cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Attenuation of Eye Movements Evoked by a Vestibular Implant at the Frequency of the Baseline Pulse Rate

We are developing a vestibular implant to electrically stimulate vestibular neurons in the semicircular canals in order to alleviate vertigo, which is a commonly occurring problem. However, since electrical stimulation causes synchronous (phase-locked) neural responses, such electrical stimulation might also cause inappropriate vestibuloocular eye movements, which might, in turn, cause visual blurring. We investigated the eye movements evoked in the guinea pig using electric stimulation with a constant rate of 250 pulses per second (pps), and measured 0.010° peak-to-peak eye movements on an average at 250 Hz, with an average peak velocity amplitude of 8.1°/s, which might cause visual blurring. However, after half an hour of stimulation, that component reduced to 1.6°/s (0.0020° peak-to-peak). The average time constant for this reduction was 5.0 min. After one week of constant stimulation, the 250-Hz response component was only slightly smaller, at 1.2°/s (0.0015° peak-to-peak). We conclude that although an electrical prosthesis with a resting rate of 250 pps may cause some visual blurring when first turned on, such blurring is very likely to attenuate and be imperceptible within several minutes.
A design system for on-chip oversampling A/D interfaces

An integrated design system for the analysis, design, and implementation of on-chip A/D interfaces using oversampling A/D converters has been developed. The system unifies a diverse base of design knowledge required for mixed analog and digital circuits and covers the design process from specification to mask layout for a variety of configurations. A hierarchical design estimation approach was used to guide system development, allowing designers to quickly estimate performance at a high level of abstraction and to update these estimates as the design progresses. At lower levels of abstraction, architecture templates are used to encapsulate information about particular filter implementations and to simplify the design process. Designers use performance estimates to guide the design process and to make the critical decisions about the choice of algorithm and architecture. Accurate simulation models have been integrated into the design system to allow examination and verification. Results from a 14-b signal acquisition module are presented to illustrate use of the tools and the typical tradeoffs faced at different levels of abstraction. This system illustrates how various design automation techniques can be combined to provide better optimization for a complex system design and to shorten design cycles for custom converters to a matter of days. >
The α1 Subunit of the GABA(A) Receptor Modulates Fear Learning and Plasticity in the Lateral Amygdala

Synaptic plasticity in the amygdala is essential for emotional learning. Fear conditioning, for example, depends on changes in excitatory transmission that occur following NMDA receptor activation and AMPA receptor modification in this region. The role of these and other glutamatergic mechanisms have been studied extensively in this circuit while relatively little is known about the contribution of inhibitory transmission. The current experiments addressed this issue by examining the role of the GABA(A) receptor subunit alpha1 in fear learning and plasticity. We first confirmed previous findings that the alpha1 subunit is highly expressed in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala. Consistent with this observation, genetic deletion of this subunit selectively enhanced plasticity in the lateral amygdala and increased auditory fear conditioning. Mice with selective deletion of alpha1 in excitatory cells did not exhibit enhanced learning. Finally, infusion of a alpha1 receptor antagonist into the lateral amygdala selectively impaired auditory fear learning. Together, these results suggest that inhibitory transmission mediated by alpha1-containing GABA(A) receptors plays a critical role in amygdala plasticity and fear learning.
Concerted GABAergic Actions of Aplysia Feeding Interneurons in Motor Program Specification

GABAergic inhibitory interneurons regulate the activity of diverse types of neural networks, but the specific roles of these interneurons in motor control are poorly understood. In the Aplysia feeding motor network, three interneurons, cerebral-buccal interneuron-3 (CBI-3) and buccal interneurons B40 and B34, are GABA-immunoreactive and evoke fast IPSPs in their postsynaptic followers. Using a combination of pharmacological experiments with GABA antagonists, agonists, and uptake inhibitors, we found that these fast IPSPs are likely mediated by GABA. Functionally, these fast IPSPs specify two parameters for ingestive motor programs elicited by the command-like interneuron CBI-2: (1) the appropriate phasing of activity of the radula closer motor neuron B8 relative to protraction-retraction, and (2) protraction duration. First, in ingestive programs, B8 activity is phased such that it fires minimally during protraction. CBI-3 and B40 exert fast inhibition to minimize B8 activity during protraction, by either acting directly on B8 (B40) or indirectly on B8 (CBI-3). Second, these ingestive programs are characterized by long protraction duration, which is promoted by B40 and B34 because hyperpolarization of either cell shortens protraction. Such effects of B40 and B34 are attributable, at least partly, to their inhibitory effects on the retraction-phase interneuron B64 whose activation terminates protraction. Consistent with a GABAergic contribution to both B8 phasing and protraction duration, blockade of GABAergic inhibition by picrotoxin increases B8 activity during protraction and shortens protraction, without disrupting the integrity of motor programs. Thus, the concerted actions of GABAergic inhibition from three Aplysia feeding interneurons contribute to the specification of multiple features that define the motor program as an ingestive one.
Spectral Densest Subgraph and Independence Number of a Graph.

In this paper, we study spectral versions of the densest subgraph problem and the largest independence subset problem. In the first part, we give an algorithm for identifying small subgraphs with large spectral radius. We also prove a Hoffman-type ratio bound for the order of an induced subgraph whose spectral radius is bounded from above.
Discharge Profiles of Ventral Tegmental Area GABA Neurons during Movement, Anesthesia, and the Sleep–Wake Cycle

Although mesolimbic dopamine (DA) transmission has been implicated in behavioral and cortical arousal, DA neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) are not significantly modulated by anesthetics or the sleep-wake cycle. However, VTA and SN non-DA neurons evince increased firing rates during active wakefulness (AW) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, relative to quiet wakefulness. Here we describe the effects of movement, select anesthetics, and the sleep-wake cycle on the activity of a homogeneous population of VTA GABA-containing neurons during normal sleep and after 24 hr sleep deprivation. In freely behaving rats, VTA GABA neurons were relatively fast firing (29 +/- 6 Hz during AW), nonbursting neurons that exhibited markedly increased activity during the onset of discrete movements. Adequate anesthesia produced by administration of chloral hydrate, ketamine, or halothane significantly reduced VTA GABA neuron firing rate and converted their activity into phasic 0.5-2.0 sec ON/OFF periods. VTA GABA neuron firing rate decreased 53% during slow-wave sleep (SWS) and increased 79% during REM, relative to AW; however, the discharging was not synchronous with electrocortical alpha wave activity during AW, delta wave activity during SWS, or gamma wave activity during REM. During deprived SWS, there was a direct correlation between increased VTA GABA neuron slowing and increased delta wave power. These findings indicate that the discharging of VTA GABA neurons correlates with psychomotor behavior and that these neurons may be an integral part of the extrathalamic cortical activating system.
A Survey of Large High-Resolution Display Technologies, Techniques, and Applications

Continued advances in display hardware, computing power, networking, and rendering algorithms have all converged to dramatically improve large high-resolution display capabilities. We present a survey on prior research with large high-resolution displays. In the hardware configurations section we examine systems including multi-monitor workstations, reconfigurable projector arrays, and others. Rendering and the data pipeline are addressed with an overview of current technologies. We discuss many applications for large high-resolution displays such as automotive design, scientific visualization, control centers, and others. Quantifying the effects of large high-resolution displays on human performance and other aspects is important as we look toward future advances in display technology and how it is applied in different situations. Interacting with these displays brings a different set of challenges for HCI professionals, so an overview of some of this work is provided. Finally, we present our view of the top ten greatest challenges in large highresolution displays.
Disorders of Microtubule Function in Neurons: Imaging Correlates

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: A number of recent studies have described malformations of cortical development with mutations of components of microtubules and microtubule-associated proteins. Despite examinations of a large number of MRIs, good phenotype-genotype correlations have been elusive. Additionally, most of these studies focused exclusively on cerebral cortical findings. The purpose of this study was to characterize imaging findings associated with disorders of microtubule function. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MRIs from 18 patients with confirmed tubulin mutations (8 TUBA1A, 5 TUBB2B, and 5 TUBB3) and 15 patients with known mutations of the genes encoding microtubule-associated proteins (5 LIS1, 4 DCX, and 6 DYNC1H1) were carefully visually analyzed and compared. Specific note was made of the cortical gyral pattern, basal ganglia, and white matter to assess internal capsular size, cortical thickness, ventricular and cisternal size, and the size and contours of the brain stem, cerebellar hemispheres and vermis, and the corpus callosum of patients with tubulin and microtubule-associated protein gene mutations. Results were determined by unanimous consensus of the authors. RESULTS: All patients had abnormal findings on MR imaging. A large number of patients with tubulin gene mutations were found to have multiple cortical and subcortical abnormalities, including microcephaly, ventriculomegaly, abnormal gyral and sulcal patterns (termed “dysgyria”), a small or absent corpus callosum, and a small pons. All patients with microtubule-associated protein mutations also had abnormal cerebral cortices (predominantly pachygyria and agyria), but fewer subcortical abnormalities were noted. CONCLUSIONS: Comparison of MRIs from patients with known mutations of tubulin genes and microtubule-associated proteins allows the establishment of some early correlations of phenotype with genotype and may assist in identification and diagnosis of these rare disorders.
Velocity Observations in the West Passage of Narragansett Bay: A Partially Mixed Estuary

Abstract Narragansett Bay is a weakly stratified estuary comprised of three connecting passages of varying depths. The vertical distribution of horizontal velocity was observed in the West Passage using moored current meters. The instantaneous motion was characterized by semi-diurnal tidal currents of amplitude 25–60 cm s−1. These currents exhibited a phase advance with depth (total water depth=12.8 m) ranging with lunar phase from 0–3 h. The net current time series obtained by filtering out motions at tidal and higher frequencies were found to be an order of magnitude less than the instantaneous motion and well correlated to the prevailing 2–10 m s−1 winds. For periodicities of 2–3 days, the coherence between the longitudinal components of wind and net near surface current was as high as 0.8 with the current lagging the wind by about 3 h. The mean near surface speed, obtained by averaging over one month, was 1.2±1.6 cm s−1. The large error bounds were a result of the large variability of the net current ...
HOLOGRAPHIC OPTICAL MEMORY An Optical Read–Write Mass Memory

A mass read–write memory system has been devised based on holographic storage on an erasable and reversible continuous storage medium and pseudorandom electronic selection depending on compounded selection and an internal electrically and light addressable storing matrix array (latrix). This paper discusses the significance to computer design and usage as well as the concepts of the proposed memory. Feasible solutions for all necessary elements were found, and some of their key aspects are considered in detail in the following three papers.
Russia’s Economy in June 2013: Preliminary Data and Principal Trends

This paper deals with the socio-political environment in the Russian Fedderation. June 2013 was relatively quiet is political aspect. However, its major events were triggered by recently accumulated political conflicts and confrontations. Russia’s political background in May was determined by the mounting tension in the top echelons of the political bureaucracy. The sacking of Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov – one of the authors of the soft authoritarianism of the 2000s – was a manifestation of yet another personnel reshuffle in Russia’s corridors of power.
Modeling Granulomas in Response to Infection in the Lung

Alveolar macrophages play a large role in the innate immune response of the lung. However, when these highly immune-regulatory cells are unable to eradicate pathogens, the adaptive immune system, which includes activated macrophages and lymphocytes, particularly T cells, is called upon to control the pathogens. This collection of immune cells surrounds, isolates and quarantines the pathogen, forming a small tissue structure called a granuloma for intracellular pathogens like Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). In the present work we develop a mathematical model of the dynamics of a granuloma by a system of partial differential equations. The ‘strength’ of the adaptive immune response to infection in the lung is represented by a parameter α, the flux rate by which T cells and M1 macrophages that immigrated from the lymph nodes enter into the granuloma through its boundary. The parameter α is negatively correlated with the ‘switching time’, namely, the time it takes for the number of M1 type macrophages to surpass the number of infected, M2 type alveolar macrophages. Simulations of the model show that as α increases the radius of the granuloma and bacterial load in the granuloma both decrease. The model is used to determine the efficacy of potential host-directed therapies in terms of the parameter α, suggesting that, with fixed dosing level, an infected individual with a stronger immune response will receive greater benefits in terms of reducing the bacterial load.
Kinematic models of a dry convective boundary layer compared with dual-Doppler radar observations of wind fields

The kinematic structure of the convective boundary layer, observed by a dual-Doppler radar system, is compared with the structure predicted by simple shear models. We first consider the models to be inviscid, then add viscous effects. Model 1 assumes a linear ambient wind profile from the surface through the boundary layer, and a constant wind above. The shear layer is assumed to be statically neutral, but static stability is permitted in the region above the shear. Model 2 has a hyperbolic tangent ambient wind profile. After considering the inviscid models, some of the effects of viscosity are incorporated into the models in a crude way, and the results are compared. We conclude that although the presence of shear is important, the kinematic structure is relatively independent of the details of the wind and temperature profiles. Viscosity has important effects, especially near the critical level where the disturbance velocity is equal to the wind speed. The patterns predicted by both models agree very well with the dual-Doppler radar observations when viscosity is included.
Disordered Tactile Force Perception in Parkinson's Disease (P07.187)

Objective: The purpose of this study is to learn if participants with Parkinson9s (PD) over estimate the magnitude of weak tactile stimuli. Perhaps in PD the perceived magnitudes of sensory events are increased, leading to the hypometric response. Alternatively, people with PD may have frontal dysfunction with impaired ability to disengage attention, producing a perceptual "grasp" such that the perception of stimuli with high or low intensity will be perceived as having a reduced range of magnitudes (regression to the mean). Background People with Parkinson9s disease (PD) have motor and cognitive hypometria that cannot be fully explained by alterations of efferent motor signals. Design/Methods: To determine if magnitude estimation of tactile stimuli is altered in PD, we used "von Frey hairs" made of nylon monofilaments. For each trial a standard monofilament was applied to the skin on the palm and the participant was told its magnitude was "50". Then, a second monofilament was applied and the participant was asked to provide a numerical estimate of the magnitude of the second stimulus relative to the first. We tested 13 people with PD and 7 control participants. Steven9s Power Law applied to responses made for stimuli lower in intensity than the standard. Results: When compared to controls, participants with PD over-estimated the magnitudes of stimulus intensities below the standard stimulus. Conclusions: Our results indicate that participants with PD overestimate the magnitudes of weak stimuli, the direction consistent with hypometric responses. These findings do not rule out perceptual "grasp". Further studies assessing estimated magnitudes for stimuli having greater intensities than the standard will reveal whether consistent overestimation or reduced range of estimates account for this change. Disclosure: Dr. Kesayan has nothing to disclose. Dr. Falchook has nothing to disclose. Dr. Williamson has nothing to disclose. Dr. White has received (royalty or license fee or contractual rights) payments from patents. Dr. White has received research support from Neuromuscular Engineering, Inc. Dr. Skidmore has nothing to disclose. Dr. Heilman has received personal compensation for activities with law firms as a consultant.Dr. Heilman has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Journal Watch.
Rab25 influences functional Cav1.2 channel surface expression in arterial smooth muscle cells.

Plasma membrane-localized CaV1.2 channels are the primary calcium (Ca(2+)) influx pathway in arterial smooth muscle cells (myocytes). CaV1.2 channels regulate several cellular functions, including contractility and gene expression, but the trafficking pathways that control the surface expression of these proteins are unclear. Similarly, expression and physiological functions of small Rab GTPases, proteins that control vesicular trafficking in arterial myocytes, are poorly understood. Here, we investigated Rab proteins that control functional surface abundance of CaV1.2 channels in cerebral artery myocytes. Western blotting indicated that Rab25, a GTPase previously associated with apical recycling endosomes, is expressed in cerebral artery myocytes. Immunofluorescence Forster resonance energy transfer (immunoFRET) microscopy demonstrated that Rab25 locates in close spatial proximity to CaV1.2 channels in myocytes. Rab25 knockdown using siRNA reduced CaV1.2 surface and intracellular abundance in arteries, as determined using arterial biotinylation. In contrast, CaV1.2 was not located nearby Rab11A or Rab4 and CaV1.2 protein was unaltered by Rab11A or Rab4A knockdown. Rab25 knockdown resulted in CaV1.2 degradation by a mechanism involving both lysosomal and proteasomal pathways and reduced whole cell CaV1.2 current density but did not alter voltage dependence of current activation or inactivation in isolated myocytes. Rab25 knockdown also inhibited depolarization (20-60 mM K(+)) and pressure-induced vasoconstriction (myogenic tone) in cerebral arteries. These data indicate that Rab25 is expressed in arterial myocytes where it promotes surface expression of CaV1.2 channels to control pressure- and depolarization-induced vasoconstriction.
The effect of CD40 message activation on the renal tubular epithelial cells

Objective To explore the effect of CD40 message activation on the renal tubular epithelial cells(HK2).Methods After HK2 cells are activated by agonistic anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody 5c11 at 5 and 10 μg/ml,their proliferation and apoptosis were tested with MTT and flow cytometry respectively at day 3,6 and 9.Simultaneously,level of RANTES(regulated upon activation,normal T cell expressed and secreted) in culture supernatant of HK2 cells was measured by ELISA.Results The expression of CD40 in HK2 cells was 78.9%.After activation for 9 days with 5c11 of different concentrations,the proliferation of HK2 cells(OD value) was decreased as 5c11 concentrations increased by MTT test,and the difference among groups was significant(P0.01).However,the apoptosis rate of HK2 cells was increased at day 6 and day 9 by flow cytometry,and the difference was significant(P0.01).The level of RANTES was elevated as 5c11 concentrations and time increased,and the differences were significant(P0.05).Conclusions The expression of CD40 in HK2 cells plays important roles in regulating the proliferation,apoptosis and inflammatory factor release of renal tubular cells.
Pumping by Electron Capture into Excited Ionic States

In this mode of pumping excited states in multi-ionized atoms, an electron is captured either from the continuum or from another atom. Conditions are such that there results a concentration in a particular state and a population density inversion.
“Uncooking” a Traditional DNA-Extraction Laboratory from the Scientific-Practices Perspective

Abstract This transformed DNA-extraction lab activity offers a framework that strategically draws upon the essential elements of both scientific and effective teaching practices to establish an alternative approach to the teaching and learning of science. The pedagogical methods utilized throughout this activity encourage students' motivation, engagement, and learning through inquirybased, teacher-facilitated scientific practices. Additionally, this activity emphasizes Dimension 1 of the Framework for K-12 Science Education (Scientific and Engineering Practices; National Research Council, 2012). In the activity, students worked in groups and were allowed to examine different traditional lab protocols and other resources. The students had the freedom of selecting an independent variable that could possibly have an effect on the DNA extraction. To demonstrate how this activity was implemented in the classroom, a running vignette of a DNA-extraction activity in a high school biology class, in which the teach...
Trends and outcomes in endovascular and open surgical treatment of visceral aneurysms

Abstract Objective Visceral artery aneurysms (VAAs) are rare but often repaired because of dire consequences of rupture. This is a population-based evaluation of chronologic trends in management, risk factors, and outcomes of endovascular and open therapy. Methods The 2003 to 2013 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database was reviewed. Cases with primary diagnosis of VAA and undergoing endovascular or open repair were identified. Patients with renal artery or abdominal or thoracoabdominal aortic disease were excluded. Case numbers of respective techniques were charted over time. Baseline characteristics and in-hospital outcomes were compared for endovascular and open groups using χ 2 test, Fisher exact test, or t -test. Predictors of mortality and complications were evaluated with multivariate logistic regression. Results There were 9260 interventions for VAAs from 2003 to 2013, including 5166 endovascular and 4094 open. Endovascular repairs increased from 5.3 to 24.7 per 10 million U.S. population ( P P P P = .02), liver disease (11.3% vs 6.6%; P P P P = .003), solid tumor without metastases (3.6% vs 2.0%; P P P P = .618) and overall complication rates (37.8% vs 38.8%; P = .688) were similar between groups; however, pulmonary complications were decreased for endovascular patients (10.6% vs 19.7%; P P P P = .01), fluid and electrolyte disorders (OR, 2.84; CI, 1.73-4.66; P P = .03), showed that open treatment was associated with increased mortality (OR, 1.70; CI, 1.03-2.81; P = .04). Analysis of overall complications revealed that open treatment was again associated with increased complications (OR, 1.78; CI, 1.43-2.21; P Conclusions Endovascular VAA repairs are increasing. Despite patients' having worse comorbidities and more nonelective admissions, endovascular therapy appears to be associated with decreased mortality and complications and shorter hospital stays.
Generic State Equation fro Dual Core Test Pattern

Dual-core multiprocessing designs enable Intel to increase computing performance in an efficient way while keeping the new processor within reasonable power consumption and heat-generation restrictions. State equation is a piece of code that is written in C++. It contains product specific bus decoding logic and understands how to assign data/timing per pin accordingly during test pattern translation. This paper describes the generic design methodology for SE that supports single core, dual-processor testing methodology while remaining extensible enough to support multi-processor design additions in future. This effort has helped enable Intel's first successful dual core multiprocessing CPU.
Prefrontal cortex hemodynamics and age in children: A pilot study using functional near infrared spectroscopy

We introduce a novel parameter, Oxygenation Variability Index, obtained from functional near infrared spectroscopy data. The pilot study in children reveal a dynamic relationship between age and OV index in frequencies associated with cerebral autoregulation.
Abstract LB-303: Identification of a mammalian sterile-20 like kinase 4 (MST4) inhibitor to target pituitary tumorigenesis

Pituitary tumors of the gonadotrope lineage are often large and invasive, resulting in hypopituitarism. There are no medical treatments currently available. Using a combined genetic and genomic screen of human pituitary tumor samples, we identified the Mammalian sterile-20 like kinase 4 (MST4) as a pro-tumorigenic effector, driving increased pituitary cell proliferation and survival in response to a hypoxic microenvironment. MST4 is a member of the germinal center kinase III subfamily of Ste-20 kinases with limited data available concerning its role in tumorigenesis. To identify selective inhibitors of the MST4 kinase, computational-based virtual library screening was employed to dock the commercially available SelleckChem kinase inhibitor library into the ATP binding site of the MST4 crystal structure. Several candidate MST4 kinase inhibitors were identified with the potential to bind with high affinity. Using a newly developed TRFRET in vitro kinase assay, one of the small molecule compounds exhibited a potent inhibition of the MST4 kinase (IC50 = 6.18 nM +/- 2.2 nM). To determine the ability of this inhibitor to antagonize MST4 actions, a hypoxic LβT2 gonadotrope pituitary cell model was used. Under chronic hypoxia (5% O2), cells stably overexpressing MST4 showed an increased rate of proliferation (at 7 days, 3.16-fold, p = 0.006) compared to vector control cells as assessed by BrdU staining. These effects were completely blocked by the inhibitor at 50nM (-2.61-fold, p = 0.01, NS from controls). Similarly, MST4 protection from hypoxia induced apoptosis under 1% O2 for 17h was also inhibited at the same dose as assessed by TUNEL staining (-2.72-fold, p Citation Format: Weipeng Xiong, Chris Matheson, Donald S. Backos, Mei Xu, Katja Kiseljak-Vassiliades, Smita Salian-Mehta, Philip Reigan, Margaret E. Wierman. Identification of a mammalian sterile-20 like kinase 4 (MST4) inhibitor to target pituitary tumorigenesis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-303. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-LB-303
Heat Survival and Phenotype Microarray Profiling of Salmonella Typhimurium Mutants

Contamination of food products by pathogenic microorganisms continues to be a major public health and food industry concern. Non-typhoidal Salmonella species have led to numerous outbreaks associated with various foods. A wide variety of methods have been applied and introduced for treatment of fresh foods to eliminate pathogenic as well as spoilage microorganisms. Salmonella can become exposed to elevated temperatures while associated with hosts such as poultry. In addition, heat treatment is also applied at various stages of processing to retain the shelf life of food products. Despite this, these microorganisms may overcome exposure to such treatments through the efficient expression of stress response mechanisms and result in illness following consumption. Thermal stress induces a range of destructive exposures to bacterial cells such as protein damage and DNA damage caused by reactive oxygen species. In this study, we chose three genes (∆recD, ∆STM14_5307, and ∆aroD) associated with conditionally essential genes required for different aspects of optimal growth at 42 °C and evaluated the responses of wild type and mutant Salmonella Typhimurium strains to uncover potential mechanisms that may enable survival and resistance under thermal stress. The RecBCD complex that initiates repair of double-stranded DNA breaks through homologous recombination. STM14_5307 is a transcriptional regulator involved in stationary phase growth and inositol metabolism. The gene aroD is involved in metabolism and stationary phase growth. These strains were characterized via high throughput phenotypic profiling in response to two different growth temperatures (37 °C (human host temperature) and 42 °C (poultry host temperature)). The ∆aroD strain exhibited the highest sensitivity to the various temperatures followed by the ∆recD and ∆STM14_5307 strains, respectively. Achieving more understanding of the molecular mechanisms of heat survival may lead to the development of more effective strategies to limit Salmonella in food products through thermal treatment by developing interventions that specifically target the pathways these genes are involved in.
When LIN41 Comes to a Fork in the Road, It Takes BOTH Paths: Translational Repression OR mRNA Decay, Depending on the Target Site Position.

In this issue, Aeschimann et al. (2017) demonstrate that, depending on the target location site (5′UTR or 3′UTR), LIN41 triggers repression of translation or mRNA decay, suggesting that one factor may use two independent pathways of post-transcriptional gene regulation.
Spektroskopie und spektroskopische Messungen

Das zentrale Problem der Quantenchemie besteht darin, die erlaubten Energiezustande von Atomen und Molekulen zu berechnen. Zusatzlich zu den numerischen Ergebnissen jeder Berechnung versucht der Quantenchemiker, Modelle zu entwickeln, die verschiedene strukturelle Eigenschaften von Atomen und Molekulen in Beziehung zu den errechneten Energien setzen.
Respiratory severity score and extubation readiness in very low birth weight infants

Background The respiratory severity score (RSS) is a byproduct of mean airway pressure (MAP) and fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO 2 ). We sought to determine whether RSS could be used as a screening tool to predict extubation readiness in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Methods In a retrospective cohort study, medical records of all VLBW infants admitted to our unit (6/1/09–2/28/12) were reviewed for infants' demographics, prenatal characteristics, and medication use. Also, records were reviewed for unplanned vs. planned extubation, blood gas, ventilator parameters and signs of severe respiratory failure [RF, defined as partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO 2 ) > 65, pH 2 > 50%, and MAP > 10 cm] on the day of extubation. Results During the study period 31% (45/147) failed extubation. Overall, infants who failed extubation had a lower birth weight (BW) and gestational age (GA), and on the day of extubation had a higher RSS and percentage of having one or more signs of severe RF. In a logistic regression model, adjusting for BW, GA, RSS and RF, RSS remained the only risk factor associated with extubation failure [adjusted OR 1.63 (95% CI: 1.10–2.40); p = 0.01]. RSS had a sensitivity of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.72–0.94) at a cutoff of 1.26 and a specificity of 0.88 (95% CI: 0.80–0.94) at a cutoff of 2.5. There was no difference in extubation failure between unplanned vs. planned extubation [41% (9/22) vs. 29% (36/125); p = 0.25]. Conclusion An elevated RSS is associated with extubation failure. Successful unplanned extubation is common in VLBW infants.
Applications of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the kidney

Incidental discovery of renal lesions on cross-sectional imaging studies performed for other indications is not uncommon. With the increased reliance on medical imaging, the number of incidentally detected renal lesions has also grown over time. While simple cysts account for the majority of these lesions, the presence of complex features within a cystic lesion, such as septations and solid components, can present a confusing picture. Solid lesions, too, can be indeterminate, and distinguishing between benign solid masses (like lipid-poor angiomyolipomas and oncocytomas) and renal cell carcinoma affects patient management and can prevent unnecessary interventions. Indeterminate renal lesions are traditionally further characterized by multiphase imaging, such as contrast-enhanced computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a new, relatively inexpensive technique that has become increasingly employed in the diagnostic workup of indeterminate renal lesions. With its lack of nephrotoxicity, the absence of ionizing radiation, and the ability to evaluate the enhancement pattern of renal lesions quickly and in real-time, CEUS has unique advantages over traditional imaging modalities. This article provides an overview of the current clinical applications of CEUS in characterizing renal lesions, both cystic and solid. Additional applications of CEUS in the kidney, including its roles in renal transplant evaluation and guidance for percutaneous biopsy, will also be briefly discussed.
Effects of Exposure to Gun Violence in Movies on Children's Interest in Real Guns.

Importance More US children die by accidental gun use than children in other developed countries. One factor that can influence children’s interest in guns is exposure to media containing guns. Objective To test whether children who see a movie containing guns will handle a real gun longer and will pull the trigger more times than children who see the same movie not containing guns. Design, Setting, and Participants One hundred four children aged 8 to 12 years recruited through advertisements were randomly assigned in pairs to watch a 20-minute PG-rated movie containing or not containing guns in a university laboratory. Children then played with toys and games in a room for 20 minutes while being video recorded. A cabinet in the room contained a real (disabled) gun with a sensor counting trigger pulls. Recordings were coded for the time spent holding the gun and in aggressive play. Data were collected from July 15, 2015, through January 1, 2016, and analyzed using generalized estimating equations (Tweedie log-link for time spent holding the gun; Poisson log-link for pulling the trigger). Main Outcomes and Measures The 2 main outcomes were time spent holding the gun and the number of trigger pulls. Control variables included sex, age, trait aggressiveness, exposure to violent media, interest in guns, and number of guns at home. Results Among the 104 study participants (62 boys [59.6%] and 42 girls [40.4%]; mean (SD) age, 9.9 [1.5] years), the adjusted median number of trigger pulls among children who saw the movie containing guns was 2.8 (interquartile range [IQR], 0.2-2.8) compared with 0.01 (IQR, 0.01-0.2) among children who saw the movie not containing guns (adjusted odds ratio, 22.3; 95% CI, 6.0-83.4;P Conclusions and Relevance Children in the United States frequently have access to unsecured firearms and frequently consume media containing guns. This experiment shows that children who see movie characters use guns are more likely to use guns themselves. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT03220412
Lessons from the Latest ACA Battle.

Obamacare has had multiple near-death experiences, but the most recent battle against repeal is notable for its unlikely heroes, who included GOP senators and governors, independent analysts, engaged citizens, past ACA critics, and comedian Jimmy Kimmel.
Mechanics of Composite Plates

Composite plates are increasingly used in engineering applications where they provide enhanced strength and stiffness without incurring additional weight compared to metallic counterparts or alternatively, enable a designer to reduce the weight, without sacrificing strength and stiffness. This is reflected in Fig. 5.1 where both specific strength as well as specific stiffness of composite materials are shown to be remarkable superior to typical alloys (specific strength and specific stiffness are strength per unit weight and elastic modulus per unit weight, respectively). Potential advantages of composite plates are related to the opportunity to “tailor” the response by orienting stiff high-strength fibers in the direction of maximum stresses. In other words, such plates utilize the principal difference of composites from isotropic materials, i.e. their anisotropic direction-dependent properties. A further enhancement in the response may be achieved by using sandwich plates where a light and relatively compliant core joins two stiff opposite facings and whose concept can be traced back to the classical I-beam.
Role of Venous Stenting for Iliofemoral and Vena Cava Venous Obstruction

Venous stenting for CVD is being increasingly used as more evidence accumulates supporting the open vein hypothesis and supporting the safety, efficacy, and durability of these interventions. As such, they can be offered to patients with advanced age and complex comorbidities. Future studies should focus on reporting outcomes specific to the underlying venous pathologic condition (thrombotic vs nonthrombotic and acute vs chronic) to provide better evidence for stenting in CVD, and the outcomes of new stent design with dedicated venous indications.
Temporal Effect of Construction Workforce Physical Strain on Diminishing Marginal Productivity at the Task Level

AbstractPhysiological status and environmental stressors are known to influence workforce performance at the individual worker level. A previous study, which conducted a cross-sectional comparison ...
Investigation of an outbreak of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in a low prevalence university hospital.

Background: Until 1995, there were no cases of vancomycin resistant enterococcus (VRE) identified at our university hospital. From May 1995 to August 1996, we investigated a cluster of 10 cases of phenotypic class Van B Enterococcus faecium.
A model of planning for plan efficiency: taking advantage of operator overlap

Many realistic planning problems (such as those in manufacturing) place a high premium on plan efficiency. However, classical planning theory does not offer much insight into ways of obtaining efficient plans. The objective of this paper is to present a model of planning for plan efficiency that has been drawn from a case study in the machining domain. Some of the important features of this domain are that problems are stated as sets of conjunctive goals, and operators that achieve those goals have a high degree of overlap. Operators can be said to overlap when they can share work. Because of this overlap, the cost of the operators is dependent on their order in the plan, (for example, it is less time consuming to buy vegetables if your last action was also done at the grocery store) However, looking for a near optimal set of overlapping operators can lead a very expensive search. The methods that human machinists were found to be using reduced the complexity of the search for good operators by using cues and patterns in the problem specification, gained from experience, to tell them when it might be useful to explore an operator.
Nondestructive Evaluation of Thick Austenitic Stainless Steel Weldments by Shear Horizontal Acoustic Waves

Recent papers1,2 reviewed the difficulties involved in ultrasonic testing of stainless steel weldments and the advantages of using horizontally polarized shear waves. The basic problem lies in the large grain size and anisotropic elastic properties of these welds. The grains grow epitaxially from pass to pass with the [100] direction parallel to the thermal gradient. This results in a highly textured, columnar structure (dendritic) that causes considerable mode conversion of the usual longitudinal waves, making ray tracing very difficult. Shear horizontal (SH) waves are polarized in the plane of the weldment, in the direction of the weld pass and normal to the growth direction of the columnar grains. Along certain directions they can propagate through the weld as pure shear waves and suffer little reflection or conversion by polarization coupling to the longitudinal (L) or shear vertical (SV) modes.2 SH waves can be efficiently generated and detected with noncontacting electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs).3
Modeling of High Voltage MOSFETs Based on EKV (HV-EKV)

The accurate compact modeling of High Voltage (HV) MOS transistors has always been a great challenge in the device modeling community. This is due to the fact that the charges and field associated with the drift region and intrinsic MOS have very complex dependence on the external terminal biases owing to the asymmetric device architecture. In this chapter, A modeling strategy for HVMOS transistors (HV-EKV) based on the scalable drift resistance [1, 2] and the use of charge based EKV2.6 MOSFET model [3] as a core for the intrinsic MOS channel is presented [4, 5]. The strategy is optimized according to the fast convergence and good accuracy criteria. The model is stable and robust in the entire bias range useful for circuit design purpose. An important aspect of this general model is the scalability of the model with physical and electrical parameters along with the correct modeling of quasi-saturation and self-heating effect. The model is validated on the measured characteristics of two widely used high voltage devices in the industry i.e. LDMOS [6] and VDMOS [7] devices, and tested on commercial circuit simulators like SABER (Synopsys), ELDO (Mentor Graphics), HSpice (Synopsys), Spectre (Cadence) and UltraSim (Cadence). The model shows good behavior for all capacitances which are unique for these devices showing peaks and shift of peaks with bias variation. Also the model exhibits excellent scalability with transistor width, drift length, number of fingers and temperature. The last part of this chapter will explain the importance of modeling of lateral non-uniform doping in the intrinsic channel [8, 9, 10, 11]. It is shown that C GD & C DG capacitances are strong function of lateral doping [11, 12].
An Abridged History of Cell Discretization

This brief account will call attention to a line of research which stretches over 40 years, and which appears now to be joining the mainstream of work on the discretization of linear partial differential equations. The first in a series of papers [1] describing the Method of Cells, now called the Cell Discretization Algorithm (CD or CDA), was published in 1959.
Buried in PEAT-discovery of a new silencing complex with opposing activities

Posttranslational histone modifications serve critical roles in gene regulation by determining the functional status of chromatin. Histone‐modifying enzymes often work in large multiprotein complexes. A paper in this issue of The EMBO Journal describes a new chromatin‐modifying complex called PEAT that acts via histone deacetylation. The PEAT complex is involved in heterochromatin formation and gene repression but also appears to have a locus‐specific activating role, possibly through promoting histone acetylation.
Chemical and rheological evaluation of asphalts incorporating RAP/RAS binders and warm-mix technologies in relation to crack resistance

Abstract This study was aimed to evaluate chemical and rheological properties of recovered asphalt binders, and to ascertain their implications on crack resistance as determined by the semi-circular bend test on the asphalt mixtures. The asphalt mixtures incorporated various contents of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) and warm-mix asphalt (WMA) technologies. The determined asphalt binder parameters generally presented consistent trends with respect to RAP/RAS content. The WMA technologies evaluated were found to produce mixtures with similar cracking performance with the conventional hot-mix asphalt mixtures. The rank correlations between asphalt properties and mixtures’ crack resistance was also evaluated.
Ultrasonic additive manufacturing of 4130 steel using Ni interlayers

ABSTRACTUltrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) is a solid-state manufacturing process for making complex components. However, fabrication of ferritic (body centered cubic) steels has been challeng...
Needs, Opportunities and Strategies for a Long-term Oceanic Sciences Satellite Program

Several areas of the National Oceanic Satellite System are addressed including Satellite-borne communication systems, subsurface remote sensing, data coordination, color scanners, formatting important historical data sets, and sea surface temperature observations.
El “establishment” dado vuelta: un año de cambio en Brasil

2018 fue un ano de cambios dramaticos en la politica brasilena. Los partidos y actores politicos que habian dominado la politica brasilena durante dos decadas fueron humillados. El ano comenzo con la administracion del extremadamente impopular presidente Michel Temer y termino esperando el comienzo de la presidencia del candidato de extrema derecha, Jair Bolsonaro. En este articulo, describimos y analizamos los principales eventos politicos ocurridos en Brasil durante 2018. Desde la perspectiva de la productividad legislativa y ejecutiva, el ano transcurrio sin incidentes, ya que el presidente Michel Temer habia gastado la mayor parte de su capital politico reuniendo los votos legislativos necesarios para evitar juicios por corrupcion. Sin embargo, durante este ano se produjeron transformaciones en los partidos y en la sociedad civil. Tres de los partidos tradicionalmente mas importantes del pais, el PT, PMDB y PSDB, fueron diezmados y el icono y abanderado del PT, Lula da Silva, fue encarcelado. Mientras tanto, la derecha y la extrema derecha crecieron en importancia, y Jair Bolsonaro gano la presidencia con el patrocinio del otrora pequeno Partido Social Liberal (PSL).