cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Investigation of bioaerosols released from swine farms using conventional and alternative waste treatment and management technologies.

Microbial air pollution from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) has raised concerns about potential public health and environmental impacts. We investigated the levels of bioaerosols released from two swine farms using conventional lagoon-sprayfield technology and ten farms using alternative waste treatment and management technologies in the United States. In total, 424 microbial air samples taken at the 12 CAFOs were analyzed for several indicator and pathogenic microorganisms, including culturable bacteria and fungi, fecal coliform, Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, bacteriophage, and Salmonella. At all of the investigated farms, bacterial concentrations at the downwind boundary were higher than those at the upwind boundary, suggesting that the farms are sources of microbial air contamination. In addition, fecal indicator microorganisms were found more frequently near barns and treatment technology sites than upwind or downwind of the farms. Approximately 4.5% (19/424), 1.2% (5/424)...
Upregulation of Macrophage Endothelial Lipase by Toll-Like Receptors 4 and 3 Modulates Macrophage Interleukin-10 and -12 Production

Limited data suggest that endothelial lipase (EL) is synthesized not only by endothelial cells but also by macrophages. Previous studies showed that proinflammatory cytokines upregulate EL in endothelial cells, but there are very few data regarding EL expression, regulation, and functional consequences in macrophages. In the present study, RAW cells and mouse peritoneal macrophages were treated with Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands and EL expression and its consequences were assessed. We demonstrate that lipopolysaccharide, a TLR4 ligand; and polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C), a TLR3 ligand; but not lipoteichoic acid, a TLR2 ligand, upregulate macrophage EL expression both ex vivo and in vivo. In contrast, macrophage lipoprotein lipase expression is significantly repressed by lipopolysaccharide or poly I:C. Using C3HJ and TLR3 knockout mice, we further show that upregulation of macrophage EL expression by lipopolysaccharide or poly I:C is TLR4 or TLR3 dependent, respectively. Furthermore, we demonstrate that lipopolysaccharide induced interleukin (IL)-10 production was significantly reduced, whereas IL-12 production is significantly increased in J744 macrophages and mouse peritoneal macrophages overexpressing human EL. Conversely, significantly increased IL-10 and significantly decreased IL-12 expression were observed in mouse peritoneal macrophages isolated from EL knockout mice. Finally we show that the catalytic activity is required for EL to modulate the balance of macrophage IL-10 and IL-12 production. These results suggest that macrophage EL may play important roles in modulating the macrophage inflammatory response through local hydrolysis of HDL.
Altered DNA Recognition and Bending by Insertions in the α2 Tail of the Yeast a1/α2 Homeodomain Heterodimer

The yeast MATα2 and MATa1 homeodomain proteins bind cooperatively as a heterodimer to sites upstream of haploid-specific genes, repressing their transcription. In the crystal structure of α2 and a1 bound to DNA, each homeodomain makes independent base-specific contacts with the DNA and the two proteins contact each other through an extended tail region of α2 that tethers the two homeodomains to one another. Because this extended region may be flexible, the ability of the heterodimer to discriminate among DNA sites with altered spacing between α2 and a1 binding sites was examined. Spacing between the half sites was critical for specific DNA binding and transcriptional repression by the complex. However, amino acid insertions in the tail region of α2 suppressed the effect of altering an a1/α2 site by increasing the spacing between the half sites. Insertions in the tail also decreased DNA bending by a1/α2. Thus tethering the two homeodomains contributes to DNA bending by a1/α2, but the precise nature of the resulting bend is not essential for repression.
Local effects of cannabinoids on spontaneous activity and evoked inhibition in the globus pallidus

Abstract The globus pallidus has been identified as a site of action for the motor effects of cannabinoids. A previous report from this laboratory demonstrated that systemic administration of the potent and selective cannabinoid receptor agonist (R)-(+)-[2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-[(4-morpholinyl) methyl]pyrrolo[1,2,3-de]-1,4-benzoxazin-6-yl] (1-napthalenyl) methanone (WIN 55,212-2) inhibits rat pallidal neurons and reverses the inhibition of pallidal activity produced by electrical stimulation of the striatum. The current study used in vivo single unit electrophysiology/micropressure ejection to investigate whether the effects of cannabinoids on spontaneous activity and evoked inhibition in the globus pallidus are locally mediated. Micropressure ejection of either WIN 55,212-2 or CP 55,940 into the globus pallidus inhibited spontaneous activity in the globus pallidus. Local administration of the cannabinoid receptor antagonist, N-piperidino-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-3-pyrazole-carboxamide (SR141716A), did not produce an effect on its own but blocked the effect of WIN 55,212-2 on spontaneous activity of pallidal neurons. The decrease in pallidal activity produced by WIN 55,212-2 was not blocked by coadministration of bicuculline, suggesting this effect is independent of GABAA receptors. Micropressure ejection of cannabinoids into the globus pallidus did not reverse the inhibitory effect of striatal stimulation in the globus pallidus. Taken together, these findings suggest that pallidal cannabinoid receptors mediate an inhibition of spontaneous activity in the globus pallidus.
Carbon isotope fractionation by methane-oxidizing bacteria in tropical rain forest soils

[1] Humid tropical forests have the potential to be significant sources or sinks of atmospheric methane (CH4), a radiatively important trace gas. Methane oxidation can consume a large fraction of the CH4 produced in tropical soils, although controls on this process are poorly understood. Using soil incubation experiments, we investigated the effects of CH4 and oxygen (O2) concentrations on C isotope fractionation and CH4 oxidation in tropical rain forest soils. We also explored the effects of these environmental variables on the isotope fractionation factor for CH4 oxidation (α), which is widely used to evaluate the relative contributions of CH4 production and oxidation to the atmospheric CH4 pool. Methane oxidation was sensitive to CH4 at lower CH4 concentrations (<850 ppmv) and insensitive to O2 concentrations between 3 and 21%. Maximum rates of CH4 oxidation were between 8.2 ± 1.2 and 11.3 ± 1.5 nmol CH4 hour−1 g dry soil−1. Measured values for α were sensitive to both CH4 oxidation rate and CH4 concentration. Alpha was inversely proportional to CH4 oxidation rate (r2 = 0.86, P < 0.001) and positively correlated with CH4 concentration (r2 = 0.52, P < 0.01). A multiple regression model that included CH4 oxidation rate, CH4 concentration, and the interaction of the two terms explained a high proportion of the variability in α (r2 = 0.94, P < 0.0001). These data suggest that it is possible to accurately determine α, allowing for more precise estimates of CH4 oxidation by isotope mass balance.
Measuring regression in hospitalized medical patients: The BUMP scale

Abstract This article describes the construction and initial validation of a brief rating scale designed to measure behavioral regression or upset in hospitalized medical patients (the BUMP scale). The scale consists of 32 items representing various psychologic reactions to illness. Nurses completed questionnaires on 213 hospitalized patients. Corrected item-total score correlation coefficients averaged 0.53. Factor analysis revealed four factors measuring behavioral regression, poor patient-staff relations, depression/anxiety, and passivity/withdrawal. Alpha reliabilities revealed a high degree of internal consistency of scale items for total score and the four factor subscales. Cluster analysis revealed four clinically meaningful patient groups that were discussed in terms of various typologies in the literature. Potential uses of the BUMP scale and the need for further validating studies were discussed.
Experiential Exercises for Courses From Introduction to Business Through Business Strategy

Whether we are teaching an introductory business course, a cross-cultural management course, or a senior capstone course, many of us continually look for new experiential learning approaches that a...
Processing and improvements in dynamic quantitative phase microscope

This paper describes recent research and development related to data processing and imaging performance for a dynamic quantitative phase imaging microscope. This microscope provides instantaneous measurements of dynamic motions within and among live cells without labels or contrast agents. It utilizes a pixelated wire grid polarizer mask in front of the camera sensor that enables simultaneous measurement of multiple interference patterns. Optical path difference (OPD) and optical thickness (OT) data are obtained from phase images. Simulated DIC (gradient) and simulated dark field (gradient magnitude) images can be directly obtained from the phase enabling simultaneous capture of brightfield, phase contrast, quantitative phase, DIC and dark field. The OT is further processed to remove background shapes, and enhance topography. This paper presents a number of different processing routines to remove background surface shape enabling quantification of changes in cell position and volume over time. Data from a number of different moving biological organisms and cell cultures are presented.
A Pragmatic Perspective of Repetition in Child Language

The contention that repetition may be used for a variety of communicative functions is supported with data from a longitudinal study of one child. Repetitions were identified from videotapes and then classified according to the communicative function being expressed. Additionally, discourse profiles were identified for various communicative functions being expressed via repetition.
Stress and humoral immunity: A review of the human studies

Many studies have examined the relationship between stress and immunity, however, only a few have explored associations between stress and humoral immunity. In our review of this literature, three ways of characterizing the response of the humoral immunity system to stress were identified: total immunoglobulins, antibody to latent viruses and antibody to vaccines. These studies provide some support for the hypothesis that stress affects humoral immunity, particularly response to latent virus, but further research is required to confirm these observations. Several directions for future research are proposed.
A review of environmental stressor control strategies used in micro- and nanofabrication

Recent increases in research and commercialisation efforts in the area of micro- and nanofabrication techniques have resulted in additional challenges for those professionals involved with environmental, occupational health and safety issues. These various techniques produce environmental stressors which, when in significant concentrations, may produce harmful health consequences for workers and researchers as well as detriments to the environment. Fortunately, suitable engineering control and administrative strategies have been developed and implemented to assist in the proper management and control of potential exposures to these stressors. While the main impetus of the vast majority of employee and environmental exposure control strategies has traditionally targeted airborne chemical contaminants, the field of micro- and nanofabrication requires concentrated efforts in such areas as nanoparticle deposition/collection and laser safety management. This paper provides a review of the viable environmental and engineering control and administrative strategies that could be applied in micro- and nanofabrication activities.
Evolution Education across the Life Sciences: Making Biology Education Make Sense

In 1996, elementary school students in Marshall County, Kentucky, were ordered to turn in their science textbooks. After the books were returned, students found two pages of each textbook were glued together. The pages were glued by order of the school superintendent because they contained a scientific explanation of the origin of the universe but not a biblical account. But what if others tried to avoid teaching evolution using this tactic? Could they? At the October 25–26, 2011, convocation, Thinking Evolutionarily: Evolution Education Across the Life Sciences, organized by the National Research Council’s (NRC) Board on Life Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in Washington, DC, Robert Pennock (Michigan State University) argued that no one should think they can simply glue together a few pages or a chapter of a textbook and be able to avoid the topic of evolution; if modern biology is taught as it should be, references and connections to the fundamental concepts of evolution should be seen throughout the textbook and in every topic presented in the course. He issued the following challenge to the participants of the convocation: “How can we make sure that you couldn’t do this unless you [were willing to] glue the whole textbook together?”
Activation of phospholipase C by heat shock requires GTP analogs and is resistant to pertussis toxin

The heat shock response in mammals consists of a complex array of intracellular reactions initiated by stress, although its regulation is poorly understood. We have investigated the role of transmembrane signal transduction in the response, examining mechanisms involved in the activation of phospholipase C (PLC) by heat shock. In rodent fibroblasts permeabilized with digitonin, heat shock and receptor-mediated PLC activity exhibited a strict GTP analog dependency. This indicates that heat shock-mediated phopholipase activation, in common with receptor mediated stimulation, does not involve direct effects on the phospholipases and suggests the participation of GTP binding (G) proteins in the activation process. When cells were treated with the inhibitor pertussis toxin (PTX), the phospholipases retained their inducibility by heat shock, but became refractory to thrombin treatment, indicating that heat shock may influence PLC activity through a distinct population of G proteins compared to thrombin. The data seem to exclude a role for PTX sensitive G proteins in the production of IP3 after heating and suggest a pathway involving the direct thermal activation of the Gq class of G proteins, which are coupled to the PLCβ1 isoform. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Practical Attacks Against Authorship Recognition Techniques

The use of statistical AI techniques in authorship recognition (or stylometry) has contributed to literary and historical breakthroughs. These successes have led to the use of these techniques in criminal investigations and prosecutions. However, few have studied adversarial attacks and their devastating effect on the robustness of existing classification methods. This paper presents a framework for adversarial attacks including obfuscation attacks, where a subject attempts to hide their identity imitation attacks, where a subject attempts to frame another subject by imitating their writing style. The major contribution of this research is that it demonstrates that both attacks work very well. The obfuscation attack reduces the effectiveness of the techniques to the level of random guessing and the imitation attack succeeds with 68-91% probability depending on the stylometric technique used. These results are made more significant by the fact that the experimental subjects were unfamiliar with stylometric techniques, without specialized knowledge in linguistics, and spent little time on the attacks. This paper also provides another significant contribution to the field in using human subjects to empirically validate the claim of high accuracy for current techniques (without attacks) by reproducing results for three representative stylometric methods.
Mechanisms of altered transcription by cigarette smoke.

The article highlighted in this issue is "The Activity of NF-kappaB in Swiss 3T3 Cells Exposed to Aqueous Extracts of Cigarette Smoke Is Dependent on Thioredoxin," by Stephan Gebel and Thomas Muller (pp. 75-81).
Complete Genome of Bacillus thuringiensis Myophage Spock.

Bacillus thuringiensis is a Gram-positive, sporulating soil bacterium. It is an agriculturally important bacterium as it produces an endotoxin (the product of the cry gene) used in the biocontrol of insects. B. thuringiensis is grown in large quantities for the purpose of harvesting the Cry toxin. An estimated 83% of B. thuringiensis strains harbor temperate phages (1). Induction of these phages during batch growth causes lysis of the cultures and economic loss. The study of B. thuringiensis phages may give insightastohowtocurbthisproblem.Here,wereportthecomplete
KINETICS AND MECHANISM OF THE REACTION BETWEEN OZONE AND O-CRESOL IN AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

Abstract The stopped-flow spectrophotomctric method was applied to study the kinetics of the ozonation of o-cresol in aqueous solutions of pH values varying from 2 to 9 at 10 to 40°C. The fast reaction between o-cresol and ozone is second order overall with first order in each reactant. The ozonation rale increases with the temperature and pH value of the solution. In neutral solutions, the overall rate constant increases from 422,000 M-1S-1 at 10°C to 1,549,000 M-1 S-1 at 40°C. The activation energy is about 30 KJ/mol in the neutral solutions; it increases slightly with the acidity of the solution. A mechanism based on the initial attack of ozone moleculesat the ortho and para positions of o-cresol is proposed for the ozonation reaction. According to this mechanism, three moles of ozone are required to react with each mole of o-cresol resulting in the rupture of the aromatic ring and production of various acids. The oxidation products were identified by these and other investigators. The proposed mechani...
KeyMenu: a keyboard based hierarchical menu

KeyMenu is a keyboard based hierarchical menu system intended for use on a wearable computer. It is designed for use in conjunction with the Twiddler one–handed wearable keyboard. Unlike traditional menus and shortcut keys, our system employs a one–to–one mapping between buttons on the keyboard and menu items. With the addition of a popup menu interaction technique, the KeyMenu design consistently supports both novice and expert users.
Ferredoxins Containing Two Different Fe/S Centers of the Forms [4Fe–4S] and [3Fe–4S]

This article reviews 7Fe ferredoxins (Fds), [FeS] proteins that contain [3Fe–4S]+/0 and [4Fe–4S]2+/+ clusters. The 7Fe Fds from 19 prokaryotes are described in terms of biological function, and categorized with respect to cysteine ligand motifs, length of amino-acid sequence, and metal ion content. Biochemical, mutagenesis, electrochemical, spectroscopic, and crystallographic data are summarized for well-studied examples of distinct subclasses, including 7Fe Fds from Azotobacter vinelandii, Desulfovibrio africanus, Bacillus schlegelii, and Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. 7Fe Fds have been used to study cysteine ligand motifs, the interconversion of [3Fe–4S] and [4Fe–4S] clusters, proton transfer to [3Fe–4S]0 clusters, and the protein control of [FeS] cluster reduction potential. 3D Structure Keywords: 7Fe ferredoxins; [3Fe–4S] clusters; [4Fe–4S] clusters; cysteine ligand motifs; electron transfer; reduction potential
Severe mucositis after acute substance ingestion.

A 25-year-old male presented to the emergency department (ED) stating that he had just chewed and swallowed approximately 3 g of an off-white crystalline of powdered substance obtained from the str...
Prognostic significance of baseline reverse transcriptase-PCR for prostate-specific antigen in men with hormone-refractory prostate cancer treated with chemotherapy.

Purpose: Methods accurately categorizing the diverse biology of prostate cancer are needed. A positive baseline reverse transcriptase-PCR for prostate-specific antigen (RT-PCR PSA) in the androgen-independent setting is an independent prognostic marker of survival. The objectives of the current study were to examine the prognostic implication of baseline RT-PCR PSA positivity during treatment with an active chemotherapeutic agent and explore whether an RT-PCR PSA “response” provides prognostic information. Materials and Methods: In a combined analysis of a phase I and a randomized phase II trial of BMS-247550 (an epothilone B analogue), 104 patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer had whole blood samples collected at baseline, then with each cycle of therapy. RT-PCR PSA was assessed and related to time to progression (TTP). Results: From 100 evaluable patients, 368 samples were received, of which 90.8% were evaluable for RT-PCR PSA status. Baseline RT-PCR PSA status was significantly associated with TTP (hazard ratio, 2.22; 95% confidence interval, 1.40-3.52). Twenty-six of 38 patients positive at first assessment had at least one follow-up RT-PCR PSA that was negative (“response”). In univariate analysis, RT-PCR PSA response was not significantly associated with TTP, but in multivariate analysis, RT-PCR PSA response was of borderline statistical significance in predicting TTP (hazard ratio, 0.41; 95% confidence interval, 0.16-1.01). Conclusion: These results provide further confirmation that baseline RT-PCR PSA is a statistically significant predictor of TTP in hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Moreover, this is the first report to suggest that RT-PCR PSA response during chemotherapy treatment may predict TTP.
Using Regular Expressions to Abstract Blood Pressure and Treatment Intensification Information from the Text of Physician Notes

This case study examined the utility of regular expressions to identify clinical data relevant to the epidemiology of treatment of hypertension. We designed a software tool that employed regular expressions to identify and extract instances of documented blood pressure values and anti-hypertensive treatment intensification from the text of physician notes. We determined sensitivity, specificity and precision of identification of blood pressure values and anti-hypertensive treatment intensification using a gold standard of manual abstraction of 600 notes by two independent reviewers. The software processed 370 Mb of text per hour, and identified elevated blood pressure documented in free text physician notes with sensitivity and specificity of 98%, and precision of 93.2%. Anti-hypertensive treatment intensification was identified with sensitivity 83.8%, specificity of 95.0%, and precision of 85.9%. Regular expressions can be an effective method for focused information extraction tasks related to high-priority disease areas such as hypertension.
Efficient sampling of protein folding pathways using HMMSTR and probabilistic roadmaps

We present a method for constructing thousands of compact protein conformations from fragments and then connecting these structures to form a network of physically plausible folding pathways. This is the first attempt to merge the previous successes in fragment assembly methods with probabilistic roadmap (PRM) methods. Previous PRM methods have used the knowledge of the true structure to sample conformational space. Our method uses only the amino acid sequence to bias the conformational sampling. Conformational sampling is done using HMMSTR, a hidden Markov model for local sequence-structure correlations. We then build a PRM graph and find paths that have the the lowest energy climb. We find that favored folding pathways exist, corresponding to deep valleys in the energy landscape. We describe the pathways for three small proteins with different secondary structure content in the context of a folding funnel model.
A prospective, open-label treatment trial to compare the effect of IFN beta-1a (Avonex), IFNbeta-1b (Betaseron), and glatiramer acetate (Copaxone) on the relapse rate in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

A prospective, non-randomized, open-label treatment trial was performed in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), with follow up for 12 months. Our primary objective was to prospectively compare the effect of IFNbeta-1a (Avonex), IFNbeta-1b (Betaseron), and glatiramer acetate (GA, Copaxone) on the relapse rate in patients with RRMS. Between August 1996 and September 1999, 156 consecutive patients with clinically definite RRMS with a Kurtzke scale (EDSS) score of 4 or less were followed for 12 months, from the time of initiating therapy or electing to remain untreated. Prior 2-year relapse history and available chart information was carefully reviewed at the time of enrolment. Thirty-three of 156 elected no treatment (mean age 32.5 years; mean EDSS 2.64) at enrolment; 40 elected IFNbeta-1a (mean age 32.4 years; mean EDSS 2.69), 41 IFNbeta-1b (mean age 32.1 years; mean EDSS 2.56), and 42 chose GA (mean age 31.5 years; mean EDSS 2.57). Annual relapse rate based upon the 2 years prior to enrolment was 1.08 in the untreated group, 1.20 in the AV group, 1.21 in the BE group, and 1.10 in the GA group. There were no statistically significant differences among the four groups at enrolment. After 12 months of treatment, patients in the untreated groups had a relapse rate of 0.97, whereas patients in the IFNbeta-1a, IFNbeta-1b, and GA groups had relapse rate of 0.85, 0.61, and 0.62, respectively. Compared to the untreated group, reduction in the relapse rate was statistically significant only in the GA (P=0.003) and IFNbeta-1b (P=0.002) groups, in contrast to the IFNbeta-1a treated patients, who did not show a significant reduction (P=0.309). Compared to the untreated patients, mean EDSS was significantly reduced only in the GA (P=0.001) and IFNbeta-1b (P=0.01), in contrast to IFNbeta-1a treated patients (P=0.51). In this prospective, controlled, open-label, non-randomized 12-month study, treatment with only GA and IFNbeta-1b significantly reduced the relapse rate compared to untreated patients, supporting early treatment in RRMS. Our results are similar to the observations made after 12 months of therapy in phase III studies of IFNbeta-1a, IFNbeta-1b, and GA. Despite some limitations of the study design, the results provide helpful clinical information regarding the relative efficacy of each therapy in mildly affected treatment-naive RRMS patients.
Setting up a safe office

The safe delivery of an office-based anesthetic starts with the office set-up. The anesthesiologist preparing to provide services in the office setting needs to be aware of all the issues involved. It is his/her primary responsibility to ensure that the office provides as safe an environment as a hospital or a free-standing ambulatory surgery center. In this article, the considerations and requirements to accomplish this are discussed.
Transactional Sex as a Response to Risk in Western Kenya

Formal and informal commercial sex work is a way of life for many poor women in developing countries. Though sex workers have long been identified as crucial in affecting the spread of HIV/AIDS, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, the nature of sex-for-money transactions remains poorly understood. Using a unique panel dataset constructed from 192 self-reported sex worker diaries which include detailed information on sexual behavior, labor supply, and health shocks, the authors find that sex workers adjust their supply of risky, better compensated sex to cope with unexpected health shocks, exposing themselves to increased risk of HIV infection. In particular, women are 3.1 percent more likely to see a client, 21.2 percent more likely to have anal sex, and 19.1 percent more likely to have unprotected sex on days in which a household member falls ill. Women also increase their supply of risky sex on days after missing work due to symptoms from a sexually transmitted infection. Given that HIV prevalence has been estimated at 9.8 percent in this part of Kenya, these behavioral responses entail significant health risks for sex workers and their partners, and suggest that sex workers are unable to cope with risk through other formal or informal consumption smoothing mechanisms.
Analysis of limit cycle stability in a tap-changing transformer

The paper analyses the nature of limit cycles induced through the interaction of transformer tap changing and load dynamics. Linearization of a Poincare map is used to prove local stability. An approximation is introduced which allows the map to be formulated explicitly. An estimate of the region of attraction can then be obtained.
Identification of novel filament-forming proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Drosophila melanogaster

The discovery of large supramolecular complexes such as the purinosome suggests that subcellular organization is central to enzyme regulation. A screen of the yeast GFP strain collection to identify proteins that assemble into visible structures identified four novel filament systems comprised of glutamate synthase, guanosine diphosphate–mannose pyrophosphorylase, cytidine triphosphate (CTP) synthase, or subunits of the eIF2/2B translation factor complex. Recruitment of CTP synthase to filaments and foci can be modulated by mutations and regulatory ligands that alter enzyme activity, arguing that the assembly of these structures is related to control of CTP synthase activity. CTP synthase filaments are evolutionarily conserved and are restricted to axons in neurons. This spatial regulation suggests that these filaments have additional functions separate from the regulation of enzyme activity. The identification of four novel filaments greatly expands the number of known intracellular filament networks and has broad implications for our understanding of how cells organize biochemical activities in the cytoplasm.
Communication-oriented assignment of task modules in hypercubic multicomputers

The problem of mapping a task that is composed of interacting modules onto a hypercube multicomputer is formulated and solved by minimizing an objective function called the communication traffic. The objective function allows module assignments to be found with the usual straightforward combinatorial optimization techniques. The problem of finding an assignment that minimizes the communication traffic is proved to be NP-hard, so a standard state-space search algorithm as well as other heuristic algorithms are used to find optimal/suboptimal solutions. The relative performances of various algorithms are evaluated using simulations. The assignments obtained from these algorithms are evaluated using an event-driven simulator to learn how they perform in real-world execution environments. >
Infant Feeding and Feeding Transitions During the First Year of Life

OBJECTIVE. Infancy is a time of rapid transition from a diet of virtually nothing but milk (either breast milk or infant formula) to a varied diet from nearly all food groups being consumed on a daily basis by most infants. Despite various recommendations about infant feeding, little is known about actual patterns of feeding among US infants. This article documents transitions in infant feeding patterns across the first year of life and determinants of key aspects of infant feeding. METHODS. Using data from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II, we analyzed responses to a 7-day food-recall chart that was administered every month. The sample size declined from 2907 at birth to 1782 at 12 months of age. RESULTS. Although 83% of survey respondents initiated breastfeeding, the percentage who breastfed declined rapidly to 50% at 6 months and to 24% at 12 months. Many of the women who breastfed also fed their infants formula; 52% reported that their infants received formula while in the hospital. At 4 months, 40% of the infants had consumed infant cereal, 17% had consumed fruit or vegetable products, and CONCLUSIONS. Supplementing breast milk with infant formula while infants were still in the hospital was very common. Despite recommendations that complementary foods not be introduced to infants aged 4 months or younger, almost half of the infants in this study had consumed solid foods by the age of 4 months. This early introduction of complementary foods was associated with unhealthful subsequent feeding behaviors. Pediatrics 2008;122:S36–S42
Challenging the Constitution: Convening a Mock Constitutional Convention for American Government Students

Simulations are useful tools in the classroom for an assortment of pedagogical reasons. I have devised a mock constitutional convention for use in introductory American government courses to better engage students and spur critical thinking about the U.S. Constitution. This article details the particulars of the simulation and its outcomes.
Carcinoid and the Endocrine System

In his report presented at the Symposium on Serotonin held in London on April 1–2, 1957, Lembeck (1958) stated that: “5-HT can be regarded as something like a hormone and the enterochromaffin (argentaffin) cells as the glands or better the ‘diffuse endocrine organ’ producing it. But the application of the usual endocrinological methods to reveal the role of a hormone, e. g. the extirpation of the gland, the substitution by the hormone, inhibition of the hormone production, are not applicable in the cases of the enterochromaffin cells. Only the observation on a hyper-function of the enterochromaffin cells, imitated by a carcinoid, may give us some information”. This cautious statement seems to indicate that the intrinsic endocrine nature of argentaffin (enterochromaffin) cells is far from a final solution. Brodie (1958) in his turn, presented a hypothesis “that identifies 5-HT as neurohormone involved in Hess (1954) ‘trophotropic system’ and noradrenaline as the neurohormone of the opposing ‘ergotropic’ system”.
Modeling, Design, Fabrication, and Characterization of Ultra-high Bandwidth 3D Glass Photonic Substrates

This article presents the modeling, design, fabrication, and characterization of ultra-low loss 3-D optical waveguides integrated on a glass photonic substrate. A novel, single-step process was developed using moving-mask lithography to fabricate a single-mode optical waveguide with a built-in turning mirror capable of achieving 40° or 45° turns for vertical grating couplers or photodetectors, respectively. Planar alignment of the waveguide to fiber interfaces enable passive alignment of the fibers, contributing to system cost reduction. An optical path with 0.81 dB loss from fiber to die was obtained from optical modeling, while the fabrication of single-mode waveguides with built-in total internal reflecting mirrors at <0.2 μm uniformity and <1° angular control was demonstrated.
Finances of Employee Benefits

In 1998, Americans received a gross total of about $1.4 trillion from major employee benefit programs. Retirement benefit payments of $780.4 billion accounted for 56.2 percent of total benefit payments. Of that amount, $369.4 billion was paid by the Social Security Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program; $241.1 billion by private pension and profit-sharing plans; and $170.0 billion by public employer retirement plans. Health benefit payments of $500.6 billion accounted for 36.1 percent of total benefit payments. Fifty-eight percent of this, or $290.8 billion, was paid by private group health insurance programs, while $208.7 billion was paid by Medicare. The PDF for the above title, published in the July 2000 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the full text of another July 2000 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: "National Health Spending Up 5.6 Percent Between 1997 and 1998; Public Spending for Health Care Understated."
Results of SMSNA Survey Regarding Complications Following Intralesional Injection Therapy With Collagenase Clostridium Histolyticum for Peyronie's Disease.

Abstract Introduction Intralesional injection of collagenase clostridium histolyticum (CCH) for Peyronie’s disease (PD) can result in serious adverse events such as hematoma formation and corporal rupture. Aim To investigate the prevalence of complications from CCH and management trends among CCH prescribers. Methods A survey was sent to all 693 members of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA) with valid email addresses. Responders were asked to participate if they were prescribers of CCH. Data regarding prescriber experience with CCH, procedural preferences, and rates and management strategies of complications were collected. Main Outcome Measure One hundred SMSNA members completed the survey, with 36%, 23%, and 41% of responders having performed ≤10, 10 to 20, and >20 CCH injections, respectively. Results Of the responders, 94% reported hematomas in Conclusion A wide variation exists among SMSNA members’ strategies to prevent and manage complications of CCH. One in 3 prescribers reported encountering a corporal rupture during CCH therapy, and it is currently undetermined if there is a benefit of surgery vs conservative management.
Teaching About Economic Efficiency in Law and Economics Courses: Clarifying the Conceptual Problems, Empirical Difficulties, and Normative Biases of the Efficiency Criterion

Law and Economics courses taught in law schools are sometimes criticized for inadequately explaining the normative criterion of “economic efficiency” and then applying this criterion throughout the course in a superficial and biased manner that pejoratively labels most governmental market interventions and wealth redistribution measures as inefficient. These criticisms have merit, and in this brief article I point out a significant number of conceptual problems, empirical difficulties and normative shortcomings of the efficiency criterion that one needs to understand in order to be able to effectively counter policy arguments that rest upon efficiency assessments. The specific shortcomings of the efficiency criterion that I address in this brief essay are the pervasiveness of severe data limitations that render efficiency assessments unreliable, the lack of clarity as to whether willingness to pay should be measured by offer prices or instead by asking prices, the difficulty of obtaining honest and accurate responses as to willingness to pay from the persons surveyed, uncertainty as to the appropriate discount rate that should be used for discounting future policy consequences, the problem posed by endogenous preferences, the problem posed by the often-overlooked “problem of person-altering consequences,” the problematic nature of using willingness to pay as a measure of social value, and finally, the problematic nature of using a normative criterion that does not give special primacy to rights.
Gallium Nitride Thick Films Grown by Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy

Gallium nitride (GaN) thick films (to 150 µm) have been deposited by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). These films are unintentionally doped n-type (n = 1–2 × 1017 cm−3 at 300 K) and exhibit structural and electronic properties which are comparable with the best reported for GaN films grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy. Additionally, these properties are found to be uniform over 2-in diameter films grown on sapphire substrates. The use of either a GaCl or ZnO surface pretreatment has been found to substantially enhance the nucleation density, resulting in improved surface morphology and film properties, even though it appears that the ZnO film is thermochemically desorbed early on in the growth. Dislocation densities as low as ~5×l07 cm−2 have been attained for films 40 µm thick. Homoepitaxial overgrowths both by electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma enhanced molecular beam epitaxy and OMVPE proceed in a straightforward manner, essentially replicating the defect structure of the HVPE GaN film.
Application value of multislice spiral CT in diagnosing sacroiliac joint disorder with ankylosing spondylitis

Objective To study the availability of multislice spiral CT in diagnosing sacroiliac joint disorder with ankylosing spondylitis. Methods One hundred and fifty patients with ankylosing spondylitis in sacroiliac joint were chosen and underwent multislice spiral CT and X-ray examination within the prescriptive time. Results(1) The detection rates of level ⅠandⅡ lesions in sacroiliac joint with ankylosing spondylitis by multislice spiral CT were higher than those by X-ray with a statistical difference(P0.05). However, there was no difference between multislice spiral CT and X-ray in detecting level Ⅲ and Ⅳ lesions(P0.05).(2) Patients with bone cysts beneath the joint surface, osteoproliferation sclerosis and soft tissue swelling detected by multislice spiral CT were more than those by X-ray with a statistical difference(P0.05). Conclusion In the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis in sacroiliac joint,multislice spiral CT showed good effectiveness.
Differences in ammonia and adenylate metabolism in contracting fast and slow muscle.

The time course of AMP deamination and IMP reamination was studied during in situ stimulation and subsequent recovery in fast-twitch (gastrocnemius) and slow-twitch (soleus) muscles of pentobarbita...
Immunologic rebound after cessation of long-term chemotherapy in acute leukemia. II. In vitro response to phytohemagglutinin and antigens by peripheral blood and bone marrow lymphocytes.

The in vitro function of peripheral blood and bone marrow lymphocytes from 42 children with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in remission was evaluated before and after cessation of long-term combination immunosuppressive therapy. Lymphocyte function promptly recovers even after 3 yr of antineoplastic therapy, but the immunologic rebound varies, depending on whether the in vitro responses to phytohemagglutinin or various antigens are used as the index of lymphocyte function. The kinetics of immunologic rebound in three patients who relapsed following cessation of therapy did not differ from patients remaining in remission. In children off therapy there was a different distribution of antigen- and PHA-responsive lymphocytes between the peripheral blood and bone marrow compartments. This study provides further information at a cellular level on the immunologic rebound that follows cessation of long-term combination therapy. It emphasizes the need for controls in trials where immunotherapy is given after chemotherapy. Such controls are necessary before one can establish if the observed responses are due to adjuvants and/or tumor cells or are a reflection of the immunologic rebound that follows cessation of immunosuppressive therapy. The data also provide a baseline for future studies of immune impairment before leukemia relapse and the relationship between immunologic rebound and the duration of long-term leukemia-free survival.
Ratio of total sulfur amino acids to lysine for finishing pigs

We conducted two experiments to determine the optimum ratio of total sulfur amino acids (TSAA) to Lys for late finishing pigs. In Exp. 1, 50 barrows and 50 gilts were allotted to treatments with three replicates of three or four pigs per replicate in a randomized complete block (RCB) design within a split-plot arrangement of treatments. Sex was the whole plot and TSAA:Lys ratio was the subplot. Average initial and final BW were 77 and 111 kg. Barrows and gilts were fed diets formulated to contain .55 and .65% Lys, respectively. The ratios of TSAA:Lys were .50, .55, .60, .65, and .70. Diets met or exceeded an ideal amino acid pattern for all indispensable amino acids (except TSAA), and all diets were isonitrogenous and equal in electrolyte balance. In Exp. 2, 60 gilts were allotted to five treatments with four replicates of three gilts each in a RCB design. Average initial and final BW were 74 and 110 kg. Gilts were fed diets formulated to contain .65% Lys. The ratios of TSAA:Lys were .35, .425, .50, .575, and .65. In Exp. 1, there were no TSAA:Lys ratio effects (P > .10) for ADG, final BW, percentage muscle, longissimus muscle area, carcass length, percentage fat-free lean (PFFLEAN), lean gain per day (LGD), total fat (TOFAT), percentage TOFAT (PTOFAT), fat gain per day (FGD), lean:fat, retained energy in TOFAT as ether extractable lipid (RE-F), retained energy (RE), or serum urea N (SUN). Feed intake (ADFI) was greater (quadratic, P < .05) for pigs fed .70 TSAA:Lys than for pigs fed any other treatment. Hot carcass weight, psoas muscle weight, 10th rib fat thickness, dressing percentage, fat-free lean (FFLEAN), and retained energy in FFLEAN as protein (RE-P) responded inconsistently to TSAA:Lys ratio, resulting in cubic (P < .09) effects. In Exp. 2, ADFI (linear, P < .08), TOFAT (linear, P < .05), PTOFAT (linear, P < .07), FGD (linear, P < .05), RE-F (linear, P < .05), RE (linear, P < .05), and SUN (linear, P < .02; quadratic, P < .01) decreased as TSAA:Lys ratio increased. Also, gain:feed (GF) (linear, P < .01; quadratic, P < .04), PFFLEAN (linear, P < .04), and lean:fat (linear, P < .04) increased as TSAA:Lys ratio increased. One-slope, broken-line regression models estimated required ratios of TSAA:Lys of .44 (SUN), .40 (ADG), .47 (ADFI), .45 (GF), .45 (FFLEAN), .44 (LGD), .65 (TOFAT), .65 (FGD), .44 (RE-P), .65 (RE-F), .65 (RE), and .57 (lean:fat). Thus, for growth and muscling traits of late finishing pigs, the optimum ratio of TSAA:Lys is less than the current proposed ratio (.65), but to minimize fat accretion, the ratio is .65.
Long-Term Investment for Infants: Keys to a Successful Early Infant Male Circumcision Program for HIV Prevention and Overall Child Health.

Countries where adult male circumcision has reached high coverage should consider national early infant male circumcision (EIMC) programs where EIMC is feasible and culturally acceptable. Ministries of health that intend to set up a routine offer of EIMC should put systems in place to ensure that its introduction (1) does not compromise adult male circumcision programs, (2) does not weaken routine service delivery platforms, (3) is done safely, and (4) adheres to the rights of the child.
Cell Volume in Brain Pathologies: Anions-Controlled Neural and Glial Swelling in Spreading Depolarization and Increased Neuronal Susceptibility to Ischemic Injury due to Large Extracellular Space

Cell volume changes are ubiquitous in normal and pathological activity of the brain. Nevertheless, we know little about the dynamics of cell and tissue swelling, and the differential changes in the volumes of neurons and glia during pathological states such as spreading depolarizations (SD) and epileptic seizures. By combining the Hodgkin-Huxley type spiking dynamics, dynamic ion concentrations, and simultaneous neuronal and astroglial volume changes into a comprehensive model, we elucidate why glial cells swell more than neurons in SD and the special case of ischemia-induced anoxic depolarization (AD). We explore the relative contributions of the two cell types to tissue swelling and our results demonstrate that anion channels, particularly Cl-, are intrinsically connected to cell swelling. Blocking these currents prevents changes in cell volume. Our model is simple, physiologically realistic, and derived from the first physical principles of electroneutrality, osmosis and conservation of particles. We provide new insights into numerous studies related to neuronal and glial volume changes in SD that otherwise seem contradictory. The theory is broadly applicable to swelling in other cell types and conditions.In a complimentary research we found that the brain region-specific extracellular volume fraction has a strong effect on the recoverability of neurons from AD. Glial-vascular K+ clearance and Na+ /K+ -exchange pumps are key to the cell's recovery, and the large extracellular space in the upper brain regions leads to impaired Na+/K+-exchange pumps so that they function at reduced capacity. Hence they are unable to bring the cell out of AD after oxygen and glucose is restored, leading to permanent cell damage.