cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Genome-wide association replicates the association of Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC) polymorphisms with serum monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) levels in Hispanic children.

Abstract Obesity is associated with a chronic low inflammatory state characterized by elevated levels of chemokines. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is a member of the cysteine–cysteine (CC) chemokine family and is increased in obesity. The purpose of this study was to identify loci regulating serum MCP-1 in obese Hispanic children from the Viva La Familia Study. A genome-wide association (GWA) analysis was performed in 815 children, ages 4–19 years, using genotypes assayed with the Illumina HumanOmni1-Quad v1.0 BeadChips. All analyses were performed in SOLAR using a linear regression-based test under an additive model of allelic effect, while accounting for the relatedness of family members via a kinship variance component. The strongest association for MCP-1 levels was found with a non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs12075, resulting in an amino acid substitution (Asp42Gly) in the Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines ( DARC ) gene product (minor allele frequency = 43.6%, p = 1.3 × 10 −21 ) on chromosome 1. Four other DARC SNPs were also significantly associated with MCP-1 levels ( p −16 –10 −6 ). The Asp42Gly variant was associated with higher levels of MCP-1 and accounted for approximately 10% of its variability. In addition, MCP-1 levels were significantly associated with SNPs in chemokine receptor 3 ( CCR3 ) and caspase recruitment domain family, member 9 ( CARD9 ). In summary, the association of the DARC Asp42Gly variant with MCP-1 levels replicates previous GWA results substantiating a potential role for DARC in the regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines.
Solid State Dynamics of Glassy Polycarbonate-Diluent Systems

The molecular origin of relaxations in glassy polymers remains a subject of considerable discussion. In this work, the sub-TG motions in bisphenol-A polycarbonate (BPAPC) are investigated with the aid of high-resolution solid
Spatiotemporal and tissue specific distribution of apoptosis in the developing chick heart

To investigate spatial and temporal distributions of apoptosis in the embryonic chick heart and its relation to different tissue types, we examined apoptosis in the embryonic chick heart from Hamburger and Hamilton stage 17 through 3 days after hatching. MF20 antibody, alpha-smooth muscle actin (SMA) antibody and EAP-300 antibody were applied to delineate specific cell types. During early development of the embryonic chick heart, very few apoptotic cells were detected. The first distinctive zone of apoptosis was observed in the outflow tract at stage 25. This focus was most prominent during septation of the pulmonary artery from the aorta (i.e., between stages 28 and 29), and diminished to virtually background level by stage 32, except in the subconal regions. Subsequently, remarkable apoptosis appeared in the atrioventricular cushions by stage 26, peaked at stages 29-31, and dropped significantly thereafter. Characteristic distribution patterns of apoptotic cells were also detected in the cardiac conduction tissues, including the His bundle, the bundle branches, and the ventricular trabeculae. After stage 36, cell death dropped to background level, except in developing coronary vessels. MF20 and TUNEL double staining revealed that apoptosis in cardiomyocytes was limited to a few specific regions, much less than in cushion tissues. SMA and TUNEL double staining demonstrated that vascular structures were the major foci of apoptosis from stage 40 to 44, whereas adjacent perivascular Purkinje cells displayed significantly less cell death at these stages. The characteristic spatiotemporal locations of apoptosis parallel the morphologic changes and tissue differentiation during heart development, suggesting that apoptosis is crucial to the transformation of the heart from a simple tube to a complex multichambered pump.
Kinetic and Spectroscopic Evidence of Negative Cooperativity in the Action of Lysine 2,3-Aminomutase

Lysine 2,3-aminomutase (LAM) catalyzes the interconversion of l-lysine and l-β-lysine, a component of a number of antibiotics. The reaction requires the cofactors S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM), pyridoxal-5′-phosphate (PLP), and a [4Fe-4S] cluster. LAM is a founding member of the radical SAM superfamily of enzymes. LAM is highly specific for l-lysine and will not accept most other amino acids as substrates. l-Alanine and l-2-aminobutyrate at 0.2 M react as substrates for LAM at, respectively, 5 × 10−6 and 8 × 10−5 times the rate with saturating l-lysine. Saturating ethylamine accelerates the l-alanine reaction 70-fold, and saturating methylamine accelerates the l-2-aminobutyrate reaction 47-fold. The primary amines binding at the active site of LAM with l-alanine or l-2-aminobutyrate simulate l-lysine. The steady-state kinetics of the reaction of l-alanine + ethylamine displays negative cooperativity with respect to l-alanine. The second-order rate constant for production of β-alanine in the reaction of l-...
Mutations that disrupt DNA binding and dimer formation in the E47 helix-loop-helix protein map to distinct domains.

A common DNA binding and dimerization domain containing an apparent "helix-loop-helix" (HLH) structure was recognized recently in a number of regulatory proteins, including the E47 and E12 proteins that bind to the kappa E2 motif in immunoglobulin kappa gene enhancer. The effect of site-directed mutagenesis on E47 protein multimerization and DNA binding was examined. Mutations in either putative helix domain disrupted protein dimerization and DNA binding. No DNA binding was observed when mutations were introduced in the basic region, but these mutants were able to dimerize. These basic region mutants were not able to bind to DNA as heterodimers with the wild-type E47 proteins, demonstrating that two functional basic regions are required for binding to DNA. Therefore the basic region mutants are "transdominant."
Hairpin Formation in Tn5 Transposition

The initial chemical steps in Tn5transposition result in blunt end cleavage of the transposon from the donor DNA. We demonstrate that this cleavage occurs via a hairpin intermediate. The first step is a 3′ hydrolytic nick by transposase. The free 3′OH then attacks the phosphodiester bond on the opposite strand, forming a hairpin at the transposon end. In addition to forming precise hairpins, Tn5 transposase can form imprecise hairpins. This is the first example of imprecise hairpin formation on transposon end DNA. To undergo strand transfer, the hairpin must to be resolved by a transposase-catalyzed hydrolytic cleavage. We show that both precise and imprecise hairpins are opened by transposase. A transposition mechanism utilizing a hairpin intermediate allows a single transposase active site to cleave both 3′ and 5′ strands without massive protein/DNA rearrangements.
Emergency treatment of asthma. A comparison of two treatment regimens.

The effectiveness of epinephrine was compared to that of a combination of epinephrine and aminophylline in the initial treatment of acute asthma. Forty-four patients with 51 episodes of acute asthma were evaluated. Peak flow spirometry served as an objective measure of airway resistance, and theophylline levels were determined at fixed intervals throughout the study. Epinephrine and aminophylline were not found to be superior to epinephrine alone. There was no correlation between mean serum theophylline levels and the magnitude of improvement. Rapidity of emergency department discharge and frequency of admission was independent of treatment method. The failure of epinephrine-aminophylline to effect more rapid or profound improvement in pulmonary function might suggest that epinephrine alone, or an equivalent sympathomimetic is a rational choice in the initial treatment of acute asthma. (JAMA242:639-643, 1979)
Quadratic assignment algorithms for the dynamic layout problem

In a dynamic facilities layout problem, the objective is to minimize total costs: the flow costs over a series of discrete time periods plus the rearrangement costs of changing layouts between time periods. By assuming unit department sizes, the problem is modelled as a modified quadratic assignment problem. Five algorithms are modified to include the dynamic aspects. A cutting plane algorithm found the best solutions to a series of realistic test problems, outperforming exchange, branch and bound, dynamic programming and cut tree algorithms. It was able to solve a 30-location 5-time-period problem in 200 CPU seconds.
Non-stationarity of the signal and noise characteristics of seasonal precipitation anomalies

In order to improve seasonal-to-interannual precipitation forecasts and their application by decision makers, there is a clear need to understand when, where, and to what extent seasonal precipitation anomalies are driven by potentially predictable surface–atmosphere interactions versus to chaotic interannual atmospheric dynamics. Using a simple Monte Carlo approach, interannual variability and linear trends in the SST-forced signal and potential predictability of boreal winter precipitation anomalies is examined in an ensemble of twentieth century AGCM simulations. Signal and potential predictability are shown to be non-stationary over more than 80% of the globe, while chaotic noise is shown to be stationary over most of the globe. Correlation analysis with respect to magnitudes of the four leading modes of global SST variability suggests that interannual variability and trends in signal and potential predictability over 35% of the globe is associated with ENSO-related SST variability; signal and potential predictability are not significantly associated with SST modes characterized by a global SST trend, North Atlantic SST variability, and North Pacific SST variability, respectively. Results suggest that mechanisms other than SST variability contribute to the non-stationarity of signal and noise characteristics of hydroclimatic variability over mid- and high-latitude regions.
Selling your business: Avoid today's hazards

In the current economic climate, those selling a business are forced to be extremely cautious. There are many pitfalls to avoid-making the transaction even more complex. The author explains how sellers can avoid deadly hazards with a key five-step process. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
State and local government set-aside programs and minority business development in the post-croson era: the efficacy of disparity studies

Since the Supreme Court's decision in City I of Richmond v. J. A. Croson in early 1989, disparity studies or minority business studies or discrimination studies have become a focal point in state and local government jurisdictions' Minority Business Enterprise set-aside policies. Disparity studies have been conducted in more than sixty jurisdictions around the United States. This article discusses (1) the status of MBE set-aside programs after Croson, (2) examines the efficacy of disparity studies as mechanisms for justifying the adoption or continuation of set-aside programs in state and local governmental jurisdictions, (3) provides discussion of specific procedural analyses which have been major components of a disparity study and (4) provides a summary discussion of disparity studies conducted in five jurisdictions. The conclusion notes several weaknesses of disparity studies that, if addressed, would enhance their utilty.
Creating Readiness for Organizational Change

The purpose of this article is to clarify the readiness for change concept and examine how change agents can influence employee readiness for organizational change. The article contributes to an improved understanding of change dynamics in four important ways. First, readiness for change is distinguished from resistance to change. Readiness is described in terms of the organizational members' beliefs, attitudes, and intentions. Second, a model is offered that describes the influence strategies as well as the importance of change agent credibility and interpersonal and social dynamics in the readiness creation process. Third, by combining urgency of, and employee readiness for, needed changes, a typology of readiness programs is offered. Fourth, a large multinational corporation's efforts to create readiness for large-scale change are described to provide a cogent illustration of the various readiness interventions described in the model.
ON THE SCATTERING OF SOUND BY A RECTILINEAR VORTEX

Abstract A re-examination is made of the two-dimensional interaction of a plane, time-harmonic sound wave with a rectilinear vortex of small core diameter at low Mach number. Sakov [1] and Ford and Smith [2] have independently resolved the “infinite forward scatter” paradox encountered in earlier applications of the Born approximation to this problem. The first order scattered field (Born approximation) has nulls in the forward and back scattering directions, but the interaction of the wave with non-acoustically compact components of the vortex velocity field causes wavefront distortion, and the phase of the incident wave to undergo a significant variation across a parabolic domain whose axis extends along the direction of forward scatter from the vortex core. The transmitted wave crests of the incident wave become concave and convex, respectively, on opposite sides of the axis of the parabola, and focusing and defocusing of wave energy produces corresponding increases and decreases in wave amplitude. Wave front curvature decreases with increasing distance from the vortex core, with the result that the wave amplitude and phase are asymptotically equal to the respective values they would have attained in the absence of the vortex. The transverse acoustic dipole generated by translational motion of the vortex at the incident wave acoustic particle velocity, and the interaction of the incident wave with acoustically compact components of the vortex velocity field, are responsible for a system of cylindrically spreading, scattered waves outside the parabolic domain.
Understanding Internal Structure Characteristics of Foamed Asphalt Mixes with Fracture Face Image Analyses

The rate of use of full-depth reclamation with foamed asphalt to rehabilitate cracked pavements is increasing worldwide. However, the state-of-the-art understanding of foamed asphalt mixes and the state-of- the-practice engineering application are largely empirical because of the lack of in-depth knowledge of this material's internal structure characteristics. A fracture face image analysis framework for quantification of the asphalt mastic phase distribution in foamed asphalt mixes, which is a key microscopic structure characteristic, is described. Fracture face asphalt coverage is a quantitative indicator of asphalt spot distribution on fractured faces and is primarily a function of the asphalt dispersion in the mix, the relative strengths of the asphalt mastic and mineral filler phases, and the boundary conditions of specimen compaction and testing. Fracture face image analyses combined with laboratory testing results are presented. It was found that (a) the strength of the asphalt mastic phase is much...
Managing Strategic Contradictions: A Top Management Model for Managing Innovation Streams

Sustained organizational performance depends on top management teams effectively exploring and exploiting. These strategic agendas are, however, associated with contradictory organizational architectures. Using the literature on paradox, contradictions, and conflict, we develop a model of managing strategic contradictions that is associated with paradoxical cognition-senior leaders and/or their teams (a) articulating a paradoxical frame, (b) differentiating between the strategy and architecture for the existing product and those for innovation, and (c) integrating between those strategies and architectures. We further argue that the locus of paradox in top management teams resides either with the senior leader or with the entire team. We identify a set of top management team conditions that facilitates a team's ability to engage in paradoxical cognitive processes.
Effects of porphyrin composition on the activity and selectivity of the iron(III) porphyrin catalysts for the epoxidation of cyclooctene by hydrogen peroxide

Abstract A detailed investigation was carried out of the effects of porphyrin composition on the activity and selectivity of iron(III) porphyrin catalysts used for the epoxidation of cyclooctene by hydrogen peroxide. Under conditions where the formation of μ-oxo-dimers can be avoided, the mechanism of cyclooctene epoxidation and hydrogen peroxide decomposition are identical for all of the porphyrin catalysts investigated. It is observed that as the electron-withdrawing character of the phenyl groups is enhanced through halogenation, the tendency of iron(III) porphyrin chloride to dissociate decreases, but the Lewis acidity of the resulting iron(III) porphyrin cation increases. Increasing the Lewis acidity of the Fe(III) center also enhances the rate of heterolytic versus homolytic cleavage of the O–O bond of coordinated hydrogen peroxide, as well as the rate hydrogen peroxide consumption for olefin epoxidation versus peroxide decomposition. We have also shown that solvent composition affects both the extent of hydrogen peroxide coordination to the iron(III) porphyrin cation, thus affecting its activity, and the reactivity of hydrogen peroxide with the iron(IV) pi-radical cation, thus affecting the selectivity with which hydrogen peroxide is used for epoxidation.
Use of Distillers Dried Grains Plus Solubles in Laying Hen Diets

SUMMARY A major emphasis on ethanol production in the US has led to the construction of new ethanol plants and an increased production of distillers dried grains plus solubles (DDGS). In the past DDGS came largely from the beverage industry and consisted of several grains used during fermentation. Recently, a majority of the DDGS produced is from corn fermentation for ethanol production. Little research has been conducted to test the use of this new generation DDGS from modern ethanol plants in laying hen diets. Hy-line W-36 laying hens were used to test an elevated inclusion level of DDGS from modern ethanol plants that can be incorporated into layer diets. Hens were fed a commercial or low-density diet formulated to contain 0 or 15% DDGS for 25 to 43 wk of age. No differences were observed in the majority of parameters evaluated between hens fed 0% or 15% DDGS. However, there was a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in hen-day egg production through 35 wk of age when hens were fed the low-density diet with 15% DDGS. Hens fed the commercial diet with 15% DDGS had numerically lower egg production to 32 wk of age, but this was not statistically significant. Distillers dried grains plus solubles proved to be an acceptable feed ingredient for laying hen diets. A suggested maximal inclusion level of 10 to 12% DDGS, based on these data and previous research, may be used in commercial diets, but it is speculated that DDGS should be incorporated at lower levels in low-density diets.
Cerebral ketone metabolism during development and injury

Summary Cerebral metabolism of ketones is a normal part of the process of brain development. While the mature brain relies on glucose as a primary fuel source, metabolism of ketone bodies remains an alternative energy source under conditions of starvation. The neuroprotective properties of brain ketone metabolism make this alternative substrate a viable therapeutic option for various pathologies. Since the ability to revert to utilizing ketones as an alternative substrate is greatest in the younger post-weaned brain, this particular therapeutic approach remains an untapped resource particularly for pediatric pathological conditions.
Barriers to substance abuse treatment in rural and urban communities: counselor perspectives.

The purpose of this study is to compare rural and urban substance abuse counselors’ perceptions of barriers to providing effective treatment services. Data were collected from 28 substance abuse counselors in Kentucky during four focus group sessions in 2008. Line-by-line coding and memoing were used by two raters on the transcribed data to isolate findings. The results of this study suggest that, though rural and urban counselors encounter similar constraints that hamper successful treatment outcomes, rural counselors are subject to special circumstances within their communities that present unique challenges to treatment efficacy. Novel contributions, implications, and limitations are also discussed.
Covariance and precision modeling in shared multiple subspaces

We introduce a class of Gaussian mixture models for HMM states in continuous speech recognition. In these models, the covariances or the precisions (inverse covariances) are restricted to lie in subspaces spanned by rank-one symmetric matrices. In both cases, the rank-one matrices are shared across classes of Gaussians. We show that, for the same number of parameters, modeling precisions leads to better performance when compared to modeling covariances. Modeling precisions however gives a distinct advantage in computational and memory requirements. We also show that this class of models provides improvement in accuracy (for the same number of parameters) over classical factor analysed models and the recently proposed EMLLT (extended maximum likelihood linear transform) models which are special instances of this class of models.
Messages Received: The Political Impact of Media Exposure

Analyses of the persuasive effects of media exposure outside the laboratory have generally produced negative results. I attribute such nonfindings in part to carelessness regarding the inferential consequences of measurement error and in part to limitations of research design. In an analysis of opinion change during the 1980 presidential campaign, adjusting for measurement error produces several strong media exposure effects, especially for network television news. Adjusting for measurement error also makes preexisting opinions look much more stable, suggesting that the new information absorbed via media exposure must be about three times as distinctive as has generally been supposed in order to account for observed patterns of opinion change.
Determining the molecular weight distribution of Pocahontas No. 3 low-volatile bituminous coal utilizing HRTEM and laser desorption ionization mass spectra data

Abstract Knowledge of the molecular weight distribution is important for rationalizing coal behavior. While many analytical approaches generate average data, inclusion of coal’s inherent structural diversity would improve molecular representations of coal and their usefulness. The molecular weight distribution of Pocahontas No. 3 coal was estimated based on a new approach coupling HRTEM lattice fringe image data and laser desorption ionization mass spectra (LDIMS), constrained by elemental and NMR data. Assuming a shape for the large aromatic coal molecules allows the determination of the aromatic raft size distribution, and prediction of the molecular weight distribution from the HRTEM lattice fringe image analyses. Similar-shaped molecular weight profiles were obtained from these different techniques. Both distributions showed a sharp rise, fall and long tail, with the HRTEM profile being shifted to a lower mass in comparison to the LDIMS data. The mean molecular weight of an aromatic raft, 289 Da, was similar to 299 Da a value reported from NMR data. Cross-linking the fringes generated a diverse network structure of aromatic clusters with a reasonable aromatic H/C ratio and a molecular weight distribution within the appropriate ranges from laser desorption data. A rationale for molecular diversity determination, necessary for large-scale molecular modeling, for a high-rank coal is proposed.
3-D extraction techniques for signal integrity analysis

In this survey paper we describe recently developed techniques for 3-D extraction of complicated interconnect structures which are both fast and sufficiently accurate to perform signal integrity analysis.
Beware the Dynamic C-Element

The C-element is a well known component of asynchronous circuits. To overcome problems of current CMOS technologies, its use has even been extended to specific domains of the synchronous paradigm, such as clock generation, clock gating, and registers. An economical implementation of this component is the dynamic C-element. Its advantages over static implementations are reduced power, transition, and propagation delays as well as lower silicon area. Yet, research evaluating its electrical behavior, functionality, and robustness is scarce. This brief presents an in-depth analysis of the dynamic C-element electrical behavior. The analysis points to a constrained nature, which can lead to undefined output logic values, as well as excessive static power consumption. The brief also proposes a technique for robust design of such components that avoids such undefined values.
Marginalized models for longitudinal ordinal data with application to quality of life studies.

Random effects are often used in generalized linear models to explain the serial dependence for longitudinal categorical data. Marginalized random effects models (MREMs) for the analysis of longitudinal binary data have been proposed to permit likelihood-based estimation of marginal regression parameters. In this paper, we introduce an extension of the MREM to accommodate longitudinal ordinal data. Maximum marginal likelihood estimation is implemented utilizing quasi-Newton algorithms with Monte Carlo integration of the random effects. Our approach is applied to analyze the quality of life data from a recent colorectal cancer clinical trial. Dropout occurs at a high rate and is often due to tumor progression or death. To deal with progression/death, we use a mixture model for the joint distribution of longitudinal measures and progression/death times and principal stratification to draw causal inferences about survivors.
Momentum transport by gravity waves

SUMMARY A review of theories concerning the propagation of internal gravity waves in a horizontally uniform shear flow concludes that an upward transport of horizontal momentum inevitably accompanies the generation of such waves in the atmosphere, the mean flow being affected only at precisely those levels where the waves are dissipated. If the mean wind depends on horizontal position there may be a continuous transfer of momentum from the waves to the mean flow during propagation. In the absence of intense clear air turbulence or a critical level where the intrinsic frequency vanishes, many waves propagate upwards to great heights, even if the mean wind is time dependent. Computations of the wave drag in a 19 m s-I gradient wind over hilly terrain in north Wales show that on that occasion it amounted to 4 dyne cm-*, of which 3 dyne cm-* probably acted on the atmosphere above 20 km.
High Strain-Rate Response Regimes for Dislocated Alloy Microstructures

Macroscopic shear stresses in the neighborhood of G/40 are to be expected when ductile metals are subjected to appreciable plastic deformation at ultrahigh rates of strain. This stress level is about 3× higher for structural aluminum alloys than the stresses in the familiar strain rate range below 103 per second and 50× times higher for single crystals of aluminum. A tentative explanation is given for the rapid and large change in the level of shear stress that Clifton has demonstrated to occur at a shear strain rate of the order of 105. Following an earlier analysis of quasistatic response, the level of stress at all rates of strain is attributed primarily to the current extent of the highly dislocated or disordered regions. The recommendation also is repeated to return to metal cutting for more information on the effect of both rate of strain and normal stress.
Synonymy of Neotropical Arboreal Termites Nasutitermes corniger and N. costalis (Isoptera: Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae), with Evidence from Morphology, Genetics, and Biogeography

Morphological examination of soldiers and imagos assigned to Nasutitermes corniger or N. costalis from 13 Neotropical countries and 42 West Indian islands revealed congruent characters and biometric overlap. A portion of the mitochondrial DNA 16S rRNA gene was sequenced from nine N. costalis and N. corniger samples. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the N. costalis/corniger DNA sequences relative to other Nasutitermes spp. supported the morphological evidence that these species are conspecific. Complementary biological, behavioral, biochemical, and reproductive ecology further support the presented synonymy. The senior synonym, N. corniger, is given nomenclatural precedence. The geographical distribution of N. corniger is revised.
THE ROLE OF PROTHYMOCYTES AND THE THYMIC MICROENVIRONMENT IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF THYMIC LYMPHOMAS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the role of prothymocytes and the thymic microenvironment in the pathogenesis of thymic lymphomas. The interaction between prothymocytes and the epithelial elements of the thymus results in the differentiation and maturation of thymus-derived lymphocytes. The expression of certain differentiation antigens on the surface of developing thymocytes has been linked to proviral genetic material. One of these differentiation antigens—GIX—is associated with the glycoprotein that is the outer coat of C-type RNA viruses. The expression of these antigens at sites of developmental cellular interaction suggests a possible role in normal control mechanisms. It also opens possibilities during abnormal differentiation events for the aberrant expression of proviral DNA, which in turn may result in the appearance of clones of leukemic T-lymphocytes. It has been demonstrated that thymus epithelium from aged, high leukemic strain, AKR/J mice directly initiates leukemic transformation in the absence of any exogenous murine leukemia virus. It has been postulated that the leukemogenie signal results from a virus that is an env gene recombinant between ecotropic and xenotropic C-type RNA viruses. AKR thymocytes cultured with TE monolayers from young mice express high titers of ecotropic virus but no xenotropic virus.
Comment: Marshall v. Marshall: The Supreme Court's Get-Out-of-Probate-Free Card

The probate exception to federal jurisdiction is a legal doctrine self-imposed by federal courts barring jurisdiction over probating wills or administering estates, or related actions that would interfere with property in the custody of state courts. Courts have struggled with cases that fall at the margins of the exception, creating one of the most mysterious and esoteric branches of the law of federal jurisdiction. In Marshall v. Marshall, the Supreme Court addressed the federal probate exception for the first time in over 60 years. Eight members of the Court held that the doctrine was legitimate, but more narrow than many lower courts thought. Unfortunately, the decision leaves as many questions as answers. The history, scope and purpose of the federal probate exception, as well as its place in the Supreme Court's federal jurisdiction jurisprudence, has already been treated by other authors. I will examine Marshall's practical consequences from the perspective of probate law and for those who find themselves challenging the validity of a will or trust.
Gastric volume rather than nutrient content inhibits food intake

To evaluate the separate contributions of distension and nutrient stimulation of the stomach to the inhibition of short-term food intake and, particularly, to reassess previous analyses based on the inflatable gastrointestinal cuff, four experiments were performed. Rats equipped with pyloric cuffs and indwelling gastric catheters consumed a liquid diet ad libitum. Their consumption during short-term (30 min) feeding bout was measured after gastric infusions on cuff-open and cuff-closed trials. Animals taking meals (approximately 5 ml) with cuffs closed immediately after receiving intragastric infusions of 2.5, 5, 7.5, or 10 ml of normal saline exhibited both suppression at the smallest infusion and a dose-dependent reduction across the other volumes (experiment 1). Additionally, when the test diet concentration was varied, animals with their cuffs closed consumed a constant volume, not a constant number of calories (experiment 2). Furthermore, cuff-closed animals exhibited no more suppression to 5-ml intragastric infusions of nutrients (including, on different trials, 50 and 100% Isocal diet; 10, 20, and 40% glucose; and 40% sucrose and 40% fructose) than to the same volume of saline (experiments 3 and 4). In contrast, on cuff-open trials in which gastric contents could empty into the duodenum, these same nutrient loads were more effective (except fructose) than saline in producing suppression of food intake. In summary, although both limited gastric distension with the pylorus occluded and intestinal nutrient stimulation with the cuff open effectively reduced intake, cuff-closed gastric loads of mixed macronutrients or carbohydrate solutions of 2-8 kcal, pH from 5.8 to 6.7, and osmolarities between 117 and 2,294 mosM/kg produced only the distension-based suppression generated by the same volume of saline.
Sex-specific IL-6-associated signaling activation in ozone-induced lung inflammation

Acute ozone (O3) exposure has known deleterious effects on the respiratory system and has been linked with respiratory disease and infection. Inflammatory lung disease induced by air pollution has demonstrated greater severity and poorer prognosis in women vs. men. Both severe damage to the bronchial-alveolar epithelium and malfunctioning of bronchial-blood barrier have been largely attributed to the pathobiology of O3-induced inflammatory response, but the associated mechanisms in the male and female lung remain unknown. Here, we investigated sex-based differential regulation of lung interleukin-6 (IL-6) and its downstream signaling pathways JAK2/STAT3 and AKT1/NF-κB in response to O3 exposure in a mouse model. We exposed male and female mice (in different stages of the estrous cycle) to 2 ppm of O3 or filtered air (FA) for 3 h, and we harvested lung tissue for protein expression analysis by Western blot. We found significant up-regulation of IL-6 and IL-6R in females and IL-6 in males in response to O3 vs. FA. Ozone exposure induced a significant increase in STAT3-Y705 phosphorylation in both females and males. Males exposed to O3 had decreased levels of JAK2, but increased JAK2 (Y1007+Y1008) phosphorylation, while females exposed to O3 showed significant up-regulation of both proteins. Both NF-κB (p105/p50) and AKT1 protein levels were significantly increased only in females exposed to O3. In addition, females exposed to O3 during proestrus displayed increased expression of selected genes when compared to females exposed to O3 in other estrous cycle stages. Together, our observations indicate a sex-based and estrous cycle-dependent differential lung inflammatory response to O3 and involvement of two converging JAK2/STAT3 and AKT1/NF-κB pathways. To our knowledge, this is the first study specifically addressing the impact of the estrous cycle in O3-associated lung inflammatory pathways.
The crystal structure of jadeite, NaAlSi2O6

The crystal structure of naturally occurring pure jadeite has been refined by least-squares methods using single-crystal x-ray intensity data obtained by counter-diffractometer techniques. This jadeite is monoclinic, space group C2/c, with cell dimensions
Response and failure analysis of a graphite-epoxy laminate containing terminating internal plies

A change in laminate thickness due to terminating internal plies acts as a str-ess riser for both intralamina and interlamina stresses. This laminate configuration is referred to as a ply drop. The linear elastic, three-dimensional stress distributions in the vicinity of a ply drop are determined for a graphite-epoxy laminate subject to axial tension and compression by a finite element analysis. It is shown that the interlaminar stresses have a maximum magnitude at the ply drop-off, and decrease proceeding away from the drop. The interlaminar stresses vanish in regions sufficiently removed from the ply dropoff. Two modes of failure initiation are analyzed. In the pure resin regions surrounding the dropped plies, the maximum stress criterion is assumed to govern failure. The Tsai-Wu criterion is used for intralamina failure prediction. The influence of two laminate lay-ups and a variety of ply drop geometries on the rbsponse and failure are presented.
Modification of boron nitride ceramic to replicate hall effect thruster surface wear

Pristine and worn Hall-effect thruster boron nitride channel materials show significant differences in surface features, and chemical compositions. Worn thruster channels are typically created by running test thrusters in vacuum chambers for hundreds of hours. This paper studies ways to manually modified pristine samples of boron nitride without the use of a Hall-effect thruster. Sandpaper and abrasive blaster tests were used to modify surface roughness values of sample from 10,000 A to 150,000 A. These values match the range of surface roughness seen in worn Hall-effect thrusters. Vacuum heat treatments were preformed on samples, these treatments showed the ability to modify chemical compositions of boron nitride samples, but not in a manner matching changes seen in worn thruster channels.
Low catalyst loaded ethanol gas fuel cell sensor

Abstract Fuel cell sensors with polymer electrolyte membrane for ethanol gas concentration measurement in human exhaled breath were studied for the purpose of reduction of platinum (Pt) catalyst loading in both sensor electrodes and decreasing the sensor production cost. The sensors with Nafion electrolyte and different catalyst loading electrodes including 10, 20, 30, and 40% Pt/C with 0.1, 0.2, 0.25, and 0.3 mg/cm2 Pt loadings, respectively, were fabricated and tested in this study. The results confirm that the sensor catalyst loading can be reduced by approximately 130 times compared to the catalyst loading in commercial sensors without notably changes on the sensor performance. In addition, fabrication of sensors with very low Pt loading on the cathode side is possible and can be economically favorable for manufacturing ethanol gas sensors. It also has been shown that the peak current density measurement method, which expedites the sensor recovering time, can be used for low catalyst loading sensors due to the observation of very good linearity behavior of the sensor with changing the ethanol gas concentration.
The Racial Discipline Gap: Critically Examining Policy, Culture, and Leadership in a Struggling Urban District

Exclusionary discipline and the implementation of zero-tolerance policies are disproportionately used against African American students and other marginalized groups. This case involves an urban school district with historically high rates of suspension, a low-performing middle school, and a new principal seeking to create a more socially just school. The case draws upon critical race theory and social justice leadership to explore issues related to urban education, discipline policy, racism, deficit thinking, and community engagement. The case raises important questions related to educational policy and principal preparation.
Verifying Real-Time Software Is Not Reasonable (Today) - Abstract of Invited Talk.

Verification is about demonstrating that a formal system holds certain properties. It is particularly important to verify safety-critical real-time control software, such as aircraft or automotive control systems. Unfortunately, many of the properties that need to be verified for such systems are not actually part of the formal system defined by the software. It therefore makes no sense to verify the software. So what should be verified? It is glib to say that ”the system” must be verified, because ”the system” is not a formal system. It is a bundle of silicon and wires. Only a model of the system can be verified. What model? If the semantics of software is extended to include temporal properties, then verifying real-time software becomes possible. In this talk, I will argue that such extensions are practical and effective, but that they require rethinking software abstractions at a rather fundamental level. Moreover, they require reengineering of many performance optimizations that computer architects, compiler designers, and operating system designers have instituted. I will show for some of these that such reengineering yields designs that have competitive performance and verifiable timing. The work reported in this talk was supported in part by the Center for Hybrid and Embedded Software Systems (CHESS) at UC Berkeley (supported by the National Science Foundation, NSF awards #0720882 (CSR-EHS: PRET) and #0931843 (ActionWebs), the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL #N0013-12-1-G015), and the following companies: Bosch, National Instruments, and Toyota). A. Biere, A. Nahir, and T. Vos (Eds.): HVC 2012, LNCS 7857, p. 2, 2013. c © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
The Rise of Concussions in the Adolescent Population.

BACKGROUND: Concussion injuries have been highlighted to the American public through media and research. While recent studies have shown increased traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) diagnosed in emergency departments across the United States, no studies have evaluated trends in concussion diagnoses across the general US population in various age groups. PURPOSE: To evaluate the current incidence and trends in concussions diagnosed across varying age groups and health care settings in a large cross-sectional population. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiological study. METHODS: Administrative health records of 8,828,248 members of a large private-payer insurance group in the United States were queried. Patients diagnosed with concussion from years 2007 through 2014 were stratified by year of diagnosis, age group, sex, classification of concussion, and health care setting of diagnosis (eg, emergency department vs physician's office). Chi-square testing was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: From a cohort of 8,828,248 patients, 43,884 patients were diagnosed with a concussion. Of these patients, 55% were male and over 32% were in the adolescent age group (10-19 years old). The highest incidence of concussion was seen in patients aged 15 to 19 years (16.5/1000 patients), followed by those aged 10 to 14 years (10.5/1000 patients), 20 to 24 years (5.2/1000 patients), and 5 to 9 years (3.5/1000 patients). Overall, there was a 60% increase in concussion incidence from 2007 to 2014. The largest increases were in the 10- to 14-year (143%) and 15- to 19-year (87%) age groups. Based on International Classification of Disease-9th Revision classification, 29% of concussions were associated with some form of loss of consciousness. Finally, 56% of concussions were diagnosed in the emergency department and 29% in a physician's office, with the remainder in urgent care clinics or inpatient settings. CONCLUSION: The incidence of concussion diagnosed in the general US population is increasing, driven largely by a substantial rise in the adolescent age group. The youth population should be prioritized for ongoing work in concussion education, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The rise of concussions in the adolescent age group across the general population is concerning, and clinical efforts to prevent these injuries are needed. Language: en
Hypoxia-induced catecholamine release from rat carotid body, in vitro, during maturation and following chronic hypoxia.

Although it is well established that peripheral chemosensitivity is reduced in the newborn period compared to the adult, the reason for the reduced sensitivity is unclear. Two speculations are that low sensitivity is due to: 1) high tonic catecholamine secretion (Hertzberg et al., 1990), and 2) low secretory response to hypoxia (Donnelly 1993). To begin to address these speculations we measured free tissue catecholamine levels at different ages and, in adults, following chronic hypoxia in rat carotid bodies, in vitro, using Nafioncoated, carbon fiber microelectrodes.
Energetic Description of Cohesion in Solids

The Role of the Total Energy in Modeling Materials A recurring theme in the study of materials is the connection between structure and properties. Whether our description of structure is made at the level of the crystal lattice or the defect arrangements that populate the material or even at the level of continuum deformation fields, a crucial prerequisite which precedes the connection of structure and properties is the ability to describe the total energy of the system of interest. In each case, we seeka function (or functional) such that given a description of the system's geometry, the energy of that system can be obtained on the basis of the kinematic measures that have been used to characterize that geometry. As we have discussed earlier (see chap. 2), the geometry of deformation may be captured in a number of different ways. Microscopic theories are based upon explicitly accounting for each and every atomic coordinate. Alternatively, a continuum description envisions a sort of kinematic slavery in which the motion of a continuum material particle implies the associated evolution of large numbers of microscopic coordinates. From the standpoint of microscopic theories, the computation of the total energy requires a description in terms of the atomic positions. In this instance, we seeka reliable function E tot ({ R i }), where { R i } refers to the set of all nuclear coordinates and serves to describe the geometry at the microscale. For a more complete analysis, this picture should reflect the electronic degrees of freedom as well.
Ophthalmic presentation of giant cell arteritis in African-Americans

PurposeTo determine the differences in the presentation of ophthalmic giant cell arteritis between African-Americans and Caucasians.MethodsThis was a multicenter retrospective case series comparing African-American patients with ophthalmic GCA to a previously published Caucasian cohort. Neuro-ophthalmic centers across the United States were contacted to provide data on African-American patients with biopsy-proven ophthalmic giant cell arteritis. The differences between African-American and Caucasian patients with respect to multiple variables, including age, sex, systemic and ophthalmic signs and symptoms, ocular ischemic lesions, and laboratory results were studied.ResultsThe Caucasian cohort was slightly older (mean=76.1 years) than the African-American cohort (mean=72.6 years, P=0.03), and there was no difference in sex distribution between the two cohorts. Headache, neck pain, and anemia were more frequent, while jaw claudication was less frequent in African-Americans (P<0.01, <0.001, 0.02, and 0.03 respectively). Acute vision loss was the most common presentation of giant cell arteritis in both groups, though it was less common in African-Americans (78 vs 98% of Caucasians, P<0.001). Eye pain was more common in African-Americans (28 vs 8% of Caucasians, P<0.01).ConclusionsThe presenting features of ophthalmic giant cell arteritis in African-Americans and Caucasians are not markedly different, although a few significant differences exist, including higher rates of headache, neck pain, anemia, and eye pain, and lower rates of jaw claudication and acute vision loss in African-Americans. Persons presenting with suspicious signs and symptoms should undergo evaluation for giant cell arteritis regardless of race.