cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Different Roles of G Protein Subunits β1 and β2 in Neutrophil Function Revealed by Gene Expression Silencing in Primary Mouse Neutrophils

Neutrophils play important roles in host innate immunity and various inflammation-related diseases. In addition, neutrophils represent an excellent system for studying directional cell migration. However, neutrophils are terminally differentiated cells that are short lived and refractory to transfection; thus, they are not amenable for existing gene silencing techniques. Here we describe the development of a method to silence gene expression efficiently in primary mouse neutrophils. A mouse stem cell virus-based retroviral vector was modified to express short hairpin RNAs and fluorescent marker protein at high levels in hematopoietic cells and used to infect mouse bone marrow cells prior to reconstitution of the hematopoietic system in lethally irradiated mice. This method was used successfully to silence the expression of Gβ1 and/or Gβ2 in mouse neutrophils. Knockdown of Gβ2 appeared to affect primarily the directionality of neutrophil chemotaxis rather than motility, whereas knockdown of Gβ1 had no significant effect. However, knockdown of both Gβ1 and Gβ2 led to significant reduction in motility and responsiveness. In addition, knockdown of Gβ1 but not Gβ2 inhibited the ability of neutrophils to kill ingested bacteria, and only double knockdown resulted in significant reduction in bacterial phagocytosis. Therefore, we have developed a short hairpin RNA-based method to effectively silence gene expression in mouse neutrophils for the first time, which allowed us to uncover divergent roles of Gβ1 and Gβ2 in the regulation of neutrophil functions.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): Past, Present and Future

Business needs have driven the design, development, and use of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Intra-enterprise integration was a driving force in the design, development, and use of early ERP systems, but increased globalization, intense competition, and technological change have shifted to focus to inter-enterprise integration. Current and evolving ERP systems thus reflect the expanded scope of integration, with greater emphasis on things like supply chain management and customer relationship management. This manuscript explores the evolution of ERP, the current status of ERP, and the future of ERP, with the objective of promoting relevant future research in this important area. If researchers hope to play a significant role in the design, development, and use of suitable ERP systems to meet evolving business needs, then their research should focus, at least in part, on the changing business environment, its impact on business needs, and the requirements for enterprise systems that meet those needs.
Linking the missing market: The effect of bond markets on economic growth

Abstract Past studies have largely focused on the positive role of banks and stock markets on economic growth. This paper adds bond markets as a third key component of the financial system. Using a panel data set of 38 countries, and applying the generalized method of moments techniques for dynamic panels, we find that (i) stock market development is positively related to economic growth; (ii) the contributing role of bank credit to economic growth diminishes as domestic bond markets develop; (iii) government bonds are positively related to economic growth, while the effects of corporate bonds change from negative to positive, as domestic financial structures expand in size and diversity.
Effects of Community-Based Group-Home Treatment Programs on Male Juvenile Offenders′ Use and Abuse of Drugs and Alcohol

The research literature suggests that adolescents placed in residential programs due to their delinquent behavior are at high risk for drug and alcohol use and abuse. Research is rare, however, on ...
Experimental realization of high-efficiency switchable optical OAM state generator and transformer

We introduce a high efficiency method to control orbital angular momentum (OAM) using a novel diffractive optical element - switchable forked polarization gratings (FPGs). We successfully fabricated the element and realized electric-optical switching of the OAM state. Unlike other approaches, this OAM manipulation requires no mechanical parts or expensive instruments. It is achieved by complex and locally periodic alignment of a nematic liquid crystal (LC) layer acting on the Pancharatnam-Berry phase. We have recently introduced fixed FPG with photo-aligned liquid crystal polymer as a highly efficient OAM state controller. We now report on our experimental implementation of electrically switchable FPGs based on liquid crystal cell. The local anisotropy is obtained by photo-alignment and liquid crystal technology. The spatial patterning is achieved by polarization holography. An applied voltage field on the cell can switch the element between an OAM generating/transforming mode and a transmissive mode. The diffraction behavior and OAM conversion behavior with respect to polarization, wavelength, and external voltage are characterized. Our current samples showed diffraction efficiency of 95% and switching time of approximately 3 ms. Because they are very efficient, thin, and easily tailored via holographic fabrication, switchable FPGs are ideal elements to implement enhanced control of OAM in high capacity information applications, among others.
Statistics-based model for basis set superposition error correction in large biomolecules

We describe a statistics-based model for the estimation of basis set superposition error (BSSE) for large biomolecular systems in which molecular fragment interactions are classified and analyzed with a linear model based on a bimolecular proximity descriptor. The models are trained independently for different classes of molecular interactions, quantum methods, and basis sets. The predicted fragment BSSE values, along with predicted uncertainties, are then propagated throughout the supermolecule to yield an overall estimate of BSSE and associated uncertainty. The method is described and demonstrated at the MP2/6-31G* and MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ levels of theory on a protein–ligand complex, a small helical protein, and a set of native and decoy folds of the Pin1 WW domain.
Estimating the Social Value of Geologic Map Information: A Regulatory Application

Abstract People frequently regard the landscape as part of a static system. The mountains and rivers that cross the landscape, and the bedrock that supports the surface, change little during the course of a lifetime. Society can alter the geologic history of an area and, in so doing, affect the occurrence and impact of environmental hazards. For example, changes in land use can induce changes in erosion, sedimentation, and ground-water supply. As the environmental system is changed by both natural processes and human activities, the system's capacity to respond to additional stresses also changes. Information such as geologic maps describes the physical world and is critical for identifying solutions to land use and environmental issues. In this paper, a method is developed for estimating the economic value of applying geologic map information to siting a waste disposal facility. An improvement in geologic map information is shown to have a net positive value to society. Such maps enable planners to make superior land management decisions.
Influence of methylamine on anaerobic rumen bacterial growth and plant fiber digestion

Abstract Anaerobic rumen bacteria were screened for growth inhibition by methylamine. Under nitrogen-limited growth conditions only Ruminobacter amylophilus, Prevotella ruminicola and Megasphaera elsdenii were significantly inhibited. Ruminobacter amylophilus was inhibited more than any other species. Inhibition of R. amylophilus growth occured at all increments in methylamine for all NH 4 Cl concentrations tested (0·2–1·8 m m ). Dimethylamine was less inhibitory, while trimethyl-, ethyl- and diethylamine were not inhibitory. When methylamine was added to in vitro mixed culture, ruminal fermentations containing alfalfa, neutral detergent fiber disappearance and ammonia production were not affected. This suggests that although methylamine may inhibit specific rumen bacteria, it does not alter overall mixed ruminal microorganism activities with alfalfa as a substrate.
Individual changes in sexual attitudes and behavior within college‐level human sexuality courses

A sample of 172 university students enrolled in three human sexuality courses was utilized to explore attitudinal and behavioral changes in individual students, rather than for the class as a whole. Students responded to a questionnaire on the first and last day of the course. ANOVAS indicated that sexual attitudes became more permissive during the period of the course and that there were no significant changes in behavior for the students as a group, a finding consistent with previous research. Attitude and behavior change scores were computed for each student, and multiple regressions were employed to test the relative association with a series of predictor variables. As predicted, attitude changes were associated with membership in social groups with restrictive sexual norms, personally restrictive sexual attitudes, and low prior sexual experience. Behavior changes were more complex with differing sets of variables explaining change in conventional and unconventional sexual behaviors. The report closes...
The Mexican Financial Crisis of December 1994 and Lessons to be Learned

When the Mexican financial crisis occurred in December, 1994, there was little information with which to analyze the prospects, but there were many similarities between the adjustment that Mexico went through in connection with the debt crisis of 1982-83. The time paths of crucial variables in the two situations, 1994-95 and 1982-83, has been studied in order to gain some insight, allowing, of course, for special circumstances that were important on each occasion.
The electron microscopy of sodium desoxyribonucleate

Abstract Electron micrographs of sodium desoxyribonucleate have been obtained from which a diameter of the fiber of 15 ± 5 A has been deduced. Similar measurements on nucleo-protein from calf thymus were made from which a diameter of 25 A was deduced. The nucleate fibers are intermediate in shape between a random coil and a stiff rod.
Techniques for measuring small changes in the intensity of a pulsed laser

Several techniques are described that compensate for the pulse-to-pulse laser fluctuations that occur when small absorption or gain measurements are taken with pulsed lasers. The best approach tested used two matched diodes that were mounted in a bridge circuit with their bias batteries. One diode was illuminated by a single beam, and a second was illuminated by a reference beam. The bridge circuit output forms the difference in the two laser intensities. Using pulsed lasers with 8-ns widths, we observed that the error in subtraction was 0.01% of the pulse area. This was only 1.5 times the shot noise of the pulses. The technique is examined for application to Raman-induced Kerr-effect spectroscopy, in which difficulties arise because of the use of polarization-sensitive detection.
Pose estimation and object identification using complex algebraic representations

The comparison and alignment of two similar objects is a fundamental problem in pattern recognition and computer vision that has been considered using various approaches. In this work, we employ a complex representation for an algebraic curve, and illustrate how the algebraic transformation which relates two Euclidean equivalent curves can be determined using this representation. The idea is based on a complex representation of 2D points expressed in terms of the orthogonalx andy variables, with rotations of the complex numbers described using Euler's identity. We develop a simple formula for integer multiples of the rotation angle of the Euclidean transformation in terms of the real coefficients of implicit polynomial equations that are used to model 2D free-form objects. When there is a translation, it can be determined using some new results on the conic-line factors of implicit polynomial curves. Experimental results are presented for data sets characterised by both noisy and missing data points to illustrate and validate our procedures.
Sex differences in the naming of children's genitalia

Children's knowledge of human genital anatomy was examined retrospectively. Of the 223 adults who responded to a questionnaire on this subject, 39.8% of males and 29% of females learned correct anatomical names for male genitalia as children. In contrast, only 6.1% of females and 17.7% of males learned correct names for female genitalia. Most respondents learned either euphemisms or no names for female genitalia as children. Whereas male respondents acquired a complete vocabulary for male genitalia by a mean age of 11.5 years, female respondents did not complete their anatomical vocabulary for female genitalia until a mean age of 15.6 years. The importance of recognizing that children have erotic experiences and that they need a vocabulary for describing their feelings is discussed.
Beneath the surface: Intranational institutions and management of the United States - Mexico transboundary Santa Cruz aquifer

As reliance on groundwater increases, the impact of groundwater-intensive use in internationally shared aquifers threatens not only to create negative environmental and economic externalities, but also to generate tensions between neighboring nations. Through an investigation of the shared Santa Cruz aquifer, located along the United States—Mexico border, we aim to understand factors leading to effective management of transboundary groundwaters. Specifically, we find that purely state-centric approaches provide limited explanatory value, and instead examine how national (domestic) arrangements for water management condition a country's position vis-a-vis its shared groundwaters. Polycentricism in national and subnational institutional regimes leads to gaps and overlaps in authority, limiting binational groundwater management. Concurrently, evolving institutional arrangements lead to ambiguity in decision making, yet crucially also provide opportunities for innovation in binational agenda setting and data ...
Acute enoxaparin treatment widens the therapeutic window for tPA in a mouse model of embolic stroke

Abstract Objectives: The purpose of this experiment was to determine if the low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) enoxaparin could extend the treatment window for thrombolysis in a mouse model of embolic stroke. Methods: To establish the treatment window, mice were treated with tPA 2, 3 or 4 hours after clot insertion. Results showed that only the 2 hour treatment group exhibited infarct volumes significantly smaller than untreated controls. We attempted to widen this window by pre-treating mice with enoxaparin (10 mg/kg, s.c.; n=36) 1 hour before embolization. A control group (n=24) was given a saline injection. The enoxaparin-treated animals were subdivided and treated with tPA either 4 (n=12) or 6 hours (n=12) after clot insertion, while the third group (n=12) was given saline. The saline-pre-treated mice were dived into two groups: one group (n=12) received tPA and the other group (n=12) received saline 4 hours post-stroke. Embolization was confirmed by laser Doppler flowmetry and the effects of the res...
THE MEDIUM AND THE MESSAGE OF WILLIAM ABERHART

(1978). THE MEDIUM AND THE MESSAGE OF WILLIAM ABERHART. American Review of Canadian Studies: Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 18-30.
Breast cancer metastasis to bone: mechanisms of osteolysis and implications for therapy.

The most common skeletal complication of breast cancer is osteolytic bone metastasis. Bone metastases are present in 80% of patients with advanced disease and cause significant morbidity. They are most often osteolytic, but can be osteoblastic or mixed. Tumor cells, osteoblasts, osteoclasts and bone matrix are the four components of a vicious cycle necessary for the initiation and development of bone metastases. Tumor cell gene expression is modified by interaction with bone-derived factors. For example, parathyroid hormone related protein (PTHrP), a tumor cell factor, is upregulated by bone-derived transforming growth factor β (TGFβ). Tumor cell factors, in turn, act upon bone cells to cause dysregulated bone destruction and formation. PTHrP increases osteoblast expression of RANK (receptor activator of NFκB) ligand which, in turn, activates osteoclasts. PTHrP-independent osteolytic factors, such as interleukin [IL]-11 and IL-8, also contribute to the vicious cycle. Other tumor-bone interactions, such as stimulation of tumor-homing through the CXCR4 chemokine receptor by its bone-derived ligand stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), may be responsible for the site-specific predilection of breast cancer for bone. These factors and their roles in fueling the vicious cycle may identify novel targets for therapies to prevent metastasis.
Skin Reaction to Intradermal Injection of Rare Earths

THE availability of highly purified rare earths, elements 21 and 58–71, has stimulated interest in their chemical and physical properties1. Haley et al.2–6 have examined their biological effects and reported that although they can produce non-specific liver damage they exert their greatest toxicity on the ocular and dermal tissues. However, even this damage can be repaired with time and results in no permanent injury. Recently, it was observed that the intradermal injection in guinea pigs of 0.05 ml. aqueous solutions of 1 × 104−1 × 106 concentrations of praseodymium, neodymium, europium, dysprosium, hol-mium, erbium or lutetium chlorides resulted in the formation of 2-mm diameter nodules containing crystalline deposits (Fig. 1). Observation for periods of 45 days showed no decrease in nodule size or any resorption of the crystalline deposits.
Enzymatic assay of d-glucuronate using uronate dehydrogenase

D-Glucuronate is a key metabolite in the process of detoxification of xenobiotics and in a recently constructed synthetic pathway to produce D-glucaric acid, a "top value-added chemical" from biomass. A simple and specific assay of D-glucuronate would be useful for studying these processes, but existing assays are either time-consuming or nonspecific. Using uronate dehydrogenase cloned from Agrobacterium tumefaciens, we developed an assay for D-glucuronate with a detection limit of 5 microM. This method was shown to be more suitable for a system with many interfering compounds than previous methods and was also applied to assays for myo-inositol oxygenase activity.
The Moral Landscape of Student Affairs Work

Practitioners in all areas of student affairs work, and at all levels of responsibility, find themselves often challenged by ethical dilemmas, according to a recent survey described in this article. In addition, many individuals express considerable confusion, particularly new professionals, about what is required to be an ethical professional in difficult moral and ethical situations. This article presents the findings of this survey, indicating the most common types and themes among the contemporary ethical issues student affairs professionals face. Several recommendations for how our profession can maintain and enhance our ethical and moral imperative are discussed.
Sleep in the domestic pigeon (Columba livia)

Abstract The EEG, EOG, neck EMG and head movements were recorded and behavioral observations made during undisturbed sleep and wakefulness in three domestic pigeons ( Columba livia ). Three states of sleep and wakefulness were distinguished: (a) Wakefulness, characterized by behavioral activity, a low voltage-high frequency EEG, ocular movements and high tonic neck EMG activity. (b) Slow-wave sleep, characterized by behavioral inactivity, high voltage slow EEG activity, and reduced tonic neck activity. (c) REM sleep, characterized by successive downward and rotational jerks of the head, a low voltage-high frequency EEG, clusters of 3-8 eye movements and a marginal but inconsistent decrease in EMG activity. REMs persisted when the pigeon's head was immobilized. Forty-two percent of the 24-hr period was spent asleep. REM sleep episodes had a mean duration of 11 sec and constituted 7% of total sleep time and 3% of the 24-hr period.
Diet during Pregnancy and Gestational Weight Gain

Excessive gestational weight gain is associated with a number of health complications for both the mother and offspring. Trends across developed countries indicate an increase in gestational weight gain and a substantial number of women exceeding the recommended amount. Dietary interventions during pregnancy represent an opportunity to minimize excessive weight gain during the gestational period and improve perinatal and postpartum health. Several randomized trials and observational epidemiologic studies have evaluated aspects of maternal diet, such as the macronutrient composition, individual foods and beverages, overall dietary patterns, and caloric restriction with gestational weight gain. This review provides an overview of the current evidence to support the development of pregnancy dietary recommendations for the prevention of excessive gestational weight gain.
High-redshift supermassive black holes: accretion through cold flows

We use zoom-in techniques to re-simulate three high-redshift (z > 5.5) halos which host 10^9 solar mass blackholes from the ~ Gpc volume, MassiveBlack cosmological hydrodynamic simulation. We examine a number of factors potentially affecting supermassive blackhole growth at high redshift in cosmological simulations. These include numerical resolution, feedback prescriptions and formulation of smoothed particle hydrodynamics. We find that varying the size of the region over which feedback energy is deposited directly, either for fixed number of neighbours or fixed volume makes very little difference to the accretion history of blackholes. Changing mass resolution by factors of up to 64 also does not change the blackhole growth history significantly. We find that switching from the density-entropy formulation to the pressure-entropy formulation of smoothed particle hydrodynamics slightly increases the accretion rate onto blackholes. In general numerical details appear to have small effects on the main fueling mechanism for blackholes at these high redshifts. We examine the fashion by which this occurs, finding that the insensitivity to simulation technique seems to be a hallmark of the cold flow feeding picture of these high-z supermassive blackholes. We show that the gas that participates in critical accretion phases, in these massive objects at z > 6~7 is in all cases colder, denser, and forms more coherent streams than the average gas in the halo. This is also mostly the case when the blackhole accretion is feedback regulated (z < 6), however the distinction is less prominent. For our resimulated halos, cold flows appear to be a viable mechanism for forming the most massive blackholes in the early universe, occurring naturally in LambdaCDM models of structure formation. Not requiring fine tuning of numerical parameters, they seem to be physically inevitable in these objects.
Dynamics of an Inflatable Structure in Vacuum and Ambient Conditions

In the dynamic modal testing of extremely lightweight inflatable structures, the results may vary dramatically according to the presence of either thermal vacuum or ambient atmospheric conditions. Unique aspects of modal testing techniques for an inflatable solar concentrator are identified, including the use of a noncontacting laser vibrometer measurement system. For the thermal vacuum environment, mode shapes and frequency response functions are compared for three different test article inflation pressures at room temperature. Modes that persist through all inflation pressure regimes are identified, as are modes that are unique for each pressure. In atmospheric pressure and room temperature conditions, dynamic measurements were obtained for the expected operational inflation pressure. Experimental mode shapes and frequency response functions for ambient conditions are described and compared to the results from the thermal vacuum tests. There is a surprising lack of correlation in test results between the two test conditions, which may be explained by damping and air mass considerations. Results of this investigation point out the necessity of testing inflatable space structures in vacuum conditions before they can be launched.
3-(D-Erythro-Trihydroxypropyl)-1-Neopentyl Pyrrole-2-Carboxaldehyde. A Novel Nonenzymatic Browning Product of Glucose

Abstract The reaction of equimolar amounts of D-glucose and neopentyl-amine in phosphate buffer under physiological conditions of pH and temperature has been investigated. From the diethyl ether extract, we have identified a C-8 condensation product and have demonstrated that its formation does not proceed via a free-radical mechanism. Based on 1H and 13C NMR and other spectroscopic techniques, including UV, IR, EI-MS, CI-MS of the TMS derivative, the structure 3-(D-erythro-trihydroxypropyl)-1-neopentyl pyrrole-2-carboxaldehyde, was assigned to this advanced Maillard reaction product.
Pseudoknot structures with conserved base triples in telomerase RNAs of ciliates.

Telomerase maintains the integrity of telomeres, the ends of linear chromosomes, by adding G-rich repeats to their 3′-ends. Telomerase RNA is an integral component of telomerase. It contains a template for the synthesis of the telomeric repeats by the telomerase reverse transcriptase. Although telomerase RNAs of different organisms are very diverse in their sequences, a functional non-template element, a pseudoknot, was predicted in all of them. Pseudoknot elements in human and the budding yeast Kluyveromyces lactis telomerase RNAs contain unusual triple-helical segments with AUU base triples, which are critical for telomerase function. Such base triples in ciliates have not been previously reported. We analyzed the pseudoknot sequences in 28 ciliate species and classified them in six different groups based on the lengths of the stems and loops composing the pseudoknot. Using miniCarlo, a helical parameter-based modeling program, we calculated 3D models for a representative of each morphological group. In all cases, the predicted structure contains at least one AUU base triple in stem 2, except for that of Colpidium colpoda, which contains unconventional GCG and AUA triples. These results suggest that base triples in a pseudoknot element are a conserved feature of all telomerases.
Demographic prediction based on user's browsing behavior

Demographic information plays an important role in personalized web applications. However, it is usually not easy to obtain this kind of personal data such as age and gender. In this paper, we made a first approach to predict users' gender and age from their Web browsing behaviors, in which the Webpage view information is treated as a hidden variable to propagate demographic information between different users. There are three main steps in our approach: First, learning from the Webpage click-though data, Webpages are associated with users' (known) age and gender tendency through a discriminative model; Second, users' (unknown) age and gender are predicted from the demographic information of the associated Webpages through a Bayesian framework; Third, based on the fact that Webpages visited by similar users may be associated with similar demographic tendency, and users with similar demographic information would visit similar Webpages, a smoothing component is employed to overcome the data sparseness of web click-though log. Experiments are conducted on a real web click-through log to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve up to 30.4% improvements on gender prediction and 50.3% on age prediction in terms of macro F1, compared to baseline algorithms.
Energy-efficient bounded-diameter tree scatternet for Bluetooth PANs

Bluetooth is a promising wireless technology that enables devices to form short-range multihop wireless ad-hoc networks, or personal area networks (PANs). However, scatternet formation is one of the challenges that need to be resolved since the performance of a Bluetooth network depends largely on the scatternet topology used. We first identify a particular variant of a height-balanced binary tree, termed ACB-tree for almost-complete-binary tree, that allows two such trees to be combined to create a larger ACB-tree while retaining the height-balance requirement. We then present a distributed scatternet formation algorithm for creation of ACB-trees. We further extend the algorithm to produce an ACB-tree scatternet with energy efficient properties. We also present simulations, conducted using Blueware simulator, to provide experiment results to study and compare the performance of the resulting scatternets
Comb Polymer Architecture, Ionic Strength, and Particle Size Effects on the BaTiO3 Suspension Stability

We investigate the stability of aqueous barium titanate suspensions as a function of dispersant architecture, ionic strength, counterion valency, and particle size. Both pure polyelectrolytes, poly(acrylic acid) and poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA), and comb polymer dispersants composed of a PMAA backbone with methoxy-poly(ethylene oxide) (mPEO) teeth of varying molecular weights are studied. While each dispersant imparts stability to barium titanate suspensions at low ionic strength (<∼0.01M), only the PMAA–mPEO comb polymer with the longest teeth provides stability at higher ionic strengths independent of particle size and counterion valency. Our findings provide new insight into the design of comb polymer dispersants for stabilizing aqueous ceramic suspensions over a broad range of processing conditions.
A methodology for improving recognition rate of linear discriminant analysis in video-based face recognition using support vector machines

This paper proposes a two-step methodology for improving the discriminatory power of linear discriminant analysis (LDA) for video-based human face recognition. Results indicate that, under real-world video capture conditions, face images extracted from a video sequence have enough 3D rotations, illumination changes and background variations to reduce the discriminatory power of an LDA classifier. The proposed method involves deriving an LDA subspace from carefully selected subsets of face images that fall within a narrow range of pose angles, and then growing the classification regions in the LDA subspace using face images with a wider range of pose angle changes, illumination changes, and background variations. Polynomial support vector machines (SVM) are shown to provide better recognition rates by defining the boundaries between clusters that represent the faces of different subjects. Results show that there is an improvement in the recognition rate when the LDA subspace is derived with this methodology than when it is derived with a set of face images with a widely divergent set pose angles, illumination variations, and backgrounds.
Special Problems in Adolescent Health Care

Health care providers caring for adolescent pa tients are faced with problems unique to this age group due to their evolving developmental stages of growth. Serious problems with psychosocial as well as biological bases causing major morbidity and mor tality are encountered. Purely biomedical approaches and quality standards are likely to be inadequate. Age and developmental stage appropriate approaches to treatment and prevention are required, with atten tion to environmental stresses and risk-taking behav iors. Adolescent development, current hazards, and preventive strategies are reviewed.
Surgical Approach to the Treatment of Popliteal Aneurysm

Seventeen popliteal artery aneurysms were repaired at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital from 1975 to 1987. Fourteen patients were involved, with three having bilateral lesions. All but one were men with an average age of 67 years. Four of the aneurysms (three patients) presented with asymptomatic masses while the others were associated with arterial or venous obstructive symptoms. The aneurysms were repaired and there was no mortality. One patient developed a transient foot-drop. All patients with symptoms caused by their aneurysm were improved or became asymptomatic, postoperatively. We are impressed that the posterior approach to an uncomplicated popliteal artery aneurysm has several advantages over the bypass technique. The distal anastomosis can frequently be kept proximal to the knee joint, and since exposure of the aneurysm is excellent, aneurysmectomy is often possible thus eliminating pressure symptoms as well as the possibility of late rupture.
Cognitive Appraisal of Daily Hassles in College Students Showing Type a or Type b Behavior Patterns

To test the hypothesized role of cognitive appraisal in Lazarus' model of life stress, 312 male and female undergraduate students completed the Hassles Scale and the Jenkins Activity Survey, Form C. Based upon their scores on the Type A scale of the Jenkins Activity Survey, subjects showing Type A behavior pattern differed significantly from subjects showing Type B behavior pattern on both reported frequencies of hassles (higher for Type A scoring subjects) and hassles content pattern. This is interpreted primarily as supportive of the cognitive appraisal variable in Lazarus' life stress model.
An efficient contact placement for custom cell layout synthesis

This paper presents a new method for determining the number of required contacts and positions in the diffusion areas of transistors. An analytical model for effective transistor size is introduced as a function of contact design. In particular, we present algorithms to determine an optimum number of contacts that are required to meet circuit designer's specifications on the effective transistor size. A large transistor layout with various contact numbers is used to illustrate the importance of contact design. A contact placement and routing algorithm is developed and applied to generate the physical layouts of logic cells in MCNC standard cell library with efficient contact design.
"Negotiating 'Expertise'": biotechnology and agricultural development in Zimbabwe

Analyses of historical contestations over the meanings of "expertise" and its impact on agricultural development are presented. The paper illustrates the power struggle between competing groups to define expertise and to then use these experts to maintain their economic dominance. The paper also examines current and potential challenges to the political and material sustainability of biotechnology driven development programs given the increasingly contested nature of knowledge. The roles of research scientists, women's organizations and extension agents in this struggle are emphasized.
Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Carbon-Nanofiber Infused Polyurethane Foam

In this study, thermal and mechanical properties of carbon nanofiber infused polyurethane foam were investigated. Low density liquid polyurethane foam composed of Diphenylmethane Diisocyanate (Part A) and Polyol (Part B) was doped with carbon nanofibers (CNF). A high-intensity ultrasonic liquid processor was used to obtain a homogeneous mixture of Diphenylmethane Diisocyanate (Part A) and carbon nanofibers (CNF). The CNF were infused into the Part A of the polyurethane foam through sonic cavitation. The modified foams containing nanoparticles were mixed with Part B (Polyol) using a high-speed mechanical agitator. The mixture was then cast into pre-heated rectangular aluminum molds to form the nano-phased foam panels. Flexure, static and high strain rate compression, and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) were performed on neat, 0.2 wt%, 0.4 wt% and 0.6 wt% CNF filled polyurethane foam to identify the effect of adding CNF on the thermal and mechanical properties. The highest improvement on thermal and mechanical properties was obtained with 0.2 wt% loading of CNF. Morphology of the samples was studied through X-ray diffraction.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Genomics in Public Health: Perspective from the Office of Public Health Genomics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The national effort to use genomic knowledge to save lives is gaining momentum, as illustrated by the inclusion of genomics in key public health initiatives, including Healthy People 2020, and the recent launch of the precision medicine initiative. The Office of Public Health Genomics (OPHG) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partners with state public health departments and others to advance the translation of genome-based discoveries into disease prevention and population health. To do this, OPHG has adopted an “identify, inform, and integrate” model: identify evidence-based genomic applications ready for implementation, inform stakeholders about these applications, and integrate these applications into public health at the local, state, and national level. This paper addresses current and future work at OPHG for integrating genomics into public health programs.
Annihilation gamma ray background characterization and rejection for a positron camera

We have developed a miniature (1.2 cm/sup 2/) beta-ray camera prototype to assist a surgeon in locating and removing the margins of a resected tumor. When imaging positron emitting radiopharmaceuticals, annihilation gamma ray interactions in the detector can mimic those of the betas. The extent of the background contamination depends on the detector, geometry and tumor specificity of the radiopharmaceutical. We have characterized the effects that annihilation gamma rays have on positron imaging with the camera. We studied beta and gamma ray detection rates and imaging using small positron or electron sources directly exposed to the detector to simulate hot tumor remnants and a cylinder filled with /sup 18/F to simulate annihilation background from the brain. For various ratios of phantom brain/tumor activity, a annihilation gamma rate of 1.8 cts/sec//spl mu/Ci was measured in the CaF/sub 2/(Eu) detector. We present two gamma-ray background rejection schemes that use a /spl beta/-/spl gamma/ coincidence. Results show that the coincidence methods works with /spl sim/99% gamma ray rejection efficiency.
TMS of posterior parietal cortex disrupts visual tactile multisensory integration

Functional neuroimaging studies have implicated a number of brain regions, especially the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), as being potentially important for visual–tactile multisensory integration. However, neuroimaging studies are correlational and do not prove the necessity of a region for the behavioral improvements that are the hallmark of multisensory integration. To remedy this knowledge gap, we interrupted activity in the PPC, near the junction of the anterior intraparietal sulcus and the postcentral sulcus, using MRI-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) while subjects localized touches delivered to different fingers. As the touches were delivered, subjects viewed a congruent touch video, an incongruent touch video, or no video. Without TMS, a strong effect of multisensory integration was observed, with significantly better behavioral performance for discrimination of congruent multisensory touch than for unisensory touch alone. Incongruent multisensory touch produced a smaller improvement in behavioral performance. TMS of the PPC eliminated the behavioral advantage of both congruent and incongruent multisensory stimuli, reducing performance to unisensory levels. These results demonstrate a causal role for the PPC in visual–tactile multisensory integration. Taken together with converging evidence from other studies, these results support a model in which the PPC contains a map of space around the hand that receives input from both the visual and somatosensory modalities. Activity in this map is likely to be the neural substrate for visual–tactile multisensory integration.
Current Controversies in Prehospital Resuscitation of the Terminally Ill Patient

Prehospital health-care providers regularly are called upon to assist terminally ill patients in residential or institutional, non-hospital settings such as nursing homes or hospices. Among the most crucial issues regarding such patients is whether they should be resuscitated. With alarming frequency, EMS providers are encountering vigorous and sometimes violent refusals of examination, treatment, and/or transportation from the terminally ill patient, members of the patient's family, or third persons ostensibly acting on the patient's behalf. Today, the prehospital emergency health-care provider repeatedly is faced with the legal and ethical questions that surround the issue of resuscitation and advanced life support.
Local Volunteerism and Resilience Following Large-Scale Disaster: Outcomes for Health Support Team Volunteers in Haiti

In-depth interviews with local Haitian volunteers trained in a psychological disaster recovery program called Health Support Team (HST) provide insight into the psychosocial outcomes resulting from their engagement with the program. Qualitative interviews were conducted with four male Haitian participants who had survived the January 2010 Haiti earthquake and had worked as HST volunteers for at least 6 months. Interviews were analyzed using narrative inquiry analysis, which allows individuals to discover and disclose a deeper meaning in their experience and enables the researchers to access more detailed data. Previous research supports the claim that volunteerism provides many important psychological benefits, and the results of the present study suggest that among survivors of large-scale disasters, volunteerism is beneficial as a means of increasing psychological resilience and facilitating personal recovery. Results and themes of our analysis included a reported increase in both hope and purpose for the respondents. Findings suggest that volunteerism on the part of members of the surviving community following large-scale disaster increases resilience among the volunteers and further contributes to their recovery.
Orthosymplectic supersymmetry complementary to combined Bose-Fermi seniority algebras

Abstract An orthosymplectic pairing supersymmetry is demonstrated for systems classified using combined Bose-Fermi seniority groups, such as SO B+F (5) and SO B+F (6) which can occur when coupling a fermion to the Bohr-Mottelson and interacting boson models. This supersymmetry is analogous to quasispin for bosons and fermions separately. By virtue of its association with a particular classification scheme, this supersymmetry can be subjected to a meaningful experimental verification.
Brain Structure in Prenatal Stroke: Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Analysis

Neonatal stroke outcome studies demonstrate variable findings of either relatively spared intellectual function or persistent impairments. Volumetric measurement of the brain can provide more precise data on lesion-cognition outcomes. We studied 7 children with unilateral focal lesions from prenatal stroke. Whole-brain magnetic resonance imaging scans were analyzed to produce volumes of cortical gray matter, total white matter, cerebrospinal fluid, lesion, and lesion constricted fluid, and we ascertained the relationship of morphometric variables to intellectual and clinical outcome. Children with cystic encephalomalacia plus atrophy had poorer outcomes than children with atrophy or gliosis alone. These children also demonstrated the largest lesion size, smallest gray matter volume, and greatest proportion of hyperintense white matter in the affected hemisphere. Findings suggest that the type and size of the lesion, in addition to the integrity of white matter and residual cortex, may be better predictors of intellectual functioning than either of these indices alone.
An Insulin Infusion Protocol in Critically Ill Cardiothoracic Surgery Patients

BACKGROUND:Critically ill cardiothoracic patients are prone to hyperglycemia and an increased risk of surgical site infections postoperatively. Aggressive insulin treatment is required to achieve tight glycemic control (TGC) and improve outcomes.OBJECTIVE:To examine and report on the performance of an insulin infusion protocol to maintain TGC, defined as a blood glucose level of 80–150 mg/dL, in critically ill cardiothoracic surgical patients.METHODS:A nurse-driven insulin infusion protocol was developed and initiated in postoperative cardiothoracic surgical intensive care patients with or without diabetes. In this before—after cohort study, 2 periods of measurement were performed: a 6–month baseline period prior to the initiation of the insulin infusion protocol (control group, n = 174) followed by a 6–month intervention period in which the protocol was used (TGC group, n = 168).RESULTS:Findings showed percent and time of blood glucose measurements within the TGC range (control 47% vs TGC 61%; p = 0.001)...
Pleistocene glacial variability as a chaotic response to obliquity forcing

Abstract. The mid-Pleistocene Transition from 40 ky to ~100 ky glacial cycles is generally characterized as a singular transition attributable to scouring of continental regolith or a long-term decrease in atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Here an alternative hypothesis is suggested, that Pleistocene glacial variability is chaotic and that transitions from 40 ky to ~100 ky modes of variability occur spontaneously. This alternate view is consistent with the presence of ~80 ky glacial cycles during the early Pleistocene and the lack of evidence for a change in climate forcing during the mid-Pleistocene. A simple model illustrates this chaotic scenario. When forced at a 40 ky period the model chaotically transitions between small 40 ky glacial cycles and larger 80 and 120 ky cycles which, on average, give the ~100 ky variability.
The role of proteases in 4-ipomeanol-induced enhancement of Sendai viral pneumonia in mice.

The ability of reconstituted, concentrated lyophilized lavage fluid to activate noninfectious Sendai virus (NISV) in vitro was examined. Lavage fluid was obtained from 4-ipomeanol(4-IP)-injured lungs at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 13 days after treatment, and 1, 7, and 13 days after sham treatment (controls). Significantly higher viral titers were obtained using lavage fluid collected 1 day after 4-IP treatment. Higher protein concentrations were present in lavage fluid obtained at day 1 and 3 after 4-IP treatment. It is concluded that local viral- activating protease concentrations resulting from 4-IP-induced pulmonary injury is a likely microenvironmental modulator of paramyxoviral replication and can play an important role in paramyxoviral-induced lung injury. 12,13 Proteolytic modifica- tion of many, if not most, viruses occurs during the intracellular production and assembly of viral parti- cles. Increased infectivity can also result from the ex- tracellular proteolytic cleavage of surface proteins of released virions ("activation"), a phenomenon which is usually seen with ortho- and paramyxoviruses. Sendai virus (SV) is a common, spontaneous para- myxoviral respiratory disease of rodents that has been well characterized.' The envelope of SV is similar to other paramyxoviruses in that the viral envelope con- tains two surface glycoproteins: HN and F glycopro- tein~.~.'~ The HN glycoprotein has hemagglutinating and neuraminidase activities and is responsible for the adsorption of the virus to neuraminic acid-containing receptors on the host ~e1l.l~~~~ The F glycoprotein has hemolysis and cell fusion capabilities and is respon- sible for penetration of the virus into the host ce11.11J9 The F glycoprotein becomes biologically active only after proteolytic cleavage of a precursor protein FO,
Interactions of exercise training and lipoic acid on skeletal muscle glucose transport in obese Zucker rats.

Exercise training (ET) or the antioxidant R(+)-α-lipoic acid (R-ALA) individually increases insulin action in the insulin-resistant obese Zucker rat. The purpose of the present study was to determi...