cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Rotor Start-Up and Shutdown on a Sea-Based Oil Rig

A combined rotor transient responses and analysis tools/computational fluid dynamics effort was completed to assess the rotor response in a complex flowfield. A generic helicopter on an oil-rig pla...
EFIE singularity treatments and their effects on characteristic mode dynamic range

The limited eigenvalue dynamic range calculated from a characteristic mode solution is studied. Two methods of handling singular terms in the electric field integral equation matrix filling process are reviewed. Characteristic mode solutions using each singular treatment are compared with modal solutions obtained from a commercial solver. Results show that small alterations to the handling of singular terms in the matrix fill stage can lead to large gains in spectral depth. These gains outpace improvements obtained by increasing total mesh density.
A Low Energy Route to DNA-Wrapped Carbon Nanotubes via Replacement of Bile Salt Surfactants.

DNA-wrapped carbon nanotubes are a class of bionano hybrid molecules that have enabled carbon nanotube sorting, controlled assembly, and biosensing and bioimaging applications. The current method of synthesizing these hybrids via direct sonication of DNA/nanotube mixtures is time-consuming and not suitable for high-throughput synthesis and combinatorial sequence screening. Additionally, the direct sonication method does not make use of nanotubes presorted by extensively developed surfactant-based methods, is not effective for large diameter (>1 nm) tubes, and cannot maintain secondary and tertiary structural and functional domains present in certain DNA sequences. Here, we report a simple, quick, and robust process to produce DNA-wrapped carbon nanotube hybrids with nanotubes of broad diameter range and DNA of arbitrary sequence. This is accomplished by exchanging strong binding bile salt surfactant coating with DNA in methanol/water mixed solvent and subsequent precipitation with isopropyl alcohol. The e...
Resident Wellness: An Intervention to Decrease Burnout and Increase Resiliency and Happiness.

Introduction Despite the national focus on trainee burnout, effective wellness programs that can easily be incorporated into training curriculums are lacking. Strategies such as mindfulness and pos...
A Preliminary Exploration of the Barriers to Delivering (and Receiving) Exposure-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety Disorders in Adult Community Mental Health Settings

Despite the effectiveness of exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders, few individuals in need receive this treatment, particularly in community mental health settings serving low-income adults. The present study took a preliminary step to understand these barriers by conducting a series of key informant interviews and focus groups among patients, providers, clinical administrators, and policy makers. Several themes emerged as barriers to the delivery of exposure-based CBT in these settings, including therapist training and compentency issues, logistical issues, and funding stream issues. Clinical implications and future research that can build from these data are discussed.
Local Atomic Structure of CMR Manganites and Related Oxides

The crystal structure determined by diffraction analysis is usually used as a basis for explaining the properties of a solid in terms of the nature of the atomic bonding. However, in many transition-metal oxides the actual atomic structure can be slightly different from the crystal structure due to substitutional disorder or strong electron-lattice coupling. In order to understand the properties of such a system, it is more important to determine the local atomic structure than the average crystal structure since the properties tend to reflect more strongly the local structure than the average structure. Recently local structural determination became much easier and more accurate due to the advent of synchrotron-based radiation sources. In this chapter we describe one of the methods of local structural determination, the pulsed neutron atomic pair-density function (PDF) analysis, and demonstrate how it helps us to understand the microscopic interactions in the colossal magnetoresistive (CMR) manganites, ferroelectric oxides, and superconductive cuprates. In particular, we show how the knowledge of the local structure leads to the concept of a critical stability of lattice polarons that controls the CMR phenomenon and possibly the high-temperature superconductivity.
Applications to Finance

An important area of finance involves making decisions regarding investment and dividend policies over time and ways to finance them. Among the ways of financing such policies are: issuing equity, retaining earnings, borrowing money, etc. It is possible to model such situations as optimal control problems; see, for example, Davis and Elzinga (1971), Elton and Gruber (1975) , and Sethi (1978b) . Some of these models are simple to analyze and they yield useful insights.
CHAPTER 23 Psychopharmacology

Federal support and independent testing by the pharmaceutical industry have resulted in a number of trials leading to considerable advances in the pharmacological treatment of adults and children with ASD over the past decade. Four categories of pharmaceuticals in particular are discussed in this chapter: (1) atypical antipsychotics, (2) serotonin reuptake inhibitors, (3) stimulants, and (4) nonstimulant medications for hyperactivity in patients with ASDs. There is a pressing need for additional reliable and valid outcome measures that are sensitive to change. Effects of pharmacological treatments on aggression, anxiety, adaptive functioning, cognition, and subdomains of social behavior are reviewed throughout this chapter. Keywords: Aberrant Behavior Checklist; atypical antipsychotics; Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scales (CYBOCS-ASD); fragile X; hyperactivity; pharmacological treatment; serotonin; Research Units in Pediatric Psychopharmacology (RUPP) Autism Network; reuptake inhibitors; stimulants; tardive dyskinesia
Visual sensor selection for satellite swarm cooperative localization

Compact satellite swarms enable future space mission concepts including cellular architecture, disaggregation, orbital construction, and cooperative inspection. Such swarms can cooperatively determine position and orientation (known as pose) of their constituent satellites by collecting and sharing relative pose measurements. This paper presents sensor selection strategies which reduce the number of computationally expensive vision-based pose measurements which must be collected while still maintaining accurate localization. The first method accounts for the impact of relative viewing geometry and solar angle on relative pose measurements. The second method uses uniformly sampled random spanning trees. The third method randomly selects pose measurements. Selected relative pose measurements are then fused in a Multiplicative Extended Kalman Filter for decentralized cooperative localization. Localization results using simulated measurement data and rendered stereo images are presented.
Development and evaluation of an interprofessional seminar pilot course to enhance collaboration between health professions at a student-run clinic for underserved populations

This report describes the development and evaluation of an interprofessional pilot course aimed at health science students. The course was developed through collaboration of three health professions: Dentistry, Kinesiology, and Pharmacy. The coursework comprised of traditional lecture-based learning, interprofessional experiential education through four on-site visits at two area clinics that participate in team-based care, four student self-reflections following each site visit, and demonstration of interprofessional education and collaboration (IPEC) competencies through student evaluation of current interprofessional care at those existing clinics with a component for key improvement intervention. The study aims include evaluating both the course's effectiveness and quality in increasing student preparedness for interprofessional practice and its ability to enhance collaboration between health professions at two area clinics. Methods of evaluation include the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey (ICCAS) instrument, pre- and post- course surveys, and course evaluation survey. The results show that students felt their knowledge and skills increased across the four IPEC core competency domains: interprofessional communication, values and ethics, roles and responsibilities, and team and teamwork. We suggest that using an integrated course framework is an effective measure in enhancing interprofessional education (IPE) outcomes.
What do MDL leaders do?: evidence from leadership appointment orders

In federal multidistrict litigation (MDL), district courts regularly appoint attorneys to manage the litigation of cases that are transferred to a single district court for coordinated pretrial proceedings. Orders appointing MDL leaders serve as a constitution or charter for a particular MDL, reallocating functions that otherwise would be performed by individually retained plaintiffs’ attorneys to court-appointed leaders. As such, they perform a crucial role in the “MDL model” of aggregate litigation and settlement. Yet in spite of their importance, knowledge of these orders is mostly folk wisdom. This Article presents preliminary findings from a study of leadership appointment orders in all MDLs pending in the federal courts in June 2019. The principal finding is that, while leadership appointment orders are a standard feature of contemporary MDL, they vary significantly in how they structure plaintiffs’ leadership, the functions they assign to court-appointed leaders, and how orders conceive of the relationships among court-appointed leaders, non-lead attorneys, and MDL plaintiffs. The Article’s findings about the “diverse uniformity” of MDL leadership appointments shed light on debates over the nature of contemporary MDL, the duties court-appointed leaders owe to non-client plaintiffs, and the costs and benefits of MDL’s dependence on decentralized, ad hoc procedure-making.
Light-Dependent Impedance Spectra and Transient Photoconductivity in a Ruddlesden–Popper 2D Lead–Halide Perovskite Revealed by Electrical Scanned Probe Microscopy and Accompanying Theory

Electric force microscopy was used to record the light-dependent impedance spectrum and the probe transient photoconductivity of a film of butylammonium lead iodide, BA2PbI4, a 2D Ruddlesden–Popper...
intellectual Property Rights and the Protection of Innovations

I study how weak intellectual property rights (IPR) regimes affect firms’ innovation protection strategies. I build on transaction cost economics to explain four strategies to address not only the ...
Improving closely spaced dim object detection through multiframe blind deconvolution of near stellar neighbourhoods

A new iterative algorithm is proposed to improve the detection of dim stellar objects that are in the neighbourhood of a bright object, using short-exposure images. This method separates data funct...
E-cigarette use is associated with subsequent cigarette use among young adult non-smokers, over and above a range of antecedent risk factors: a propensity score analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS There is a public health concern that the use of e-cigarettes among non-smoking young adults could be associated with transition to combustible cigarette use. The current study is a quasi-experimental test of the relationship between e-cigarette use and subsequent combustible cigarette use among young adult non-smokers, accounting for a wide range of common risk factors. DESIGN Logistic regression was used to predict combustible cigarette use on three or more occasions at age 23 years based on age 21 e-cigarette use. Inverse probability weighting (IPW) was used to account for confounding variables. SETTING Data were drawn from the Community Youth Development Study (CYDS), a cohort study of youth recruited in 2003 in 24 rural communities in seven US. states PARTICIPANTS: Youth in the CYDS study (n = 4407) were surveyed annually from ages 11 to 16, and at ages 18, 19, 21 and 23 years (in 2016). The sample was gender balanced (50% female) and ethnically diverse (20% Hispanic, 64% white, 3% black and 12% other race or ethnicity). The current study was limited to participants who had never used combustible cigarettes by age 21 (n = 1825). MEASUREMENTS Age 21 use of e-cigarettes and age 23 use of combustible cigarettes (three or more occasions) were included in the regression analysis. Age 11-19 measures of 22 common predictors of both e-cigarette and combustible cigarette use (e.g. pro-cigarette attitudes, peer smoking, family monitoring) were used to create IPWs. FINDINGS After applying IPW, e-cigarette use at age 21 was associated with a twofold increase in odds of combustible cigarette use on three or more occasions 2 years later (odds ratio = 2.16, confidence interval 1.23, 3.79). CONCLUSIONS Among previously never-smoking US young adults, e-cigarette use appears to be strongly associated with subsequent combustible cigarette smoking, over and above measured preexisting risk factors.
Individual Consequences of Racial Disproportionality and Disparities

This chapter focuses on an important question that has been relatively unexplored within child welfare literature: What are the individual-level consequences of disproportionality and disparities in the child welfare system? A comprehensive assessment of the consequences of disproportionality and disparity is presented by exploring (a) the distinct challenges of being place in foster care and navigating the system as a child of color and (b) the ways in which race/ethnicity may interact with or shape foster care experiences for overrepresented children of color. A racial lens is applied to examine the individual-level consequences of involvement in the child welfare system specifically for African American children. As such, this chapter explains how, for overrepresented children of color, the consequences of disproportionality and disparities extend beyond the adverse outcomes that are typically associated with a history of maltreatment or the experience of foster care placement. The utility of both intersectional and life course perspectives for understanding consequences are emphasized, and they are applied to demonstrate how disparities across systems can create compound disadvantages for African American youth.
High-Frequency Heart Rate Variability and Emotion-Driven Impulse Control Difficulties During Adolescence: Examining Experienced and Expressed Negative Emotion as Moderators:

Emotion-driven impulse control difficulties are associated with negative psychological outcomes. Extant research suggests that high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) may be indicative of em...
Empagliflozin, alone or in combination with liraglutide, limits cell death in vitro: role of oxidative stress and nitric oxide.

Sodium-dependent glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor empagliflozin and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist liraglutide are characterized as having cardiovascular benefits in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Little is known regarding the underlying mechanisms nor the potential interactions between cardiovascular benefits of these two drugs when combined. We sought to investigate: (1) whether combination of empagliflozin and liraglutide has additive effect against diabetes-induced cytotoxicity, and (2) potential mechanisms involved in cardioprotective effect of empagliflozin and liraglutide in diabetes. Capacity of empagliflozin and liraglutide alone and in combination to reduce cardiac injury in diabetes was evaluated. HL-1 cells, a cardiac muscle cell line, were exposed to hyperglycemia/hyperinsulinemia and treated with/without empagliflozin, liraglutide or empagliflozin + liraglutide for 24 h. At the end of treatments, cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, nitric oxide (NO) production, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and phospho-eNOS (Thr495) expression were determined. We found that empagliflozin treatment alone and combined treatment decreased in vitro HL-1 cell death caused by hyperglycemia. Liraglutide treatment alone improved NOS activity followed by increased NO production, while empagliflozin had little effect. Furthermore, the effects of empagliflozin + liraglutide to decrease diabetes-induced cytotoxicity and oxidative stress were synergistic. While empagliflozin alone attenuated diabetes-induced cytotoxicity, combined treatment of liraglutide can synergistically ameliorates cell death and oxidative stress. This effect is potentially due to improved NOS activity and increased NO production induced by liraglutide.
Reducing the Costs of an Eye Care Adherence Program for Underserved Children Referred Through Inner-City Vision Screenings.

PURPOSE We previously reported costs and outcomes of the Children's Eye Care Adherence Program (CECAP1), a social worker intervention designed to improve adherence to eye care for underserved children in urban Philadelphia. Using cost findings from CECAP1, we revised the intervention to reduce costs. The aim of this study was to evaluate costs and effectiveness of the revised intervention (CECAP2). DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. METHODS Records of children needing ophthalmic follow-up after 2 community-based vision screening programs were reviewed. We modified CECAP1 to prioritize children more likely to visit, decreased phone calls and scheduling attempts, better documented children already followed by other doctors, and constricted our geographic catchment area for better accessibility. Cost was calculated using time spent executing CECAP2 by our salaried social worker. Effectiveness was defined as the percentage of patients completing at least 1 follow-up visit within the recommended time frame. RESULTS Of 462 children referred to CECAP2 from our in-school and on-campus screening programs, 242 (52.4%) completed subsequent recommended eye examinations, a proportion identical to our prior report (52.3%). Social worker time per patient was 0.8 hours; a significant reduction from the previous 2.6 hours (P < .01). Cost per patient was $32.73; a significant reduction compared to the previous $77.20 (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS Programmatic changes to reduce social worker intervention time and target potential patients by likelihood to attend along with constriction of the catchment area led to reduced costs by more than 50%, without impairing CECAP effectiveness.
The impact of climate change on the recoverability of airline networks

Abstract This paper studies the impact of climate change-imposed constraints on the recoverability of airline networks. We first use models that capture the modified payload-range curves for different aircraft types under multiple climate change scenarios, and the associated (reduced) aircraft capacities. We next construct a modeling and algorithmic framework that allows for simultaneous and integrated aircraft and passenger recovery that explicitly capture the above-mentioned capacity changes in aircraft at different times of day. The results, based on the RCP8.5 climate change scenario, suggest that daily total airline recovery costs increase on average by 15.7% to 49.4%; and by 10.6% to 165.0% over individual disrupted days – depending on the original source of disruption, the climate change case of interest and year of interest. Aircraft-related costs are driven by a huge increase in aircraft swaps and cancellations; and passenger-related costs are driven by increases in disrupted (misconnected) passengers who need to be rebooked on the same or a different airline. This work motivates the critical need for airlines to systematically incorporate climate change as a factor in the design of aircraft as well as in the design and operations of airline networks.
Sex and heredity are determinants of drug intake in a novel model of rat oral oxycodone self-administration.

The steady rise in prescription opioids such as oxycodone has led to a virulent epidemic of widespread abuse and deaths in the United States; approximately 80% of affected individuals initiate the habitual use of oxycodone by using prescription oral oxycodone. Given the importance of drug pharmacokinetics in determining abuse potential, we designed an oral operant oxycodone self-administration (SA) procedure in rats to model drug intake by most human users/abusers of oxycodone. Key aspects of the model include limited initial drug intake followed by increasing drug concentrations during extended 4-h sessions on alternating days. Sex and genetic predisposition are major determinants of human opiate abuse. Therefore, we studied females in seven inbred strains (WLI, WMI, LEW, DSS, F344, BN and SHR) and both sexes in three of these strains. All strains increased intake across serially increasing doses (0.025-0.2 mg/ml; p < 0.001): the range of intakes at the final concentration of oxycodone was 0.72 ± 0.17-4.84 ± 1.42 mg/kg (mean ± SEM) - a 6.7-fold difference across strains. In LEW, WLI and WMI strains, oxycodone intake increased significantly across all sessions in both sexes. However, in LEW and WMI male rats but not WLI, daily oxycodone intake was significantly lower across all 4-h sessions than females (p < 0.005). The estimated heritability in oxycodone intake was in the range of 0.21-0.41. In summary, our novel operant oral oxycodone SA model captures the strong abuse potential of oral oxycodone and shows dose, sex and strain-specific drug intake that is significantly dependent on heredity.
S-values and Bayesian weighted all-subsets regressions

Abstract This paper compares and contrasts Bayesian variable-exclusion methods proposed by Eduardo Ley and coauthors with methods proposed by Raftery and Sala-i-Martin et al. and with the s -values proposed by myself. A distinction is drawn between estimation uncertainty which is the focus of Ley׳s research and model ambiguity which arises in Ley׳s work and is the focus of my own recent proposal. The discussion is organized around the prior covariance matrix, which needs to be diagonal to support all-subsets regressions. The basic question addressed here is: what aspects of the prior covariance matrix can be taken as known, what aspects can be estimated and what aspects require a sensitivity analysis because they are neither known nor estimable. When diagonality is in doubt, we are more-or-less forced into a model ambiguity sensitivity mode because the data are never rich enough credibly to estimate the full prior covariance matrix. When diagonality is assumed, the data evidence, though very limited, can help to estimate the diagonal elements, but this literature has not yet produced a compelling conventional treatment which will necessarily include both estimation uncertainty and model ambiguity as they relate both to the diagonal values and to the rest of the prior covariance matrix. But there has been a lot of progress.
Divine hiddenness and the one sheep

Next to the problem of evil, the problem of divine hiddenness has become the most prominent argument for atheism in the current literature. The basic idea is that if God really existed, He would make sure that anyone able and willing to engage in relationship with Him (i.e., who are nonresistant towards Him) would have a rationally indubitable belief in Him at all times (since stable belief is a necessary precondition for a long-term, loving relationship). But as a matter of fact we see that the world includes nonresistant nonbelievers. Therefore God doesn’t exist. Here I propose a reply to the problem that shifts focus from the nonresistant nonbelievers to those who are resistant. I claim (along with Morris (Making sense of it all: Pascal and the meaning of life. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1992), Howard-Snyder (Can J Philos 26:433–453, 1996), and others) that for many such people, having God’s reality forced upon them unwillingly might result in significant spiritual/moral harm, inhibiting their ability to develop a positive relationship with God. (I also respond to Schellenberg’s (Relig Stud 41:201–215, 2005a) general critique of any strategy that references the notion of God’s proper non-revelation to the resistant.) If this is true, it could help explain why God refrains from revealing Himself in a rationally indubitable manner not only to the resistant, but even to the nonresistant. Why? Because it may be that under present circumstances God is actually more concerned about the welfare of the resistant than of the willing; and revealing Himself to all of the willing could actually result in the truth of theism being forced on the resistant.
Resource Allocation on the Frontlines of Public Health Preparedness and Response: Report of a Summit on Legal and Ethical Issues

Objectives.In the face of all-hazards preparedness challenges, local and state health department personnel have to date lacked a discrete set of legally and ethically informed public health principles to guide the distribution of scarce resources in crisis settings. To help address this gap, we convened a Summit of academic and practice experts to develop a set of principles for legally and ethically sound public health resource triage decision-making in emergencies.Methods.The invitation-only Summit, held in Washington, D.C., on June 29, 2006, assembled 20 experts from a combination of academic institutions and nonacademic leadership, policy, and practice settings. The Summit featured a tabletop exercise designed to highlight resource scarcity challenges in a public health infectious disease emergency. This exercise served as a springboard for Summit participants' subsequent identification of 10 public health emergency resource allocation principles through an iterative process.Results.The final product ...
Parallel local search in comet

The availability of commodity multiprocessors offers significant opportunities for addressing the increasing computational requirements of optimization applications. To leverage these potential benefits, it is important however to make parallel processing easily accessible to a wide audience of optimization programmers. This paper addresses this challenge by proposing parallel programming abstractions that keep the distance between sequential and parallel local search algorithms as small as possible. The abstractions, that include parallel loops, interruptions, and thread pools, are compositional and cleanly separate the optimization program and the parallel instructions. They have been evaluated experimentally on a variety of applications, including facility location and coloring, for which they provide significant speedups.
Aluminum Reduction via Near Room Temperature Electrolysis in Ionic Liquids

Study on aluminum reduction via electrolysis in ionic liquids at near room temperatures was carried out. Anhydrous aluminum chloride was used as raw material. The electrolyte was made from AlCl3 and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (C4mimCl). X-ray diffractometer and micro-image analyzer were used for the product characterization. Aluminum was electrowinned at copper cathode and chlorine gas was released at graphite anode. Experimental temperatures were in the range of 100–140°C. Cathode current density was about 200–700 A/m2. Dense aluminum deposition with thickness of 0.1–0.2 mm was obtained. Effects of temperature, cell voltage, and molar ratio of AlCl3 to C4mimCl on the cathode current density and efficiency were also investigated.
The Flexible Constitution - An Interview

This is an interview with the author of the Flexible Constitution. It provides a brief summary of the book in conversational format. The book presents a new Wittgensteinian understanding of Constitutional Law and provides the most thorough philosophic critique of originalism. The book explains why originalism is an inherently flawed system of belief and why the Constitution is so flexible. The book explores new models of interpretation and ultimately concludes that constitutionality is an artisan judgment that can be rendered only by experts.
CCRMA Studio Report

The Stanford Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) is a multi-disciplinary facility where composers and researchers work together using computerbased technology both as an artistic medium and as a research tool. CCRMA is located on the Stanford University campus in a building that was refurbished in 1986 to meet its unique needs. The facility includes a large quadraphonic experimental space with adjoining control room/all digital studio, a recording studio with adjoining control room, a MIDI-based small systems studio, a general purpose analog/digital studio, several work areas with workstations, synthesizers and speakers, a seminar room, a reference library, classrooms and offices.
Librarian in Disguise

SUMMARY In large part due to its unique ability to draw deposits from the Copyright Office of the United States, the greater part of the Library of Congress collections of popular culture materials has been built in a manner totally different from that of other institutions. An understanding of these collections can most profitably be developed by looking into the organizational histories and acquisition practices of the Library's varied custodial departments-particularly the Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
Peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptors mediate translocation of cholesterol from outer to inner mitochondrial membranes in adrenocortical cells.

In previous studies we demonstrated that peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptors (PBR) were coupled to steroidogenesis in several adrenocortical and Leydig cell systems (Mukhin, A.G., Papadopoulos, V., Costa, E., and Krueger, K.E. (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 86, 9813-9816; Papadopoulos, V., Mukhin, A.G., Costa, E., and Krueger, K.E. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 3772-3779). The current study elucidates the specific step in the steroid biosynthetic pathway by which PBR mediate the stimulation in steroid hormone production. The adrenocorticotropin (ACTH)-responsive Y-1 mouse adrenocortical cell line was used to compare the mechanisms by which ACTH and PK 11195 (a PBR ligand) stimulate steroidogenesis. The effects of these agents were studied at three stages along the steroid biosynthetic pathway: 1) secretion of 20 alpha OH-progesterone by Y-1 cell cultures; 2) pregnenolone production by isolated mitochondrial fractions; 3) quantities of cholesterol resident in outer and inner mitochondrial membrane fractions. Steroid synthesis stimulated by ACTH was blocked by cycloheximide, an effect documented by other laboratories characterized by an accumulation of mitochondrial cholesterol specifically in the outer membrane. In contrast, PK 11195-stimulated steroidogenesis was not inhibited by cycloheximide, and the magnitude of the stimulation was markedly enhanced when the cells were pretreated with cycloheximide and ACTH. When isolated mitochondria were used, stimulation of pregnenolone production by PK 11195 was largely independent of exogenously supplied cholesterol, indicating that PBR act on cholesterol already situated within the mitochondrial membranes. This phenomenon was found to be the result of a translocation of cholesterol from outer to inner mitochondrial membranes induced by the PBR ligand. These studies therefore suggest that mitochondrial intermembrane cholesterol transport in steroidogenic cells is mediated by a mechanism coupled to PBR.
Regeneration of Cochlear Efferent Nerve Terminals after Gentamycin Damage

Chickens recover auditory function after hair cell loss caused by ototoxic drug damage or acoustic overstimulation, indicating that mechanisms exist to reestablish appropriate neuronal connections to regenerated hair cells. However, despite similar hair cell regeneration times, hearing recovery takes substantially longer after aminoglycoside than after sound damage. We have therefore begun examining damage and regeneration of efferent nerve terminals by immunolabeling whole-mount cochleae for differentially localized synaptic proteins and by visualizing the distribution of label with confocal microscopy. In undamaged cochleae, the synaptic proteins synapsin and syntaxin show similar distribution patterns corresponding to the large cup-like terminals on short hair cells. After gentamycin administration, these terminals are disrupted as hair cells are lost, leaving smaller, more numerous synapsin-reactive structures in the sensory epithelium. Syntaxin reactivity remains associated with the extruded hair cells, indicating that the presynaptic membrane is still attached to the postsynaptic site. In contrast, after sound damage, both synapsin and syntaxin reactivity are lost from the epithelium with extruded hair cells. As regenerated hair cells differentiate after gentamycin treatment, the synapsin labeling associated with cup-like efferent endings reappears but is not completely restored even after 60 d of recovery. Thus, efferent terminals are reestablished much more slowly than after sound damage (Wang and Raphael, 1996), consistent with the prolonged loss of hearing function. This in vivo model system allows comparison of axonal reconnection after either complete loss (sound damage) or partial disruption (gentamycin treatment) of axon terminals. Elucidating the differences in recovery between these injuries can provide insights into reinnervation mechanisms.
Temporal and spatial pattern of differences in microtubule behaviour during Drosophila embryogenesis revealed by distribution of a tubulin isoform

Immunofluorescence staining of Drosophila embryos with a monoclonal antibody specific for acetylated alpha-tubulin has revealed that acetylated and nonacetylated alpha-tubulin isoforms have different patterns of distribution during early development. Acetylated alpha-tubulin was not detected in either interphase or mitotic spindle microtubules during the rapid early cleavage or syncytial blastoderm divisions. Acetylated alpha-tubulin was first observed as interphase lengthened at the end of syncytial blastoderm, and at cycle 14 was localized to a ring of structures clustered around the interphase nuclei. These structures probably represent a set of stable microtubules involved in nuclear elongation. Absence of detectable acetylated alpha-tubulin prior to cellular blastoderm seems to be due to rapid turnover of microtubule arrays rather than to lack of the enzyme required for modification, since acetylated alpha-tubulin appeared in early embryos when micro-tubules were stabilized by taxol treatment or anoxia. Because acetylated alpha-tubulin seems to be characteristic of stable microtubule arrays, the appearance of the antigen at cycle 14 represents a fundamental change in microtubule behaviour in the somatic cells of the embryo. Acetylated alpha-tubulin was not detected in pole cells during the blastoderm or early gastrula stages, indicating that acetylation of alpha-tubulin is not merely a consequence of cellularization. After the onset of gastrulation, interphase microtubule arrays in most cell types contain acetylated alpha-tubulin. However, cells in mitosis lack antibody staining. The resulting unstained patches reveal the stereotyped spatial pattern of cell division during gastrulation. Although the cells that give rise to the amnioserosa have acetylated alpha-tubulin in their interphase arrays at early gastrulation, by germ band elongation these large, plastic cells completely lack staining with anti-acetylated alpha-tubulin. In contrast, differentiated cell types such as neurones, which have arrays of stable axonal microtubules, stain brightly with the specific antibody. Although acetylated and nonacetylated alpha-tubulin are present in roughly equal amounts by the late stages of embryogenesis, acetylated alpha-tubulin is partitioned into the pellet during centrifugation of extracts of embryos homogenized at 4 degrees C.
Manipulating number and function of effector CD8 T cells (IRC9P.710)

In response to infection or vaccination, CD8 T cells undergo massive proliferative expansion in numbers followed by a contraction phase where 90-95% of the expanded population is eliminated through apoptosis, with the remaining cells initiating the memory pool. Although basic CD8 T cell kinetics in response to infection and immunization have been described, the mechanisms regulating how memory CD8 T cell numbers are determined remain unknown. The current paradigm regarding memory CD8 T cell numbers states that the size of the memory pool is dictated primarily by the peak numbers achieved after infection or immunization. However, our data directly challenge this paradigm. Here, we demonstrate that DC-immunization and infection models, coupled with stimulatory IL-2/Ab complex treatment, can increase peak effector CD8 T cell numbers over 100-fold with no concurrent increase in memory CD8 T cell numbers post-contraction. Additionally, IL-2/Ab complex treatment not only increases effector CD8 T cell numbers, but also enhances and sustains expression of cytolytic molecules such as granzyme B, 4-1BB, and GITR. Thus, our data dissociate the magnitude of effector CD8 T cell expansion from memory set point, as well as highlight how IL-2/Ab complexes can enhance effector CD8 T cell function. Our findings suggest that IL-2/Ab complex therapy may be useful in short-term elevation of effector CD8 T cell numbers and function for tumor immunotherapy or during infectious disease outbreaks.
2 Episodic Memory in Alzheimer's Disease: Breakdown of Multiple Memory Processes

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the episodic memory in Alzheimer's Disease in the breakdown of multiple memory processes. The data presented in the chapter is intended to demonstrate that the episodic memory defect in AD patients is the result of a multiple system breakdown. Components of Working Memory and of secondary memory are affected, and they each contribute to the syndrome in different ways. The multiple process breakdown may arise as a result of multiple neuroanatomical system dysfunction, including the medial temporal cortex and the diencephalon. It is possible to demonstrate functional dissociation both between and within cognitive domains. The careful analysis of these dissociations reveals that the neurobehavioral characteristics of AD patients are not unique, and are consistent with the known sequelae of CNS lesions. AD may, therefore, be a useful system for the study and verification of theories and models of brain-behavior relationships.
Effect of iron availability on expression of the Bradyrhizobium japonicum hemA gene.

Abstract Bradyrhizobium japonicum produces delta-aminolevulinic acid, the universal precursor of tetrapyrroles, in a reaction catalyzed by the product of the hemA gene. Expression of the B. japonicum hemA gene is affected by iron availability. Activity of a hemA-lacZ fusion is increased approximately threefold by iron, and RNA analysis indicates that iron regulation is at the level of mRNA accumulation. To our knowledge, this is the first example of an iron-regulated heme biosynthetic gene in prokaryotes.
Hindbrain catecholamine neurons control multiple glucoregulatory responses.

Abstract Reduced brain glucose availability evokes an integrated constellation of responses that protect and restore the brain's glucose supply. These include increased food intake, adrenal medullary secretion, corticosterone secretion and suppression of estrous cycles. Our research has focused on mechanisms and neural circuitry underlying these systemic glucoregulatory responses. Using microinjection techniques, we found that localized glucoprivation of hindbrain but not hypothalamic sites, elicited key glucoregulatory responses, indicating that glucoreceptor cells controlling these responses are located in the hindbrain. Selective destruction of hindbrain catecholamine neurons using the retrogradely transported immunotoxin, anti-dopamine beta-hydroxylase conjugated to saporin (DSAP), revealed that spinally-projecting epinephrine (E) or norepinephrine (NE) neurons are required for the adrenal medullary response to glucoprivation, while E/NE neurons with hypothalamic projections are required for feeding, corticosterone and reproductive responses. We also found that E/NE neurons are required for both consummatory and appetitive phases of glucoprivic feeding, suggesting that multilevel collateral projections of these neurons coordinate various components of the behavioral response. Epinephrine or NE neurons co-expressing neuropeptide Y (NPY) may be the neuronal phenotype required for glucoprivic feeding: they increase NPY mRNA expression in response to glucoprivation and are nearly eliminated by DSAP injections that abolish glucoprivic feeding. In contrast, lesion of arcuate nucleus NPY neurons, using the toxin, NPY–saporin, does not impair glucoprivic feeding or hyperglycemic responses. Thus, hindbrain E/NE neurons orchestrate multiple concurrent glucoregulatory responses. Specific catecholamine phenotypes may mediate the individual components of the overall response. Glucoreceptive control of these neurons resides within the hindbrain.
Effect of ultraviolet/ozone treatment on the surface and bulk properties of poly(dimethyl siloxane) and poly(vinylmethyl siloxane) networks

Abstract We present a comparative study aiming at comprehending the effect of ultraviolet/ozone treatment on the modification of poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) and poly(vinylmethyl siloxane) (PVMS) silicone elastomers networks (SENs). Both PDMS and PVMS SENs undergo dramatic changes in their properties when exposed to UVO. The surface chemical composition of both PDMS and PVMS at long UVO treatment times changes substantially and features a high density of hydrophilic groups. There are two major differences in behavior in the two classes of materials. First, relative to PDMS, the PVMS-based SENs get modified throughout the entire bulk. Second, the physico-chemical changes detected in PVMS take place on much shorter time scale relative to PDMS. These results are in accord with our earlier reports that indicated that when exposed to UVO, the topmost ≈5 nm of PDMS gets converted into a silica-like material, which then acts as a barrier for diffusion of atomic oxygen. In this case, the bulk of PDMS maintains its elasticity. In contrast, both the surface and bulk of PVMS films undergo substantial changes in properties when exposed to UVO. First, the surface modification of PVMS SENs takes place after only a few seconds of the UVO treatment. In addition, we register substantial modification of bulk properties, including the complete densification accompanied with increased bulk modulus. Likely, the susceptibility of the vinyl bonds to radical reactions is responsible for this effect.
Evidence for Magnetic Reconnection in Three Homologous Solar Flares Observed by Rhessi

We present RHESSI observF5oss of three homologous flares, which occurred between April 14 and 16, 2002. We find that the RHESSI images of all three flares at energies between 6 and 25 keV had some common features: (1) A. separate coronal source up to approx. 30 deg. above the flare loop appeared in the early impulsive phase and stayed stationary for several minutes. (2) Before the flare loop moved upward; previously reported by others, the flare loop-top centroid moved downward for 2-4 minutes during the early impulsive phase of the Ears: falling by 13 - 30% of its initial height with a speed between 8 and 23 km/s. We conclude that these features are associated with the formation and development of a current sheet between the loop-top and the coronal source. In the April 14-15 flare, we find that the hard X-ray flux (greater than 25 keV) is correlated with the rate at which the flare loop moves upward, indicating that the faster the loop grows, the faster the reconnection rate, and therefore, the greater the flux of accelerated electrons. Subject headings: Sun: L'iaies-Sun: X-1-ay-s -
Molecular and morphological changes in zebrafish following transient ethanol exposure during defined developmental stages

Abstract Alcohol is a teratogen that has diverse effects on brain and craniofacial development, leading to a constellation of developmental disorders referred to as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). The molecular basis of ethanol insult remains poorly understood, as does the relationship between molecular and behavioral changes as a consequence of prenatal ethanol exposure. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to a range of ethanol concentrations (0.5–5.0%) during defined developmental stages, and examined for morphological phenotypes characteristic of FASD. Embryos were also analyzed by in situ hybridization for changes in expression of defined cell markers for neural cell types that are sonic hedgehog-dependent. We show that transient binge-like ethanol exposures during defined developmental stages, such as early gastrulation and early neurulation, result in a range of phenotypes and changes in expression of Shh-dependent genes. The severity of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) morphological phenotypes, such as microphthalmia, depends on the embryonic stage and concentration of alcohol exposure, as does diminution of retinal Pax6a or forebrain and hindbrain GAD1 gene expression. We also show that changes in eye and brain morphology correlate with changes in Pax6a and GAD1 gene expression. Our results therefore show that transient binge-like ethanol exposures in zebrafish embryos produce the stereotypical morphological phenotypes of FAS, with the severity of phenotypes depending on the developmental stage and alcohol concentration of exposure.
Inferior oblique muscle location after enucleation and evisceration.

Abstract PURPOSE: To report the location of the inferior oblique muscle after enucleation without primary attachment of the muscle to the orbital implant and after evisceration. METHODS: Interventional case series. Retrospectively, eight orbital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies were analyzed, four after enucleation and four after evisceration, to assess the position of the inferior oblique muscle relative to the orbital implant and the point of insertion. RESULTS: In the enucleation patients, the inferior oblique muscle was anteriorly displaced and the muscle appeared to insert into an inferior subconjunctival scar mass in three of the four patients. In all four of the evisceration patients, the inferior oblique muscle appeared normally positioned and inserted onto the implant in the normal location. CONCLUSION: Enucleation without suturing of the inferior oblique muscle to the implant is associated with healing in an abnormal anterior location and into an inferior subconjunctival scar mass. Evisceration does not appear to disrupt the normal position or insertion of the inferior oblique muscle.
Intramuscular VEGF activates an SDF1-dependent progenitor cell cascade and an SDF1-independent muscle paracrine cascade for cardiac repair

The skeletal muscle is endowed with an impressive ability to regenerate after injury, and this ability is coupled to paracrine production of many trophic factors possessing cardiovascular benefits....
Middle-Class Castle: Constructing Gentrification at London’s Barbican Estate

The Barbican Estate, in London’s square-mile City financial district, is one of the capital’s most unique residential spaces. In the 1950s the City Corporation redeveloped the war-damaged site as a “high class” neighborhood even though the prevailing planning dogma was to usher the well-heeled out of the crowded center. To sanitize the inner-city site, the Barbican’s architects created a radically modernist residential precinct elevated above City streets. This social history examines the Barbican Estate as a unique intersection between modern architecture and the emerging discourse of gentrification in London. In creating spaces of comfort and exclusion, its architects drew from the same new middle-class culture that influenced the gentrification of existing London neighborhoods. The Estate’s eventual residents continued this interpretation and revision after the flats opened in 1968. The Barbican demonstrates the flexible nature of early gentrification and suggests how it must be approached as a diversi...