cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modeling Surface Charge Regulation of Colloidal Particles in Aqueous Solutions

Colloidal particles are mostly charged in an aqueous solution because of the protonation or deprotonation of ionizable groups on the surface. The surface charge density reflects a complex interplay of ion distributions within the electric double layer and the surface reaction equilibrium. In this work, we present a coarse-grained model to describe the charge regulation of various colloidal systems by an explicit consideration of the inhomogeneous ion distributions and surface reactions. With the primitive model for aqueous solutions and equilibrium constants for surface reactions as the inputs, the theoretical model is able to make quantitative predictions of the surface-charge densities and zeta potentials for diverse colloidal particles over a wide range of pH and ionic conditions. By accounting for the ionic size effects and electrostatic correlations, our model is applicable to systems with multivalent ions that exhibit charge inversion and provides a faithful description of the interfacial properties without evoking the empirical Stern capacitance or specific ion adsorptions.
Mapping the Brain During Awake Surgery for Patients with Neurological Disorders Including Brain Tumors

Awake mapping of the brain using cortical and subcortical direct electrical stimulation is considered the gold standard treatment for patients with brain lesions located in eloquent regions. In surgical neuro-oncology, awake craniotomies with brain mapping have proven to be an effective tool to achieve improved survival through greater extent of resection and preserving quality of life. Mapping of the brain cortex and white matter tracts also allows a better understanding of the neural networks that underlie high-level cognitive processes, such as language, executive functions, and others. Current and future advances will undoubtedly lead to more beneficial surgical procedures; however, neurosurgeons should always remember that patient needs are of utmost importance and should guide final decisions.
Price-Bands: A Technical Tool for Stock Trading

Given a stochastic process with known finite dimensional distributions, we construct lower and upper bounds within which future values of the stochastic process run, at a fixed probability level. For a financial trading business, such set of bounds are called “price-bands” or “trading-bands” that can be used as an indicator for successfully buying or short-selling shares of stock. In this chapter, we present a mathematical model for the novel construction of price-bands using a stochastic programming formulation. Numerical examples using recent US stock market intraday data are presented.
Developing machine learning tools for long-lead heavy precipitation prediction with multi-sensor data

A large number of extreme floods were closely related to heavy precipitation which lasted for several days or weeks. Long-lead prediction of extreme precipitation, i.e., prediction of 6–15 days ahead of time, is important for understanding the prognostic forecasting potential of many natural disasters, such as floods. Yet, long-lead flood forecasting is a challenging task due to the cascaded uncertainty with prediction errors from measurements to modeling, which makes the current physics-based numerical simulation models extremely complex and inaccurate. In this paper, we formulate the modeling work as a machine learning problem and introduce a complementary data mining framework for heavy precipitation prediction. Heavy precipitation that may lead to extreme floods is a rare event. Long-lead prediction requires the corresponding feature space to be sampled from extremely high spatio-temporal dimensions. Such a complexity makes long-lead heavy precipitation prediction a high dimensional and imbalanced machine learning problem. In this work, we firstly define the extreme precipitation and non-extreme precipitation clusters and then design the Nearest-Sample Choosing method to handle the imbalanced data sets. We introduce streaming feature selection and subspace learning to extract the most relevant features from high dimensional data. We evaluate the machine learning tools using historical flood data collected in the State of Iowa, the United States and associated hydrometeorological variables from 1948 to 2010.
Sequential expression of germ line genes in development of immunoglobulin class diversity

Differentiation of B cells occurs in two discontinuous stages. Primary differentiation of stem cells to B lymphocytes in birds occurs exclusively in the lymphoepithelial bursa of Fabricius; the fetal liver may serve this function in mammals. In chickens both the size of the B-lymphocyte pool and the generation of precursors for cells secreting different immunoglobulin classes is controlled by the bursa. The latter process involves the sequential expression of genes coding for heavy chain constant regions in the order μ, γ, α. The second stage of B-cell differentiation is antigen-driven, and involves proliferation and maturation of B lymphocytes to plasma cells. Ontogenetic development of different classes of B lymphocytes in mammals is orderly, independent of exogenous antigens, and occurs in the sequence µ, γ, α. A developmental switch in expression of CH genes, beginning with µ, has been experimentally verified. We favor the hypothesis that generation of class diversity of B lymphocytes occurs during the antigen-independent first stage of differentiation, and that the genetic switch in CHgene expression follows the sequence µ→γ → α, but evidence of these points remains inconclusive.—Lawton, A. R., P. W. Kincade And M. D. Cooper. Sequential expression of germ line genes in development of immunoglobulin class diversity. Federation Proc. 34: 33–39, 1975.
Looking at Literacy in the 21st Century

Abstract Literacy instruction has shifted in recent years alongside acts of legislation. Areas of literacy education like adolescent literacy and RTI are now receiving increased attention, whereas phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency receive considerably less attention than 10 years ago. Comparative discussions describe “very hot” and “cold” topics as they relate to philosophy/approach, level, content, materials, and assessment in 2001 versus 2010. Educators can utilize this content information to inform their instruction and direct attention to needed areas within their own schools.
Member risk adjustment for ambulatory episodes of care

The purpose of this study was to model health-plan member risk based on member characteristics in order to separate member risk from other utilization determinants for the use of health care services across sites of care. The approach was to build episodes of care (EOCs) by sorting one year of encounter/claims data into Common Treatment Categories (CTCs). These data came from a variety of health plans, both capitated and non-capitated, covering over 2 million lives. The EOCs were characterized by an array of event and intensity measures. Episode-level risk for each of these measures was modeled by regressions based on member demographic and clinical characteristics. The results of this study show that member characteristics explain a substantial amount of event and intensity variation within episodes and that no single performance measure can summarize the care of health plan members. This method for evaluating member risk can be used both to stratify members according to their future risk and potentially to assess provider or health plan performance or to adjust reimbursement for performance or risk selection.
The Multiple Dimensions of the Church Towards an Explanatory Account

This paper offers a survey and proposal concerning Catholic ecclesiology in the post-Vatican II context. As a survey, it addresses the attempts by four major Catholic thinkers, de Lubac, Congar, Rahner and Balthasar to articulate dual dimensions of the Church. In the last century, the surge in biblical studies and empirical methodologies has wrought numerous ecclesial images, dimensions and models for understanding the various aspects of the Church. While many of these attempts are descriptive, or even symbolic, there is a need to move to an explanatory method for a more systematic apprehension of the various dimensions of the Church. The proposal of this paper will argue that such an explanation lies in how the Church understands itself with respect to each of the missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit as developed from the thought of Bernard Lonergan on the two dimensions of the Church. This will allow for a plethora of images, but simultaneously it will provide for some normative control of meaning over these various dimensions.
On compaction-based concurrent error detection

We examine a low-cost, zero-latency, non-intrusive CED method for restricted error models. The method is based on compaction of the circuit outputs, prediction of the compacted responses, and comparison. This method also achieves significant hardware cost reduction by utilizing the information available through the restricted error model. We assume that the error model is not defined through permanent or transient faults in the hardware, but rather in terms of the erroneous behavior that such faults induce. Thus, any fault model can be described by providing for every input combination the error-free response and all erroneous responses resulting from faults in the model.
Multiobjective management of ecosystem services by integrative watershed modeling and evolutionary algorithms

[1] This paper explores the role of landscapes in generating ecosystem services while maximizing gross margin associated with agricultural commodity production. Ecosystem services considered include the reduction of nonpoint source pollutants such as sediment, phosphorous, and nitrogen yields from a watershed. The analysis relies on an integrative modeling framework that combines a comprehensive watershed model (SWAT) with a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm (SPEA2). Application of the resulting model to a watershed in southern Illinois demonstrates the effectiveness of the approach in providing tradeoff solutions between gross margin and the generation of ecosystem services. These solutions are important to policy makers and planners in that they provide information about the cost-effectiveness of alternative agricultural landscapes.
Jan Assmann and the Theologization of the Political

AbstractThis paper focuses in part on Jan Assmann's interpretation and refutation of Carl Schmitt's very well-known secularization theory that all significant modern concepts of the state are secularized theological notions. It will be demonstrated that Assmann attempts to counter Schmitt's conception of modern secularization by suggesting that Mosaic monotheism inaugurated a revolution by theologizing the political. By briefly exploring Assmann's interpretation of Egyptian religion, it will be argued that a conception of the political as distinct from the theological characterized the political form of ancient Egypt. This leads to a discussion of Assmann's argument that Schmitt's conception of the friend/enemy distinction should be understood as an aberration of the political form of ancient Egypt and therefore viewed as a category of political illegitimacy. In order to illustrate this, attention will first be drawn to Assmann's distinction between primary and secondary religion. This is followed by a di...
Mass spectrometry of acetylated, permethylated and reduced oligopeptides.

Abstract The amino acid sequence of oligopeptides can be determined from the mass spectra of their volatile derivatives. New peptide derivatives are described which are prepared from permethylated peptides by reduction with borane-tetrahydrofuran. These derivatives have been found to be more volatile than the corresponding permethylated ones. The procedure is illustrated by application of this technique to representative oligopeptides. As little as 10–100 nmol of these peptides have been sequenced using this technique.
Role of Insulin Resistance and Diabetes in the Pathogenesis and Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is now a frequent cause of consultation for hepatologists and other health care providers. To a significant extent, this is because the metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) promote liver disease and are more prevalent than ever before. Clinicians must be aware that insulin resistance and hyperglycemia are believed to worsen the natural history of NAFLD, fueling inflammation, hepatocyte injury (ballooning) and fibrosis. End-stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) develop more often in this setting. Interventions that reverse insulin resistance and hyperglycemia, may halt or ameliorate the disease process. Therefore, a comprehensive approach is needed for the successful management of these patients that addresses both, the liver-specific and the associated metabolic conditions. This review focuses on the mechanisms by which insulin resistance, and both lipo- and glucotoxicity, are believed to contribute to the development of NAFLD, and on the treatments tested in obese patients with T2DM and NAFLD, as a means to assist practitioners managing these complex patients.
Recent Advances in the STM-Based Luminescence Microscopy of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Thin Films

We report on recent advances in the development of a luminescence spectroscopy based on scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and its application to fundamental aspects of Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) thin films. Relevant to our discussion is the specifics of the surface electronics . The CIGS shows pronounced stoichiometric deviations at the surface and, consequently, distinct surface electronics that has been shown to be critical in achieving high efficiency. Cathodoluminescence (CL), a luminescence spectrum imaging mode in scanning electron microscopy (SEM), provides a direct correlation between the microstructure of the CIGS and its electronic properties. As such, cathodoluminescence can resolve the emission spectrum between grain boundaries and grain interiors or be used to investigate the influence of local orientation and stoichiometry on the electronic properties of the CIGS at the microscale. Cathodoluminescence is not a surface microscopy , however, and resolving the electronic structure of the CIGS surface remains elusive to all luminescence microscopies. With this motivation, we have developed a luminescence microscopy based on STM, in which tunneling electrons are responsible for the excitation of luminescence (scanning tunneling luminescence or STL). The hot-tunneling-electron excitation is confined to the surface and, consequently, the tunneling luminescence spectrum reveals the electronic states near the surface. The STM is integrated inside the SEM and, therefore, both CL and STL can be measured over the same location and compared. Using this setup, the transition from the grain interior to the surface can be investigated. We have improved the collection of our optics to a level in which tunneling luminescence spectrum imaging can be performed. Here we present a detailed account on our investigation of the surface electronics in CIGS deposited in the regime of selenium deficiency as defined by /( + + ) = 1.
Numerical and experimental study of turbulent heat transfer and fluid flow in longitudinal fin arrays

Etude numerique et experimentale du transfert de chaleur d'un ensemble d'ailettes longitudinales paralleles a un courant turbulent d'air passant entre les ailettes
Breast cancer among young African-American women: a summary of data and literature and of issues discussed during the Summit Meeting on Breast Cancer Among African American Women, Washington, DC, September 8-10, 2000.

BACKGROUND African-American women younger than age 45 years have a higher risk of incidence and mortality due to breast cancer than other women. The reason for this disparity in risk is not well understood. METHODS This review summarizes the literature on the topic of breast cancer in young women and presents a summary of a discussion on this topic during a national forum on breast cancer among African-American women. RESULTS The occurrence of breast cancer among African-American women younger than the age of 45 years has not been well studied. There is a clear and long-term pattern of higher incidence and mortality and poorer survival in this population subgroup. CONCLUSION Research is needed to understand the reasons for these disparities and to reduce or eliminate them. Studies focused on hormonal factors, genetic factors, diet and obesity, and timely access to state-of-the-art prevention, information, screening, diagnosis, and treatment are likely to produce important new knowledge in this area. Cancer 2003;97(1 Suppl):273–9. © 2003 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11025
Brief Report The coherence of emotion systems: Comparing “on‐line” measures of appraisal and facial expressions, and self‐report

Recently, investigators have challenged long‐standing assumptions that facial expressions of emotion follow specific emotion‐eliciting events and relate to other emotion‐specific responses. We address these challenges by comparing spontaneous facial expressions of anger, sadness, laughter, and smiling with concurrent, “on‐line” appraisal themes from narrative data, and by examining whether coherence between facial and appraisal components were associated with increased experience of emotion. Consistent with claims that emotion systems are loosely coupled, facial expressions of anger and sadness co‐occurred to a moderate degree with the expected appraisal themes, and when this happened, the experience of emotion was stronger. The results for the positive emotions were more complex, but lend credence to the hypothesis that laughter and smiling are distinct. Smiling co‐occurred with appraisals of pride, but never occurred with appraisals of anger. In contrast, laughter occurred more often with appraisals of ...
Frege, Dedekind, and the Origins of Logicism

This paper has a two-fold objective: to provide a balanced, multi-faceted account of the origins of logicism; to rehabilitate Richard Dedekind as a main logicist. Logicism should be seen as more deeply rooted in the development of modern mathematics than typically assumed, and this becomes evident by reconsidering Dedekind's writings in relation to Frege's. Especially in its Dedekindian and Fregean versions, logicism constitutes the culmination of the rise of ‘pure mathematics’ in the nineteenth century; and this rise brought with it an inter-weaving of methodological and epistemological considerations. The latter aspect illustrates how philosophical concerns can grow out of mathematical practice, as opposed to being imposed on it from outside. It also sheds new light on the legacy and the lasting significance of logicism today.
Oxide-supported metals with molecular structures: evidence of the metal−oxygen bond from Raman and inelastic electron tunneling spectra of [Re(CO)3{O−MG}{HO−Mg}2] and [Re(CO)3{O−Al}{HO−Al}2]

Abstract Raman and inelastic electron tunneling spectra of the anchored rhenium complexes [Re(CO){ in 3}{OMG}{HOMg} 2 ] and [Re(CO) 3 {OAl}{HOAl} 2 ] are reported, providing the first vibrational spectroscopic evidence of the metal-oxygen bond in mononuclear oxide-bound organometallic complexes.
Isolation and properties of gamma protein, the major transmembrane sialoglycoprotein of the HeLa cell

The surface of the HeLa cell is composed of a heterogeneous population of sialogly coproteins which undergo lectin-mediated endocytosis (Kramer and Canellakis, Biochim Biophys Acta 551:328, 1979). One such sialoglyco-protein, gamma protein, is the major periodate-Schiff-reactive and [3H]-glucosamine-labeled component of the plasma membrane; it has an apparent molecular weight of 165,000. Gamma protein is also the major [125I]-wheat germ agglutinin-binding component in sodium dodecyl sulfate gels. Neuraminidase digestion of HeLa cells abolishes binding of [125I]-wheat germ agglutinin to gamma protein, and pretreatment of cells with wheat germ agglutinin protects gamma protein from desialation by neuraminidase. suggesting that wheat germ agglutinin binds to the sialic acid residues of gamma protein at the cell surface. Gamma protein can be extracted with various detergents but not with high-salt, chelating, or chaotropic agents. Intact inside-out plasma membrane vesicles have been prepared from HeLa cells that had phagocytosed latex particles. Treatment of these isolated vesicles with trypsin reduces the molecular weight of gamma protein. These results suggest that gamma protein is an integral membrane protein that spans the plasma membrane. Gamma protein can be purified to homogeneity by sequential lithium diiodosalicylate-phenol extraction, wheat germ agglutinin-agarose affinity chromatography, and preparative sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.
Quantification of blood flow in the portal circulation before and after an intervention

Summary PC-VIPR allows for characterization and quantification of hemodynamics in the entire hepatic system as well as inherent anatomical co-registration from a single scan. Results shown here reveal the potential of PC-VIPR for monitoring treatments for portal hypertension such as b-blockers and TIPS. Background Hemodynamic and morphological assessment of portal hypertension (PHTN) is challenging due to the dual blood supply to the liver and complex and variable anatomy. Additionally, in the presence of liver disease such as cirrhosis, the increased resistance to flow leads to changes in hepatic and splanchnic blood flow, which if measured, could have diagnostic value. Accurate noninvasive assessment of hemodynamics and morphology is challenging yet has potential to improve our understanding and diagnosis of PHTN. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a volumetric 4D flow-sensitive MR imaging method using radial undersampling (PCVIPR) for the analysis of portal circulation at baseline and after meal intervention. Methods
Lithium sulfonate promoted compatibilization in single ion conducting solid polymer electrolytes based on lithium salt of sulfonated polysulfone and polyether epoxy

Abstract Polymeric lithium salts of sulfonated polysulfone (SPSU(X)Li) were synthesized via post sulfonation route followed by ion exchange. A novel single ion conducting solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) was prepared by curing poly(ethylene glycol)diglycidyl ether (PEGDGE) with 4,4′ diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS) in SPSU(X)Li matrix. The ionic conductivity, thermal stability and tensile properties were investigated as a function of degree of sulfonation and PEGDGE concentration. The introduction of lithium sulfonate groups in polysulfone promoted compatibility of SPSU(X)Li and PEGDGE in SPE. AFM analysis demonstrated heterogeneous phase morphology and reduction in size of dispersed PEGDGE phase with increasing degree of sulfonation. The interactions between lithium sulfonate and polyether epoxy improved thermal stability of the epoxy network. The enhanced compatibility also caused improvement in elongation at break compared to neat SPSU(X)Li. The higher Li + ion concentration and the segmental mobility of the polymer chains above T g contributed to the high ionic conductivity at high temperature in the single ion conducting SPE.
The Myth of Silent Authorship: Self, Substance, and Style in Ethnographic Writing

Voice, the animus of storytelling, the author's presence in written works, concerns both sides of the modernist fence. Authors are urged to restrain and regulate their voices in deference to disciplinary expectations. We advocate developing an audible writer's voice that reflects our empirical experiences. Voice ranges from the evocative to the analytic and varies according to: (a) the freshness of the inquiry, (b) relationships with respondents, and (c) the place of the studied phenomena in larger systems of meaning and practice. Two different examples of our writing illustrate how fieldwork influenced the emergence of evocative and analytic voices.
The effect of hydroxylamine and N-methylhydroxylamine on beef brain microsomal (Na+ + K+)-ATPase.

Abstract Although both hydroxylamine and N -methylhydroxylamine inhibited beef brain microsomal (Na + + K + )-ATPase these reagents were found to be of only limited use in probing the mechanisms of this enzyme which is thought to involve a protein-bound acyl phosphate group. Results obtained with hydroxylamine were difficult to interpret owing to the potassium-like effects of traces of ammonia. Experiments with N -methylhydroxylamine did not permit differentiation between a mechanisms involving an acyl phosphate on the enzyme surface which was inaccessible to the reagent from one in which the acyl phosphate is not an intermediate. These findings were disappointing in view of the proven usefulness of hydroxylamine for the investigation of enzyme mechanisms involving a high energy acyl group.
A FIRST STAGE COMPARATIVE SURVEY ON HUMAN ACTIVITY RECOGNITION METHODOLOGIES

The development of vision-based human activity recognition and analysis systems has been a matter of great interest to both the research community and practitioners during the last 20 years. Traditional methods that require a human operator watching raw video streams are nowadays deemed as at least ineffective and expensive. New, smart solutions in automatic surveillance and monitoring have emerged, propelled by significant technological advances in the fields of image processing, artificial intelligence, electronics and optics, embedded computing and networking, molding the future of several applications that can benefit from them, like security and healthcare. The main motivation behind it is to exploit the highly informative visual data captured by cameras and perform high-level inference in an automatic, ubiquitous and unobtrusive manner, so as to aid human operators, or even replace them. This survey attempts to comprehensively review the current research and development on vision-based human activity recognition. Synopses from various methodologies are presented in an effort to garner the advantages and shortcomings of the most recent state-of-the-art technologies. Also a first-level self-evaluation of methodologies is also proposed, which incorporates a set of significant features that best describe the most important aspects of each methodology in terms of operation, performance and others and weighted by their importance. The purpose of this study is to serve as a reference for further research and evaluation to raise thoughts and discussions for future improvements of each methodology towards maturity and usefulness.
Early detection of prostate cancer in African-American men through use of multiple biomarkers: human kallikrein 2 (hK2), prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and free PSA (fPSA)

Recent studies have reported enhanced prostate cancer detection in Caucasians with serum human glandular kallikrein 2 (hK2) in combination with total- (tPSA) and free-prostate-specific antigen (fPSA). The purpose of this study is to validate these findings in an African-American patient cohort. A total of 137 African-American men were found by routine screening to have tPSA levels above 2.5 ng/ml or an abnormal digital rectal examination. Sera were drawn prior to biopsy of the prostate and Hybritech PSA, FPSA and hK2 (for research use only, not for use in diagnostic procedures) concentrations were determined on Beckman Coulter's Access immunoanalyzer. These independent variables and the ratios of percent fPSA (%fPSA), hK2/tPSA, hK2/fPSA, and hK2*tPSA/fPSA were compared between cancer and non-cancer groups. In all, 49 of 137 men had prostate cancer. hK2 and its calculated ratios outperformed tPSA on receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis, but %fPSA had statistically the highest area under the curve (AUC) at 0.801. When restricting the analysis to only the tPSA range of 4.0-10 ng/ml, hK2/fPSA yielded the highest AUC (0.721). The ratio of hK2/fPSA was also found to increase the positive predictive value (PPV) of the %fPSA ranges less than 10 and 10-25%. %fPSA offered the best performance and highest specificity in prostate cancer detection in African-American males over the entire range of tPSA. hK2/fPSA may offer modest improvement in the tPSA range of 4.0-10 ng/ml. Furthermore, hK2/fPSA can enhance the PPV of low %fPSA values. Therefore, the use of multiple biomarkers may ultimately increase the specificity of prostate cancer screening in African-American men.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FEEDBACK IN -TEACHING PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY'

ONE OF THE persistent educational problems which plagues the classroom teacher is that of in creasing the effectiveness of classroom instruction. Underlying this problem is the general realization that classroom teaching needs to be improved, and continuous efforts made by investigators to untangle the complex factors surrounding the phe no m e non called "learning". So far, the learning theorists have amassed a considerable amount of data perti nent to this problem. However, due to the subjects used in most of their experiments (lower animals), and the absence of a learning situation simulating that of the usual academic classroom, the applica bility of much of the theorists' data is often ques tioned. There exists an urgent need for psycholo gists to assess the practical application of many of our learning principles. The primary purpose of this study was to deter mine the effect of feedback in learning principles of educational psychology. A basic question was: What will be the differential effect of systematically informing one group of students of the correctness and incorrectness of their classroom responses, and not providing such information for a control group?
Mesenchymal stromal cells alone or expressing interferon-β suppress pancreatic tumors in vivo, an effect countered by anti-inflammatory treatment

Abstract Background aims Because of the inflammatory nature and extensive stromal compartment in pancreatic tumors, we investigated the role of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) to engraft selectively in pancreatic carcinomas and serve as anti-tumor drug delivery vehicles to control pancreatic cancer progression. Methods Human pancreatic carcinoma cells, PANC-1, expressing renilla luciferase were orthotopically implanted into SCID mice and allowed to develop for 10 days. Firefly luciferase-transduced MSC or MSC expressing interferon (IFN)-β were then injected intraperitoneally weekly for 3 weeks. Mice were monitored by bioluminescent imaging for expression of renilla (PANC-1) and firefly (MSC) luciferase. Results MSC selectively homed to sites of primary and metastatic pancreatic tumors and inhibited tumor growth ( P =0.032). The production of IFN-β within the tumor site by MSC–IFN-β further suppressed tumor growth ( P =0.0000083). Prior studies indicated that MSC home to sites of inflammation; therefore, we sought to alter the tumor microenvironment through treatment with a potent anti-inflammatory agent. After treatment, inflammation-associated mediators were effectively down-regulated, including NFκB, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and interleukin (IL)-6 as well as chemokines involved in MSC migration (CCL3 and CCL25). Treatment with the anti-inflammatory agent CDDO-Me before and after MSC–IFN-β injections resulted in reduction of MSC in the tumors and reversed the positive effect of tumor inhibition by MSC–IFN-β alone ( P =0.041). Conclusions These results suggest that MSC exhibit innate anti-tumor effects against PANC-1 cells and can serve as delivery vehicles for IFN-β for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. However, these beneficial effects may be lost in therapies combining MSC with anti-inflammatory agents.
Rapid Inversion of Dominance Relationship Matrices for Noninbred Populations by Including Sire by Dam Subclass Effects

Abstract For estimation of dominance effects and dominance variance, the inverse of a dominance relationship matrix is required. Dominance effects can be partitioned into sire × dam or sire × maternal grandsire subclass effects that are inherited and residuals within subclass that are not inherited. The subclass effects have immediate use in predicting performance of offspring from prospective matings. A rapid method for directly computing the inverse relationship matrix of subclass effects is presented. The procedure is similar to Henderson's simple method of computing an inverse additive genetic relationship matrix. The inverse relationship matrix among subclass effects consists of a contribution from each subclass of coefficients of a matrix of maximum size 9 × 9. The algorithm can be modified to compute the inverse of the relationship matrix among sire × dam or sire x maternal grandsire subclasses and among individual dominance effects. Computing cost increases approximately linearly with dimensions of inverses. Dimensions could be several times the number of subclasses in the data because subclasses without records but providing relationship ties must be added. Computation of the inverse relationship matrix among 136,827 sire x maternal grandsire subclasses in a population of 765,868 animals required 163 central processing unit seconds on an IBM 3090 and less than 4 Mbytes of memory.
Increased susceptibility of male BALB/c mice to coxsackievirus B3-induced myocarditis: role for CD1d.

BALB/c male mice infected with the H3 variant of coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) develop fulminant myocarditis. Age-matched female mice show little myocarditis due to decreased virus receptor expression on cardiac cells. TNFα and IL-1β levels were increased in males by 3 days after infection. IFNγ levels increased more slowly throughout the 7-day observation period. CD4+, CD8+, macrophage (Mac3+) and γδ+ cells all accumulated in male hearts, with γδ+ cells showing early (day 3) infiltration. Females also accumulated CD4+ cells, but few of the other cell types. CD4+ cells in male hearts predominately produced IFNγ, indicating a Th1 cell phenotype, whereas CD4+ cells in females produced IL-4, but little IFNγ, indicating a Th2 phenotype. CD1d, a major histocompatibility complex I-like molecule often implicated in innate immunity, was increased in CVB3-infected male but not female cardiocytes both in vivo and in vitro. These results demonstrate that CVB3 infections produce gender-specific differences in both innate and adaptive immunity, which may explain the difference in disease susceptibility.
On a problem of Bleicher and Erdös

Abstract Let D(a, N) = min {n k : a K = ∑ 1 k 1 n 1 , n 1 2 k , n 1 ∈ Z 0 } , where the minimum ranges over all Egyptian fraction expansions of a N and let D(N) = max{D(a, N): 1 ≤ a D(N) N ≤ ( log N) 1 + δ(N) , δ(N) → 0 as N → ∞, establishing a conjecture of M. N. Bleicher and P. Erdos.
The cardiotoxic effects of alligator gar (Lepisosteus spatula) roe on the isolated turtle heart.

Electrocardiograms and myograms were recorded from isolated turtle hearts perfused with an extract from the roe of an alligator gar (Lepisosteus spatula). Heart rate, S–T segment, systole, diastole, R, S and T wave amplitude were measured. The extract brought about a significant decrease (P≤0·05) in amplitude of the EKG wave forms and in strength of contraction (g tension). Negative chronotropic (bradycardia, increase in duration of systole and diastole) and negative inotropic effects were observed. Changes in the T wave caused shortening of the S-T segment. The roe extract caused second degree atrioventricular block with the effects being dose related. High concentration of the extract caused cardiac arrest; the effects of smaller doses could be reversed. The extract may interfere with calcium ion permeability.
Tobacco dependence counseling in a randomized multisite clinical trial.

Pharmacotherapy trials for treating tobacco dependence would benefit from behavioral interventions providing treatment consistent with clinical practice guidelines but not directing participants to treatments not evaluated in the trial. The Smoke Free and Living It© behavioral intervention manual includes participant and interventionist guides and is designed to provide both practical counseling and intra-treatment support. We utilized this intervention manual in a multicenter, randomized clinical trial of smokers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In this study, we evaluated how the interventional manual performed in a “train-the-trainer” model requiring uniform counseling across 6 sites and 15 interventionists. We analyzed the skill-adherence of the interventionists and the intervention-adherence of the participants. The 255 randomized participants completed 9.3 ± 2.8 sessions (mean ± SD), with 157 participants (61.6%) completing all 11 of the sessions and 221 (86.7%) completing at least 6 of the 11 sessions. Of the 163 sessions for which the study interventionists were evaluated, 156 (95.7%) were rated as adherent to protocol and “meeting expectations” on at least 6 of 7 established criteria, illustrating that fidelity can be maintained with minimal supervision. The self-help and interventionists guides of the Smoke Free and Living It manual can thus be used to provide behavioral intervention with a high rate of adherence by both the interventionists and the participants. This manual meets the requirements of the United States Public Health Service Clinical Practice Guideline, can be adapted to specific research protocols, and provides a useful option for behavioral intervention during clinical trials for smoking cessation.
Pressure effects in ZnO films using off-axis sputtering deposition

ZnO films are deposited on (0001) sapphire, (001) Si and quartz substrates using the off-axis reactive magnetron sputtering deposition. Based on film thickness measurements, three transport regions of sputtered particles are observed when films are deposited in the pressure regions of 5 mtorr - 150 mtorr. X-ray diffraction, scanning probes microscopy, and electrical measurements are also used to characterize these films. The full width at half maximum of theta rocking curves for epitaxial films is less than 0.5 deg. In textured films, it rises to several degrees. The epitaxial films deposited at high pressure reveal a flat surface with some hexagonal facets. The density of hexagonal facets decreases when the growth pressure is reduced. The resistivity of these epitaxial films also depends on the growth pressures. A relationship between the pressure effects and film properties are discussed.
Fine-structural observations on the central parenchyma in Convoluta sp.

Although the turbellarian order Acoela occupies a significant position in many theories on the origin of the Metazoa, detailed ultrastructural observations on members of this group are few in number. The acoelan central parenchyma has been recently described as at least partly syncytial on the basis of electron-microscopical data. These data, however, are insufficient for a complete understanding of the anatomical construction of the acoelan central parenchyma. In the present paper, a description of the micro-anatomy of the central parenchyma in juveniles of Convoluta sp. is presented. This region of the body consists of a central syncytium and certain specialized ‘wrapping cells’ which are associated with the syncytium. The wrapping cells are tentatively placed in three classes based on their positions and morphologies. On the grounds that the wrapping cells and the central syncytium form a closely-knit anatomical unit, it is proposed that all of these elements together should be considered homologous to the epithelial intestine of the other turbellarian orders. A brief consideration of the phylogenetic implications of these results suggests that the construction of the central parenchyma in Convoluta sp. is a derived feature in relation to the other Turbellarian orders, and perhaps in relation to certain other Acoela.
Characterization of the climatological variability of mean areal rainfall through fractional coverage

The role of fractional coverage in climatological variability of mean areal rainfall is investigated. Under second-order homogeneity assumptions, climatological variability of mean areal rainfall, as measured by its coefficient of variation, is shown to be a function of mean fractional coverage, conditional coefficient of variation of point rainfall, and two correlation scales associated with inner variability and intermittency of point rainfall. To verify the analytical results, empirical analyses are performed using hourly rainfall data from nine Weather Surveillance Radar—1988 Doppier (WSR-88D) radars in the southern plains, United States. The results indicate that given the local rainfall climatology there exists a catchment scale at which the climatological variability of mean areal rainfall is at its maximum. Existence of such a scale has been hypothesized and demonstrated via an analytical treatment of an idealized situation by Eagleson and Wang [1985], but only in climatological variability of fractional coverage (i.e., variability due only to intermittency). Sensitivity analyses for the correlation-scale parameters indicate that intermittency plays as important a role as inner variability in shaping the catchment scale-climatological variability relationship of mean areal rainfall. Decomposition of total variability indicates that over the range of catchment scales that fall within a single WSR-88D radar umbrella (effective radius of 230 km) the integrated contribution from intermittency is almost as large as that from inner variability.
Spatial cluster detection using dynamic programming

The task of spatial cluster detection involves finding spatial regions where some property deviates from the norm or the expected value. In a probabilistic setting this task can be expressed as finding a region where some event is significantly more likely than usual. Spatial cluster detection is of interest in fields such as biosurveillance, mining of astronomical data, military surveillance, and analysis of fMRI images. In almost all such applications we are interested both in the question of whether a cluster exists in the data, and if it exists, we are interested in finding the most accurate characterization of the cluster. We present a general dynamic programming algorithm for grid-based spatial cluster detection. The algorithm can be used for both Bayesian maximum a-posteriori (MAP) estimation of the most likely spatial distribution of clusters and Bayesian model averaging over a large space of spatial cluster distributions to compute the posterior probability of an unusual spatial clustering. The algorithm is explained and evaluated in the context of a biosurveillance application, specifically the detection and identification of Influenza outbreaks based on emergency department visits. A relatively simple underlying model is constructed for the purpose of evaluating the algorithm, and the algorithm is evaluated using the model and semi-synthetic test data. When compared to baseline methods, tests indicate that the new algorithm can improve MAP estimates under certain conditions: the greedy algorithm we compared our method to was found to be more sensitive to smaller outbreaks, while as the size of the outbreaks increases, in terms of area affected and proportion of individuals affected, our method overtakes the greedy algorithm in spatial precision and recall. The new algorithm performs on-par with baseline methods in the task of Bayesian model averaging. We conclude that the dynamic programming algorithm performs on-par with other available methods for spatial cluster detection and point to its low computational cost and extendability as advantages in favor of further research and use of the algorithm.
Filament compliance effects can explain tension overshoots during force development.

Spatially explicit stochastic simulations of myosin S1 heads attaching to a single actin filament were used to investigate the process of force development in contracting muscle. Filament compliance effects were incorporated by adjusting the spacing between adjacent actin binding sites and adjacent myosin heads in response to cross-bridge attachment/detachment events. Appropriate model parameters were determined by multi-dimensional optimization and used to simulate force development records corresponding to different levels of Ca2+ activation. Simulations in which the spacing between both adjacent actin binding sites and adjacent myosin S1 heads changed by ∼0.06 nm after cross-bridge attachment/detachment events 1), exhibited tension overshoots with a Ca2+ dependence similar to that measured experimentally and 2), mimicked the observed ktr-relative tension relationship without invoking a Ca2+-dependent increase in the rate of cross-bridge state transitions. Tension did not overshoot its steady-state value in control simulations modeling rigid thick and thin filaments with otherwise identical parameters. These results underline the importance of filament geometry and actin binding site availability in quantitative theories of muscle contraction.
An investigation of the spectral structure of atmospheric waves near a jet stream

An investigation of the nonlinear interaction near the center of maximum mean motion of a jet stream indicates that interactions of waves of low frequencies and those between the mean zonal motion and low frequency waves contribute most to the low frequency range of the energy spectrum of the zonal component of the turbulent motion, whereas the effects of the sphericity and Reynolds stresses contribute most to the low frequency range of the spectra of the meridional turbulent motion. In ranges of intermediate and high frequencies, the interactions between the mean zonal motion and waves of frequency range in question contribute most to the respective spectra. In the investigation of the spectral structure of atmospheric waves near a jet stream, it is found that in the region of the maximum zonal mean motion the kinetic energy of the zonal and meridional components of the turbulent motion is generally contributed by the nonlinear interactions between waves of various frequencies with the mean zonal motion. It is also found that as waves travel eastward from the center of maximum mean zonal motion, the velocity-amplitudes of waves of low frequencies grow at the expense of the kinetic energy of waves of higher frequencies. This suggests that center maximum mean motion of the jet stream tends to excite wave motion of high frequencies, and that the kinetic energy of these waves is transferred to waves of lower frequencies through nonlinear interactions. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1973.tb01600.x
Induction of the maternal pheromone by cholic acid in the virgin rat

Abstract Based on the hypothesis that an elevation in the synthesis of cholic acid underlies emission of the maternal pheromone in the rat, we augmented, through dietary supplement, the biliary level of cholic acid in nulliparous females. In other groups of nulliparae, chenodeoxycholic- and deoxycholic-acid were augmented, respectively. Only the group fed cholic acid came to emit the pheromone. We conclude that cholic acid is critically involved in pheromonal release.
The 871keV gamma ray from 17O and the identification of plutonium oxide

Abstract Disarmament agreements and discussions between the United States and the Russian Federation for reducing the number of stockpiled nuclear weapons require verification of the origin of materials as having come from disassembled weapons. This has resulted in the identification of measurable “attributes” that characterize such materials. It has been proposed that the 871 keV gamma ray of 17 O can be observed as an indicator of the unexpected presence of plutonium oxide, as opposed to plutonium metal, in such materials. We have shown that the observation of the 871 keV gamma ray is not a specific indicator of the presence of the oxide, but rather indicates the presence of nitrogen.