cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Overlapping Sp1 and AP2 binding sites in a promoter element of the lens-specific MIP gene

The MIP gene, the founder of the MIP family of channel proteins, is specifically expressed in fiber cells of the ocular lens and expression is regulated temporally and spatially during development. We previously found that a DNA fragment containing 253 bp of 5'-flanking sequence and 42 bp of exon 1 of the human MIP gene contains regulatory elements responsible for lens-specific expression of the MIP gene. In this report we have analyzed the function of overlapping Sp1 and AP2 binding sites present in the MIP promoter. Using DNase I footprinting analysis we found that purified Sp1 and AP2 transcription factors interact with several domains of the human MIP promoter sequence -253/+42. Furthermore, addition of purified Sp1 to Drosophila nuclear extracts activates in vitro transcription from the MIP promoter -253/+42. This promoter activity is competed by oligonucleotides containing domains footprinted with Sp1. Using promoter-reporter gene ( CAT ) constructs we found that the sequence -39/-70 contains a cis regulatory element essential for promoter activity in transient assays in lens cells. EMSA analysis showed that lens nuclear extracts contain factors that bind to the MIP 5'-flanking sequence containing overlapping Sp1 and AP2 binding domains at positions -37/-65. Supershift experiments with lens nuclear extracts indicated that Sp3 is also able to interact with this regulatory element, suggesting that Sp1 and Sp3 may be involved in regulation of transcription of the MIP gene in the lens.
The economic costs and consequences of mass communications data retention: is the data retention directive a proportionate measure?

This article seeks to determine the economic costs and consequences of implementing the Data Retention Directive (Directive 2006/24/EC), an extraordinary counter terrorism measure that mandates the a priori retention of communications data on every European citizen, by drawing on the insights of economic analysis. It also explores the monetary costs of the Directive on subscribers and communications service providers of Member States within the EU. Furthermore, it examines the implications of the Directive on the economic sector of the European Union, by focusing on the Directive’s impact on EU competitiveness and other EU policies such as the Lisbon Strategy. This analysis is motivated by the following questions: what are the monetary costs of creating and maintaining the proposed database for data retention? What are the effects of these measures on individuals? What obstacles arise for the global competitiveness of EU telecommunications and electronic communications service providers as a result of these measures? Are other policies in the European Union affected by this measure? If so, which ones?
Membrane hydrophone phase characteristics through nonlinear acoustics measurements

This work considers the need for both the amplitude and phase to fully characterize polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane hydrophones and presents a comprehensive discussion of the nonlinear acoustic measurements utilized to extract the phase information and the experimental results taken with two widely used PVDF membrane hydrophones up to 100 MHz. A semi-empirical computer model utilized the hyperbolic propagation operator to predict the nonlinear pressure field and provide the complex frequency response of the corresponding source transducer. The PVDF hydrophone phase characteristics, which were obtained directly from the difference between the computer-modeled nonlinear field simulation and the corresponding measured harmonic frequency phase values, agree to within 10% with the phase predictions obtained from receive-transfer-function simulations based on software modeling of the membrane's physical properties. Cable loading effects and membrane hydrophone resonances were distinguished and identified through a series of impedance measurements and receive transfer function simulations on the hydrophones including their hard-wired coaxial cables. The results obtained indicate that the PVDF membrane hydrophone's phase versus frequency plot exhibits oscillations about a monotonically decreasing line. The maxima and minima inflection point slopes occur at the membrane thickness resonances and antiresonances, respectively. A cable resonance was seen at 100 MHz for the hydrophone with a 1-m cable attached, but not seen for the hydrophone with a shorter 0.65-m cable.
The Administration of Eligibility for Community Long-term Care

Eligibility assessment systems for community long-term care vary widely across current programs funded by states and Medicaid and in proposals to expand federal funding. Improved equity and efficiency in both current and proposed programs will require better specification of eligibility criteria, timing and setting of assessments, language of assessment items, training of assessors, procedures for appeal and review, and consideration of the costs of care management. Recent research and demonstrations provide models and technology for more uniform approaches in national programs.
Discovering what makes STAT signaling TYK in T-ALL.

Summary: RNA interference screening establishes TYK2 dependence in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), leading to identification of TYK2-activating mutations and increased IL-10 receptor signaling in T-ALL cell lines. Cancer Discov; 3(5); 494–6. ©2013 AACR. See related article by Sanda et al., [p. 564][1] [1]: /lookup/volpage/3/564?iss=5
Mind the gap: genetic distance increases with habitat gap size in Florida scrub jays

Habitat gap size has been negatively linked to movement probability in several species occupying fragmented landscapes. How these effects on movement behaviour in turn affect the genetic structure of fragmented populations at local scales is less well known. We tested, and confirmed, the hypothesis that genetic differentiation among adjacent populations of Florida scrub jays—an endangered bird species with poor dispersal abilities and a high degree of habitat specialization—increases with the width of habitat gaps separating them. This relationship was not an artefact of simple isolation-by-distance, as genetic distance was not correlated with the Euclidean distance between geographical centroids of the adjacent populations. Our results suggest that gap size affects movement behaviour even at remarkably local spatial scales, producing direct consequences on the genetic structure of fragmented populations. This finding shows that conserving genetic continuity for specialist species within fragmented habitat requires maintenance or restoration of preserve networks in which habitat gaps do not exceed a species-specific threshold distance.
Verbal memory outcome in patients with normal preoperative verbal memory and left mesial temporal sclerosis

Abstract Purpose Previous studies have shown that structural integrity (i.e., presence/absence of mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS)) of the left mesial temporal lobe is associated with verbal memory outcome following left anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL). However, the functional integrity of the left temporal lobe, as exemplified by preoperative verbal memory performance, has also been associated with verbal memory outcome following surgery. We investigated the risk of verbal memory loss in patients with known structural abnormality (i.e., left mesial temporal sclerosis by MRI) and normal preoperative verbal memory performance who undergo left ATL. Methods Seventeen patients with left temporal lobe epilepsy, MRI-based exclusive left MTS, and normal preoperative verbal memory were identified. Normal verbal memory was defined as performance on both Acquisition (learning across trials 1–5) and Retrieval (long delayed free recall) portions of the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) above a T score of 40 (>16%ile). Postoperative verbal memory outcome was established by incorporating standardized regression-based (SRB) change scores. Results Postoperative declines across both CVLT Retrieval T scores and Acquisition T scores (average 20% and average 15% declines from baseline scores, respectively) were measured for the group. The average CVLT Retrieval SRB change score was −2.5, and the average CVLT Acquisition SRB change score was −1.0. A larger proportion of patients demonstrated postoperative declines on Retrieval scores than Acquisition scores (64.7% vs 17.6%, respectively). Conclusions Even in the presence of left MTS, patients exhibiting normal presurgical verbal memory are at risk for verbal memory declines following ATL. These results suggest that the functional integrity of the left mesial temporal lobe may play an important role in the verbal memory outcome in this patient group.
Defining 5S rRNA Structure Space: Point Mutation Data Can Be Used to Predict the Phenotype of Multichange Variants

A portion of the 5S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) structure space in the vicinity of the Vibrio proteolyticus 5S rRNA sequence is explored in detail with the intention of establishing principles that will allow a priori prediction of which sequences would be valid members of a particular RNA structure space. Four hundred and one sequence variants differing from the V. proteolyticus 5S rRNA wild-type sequence in 1–7 positions were characterized using an in vivo assay system. Most significantly, it was found that in general, the phenotypic effects of single changes were independent of the phenotypic effect of a second change. As a result, it was possible to use the new data in conjunction with results from prior studies of the same RNA to develop ‘‘truth tables’’ to predict which multiple change variants would be functional and which would be nonfunctional. The actual phenotype of 93.8% of the multichange variants studied was consistent with the predictions made using truth tables thereby providing for perhaps the first time an upper limit estimate of how frequent unexpected interactions are. It was also observed that single changes at positions involved in secondary structure were no more likely to be invalid than changes in other regions. In particular, internal changes in long standard stems were in fact almost always tolerated. Changes at positions that were hypervariable in the context of an alignment of related sequences were, as expected, usually found to be valid. However, the potential validity of changes that were idiosyncratic to a single lineage of related sequences when placed in the V. proteolyticus 5S rRNA context was unpredictable.
A new chronic neural probe with electroplated iridium oxide microelectrodes

We have developed a silicon-based neural microelectrode system for long-term neural recording and stimulation. Our aim is to design robust silicon-based microelectrode arrays that are suitable for implantation into various targets in the brain and spinal cord. The microelectrode sites were electroplated with iridium oxide, thereby reducing the AC impedance and increasing charge storage capacity, compared to gold electrodes. To date, the implanted probe system has been able to record resolvable single-unit action potentials for five months in the ventral cochlear nucleus of the cats' brainstem.
The application of system dynamics (SD) simulation to enterprise management

The paper presents the background and some of the lessons learned from a project in which system dynamics (SD) simulation was applied in the enterprise environment. The organization simulated is a large commercial concern, developing and marketing new products as well as existing products in a highly competitive environment. SD simulation was used to examine business practices, validate corporate performance measures, train senior leaders in systems thinking, and to produce a forecast of long term profits and loss. The application of SD to enterprise simulation is not new; the scale of this application, and some of the techniques used for design and rollout make the project unique.
Conversion of Epoxides to β‐Hydroxy Isocyanides: trans‐2‐Isocyanocyclohexanol

Conversion of epoxides to β-hydroxy isocyanides: trans-2-isocyanocyclohexanol intermediate: [(trans-2-isocyanocyclohexyl)oxy]trimethylsilane product: trans-2-isocyanocyclohexanol Keywords: addition, miscellaneous; deprotection, oxygen; ring opening reactions; dichloromethane (methylene chloride); trimethysilyl cyanide
Age-related loss of SirT1 expression results in dysregulated human vascular smooth muscle cell function

Loss of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) function is a hallmark of vascular disease. VSMCs become increasingly dysregulated, apoptotic, and senescent as we age. Sirtuin 1 (SirT1) is a deactylase ...
Spatial trends of breast and prostate cancers in the United States between 2000 and 2005.

Background Breast cancer in females and prostate cancer in males are two of the most common cancers in the United States, and the literature suggests that they share similar features. However, it is unknown whether the occurrence of these two cancers at the county level in the United States is correlated. We analyzed Caucasian age-adjusted county level average annual incidence rates for breast and prostate cancers from the National Cancer Institute and State Cancer Registries to determine whether there was a spatial correlation between the two conditions and whether the two cancers had similar spatial patterns.
Activation of G i -coupled receptors releases a tonic state of inhibited platelet aggregation

Single-receptor pharmacology does not satisfactorily explain the physiology of the ADP-induced platelet aggregation response. It has been shown that, in addition to G q -coupled receptor activation, one G i -coupled receptor, either the ADP P or the f -adrenoceptor, is required for elicitation of aggregation. The underlying mechanism of this action, however, has not been elucidated. By systematically assaying the entire time course of the aggregation and its fade using two methods of aggregometry, we have investigated the role of graded activation of these two G i -coupled receptors. We demonstrate that constant activation of either of two G q coupled receptors, the ADP P2Y 1 or the 5-HT 2A , and incremental activation of either of the two G i -coupled receptors, tightly regulates the aggregation response in vitro , through the apparent release of a tonic inhibition of platelet aggregation. This tightly regulated release of inhibition, which appears analogous to the phenomena of disinhibition observed in ...
Monocyte Trafficking to Hepatic Sites of Bacterial Infection Is Chemokine Independent and Directed by Focal Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 Expression

Recruitment of CCR2(+)Ly6C(high) monocytes to sites of infection is essential for efficient clearance of microbial pathogens. Although CCR2-mediated signals promote monocyte emigration from bone marrow, the contribution of CCR2 to later stages of monocyte recruitment remains unresolved. In this article, we show that CCR2 deficiency markedly worsens hepatic Listeria monocytogenes infection because Ly6C(high) monocytes are retained in the bone marrow. Intravenously transferred, CCR2-deficient Ly6C(high) monocytes traffic normally to hepatic foci of infection and contribute to bacterial clearance. Pertussis toxin treatment of adoptively transferred monocytes does not impair their intrahepatic trafficking, suggesting that chemokine signaling, once CCR2(+)Ly6C(high) monocytes emigrate from the bone marrow, is not required for monocyte localization to sites of bacterial infection in the liver. Expression of ICAM-1 is induced in close proximity to foci of bacterial infection in the liver, including on CD31(+) endothelial cells, and blockade of CD11b and CD44 diminishes monocyte localization to these hepatic foci. Our studies demonstrated that Ly6C(high) monocyte recruitment from the bloodstream to the L. monocytogenes-infected liver does not require chemokine receptor-mediated signals but instead is principally dependent on integrin- and extracellular matrix-mediated monocyte adhesion.
Acute, early thermal experience alters weaning onset in rats

Abstract GERRISH, C. J., C. M. ONISCHAK AND J. R. ALBERTS. Acute early thermal experience alters weaning onset in rats. PHYSIOL. BEHAV. 64 (4) 463–474, 1998. We hypothesized that first ingestion of solid food (weaning onset) would be accelerated in young rats with advanced thermoregulatory development. To manipulate the pups’ thermoregulatory development, we exposed rat pups, but not their dams, to a Cold (10°C), Moderate (21°C), or Warm (31°C) ambience for 2 h/day from postnatal Day 2–14, expecting that early exposure to cooler temperatures would accelerate development of thermoregulatory capabilities and thus accelerate nest egression as well as onset of feeding. Contrary to expectation, cold exposure was associated with a profile of developmental delays in both growth and maturation. Pups in the Cold condition began feeding later than pups with Moderate or Warm thermal experiences. We then evaluated thermoregulatory status (mechanisms for heat production and temperature conservation) on Day 15–16 (just prior to weaning onset). Thermogenesis, measured by oxygen consumption, was unaltered by the thermal manipulation. In contrast, pelage development (insulation) was altered. Pups in the Warm condition had greater fur density and an increased frequency of longer hairs relative to pups in the Cold condition. Although the developmental response to early cold exposure was in the direction opposite to our predictions, the hypothesized relation of thermoregulatory development to weaning onset was supported: Thermoregulatory status correlated with weaning onset.
Design of an application-specific instruction set processor for high-throughput and scalable FFT

Various Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)-based wireless communication standards have raised more stringent requirements on throughput and flexibility of Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT), a kernel data transformation task in communication systems. Application-specific instruction set processor (ASIP) has emerged as a promising solution to meet these requirements. In this paper, we propose a novel ASIP design tailored for FFT computation. We reconstruct the FFT computation flow into a scalable array structure based on an 8-point butterfly unit (BU). Any-point FFT computation can be carried out in the array structure which can easily expand along both the horizontal and vertical dimensions. We incorporate custom register files to reduce memory access. The data address for custom registers in each FFT stage is changed accordingly, and we derive a regular address changing (AC) rule. With the microarchitecture modifications, we extend the instruction set with three custom instructions correspondingly. Our FFT ASIP implementation achieves great performance improvement over the standard FFT software implementation, one TI DSP processor, and one commercial Xtensa ASIP, with the data throughput improvement as 866.5X, 5.9X, 2.3X, respectively. Meanwhile, the area and power consumption overhead of the custom hardware is negligible.
An Ecological Risk Assessment of the Acute and Chronic Effects of the Herbicide Clopyralid to Rainbow Trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss )

Clopyralid (3,6-dichloro-2-pyridinecarboxylic acid) is a pyridine herbicide frequently used to control invasive, noxious weeds in the northwestern United States. Clopyralid exhibits low acute toxicity to fish, including the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and the threatened bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). However, there are no published chronic toxicity data for clopyralid and fish that can be used in ecological risk assessments. We conducted 30-day chronic toxicity studies with juvenile rainbow trout exposed to the acid form of clopyralid. The 30-day maximum acceptable toxicant concentration (MATC) for growth, calculated as the geometric mean of the no observable effect concentration (68 mg/L) and the lowest observable effect concentration (136 mg/L), was 96 mg/L. No mortality was measured at the highest chronic concentration tested (273 mg/L). The acute:chronic ratio, calculated by dividing the previously published 96-h acutely lethal concentration (96-h ALC50; 700 mg/L) by the MATC was 7.3. Toxicity values were compared to a four-tiered exposure assessment profile assuming an application rate of 1.12 kg/ha. The Tier 1 exposure estimation, based on direct overspray of a 2-m deep pond, was 0.055 mg/L. The Tier 2 maximum exposure estimate, based on the Generic Exposure Estimate Concentration model (GEENEC), was 0.057 mg/L. The Tier 3 maximum exposure estimate, based on previously published results of the Groundwater Loading Effects of Agricultural Management Systems model (GLEAMS), was 0.073 mg/L. The Tier 4 exposure estimate, based on published edge-of-field monitoring data, was estimated at 0.008 mg/L. Comparison of toxicity data to estimated environmental concentrations of clopyralid indicates that the safety factor for rainbow trout exposed to clopyralid at labeled use rates exceeds 1000. Therefore, the herbicide presents little to no risk to rainbow trout or other salmonids such as the threatened bull trout.
Thinking Interestingly: The Use of Game Play to Enhance Learning and Facilitate Critical Thinking within a Homeland Security Curriculum.

ABSTRACTStudents of homeland security need to grasp a diverse body of knowledge and have a keen understanding of the variety of events and issues that impact how they can apply that knowledge. The goal of higher education should not just be about imparting knowledge but also about giving students tools and skill sets to ‘think interestingly’ to be successful in their future career. These are critical thinking and problem-solving, agility and adaptability, accessing and analysing information, and curiosity and imagination. This study examines the pedagogical approach to incorporate game play, specifically the use of probability-based tabletop exercises, into course curriculums to enhance knowledge and develop these particular skill sets. Data were collected from students enrolled in courses with terrorism and homeland security as major themes. The goal of the study was to answer the questions: did students enrolled in a homeland security–related course perceive game-based learning as enhancing their compre...
Assessment of 2D X-ray and Volumetric-based Localization Imaging for Patients Treated with SRS and SBRT

Purpose/Objective(s): To optimize image-guidance strategies for patients treated with SRS and SBRT at various body sites using a linear accelerator (Novalis TX, Varian) equipped with both on-board imaging (OBI, Varian) and 2D X-ray imagingbased localization capabilities (ExacTrac, ETX, BrainLAB). Information acquired from these imaging modalities (point-based estimation with ExacTrac and volume-based information from CBCT) may provide valuable assessment of interfraction motion. Differences in interfraction shifts between the two modalities were analyzed, and correlations were made between the magnitudes of the shifts and the treated body sites to formulate a clinical protocol that will ensure accurate and efficient use of the Novalis TX linac.
The Management of Archives: A Research Agenda

The author outlines the need for the development of a research agenda on the management of archives as the basis for the significant changes and innovation required of archives and archivists in order to become more effective and to meet the needs of their constituencies in the next generation. Fundamental changes in the political, technological, and cultural environment in which archives function will require more competent archival managers, more effective archival programs, and a profession more inclined to view its needs and issues from a management perspective. Recommended areas of research include the development of management competency models for archivists; the study of institutional culture, organizational effectiveness, and change management; the analysis of management education needs and delivery; and the evaluation and development of guidelines and standards for archival programs. The role and responsibility of individual archivists and archival institutions to develop this agenda is also out...
The Separation of Flavonoids by Column and Thin Layer Chromatography

Charcoal is useful for the preliminary purification of a mixture of flavonoids, particularly flavonoid glycosides, which are usually present in a crude aqueous or aqueous-methanolic extract of plant material [1]. The charcoal procedure described below separates flavonoids from most non-aromatic plant constituents such as the common carbohydrates. The method is especially useful for flavonoid glycosides which are readily recovered almost quantitatively from the charcoal with water containing 7% phenol (i. e. a saturated aqueous solution at room temperature). Although many aglycones can also be recovered, at least in part, from the charcoal, the procedure is not recommended for their purification. Aglycones can often be extracted directly from a crude syrup obtained from a plant extract with a solvent such as ethyl acetate, while their complete recovery from charcoal many require the use of pyridine as eluent. A typical charcoal procedure is presented below for the preliminary purification of the flavonoids in a crude extract obtained from Baptisia lecontei plant material.
Adverse Drug Reactions, Medical Accidents, and Patient Safety

The open-ended nature of Medicare and Medicaid funding in the US has made increased governmental oversight of the health sector partly an exercise in fiscal self-preservation. Most EU countries, on the other hand, exert tighter control over total health care spending through budgetary processes, so do not experience as intense fiscal pressures to implement quality improvement measures. On both sides of the Atlantic, however, payor oversight also attempts to improve patient safety and welfare. The regulatory response to medical risks has nonetheless been relatively low-key and cautious everywhere. Apart from a few subject areas - US drug and device regulation, and EU regulation of genetically modified food, for example - the precautionary principle has not found robust expression in regulatory policy focused on health care itself. In both America and the EU the reasons for this range from the difficulty of identifying iatrogenic risk, to the traditional deference accorded to self-regulation in the medical profession, to the paucity of enforcement resources. This chapter compares US & EU approaches to adverse drug reactions, medical accidents and patient safety through the lens of the precautionary principle.
What Conservative Constitutional Revolution? Moderating Five Degrees of Judicial Conservatism after Six Years of the Roberts Court

This article separates the facts from the hyperbole regarding the constitutional decisionmaking of the Roberts Court. Despite the claims that the Court is dismantling precedents and is engaged in conservative activism, I demonstrate through an empirical and doctrinal analysis that the Roberts Court has a better record of adhering to constitutional precedent than any other Court in the last fifty years. It has been selective in reviewing the constitutionality of state and local laws, invalidating fewer laws per term than any other Court since the Korean War. Most of its decisions comport with the precepts of minimalism - avoiding constitutional issues when possible, respecting the holdings of prior decisions, resolving controversies in small steps, relying on incremental rules, and providing an opportunity for a dialogue on constitutional meaning. Although the Court has not adhered to this approach in the campaign expenditure and criminal procedure contexts, the resulting changes in constitutional doctrine are not even consistently conservative, much less revolutionary. This is because the "conservative" members of the Court have quite distinct judicial philosophies. I identify five methodological planes or axes along which a judge's jurisprudence could be described as conservative, including adopting a historically frozen interpretive methodology, employing an analytical process for formulating predictive rules, relying on an incremental approach to constitutional decisionmaking, perfecting the Constitution in accordance with a preferred conservative ideological vision, and deferring passively to the other branches of government on constitutional meaning. I evaluate the preferences of Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito along these five planes, demonstrating that each has his own preferences when the various strands of judicial conservatism conflict. Such meaningful distinctions in the jurisprudential views of the Republican-appointed members of the Court bar any current possibility of a conservative constitutional revolution.
Identification, distribution, and significance of a collagenolytic enzyme in human tissues.

Summary and conclusions1. Collagenolytic activity in normal and pathological human tissue has been demonstrated by culturing tissue specimens on reconstituted bovine collagen substrate. 2. Collagenolysis appears to be associated primarily with epithelium and not with deep connective tissue elements. 3. Alteration of a delicate balance between collagen synthesis and collagen breakdown in remodeling tissues has been hypothesized as the mechanism by which some pathological conditions characterized by abnormal amounts of collagen may be produced.
A Fiber Optic Sensor for the Remote Detection of Trichloroethylene in Soil

A fiber optic remote sensing method for measuring the infrared reflectance from chlorinated hydrocarbons in soils is demonstrated. Minimum observable signal corresponging to 250 ppm of trichloroethylene (TCE) in sea-sand was measured with the system over a distance of 12 meters. We also report a novel analysis technique for extracting chemical contaminant information from IR spectra. Suggestions for further enhancing the sensor's threshold detection limit are offered.
Selenium Deficiency Induced an Altered Immune Response and Increased Survival Following Influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/34 Infection

This study was designed to determine the effect of selenium (Se) deficiency on the immune response to infection with a virulent strain of influenza virus, influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/34. Previous work in our laboratory demonstrated that Se-deficient mice infected with a mild strain of influenza virus, influenza A/ Bangkok/1/79, developed much more severe lung pathology compared with Se-adequate mice. Immune function was altered in the Se-deficient mice, and the viral genome changed to a more virulent genotype. In this study, we tested whether Se deficiency would have a similar effect on mice infected with a more virulent, mouse-adapted strain of influenza virus. Three-week-old male mice were fed Se-adequate or Se-deficient diet for 4 weeks before inoculation with influenza A/PR8/34. There was no difference in lung influenza viral titer between Se-deficient and Se-adequate mice. Se-deficient mice had less macrophage inflammatory protein 1alpha (MIP-1alpha) and regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) production at the transcriptional and protein level in the lung postinfection. Se-deficient mice also had higher levels of IL-2 expression followed by a higher level of IL-4 expression in the lung. At Day 7 postinfection, there was no death in the Se-deficient group compared with 50% of the mice dying in the Se-adequate group. Sequencing of the virus isolated from infected Se-adequate and Se-deficient mice did not detect viral genome mutations in either group. This study demonstrated that Se-deficient mice had an altered immune response to an infection with a virulent strain of influenza virus. This altered immune response was beneficial for protecting the mice from influenza virus-induced mortality.
KAP about Atypical Pneumonia among Service Providers of Public Places and Food Industry in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province

Objective To investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practice about infectious atypical pneumonia among the service providers of public places and food industry in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted among 523 service providers of public places and food industry, 151 males and 372 females, aged 17～50, that participated in the training courses. Results 92 9% of the respondents knew the infectiousness of atypical pneumonia 87 1% of them knew the transmission routes The main sources of knowledge included TV, newspaper, and radio broadcast Most of them took an active interest in the epidemic situation of atypical pneumonia Conclusion Health education about atypical pneumonia carried out so far in Shenzhen is effective The right information has been spread
Effects of insulin-like growth factor I on the renal juxtamedullary microvasculature

To characterize the effects on the rat renal preglomerular microvasculature of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), experiments were performed using the in vitro blood-perfused juxtamedullary neph...
Sleep, Depression, and Fatigue in Late Postpartum.

PURPOSE To study the relation of infant characteristics and home environment on maternal sleep, depression, and fatigue in late postpartum. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Forty-two healthy mother-infant dyads completed a home-based study at infant age 32 weeks. Maternal measures included Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) sleep and wake disturbance, depression, and fatigue scales. Home regularity was assessed using the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS). Infant sleep and regulation were measured respectively by the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (BISQ) and Infant-Toddler Symptom Checklist (ITSC). RESULTS Significant correlations among maternal sleep and wake disturbance, fatigue, and depression were detected (r = .519 to .746, p < .01), but not with infant variables. Home regularity was significantly related with maternal variables (r = .597 to .653, p < .01). CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Regularity of the home environment appears to contribute to maternal sleep, depression, and fatigue. Implications for intervention include establishment of daily routines and household management to improve regularity and consequently improve maternal outcomes.
Inhibiting GPIbα Shedding Preserves Post-Transfusion Recovery and Hemostatic Function of Platelets After Prolonged Storage.

Objective— The platelet storage lesion accelerates platelet clearance after transfusion, but the underlying molecular mechanism remains elusive. Although inhibiting sheddase activity hampers clearance of platelets with storage lesion, the target platelet protein responsible for ectodomain shedding–induced clearance is not definitively identified. Monoclonal antibody 5G6 was developed recently to bind specifically human platelet receptor glycoprotein (GP)Ibα and inhibit its shedding but not shedding of other receptors. Here, the role of GPIbα shedding in platelet clearance after transfusion was addressed. Approach and Results— Both human leukoreduced apheresis-derived platelets and transgenic mouse platelets expressing human GPIbα were stored at room temperature in the presence and absence of 5G6 Fab fragment. At various time points, aliquots of stored platelets were analyzed and compared. 5G6 Fab inhibited GPIbα shedding in both platelets during storage and preserved higher level of GPIbα on the platelet surface. Compared with age-matched control platelets, 5G6 Fab–stored platelets exhibited similar levels of platelet activation, degranulation, and agonist-induced aggregation. 5G6 Fab–stored human GPIbα platelets exhibited significantly higher post-transfusion recovery and in vivo hemostatic function in recipient mice than control platelets. Consistently, 5G6 Fab–stored, 8-day-old human platelets produced similar improvement in post-transfusion recovery in immunodeficient mice and in ex vivo thrombus formation compared with collagen under shear flow. Conclusions— Specific inhibition of GPIbα shedding in the stored platelets improves post-transfusion platelet recovery and hemostatic function, providing clear evidence for GPIbα shedding as a cause of platelet clearance. These results suggest that specific inhibition of GPIbα shedding may be used to optimize platelet storage conditions.
Afterword Insisting on “both/and”: Artifacts of Excavating the Moral Panics of Sexuality

Excavation is hard, uncomfortable work, requiring risk and caution, patience and passion, willingness and desire to make visible and acces- sible information and insights that have been obscured and are in need of being foisted out into the open to be seen, recognized, known. The excavations of the moral panics about sexuality that comprise this book constitute an outstanding accomplishment. The editors and authors set out to stretch the scope of the “usual fare” for moral panics, inviting and convincing us to expand beyond analysis of the incessant hysteria sur- rounding teenage sexuality and the media. These chapters take us to new heights of taboo that inspire often more subtle but profoundly pervasive panics instigated by sexual bodies, sexual blood, and sexual desire, defy- ing containment and making their escape from “appropriate,” “normal,” and “moral” boundaries. Like the novel Hopscotch by Julio Cotazar, the chapters of the book within the sections “Female Desire,” “Creating Norms,” “Colonial Erotics,” “Tactical Panics,” and “Critical Panics” can (and should) be reshuffled to illuminate other analytic threads that underpin, interrupt, and/or inspire moral panics about sexuality: how certain conceits endure, how particular forms of engagement with the “healthy” are advocated or disparaged. The volume has effectively accomplished its goals, from making clear the costs of moral panics that serve to deny sexual knowledge, access to contraception, and entitlement to sexual freedoms and diversity to showing how the bodies of the mar- ginalized are made to carry the weight of cultural and social anxieties, and revealing the profound costs of the appropriation by and for moral panics of barely emergent discourses of empowerment, resistance, and autonomy.
Do movement behaviors identify reproductive habitat sampling for wild turkeys

Selection of habitats has regularly been suggested to influence species demography at both local and broad scales. The expectation is that selection behaviors have positive benefits via greater fitness or increased survival. The current paradigm of habitat selection theory suggests a hierarchical process, where an individual first selects where they choose to live (e.g., range) and then searches and selects locations within this range meeting life history needs. Using high-frequency GPS data collected from reproductively active Rio Grande (n = 21) and Eastern (n = 23) wild turkeys, we evaluated a long-standing theory for ground-nesting galliformes, in that movements during the prenesting period are behaviorally focused on sampling available habitats to optimize the selection of nesting sites. Contrary to expectations, we found no evidence that reproductively active females engage in habitat sampling activities. Although most nest sites (>80% for both subspecies) fell within the prenesting range, the average minimum daily distance from nest sites for Rio Grande and Eastern wild turkey females was large [1636.04 m (SE = 1523.96) and 1937.42 m (SE = 1267.84), respectively] whereas the average absolute minimum distance from the nest site for both Rio Grande and Eastern wild turkey females was 166.46 m (SE = 299.34) and 235.01 m (SE = 337.90), respectively, and showed no clear temporal reduction as laying approached. Overall, predicted probability that any female movements before laying were initiated intersected with her nesting range (area used during incubation) was <0.25, indicating little evidence of habitat sampling. Our results suggest that the long-standing assumption of hierarchical habitat selection by wild turkeys to identify nest sites may be incorrect. As such, habitat selection may not be the proximate driver of nest success and hence population-level fitness. Rather, based on our results, we suggest that wild turkeys and other ground-nesting species may be fairly plastic with regard to the selection of reproductive habitats, which is appropriate given the stochasticity of the environments they inhabit.
Alternate chemopreventive mechanisms of action of resveratrol and muscadine grape skin extract in prostate cancer

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 2263 Human prostate cancer is one of the most insidious diseases among men in the Western hemisphere, with few long-term medial treatment options. Identifying methods of preventing clinically significant prostate cancer would, therefore, provide a major advance in public health. Accordingly, there is intense effort to identify naturally-occurring or synthetic agents that may have chemopreventive activity against prostate cancer. Phytochemicals are a class of agents that have been shown to be effective against many different types of cancers. Within this class of agents is resveratrol, a phytoalexin found in grapes, nuts, and wildberries which has been shown to have inhibitory effects against prostate cancer, possibly through anti-oxidant activities. In contrast, muscadine grape seed extract, which also contains phytochemicals, has been shown to inhibit prostate cancer by inducing apoptosis. Despite the biological importance of these phytochemicals, no studies have yet compared the biological potency or mechanisms of action between theses compounds against prostate cancer progression. Human prostate transformed cell lines (RWPE-1, WPE1-NA22, WPE1-NB14, WPE1-NB26) are an excellent model of prostate cancer progression which we have used to compare the biological efficacy of these agents during the multi-step process of prostate carcinogenesis. Therefore, our purpose is to investigate the preventive effects of resveratrol and muscadine grape skin extract (GSE) on prostate tumor progression using a set of human cell lines that mimic prostate progression. We demonstrate that while both agents appear to inhibit prostate tumor cell growth, the mechanisms of action are strikingly different. Our data show that at twenty four hours the compounds induce significant changes in the morphology of all four cell lines that differ between resveratrol and GSE. In addition, propidium iodide and annexin V-FITC FACS analysis indicates that at 24 hours resveratrol arrest the cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle, whereas GSE induces apoptosis. Furthermore, in situ cell death fluorescence analysis by TUNEL (Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TDT)) confirms that GSE induces apoptosis in all four cell lines. Consistent with these results is the observation that resveratrol induces overexpression of p21 protein, an inhibitor of cell cycle regulator cyclin E. Thus, these results demonstrate that resveratrol and GSE act on very different pathways to inhibit prostate cancer cell growth. Ongoing studies will further determine whether similar mechanisms are active in vivo , further suggesting that resveratrol and muscadine grape extract may be viable preventive or therapeutic agents against prostate tumor development.
Beyond Colonoscopy: The Role of Alternative Screening Tests for Colorectal Cancer in Your Practice.

Beyond Colonoscopy: The Role of Alternative Screening Tests for Colorectal Cancer in Your Practice
Supervisory control for opacity of discrete event systems

In previous papers, we investigated the properties of opacity and we discussed the modification of the languages to satisfy the strong opacity, weak opacity, and no opacity in the framework of discrete event systems. In this paper, we study how to ensure strong opacity, weak opacity and no opacity by a supervisory control. If strong opacity, weak opacity or no opacity is not satisfied, then we can restrict the system's behavior by a supervisor so that strong opacity, weak opacity or no opacity is satisfied. We consider the strong opacity control problem (SOCP), weak opacity control problem (WOCP) and no opacity control problem (NOCP). We characterize the solutions to SOCP in terms of the largest sublanguage that is controllable, observable (or normal), and strongly opaque. Similar characterization is available for solutions to NOCP. We also show that solutions to WOCP do not exist. We present formulas and algorithms for finding solutions to SOCP and NOCP. Examples are given to illustrate the results.
Improved standard error estimator for maintaining the validity of inference in cluster randomized trials with a small number of clusters

Cluster randomized trials (CRTs) are studies in which clusters of subjects are randomized to different trial arms. Due to the nature of outcomes within the same cluster to be correlated, generalized estimating equations (GEE) are growing as a popular choice for the analysis of data arising from CRTs. In the past, research has shown that analyses using GEE could result in liberal inference due to the use of the empirical sandwich covariance matrix estimator, which can yield negatively biased standard error estimates when the number of clusters is not large. Many techniques have been presented to correct this negative bias; however, use of these corrections can still result in biased standard error estimates and thus test sizes that are not consistently at their nominal level. Therefore, there is a need for an improved correction such that nominal type I error rates will consistently result. In this manuscript, we study the use of recently developed corrections for empirical standard error estimation and the use of a combination of two popular corrections. In an extensive simulation study, we found that nominal type I error rates can be consistently attained when using an average of two popular corrections developed by Mancl and DeRouen (, Biometrics 57, 126-134) and Kauermann and Carroll (, Journal of the American Statistical Association 96, 1387-1396). Therefore, use of this new correction was found to notably outperform the use of previously recommended corrections.
Optical tweezers: principles and applications, by Philip H. Jones, Onofrio M. Maragò, and Giovanni Volpe

Optical tweezers (also, laser tweezers or optical trapping) were invented approximately 30 years ago, and their use has become widespread in multiple diverse fields of research. However, until this...
The influence of race–ethnicity and physical activity levels on elementary school achievement

ABSTRACTThe authors used structural equation modeling to map the relationships between student race–ethnicity via the mediating variable physical activity on English language arts (ELA) and mathematics achievement among 964 fourth- and fifth-grade students. The students attended a New York City Metropolitan area school district and completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children, which measured weekly average activity levels. Confirmatory factor analysis validated the use of this instrument. Physical activity had a significant, substantive effect on both ELA and mathematics achievement for students, but was most pronounced among White students on ELA and among Black students on mathematics. Hispanic ethnicity had significant direct and indirect negative associations with ELA and mathematics achievement via their decreased physical activity levels relative to White and Black students. These findings help confirm the important link between physical activity and academic achievement and the ...
Amplitudes and energies of primary seismic waves near the hardhat, haymaker, and shoal nuclear explosions

abstract Records of near-source (0.3 to 20 km) primary seismic waves generated by the Hardhat, Haymaker, and Shoal underground nuclear explosions were analyzed in terms of displacement amplitude and energy variations with distance. The observed data were compared to similar data from a theoretical source model to determine the adequacy of the theoretical model. There was evidence that a long-period displacement field existed near the explosions as predicted by the theoretical source. Scatter in the observed amplitude data made it difficult to distinguish between the long-period and the radiation fields. However, the variation of total energy of the observed primary seismic waves with distance showed the presence of the long-period field. The comparison of observed and theoretical data indicates that a theoretical elastic source model approximated the observed sources.