cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Levels of methylmercury and controlling factors in surface sediments of the Carson River system, Nevada.

Abstract Spatial and temporal distribution of methylmercury (MeHg) was determined in surficial sediments collected from a river-reservoir system impacted by Hg-contaminated mine wastes. Despite the fact that total mercury concentrations (HgT) in surface sediments of the Carson River system were in the μg·g−1 range, levels of MeHg varied from about 2 to 28 ngHg·g−1 dry weight, representing less than 3% of HgT. Concentrations of MeHg were well correlated with both the biotic (r = 0.95) and abiotic activity (r = 0.85) of the sediment, determined as the ability of each compartment to specifically reduce an alternative electron acceptor. However, the positive relationship between the two measured activities suggests that the abiotic activity may be due to reductant substances produced by micro-organisms. When sediments collected from the Carson River were used in laboratory assays for the determination of potential rates of MeHg production, the addition of inorganic Hg (added as HgCl2) resulted in increased rates of methylation when the spike concentration was lower or equal to 15.3 μg·g−1 dry weight. This trend was reversed for spike concentration of inorganic Hg above 15.3 μg·g−1. The reduction of methylation rate was associated with an inhibition of microbial activity. These observations suggest that seasonal inputs into the river of significant amounts of inorganic Hg eroded from mill tailings during winter and spring flooding events could have an inhibiting effect on Hg-methylating micro-organisms. This observation could explain the low [MeHg]/[HgT] ratios previously documented in waters of the Carson River system.
Economic aspects of afforestation and soil conservation projects

This paper argues for the need to broaden the economic analysis of afforestation projects beyond the traditional focus on the benefits of tree products themselves.
Design of half elliptical ring monopole antennas with elliptical slot in ground plane for future UWB applications

In this letter, a microstrip fed ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna with different band rejection techniques is presented. The designed antennas consist of a defected ground plane with an elliptical slot and elliptical shaped radiating element. The measured and calculated impedance bandwidth of the proposed antenna ranges from 3 to 14 GHz for a return loss (S11) less than −10 dB. Also, it has a relatively stable radiation patterns over its whole frequency band of interest. Two different techniques have been proposed to achieve band-notch characteristic in the 5.0- to 6.0-GHz wireless local area network frequency band. The first one uses L-shaped parasitic strip into the radiating patch, whereas the other one uses two rectangular slits cut away from the ground plane creating defected ground structure. The proposed antenna is considered a good candidate for UWB applications. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:181–187, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26449
Fuzziness vs. probability in a data mining application for soil classification

Data mining methods have been proven effective in extracting knowledge from existing data sources for the classification of soils. Previous studies have suggested that soils are spatial entities with fuzzy boundaries and prompted the development of data mining methods to extract knowledge that allows for fuzzy classifications of soils. This paper first looks at the nature of soil classification from the perspective of cognitive psychology. It then examines data mining methods used for fuzzy soil classification. It notes that some of the methods are inherently hybrids that combine statistical measures with fuzzy models on sound cognitive bases. This paper reflects upon the long lasting debate on fuzziness versus probability for modeling uncertainties and suggests that hybrid models are valid both practically and cognitively. At last, some preliminary results are reported in comparing pure probabilistic methods (Bayesian), a fuzzy method, and two hybrid approaches to knowledge discovery for soil classification that supports the suggestion.
New atmospheric temperature results from the Pioneer Venus entry probes

Abstract New Venus temperature profiles, derived from engineering measurements of the Small Probe Net Flux Radiometer (SNFR) instruments generally confirm to high accuracy the vertical structure and horizontal temperature contrast results of Seiff et al. /1/.
Sex Discrimination Against Women in Initial Placement Decisions: A Laboratory Investigation

The article focuses on a study which investigated sexual discrimination against women within selection decisions made for traditionally male positions. The authors hypothesize that female employees...
CLINICAL RESPONSE TO METYRAPONE AS INDICATED BY MEASUREMENT OF MINERALOCORTICOIDS AND GLUCOCORTICOIDS IN NORMAL CHILDREN

The effect of 24-h metyrapone administration on adrenal mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid pathways has been studied in normal children. Urine and serum steroid concentrations were evaluated. Simultaneous determinations of deoxycorticosterone (DOC), corticosterone (B), cortisol (F), and aldosterone (aldo), in both urine and serum, were carried out by celite column chromatography and radioimmunoassay. 11-deoxycortisol (Compound S) in serum and urine, urinary free 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone (18-OH-DOC), urinary free 18-hydroxycorticosterone (18-OH-B), and urinary aldosterone-18-glucuronide (pH 1 aldo) were measured separately by specific methods. Conclusions drawn were that (1) Useful indices of metyrapone effect were the marked rise of 11-deoxysteroids (DOC and S), and the fall of aldo and 18-OH-B; no changes occurred in 18-OH-DOC and the 11-hydroxylated steroids (B, F); (2) Serum and urine values were significantly correlated, indicating that both were equally reliable in the evaluation of the metyrapone test; (3) Hormonal ratios indicate that metyrapone inhibition affected the 11-hydroxylation of DOC and Compound S, and the 18-hydroxylation of DOC and B; and (4) The correlation between DOC/B and S/F ratios was highly significant (r = 0.86; P less than 0.0001), showing the same degree of inhibition of 11-hydroxylase functions for both 17-hydroxy (17-OHS) and 17-deoxysteroids.
Brain potentials in affective picture processing: Covariation with autonomic arousal and affective report

Emotionally arousing picture stimuli evoked scalp-recorded event-related potentials. A late, slow positive voltage change was observed, which was significantly larger for affective than neutral stimuli. This positive shift began 200-300 ms after picture onset, reached its maximum amplitude approximately 1 s after picture onset, and was sustained for most of a 6-s picture presentation period. The positive increase was not related to local probability of content type, but was accentuated for pictures that prompted increased autonomic responses and reports of greater affective arousal (e.g. erotic or violent content). These results suggest that the late positive wave indicates a selective processing of emotional stimuli, reflecting the activation of motivational systems in the brain.
The Reopening of Closed Filtering Blebs Using The Neodymium:YAG Laser

Abstract Four eyes underwent cicatricial closure of the filtering bleb within the 6 weeks postoperatively. They failed to respond to digital massage and conventional therapy, resulting in loss of bleb and elevated intraocular pressure. The average pre-YAG laser treatment intraocular pressure was 34.5 mmHg. Three hundred to five hundred applications from the mode-locked Neodymium:YAG laser (Meditec) delivered at 3.5 mJ were directed through a goniocontact prism to the surgical area. Prompt vaporization of scar tissue and sclera resulted in a dramatic reversal of the pathology. Forty-eight hours after treatment and with a cessation of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, an average 20 mm Hg drop in intraocular pressure was achieved. The bleb reformed in each case and maintained its patency for a minimum follow-up of 6 months.
On a local 3-Steiner convexity

Given a graph G and a set of vertices W ? V ( G ) , the Steiner interval of W is the set of vertices that lie on some Steiner tree with respect to W . A set U ? V ( G ) is called g 3 -convex in G , if the Steiner interval with respect to any three vertices from U lies entirely in U . Henning et?al. (2009)?5] proved that if every j -ball for all j ? 1 is g 3 -convex in a graph G , then G has no induced house nor twin C 4 , and every cycle in G of length at least six is well-bridged. In this paper we show that the converse of this theorem is true, thus characterizing the graphs in which all balls are g 3 -convex.
Loss mechanisms in MEMS oscillators

Micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) devices are being developed for a broad range of applications. In most cases, the sensitivity of the final device is a function of the intrinsic dissipation of mechanical energy, or Q-1. We use laser Doppler vibrometery (LDV) and finite element modeling to examine and quantify a variety of different dissipation mechanisms that are important for the room temperature operation of MEMS oscillator devices. In this work we examine dissipation mechanisms that include phonon-phonon scattering, thermoelastic dissipation, acoustic radiation, viscous drag and attachment loss. We examine three different systems experimentally and analytically to demonstrate that different loss mechanisms are dominant in each case at room temperature. Full-field LDV measurements are used to show that resonant reflectors are responding as predicted by finite element modeling and reduce the torque that the oscillator imposes on its foundation. This result shows that the attachment loss can be mitigated with the use of resonant reflectors and by careful design and fabrication. However, this reduction in the attachment loss does not reduce the Q-1 at room temperature for this device. From this we conclude that for these oscillators, attachment loss is not an important dissipation mechanism at room temperature, and the loss is due to some other intrinsic mechanisms mentioned above. We find that at pressure greater than 1O-2 Ton acoustic radiation dominates for our MEMS paddle oscillators, while for a diamond oscillator, 10-3 Ton is the low-pressure for when radiation damping is dominant.
Computerized Provider Order Entry and Patient Safety

Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) and clinical decision support (CDS) are advocated health care information technologies for improving patient safety through reduction and prevention of medication errors. CPOE and DCS target specific errors in medication processes, particularly in prescribing and ordering. These are of particular importance in pediatrics, because children may be more vulnerable to prescribing errors than adults. Studies of CPOE/CDS performed at academic medical centers have demonstrated their effectiveness in reducing medication process errors in pediatrics, but scant data so far show effects on health outcomes. CPOE/CDS adoption requires significant expertise in health care processes, information technology, and change management. Adoption is a high-cost, high-risk venture with political implications.
The EDGE Project

EDGE is a Long Duration Balloon (LDB) borne instrument designed to measure the large-scale anisotropy of the Cosmic Infrared Background (CIB). The goal is to use this signal as a new observational tool to measure the character of the spatial distribution of galaxies at the largest spatial scales. With a 6\arcmin\ beam mapping more than 400 square degrees of sky at 8 frequency bands between 250GHz and 1.5 THz the experiment can determine the variation of galaxy density on spatial scales ranging from >200h -1 Mpc, where dark matter variations are determined directly from Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) anisotropy, to -1 Mpc where the distribution of dark matter and galaxies is determined from galaxy redshift surveys and the underlying dynamics of structure growth is non-linear. The instrument consists of a 1-meter class off-axis telescope and a Frequency Selective Bolometer (FSB) array radiometer. The FSB design provides the compact, multi-chromatic, high sensitivity focal plane needed for this measurement.
Phenomenology and Models of Strong Interactions at Very High Energies

In these lectures I will review some of the striking observations made in high-energy multiparticle reactions at the ISR and at NAL in the past two years — observations which have an immediate impact on our understanding of the strong interactions. First, and most striking, is the confirmation of the hypothesis of short-range correlations in rapidity. Direct and convincing confirmation came from measurement of two-particle correlations at the ISR. The second observation is that of high-energy diffraction dissociation. That this process should exist was no surprise, but some features of diffractive production had to be observed before the general picture became clear. One feature is the magnitude. The question, before we saw the data, was whether diffractive production is a small or large part of multiparticle production. The first estimates of the magnitude came from fits to multiplicity distributions from NAL, where it was found from two-component models that the diffractive component is only about 20% of the inelastic cross section, whereas the short-range correlation (SRC) component is about 80%.
The yin and yang of lenalidomide.

In this issue of Blood , Lapalombella and colleagues uncover yet another consequence of exposure to the pleiotropic drug lenalidomide: the reduction of the surface receptor CD20 on leukemic B cells from CLL patients. Lenalidomide is one of a series of immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) that have been
Massless SU ( N ) Yang-Mills theory in two dimensions

An analysis of two-dimensional, massless SU(N) Yang-Mills theory initiated previously is continued and extended. The fermion propagator in the presence of a non-Abelian potential is constructed exactly, and the corresponding (induced) vacuum fermion currents and their divergences are deduced. The analysis of the color-singlet current and the associated bound states reveals the nonexistence of massive color-singlet bound states. This fact, together with the previously established existence of massive ''colored'' states, characterizes the spectrum, save for possible massless excitations. A consideration of the boson-representation version of the theory reveals the symmetry breaking and the associated mass generation to be a Schwinger-type mechanism. An Abelian model illustrating this analogy is briefly analyzed and discussed.
Classification of sets of stimuli with different stimulus characteristics and numerical properties

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effects of stimulus characteristics and numerical properties of sets of stimuli on classification. Sets contained12 stimuli which were all identical, had different categories defined by color, or had different categories defined by attributes of color and size. Number of categories and numerical distribution of stimuli in categories were varied. For each set S made a free classification and several restricted classifications in which the number of classes was specified. The results show: Sets of identical stimuli are classified into equal sized groups. Categorically defined stimuli are classified by category insofar as possible, but the tendency to numerical balance affects classificlltions with unbalanced numerical distributions or when the task restriction is incompatible with category classification. Stimuli defined by attributes are classified so as to maintain the attribute structure, although both category classification and numerical balance tendencies are evident with unbalanced numerical distributions and incompatible classification restrictions.
Evaluation of Two 300 MWe Fourth Generation PbBi Reactor System Concepts

This paper describes the evaluation of two 300 MWe modular PbBi cooled reactor system concepts that can be field assembled from components shipped on standard rail cars or on trucks. Thus, the largest components must be smaller than 12’ × 12’ × 80’ (3.66 m × 3.66 m × 24.4m) and should weigh no more than 80 tons. One of these systems utilizes a cylindrical two-loop containment vessel for the core and the other is a slab design. The fuel for both designs consists of standard-sized metallic IFR fuel in 17×17 square array assemblies with a pitch-to-diameter ratio of 1.15. The coolant outlet temperature is limited by current material technology, which is estimated to be 550 C. The primary coolant inlet temperature is selected to be 350 C. This is well above the melting temperature of PbBi, and it is expected to be sufficiently high to limit transient-induced thermal stresses to acceptable values. Coolant flow rates through the core and external piping are below 1 m/s. The results from neutronics calculations include power distributions, reactivity coefficients, and fuel depletion, and results from heat transfer calculations include temperatures and flow rates at various locations in the primary and secondary systems. The neutronic design calculations are accomplished by using a discrete ordinate transport code and a cross section processing system developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Two-dimensional flux distributions are obtained with the DOORS system, and ORIGEN-S, coupled with KENO, is used for time-dependent depletion calculations. The thermal-hydraulic design of the core consists of heat transfer and fluid flow calculation for an average channel. The inlet and outlet temperatures, along with the fuel centerline temperature, are determined in conjunction with core flow rates, pumping power, and total power output. This is accomplished by using a lumped parameter steady-state model with a spreadsheet and by using a one-dimensional time-dependent model. Results from the thermal-hydraulic calculation obtain a thermal efficiency of 41%, but an efficiency of about 45% could be obtained. The nominal power density and good thermal conductivity of Pb-Bi will permit decay heat to be handled more effectively than for sodium-cooled design or for light water reactors. The low vapor pressure of Pb-Bi permits the use of a thin walled pressure vessel on the order of centimeters as compared to the 30–40 cm thick PWR vessel, and the high boiling point of the lead bismuth assures that the core will remain covered in the event of a loss of coolant outside the primary vessel.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
A one-dimensional hybrid photonic crystal microcavity in the strong coupling regime

We propose a new hybrid photonic crystal cavity structure for one-dimensional polaritons by integrating a planar high-index-contrast grating into a vertical microcavity. It can be readily scaled up to coupled quasi one-dimensional arrays.
Light field camera and integral 3D display: 3D image reconstruction based on lightfield data

Recently, light field cameras have become popular as cameras with which you can refocus images after having taken pictures. In this paper I report that combination of this light field camera and integral display has useful features for 3D image capture and reconstruction. Refocusing function is based on 3D information contained in light field data and this fact means that a light field camera captures 3D images and encodes them in the 2D sensor plane by micro lens array. This 3D capturing is unique in two points; one is that a light field camera acquires not real 3D object images but 3D image plane compressed in axial direction by the object lens in proportion to ratio of longitudinal and lateral magnification. So when captured 3D image plane is shown on the integral display, the actual 3D image is reconstructed near display screen like an embossed carving. The other point is that the reconstructed image is of higher resolution than density of micro lens. Light filed data by the light field camera basically contain full resolution information not limited by density of micro lens. This implicit resolution in encoded data comes out, when the light field data is decoded by the integral display thorough optical convolutional process.
ER Stress Signaling in Hepatic Injury

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an essential membrane-bound organelle for protein synthesis, oxidative protein folding, and posttranslational modifications, most notably the addition of oligosaccharides and the formation of disulfide bonds [1–6]. The ER is also a site for biosynthesis of lipids and sterols and for storing and releasing Ca2+ which is involved in numerous cellular signal transduction pathways. Molecular chaperones in the ER ensure proper folding and targeting of nascent proteins. Unfolded or malfolded proteins (as high as 30% of nascent proteins) are retained in the ER and targeted for retrotranslocation to the cytoplasm by the machinery of ER associated degradation (ERAD), and rapidly degraded through the ubiquitin-­proteosomal pathways [7, 8]. Physiological or pathological conditions such as increased translation of secretory proteins, reduced capacity of folding and proteasomal degradation, alterations of redox state and Ca2+ levels, ATP depletion, and improper posttranslational modifications perturb the homeostasis of ER and cause accumulation of unfolded proteins which stresses the ER leading to an adaptive response (referred to as the unfolding protein response, UPR) to dampen the stress. Prolonged or severe UPR can lead to an attempt to delete the cell which is termed ER stress response [1–6]. Both responses are critical for the survival of the organism and an intricate relationship exists due to overlap and interplay between the two responses. In this chapter, we highlight the general signaling pathways of UPR and ER stress response, summarize the role of ER stress in a number of experimental or naturally occurring models of liver disease, and discuss our recent advances in alcohol or homocysteine-induced ER stress response and hepatic injury.
Hole Centers in Halide Lattices

Irradiation of ionic crystals can produce a large variety of stable defects involving both charge separation and ionic displacement. Some of the resulting electronic energy levels fall within the band gap and are thus accessible to spectroscopic investigation wherever the crystal is transparent. It is convenient to classify a given defect or color center according to whether its character is primarily that of a trapped electron or a trapped hole. In the former case, the behavior of the center is conditioned primarily by the existence of an occupied level lying within the band gap, a donor level in semiconductor terminology. In the case of a hole center, the concern of the present chapter, the behavior is dominated by an unoccupied level in the gap, an acceptor level.
Progesterone: Regulation of Estrous Cycle, Ovulation and Estrous Behavior in the Golden Hamster

Three-month-old, intact, virgin, female golden hamsters were treated with progesterone given as a single subcutaneous injection using either 0.05 ml propylene glycol (PG) or sesame oil (SO) as an injection vehicle. The animals were then observed for estrous behavior and time of ovulation. One hundred, 50 and 25 but not 12.5 μg progesterone given on the second day of diestrus at 1900 induces estrous behavior: this is followed by a delay of ovulation and its associated estrous period. The duration of the delay and its manifestation are dependent on dose of progesterone and type of injection vehicle. One hundred μg of progesterone given at various times on D2 and the day of proestrus (P) is also able to induce estrous behavior and delay ovulation, but the duration of delays and the exhibition of a delay depend on the type of injection vehicle and the time of progesterone administration. When SO is the injection vehicle the fraction showing delay and the length of delay are increased in comparison to hormone ...
Corporate Coup-Maker Grievances And Types Of Regime Targets:

In partial response to the renewed explanatory emphasis on the role of corporate grievances in bringing about military coups, this article operationalizes and tests the hypothesis that a significantly higher proportional frequency of apparent corporate motivations arc associated with coups executed against civilian governments as opposed to coups executed against military governments. Using a 1946–1970 data base encompassing 229 military coups, no statistically significant differences between the two types of government targets emerge at the world level. At the regional level, only Asian coups provide any real support for the hypothesis. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the possible reasons for the general lack of support for the hypothesis and its implications for the analysis of military coups.
Stationary Phase-Specific Virulence Factor Overproduction by a lasR Mutant of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Secreted virulence factors of the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa are often under quorum sensing control. Cells lacking the quorum-sensing regulator LasR show reduced virulence factor production under typical laboratory conditions and are hypo-virulent in short-term animal infection models, yet lasR mutants are frequently associated with long-term infection in cystic fibrosis patients. Here, I show that in stationary-phase or slow-growth conditions, lasR cells continuously and strongly produce the important virulence factor pyocyanin while wild-type cells do not. Pyocyanin overproduction by lasR cells is permitted by loss of repression by RsaL, a LasR-dependent negative regulator. lasR cells also contribute pyocyanin in mixed cultures, even under “cheating” conditions where they depend on their wild-type neighbors for nutrients. Finally, some clinical P. aeruginosa isolates with lasR mutations can overproduce pyocyanin in the laboratory. These results imply that slow-growing clinical populations of lasR cells in chronic infections may contribute to virulence by producing pyocyanin under conditions where lasR+ cells do not.
Group Versus Individual Training and Group Performance: The Mediating Role of Transactive Memory

The task performance of laboratory work groups whose members were trained together or alone was investigated. At an initial training session, subjects were taught to assemble transistor radios. Some were trained in groups, others individually. A week later, subjects were asked to recall the assembly procedure and actually assemble a radio. Everyone performed these tasks in small work groups, each containing three persons of the same gender. Subjects in the group training condition worked in the same groups where they were trained, whereas subjects in the individual training condition worked in newly formed groups. Groups whose members were trained together recalled more about the assembly procedure and produced better-quality radios than groups whose members were trained alone. Through an analysis of videotape data, the mediating effects of various cognitive and social factors on the relationship between group training and performance were explored. The results indicated that group training improved group...
Rational Krylov methods for optimal ℒ 2 model reduction

Unstable dynamical systems can be viewed from a variety of perspectives. We discuss the potential of an input-output map associated with an unstable system to represent a bounded map from ℒ 2 (ℝ) to itself and then develop criteria for optimal reduced order approximations to the original (unstable) system with respect to an ℒ 2 -induced Hilbert-Schmidt norm. Our optimality criteria extend the Meier-Luenberger interpolation conditions for optimal ℋ 2 approximation of stable dynamical systems. Based on this interpolation framework, we describe an iteratively corrected rational Krylov algorithm for ℒ 2 model reduction. A numerical example involving a hard-to-approximate full-order model illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Daniel Neal and the ‘Puritan Revolution’

Daniel Neal's The History of the Puritans was a standard eighteenth-century source for modern historians and, as will be shown, prefigured nineteenth-century Whig conceptions of Puritanism. Published in four volumes between 1732 and 1738, Neal's work went through at least twenty-one editions or reprints; the last one was done in 1863. New editions were printed in London, Bath, Dublin, New York, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and the History was twice expanded by continuators in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century. The History of the Puritans was not a narrowly religious or sectarian study: Neal strove to elucidate the Puritan contribution to the state. A Congregationalist minister, Neal produced the closest thing we have to an official Dissenting history of England, one which glorified the role of Puritanism in fostering English liberty. To study Neal's History is to gain insight into the historical and political ideology of early eighteenth-century Dissent.
A Model for Fission Product Release from Liquid-Metal Pools: Development and Sensitivity Investigation

A computational model is described for fission product release from molten pools of uranium-aluminum (U-Al) metal. Liquid-metal pools may form during severe accidents in U-Al-fueled reactors if mul...
Partisanship and Views about Immigration in Southern California: Just How Partisan is the Issue of Immigration?

Given the prevailing levels of elite partisan contentiousness over immigration issues, we expect to see mass attitudes towards immigration replicate this polarization. We explore the partisan implications of this issue by examining popular attitudes towards immigrants in California, where attitudes towards immigration and immigrants have formed central themes in a series of highly charged political campaigns and elite discourse on the issue is polarized. Yet even in California we find that many different kinds of voters share a surprisingly similar set of concerns about the flow of immigrants into the nation. We are particularly interested in whether Democrats and Republicans view the public policy consequences of immigration in similar or different ways. We find that Republicans more likely indicate they think immigration will have harmful effects on social and policy outcomes in the United States, but Democrats tend to share similar concerns. One consequence of this pattern is that the US Republican Party - at least the party in California - may be able to use the immigration issue as a wedge to attract support from people who tend to support Democratic candidates, often thought friendlier to immigrants.
Soft Lithography in Biology and Biochemistry

▪ Abstract Soft lithography, a set of techniques for microfabrication, is based on printing and molding using elastomeric stamps with the patterns of interest in bas-relief. As a technique for fabricating microstructures for biological applications, soft lithography overcomes many of the shortcomings of photolithography. In particular, soft lithography offers the ability to control the molecular structure of surfaces and to pattern the complex molecules relevant to biology, to fabricate channel structures appropriate for microfluidics, and to pattern and manipulate cells. For the relatively large feature sizes used in biology (≥50 μm), production of prototype patterns and structures is convenient, inexpensive, and rapid. Self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiolates on gold are particularly easy to pattern by soft lithography, and they provide exquisite control over surface biochemistry.
Efficient Computation of ℓ1 Regularized Estimates in Gaussian Graphical Models

In this article, I propose an effcient algorithm to compute l1 regularized maximum likelihood estimates in the Gaussian graphical model. These estimators, recently proposed in an earlier article by Yuan and Lin, conduct parameter estimation and model selection simultaneously and have been shown to enjoy nice properties in both large and finite samples. To compute the estimates, however, can be very challenging in practice because of the high dimensionality and positive definiteness constraint on the covariance matrix. Taking advantage of the recent advance in semidefinite programming, Yuan and Lin suggested a sophisticated interior-point algorithm to solve the optimization problem. Although a polynomial time algorithm, the optimization technique is known not to be scalable for high-dimensional problems. Alternatively, this article shows that the estimates can be computed by iteratively solving a sequence of l1 regularized quadratic programs. By effectively exploiting the sparsity of the graphical structur...
Mouse neutrophils are professional antigen-presenting cells programmed to instruct Th1 and Th17 T-cell differentiation

Neutrophils play a major role in the innate immune system and are normally considered to be short-lived effector cells that exert anti-microbial activity and sometimes immunopathology. Here, we show that these cells possess an additional function as professional antigen-presenting cells capable of priming a T(h)1- and T(h)17-acquired immune response. Using flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy and western blotting, we show that mouse neutrophils express MHC class II and co-stimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86 after T-cell co-incubation. Neutrophils pulsed with ovalbumin (OVA) process and present peptide antigen to OVA-specific T cells in an MHC class II-dependent manner. Importantly, we demonstrate that neutrophils can prime antigen-specific T(h)1 and T(h)17 immune responses even without the addition of exogenous cytokines to cell cultures.
Allergic agonists in apheresis platelet products are associated with allergic transfusion reactions

BACKGROUND: The mechanisms that underlie allergic transfusion reactions (ATRs) are not well characterized, but likely involve recipient, donor, and product factors. To assess product factors associated with ATRs, we investigated candidate mediators in apheresis platelet (PLT) products associated with ATRs and controls. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Using bead-based and standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, we tested supernatants from 20 consecutive apheresis PLT transfusions associated with ATRs and 30 control products for concentrations of mediators in three categories: acute inflammatory mediators, direct agonists of basophils and mast cells, and growth and/or priming factors of basophils and mast cells. RESULTS: Median concentrations of the direct allergic agonists C5a, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and CCL5 (RANTES) were 16.6, 41.8, and 13.9% higher, respectively, in the supernatant of apheresis PLT products that were most strongly associated with ATRs (p 0.2 for all associations). CONCLUSION: The allergic agonists C5a, BDNF, and CCL5 may be mediators of ATRs in apheresis PLT products. Acute inflammatory proteins and basophil and/or mast cell growth and priming factors do not appear to be associated with apheresis PLT products that cause ATRs.
Temperature trend patterns in southern hemisphere high latitudes: novel indicators of stratospheric change.

Abstract Robust stratospheric temperature trend patterns are suggested in the winter and spring seasons in the Southern Hemisphere high latitudes from the satellite-borne Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) measurement for 1979–2007. These patterns serve as indicators of key processes governing temperature and ozone changes in the Antarctic. The observed patterns are characterized by cooling and warming regions of comparable magnitudes, with the strongest local trends occurring in September and October. In September, ozone depletion induces radiative cooling, and strengthening of the Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC) induces dynamical warming. Because the trends induced by these two processes are centered in different locations in September, they do not cancel each other, but rather produce a wavelike structure. In contrast, during October, the ozone-induced radiative cooling and the BDC-induced warming exhibit a more zonally symmetric structure than in September, and hence largely cancel each other. However, the...
N-myc Oncogene RNA Expression in Neuroblastoma

Tumor specimens from 33 patients with neuroblastoma were assayed for amplification of the N-myc oncogene and RNA expression to determine whether N-myc RNA expression levels correlated with N-myc gene amplification and clinical outcome. N-myc gene amplification was detected in one stage II tumor, one stage IV-S tumor, and seven stage III or IV tumors. In each case, N-myc RNA expression roughly paralleled N-myc gene amplification. However, enhanced N-myc RNA expression was not confined to tumors with N-myc gene amplification: all of the early (stage I and II) tumors, five stage IV-S tumors, and 12 advanced (stage III and IV) tumors had levels of N-myc RNA that were elevated up to 50-fold. While N-myc gene amplification correlated with prognosis, there was no such correlation with levels of N-myc RNA expression. The precise role of the N-myc gene in the pathogenesis of neuroblastoma remains unclear.
Pregnancy rate and first-service conception rate in Angus heifers

The objective of this project was to determine the genetic control of conception rate, or pregnancy percentage in Angus beef heifers. Producers from 6 herds in 5 states provided 3,144 heifer records that included breeding dates, breeding contemporary groups, service sires, and pregnancy check information. Two hundred fourteen sires of the heifers were represented; with 104 sires having less than 5 progeny, and 14 sires having greater than 50 progeny. These data were combined with performance and pedigree information, including actual and adjusted birth weights, weaning weights, and yearling weights, from the American Angus Association database. Heifer pregnancy rate varied from 75 to 95% between herds, and from 65 to 100% between sires, with an overall pregnancy rate of 93%, measured as the percentage of heifers pregnant at pregnancy check after the breeding season. Pregnancy was analyzed as a threshold trait with an underlying continuous distribution. A generalized linear animal model, using a relationship matrix, was fitted. This model included the fixed effects of contemporary group, age of dam, and first AI service sire, and the covariates of heifer age at the beginning of breeding, adjusted birth weight, adjusted weaning weight, and adjusted yearling weight. The relationship matrix included 4 generations of pedigree. The heritability of pregnancy and first-service conception rates on the underlying scale was 0.13 +/- 0.07 and 0.03 +/- 0.03, respectively. Estimated breeding values for pregnancy rate on the observed scale ranged from -0.02 to 0.05 for sires of heifers. Including growth traits with pregnancy rate as 2-trait analyses did not change the heritability of pregnancy rate. As expected for a reproductive trait, the heritability of pregnancy rate was low. Because of its low heritability, genetic improvement in fertility by selection on heifer pregnancy rate would be expected to be slow.
Influence of sex and limb dominance on lower extremity joint mechanics during unilateral land-and-cut manoeuvres

ABSTRACTLimb dominance theory suggests that females tend to be more one-leg dominant and exhibit greater kinematic and kinetic leg asymmetries than their male counterparts, contributing to the increased risk of anterior cruciate ligament injury among female athletes. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the influences of sex and limb dominance on lower extremity joint mechanics during unilateral land-and-cut manoeuvres. Twenty-one women and 21 men completed land-and-cut manoeuvres on their dominant limb as well as their nondominant limb. Three-dimensional kinematics and kinetics were calculated bilaterally for the entire stance phase of the manoeuvre. Women performed land-and-cut manoeuvres with altered hip motions and loads as well as greater knee abduction at touchdown compared to men. Dominant limb land-and-cut manoeuvres where characterised by decreased hip flexion at touchdown as well as decreased hip flexion and adduction range of motion compared to nondominant land-and-cuts regardless of ...
Radical conversion and migration in electron capture dissociation.

Electron capture dissociation (ECD) is an important analytical technique which is used frequently in proteomics experiments to reveal information about both primary sequence and post-translational modifications. Although the utility of ECD is unquestioned, the underlying chemistry which leads to the observed fragmentation is still under debate. Backbone dissociation is frequently the exclusive focus when mechanistic questions about ECD are posed, despite the fact that numerous other abundant dissociation channels exist. Herein, the focus is shifted to side chain loss and other dissociation channels which offer clues about the underlying mechanism(s). It is found that the initially formed hydrogen abundant radicals in ECD can convert quickly to hydrogen deficient radicals via a variety of pathways. Dissociation which occurs subsequent to this conversion is mediated by hydrogen deficient radical chemistry, which has been the subject of extensive study in experiments which are independent from ECD. Statistic...
The enumeration of blood platelets

Abstract The most accurate procedures for counting the blood platelets are the true indirect methods. The true indirect method described here is, I believe, accurate and dependable, maximum care having been exercised in carrying out the various technical steps involved. It adheres to the leading principles that must be taken into consideration in counting platelets: (1) avoidance of contact between undiluted blood and skin, external air, glassware or metal, (2) mixing of freshly drawn blood as quickly as possible with the preserving fluid, and (3) avoidance of all unnecessary manipulations of the blood. It is simple to carry out and can be easily adapted for routine clinical use.
Topical Review: Integrating Findings on Direct Observation of Family Communication in Studies Comparing Pediatric Chronic Illness and Typically Developing Samples

Objective To review research on observed family communication in families with children with chronic illnesses compared with families with healthy, typically developing children, and to integrate findings utilizing a unifying family communication framework. Method Topical review of studies that have directly observed family communication in pediatric populations and included a typically developing comparison group. Results Initial findings from 14 studies with diverse approaches to quantifying observed family communication suggest that families with children with chronic illnesses may demonstrate lower levels of warm and structured communication and higher levels of hostile/intrusive and withdrawn communication compared with families with healthy, typically developing children. Conclusion An integrative framework of family communication may be used in future studies that examine the occurrence, correlates, and mechanisms of family communication in pediatric populations.
Evaluation of staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis, Lamarck 1816) production techniques in an ocean-based nursery with consideration of coral genotype

Abstract Staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis is an important framework-building species that has declined severely throughout the Caribbean since the early 1980s. This species is now widely cultured in ocean-based nurseries to restore degraded populations. A variety of techniques have been adopted to grow A. cervicornis for restoration purposes, however the effect of each of these methods on nursery-reared corals is not well-understood. In particular, systematic evaluation of nursery-reared A. cervicornis between water column-suspended and benthic-attached culture methods is lacking. To better understand the effect of these techniques, a one-year A. cervicornis propagation experiment in the Florida Keys was conducted to compare growth, condition, and survivorship between common suspended (i.e. tree) and benthic-attached (i.e. block) grow-out methods. The effect of coral genotype on growth was also considered. Colonies were measured and monitored monthly from December 2014 until November 2015, when only three colonies had survived an extreme bleaching event. Colonies on trees grew up to three times faster than those on blocks and the location of colonies on trees did not affect growth. Genotype had a significant effect on colony growth, which was consistent across grow-out methods. Interestingly, colonies grown on blocks bleached sooner but survived longer than those on trees. These findings contribute to a growing understanding of A. cervicornis nursery culture, and could aid in the selection of culture methods and genotypes for coral nurseries throughout the wider Caribbean.
The effect of demographics and patient location on the outcome of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome

OBJECTIVE: Outcome of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in relation to age, gender, race, pre-Intensive Care Unit (ICU) location, and type of ICU. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of patients enrolled in the ARDS network randomized controlled trials. RESULTS: A total of 2914 patients were included in these trials. Outcomes were adjusted to baseline covariates including APACHE III score, vasopressor use, cause of lung injury, lung injury score, diabetes, cancer status, body mass index, and study ID. Older patients had significantly higher mortality at both 28- and 60-day (odds ratio [OR] 2.59 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.12-3.18] P CONCLUSION: Older patients and races other than blacks and whites have higher mortality associated with ARDS. Mortality is affected by patients preadmission location. There are no differences in outcome in relation to the type of ICU, gender, or between blacks and whites.
Tiam1/Vav2-Rac1 axis: A tug-of-war between islet function and dysfunction

Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion [GSIS] from the islet β-cell involves a well-orchestrated interplay between metabolic and cationic events. It is well established that intracellular generation of adenine and guanine nucleotide triphosphates [e.g., ATP and GTP] represents one of the requisite signaling steps in GSIS. The small molecular mass GTP-binding proteins [G-proteins; e.g., Rac1 and Cdc42] have been shown to regulate islet β-cell function including actin cytoskeletal remodeling and fusion of insulin granules with the plasma membrane for GSIS to occur. In this context, several regulatory factors for these G-proteins have been identified in the pancreatic β-cell; these include guanine nucleotide exchange factors [GEFs] and guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitors [GDI]. Recent pharmacological and molecular biological evidence identified Tiam1 and Vav2 as GEFs for Rac1 in promoting physiological insulin secretion. Paradoxically, emerging evidence in multiple cell types, including the islet β-cell, suggests key roles for Rac1 in the onset of cellular dysfunction under conditions of metabolic stress and diabetes. Furthermore, functional inactivation of either Tiam1 or Vav2 appears to attenuate sustained activation of Rac1 and its downstream signaling events [activation of stress kinases] under conditions of metabolic stress. Together, these findings suggest both “friendly” and “non-friendly” roles for Tiam1/Vav2-Rac1 signaling axis in islet β-cell in health and diabetes. Our current understanding of the field and the knowledge gaps that exist in this area of islet biology are heighted herein. Furthermore, potential caveats in the specificity and selectivity of pharmacological inhibitors that are available currently are discussed in this Commentary.