cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Age-Specific Variation in Immune Response in Drosophila melanogaster Has a Genetic Basis

Immunosenescence, the age-related decline in immune system function, is a general hallmark of aging. While much is known about the cellular and physiological changes that accompany immunosenescence, we know little about the genetic influences on this phenomenon. In this study we combined age-specific measurements of bacterial clearance ability following infection with whole-genome measurements of the transcriptional response to infection and wounding to identify genes that contribute to the natural variation in immunosenescence, using Drosophila melanogaster as a model system. Twenty inbred lines derived from nature were measured for their ability to clear an Escherichia coli infection at 1 and 4 weeks of age. We used microarrays to simultaneously determine genome-wide expression profiles in infected and wounded flies at each age for 12 of these lines. Lines exhibited significant genetically based variation in bacterial clearance at both ages; however, the genetic basis of this variation changed dramatically with age. Variation in gene expression was significantly correlated with bacterial clearance ability only in the older age group. At 4 weeks of age variation in the expression of 247 genes following infection was associated with genetic variation in bacterial clearance. Functional annotation analyses implicate genes involved in energy metabolism including those in the insulin signaling/TOR pathway as having significant associations with bacterial clearance in older individuals. Given the evolutionary conservation of the genes involved in energy metabolism, our results could have important implications for understanding immunosenescence in other organisms, including humans.
Limitation of activity in an acute model of arthritis: Effect of drug treatment

Objective and Design: The limitation of activity and its modification by therapy in an experimental arthritis was studied.¶Subjects: Female hamsters in groups of six per treatment were used.¶Treatment: An acute arthritis was induced by intraarticular injection of 0.1 μg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in hamsters with free access to running wheels. Tenidap at 100 mg%, and piroxicam and indomethacin at 30 mg% were administered in the hamster's normal diet.¶Methods: Activity was monitored and analysed by computer. Plasma blood levels of drugs were determined by high pressure liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis.¶Results: Hamsters normally run 10–15 km/day. That distance was reduced to less than 2 km/day after arthritis induction. Speed of movement, essentially the equivalent of walking time, was reduced 40% by the arthritis. However, the time spent in movement (activity time) was more severely affected by arthritic disease. Therapy gave a modest 1.3-fold increase in speed of movement, but a highly significant 2-fold increase in activity time.¶Conclusions: The effects of arthritis on activity in this animal model suggest that time spent in movement (activity time) should be considered as an outcome measure in clinical studies. These observations may also help explain why the modest disease improvements obtained with cyclooxygenase inhibition are valued. From a patient perspective, a doubling of activity time is a highly significant improvement in quality-of-life.
Hubbard model for a cubic cluster

The ground-state and thermodynamic properties of a simple Hubbard Hamiltonian are studied for an eight-site cubic cluster as functions of the number of electrons and the strength of the electron interaction. The ground-state energy and spin are determined, and the excitation spectrum is computed. Thermodynamic properties including the specific heat, the magnetic susceptibility, and spin correlation functions are calculated. Computations are performed both by explicit diagonalization of the Hamiltonian and by Monte Carlo simulation.
Ozone removal by HVAC filters

Residential and commercial HVAC filters that have been loaded with particles during operation in the field can remove ozone from intake or recirculated air. However, knowledge of the relative importance of HVAC filters as a removal mechanism for ozone in residential and commercial buildings is incomplete. We measured the ozone removal efficiencies of clean (unused) fiberglass, clean synthetic filters, and field-loaded residential and commercial filters in a controlled laboratory setting. For most filters, the ozone removal efficiency declined rapidly but converged to a non-zero (steady-state) value. This steady-state ozone removal efficiency varied from 0% to 9% for clean filters. The mean steady-state ozone removal efficiencies for loaded residential and commercial filters were 10% and 41%, respectively. Repeated exposure of filters to ozone following a 24-h period of no exposure led to a regeneration of ozone removal efficiency. Based on a theoretical scaling analysis of mechanisms that are involved in the ozone removal process, we speculate that the steady-state ozone removal efficiency is limited by reactant diffusion out of particles, and that regeneration is due to internal diffusion of reactive species to sites available to ozone for reaction. Finally, by applying our results to a screening model for typical residential and commercial buildings, HVAC filters were estimated to contribute 22% and 95%, respectively, of total ozone removal in HVAC systems.
DAEPACK: An Open Modeling Environment for Legacy Models

Modeling and simulation have played extremely important roles in the chemical process industries for roughly 4 decades now. Several paradigms have been developed in this time to assist the modeler in performing the desired calculations rapidly and correctly. The two main approaches, modular and equation-oriented, have seen widespread use in recent years; however, the limited flexibility and control the user has within these environments, particularly when the user is trying to incorporate legacy models (typically in the form of FORTRAN subroutines) into a flowsheet, has motivated the search for improved methodologies. This paper describes how symbolic techniques can be applied to general FORTRAN code to perform automatically many tedious, time-consuming, and error-prone tasks required when using state-of-the-art algorithms for numerical computation. This new approach can be used to assist the modeler when performing FORTRAN-based simulation, to incorporate properly external FORTRAN subroutines within an e...
RENAL CELL CARCINOMA IN THE SOLITARY KIDNEY: REPORT OF SIX CASES1

TWENTY-ONE cases of renal cell carcinoma in a solitary kidney have appeared in the literature. Six additional cases are reported. The chief interest of tomours lies in their unpredictable biological behaviour which impels the urologist to exert unorthodox methods of surgical attack.
Rapid regulation of depression-related behaviours by control of midbrain dopamine neurons

Ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons in the brain's reward circuit have a crucial role in mediating stress responses, including determining susceptibility versus resilience to social-stress-induced behavioural abnormalities. VTA dopamine neurons show two in vivo patterns of firing: low frequency tonic firing and high frequency phasic firing. Phasic firing of the neurons, which is well known to encode reward signals, is upregulated by repeated social-defeat stress, a highly validated mouse model of depression. Surprisingly, this pathophysiological effect is seen in susceptible mice only, with no apparent change in firing rate in resilient individuals. However, direct evidence--in real time--linking dopamine neuron phasic firing in promoting the susceptible (depression-like) phenotype is lacking. Here we took advantage of the temporal precision and cell-type and projection-pathway specificity of optogenetics to show that enhanced phasic firing of these neurons mediates susceptibility to social-defeat stress in freely behaving mice. We show that optogenetic induction of phasic, but not tonic, firing in VTA dopamine neurons of mice undergoing a subthreshold social-defeat paradigm rapidly induced a susceptible phenotype as measured by social avoidance and decreased sucrose preference. Optogenetic phasic stimulation of these neurons also quickly induced a susceptible phenotype in previously resilient mice that had been subjected to repeated social-defeat stress. Furthermore, we show differences in projection-pathway specificity in promoting stress susceptibility: phasic activation of VTA neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens (NAc), but not to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), induced susceptibility to social-defeat stress. Conversely, optogenetic inhibition of the VTA-NAc projection induced resilience, whereas inhibition of the VTA-mPFC projection promoted susceptibility. Overall, these studies reveal novel firing-pattern- and neural-circuit-specific mechanisms of depression.
Higgs-type Lagrangians and vortex-line and soliton solutions

Approximate vortex-line and soliton solutions of the Higgs-type Lagrangian are obtained analytically, and the magnetic field, magnetic energy and its root mean square radius, Higgs energy, and interaction energy between the vector field A/sub ..mu../ and the Higgs scalar phi are calculated. The soliton solution for another case is commented on. (auth)
An analysis of frequency and amplitude effects on corrosion fatigue crack propagation in Ti-8Al-1Mo-1V

Crack growth rates were measured in Ti-8Al-1Mo-1V, which exemplifies titanium alloys susceptible to transgranular stress-corrosion cracking (SCC). A wide stress intensity amplitude (δK) range, withR = 0, was employed at ½ to 30 cps in H2O, 3 ½ pct NaCl solution, and methanol; at 10 to 30 cps in air; and at 20 to 30 cps in vacuum, the reference environment. Crack growth was augmented by two kinds of environmental effects. The first, Type A corrosion fatigue (cyclic SCC), was effective at low frequencies in the liquid environments when Kmax≥ KIscc, intensified with increasing amplitude, but diminished with increasing frequency. In addition to fatigue striations, cleavage on a plane 15 deg from (0001)α was observed. The second kind, Type B corrosion fatigue, was effective at low amplitudes and in all the environments, diminished at higher amplitudes, was unaffected by changes in cyclic frequency, and was not related to the SCC susceptibility of the alloy. Striated cleavage facets on (0001)α, and on a plane 15 deg from (0001)α occurred at low amplitudes, while ordinary ductile striations occurred at higher amplitudes. Fatigue in vacuum did not produce fractographic fatigue striations.
The economic burden of allergic rhinitis: A critical evaluation of the literature

Although a large number of economic analyses of allergic rhinitis have been published, there are relatively few empirically based studies, particularly outside the US. The majority of these analyses can be classified as burden-of-illness studies. Most estimates of the annual cost of allergic rhinitis range from $US2–5 billion (2003 values). The wide range of estimates can be attributed to differences in identifying patients with allergic rhinitis, differences in cost assignment, limitations associated with available data and difficulties in assigning indirect costs (associated with reduced productivity) of allergic rhinitis. Approximately one-third of burden-of-illness studies include direct and indirect costs of allergic rhinitis, about one-third focus on direct costs only, and the remaining one-third focus exclusively on indirect costs due to reduced productivity. Indirect costs attributable to allergic rhinitis were higher in studies only estimating indirect costs ($US5.5–9.7 billion) than in those estimating both direct and indirect costs ($US1.7–4.3 billion). Although there are many economic evaluations of allergic rhinitis treatments in the published medical literature, very few represent formal cost-effectiveness evaluations that compare the incremental costs and benefits of alternative treatment strategies. Those that are incremental cost-effectiveness analyses have several limitations, including small samples, short study periods and the lack of a standardized measure of effectiveness. To date, the medical literature is lacking a comprehensive economic evaluation of general treatment strategies for allergic rhinitis. In undertaking such an analysis, serious consideration must be given to the study population of interest, the choice of appropriate comparators, the perspective from which the analysis is conducted, the target audience, the changing healthcare marketplace and the selection of a measure of effectiveness that incorporates both positive and negative aspects of treatments for allergic rhinitis. Future work would benefit from the development of a consensus on a summary measure of effectiveness that could be used in cost-effectiveness analyses of therapies for allergic rhinitis as well as additional empirical work to measure the association between severity of disease and its impact on worker productivity.
CONTROLS FOR AND CONSTRAINTS ON AUTO-SHAPING

Auto-shaping the pigeon's key-peck response was examined as a respondent conditioning procedure with the use of Rescorla's truly-random control procedure. In the first experiment, pigeons received presentations of brief light on the response key and brief presentations of food where the light and the food were independently presented. All birds failed to key peck after many light and food presentations, but explicit pairing of the light and food rapidly conditioned pecking to the light. Experiment 2 showed that even when an independent light/food presentation schedule was reduced to variable-time 30 sec, additional naive birds would not key peck and only one bird pecked when the schedules were variable-time 15 sec. A third experiment examined an explicit-unpairing control procedure, where the light and food were not only presented on independent schedules but were also separated by a minimum time, and found that auto-shaping did not occur. A fourth experiment investigated a number of control procedures and found them ineffective. A fifth experiment investigated the effects of a physical separation of the locus of the response key and the food dispenser, and a sixth experiment investigated using a tone in place of the light. It was concluded that pecking is generated by auto-shaping procedures only when an intermittently presented keylight is regularly paired with food.
Sample preparation techniques for nano-mechanical characterization of glass fiber reinforced polyester matrix composites

Abstract Glass fiber reinforced plastics are widely used in a host of engineering applications. In these two component materials, the region around the boundary where the components meet is known as the ‘interphase’. The size of the interphase is typically of the order of few microns and understanding the mechanical properties of this microscopic region is central to understanding the mechanical behavior of the composite. Such a small region is amenable to nanomechanical investigation using nanoindentation techniques. For nano length scale investigation it is imperative to have a surface with a roughness of the order of 10s of nanometers. In this investigation techniques have been developed to obtain very low surface roughness in both monolithic polyester and glass fiber reinforced polyester composite samples using a combination of abrasion and etching.
A Protein Allergen Microarray Detects Specific IgE to Pollen Surface, Cytoplasmic, and Commercial Allergen Extracts

Background Current diagnostics for allergies, such as skin prick and radioallergosorbent tests, do not allow for inexpensive, high-throughput screening of patients. Additionally, extracts used in these methods are made from washed pollen that lacks pollen surface materials that may contain allergens. Methodology/Principal Findings We sought to develop a high-throughput assay to rapidly measure allergen-specific IgE in sera and to explore the relative allergenicity of different pollen fractions (i.e. surface, cytoplasmic, commercial extracts). To do this, we generated a protein microarray containing surface, cytoplasmic, and commercial extracts from 22 pollen species, commercial extracts from nine non-pollen allergens, and five recombinant allergenic proteins. Pollen surface and cytoplasmic fractions were prepared by extraction into organic solvents and aqueous buffers, respectively. Arrays were incubated with <25 uL of serum from 176 individuals and bound IgE was detected by indirect immunofluorescence, providing a high-throughput measurement of IgE. We demonstrated that the allergen microarray is a reproducible method to measure allergen-specific IgE in small amounts of sera. Using this tool, we demonstrated that specific IgE clusters according to the phylogeny of the allergen source. We also showed that the pollen surface, which has been largely overlooked in the past, contained potent allergens. Although, as a class, cytoplasmic fractions obtained by our pulverization/precipitation method were comparable to commercial extracts, many individual allergens showed significant differences. Conclusions/Significance These results support the hypothesis that protein microarray technology is a useful tool for both research and in the clinic. It could provide a more efficient and less painful alternative to traditionally used skin prick tests, making it economically feasible to compare allergen sensitivity of different populations, monitor individual responses over time, and facilitate genetic studies on pollen allergy.
Human Dissection: An Approach to Interweaving the Traditional and Humanistic Goals of Medical Education

Anatomy remains one of the core courses of medical school, but the time devoted to it is decreasing. To accommodate the explosion of medical knowledge, educators search to streamline the curriculum. Because it is time-consuming, dissection comes under increased scrutiny. Even in the face of these pressures to reduce course hours, I would like to propose broadening, not reducing, the responsibilities of the anatomy instructor. Anatomy instructors can play a crucial role in helping medical schools meet the critical need to cultivate humanistic values, especially in the arena of end-of-life care. Anatomy can--and should--play an important role in a curriculum-wide effort to address this issue. Just as dissection remains an essential technique to teach three-dimensional concepts, the cadaver dissection lab is an ideal place to introduce concepts of humanistic care. The lab evokes the students' memories, speculations, and fears about serious illness in themselves, their families, and loved ones. Some programs address these reactions with supplemental activities, such as journaling, essay writing, and small group discussion. Valuable as these activities may be, anatomy instructors can achieve more by recognizing their role as a mentor, who can integrate humanistic values into traditional course objectives in a way that adds little time to the curriculum. The attitude of the instructor in ministering to the students' needs as they undertake the emotionally charged task of dissection can provide a model for how the students will respond, in turn, to the hopes and fears of their patients-and to their own reactions to dying. This approach will allow students to implement and practice humanistic values immediately, laying a foundation for their clinical training.
Vitamin D insufficiency and skeletal development in utero.

Over the last 10 years, our perception of what constitutes normal vitamin D status has undergone a substantial revision. Prior to this, suboptimal vitamin D was defined at a very basic level by the presence or absence of associated bone disease (i.e., rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults). As a consequence, vitamin D deficiency was determined by serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) of less than 25 nM (10 ng/mL), and anything higher was “normal.” However, this has changed with the observation that several parameters of calcium homeostasis continue to correlate with serum levels of 25-OHD up to concentrations as high as approximately 80 nM (32 ng/mL).(1,2) The implication is that optimal vitamin D status is achieved only at 25-OHD concentrations above this; anything less is suboptimal or “insufficient.” Based on these revised parameters, it has been concluded that vitamin D insufficiency is a global phenomenon, with an estimated 1 billion people worldwide having suboptimal levels of 25-OHD.(3) Some groups appear to be at greater risk of vitamin D insufficiency than others, notably pregnant women.(4–8) In a study carried out in Pittsburgh, PA, Bodnar and colleagues showed that 74% to 95% of pregnant black women and 46% to 62% of pregnant white women were vitamin D insufficient.(5) Notably, during early pregnancy, almost 45% of the African-American mothers had 25-OHD levels that were less than 37.5 nM.(5) A key question arising from these epidemiologic data concerns the physiologic impact of vitamin D insufficiency during pregnancy. In the current issue of the Journal, Mahon and colleagues have addressed this through a prospective longitudinal study of pregnant women in which they have characterized the impact of maternal vitamin D status on in utero measures of fetal skeletal development.(9)
Expert Opinion: Responsive Polymer Nanoparticles in Cancer Therapy

Polymeric nanoparticles are emerging as an attractive treatment options for cancer due to their favorable size distribution, drug carrying capacity, and tunable properties. In particular, intelligent nanoparticles that respond to biological cues are of interest because of their ability to provide controlled release at a specific site. Tumor sites display abnormal pH profiles and pathophysiology that can be exploited to provide localized release. In this expert opinion, we discuss passive and active targeting of nanoparticles and several classes of pH-responsive nanoparticles.
Kappa opioid receptors in rat spinal cord vary across the estrous cycle

Kappa opioid receptors (KORs) were immunocytochemically localized in the lumbosacral spinal cord of female rats in different stages of the estrous cycle to examine the influence of hormonal status on receptor density. KOR labeling was primarily in fine processes and a few neuronal cell bodies in the superficial dorsal horn and the dorsolateral funiculus. Quantitative light microscopic densitometry of the superficial dorsal horn revealed that rats in diestrus had significantly lower KOR densities than those in proestrus or estrus. This suggests that female reproductive hormones regulate spinal KOR levels, which may contribute to variations in analgesic effectiveness of KOR agonists across the estrous cycle.
The effect of abstinence on left ventricular performance in asymptomatic chronic alcoholics.

Twelve asymptomatic men who were chronic alcoholics (42.3±10.7 years, mean age±1SD) underwent supine bicycle exercise and gated cardiac blood pool imaging 4–7 days after alcohol withdrawal and then again 32–65 days after abstinence (42.2±15.0 days). Workloads and exercise stages were identical during both exercise studies. Rest and exercise heart rates, blood pressures, cardiac outputs, double products, and systemic vascular resistances were similar in both studies. Ejection fraction (EF) was higher after abstinence at peak exercise (0.68±0.07 vs. 0.61±0.08P<0.05); end-systolic volume (ESV) was smaller at rest and at peak exercise after abstinence (P<0.05). During the first exercise study, 6 of 12 (50%) subjects did not increase their EF by 0.05 units and 4 of 12 (33%) had no EF increase after abstinence. Even the original “normal” responders had greater rest and exercise EFs after abstinence. In the first exercise study end diastolic volume (EDV) rose during exercise (P<0.05) while ESV did not change. After abstinence, EDV did not change during exercise, while ESV declined (P<0.05). These results show that latent cardiac dysfunction exists in asymptomatic chronic alcoholics, which is partially although not completely resolved by abstinence of brief periods.
PDE models associated with the bilateral filter

The bilateral filter, introduced in 1998 by Tomasi and Manduchi for feature-preservation image noise-reduction, has recently made significant impacts to other engineering disciplines, particularly to certain research areas in image-based computer graphics. The popularity of this simple filtering approach has even attracted a lot of interest from the imaging sector of the high-tech industry as well. The objective of this paper is to develop the theoretical aspects of this ad hoc filter by deriving the class of nonlinear diffusion partial differential equations (PDE) associated with the bilateral filtering process.
Risk factor analysis in differentiated thyroid cancer

Six hundred patients with primary differentiated thyroid carcinoma had follow-up studies for a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 45 years. Recurrence rate and death rate were significantly different in defined high-risk and low-risk groups of patients. These basic risk groups were defined by age and sex alone; low risk consisted of men 40 years of age and younger and women 50 years of age and younger whereas the high-risk group were older patients. Recurrence and death rates in patients at high risk were 33% and 27% while respective figures for patients at low risk were 11% and 4%. In more recent years these results have shown significant improvement. Basic risk group definition outweighed the effect of pathologic type, local disease extension, type of treatment, and site of recurrence or metastasis. For instance, radioactive iodine cured 70% of patients at low risk with metastatic disease but only 10% of patients at high risk. Less aggressive biologic behavior of thyroid cancer before the age of menopause implies that an estrogen-rich milieu may alter the effects of initiating and promoting factors in carcinogenesis. It also suggests that therapeutic trials of estrogen be undertaken in progressive metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer. Cancer 43:810–820, 1979.
Asymptotic bounds on the errors of one-step methods

Bulirsch and Stoer have shown how to construct asymptotic upper and lower bounds on the true (global) errors resulting from the solution by extrapolation of the initial value problem for a system of ordinary differential equations. It is shown here how to do this for any one-step method endowed with an asymptotically correct local error estimator. The one-step method can be changed at every step.
DairyBeef: Maximizing Quality and Profits—A Consistent Food Safety Message

To respond to meat safety and quality issues in dairy market cattle, a collaborative project team for 7 western states was established to develop educational resources providing a consistent meat safety and quality message to dairy producers, farm advisors, and veterinarians. The team produced an educational website and CD-ROM course that included videos, narrated slide sets, and on-farm tools. The objectives of this course were: 1) to help producers and their advisors understand market cattle food safety and quality issues, 2) help maintain markets for these cows, and 3) help producers identify ways to improve the quality of dairy cattle going to slaughter. DairyBeef: Maximizing Quality & Profits consists of 6 sections, including 4 core segments. Successful completion of quizzes following each core segment is required for participants to receive a certificate of completion. A formative evaluation of the program revealed the necessity for minor content and technological changes with the web-based course. All evaluators considered the materials relevant to dairy producers. After editing, course availability was enabled in February, 2003. Between February and May, 2003, 21 individuals received certificates of completion.
Volatile anesthetic-induced preconditioning.

The myocardium has an innate ability to protect itself from ischemic events. This protection occurs when the myocardium is exposed to a brief ischemic period prior to a more extreme ischemic event. This is termed ischemic preconditioning. Ischemic preconditioning induces a series of molecular pathways that protect the cardiac myocyte; first, for a period of 1-6 hours (early preconditioning) and, also, for a second period from 24-72 hours (delayed phase). The early preconditioning is mediated by the release of adenosine which induces a protective signal that is related to the mitochondrial KATP channel activation and activation of the δ-opioid and bradykinin receptors. The delayed phase is related to the induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase, superoxide dismutase and heat-shock proteins. Indirect evidence indicates that O2-derived free radicals are involved in the delayed phase, as noted in the early preconditioning phase. Applying ischemic preconditioning to clinical practice can be dangerous and d...
Adapting the Self-Determined Learning Model for Instruction of College Students With Disabilities

As the number of students with disabilities who are entering postsecondary education continues to rise, the need for their adequate preparation to successfully complete programs of study is a criti...
A fixed functional set genetic algorithm (FFSGA) approach for function approximation

This paper describes a simple mathematical technique that uses a genetic algorithm and least squares optimization to obtain a functional approximation (or computer program) for a given data set. Such an optimal functional form is derived from a pre-defined general functional formulation by selecting optimal coefficients, decision variable functions, and mathematical operators. In the past, functional approximations have routinely been obtained through the use of linear and nonlinear regression analysis. More recent methods include the use of genetic algorithms and genetic programming. An example application based on a data set extracted from the commonly used Moody diagram has been used to demonstrate the utility of the proposed method. The purpose of the application was to determine an explicit expression for friction factor and to compare its performance to other available techniques. The example application results in the development of closed form expressions that can be used for evaluating the friction factor for turbulent pipe flow. These expressions compete well in accuracy with other known methods, validating the promise of the proposed method in identifying useful functions for physical processes in a very effective manner. The proposed method is simple to implement and has the ability to generate simple and compact explicit expressions for a given response function.
Relative importance of nitric oxide and carbon monoxide in regulating the ACTH response to immune and non-immune signals.

The present work investigated the effect of nitric oxide (NO) or carbon monoxide (CO) in the ACTH response to an immune signal [the intravenous injection of interleukin-1β (IL-1β)] or to a neurogenic stressor (mild intermittent inescapable footshocks). The arginine derivative Nωnitro-L-arginine methylester (L-NAME), which non-specifically inhibits NO formation induced by all constitutive forms of NO synthase (NOS), significantly augmented the effect of IL-1β, but blockade of CO formation with metalloporphyrins was without effect. On the other hand, L-NAME blunted the effect of shocks on the early phase of ACTH release, while we had reported earlier that metalloporphyrins exerted a similar effect. This effect was mimicked by blockade of neuronal (n) NOS by Nω-Propyl-L-arginine (PA), although the resulting decrease in hormone levels was less than that induced by L-NAME. These results indicate that endogenous NO, but not CO, interferes with ACTH released by a peripheral immune signal. In contrast, NO formed ...
Effects of an S6 Strain of Mycoplasma gallisepticum Challenge at Onset of Lay on Digestive and Reproductive Tract Characteristics in Commercial Layers

SUMMARY. Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG), a reproductive/respiratory pathogen in poultry, has been implicated in suboptimum egg production and decreased hatchability. Commercial layer hens raised in a controlled environment were inoculated with the S6 strain of MG at 20 wk of age. The S6 inoculation had no effect on bird weight, egg production, digestive tract weight and length, or histopathologic lesion scores, although significant differences were noted in the lengths and weights of various portions of the reproductive tract. This study shows that S6MG inoculation does not detrimentally affect layer hen performance when in the absence of environmental stressors customary to a caged layer facility.
Chromatin Modification by PSC Occurs at One PSC per Nucleosome and Does Not Require the Acidic Patch of Histone H2A

Chromatin architecture is regulated through both enzymatic and non-enzymatic activities. For example, the Polycomb Group (PcG) proteins maintain developmental gene silencing using an array of chromatin-based mechanisms. The essential Drosophila PcG protein, Posterior Sex Combs (PSC), compacts chromatin and inhibits chromatin remodeling and transcription through a non-enzymatic mechanism involving nucleosome bridging. Nucleosome bridging is achieved through a combination of nucleosome binding and self-interaction. Precisely how PSC interacts with chromatin to bridge nucleosomes is not known and is the subject of this work. We determine the stoichiometry of PSC-chromatin interactions in compact chromatin (in which nucleosomes are bridged) using Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM). We find that full compaction occurs with one PSC per nucleosome. In addition to compacting chromatin, we show that PSC oligomerizes nucleosome arrays. PSC-mediated oligomerization of chromatin occurs at similar stoichiometry as compaction suggesting it may also involve nucleosome bridging. Interactions between the tail of histone H4 and the acidic patch of histone H2A are important for chromatin folding and oligomerization, and several chromatin proteins bind the histone H2A acidic patch. However, mutation of the acidic patch of histone H2A does not affect PSC’s ability to inhibit chromatin remodeling or bridge nucleosomes. In fact, PSC does not require nucleosomes for bridging activity but can bridge naked DNA segments. PSC clusters nucleosomes on sparsely assembled templates, suggesting it interacts preferentially with nucleosomes over bare DNA. This may be due to the ability of PSC to bind free histones. Our data are consistent with a model in which each PSC binds a nucleosome and at least one other PSC to directly bridge nucleosomes and compact chromatin, but also suggest that naked DNA can be included in compacted structures. We discuss how our data highlight the diversity of mechanisms used to modify chromatin architecture.
Dynamic Protection Zone Alerting and Pilot Maneuver Logic for Ground Based Sense and Avoid of Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) will require a Sense and Avoid (SAA) capability to integrate in the National Airspace System. To evaluate potential concepts of operation, the Air Force performed a concept demonstration, utilizing the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System Local Integrated Tower Equipment (STARS LITE) developed by Raytheon, along with con ict detection algorithms known as the Dynamic Protection Zone (DPZ). An assessment of the concept was performed, which varied DPZ algorithm parameters to achieve desired performance in alerting and safety. This evaluation required the use of air tra c encounter models and fast time simulation, as well as the development of a pilot action model. Flight demonstrations were performed in September, November, and December of 2011 at the Gray Butte, California ight facility using manned aircraft as surrogate UAS, and results are evaluated here for comparison to model assumptions and identi cation of future areas of work. Minimum avoidance distances matched closely to modeled results, although pilot actions were found to di er from those expected from the model in 40% of scenarios evaluated.
Positive Troponin in Diabetic Ketoacidosis without Evident Acute Coronary Syndrome Predicts Adverse Cardiac Events

Background Elevated troponin I has been associated with increased mortality in critically ill patients without acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, the prognostic significance of troponin elevation in patients with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) without evident ACS has not been studied. Methods Retrospective study of all patients admitted to a U.S. tertiary center between 01/98 and 12/00 with DKA and had troponin I level measured. Patients with evidence of ACS or who met the American College of Cardiology/European Society of Cardiology (ACC/ESC) definition for myocardial infarction were excluded. Baseline characteristics, cardiac evaluation and 2 year major adverse coronary event (MACE) rate were compared between patients with positive and negative troponin. Results Ninety-six patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria of this study, 26 had positive troponin. There were no differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups. After a 2 year follow-up, there was significantly increased mortality in patients with elevated troponin (50.0% versus 27.1%, hazard-ratio (HR) 2.3, 95% confidence intraval (CI) 1.2–4.8, p = 0.02). Patients with elevated troponin also had significantly increased MACE rate at 2 years (50.0% versus 28.6%, HR 2.6, 95% CI 1.3–5.3, p = 0.007) driven primarily by mortality. Using Cox Proportional Hazard Analysis, elevated troponin was a predictor of increased MACE after adjusting for confounding variables. (Adjusted HR 2.3, 95% CI 1.1–4.6, p = 0.02) Conclusions Elevated troponin I in diabetic patients admitted with DKA identifies a group at very high risk for future cardiac events and mortality. Whether cardiac risk stratification of these patients will improve long term outcome remains to be studied. Copyright © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
How Sexuality Information Impacts Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Gay Service Members

The repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy raises several questions and this article examines two of these: (1) Do gay/lesbian service members elicit personal discomfort in coworkers? and (2) Do gay/lesbian service members receive equitable administrative actions? Active duty Air Force office personnel (N = 181) reported their attitudes toward open service and responded to hypothetical scenarios depicting gay/lesbian or heterosexual male/female subordinates. Gays/lesbians elicited more personal comfort than heterosexuals, and no differences existed between gays/lesbians and heterosexuals in administrative actions. Attitudes toward open service predicted personal comfort but not administrative action ratings.
MALE SAGEBRUSH LIZARDS (SCELOPORUS GRACIOSUS) INCREASE EXPLORATORY BEHAVIOR TOWARD FEMALES WITH MORE COURTSHIP EXPERIENCE

Abstract Courtship is an essential component to male reproductive success. Most males must identify and court appropriate females to enhance their fitness. At the same time, female reproductive state and investment is influenced by the quality of male courtship. In this experiment, we test whether the amount of female courtship experience influences the behavior of males interacting with those females in sagebrush lizards, Sceloporus graciosus. We used a robotic lizard to present male courtship displays to females, presenting females with displays either every other day (low quantity) or four times daily (high quantity). After 2 wk of courtship experience, we placed a live male into the home terrarium of each female and recorded interactions for 30 min, scoring both male and female behavior from these recordings. Males exhibited more movements and chemoreceptive behavior toward females that had received more courtship experience, showing that they could detect an effect. We did not detect any difference i...
Test Strategy for RF & Microwave Semiconductor Devices for Wireless Communications Market

Today?s RF and microwave semiconductor devices are being designed and manufactured in a new environment shaped in large measure by economic pressures. Prices are determined by the market and competition is intense. To be successful companies must minimize the amount of time needed to define, design, and document new products, the time needed to set up manufacturing lines, ramp-up production and introduce new products to the market. The emphasis is on manufacturing cost and product quality. Performance has to be just right, that is good enough for the intended application, as opposed to setting new records. To be successful one must put in place the right combination of manufacturing cost and capacity. Strategies employed here include designs resulting in the smallest possible die size, the utilization of plastic packages and process automation.
Indigenous worldviews in intercultural education: teachers’ construction of interculturalism in a bilingual Quechua–Spanish program

This paper examines teachers’ implementation of a bilingual intercultural education (BIE) program in Peru. This program is inspired by global policies that promote cultural pluralism and educational access to marginalized indigenous populations. Broadly addressed in policy in Andean countries, interculturalism in Peru has remained a core educational principle with a neglected pedagogy. The lack of preparation of BIE teachers in intercultural pedagogy has both forced and allowed them intuitively to make sense of interculturalism in practice. Based on an ethnographic study of BIE teachers, this paper discusses teachers’ interpretations of interculturalism and of indigenous culture. The study aims to inform educators and policy‐makers concerned with interculturalism about the challenges and possibilities of a pedagogy that affirms diversity and advocates quality education for all. Este articulo examina la implementacion del programa de educacion bilingue intercultural (EBI) en el Peru. EBI se inspira en poli...
Consequences of Gainsharing A Field Experiment Revisited

This study tested the consequences of a gainsharing plan both during its operation and after the group bonus component was eliminated. Using a longitudinal and experimental research design, changes in employees' attitudes, behaviors, and cognitions were measured. Three months after elimination of the group bonus, higher levels of moral commitment, prosocial behavior, and less intention to leave were observed in the experimental group than the control group. Implications for gainsharing theory and practice are discussed.
The Effects of Group Benefits and Type of Distribution Rule on Noncompliance to Legitimate Authority

Norms specifying the allocation of resources have been termed distribution rules. This study investigates factors affecting individuals' noncompliance to distribution rules sanctioned by a legitimate authority. We predict such noncompliance will be more likely when there is group consensus running counter to the legitimate authority rule atid the group consensus rule is more beneficial to persons and their groups than is the legitimate authority rule. Experimental tests indicate that although group benefit is an important factor in accounting for people's noncompliance, the type of distribution rule is also important. Among rules sanctioned by legitimate authority, noncompliance to equality rules is more likely than noncompliance to equity rules. Norms specifying the allocation of resources have been termed "distribution rules" (Cook). These distribution rules determine how material goods, rights, privileges, prestige, and power are distributed among individuals and groups in social systems. Two theoretical formulations, exchange and status value, have dealt with the relation between distribution rules and distributive justice or equity problems. Exchange formulations are concerned with the process by which people assess the actual inputs and outcomes associated with various distribution rules and make judgments of fairness (cf. Adams; Homans; Walster et al.). Status value formulations, on the other hand, are concerned with the social conditions that activate various distribution rules which then determine individuals' judgments of fairness (Berger et al.). (See Cook and Parcel for an extensive discussion of
Properties of the glucose transport system in some deep-sea bacteria.

Many deep-sea bacteria are specifically adapted to flourish under the high hydrostatic pressures which exist in their natural environment. For better understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of these microorganisms, properties of the glucose transport systems in two barophilic isolates (PE-36, CNPT-3) and one psychrophilic marine bacterium (Vibrio marinus MP1) were studied. These bacteria use a phosphoenol-pyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system (PTS) for glucose transport, similar to that found in many members of the Vibrionaceae and Enterobacteriaceae. The system was highly specific for glucose and its nonmetabolizable analog, methyl alpha-glucoside (a-MG), and exhibited little affinity for other sugars tested. The temperature optimum for glucose phosphorylation in vitro was approximately 20°C. Membrane-bound PTS components of deep-sea bacteria were capable of enzymatically cross-reacting with the soluble PTS enzymes of Salmonella typhimurium, indicating functional similarities between the PTS systems of these organisms. In CNPT-3 and V. marinus, increased pressure had an inhibitory effect on a-MG uptake, to the greatest extent in V. marinus. Relative to atmospheric pressure, increased pressure stimulated sugar uptake in the barophilic isolate PE-36 considerably. Increased hydrostatic pressure inhibited in vitro phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent a-MG phosphorylation catalyzed by crude extracts of V. marinus and PE-36 but enhanced this activity in crude extracts of the barophile CNPT-3. Both of the pressure-adapted barophilic bacteria were capable of a-MG uptake at higher pressures than was the nonbarophilic psychrophile, V. marinus.
Drogue System Reliability Analysis Using Weibull Analysis

Refueling aircraft in-flight is a complex procedure at any time and has its concerns that have not fully been addressed, these are compounded if we consider remote piloting. Long term the need will exist to refuel unmanned vehicles if they are to carry out extensive applications; these complexities of in-flight refueling increases due to time delays and visual challenges between the actual remote aircraft and operators. This paper addresses the reliability of a drogue used in refueling and what can be learnt for future designs and usage. In particular what we can interpret from remote pilots and in-situ pilots.