization network has been developed for high-speed and high-ratio image compression applications. This neural-based vector quantization design includes a fully parallel vector quantizer and a pipelined codebook generator which obtains a time complexity O (1) for each quantization vector. A 5 × 5-dimensional vector quantizer prototype chip has been designed and fabricated. It contains 64 inner-product neural units and an extendable winner-take-all block. This mixed-signal chip occupies a compact silicon area of 4.6 × 6.8 mm2 in a 2.0-μm scalable CMOS technology. It provides a computing capability as high as 3.33 billion connections per second. It can achieve a speedup factor of 110 compared with a SUN-4/75 workstation for a compression ratio of 33. Real-time adaptive VQ on industrial 1024 × 1024 pixel images is feasible using multiple neuroprocessor chips. An industrial-level design to achieve 104 billion connections per second for the 1024-codevector vector quantizer can be fabricated in a 125 mm2 chip through a 1 μm CMOS technology.
Interpreting the universal phylogenetic tree

The universal phylogenetic tree not only spans all extant life, but its root and earliest branchings represent stages in the evolutionary process before modern cell types had come into being. The evolution of the cell is an interplay between vertically derived and horizontally acquired variation. Primitive cellular entities were necessarily simpler and more modular in design than are modern cells. Consequently, horizontal gene transfer early on was pervasive, dominating the evolutionary dynamic. The root of the universal phylogenetic tree represents the first stage in cellular evolution when the evolving cell became sufficiently integrated and stable to the erosive effects of horizontal gene transfer that true organismal lineages could exist.
Optimization problems in magnetohydrodynamic flows

On traite le probleme des conditions de maximum de conversion d'energie dans les generateurs magnetohydrodynamique pour les ecoulements incompressibles et compressibles, et pour les cas ou les electrodes sont repartis soit en sections finies soit en sections continues. Les conditions d'optimalite sont trouvees pour les cas finis par le principe de Bellman, et pour le cas de repartition infinie des electrodes par l'equation fondamentale de la programmation dynamique.
Formation and crystal structure of a cationic mono(cyclopentadienyl) complex of calcium, [(C5Me5) Ca(OPPh3)3]+I-

When the neutral Lewis base triphenylphosphine oxide reacts with (C5Me5)CaI(thf)2 in THF, the halide is displaced from the calcium to generate the stable cation [(C5Me5)Ca(OPPh3)3]+. The latter exhibits a “piano stool” geometry and displays only modest air sensitivity.
Trimethylphosphine-haloboranes syntheses and proton magnetic resonance spectra☆

Abstract The compounds (CH3)3PBHnX3−n (where X = Cl, Br or I and n = 0, 1, 2, 3) were synthesized by the halogenation of trimethylphosphine-borane and by the direct coordination of trimethylphosphine with boron triiodide. The proton NMR chemical shifts of the methyl protons show an increasing degree of deshielding as the size or the number of the halogen atoms attached to the boron atom is increased. The deshielding of methyl protons is in general less for the phosphine-boranes than for their amine-borane analogues [(CH3)3NBHnX3−n][21]. The greater difference in the chemical shift difference between (CH3)3NBH3 and (CH33NBHnX3−n (Δ) than between (CH3)3PBH3 and (CH3)3PBHnX3−n (Δ′) shows that the increase in the deshielding produced by increasing the size or the number of the halogen atoms in case of phosphorus compounds is less than in the corresponding nitrogen compounds. The decrease in deshielding for the phosphorus compounds is attributed to the reduction in the interaction between the methyl protons and the halogen atom(s) on the boron atom resulting from the longer bond length in the linkage CPB than in CNB.
Instability growth seeded by oxygen in CH shells on the National Ignition Facility

Fusion targets imploded on the National Ignition Facility are subject to hydrodynamic instabilities. These have generally been assumed to be seeded primarily by surface roughness, as existing work had suggested that internal inhomogeneity was small enough not to contribute significantly. New simulations presented here examine this in more detail, and consider modulations in internal oxygen content in CH plastic ablators. The oxygen is configured in a way motivated by measurement of oxygen in the shells. We find that plausible oxygen nonuniformity, motivated by target characterization experiments, seeds instability growth that is 3–5× bigger than expected from surface roughness. Pertinent existing capsule characterization is discussed, which suggests the presence of internal modulations that could be oxygen at levels large enough to be the dominant seed for hydrodynamic instability growth. Oxygen-seeded growth is smaller for implosions driven by high-foot pulse shapes, consistent with the performance improvement seen with these pulse shapes. Growth is somewhat smaller for planned future pulse shapes that were optimized to minimize growth of surface ripples. A possible modified specification for oxygen modulations is discussed, which is about 1/5 of the current requirement.
Cellular aging: symmetry evades senescence.

Summary Cellular aging programs typically rely on the asymmetric shape and growth pattern of cells. A new study shows that symmetric fission yeast cells escape classic signs of aging until they encounter environmental stress.
The Internal Other: Exploring the Dialectical Relationship Between Regional Exclusion and the Construction of National Identity

Societies have historically sought to spatialize difference—to other—even within the boundaries of supposedly unified polities. Drawing on previous scholarship on the spatialization of difference in published case studies, we examine the dialectical relationship between the formation and institutionalization of regions, on the one hand, and the nation-building process more broadly on the Other. Certain regions become repositories for undesirable national traits as part of a dialectical process of nation and region building. The processes of othering are rarely as linear and tidy as proposed in some current formulations of the theory; rather, othering involves a host of concomitant processes that work together to produce economically and culturally differentiated regions. The processes by which particular places or regions become “othered” are not only interesting in the abstract but also carry with them enduring material consequences. To demonstrate this effect, we visit two historical case studies that e...
Somatomedin-C in accelerated growth of children with precocious puberty

To assess the role of somatomedin-C as a possible mediator of the growth spurt in children with central precocious puberty, we compared Sm-C levels in 40 children with central precocious puberty, 87 age-matched normal children, and 110 normal pubertal controls. Somatomedin C levels were significantly elevated for age in the children with precocious puberty (P less than 0.01), and were similar to the levels observed during normal puberty. The patients with precocious puberty were given the luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analogue D-Trp6-Pro9-NEt-LHRH (LHRHa) for 6 months. Treatment caused a significant decrease in secondary sexual characteristics, growth rate, plasma gonadotropins, sex steroids (estradiol in the girls and testosterone in the boys), and Sm-C levels. Growth during LHRHa treatment returned to the age-appropriate rate, whereas plasma Sm-C levels, although lower than pretreatment levels, remained significantly elevated for age (P less than 0.002). In addition, growth rates before and during treatment did not correlate with the plasma somatomedin C levels, nor did the decreases in growth rate during LHRHa therapy correlate with the decreases in somatomedin C levels. Growth rates did correlate significantly, however, with plasma estradiol levels in the girls (P less than 0.0005) and with plasma testosterone levels in the boys (P less than 0.025). We conclude that the growth spurt in children with precocious puberty cannot be explained by the plasma level of somatomedin C.
Gravitational compression of crystallized suspensions of polystyrene spheres.

In a crystallized suspension of polystyrene spheres, the earth9s gravitational field, acting on a vertical column of material several centimeters high, produces an elastic deformation that can be readily observed through its effect on the crystal lattice constant. This effect has been used to determine that Young9s modulus for the crystalline material ranges from 1 to 3 dynes per square centimeter, depending on the concentration of spheres.
The making of Portuguese democracy

This vividly written book is the first comprehensive assessment of the origins of the present-day democratic regime in Portugal to be placed in a broad international historical context. It is written with the benefit of a long-term vision of Portuguese history, and it emphasizes the significance of Portugal's new European orientation after centuries of global and oceanic preoccupations. After an account of the collapse of the old regime in 1974, the book studies the complex revolutionary period that followed, and the struggle in Europe and Africa to define the future role of Europe's poorest country. These events also had international repercussions which transformed the balance of forces in southern Africa, following the collapse of Europe's last overseas empire. The consequent actions and reactions of the European powers and the United States are examined, and telling comparisons are also drawn with later developments in Eastern Europe, and with the wider collapse of the communist movement.
Optical Testing With Large Liquid Flats

We recently had two occasions to qualify optical flats of moderate size. Because of the mounting geometry, it was convenient to try measuring them with a Fizeau test against a liquid surface. In a preliminary literature search, we found few writings on the application of liquid flats. In this report, we briefly review the literature before describing our experiences and results.
Heat shock inhibits caspase-1 activity while also preventing its inflammasome-mediated activation by anthrax lethal toxin

Summary Anthrax lethal toxin (LT) rapidly kills macrophages from certain mouse strains in a mechanism dependent on the breakdown of unknown protein(s) by the proteasome, formation of the Nalp1b (NLRP1b) inflammasome and subsequent activation of caspase-1. We report that heat-shocking LT-sensitive macrophages rapidly protects them against cytolysis by inhibiting caspase-1 activation without upstream effects on LT endocytosis or cleavage of the toxin's known cytosolic substrates (mitogen-activated protein kinases). Heat shock protection against LT occurred through a mechanism independent of de novo protein synthesis, HSP90 activity, p38 activation or proteasome inhibition and was downstream of mitogen-activated protein kinase cleavage and degradation of an unknown substrate by the proteasome. The heat shock inhibition of LT-mediated caspase-1 activation was not specific to the Nalp1b (NLRP1b) inflammasome, as heat shock also inhibited Nalp3 (NLRP3) inflammasome-mediated caspase-1 activation in macrophages. We found that heat shock induced pro-caspase-1 association with a large cellular complex that could prevent its activation. Additionally, while heat-shocking recombinant caspase-1 did not affect its activity in vitro, lysates from heat-shocked cells completely inhibited recombinant active caspase-1 activity. Our results suggest that heat shock inhibition of active caspase-1 can occur independently of an inflammasome platform, through a titratable factor present within intact, functioning heat-shocked cells.
Ambiguity and conflict in sentencing research: Partial resolution through crime-specific analysis

Prior research on factors influencing sentence severity has produced ambiguous findings. To resolve some of this ambiguity, a crime-specific approach to data analysis is proposed and tested. The research sample consists of 468 convictions resulting from 619 indictments for the crimes of murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery. Independent variables examined include seven offender and case-processing characteristics. The dependent variable, sentence severity, is measured first as a dichotomous variable (probation or prison) and then as an interval variable (prison-sentence length). After determining that crime type explains a significant proportion of the total variance in sentence severity, the dependent variables are then regressed on the variable list. Four regressions are performed for each dependent variable; the first analysis uses all cases in the sample, while the remaining analyses focus separately on the crimes of murder, assault, and robbery. The research indicates that the aggregate and crime-specific analyses produce substantively different results, both in terms of the factors found to influence sentence severity and the total amount of variance explained. Findings demonstrate the utility of crime-specific analysis.
Inferring black carbon content and specific absorption from Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) aerosol retrievals

[1] Black carbon is ubiquitous in the atmosphere and is the main anthropogenic absorbing particulate. Absorption by black carbon is thought to be comparable to the cooling associated with sulfate aerosols, although present-day satellites are incapable of obtaining this measurement, and model estimates are highly uncertain. More measurements of black carbon concentration are necessary for improving and validating transport and general circulation models. The Aerosol Robotics Network (AERONET) of 180 worldwide radiometers offers an opportunity to obtain these measurements. We use the Maxwell Garnett effective medium approximation to infer the column-averaged black carbon concentration and specific absorption of AERONET retrievals at 46 locations. The yearly averaged black carbon column concentrations exhibit the expected regional dependence, with remote island locations having values about an order of magnitude lower than the continental biomass burning locations. The yearly averaged black carbon specific absorption cross section is consistent with other measured values, 9.9 m2 g−1 for 19,591 retrievals, but varies from 7.7 to 12.5 m2 g−1. We attribute this variability to the details of the size distributions and the fraction of black carbon contained in the aerosol mixture. We also used the Maxwell Garnett equations to parameterize the imaginary refractive index with respect to the black carbon volume fraction, enabling simple but accurate absorption estimates for aerosol mixtures when the black carbon fraction and size distribution is known. The black carbon concentrations that we derive from AERONET measurements correctly describe the radiance field and represent an alternative to absorption optical thickness in the link between models and AERONET measurements.
A Novel Spectral Marker for Fe-Starvation in Cyanobacteria and its Association with IsiA in the Process of Light-Harvesting

Iron-limiting growth conditions were established for Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. Time-resolved optical spectroscopy of Fe-starved cells revealed a light-induced 520 nm spectral signal that may represent the electrochromic bandshift of carotenoids. The isiA and isiB were inactivated, respectively. Only the isiA mutant showed differences in growth rate and pigment content relative to the wild type grown in Fe-depleted medium. Further, the signal did not appear in Fe-starved isiA mutant. We conclude the signal serves as a marker for Fe-starvation and is associated with the IsiA protein. Under iron-limitation, IsiA associates with PS I, forms the PS I-IsiA supercomplex and increases the overall light-harvesting efficiency. We propose the spectral signal observed actually arises from the β–carotene near the quinones in PS I when the electron acceptors are transiently reduced by high light intensity. Under the intensity regime employed, the PS I-IsiA supercomplex in Fe-starved cells processes more energy per unit time than the PS I in Fe-replete cells, and thus backs up electrons to quinones more prominently. Time-resolved optical and EPR spectroscopies further demonstrated the carotenoid electrochromic bandshift signal and the semiquinone signal.View Large Image | View Hi-Res Image | Download PowerPoint Slide
Economic exposure and debt financing choice

In recent years, firms in several industrialized economies have globalized. In this paper, it is shown that the economic exposure of such non-financial firms plays an important role in their long-term debt financing choice. When firms face positive economic exposure, eurocurrency debt denominated in foreign currency dominates foreign debt as well as domestic debt. However, when firms face negative economic exposure, foreign debt dominates other forms of debt financing as the value-maximizing choice for the shareholders of the firm. If firms are not exposed, domestic debt, foreign-currency debt, and eurocurrency debt are equivalent financing alternatives, in the absence of bankruptcy costs.
Agricultural Development and the Size Distribution of Personal Income: The Tropical African Experience

Abstract We use data from a sample of countries in Tropical Africa to investigate the relationship between relative income and growth rate of the agricultural sector and income inequality. We find that an increase in the income of the agricultural sector relative to that of the non-agricultural sector decreases income inequality. The growth rate of agricultural production and the proportion of the labor force in the non-agricultural sector were also found to be negatively correlated with income inequality.
Suicide bombing as acts of deathly citizenship? A critical double-layered inquiry

While prevailing terrorism research often asks what we can do to eliminate the threat of suicide terrorism, this article switches the question by asking: what problems might the agency manifested in suicide bombing (even if unlawful and irresponsible) solve for us? In critiquing the sociological positivist approach that seeks to uncover the causes of suicide terrorism – and in the process reveals a hidden ideology that sustains the binary of ‘democracy’ versus ‘terrorism,’ and portrays the latter as a threat to the former – I extend upon the legacy of Fanonian violence to conduct a critical double-layered inquiry in connecting suicide bombing to the agency of citizenship. In the first, political layer of inquiry, I borrow from the works of social theorists Engin Isin and Melanie White in arguing that suicide bombing in the Palestinian situation can be read as a moment of ‘acts of deathly citizenship’. However, by pointing to three insufficiencies in the first layer of analysis – the role of rationality, t...
Nature Above People: Rolston and "Fortress" Conservation in the South

Holmes Rolston III has argued that in some situations where the needs of starving people come into conflict with the protection of natural values, "we" ought to prioritize the latter. Focusing on the threat to pristine ecosystems and endangered species posed by overpopulation in developing countries, Rolston advocates the exclusion of human settlement and activity from the most fragile and valuable wild areas-a strategy sometimes termed "fortress conservation." This approach suffers from at least three serious faults. First, fortress conservation is regarded as an illegitimate imposition by many of the local people on whose cooperation the success of conservation initiatives depends, often leading to failure in terms of conservation objectives. Second, the assumption that conservation and the satisfaction of basic human needs are largely incompatible ignores evidence of widespread environmentally sustainable patterns of resource use. Finally, Rolston's appeal to "us," referring variously to concerned North Americans and to humanity as a whole, implicitly universalizes the preservationist value system of a Northern minority while excluding the values and voices of the people directly affected by the proposed conservation measures.
Gain control by layer six in cortical circuits of vision

After entering the cerebral cortex, sensory information spreads through six different horizontal neuronal layers that are interconnected by vertical axonal projections. It is believed that through these projections layers can influence each other's response to sensory stimuli, but the specific role that each layer has in cortical processing is still poorly understood. Here we show that layer six in the primary visual cortex of the mouse has a crucial role in controlling the gain of visually evoked activity in neurons of the upper layers without changing their tuning to orientation. This gain modulation results from the coordinated action of layer six intracortical projections to superficial layers and deep projections to the thalamus, with a substantial role of the intracortical circuit. This study establishes layer six as a major mediator of cortical gain modulation and suggests that it could be a node through which convergent inputs from several brain areas can regulate the earliest steps of cortical visual processing.
Conformational Changes in Voltage-Sensing Domains: Concerted Simulation and Scattering Studies

Electrical signals in excitable tissues such as nerves and muscles are generated by the synchronized opening and closing of ion channels in cell membranes, which generate transient transmembrane gradients in the concentrations of sodium and potassium ions. These channels open and close in response to local changes in transmembrane potential as the signal propagates, and it is well established that their voltage sensitivity is conferred by charged structural elements, referred to as voltage-sensing domains. The details of how conformational changes in the voltage-sensing domains lead to opening/closing of the ion-conducting pores of the channels are still being worked out. Crystal structures of the open states of voltage-gated potassium channels are available, but the structure of the closed/resting state has not been determined to high resolution experimentally. In this talk I will report our efforts to generate a model of the resting state of the archaeal KvAP potassium channel based on atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in explicit membrane environments, with restraints derived from experimental functional data. I will also present results from simulation studies of an isolated voltage-sensing domain in a hydrated membrane, which include validation by neutron diffraction measurements, and direct observations of elementary gating charge displacement events during a 30-microsecond MD simulation under applied transmembrane potential. Finally, I will discuss prospects for and present preliminary results on using x-ray and neutron interferometry measurements, carried out by our collaborators, to validate and refine simulation-based models of the resting state and the voltage-sensing mechanism.
Reform of the European Employment Strategy after Five Years: A Change of Course or Merely of Presentation?:

This article starts with a brief review of the European Employment Strategy (EES) and a general evaluation of its scope and limitations, then provides an assessment of the five-year review conducted by the European Commission. It examines the new form that has been given to the EES for the 2003 exercise, on the basis of the conclusions drawn from the five-year review. It argues that this change involves more than mere presentation, but fails to address the inherent limitations of the EES as currently constituted. Lastly, the article compares the employment guidelines with the original proposals made by the Commission, and draws conclusions regarding the balance of interests and forces in the policy-making process.
Model-based imputation of missing data from the 122 Cities Mortality Reporting System (122 CMRS)

National estimates of the all-cause and pneumonia and influenza (P&I) mortality burden derived from U.S. influenza surveillance data treat all missing or unreported values as zero counts. The effect of this methodological decision is to undercount influenza deaths, thus biasing estimates downward and producing underestimates of the true mortality burden. In this paper, a regression-based procedure is proposed to impute missing values and thus produce a more accurate estimate of mortality. Several model specifications are considered and evaluated to predict weekly death counts by city, calendar week, calendar year and age group. Revised all-cause, P&I and excess mortality estimates are calculated by imputing the missing data. The impact of the treatment of unreported mortality data on national estimates is evaluated by comparing the estimates obtained using data with and without imputation. This comparison reflects some differences in mortality burden, excess deaths, and trends over time. The model presented is a useful approach to impute missing counts and improve inference in situations with modest occurrence of missing data.
Paleomagnetic data from Triassic strata, Zuni uplift, New Mexico: Further evidence of large‐magnitude Triassic apparent polar wander of North America

Upper Carnian (∼225 Ma) strata of the Bluewater Creek Formation of the Chinle Group of the Colorado Plateau, western New Mexico, contain predominantly reverse polarity characteristic magnetizations of high coercivity and distributed unblocking temperature up to 695°C. Data from a syndepositional structure suggest acquisition of a stable remanence during or soon after deposition. The mean paleomagnetic pole for 13 virtual geomagnetic poles (VGP) accepted (of 17 sites collected) is located at 55.2°N, 87.5°E (A95 = 6.7°, K = 39.7). The angular distance between this pole and the mean of recently published middle and late Norian (∼210 Ma) poles from overlying strata is 12.5°, supporting the hypothesis that significant apparent polar wander occurred during Late Triassic time. Furthermore, the Bluewater Creek pole lies to the west (6.1°, angular distance) of the cratonic reference pole for Carnian time supporting the hypothesis of a small Colorado Plateau rotation since the early Mesozoic. Anisian strata of the Moenkopi Formation contain dual polarity magnetizations of high coercivity and distributed unblocking temperatures up to 690°C, The mean VGP of six sites yields is located at 53.1°N, 96.3°E (A95 = 6.4°, K = 109.2), which is similar to previously determined Middle Triassic poles. Triassic paleomagnetic poles from southwest North America from strata in continuous stratigraphic succession, both on and off the Colorado Plateau, are not consistent with the hypothesis of a Late Triassic stand still of the geomagnetic pole.
Can Network Analysis Improve Pattern Recognition Among Adverse Events Following Immunization Reported to VAERS

Current methods of statistical data mining are limited in their ability to facilitate the identification of patterns of potential clinical interest from spontaneous reporting systems of medical product adverse events (AEs). Network analysis (NA) allows for simultaneous representation of complex connections among the key elements of such a system. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) can be represented as a network of 6,428 nodes (74 vaccines and 6,354 AEs) with more than 1.4 million interlinkages. VAERS has the characteristics of a "scale-free" network, with certain vaccines and AEs acting as "hubs" in the network. Known safety signals were visualized using NA methods, including hub identification. NA offers a complementary approach to current statistical data-mining techniques for visualizing multidimensional patterns, providing a structural framework for evaluating AE data.