cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Japan in Political and Economic Change: Foundations for Understanding

Japan is in a period of great political and economic disruption, a period that is marking the end of the postwar era of both long-term political stability and economic expansion under the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Political scientists, economists, and other social scientists are hard at work trying to make sense of the changes, and we can expect a spate of books, articles, and papers in the next few months and years. The three books reviewed in this article are important sources to prepare generalists and specialists alike to understand changing Japan. Each of the studies is very carefully researched in voluminous sources in both Japanese and English and makes a unique and complementary contribution. The Samuels book should not be ignored in any discussion of Japan's role in the post-Cold War world; it is a first-rate comparative study in political economy, one that is not dated because of the changing political and economic events in Japan. Keddell's study is a more specific analysis of defense policy formation, which in some ways could be called a companion to the Samuels book. Both are written in the context of U.S.-Japan security conflicts over levels of participation and sharing of high technology related to weapons, and both are analyzed from the standpoint of Japanese domestic conditions. As the review will show, however, Keddell's case study is dated to the LDP regime and will be in contrast to the as yet unknown new policy-making patterns. The Reed volume is in a different category altogether. Its purpose is not to present new research but to present a more realistic way of looking at Japan. The underlying purpose of the book is to get students of Japan to move beyond the view of either "bashers" or "apologists" to a rational
The profitability of school investments in an educationally advanced developing country

Abstract The Philippines is a country in which phenomenal educational expansion has taken place in the last 30 years. As such, it is a natural case for testing the hypothesis that investment in education is no longer economically valid. In this paper we provide new estimates of the returns to investment in education in that country for 1988. The findings indicate that both social and private rates of return are of conventional levels and therefore a case of overexpansion is not warranted. Among the three educational levels considered, primary education exhibits the highest returns and university education the least. But because of the particular case of the Philippines where private sources are dominant in tertiary education financing, the degree of public subsidization is highest in primary education. This makes the Philippines a world outlier in the structure of public financing of education, and serves equity and poverty alleviation causes as well.
Academic Perspective of Clinical Testing of Drugs in the Elderly

The necessity for geriatric drug testing is discussed. Drugs need to be systematically studied in geriatric patients. Precisely because such patients are different, the traditional “squeaky clean” protocols must be modified.
A MATLAB implementation of the minimum relative entropy method for linear inverse problems

The minimum relative entropy (MRE) method can be used to solve linear inverse problems of the form Gm=d, where m is a vector of unknown model parameters and d is a vector of measured data. The MRE method treats the elements of m as random variables, and obtains a multivariate probability density function for m. The probability density function is constrained by prior information about the upper and lower bounds of m, a prior expected value of m, and the measured data. The solution of the inverse problem is the expected value of m, based on the derived probability density function. We present a MATLAB implementation of the MRE method. Several numerical issues arise in the implementation of the MRE method and are discussed here. We present the source history reconstruction problem from groundwater hydrology as an example of the MRE implementation.
Miniature, Hygrometric Hot Flash Recorder

Objective To design and test a miniature ambulatory hot flash recorder that uses neither electrodes nor gel. Design In the first study, putative hot flashes recorded by using a relative humidity sensor were compared with patient event marks. In the second study, relative humidity recorded by using a complete prototype recorder was compared with sternal skin conductance recordings made on a Biolog recorder, as well as with event marks. Setting University medical center. Patient(s) Ten healthy postmenopausal women reporting frequent hot flashes and using no medication. Intervention(s) Body heating in laboratory. Main Outcome Measure(s) Positive predictive value (PPV), sensitivity, specificity. Result(s) In both laboratory studies, the PPV, sensitivity, and specificity among all three measures (relative humidity, skin conductance level, event) were 100%. In the field, a relative humidity increase of 3% per minute compared with skin conductance level–detected hot flashes yielded a PPV of 95.6%, a specificity of 95.2%, and a sensitivity of 90.9%. Conclusion(s) This device should be useful as an endpoint in clinical trials of treatments for hot flashes.
Economic losses from and the national research program on mastitis in the United States.

Scientific papers estimating economic losses from mastitis were reviewed. Reduced milk production from cows with subclinical mastitis was responsible for the largest losses. Losses from mastitis in the United States in 1976 were estimated by usable responses to a survey from 33 states representing 9.5 million cows or 86% of the dairy cow population. Losses of milk yields caused by mastitis were 386 kg/cow per yr and losses of discarded milk 62 kg/cow per yr. Annual losses per cow from mastitis were a) reduced milk production, $81.32; b) discarded milk, $12.88; c) cost of veterinary services, $1.97; d) cost of drugs, !3,86; e) increased labor, $2.28; f) decreased sale value, $5.72; g) increased replacement costs, $9.32; h) total, $117.35. For the 11 million cows in the United States 1976 losses from mastitis were $1.294 billion. Mastitis research was supported publicly at 22 locations under 43 projects. Approximately 24 scientist years were involved and $2.7 million of public funds were expended annually. If economic losses from mastitis were reduced 2% per year for 10 yr by research and expenditures for mastitis research remained the same, the benefit to cost ratio from mastitis research would be approximately 9.6 to 1.
Association of stressful life events with incident falls and fractures in older men: the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study

Background: small, retrospective studies suggest that major life events and/or sudden emotional stress may increase fall and fracture risk. The current study examines these associations prospectively. Methods: a total of 5,152 men aged ≥65 years in the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men study self-reported data on stressful life events for 1 year prior to study Visit 2. Incident falls and fractures were ascertained for 1 year after Visit 2. Fractures were centrally confirmed. Results: a total of 2,932 (56.9%) men reported ≥1 type of stressful life event. In men with complete stressful life event, fall and covariate data (n = 3,949), any stressful life event was associated with a 33% increased risk of incident fall [relative risk (RR) 1.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19–1.49] and 68% increased risk of multiple falls (RR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.40–2.01) in the year following Visit 2 after adjustment for age, education, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, stroke, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) impairment, chair stand time, walk speed, multiple past falls, depressive symptoms and antidepressant use. Risk increased with the number of types of stressful life events. Though any stressful life event was associated with a 58% increased age-adjusted risk for incident fracture, this association was attenuated and no longer statistically significant after additional adjustment for total hip bone mineral density, fracture after age 50, Parkinson's disease, stroke and IADL impairment. Conclusions: in this cohort of older men, stressful life events significantly increased risk of incident falls independent of other explanatory variables, but did not independently increase incident fracture risk.
The idea of “the liberal media” and its roots in the civil rights movement

Scholars often ask whether the mainstream news media exhibit a liberal bias, but rarely where the idea of such a bias first came from. This article traces the idea’s origins to the civil rights movement. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, white Southerners grew resentful toward national journalists who covered the movement, whom they saw as advocating desegregation. Losing the battle for public opinion, Southern spokesmen such as Alabama Governor George Wallace adopted a populistic idiom, promoting the notion that an elite, left‐leaning Northeastern media were distorting the news to fit their politics – an idea that soon, under President Nixon, became conservative dogma.
Green Fluorescent Protein in the Study of Neuronal Signaling Pathways

In recent years, techniques have been established for transiently co-transfecting cells with cDNA of the jellyfish green fluorescent protein (GFP), a reporter gene that encodes a non-toxic marker. This approach can be applied to primary neurons where it has become especially useful for the study of neuronal second messenger pathways. This unit describes procedures for transfecting neurons in primary culture: transfection with GFP DNA, including co-transfecting with separate GFP and gene-of-interest constructs, transfecting with a single construct containing the gene of interest fused to a GFP gene, and transfecting with a single construct containing separate gene-of-interest and GFP cassettes. Also included is a method for the rapid, large-scale preparation of a nearly homogeneous population of neurons from rat cerebellum. The Commentary provides several examples of how this approach can be applied to specific biological questions on neuronal signaling pathways.
Semiautomatic, Semantic Assistance to Manual Curation of Data in Smart Oil Fields

Vast volumes of data are continuously generated in smart oilfields from swarms of sensors. On one hand, increasing amounts of such data are stored in large data repositories and accessed over high-speed networks; On the other hand, captured data is further processed by different users in various analysis, prediction and domain-specific procedures that result in even larger volumes of derived datasets. The decision making process in smart oilfields relies on accurate historical, real-time or predicted datasets. However, the difficulty in searching for the right data mainly lies in the fact that data is stored in large repositories carrying no metadata to describe them. The origin or context in which the data was generated cannot be traced back, thus any meaning associated with the data is lost. Integrated views of data are required to make important decisions efficiently and effectively, but are difficult to produce; since data is being generated and stored in the repository may have different formats and schemata pertaining to different vendor products. In this paper, we present an approach based on Semantic Web Technologies that enables automatic annotation of input data with missing metadata, with terms from a domain ontology, which constantly evolves supervised by domain experts. We provide an intuitive user interface for annotation of datasets originating from the seismic image processing workflow. Our datasets contain models and different versions of images obtained from such models, generated as part of the oil exploration process in the oil industry. Our system is capable of annotating models and images with missing metadata, preparing them for integration by mapping such annotations. Our technique is abstract and may be used to annotate any datasets with missing metadata, derived from original datasets. The broader significance of this work is in the context of knowledge capturing, preservation and management for smart oilfields. Specifically our work focuses on extracting domain knowledge into collaboratively curated ontologies and using this information to assist domain experts in seamless data integration.
Navigation Challenges of a Kinetic Energy Asteroid Deflection Spacecraft

*† ‡ § ** †† , A simple asteroid deflection experiment can be conducted by a small and inexpensive impactor spacecraft in cooperation with an independent asteroid rendezvous mission. The rendezvous mission would arrive at a near-Earth asteroid in advance of the impactor in order to characterize the asteroid while the impactor makes its way to the target. Then the rendezvous spacecraft would be in position to record the impact event, as well as to measure the deflection imparted as a result of the collision. This paper describes the mission concept and addresses the navigational challenges in delivering the impactor, as well as measuring the resultant deflection. I. Introduction simple and robust asteroid deflection experiment can be conducted by a relatively small and inexpensive impactor spacecraft, in close cooperation with an independent asteroid rendezvous mission. The rendezvous mission would arrive at a benign near-Earth asteroid in advance of the impactor launch in order to characterize the asteroid, acquire samples, etc., while the impactor makes its way to the target. Then the rendezvous spacecraft would be in position to record the impact event and document the post-impact scene, as well as to measure the deflection imparted as a result of the impactor’s collision with the asteroid. This concept requires that the rendezvous spacecraft already be in orbit around a candidate asteroid to take data before, during and after the impact to verify that a measurable change in the asteroid’s velocity took place and to study the dynamics of the impact itself. Such a mission would answer the critical question as to what momentum enhancement is provided by the ejected asteroidal material during the cratering process. This “blow back” momentum enhancement effect is thought to be significantly larger than the momentum provided by the impacting spacecraft itself. In addition to the obvious planetary defense aspects of such a mission, the scientific returns would be immense. Spacecraft information could be used to characterize the asteroid’s size, shape, mass, morphology, bulk density, porosity, rotation state, and composition, while an in situ study of the cratering event itself would allow insight into the asteroid’s interior structure.
Increased Susceptibility of Rainbow Trout to Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus After Exposure to Copper

Exposure of rainbow trout to sublethal levels of copper in water increased their susceptibility to infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus. In most instances, the percent mortality was twice as great in the stressed groups compared with those groups which were not stressed but received the same virus dose. Although the level of copper in the water influenced the mortality rates, the length of exposure did not prove to be critical, as similar results were obtained after 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9 days of exposure. When different virus challenges were employed, the percent mortalities were again greater in the stressed fish at all virus doses tested, and at one dose level mortalities were noted in the stressed group but not in the untreated group.
An analysis of urodelian retinal regeneration. II. Ultrastructural features of retinal regeneration in Notophthalmus viridescens.

The process of retinal regeneration in the posterior pole of enucleated and reimplanted eyes of adult Notophthalmus viridescens was studied with the electron microscope. The posterior pigment epithelium displayed two distinct cellular types which served either as phagocytic cells or for repopulating the retina. The phagocytic cells, which displayed a marginal nuclear chromatin, numerous mitochondria and profiles of rough endoplasmic reticulum, served to remove degenerating retinal and lens debris. The cells destined to repopulate the retina appeared to pass through an indifferent phase in which both single melanin granules and sequestered areas of pigmented cytoplasm were extruded. These cells displayed a markedly heterochromatic nucleus surrounded by a cytoplasm with scattered free ribosomes, short profiles of endoplasmic reticulum, and small rounded mitochondria. Once the retinal regenerate has been formed, the pigment epithelium was restored upon Bruch's membrane and the cells displayed melanin formation and an extensive smooth endoplasmic reticulum. The development of the full melanin complement, with apical cytoplasmic fringes and rough endoplasmic reticulum, depended upon differentiation of the new retina. By day 25, the newly reconstituted retina began to display vertical alignment of cells and differentiation of the inner layers. Each of the photoreceptors passed through an indifferent phase in which all cells showed a similar mitochondrial ellipsoid and small glycogen paraboloid. Rods, due to their increase in size, and double cones, due to the encapsulation of the principal element within the accessory element, were the first photoreceptors to become recognizable. The initial formation of the outer plexiform layer resulted from an outgrowth of horizontal cell processes coincident with a wave of local cellular degeneration. Synaptic bases of the photoreceptors developed fully after invagination by the principal bipolar and horizontal processes. The significance of the cellular patterns observed during retinal restitution and differentiation, with respect to the origin of the double cone and the formation of rods and cones, and the nature of the pigment epithelial cells and their response to local degeneration of the retina, is discussed.
Distribution of the thiols glutathione and 3-mercaptopropionic acid in Connecticut lakes

The spatiotemporal chemical characteristics of the water column in Linsley Pond, a freshwater lake in Connecticut, were studied from just before its stratification in April through the fall turnover in December. Two low-molecular-weight thiols, glutathione and 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA), were detected at nanomolar concentrations in the water column. GSH was detected (average concentrations were ca. 5 nmol L21 in the particulate phase and ca. 3 nmol L21 in the dissolved phase) in surface and near-surface waters only and covaried with chlorophyll a. Both particulate and dissolved MPA were measured in the oxic and anoxic regions. In the metalimnion, MPA concentrations were greater than in the oxic water layers above. At times, the MPA concentrations in the metalimnion were as high as those found in the anoxic hypolimnion. The MPA present at different depths in the Linsley Pond water column is most likely produced through dissimilar mechanisms. Throughout the water column, MPA may be a product of the metabolic degradation of sulfur-containing organic compounds; however, in the hypolimnetic waters, dissolved sulfide may play an important role in MPA formation through abiotic nucleophillic addition to unsaturated functionalities in dissolved organic matter. Parallel laboratory experiments were performed to assess the importance of MPA in copper speciation. The results confirmed that despite nanomolar levels in Linsley Pond, MPA does not play an important role in copper speciation. A survey of six additional lakes in Connecticut was made for detectable thiols. Only MPA was detected in four of these lakes, and its distribution was similar to that in Linsley Pond.
Transient evolution of passive mode locking

We present the first deterministic theory of the transient evolution of passive mode locking which gives a closed form expression for the pulse on each transit through the system. The theory is shown to be applicable to both CW and pulsed mode-locked laser systems. Included are studies of the buildup from noise, the mode-locking threshold, the subsequent evolution of the mode-locked pulse, the steady State operating point of CW systems, and the stability of the steady state. Simple criteria are established which enable the design of passively mode-locked systems to generate pulses of prespecified width and amplitude.
Teaching the Minimum Wage in Econ 101 in Light of the New Economics of the Minimum Wage

The author argues that the recent controversy over the effect of the min- imum wage on employment offers an opportunity for teaching introductory eco- nomics. Research findings on the minimum wage could be used to motivate alter- native models of the labor market, such as monopsony and search models, and to teach students how economists test hypotheses with data.
Party Members in a Three-Party Election Major-Party and Reform Activism in the 1996 American Presidential Election

The political parties in the United States do not have formal members as is common in most other Western democracies. We suggest direct-mail contributors are similar to party members in many respects. The 1996 presidential election offers an interesting opportunity for study because of the campaign run by Ross Perot and the newly formed Reform Party. We explore the sources of campaign activism in 1996 using surveys of national samples of contributors to all three parties. We find traditional left-right issues and evaluations of the party and the party’s nominee motivated major-party activism. Reform contributors, in contrast, were motivated by the issues Perot emphasized in his campaign, which were distinct from those that divide the Republican and Democratic parties. They were also influenced by their distrust of politics as usual, and their evaluation of Perot, rather than of their party. We also show that the Republican Party benefited in 2000 from Reform contributors’ mobilization, which suggests a co...
Management of a patient with multiple recurrences of fibromatosis (desmoid tumor) of the breast involving the chest wall musculature

Fibromatosis or desmoid tumor is a rare soft tissue tumor that lacks a metastatic potential, but is characterized by a locally aggressive and infiltrating growth pattern and a high propensity toward local recurrence if incompletely excised. We report a patient with three post-surgical recurrences of fibromatosis of the breast over a seven year period. The fibromatosis was found to be involving the chest wall musculature and causing persistent and worsening pain. An aggressive operative strategy was undertaken, consisting of mastectomy with en bloc resection of the underlying chest wall musculature, ribs, and parietal pleura. Aggressive surgical management of fibromatosis of the breast with suspected chest wall involvement is appropriate to attempt to obtain a long-term durable cure.
Cancer cell sensitivity to bortezomib is associated with survivin expression and p53 status but not cancer cell types

Survivin is known playing a role in drug resistance. However, its role in bortezomib-mediated inhibition of growth and induction of apoptosis is unclear. There are conflicting reports for the effect of bortezomib on survivin expression, which lacks of a plausible explanation. Methods: In this study, we tested cancer cells with both p53 wild type and mutant/null background for the relationship of bortezomib resistance with survivin expression and p53 status using MTT assay, flow cytometry, DNA fragmentation, caspase activation, western blots and RNAi technology. We found that cancer cells with wild type p53 show a low level expression of survivin and are sensitive to treatment with bortezomib, while cancer cells with a mutant or null p53 show a high level expression of survivin and are resistant to bortezomib-mediated apoptosis induction. However, silencing of survivin expression utilizing survivin mRNA-specific siRNA/shRNA in p53 mutant or null cells sensitized cancer cells to bortezomib mediated apoptosis induction, suggesting a role for survivin in bortezomib resistance. We further noted that modulation of survivin expression by bortezomib is dependent on p53 status but independent of cancer cell types. In cancer cells with mutated p53 or p53 null, bortezomib appears to induce survivin expression, while in cancer cells with wild type p53, bortezomib downregulates or shows no significant effect on survivin expression, which is dependent on the drug concentration, cell line and exposure time. Our findings, for the first time, unify the current inconsistent findings for bortezomib treatment and survivin expression, and linked the effect of bortezomib on survivin expression, apoptosis induction and bortezomib resistance in the relationship with p53 status, which is independent of cancer cell types. Further mechanistic studies along with this line may impact the optimal clinical application of bortezomib in solid cancer therapeutics.
Numbness matters: A clinical review of trigeminal neuropathy:

Aim: Trigeminal neuropathies are a group of clinical disorders that involve injury to primary first-order neurons within the trigeminal nerve. We review the spectrum of etiologies underlying both p...
Pitfalls in myocardial perfusion assessment with dynamic MR imaging after administration of a contrast material bolus in dogs.

Rationale and Objectives. The authors evaluated the artifacts observed on myocardial perfusion curves derived from an inversion-prepared fast gradient-echo (GRE) imaging sequence in dogs after injection of a gadolinium-based contrast agent. Materials and Methods. Six mongrel dogs were divided into three groups. In groups 1 and 2, anesthesia was maintained with pentobarbital. Group 2 also received an intravenous injection of atropine (0.03 mg/kg). In group 3, anesthesia was maintained with isoflurane (1.0%). Imaging was performed on a 1.5-T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging unit (one section per heart beat, a 30 × 15-cm field of view, 10-mm section thickness, and 64-kHz band-width). Region-of-interest (ROI) markers were placed on the blood pool of the left intraventricular cavity, anterior wall of the left ventricle, and anterior to the chest wall to track respiratory motion. Results. In group 1, the signal intensity (SI) periodically increased during each inspiration due to respiratory sinus arrhythmia. The relation between the SI increase and the variation of the delay between images was demonstrated in vitro and by computer simulations. No periodic increase of the SI was observed when regular cardiac rhythm was maintained by pharmacologic inhibition of the vagal-mediated chronotropic response with either the addition of atropine to pentobarbital or the use of isoflurane as the anesthetic agent. Conclusion. In an inversion-prepared fast GRE sequence, respiratory sinus arrhythmia can induce periodic SI increase by varying the respiratory rate interval and delay between images.
A stepped flange waveguide technique for determining tapered R-card sheet impedance

This paper introduces a reduced aperture flange waveguide technique capable of simultaneously measuring both reflection and transmission coefficients in order to characterize the tapered sheet impedance of a film in a nondestructive manner. This specialized technique employs a stepped flange waveguide and modal analysis approach in order to approximately treat the tapered film as a piecewise-homogeneous material. The main objective is to concentrate the incident electromagnetic energy into a smaller sample area of the tapered film clamped between two flanges. With the theoretical scattering parameters generated through the modal analysis, an iterative root search algorithm is utilized to extract the complex material parameters to achieve an effective sheet impedance profile for the tapered film. Experimental measurements are conducted with standard precision X-band (8.2 GHz to 12.4 GHz) waveguide components for validation, though the approach may be extended to additional frequency bands.
Firefighter Noise Exposure During Training Activities and General Equipment Use

Multiple noise measurements were taken on 6 types of fire station equipment and 15 types of emergency response vehicle-related equipment used by firefighters during routine and emergency operations at 10 fire stations. Five of the six types of fire station equipment, when measured at a distance of one meter and ear level, emitted noise equal to or greater than 85 dBA, including lawn maintenance equipment, snow blowers, compressors, and emergency alarms. Thirteen of 15 types of equipment located on the fire engines emitted noise levels equal to or greater than 85 dBA, including fans, saws, alarms, and extrication equipment. In addition, noise measurements were taken during fire engine operations, including the idling vehicle, vehicle sirens, and water pumps. Results indicated that idling fire-engine noise levels were below 85 dBA; however, during water pump and siren use, noise levels exceeded 85 dBA, in some instances, at different locations around the trucks where firefighters would be stationed during e...
Towards an e-Publishing library service in Humanities and Social Sciences: A feasibility study

The paper describes a methodology used to analyze the editorial production of CNR Institutes belonging to the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences HSS. This analysis is considered a pre-requisite to design a feasibility study to develop an e-Publishing service tailored to HSS. To reach this aim the paper describes in particular the characteristics of currently published products defining a set of quality indicators that can help designing a future e-Publishing service.
The Mesoscale and Microscale Structure and Organization of Clouds and Precipitation in Midlatitude Cyclones. II: Warm-Frontal Clouds

Abstract The air motions and growth of precipitation in warm-frontal clouds containing mesoscale rainbands have been studied through Doppler radar, aircraft, rawinsonde and surface measurements. Precipitation growth in deep warm-frontal ice clouds occurred through a “seeder-feeder” process. About 20% of the total mass of precipitation formed in a “seeder” zone (above 5 km) and 80% of the precipitation formed in a “feeder” zone (below 5 km). Wavelike rainbands originated from ice particles which fell from linear arrays of convective generating cells in a seeder zone. Riming growth was important in these cells where updrafts reached 60 cm s−1, but deposition and aggregation dominated at lower levels where the updraft velocities were ≤15 cm s−1. Some form of ice multiplication process appeared to be active in the feeder zone. The growth of precipitation in a warm-frontal rainband embedded in shallow liquid water clouds took place through the coalescence of water drops. The updraft velocities in this rainband...
Uncoupling phototoxicity-elicited neural dysmorphology and death by insidious function and selective impairment of Ran-binding protein 2 (Ranbp2)

Morphological disintegration of neurons is coupled invariably to neural death. In particular, disruption of outer segments of photoreceptor neurons triggers photoreceptor death regardless of the pathological stressors. We show that Ranbp2−/−::Tg-Ranbp2CLDm-HA mice with mutations in SUMO-binding motif (SBM) of cyclophilin-like domain (CLD) of Ran-binding protein 2 (Ranbp2) expressed in a null Ranbp2 background lack untoward effects in photoreceptors in the absence of light-stress. However, compared to wild type photoreceptors, light-stress elicits profound disintegration of outer segments of Ranbp2−/−::Tg-Ranbp2CLDm-HA with paradoxical age-dependent resistance of photoreceptors to death and genotype-independent activation of caspases. Ranbp2−/−::Tg-Ranbp2CLDm-HA exhibit photoreceptor death-independent changes in ubiquitin–proteasome system (UPS), but death-dependent increase of ubiquitin carrier protein 9(ubc9) levels. Hence, insidious functional impairment of SBM of Ranbp2’s CLD promotes neuroprotection and uncoupling of photoreceptor degeneration and death against phototoxicity.
Oculoleptomeningeal Amyloid Val30Gly TTR Mutation

Hereditary amyloidosis is a group of autosomal dominant diseases characterized by extracellular deposition of amyloid in various target organs, and classified biochemically by the implicated precursor protein, the most common being transthyretin. Transthyretin amyloidosis has over 100 genetic variants, but peripheral neuropathy (familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy) is the most common clinical manifestation. A much less common form manifests with CNS signs and symptoms and visual disturbances, aka occuloleptomeningeal amyloidosis. These patients often develop seizures, dementia, stroke-like episodes, and ataxia, and require vitrectomy for vitreous amyloid opacities. Several kindreds with these clinical and pathologic features have been described, one of which is characterized by a Val30Gly TTR mutation, the result of a point missense mutation in the transthyretin gene. We describe the clinicopathologic features of one patient whose father had Val30Gly transthyretin amyloidosis. The patient was well until age 56 years when she presented with severe headaches and later with focal sensory deficits, concerning for stroke. Because of her family history, she refused TPA (tissue plasminogen activator) therapy. Several years later she developed decreased visual acuity and required bilateral vitrectomies. The diagnosis of amyloidosis was confirmed on vitrectomy specimen. In the subsequent years, she experienced intermittent episodes of loss of consciousness and problems with speech. She ultimately succumbed to metastatic colon cancer. Autopsy examination showed thickened, slightly pink, irregular leptomeninges over the base of the brain and surrounding the spinal cord. Microscopically, amyloid was deposited in the leptomeningeal vessel walls, subarachnoid space and choroid plexus. No infarcts, plaques or tangles were identified. General autopsy did not reveal amyloid elsewhere in the body. Occuloleptomeningeal amyloidosis is exceedingly rare, but awareness of this entity is very important given the clinical overlap with other more common entities and because of the genetic implications of the diagnosis.
Rat ovarian interleukin-1alpha: interleukin-1-dependent in vitro expression.

Evidence exists supporting the possibility that intraovarian interleukin-1 (IL-1) may play an intermediary role in the periovulatory cascade. Although the existence of a mammalian intraovarian IL-1 system has been convincingly demonstrated, most efforts have focused on the possibility that the mammalian ovary is a site of IL-1b production, reception, and action. the objective of this study was to explore the possibility of ovarian IL-1a expression, characterize its pattern of expression by cultured ovarian cells, and study its hormonal regulation. The basal in vitro expression of IL-1a by cultured whole ovarian dispersates from immature rats increased spontaneously, reaching a peak (sixford increase over untreated controls) at 4 h. Treatment with an IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), human chorionic gonadorropin, or IL-1b failed to attenuate the initial 4-h burst of IL-1a expression. By contrast, treatment of whole ovarian dispersates with IL-1b for 48 h resulted in significant upregulation of IL-1 a transcripts (60-fold increase). This IL-1b effect was completely blocked by cotreatment with IL-1RA, thereby suggesting mediation via a specific IL-1 receptor. The IL-1b effect proved to be protein biosynthesis and eicosanoid dependent, nitric oxide independent, and relatively specific in that it was not reproduced by a select series of other granulosa cell agonists.
Rapid and high resolution capillary supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and SFC/MS of trichothecene mycotoxins

The potential application of capillary column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and SFC/mass spectrometry (SFC/MS) for the separation and analysis of mycotoxins of the trichothecene group was examined. Trichothecenes present significant analytical problems for both gas and liquid chromatography with a major difficulty for the latter being the lack of sufficiently sensitive and selective detectors. Supercritical carbon dioxide mobile phases at temperatures up to 100 degrees C were used with deactivated fused silica columns coated with crosslinked stationary phases. Separations were obtained under pressure ramped conditions using long (15 m) 50-micron i.d. columns for several trichothecenes (diacetoxyscirpenol, deoxynivalenol, and T-2 toxin) and related higher molecular weight macrocyclic (roridin and verrucarin) trichothecenes. In addition, new rapid pressure programming techniques with short (less than 2m) 25- to 50-micron i.d. capillary columns were used to obtain fast separations in as little as 1 min. SFC/MS with ammonia chemical ionization provided high selectivity and sensitive detection (with approximately 1-pg detection limits) for trichothecene mixtures. The extension to complex sample matrices is discussed and the application of selective MS/MS detection is demonstrated.
Strategies for building a multidisciplinary academic program in women's health.

During the decade of the 1990s, women's health has received unprecedented attention from government, industry, marketers of healthcare, and academic medical centers. An assessment of research, education, and healthcare delivery has exposed gaps in our knowledge about gender-related issues. Recognition of gender as a rich frontier for innovation and discovery has resulted in widespread and varied responses and a commensurate increase in activity in the field. However, this diversity of effort has created the new challenge of effectively communicating strategies of response to the multiple disciplines invested in women's health. This article describes a strategy used at Duke University Medical Center to build awareness of women's health through a highly visible and successful Women's Health Seminar Series. The series serves as a focal point for broader efforts to build a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, academic program in women's health with initiatives in clinical care, research, faculty development, pro...
Composed Consumption: Picturing Nascent National Identity in Food Paintings

Emblematic seventeenth and early eighteenth-century food paintings from the Netherlands, France and England—Rembrandt's The Flayed Ox (1655), Chardin's Woman Cleaning Turnips (ca. 1738), and Hogart...
Rapid and Efficient One-Step Metabolic Pathway Integration in E. coli

Methods for importing heterologous genes into genetically tractable hosts are among the most desired tools of synthetic biology. Easy plug-and-play construction methods to rapidly test genes and pathways stably in the host genome would expedite synthetic biology and metabolic engineering applications. Here, we describe a CRISPR-based strategy that allows highly efficient, single step integration of large pathways in Escherichia coli. This strategy allows high efficiency integration in a broad range of homology arm sizes and genomic positions, with efficiencies ranging from 70 to 100% in 7 distinct loci. To demonstrate the large size capability, we integrated a 10 kb construct to implement isobutanol production in a single day. The ability to efficiently integrate entire metabolic pathways in a rapid and markerless manner will facilitate testing and engineering of novel pathways using the E. coli genome as a stable testing platform.
Distance of the internal central venous catheter tip from the right atrium is positively correlated with central venous thrombosis

Central venous catheters (CVCs) are associated with occlusive, infectious, and thrombotic complications. The aim of this study was to determine if internal CVC tip position was correlated with subsequent complications. This was an institutional review board approved single-center retrospective review of 169 consecutive patients who underwent placement of 203 semipermanent CVCs. Using post-placement chest X-rays, a de novo scale of internal catheter tip position was developed. Major complications were recorded. A logistic regression analysis was used to determine if catheter tip position predicted subsequent complications. There were 78 men and 91 women with a mean age of 48 ± 11 years. There were 21 catheter tips placed in the subclavian/innominate veins, 32 in the upper superior vena cava, 113 in the atriocaval junction, and 37 in the right atrium. There were 83 complications occurring in 61 (36.1 %) patients, including sepsis in 40 (23.7 %), venous thrombosis in 18 (10.7 %), catheter occlusion in 16 (9.5 %), internal catheter repositioning in 6 (3.6 %), pneumothorax in 2 (1.2 %), and death in 1 (0.6 %). An internal catheter tip position peripheral to the atriocaval junction resulted in a catheter that was more likely to undergo internal repositioning (p < 0.001) and venous thrombosis (p < 0.001). Patients with femoral catheters were more likely to develop sepsis (45 %) than patients whose catheters were inserted through the upper extremity veins (18 %) (p < 0.01). In conclusion, to reduce catheter-associated morbidity and potentially mortality, the internal catheter tip should be positioned at the atriocaval junction or within the right atrium and femoral insertion sites should be avoided whenever possible.
Induction and decay of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity in mouse 3T3 cells.

Aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity in mouse 3T3 cells is induced by 24 hr of exposure to 9 µM benz[a]anthracene or to 1 µM 3-methylcholanthrene; however, maximal activity induced by 3-methylcholanthrene is only about 33% of that induced by benz[a]anthracene. Induction by benz[a]anthracene is inhibited by simultaneous administration of 3-methylcholanthrene. Inducible aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity attains a maximum during the late log-early confluence stage of culture growth and is lower in confluent, nonfed cells. Feeding confluent cells results in another peak of inducibility, concomitant with an increase in DNA synthesis. However, blockade of DNA synthesis with cytosine arabinoside does not block the peak of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity which occurs after feeding. After removal of inducer from cultures with maximally induced activity, two apparent decay rates are observed, one with a t1/2 of 15-30 min and another with a t1/2 of 4-6 hr. Cultures with submaximally induced activity show only the slow rate of decay. Addition of inducer in fresh medium to washed, maximally induced cultures stabilizes induced activity. Readdition of benz[a]-anthracene to cultures deprived of inducer for 1 or 4 hr results in reinduction of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase. This second increase in activity is faster than the initial rate of induction and is prevented by cycloheximide or actinomycin D. These data indicate the importance of culture growth phase, feeding schedule, and duration of exposure to inducer in the determination of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity in cultured 3T3 cells. In addition, it was observed that both control and induced levels of this enzyme are decreased in cultures contaminated with mycoplasma before cytopathic effects of the contamination are evident.
The Influence of Exotic Lady Beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) Establishment on the Species Composition of the Native Lady Beetle Community in Missouri

The diversity and abundance of native lady beetles (Coccinellidae) in North America has declined in recent decades. This decline is often correlated with the introduction and establishment of exotic lady beetle species, including Coccinella septempunctata L. and Harmonia axyridis Pallas, suggesting that exotic species precipitated the decline of native lady beetles. We examined species records of native coccinellids in Missouri over 118 yr and asked whether the species composition of the community experienced a shift following the establishment of the exotic species. We found that the contemporary native coccinellid community is different from the community that was present nearly a century ago. However, there was no evidence for a recent abrupt shift in composition triggered by the establishment of exotic species. Instead, our data suggest that the native lady beetle community has been undergoing consistent and gradual change over time, with some species decreasing in abundance and others increasing. While not excluding exotic species as a factor contributing to the decline of native lady beetle species, our findings suggest that other continuous factors, like land use change, may have played a more influential role in determining the composition of the native coccinellid communities within our region.
A cosmogenic 10Be chronology for the local last glacial maximum and termination in the Cordillera Oriental, southern Peruvian Andes: Implications for the tropical role in global climate

Abstract Resolving patterns of tropical climate variability during and since the last glacial maximum (LGM) is fundamental to assessing the role of the tropics in global change, both on ice-age and sub-millennial timescales. Here, we present a10Be moraine chronology from the Cordillera Carabaya (14.3°S), a sub-range of the Cordillera Oriental in southern Peru, covering the LGM and the first half of the last glacial termination. Additionally, we recalculate existing 10Be ages using a new tropical high-altitude production rate in order to put our record into broader spatial context. Our results indicate that glaciers deposited a series of moraines during marine isotope stage 2, broadly synchronous with global glacier maxima, but that maximum glacier extent may have occurred prior to stage 2. Thereafter, atmospheric warming drove widespread deglaciation of the Cordillera Carabaya. A subsequent glacier resurgence culminated at ∼16,100 yrs, followed by a second period of glacier recession. Together, the observed deglaciation corresponds to Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1: ∼18,000–14,600 yrs), during which pluvial lakes on the adjacent Peruvian-Bolivian altiplano rose to their highest levels of the late Pleistocene as a consequence of southward displacement of the inter-tropical convergence zone and intensification of the South American summer monsoon. Deglaciation in the Cordillera Carabaya also coincided with the retreat of higher-latitude mountain glaciers in the Southern Hemisphere. Our findings suggest that HS1 was characterised by atmospheric warming and indicate that deglaciation of the southern Peruvian Andes was driven by rising temperatures, despite increased precipitation. Recalculated 10Be data from other tropical Andean sites support this model. Finally, we suggest that the broadly uniform response during the LGM and termination of the glaciers examined here involved equatorial Pacific sea-surface temperature anomalies and propose a framework for testing the viability of this conceptual model.
Chapter 34 – Bronchioloalveolar Carcinoma of the Lung and Bronchus

Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma of the lung and bronchus is among the uncommon types of carcinoma and is believed to derive from the cells lining the terminal bronchioles and the alveoli, sacs at the end from which the oxygen is transferred from the air to the blood. It appears in many degrees of severity, from benign-appearing groups of cells to aggressive malignancy. There appears to be substantial variation in appearance as well as behavior. The malignancy sometimes appears as a single large mass, and sometimes as multiple foci of malignant cells. This form of lung carcinoma is very difficult to distinguish from pulmonary metastases: malignancies originating in other organs that have spread to the lung. This malignancy is also less common in Utah and Denmark than in Los Angeles County. Whites are at the highest risk among women and older men, and risk is roughly equal between men and women. The modest geographical concentration suggests that other determinants are important. The pattern does not suggest a specific hypothesis.