cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Investigation of the Pharmacokinetics of Romiplostim in Rodents with a Focus on the Clearance Mechanism

Romiplostim, a treatment for adults with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), is a novel thrombopoietin mimetic agent with a similar mechanism of action as thrombopoietin with no sequence homology. Structurally, it is a peptibody containing thrombopoietin mimetic peptides and the Fc portion of human IgG1. We investigated romiplostim pharmacokinetics in rodents with a focus on the clearance mechanism. Studies with appropriate controls were conducted in four models: FcRn knockout mice, thrombocytopenic mice, splenectomized rats, and bilateral nephrectomized rats. Catabolic breakdown of romiplostim was investigated in normal rats. The primary analytical method determines the intact/active romiplostim concentration, and the secondary method determines the sum of romiplostim and its catabolic degradants. FcRn interaction results in prolonged exposure. Platelets are involved in the target-mediated elimination, a saturable process and more prominent at low dose. Splenectomy does not affect the romiplostim pharmacokinetics in rats, an observation not unexpected. Nephrectomy in rats results in a greater increase of romiplostim exposure at a higher romiplostim dose, a nonlinearity likely due to saturation of competing pathway. Catabolism plays a major role in romiplostim elimination. Romiplostim clearance involves multiple mechanisms, including a nonlinear pathway. Consequently, the relative contribution of different mechanisms appears to be dose dependent.
Templated Droplets and Ordered Arrays in Polymer-Dispersed Liquid-Crystal Films

Well-ordered two-dimensional hexagonal arrays of micrometer-sized nematic liquid-crystal droplets are prepared in polymer films. Droplets of uniform sizes and shapes are formed by “prefabricating” the voids in which the liquid crystal is to be entrapped. Void preparation involves deposition of polystyrene microspheres on a substrate to form a colloidal crystal array. The array is coated with water-soluble polymer and dried. The microspheres were then extracted with organic solvent. The voids are refilled with liquid crystal by capillary filling. The materials are characterized throughout this process by atomic force and multiphoton-excited fluorescence microscopies. Polarization-dependent fluorescence images show well-ordered nematic configurations within each droplet. Surprisingly, the nematic alignment in neighboring droplets is often found to be correlated over large domains spanning several droplets. The origins of these organizational correlations are explored.
Materials for a New Generation of Vehicles

The Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) is a national initiative with three goals: First, to significantly improve national competitiveness in manufacturing; second, to implement commercially viable innovations from ongoing research on conventional vehicles, and third, to develop a vehicle to achieve up to three times the fuel efficiency of today’s comparable vehicle (ie, the 1994 Chrysler Concorde, Ford Taurus, and Chevrolet Lumina). Note this vehicle will have the equivalent customer purchase price of today’s vehicles adjusted for economics, while meeting the customers’ needs for quality, performance, and utility. Eight federal agencies are currently contributing to these goals, as well as the three principal US automobile manufacturers, numerous automotive component suppliers, research laboratories, and universities. Materials research and development is a significant effort within PNGV. The goals in this area include development of lightweight, recyclable materials for structural applications, high strength, long-life, high temperature materials for engine components, improved materials for alternative propulsion and energy storage systems, and cost-effective process technologies and component fabrication methods. Application of advanced materials to automobiles will involve consideration of diverse factors, including weight savings, affordability, recyclability, crashworthiness, repairability, and manufacturability.
Chemical Warfare: Act of Intimidation or Desperation?

Recently the international community has experienced unprecedented alarm about the threat of chemical weapons. One crucial uninvestigated question concerning these munitions is whether they are arm...
D1 and D2 dopamine receptors do not up-regulate in response to neonatal intrastriatal 6-hydroxydopamine lesions.

Abstract The extent of dopamine (DA) depletion appears to exert important influences on the plasticity of the DA system following lesions made in adulthood. The aim of this study was to determine if the extent of DA depletion has long-term effects on DA receptor regulation after early neonatal lesions. Early intrastriatal injections of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) caused a dose-dependent loss of high-affinity DA uptake sites and μ-opioid receptor patches evident in adulthood. DA receptors did not up-regulate in response to any degree of neonatal DA depletion. A patchy loss of D1 binding was evident following the neonatal lesions, although the loss was somewhat more severe and uniform with the highest dose of 6-OHDA (20 μg per striatum). There was also a slight decrease in D2 binding which was not dose-dependent. These results suggest that the consequences of early neonatal DA lesions are not dependent upon the degree of DA depletion, as the effects on DA receptor expression were similar regardless of the extent of the lesions.
The Bagdad Reflection Sequence as tabular mafic intrusions: Evidence from seismic modeling of mapped exposures

Two-dimensional seismic modeling of exposed rocks implicates subhorizontal, tabular mafic intrusions as the likely cause of the unusually prominent reflections that constitute the Bagdad Reflection Sequence (BRS). These basement reflections, from depths of ∼3-15 km, are observed on COCORP and other data to extend for some 100 km across the Basin and Range/Colorado Plateau Transition Zone in west-central Arizona. The nearby Buck Mountains fortuitously expose an upended upper-crustal block, which is used in this study as the basis for a 12 x 6 km seismic model. Ray tracing through this model produces synthetic reflections from the numerous Proterozoic diabase intrusions occurring in the Buck Mountains. These synthetic reflections approximate the scale, geometry, and character of reflections observed on the COCORP data, indicating that the intrusions in the Buck Mountains furnish a viable geologic analogy for the BRS. Several lines of evidence argue that the major competing hypothesis—that Tertiary detachment surfaces cause the BRS—is less satisfactory. Although we cannot rule out the possibility that the BRS is related to hypothetical Tertiary intrusions of similar distribution and structure, geologic evidence more directly implies that these reflectors are Proterozoic in age. If so, the Bagdad reflections serve as strain markers and can be used to constrain subsequent deformation in the Arizona Transition Zone. Their relatively continuous nature thus argues against widespread disruption of the upper crust in the Transition Zone during Tertiary extension. Moreover, identification of these reflectors as subhorizontal mafic intrusions may have profound consequences for interpretation of similar reflections observed elsewhere by bolstering the contention that mafic intrusions are an important cause of basement reflections in the continental crust.
Parameter‐Free Equation‐of‐State Calculations for MgO and ZrO2

The electronic band structure of ZrO2 is calculated for the fluorite structure using the self-consistent augmented-plane-wave method in the muffin-tin approximation. The crystal charge density is then site decomposed by fitting Slater orbitals to the wave functions in the muffin tins. The resultant charge densities for Zr4+ and O2− are then used in the Gordon-Kim method to derive pair potentials, from which a number of structural, elastic, and thermodynamic properties are calculated and compared with experimental results and similar calculations for MgO.
Meta-analysis and literature review of techniques to achieve hemostasis in endoscopic sinus surgery.

Background Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) has been used as the standard of treatment for sinonasal disease in which medical therapy fails to ameliorate the disease. Intraoperative hemostasis is a crucial factor in FESS. Currently, ideal techniques for creating intraoperative hemostasis have yet to be clarified and standardized. We sought to better understand what variables can affect intraoperative blood loss and therefore improve surgical field outcomes. Methods A literature search was conducted using PubMed, OVID, MD Consult, and Micromedex with keywords including: FESS, intraoperative blood loss, hemorrhage, and vasoconstriction. The articles were then evaluated with regard to blood loss, surgical grade, and operative time. Eleven articles were cross-referenced to determine the most statistically significant techniques in 3 main categories: general anesthetics, preoperative steroids, and use of epinephrine. Results Analysis of the articles indicate that total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) is statistically more beneficial than balanced anesthesia (BA), providing an average difference in blood loss of 75.3057 mL; the use of preoperative steroids is statistically more beneficial than placebo, with an improved difference in blood loss of 28 mL; and a trend toward hemostasis with the use of local anesthetics at a concentration of 1:200,000. Conclusion Meta-analysis of 1148 patients concludes that hemostasis during FESS is best conducted using TIVA, preoperative steroids, and topical local anesthetic at a 1:200,000 concentration.
Mechanisms of atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation: distinct entities or two sides of a coin?

Time for primary review 23 days. There has been a long recognized clinical interrelationship between atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation. Patients who primarily manifest atrial flutter commonly also experience atrial fibrillation and vice versa [1,2]. Both are very common as a temporary atrial tachyarrhythmia shortly after open heart surgery, and often in the same patient [3]. And some antiarrhythmic agents, notably class IC drugs, IA drugs and amiodarone, used to suppress atrial fibrillation not uncommonly ‘convert’ recurrences of atrial tachyarrhythmia to atrial flutter [4–6]. Are these clinical associations mere coincidences, or do they reflect an important underlying similar pathophysiology and even similar mechanism(s)? Data derived largely from a series of unconnected studies in animal models and patients seemingly point to a clear interrelationship between the two, suggesting, if not indicating, that they are two sides of a coin. Classical atrial flutter, now called typical and reverse typical atrial flutter [7], is well recognized to be due to a macro-reentrant mechanism, in which the reentrant wave front travels up the inter-atrial septum and down the right atrial free wall or vice versa, respectively [1,7]. Critical to the development and maintenance of this reentrant circuit are the lateral boundaries, one being fixed (anatomic), the tricuspid valve annulus, and the other almost always being functional, a line of block between the venae cavae. We shall develop the theme that one of the fundamental features that determines whether an atrial tachyarrhythmia becomes sustained atrial flutter or atrial fibrillation is the development of the line of block between the venae cavae. We shall also develop the theme that another of the fundamental features that determine whether the atrial tachyarrhythmia becomes atrial flutter or atrial fibrillation often will be the atrial flutter cycle length, i.e. the cycle length of a stable … * Tel.: +1-216-844-7690; fax: +1-216-844-7196 alw2{at}po.cwru.edu
Effects on biotin, fat type and sodium nitrite on organ size, plasma constituents and liver fatty acid composition in rats*

Abstract The role of biotin in the metabolism of fatty acids (FA) and as an anti-oxidant in an in vivo system under oxidant stress produced by sodium nitrite (NaNO 2 )-induced methemoglobinemia was studied in Sprague-Dawley male rats. This report deals with basic data on growth, food intakes, changes in organ size, constituents in plasma and fatty acids in livers. Twelve groups of 14–16 weanlings were given a basal diet with 15% by weight of either biotin (0 or 150 μg/rat/week by mouth) and with or without NaNO 2 (250 or 500 mg/liter in the drinking water) for 6–7 weeks. Biotin-supplemented (B-S) rats ate more, gained more weight and drank more fluid; had larger organs; higher blood lipids and glucose, but had lower blood urea nitrogen (BUN) than did biotin-deprived (B-D) rats. Of the major FA, B-S rats had the highest % of 16:0 and 18:1n−9 but B-D rats had the highest % of 18:0, 18:2n−6 and 20:4n−6. As expected, CO-fed rats had the highest % of 18:2n−6, 20:4n−6 and 22:5n−6. L-fed rats had the highest % of 16:0 and 18:0. BT-fed rats had the highest % of 18:1n−9. Of the ratios calculated for 16:0/18:0 and of 20:4n−6/18:2n−6, L-fed rats had the highest, with BT-fed rats next and CO-fed rats the lowest. B-S rats had the highest ratios of 20:4n−6/18:2n−6, but the results were influenced by the type of dietary fat. CO-fed rats showed no difference in the ratio when biotin was given. The results suggest a role for biotin in essential FA metabolism with implications for integrity of membrane structure and fuction, and prostaglandin precursor biosynthesis.
Development and exploration of a Rigid Motorcycle model

We develop a nonlinear control system that captures some of the key features of an aggressively maneuvering motorcycle. The developed system, RigidMoto, consists of a rigid body that is constrained to maintain contact with the horizontal road plane at two body-fixed points. The contact point forces model, in a simplified manner, the normal and translational forces that would be produced by tire-road interactions at the front and rear contact points under various slip and steer conditions. Complex dynamic interactions make the development of maneuvers (and maneuvering objectives, in general) highly nontrivial. To this end, we use nonlinear least squares trajectory optimization to explore system trajectories. We present a RigidMoto trajectory that executes a chicance type maneuver. This maneuver exhibits the nonminimum phase countersteer characteristic known to motorcycle enthusiasts and scientists alike.
Drop fall-off from pendent rivulets

Drops fall off a viscous pendent rivulet on the underside of a plane when the inclination angle θ, measured with respect to the horizontal, is below a critical value θc. We estimate this θc by studying the existence of finite-amplitude drop solutions to a long-wave lubrication equation. Through a partial matched asymptotic analysis, we establish that fall-off occurs by two distinct mechanisms. For θ>ϕ, where ϕ is the static contact angle, a jet mechanism results when a mean-flow steepening effect cannot provide sufficient axial curvature to counter gravity. This fall-off mechanism occurs if the rivulet width B, which is normalized with respect to the capillary length H=(σ/ρg cosθ)1/2, exceeds a critical value defined by β=−cosB>1/4. For θ tanθ/tanϕ. Both criteria are in good agreement with our experimental data.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia in African Americans

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most prevalent leukemia in the United States with almost 4390 attributable deaths per year. Epidemiologic data compiled by the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program identifies important differences in incidence and survival for African Americans with CLL. Although the incidence of CLL is lower among African Americans than among Caucasians (4.6 and 6.2 per 100 000 men, respectively), age-adjusted survival is inferior. African American patients with CLL are almost twice as likely to die from a CLL-related complication in the first 5 years after diagnosis as are Caucasian patients with CLL. The biologic basis for these observations is almost entirely unexplored, and a comprehensive clinical analysis of African American patients with CLL is lacking. This is the subject of the present review.
Effects of symbolic verbalization by the model on children's observational learning.

Summary.-Two experiments on the effects of symbolic verbalization by a model upon children's recall of the model's responses for a series of dichotomous choices were conducted. As expected, Exp. I, conducted with first grade children, showed that such verbalizations did significantly improve imitative recall although this influence did not extend to a second block of trials in which the verbalizations were no longer provided. Exp. 11, with preschool children, again showed a facilitating effect for symbolic verbalizations. Several recent studies have disclosed that, at least under some circumstances, child observers who are instructed to symbolize verbally a model's actions as they occur show better imitative recall than do children who observe passively (Bandura, Grusec, & Menlove, 1966; Coates & Hartup, 1969; van Hekken, 1969). One analysis of these findings is that such verbalizations function as codes which serve primarily to "carry a great deal of information in easily stored form" (Bandura, 1969, p. 134). Taking the foregoing investigations and interpretation as its point of departure, the two experiments described in this report were designed primarily to demonstrate that symbolic verbalizations by the model can likewise facilitate imitative recall. This hypothesis was specifically derived from the assumption that a verbalization can serve its presumed mnemonic function even if it has not been generated or overtly repeated by the observer himself. Some support for this reasoning is found in two studies by Rosenbaum ( 1962, 1967). However, in these earlier experiments Ss do not appear to have been advised at the outset that they would later be asked to recall the model's responses. Thus, the facilitating effects of symbolic verbalizations in those studies might have been due primarily to the attention-focusing effects of hearing the model verbalize his responses rather than on the facilitation of coding per se. In contrast, the present experiments included an instruction to all Ss (before observation of the model) that they would later be asked to reproduce his behavior and thus permitted a more direct test of the hypothesized coding function of symbolic verbalizations.
Our own devices : Heterotopic communication, discourse, and culture in the information society

The main premise of this article is that in information societies generally, and in virtual social contexts particularly, a distinctive style of interaction to facilitate the communication of difference, heterotopic communication , has emerged. It rests on two cultural foundations: an ideological belief in the positive, socially integrating power of communication, and a prevailing ethic of instrumental rationality, subjective individualism, and strategically practiced self-interest. The former is demonstrated by the use of simulation and spectacle as sources of information; exhibitionism/voyeurism as a communicative style; and the awareness of surveillance. The latter is seen in the competitive use of knowledge as a commodity; a surface globalism masking deep parochialism; lateral as well as vertical information inequity; and the use of public versus private as strategies for engagement rather than as spaces. Those who engage in heterotopic communication resort to their ''own devices'' both in the sense o...
Constraint satisfaction in incremental placement with application to performance optimization under power constraints

We present new techniques for explicit constraint satisfaction in the incremental placement process. Our algorithm employs a Lagrangian relaxation (LR) type approach in the analytical global placement stage to solve the constrained optimization problem. We establish theoretical results that prove the optimality of this stage. In the detailed placement stage, we develop a constraint-monitoring and satisfaction mechanism in a network (n/w) flow based detailed placement framework proposed recently, and empirically show its near-optimality. We establish the effectiveness of our general constraint-satisfaction methods by applying them to the problem of timing-driven optimization under power constraints. We overlay our algorithms on a recently developed unconstrained timing-driven incremental placement method flow-place. On a large number of benchmarks with up to 210K cells, our constraint satisfaction algorithms obtain an average timing improvement of 12.4% under a 3% power increase limit (the actual average power increase incurred is only 2.1%), while the original unconstrained method gives an average power increase of 8.4% for a timing improvement of 17.3%. Our techniques thus yield a tradeoff of 75% power improvement to 28% timing deterioration for the given constraint. Our constraint-satisfying incremental placer is also quite fast, e.g., its run time for the 210 K-cell circuit ibm18 is only 1541 secs.
Toward a Mediational Model of Coach-Player Relationships.

Abstract A mediational model for conceptualizing and investigating coach-player relationships is presented. The research paradigm suggested by this model requires the measurement of overt coaching behaviors, player perception and recall of these behaviors, and players' evaluative reactions to the coach and other aspects of their athletic experience. Data from a study of 51 Little League Baseball teams indicate that there are meaningful relationships among coaching behaviors, children's perceptions, and their evaluative responses. Although there were areas of substantial agreement between observed and player-perceived behaviors, factor analytic data indicated that the patterning of overt coaching behaviors was different from the perceptual organization of coaching behaviors by the players. Observed and perceived behaviors independently accounted for substantial proportions of variance in attitudes toward the coach, but when both data sources were taken into account the amount of variance accounted for was ...
Magnesium Toxicity: Bone Lesions

Broiler chicks fed corn-soy rations supplemented with toxic levels of magnesium from one day of age grew poorly, developed diarrhea, and exhibited characteristic skeletal abnormalities. Tibiae from magnesium intoxicated chicks were shortened, thickened, and bowed. Percent tibial ash was greatly reduced. Upon microscopic examination, the bone lesion appeared rachitic as evidenced by widened and lengthened growth plates, excessive osteoid seams on endochandral bone, and osteoid or bone capped metaphyseal blood vessels with very few associated osteoblasts. Tibial calcium to phosphorus mass ratios decreased while tibial magnesium to phosphorus mass ratios increased concomitantly with increased dietary magnesium. Calcium and phosphorus homeostasis was possibly affected as evidenced by a general decrease in size and cellularity of parathyroid glands and a general increase in size and cellularity of ultimobranchial glands.
Molecular Pathways: JAK/STAT Pathway: Mutations, Inhibitors, and Resistance

Aberrant activation of the JAK/STAT pathway has been reported in a variety of disease states, including inflammatory conditions, hematologic malignancies, and solid tumors. For instance, a large proportion of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) carry the acquired gain-of-function JAK2 V617F somatic mutation. This knowledge has dramatically improved our understanding of the pathogenesis of MPNs and has facilitated the development of therapeutics capable of suppressing the constitutive activation of the JAK/STAT pathway, now recognized as a common underlying biologic abnormality in MPNs. Ruxolitinib is an oral JAK1 and JAK2 inhibitor that has recently been approved for the treatment of myelofibrosis and has been tested against other hematologic malignancies. A series of agents with different specificities against different members of the JAK family of proteins is currently undergoing evaluation in clinical trials for patients with MPNs, lymphoma, and solid tumors such as breast or pancreatic cancer. Despite the significant clinical activity exhibited by these agents in myelofibrosis, some patients fail to respond or progress during JAK kinase inhibitor therapy. Recent reports have shed light into the mechanisms of resistance to JAK inhibitor therapy. Several approaches hold promise to overcome such resistance.
An Efficient Oscillator Design Based on OTA Nonlinearity

An analog sinusoidal oscillator usually involves some form of amplitude-limiting mechanism. We examine OTA nonlinearity as a choice for amplitude limiting, and introduce a general method for its use in OTA-C oscillators. We illustrate our discussion with an example design that we fabricated and tested. Our results show that OTA nonlinearity yields low-distortion oscillators at practically no power- or area cost
Plasmonic SERS biosensing nanochips for DNA detection

The development of rapid, cost-effective DNA detection methods for molecular diagnostics at the point-of-care (POC) has been receiving increasing interest. This article reviews several DNA detection techniques based on plasmonic-active nanochip platforms developed in our laboratory over the last 5 years, including the molecular sentinel-on-chip (MSC), the multiplex MSC, and the inverse molecular sentinel-on-chip (iMS-on-Chip). DNA probes were used as the recognition elements, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was used as the signal detection method. Sensing mechanisms were based on hybridization of target sequences and DNA probes, resulting in a distance change between SERS reporters and the nanochip’s plasmonic-active surface. As the field intensity of the surface plasmon decays exponentially as a function of distance, the distance change in turn affects SERS signal intensity, thus indicating the presence and capture of the target sequences. Our techniques were single-step DNA detection techniques. Target sequences were detected by simple delivery of sample solutions onto DNA probe-functionalized nanochips and measuring the SERS signal after appropriate incubation times. Target sequence labeling or washing to remove unreacted components was not required, making the techniques simple, easy-to-use, and cost-effective. The usefulness of the nanochip platform-based techniques for medical diagnostics was illustrated by the detection of host genetic biomarkers for respiratory viral infection and of the dengue virus gene.
Enhanced Light Extraction in GaInN Light-Emitting Diode With Pyramid Reflector

GaInN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that employ a reflector consisting of an array of three-dimensional (3-D) SiO2 pyramids and a Ag layer are demonstrated to have enhanced light extraction compared with GaInN LEDs with planar Ag reflector. Ray tracing simulations reveal that the pyramid reflector provides 14.1% enhancement in extraction efficiency. Consistent with the simulation, it is experimentally demonstrated that GaInN LEDs with the pyramid reflector show 13.9% higher light output than LEDs with a planar Ag reflector. The enhancement is attributed to the appearance of an additional escape cone for light extraction enabled by the 3-D pyramid reflector
Estimating Spatial Layout of Rooms using Volumetric Reasoning about Objects and Surfaces

There has been a recent push in extraction of 3D spatial layout of scenes. However, none of these approaches model the 3D interaction between objects and the spatial layout. In this paper, we argue for a parametric representation of objects in 3D, which allows us to incorporate volumetric constraints of the physical world. We show that augmenting current structured prediction techniques with volumetric reasoning significantly improves the performance of the state-of-the-art.
! -Cyanobenzyl Dithioester Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain-Transfer Agents for Controlled Radical Polymerizations

A series of new reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) agents with cyanobenzyl R groups were synthesized. In comparison with other dithioester RAFT agents, these new RAFT agents were odorless or low-odor, and this made them much easier to handle. The kinetics of methyl methacrylate radical polymerizations mediated by these RAFT agents were investigated. The polymerizations proceeded in a controlled way, the first-order kinetics evolved in a linear fashion with time, the molecular weights increased linearly with the conversions, and the polydispersities were very narrow (∼1.1). A poly[(methyl methacrylate)-block-polystyrene] block copolymer was prepared (number-average molecular weight = 42,600, polydispersity index = 1.21) from a poly(methyl methacrylate) macro-RAFT agent. These new RAFT agents also showed excellent control over the radical polymerization of styrenics and acrylates. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 1535–1543, 2005
A low-cost, low-data-rate rapid structural assessment network: Design, implementation, and experimentation

We present the design, implementation, and experimental evaluation of a wireless sensor network for near real-time structural health monitoring. We use simple custom-built gages to unequivocally detect cracks in critical structural elements. The main data reports have a low data rate and are naturally resilient to loss. We show how a variety of low-cost, off-the-shelf data acquisition/communication devices can be used to support remote monitoring by a control center. The heterogeneous hardware is accommodated by the use of open technology standards, and a software architecture that is portable, modular, and highly configurable. We present an experimental evaluation of our structural assessment network, using a full-scale three-story reinforced concrete building, subjected to lateral forces emulating forces induced by earthquakes. Our results show that a set of 12 strategically positioned sensors on the three floors achieved a zero false-alarm rate, in the sense that each reported breakage can be traced to cracks exceeding the specified total width, and a 100% detection rate for cracks that are covered by a sensor.
Asthmatics with exacerbation during acute respiratory illness exhibit unique transcriptional signatures within the nasal mucosa

Background: Acute respiratory illness is the leading cause of asthma exacerbations yet the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. To address the deficiencies in our understanding of the molecular events characterizing acute respiratory illness-induced asthma exacerbations, we undertook a transcriptional profiling study of the nasal mucosa over the course of acute respiratory illness amongst individuals with a history of asthma, allergic rhinitis and no underlying respiratory disease. Methods: Transcriptional profiling experiments were performed using the Agilent Whole Human Genome 4X44K array platform. Time point-based microarray and principal component analyses were conducted to identify and distinguish acute respiratory illness-associated transcriptional profiles over the course of our study. Gene enrichment analysis was conducted to identify biological processes over-represented within each acute respiratory illness-associated profile, and gene expression was subsequently confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results: We found that acute respiratory illness is characterized by dynamic, time-specific transcriptional profiles whose magnitudes of expression are influenced by underlying respiratory disease and the mucosal repair signature evoked during acute respiratory illness. Most strikingly, we report that people with asthma who experience acute respiratory illness-induced exacerbations are characterized by a reduced but prolonged inflammatory immune response, inadequate activation of mucosal repair, and the expression of a newly described exacerbation-specific transcriptional signature. Conclusion: Findings from our study represent a significant contribution towards clarifying the complex molecular interactions that typify acute respiratory illness-induced asthma exacerbations.
Covariabilities of Winter U.S. Precipitation and Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures

Abstract The variability of winter average U.S. precipitation displays strong geographical dependence with large variability in the southeastern and northwestern United States. The covariance of the U.S. winter mean precipitation with Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) is examined in this study using the singular value decomposition (SVD) method. The first SVD mode indicates the U.S. precipitation pattern that is associated with the tropical El Nino/La Nina SST variation, while the second and third SVD modes relate the precipitation variability in the Pacific Northwest and southeast that is associated with the North Pacific SST variation. About 45% of the U.S. precipitation variabilities is related to the Pacific SST anomalies, among which, 35% is related to the North Pacific SST and 10% is related to the tropical Pacific SST. Each SVD precipitation pattern is associated with well-organized 500-mb height and zonal mean zonal wind anomalies. It is shown that the North Pacific SST anomalies associated wi...
Endocrinology of Vitellogenesis

The ovum (female germ cell) is truly the most remarkable of all animal cells: once activated, it can give rise to a complete new individual and it is the only cell, in higher animals, that is capable of doing so. The most distinguished feature of the ovum is its large size, which is required for the storage of reserves for the development of the embryo. During the early part of the developmental program, very rapid rates of cleavage take place in the embryo. This requires a high rate of synthetic activities, which is made possible by storage of large reserves of messenger RNAs, ribosomes, enzymes and other precursors of macromolecular synthesis in the ovum prior to fertilization. The other requirement for development and growth is metabolic energy, the reserve form of which is stored in the oocytes as “yolk. ” In most vertebrate oocytes, yolk is not synthesized in situ but derived from a precursor protein known as vitellogenin, synthesized in the liver of the animal. A sequence of complex but well-coordinated processes is involved in the production of yolk and its accumulation in vertebrate eggs. This sequence of events, collectively referred to as vitellogenesis, includes the following steps: 1) the induction of vitellogenin synthesis in the liver and its subsequent release into blood circulation, 2) the transport of vitellogenin in the blood stream, 3) the uptake of vitellogenin by the growing oocytes and 4) the conversion of vitellogenin into storage forms. Studies of vitellogenesis have recently been reviewed by Tata,115 Tata & Smith,6 Wahli,125 Wallace & Selman,136 Wiegand,146 Ho et al.,64 and Wallace.131,132 The scope of these reviews is limited to the cellular and molecular events of hepatic vitellogenesis, and the vitellogenin uptake and yolk formation process. In this article, I will focus on reviewing literature about the involvement of hormones in the regulation of vitellogenesis. As will be evident from my discussion, vitellogenesis is under multihormonal control. Upon activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis, gonadotropins are released from the pituitary and stimulate estrogen production in the ovaries. Rising levels of estrogen, in turn, induce vitellogenin production and release by the liver. At the same time, under the stimulation of gonadotropins, ovarian follicles are capable of sequestering circulating vitellogenin at high rate. At various points in the process of vitellogenesis, hormones other than estrogens and gonadotropins are exerting their influences in “fine-tuning” the vitellogenic response.
Machine Tool Operation, Weekly Indie Music Podcast: Independent Music From SoundCloud Users

Machine Tool Operation. (Producer). (2012–2014). Episode 54. Length: 20 minutes. Retrieved from http://www.weeklypodcast.net/With Berlin-based SoundCloud (2015) in the news again, its entrepreneuri...
Personal Health Records: Directing More Costs and Risks to Consumers?

This article is principally concerned with a subset of electronic health records known as personal health records. In contrast to the more familiar charts, paper records, and electronic medical records maintained by health care providers, personal health records are medical records created and maintained by patients. A personal health records model is superficially attractive because it seems to lack the "misaligned incentives," network effects, and other market failure problems associated with the financing of a national inter-operative EHR model, while the model's patient-centricity purportedly avoids the privacy-confidentiality-security externalities inherent in electronic health records. The principal thrust of this article is that personal health records are dangerously flawed adjuncts to or substitutes for provider-centric records, and while lacking many of the touted quality or cost-reduction benefits of oft-criticized electronic health records they pose substantially higher levels of risk regarding security, privacy, and confidentiality. The conclusion is that, as with their technically more complex electronic health records sibling, personal health records require a fundamental re-working of the legal model applicable to all electronic health records.
If Case Management Services are Outsourced, What Should Be Included in the Service Agreement?

The panel approach provides a forum for sharing ideas, viewpoints, and perspectives. Panel members come with expertise from a variety of case management arenas and have agreed to share their opinions and perspectives in response to specific questions or scenarios. Opinions and perspectives are those of the panel members, and do not necessarily represent the views of AAOHN, the Editor, or the Publisher. We encourage readers to submit their questions or scenarios for the panel. This month's panel members include Norman DePaul Brown and Susan Katz Sliski.
Operant eyeblink conditioning without awareness: A preliminary report

Ss were instructed that pennies could be earned for lever pressing. After a while lever presses were made non-functional and pennies were earned for eyeblinks according to DRL and FR schedules. The Ss never became aware of this change and lever pressing rates remained high. Blink rates of all Ss changed to conform with the reinforcement schedules.
Lying with the Enemy: Militant Islam in the Global Arena

Osama bin Laden’s rhetoric has consistently voiced a desire for global equality between Muslims and Christians, or between the Islamic world and the West. Having accused America of hypocrisy as far as its advancement of this equality is concerned, Bin Laden turns his attention to the only form in which he thinks such equality is now possible: the equality of death. This is why he has repeatedly emphasized the need for an equivalence of terror between the Muslim world and America, as if this were the only form in which the two might come together and even communicate one with the other. For Al-Qaeda, terror is the only form in which global freedom and equality are now available. Terror therefore functions as the dark side of America’s own democracy, as inseparable from it as an evil twin. So in the aftermath of the 2005 Madrid bombings, Bin Laden issued a statement in which he defined terrorism as an effort to universalize security as a human right, if only by refusing to accept its monopolization by the West. For equality demanded that security should be enjoyed by all or by none.
Simulation of a Bi-modal Large Droplet Icing Cloud in the NASA Icing Research Tunnel

‡† ‡ ‡ An experimental effort was recently undertaken to simulate an icing cloud containing Super-cooled Large Droplets (SLD) in the Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) at the NASA Glenn Research Center. A spray sequencing method was used to reproduce the bimodal droplet distribution normally found in SLD clouds in nature. The spray sequencing process consisted of setting two different spray bar manifold pressures, each representing separate drop size and Liquid Water Content (LWC) conditions, and then spraying a target airfoil using several different sequence patterns. The spray bar conditions used were selected to produce the same freezing fraction conditions at the stagnation line on the airfoil in order to maintain thermal continuity from one spray exposure to the next. Results of the experiments include ice shape tracings and photographs of the various exposures. Ice shape tracings are then compared to identify differences in ice shape features resulting from the various sequencing patterns.
Control of Sunflower Moth Larvae and Their Damage to Sunflower Seeds

Investigations on the control of the sunflower moth, Homoeosoma electellum (Hulst), conducted during several seasons have shown that certain insecticides satisfactorily reduced sunflower-head and seed damage when multiple applications were timed properly. Endosulfan and diazinon afforded the most efficient control among the commercially available materials tested. These treatments must begin at onset of bloom and 3 applications at intervals of 5-7 days are optimum. Two applications were a minimum requirement. but 3 were generally needed because of the fast head growth, quick flowering, and concentrated egg deposition during this period. A biological agent was found to be unsatisfactory for control, and only one of several code-named chemicals tested. GS 13005 ( O,O -dimethyl phosphorodithioate S-ester with 4-(mercaptomethyl)-2-methoxy-∆2-1,3,4-thiadiazolin-5-one was outstanding. A new inbred selection of sunflower plants had many advantages for this test work, especially because of its shorter stalks and large heads and seeds. It bloomed early and uniformly for a shorter period; this feature appeared to retard the buildup of infestations and made chemical control easier. One larva severely damaged 9 or more seeds; moderate to severe infestations of 12-24 larvae per head caused serious seed loss. Pesticide control was generally needed for growing the crop, but the actual amount of damage varied from season to season.
Political Legitimacy and China's Transition

This study reveals a distinctive Chinese cognitive model of political legitimacy, and analyzes how political leaders in Beijing have maintained its legitimacy through cultivating different elements of this traditional model. The central argument developed in this study is that so far the government in Beijing has shown remarkable adaptability to a changing political environment. However, the transition towards a market economy has redefined the meanings of the century-old cognitive model. Consequently, the existing system of legitimization is being seriously challenged.
Human Genetic Defects Resulting in Increased Susceptibility to Viral Infections

Protection against viral infections requires a complex series of mechanisms, including integrity of epithelial and mucosal barriers, cell-intrinsic mechanisms of recognition of viral nucleic acids, and both innate and adaptive immune responses. In particular, T and natural killer (NK) cells play a critical role in antiviral immune responses by killing virus-infected cells. Moreover, recognition of viral nucleic acids by Toll-like receptors and RIG-I/MDA5 induce type I and type III interferon (IFN) responses in virus-infected cells, promoting expression of IFN-dependent genes, which encode proteins that restrain viral replication and infectivity. This article reviews a large number of inborn errors of immunity that result in increased susceptibility to viral infections, either in the context of a broader susceptibility to infections or as selective predisposition to viral infections.
Special considerations in the surgical care of infants.

(1957). Special Considerations in the Surgical Care of Infants. Postgraduate Medicine: Vol. 22, No. 5, pp. 492-500.
Fukuoka criteria accurately predict risk for adverse outcomes during follow-up of pancreatic cysts presumed to be intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms

Objective Fukuoka consensus guidelines classify pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) presumed to be intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) into Fukuoka positive (FP) (subgroups of high-risk (HR) and worrisome features (WFs)) and Fukuoka negative (FN) (non-HR feature/WF cysts). We retrospectively estimated 5-year risk of pancreatic cancer (PC) in FN, WF and HR cysts of patients with PCL-IPMN. Design From Mayo Clinic databases, we randomly selected 2000 patients reported to have a PCL; we excluded inflammatory or suspected non-IPMN cysts and those without imaging follow-up. We re-reviewed cross-sectional imaging and abstracted clinical and follow-up data on PCL-IPMNs. The study contained 802 patients with FN cysts and 358 with FP cysts. Results Patients with PCL-IPMN had median (IQR) follow-up of 4.2 (1.8–7.1) years. Among FN cysts, 5-year PC risk was low (2–3%) regardless of cyst size (p=0.67). After excluding events in the first 6 months, 5-year PC risk remained low (0–2%) regardless of cyst size (p=0.61). Among FP cysts, HR cysts (n=66) had greater 5-year PC risk than WF cysts (n=292) (49.7% vs 4.1%; p 10 mm (79.8% vs 37.3% vs 39.4%, respectively; p=0.01). Conclusions Fukuoka guidelines accurately stratify PCL-IPMNs for PC risk, with FN cysts having lowest and HR cysts having greatest risk. After 6-month follow-up, WF and FN cysts had a low 5-year PC risk. Surveillance strategies should be tailored appropriately.
Queering Repression and Gender Codes

Chapter 2 brings together two classical Hollywood films by the only women working as directors in the era of the studio system: Dorothy Arzner and Ida Lupino. Craig’s Wife and The Hitch-Hiker are early prototypical examples and outliers of carefully coded disruptive feminism. Both films expose gender conventions as potentially pathological. Craig’s Wife revolves around a pathological white female who is destroyed by her attempts to conform to the norms of patriarchy during the Depression era, and The Hitch-Hiker is about a repressed queer serial killer, a malignant narcissist who is desperate to prove his straightness, whiteness, and masculinity through sadistic and sociopathic homicidal behavior. Arzner and Lupino are equally adept at invoking disruptive feminism, especially in their use of codes known to subvert the censorship of the times.
Diffraction as a Method of Critical Policy Analysis

AbstractRecent developments in critical policy analysis have occurred alongside the new materialisms in qualitative research. These lines of scholarship have unfolded along two separate, but related, tracks. In particular, the new materialist method of diffraction aligns with many elements of critical policy analysis. Both involve critical theory, complexity and multiple analyses. To examine diffraction as a potential method of critical policy analysis, this paper enacts Karen Barad’s method of diffraction through the theoretical writings of Jane Bennett and Gloria Anzaldua. Using the example of teacher leaders who are involved in educational policy, Bennett’s vibrant ecologies illustrate ecosystems of teacher leadership and Anzaldua’s borderlands demonstrate how teacher leaders bridge their roles within multiple layers of community, governance and identity. Through the method of diffraction, critical policy analyses may produce broader perspectives regarding the ways in which differing stakeholders, grou...
Gamma ray bursts – galactic or cosmic?

Gamma-ray bursts are powerful transient events which have enormous diversity in their energy spectra and intensity–time profiles. More than 700 gamma-ray bursts have been observed over the last 25 years but their origin is still not understood. A wide variety of sources, ranging from stellar flares to cosmic strings, have been proposed. Nonetheless, studies of the spectral and temporal properties of such emissions have strongly suggested that the sources of most bursts are galactic, magnetic neutron stars, in which episodic accretion, thermonuclear runaway and core quakes might all give rise to the burst of gamma-rays.