cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Maturation of the Rat Cumulus Oophorus: A Scanning Electron Microscopic Study

The process of mucification of the preovulatory cumulus oophorus in the rat was examined by the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Induction of mucification in vitro by either LH or FSH was also studied. Mucification in vivo was studied in follicular cumuli isolated at different times during proestrus. The morphology of these cumuli was compared with that of postovulatory cumuli isolated from the oviductal ampullae. For the in vitro studies, follicular cumuli were isolated at early proestrus and incubated for various time periods in presence of ovine or rat preparations of either LH or FSH. The beginning of mucus deposition in follicular cumuli was observed at about 5 h before the expected ovulation. Cumuli isolated 2 h before ovulation were totally embedded in the extracellular matrix. In vitro, first stages of mucification were observed in cumuli incubated for 3 h in medium containing LH. Extracellular hyaluronidase-sensitive material completely covered the cumuli by 20 h of culture in presence of either LH or FSH. In the absence of the gonadotropins, mucification was not observed. Parietal granulosa tissue showed inability to mucify in the presence of LH in vitro. No accumulation of extracellular material could be observed in cumuli cultured for 24 h in hormone free medium and then exposed to LH. It was concluded that the hyaluronidase sensitive matrix is accumulated between the cumulus cells in the follicle before ovulation. This intercellular mucus is secreted specifically by the cumulus cells as a direct response to gonadotropic stimulation. The cultured cumulus cells lose their ability to respond to LH.
Targeting RAGE expression in ovarian cancer for in-vivo imaging

230 Objectives Early diagnosis for ovarian cancer is inadequate and patients frequently present with advanced disease. Certain tumor lines including ovarian cancer express RAGE (Receptor for Advanced Glycated Endproducts). RAGE is also expressed by multiple cell types in the tumor environment including vascular cells and inflammatory cells. These observations from tumor biology suggest that targeting RAGE for imaging ovarian cancer would potentially be a good approach. We developed an anti-RAGE antibody against a unique peptide sequence on the V-domain of RAGE and have shown uptake of Tc-99m labeled murine antibody in vascular disease. We are currently developing a human anti-RAGE antibody. Methods Female nude mice (n=14) at 6 weeks of age were injected with 3x106 luciferase expressing human ovarian cancer cells into the right flank or peritoneal space. Six -7 weeks later, animals were injected with D-luciferin and imaged on optical imager. For nuclear probe imaging, mice were injected with 111In-anti-RAGE F(ab’)2 (n=7) or 111In-nonimmune IgG F(ab’)2 and 48 h later, were imaged on micro-SPECT/CT (Bioscan/Mediso). After in-vivo imaging, the tumors were explanted, ex-vivo images acquired, radioactivity counted, and sectioned for histological and immunohistochemical examination. Results There was good co-localization of the luciferase expressing tumor on the optical scan or tumor location at necropsy with the focal uptake of the 111In anti-RAGE F(ab’)2. Quantitative tracer uptake in the tumor from scan showed that uptake of 111In-anti-RAGE F(ab’)2 as %ID was 2.4 x higher than 111In-nonimmune IgG F(ab’)2 (P = 0.008) confirmed by gamma well counting. Dual immunofluorescent staining for RAGE and PAX8 (Ovarian specific antigen) in tumors showed high expression of RAGE and co-localization with PAX8 positive stained cells. Conclusions The results of this study in mice using a tracer that could go into humans supports further preclinical studies as development of this imaging probe for ovarian cancer.
Expression of Hodgkin’s Disease Associated Antigen BLA.36 in Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphomas and Lymphomatoid Papulosis Primarily of T-Cell Origin

Monoclonal antibody BLA.36 stains Reed-Sternberg (RS) cells and their mononuclear variants, as well as some benign and malignant cells of B-cell lineage, and retains its immunoreactivity in formalin- and B5-fixed tissue. The origin of the RS cell is controversial and the distinction between Hodgkin's disease (HD), anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), and lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) (the latter two primarily T-cell in origin), can be difficult. The authors studied expression of BLA.36 in 22 cases of ALCL, 13 cases of LyP, and 15 cases of HD. Most atypical or malignant cells stained for BLA.36 in 10 of 22 cases of ALCL, 9 of 13 cases of LyP, and 9 of 15 cases of HD. Additional immunohistochemistry or gene rearrangement analysis indicated a T-cell origin for 8 of 10 BLA.36 positive ALCL, and 9 of 9 BLA.36 positive LyP cases. BLA.36 was expressed by T-cell lines derived from two ALCLs and one CD30+ cell line derived from LyP. The authors conclude that BLA.36 is not specific for lymphomas of B-cell origin and cannot be used to distinguish between HD, ALCL, and LyP with RS-like cells. These results further support a relationship between HD, ALCL, and LyP and suggest that RS cells are histogenetically related to both B- and T-lymphocytes.
Application of Data Mining Technology in Electric Power Company Benchmarking Management

As the advancing and deepening of benchmarking management in the State Grid Corp., one after another, all subsidiary companies have started business intercommunions and indicators comparisons within company and among companies, and adopted newer and more effective managing modes. All these activities have improved the level of management. Based on the progress of benchmarking management, this paper applies data mining technology, which is represented by distribution analysis, cluster analysis, and correlation analysis, in electric power company benchmarking management to provide a new approach for the deepening of benchmarking management in all the subsidiary companies of State Grid Corp.
Association of Right Ventricular Pressure and Volume Overload with Non-Ischemic Septal Fibrosis on Cardiac Magnetic Resonance.

Background Non-ischemic fibrosis (NIF) on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has been linked to poor prognosis, but its association with adverse right ventricular (RV) remodeling is unknown. This study examined a broad cohort of patients with RV dysfunction, so as to identify relationships between NIF and RV remodeling indices, including RV pressure load, volume and wall stress. Methods and Results The population comprised patients with RV dysfunction (EF 6-fold more common in the highest, vs. the lowest, common tertile of PASP and RV size (p<0.001). Conclusion Among wall stress components, NIF was independently associated with RV chamber dilation and afterload, supporting the concept that NIF is linked to adverse RV chamber remodeling.
Risk Stratification in Atrial Fibrillation and Observation Unit Entry

The most common complication of atrial fibrillation is arterial thromboembolism, which can lead to ischemic stroke. Thus, it is important to determine which patients would benefit from antithrombotic therapy to help lower the risk of thromboembolic events. As detailed in the chapter on anticoagulation therapy, there are various Federal Drug Administration (FDA)-approved options for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation that are endorsed by current guidelines. These would include both oral and parenteral treatments, including low-molecular-weight heparin, unfractionated heparin, vitamin K antagonists, direct thrombin inhibitors, and factor Xa inhibitors. The initiation of these medications may occur in the outpatient, emergency department (ED), observation unit (OU), or inpatient setting and will depend on the patient’s presentation and risk for thromboembolic events, which will be discussed in this chapter. Furthermore, risk stratification for entry into the OU will be discussed as a means to identify a select number of patients who may be appropriate for a short hospital stay and continued evaluation and management of atrial fibrillation.
Multi-hazard Approaches to Civil Infrastructure Engineering: Mitigating Risks and Promoting Resilence

Natural and anthropogenic hazards cause billions of dollars of damage every year around the world, as well as several thousand fatalities or injuries and other societal impacts. While the frequency of damaging natural events is expected to increase due to climate change, new engineering solutions can help mitigate their impact and accelerate the recovery process. This volume is dedicated to the critical issue of creating successful solutions to multiple hazards. It examines a range of specific topics, including methodologies for vulnerability assessment of structures; new techniques to reduce structural demands through control systems; instrumentation, monitoring, and condition assessment of structures and foundations; new techniques for repairing structures that have suffered damage during past events, or for structures that have been found in need of strengthening; development of new design and construction provisions that consider multiple hazards; novel considerations toward resilient infrastructure; as well as questions from law and the humanities pertaining to successful management of natural and anthropogenic hazards. This book contains contributions from some of the world’s leading experts in each of the fields covered by the edited volume.
Mitigating Existing Floor Vibration Issues in a School Renovation

For over 40 years, students, faculty, and staff have been living with an often disturbing level of floor vibration caused by pedestrian traffic in an open plan library area of a suburban middle school. The library extends just beyond a 47 × 52 ft bay framed with a 3 in. slab on metal deck supported by 28 in deep steel joists spanning the short direction and W36 rolled girders in the long direction. As part of an upcoming major renovation, there is interest in exploring cost effective alternatives to reducing the impact of the current conditions. To quantify and understand the existing behavior and make suggestions to alter the behavior, a research study was undertaken. This paper describes the vibration measurements taken, assesses the behavior found including the surprising impact of higher order modes, and explores possible options to mitigate the impact of vibration on the occupants.
The Role of Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor Type-1 in Fibrosis

Extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition during wound healing is a physiological response to an insult. Wound healing becomes deregulated in the setting of chronic injury or long-standing metabolic disease, leading to the accumulation of ECM components and fibrosis. Matrix protein turnover is determined by the rate of synthesis as well as the rate of proteolytic degradation and clearance by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). The persistent activation of interstitial myofibroblasts, coupled with defects in matrix proteolysis, ultimately disrupts tissue architecture and leads to biochemical and mechanical organ dysfunction with eventual organ failure. Plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) regulates tissue homeostasis and wound healing by inhibiting plasmin-mediated MMP activation. Multiple reports using models of liver, lung, and kidney fibrosis suggest that PAI-1 deficiency or inhibition of PAI-1 activity attenuates fibrosis. The disinhibition of plasmin-mediated MMP activation leads to collagen degradation and its diminished accumulation, resulting in the reduction of fibrotic matrix deposition in these organs. Paradoxically, homozygous deficiency of PAI-1 promotes age-dependent spontaneous cardiac fibrosis, suggesting a protective role for PAI-1 in the heart. It remains unclear whether PAI-1-deficient cardiac fibroblasts have increased proliferative, migratory, or differentiation capabilities, that allow them to overcome increased plasmin and MMP activity and matrix clearance. In this review, we examine the specific roles of PAI-1 in fibrosis of different organs including the lung, liver, kidney, and cardiovascular system.
Macular pigment density is reduced in obese subjects

PURPOSE. Because of the potential protective function of lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) within the retina and lens, a better understanding of factors influencing tissue deposition is needed. The largest fractions of L and Z are stored in adipose tissue. Thus, higher body fat content and body mass index (BMI) may be expected to influence the quantities of L and Z in the retina (measured as macular pigment optical density, MPOD). METHODS. Six hundred eighty subjects were tested Information on MPOD, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (n = 400, using bioelectric impedance), dietary intake (n = 280, using a food frequency questionnaire), and serum carotenoid content (n = 280, using reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography) was obtained. RESULTS. There was an inverse relationship between MPOD and BMI (n = 680, r = -0.12, P < 0.0008) and between MPOD and body fat percentage (n = 400, r = -0.12, P<0.01). These relationships were largely driven by data from the subjects with higher BMI (more than 29, 21% less MP) and higher body fat percentage (more than 27%, 16% less MP). Dietary carotenoid intake and serum carotenoid levels were also lower in subjects with higher BMI (n = 280). CONCLUSIONS. Obese subjects tend to have lower retinal L and Z. This reduction may be due to decreased dietary intake of L and Z and/or competition between retina and adipose tissue for uptake of L and Z.
Informed consent for next-generation nucleotide sequencing studies: Aiding communication between participants and investigators.

INTRODUCTION Obtaining informed consent from prospective participants for research studies that include next-generation nucleotide sequencing (NGS) presents significant challenges because of the need to explain all the potential implications of participating, including the possible return of "incidental" findings, in easy-to-understand language. METHODS AND RESULTS After reviewing the consent processes at other institutions, we decided to supplement the protocol-specific informed consent form with the following: (1) a short pamphlet for the prospective participant that includes a series of questions that she or he is encouraged to ask the investigator, and (2) a more detailed companion guide for investigators to help them develop simple-language answers to the questions. Both documents are available to use or modify. CONCLUSIONS We propose an approach to obtaining informed consent for NGS studies that encourages discussion of key issues without creating a complex, comprehensive document for participants; it also maximizes investigator flexibility. We also suggest mechanisms to return restricted information to participants.
Feminist Theory Today

Feminist theory is not only about women; it is about the world, engaged through critical intersectional perspectives. Despite many significant differences, most feminist theory is reliably suspicious of dualistic thinking, generally oriented toward fluid processes of emergence rather than static entities in one-way relationships, and committed to being a political as well as an intellectual enterprise. It is rooted in and responsible to movements for equality, freedom, and justice. Three important contemporary questions within feminist theory concern (a) subjectivity, narrative, and materiality; (b) global neoliberal geopolitics; and (c) global ecologies. Feminist theorists employ the tools of intersectionality, interdisciplinarity, and the intertwinings of scholarship and activism to address these questions. While we labor to contribute to our academic fields, our primary responsibility is to contribute to positive social change.
Pulmonary Hypertension: A Common Complication in Thalassemia.

Abstract Pulmonary hypertension (PHT) is a complication that is associated with high mortality rate. It is increasingly recognized in thalassemia intermedia (TI) as a leading factor in heart failure and death. Undetected PHT has been reported in 60–75% of patients. Data on PHT and thalassemia major is limited. However, these patients have many risk factors for PHT, including splenectomy, red cell phosphatidylserine exposure, coagulation abnormalities and iron overload. Since chronic hemolysis continues despite transfusion, these patients are also at risk for hemolysis-associated PHT. This is a recently described syndrome where free hemoglobin scavenges nitrous oxide and catalyzes the formation of reactive oxygen species. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of PHT in transfused thalassemia patients and its risk factors. We compared the echocardiogram of 28 patients with their transfusion history, iron stores, chest x-ray, age, hemoglobin level, splenectomy status and cardiac function. The prevalence of PHT in this population was 57%. Sixteen of the 28 patients had a tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity ≥2.5 m/s, indicating PHT. 5 patients had a jet velocity ≥ 2.9 m/s suggestive of moderate PHT. Patients with PHT were more likely to be older (29±10 vs. 24±7 years without PHT, r=0.52, p=0.01) and male (56%). 41% of the female patients undergoing echocardiogram exam had PHT, while 82% of the men screened had PHT (p=0.03). PHT was also inversely related to ferritin level (r=−0.46, p=0.02). A history of an abnormal CXR occurred more frequently in the PHT group (38% vs. 8%, p=0.08), but did not reach statistical significance. However, there was no difference in hemoglobin level, creatinine, splenectomy rate (63% vs. 58%) or abnormal cardiac function between patients with PHT vs. those without PHT. Two of the 16 patients with PHT have initiated therapy with hypertransfusion or sildenafil. An intermittently transfused 25-year-old female patient lowered the tricuspid jet velocity from 3.2 to 2.4 m/s following hypertransfusion program. The second patient, a 44-year-old chronically transfused female, lowered her tricuspid jet velocity from 3 to 2.3 m/s within one month of sildenafil therapy. In conclusion, PHT is a common complication in transfused thalassemia patients that is under recognized and under treated. In contrast to other complications, adequate chelation and low iron stores are not protective. Since secondary PHT is associated with a high mortality and morbidity, annual screening with echocardiogram for all thalassemia patients is recommended. Early identification of PHT and its risk factors may prevent the irreversible cardiomyopathy that may develop. Prospective studies evaluating therapies, including hypertransfusion, sildenafil and arginine are needed.
Fast Weather Simulation for Inverse Procedural Design of 3D Urban Models

We present the first realistic, physically based, fully coupled, real-time weather design tool for use in urban procedural modeling. We merge designing of a 3D urban model with a controlled long-lasting spatiotemporal interactive simulation of weather. Starting from the fundamental dynamical equations similar to those used in state-of-the-art weather models, we present a novel simplified urban weather model for interactive graphics. Control of physically based weather phenomena is accomplished via an inverse modeling methodology. In our results, we present several scenarios of forward design, inverse design with high-level and detailed-level weather control and optimization, and comparisons of our method against well-known weather simulation results and systems.
Increased Power To Dissect Adaptive Traits in Global Sorghum Diversity Using a Nested Association Mapping Population

Adaptation of domesticated species to diverse agroclimatic regions has led to abundant trait diversity. However, the resulting population structure and genetic heterogeneity confounds association mapping of adaptive traits. To address this challenge in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]-a widely adapted cereal crop-we developed a nested association mapping (NAM) population using 10 diverse global lines crossed with an elite reference line RTx430. We characterized the population of 2214 recombinant inbred lines at 90,000 SNPs using genotyping-by-sequencing. The population captures ∼70% of known global SNP variation in sorghum, and 57,411 recombination events. Notably, recombination events were four- to fivefold enriched in coding sequences and 5' untranslated regions of genes. To test the power of the NAM population for trait dissection, we conducted joint linkage mapping for two major adaptive traits, flowering time and plant height. We precisely mapped several known genes for these two traits, and identified several additional QTL. Considering all SNPs simultaneously, genetic variation accounted for 65% of flowering time variance and 75% of plant height variance. Further, we directly compared NAM to genome-wide association mapping (using panels of the same size) and found that flowering time and plant height QTL were more consistently identified with the NAM population. Finally, for simulated QTL under strong selection in diversity panels, the power of QTL detection was up to three times greater for NAM vs. association mapping with a diverse panel. These findings validate the NAM resource for trait mapping in sorghum, and demonstrate the value of NAM for dissection of adaptive traits.
STEADY STATE INTRINSIC FLUORESCENCE STUDIES OF BLOCK COPOLYMER MICELLES

We present intrinsic excimer fluorescence data from the polystyrene block of a polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene propylene) block copolymer micelle system to interrogate the state of the micelle core. The excimer bandwidth and bandposition as well as the ratio of the excimer to monomer emission intensities prove to be sensitive measures of the environment around the excimer forming sites. As the bulk concentration is increased, the fluorescence data indicate a decrease in the volume fraction of solvent within the micelle core. As the temperature is increased, a T g like phenomenon is observed in the micelle core around 60-80 °C without an apparent increase in the solvent content in the core. The excimer bandwidth proves to be an especially sensitive measure of the critical micelle temperature, and the thermodynamic parameters associated with the micellization process can be calculated. Finally, a proposal is made to explain the changes in the excimer spectral parameters as the local environment around the excimer forming sites is changed.
Unpredictability increases the error-related negativity in children and adolescents.

The error-related negativity (ERN) is a response-locked component in the event-related potential observed as a negative deflection 50–100 ms following the commission of an error. An unpredictable context has been shown to potentiate amygdala activity, attentional bias toward threat, and the ERN in adults. However, it is unclear whether the impact of unpredictability on the ERN is also observed in children and adolescents. In a sample of 32 9–17 year-old participants, we examined the influence of a task-irrelevant unpredictable context on neural response to errors. Participants completed a flanker task designed to elicit the ERN, while simultaneously being exposed to task-irrelevant tone sequences with either predictable or unpredictable timing. Unpredictable tones were rated as more anxiety provoking compared to the predictable tones. Fewer errors were made during unpredictable relative to predictable tones. Moreover, the ERN—but not the correct response negativity (CRN) or stimulus-locked N200—was potentiated during the unpredictable relative to predictable tones. The current study replicates and extends previous findings by demonstrating that an unpredictable context can increase task performance and selectively potentiate the ERN in children and adolescents. ERN magnitude can be modulated by environmental factors suggesting enhanced error processing in unpredictable contexts.
A corporate/university partnership for IT professional development

In this paper, a new partnership model for post-graduate Information Technology (IT) professional development is described. The model is based on the premise that achieving strategic advantage requires IT companies to become learning organizations. Efforts to do this require a focus not only on technical skills, but on business knowledge and the skills to creatively combine various technologies to design novel business problem solutions as well. The model described has been used to create a successful corporate/university partnership laying the foundations for a learning organization through a curriculum reflecting an integrated blend of academic and corporate expertise.
The Concept of Hybrid Courts Revisited: The Case of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers

The article analyses and criticizes the concept of hybrid courts. The main proposition is that the concept of hybrid courts is unclear and that there are no clear criteria which would provide guidance for establishing if a judicial body is a hybrid court or not. The idea of hybrid courts is conceptually misleading because it creates the perception that hybrid courts are a separate institutional category different from international and domestic criminal courts. The author argues that the concept of hybrid courts should therefore be abandoned in favour of clearer criteria which distinguish between international and domestic courts. Analysing the Kosovo Specialist Chambers from this perspective, the author argues that the Kosovo Specialist Chambers are an international criminal court and not a domestic court which has legal implications, such as concerning immunity of heads of state.
Performance-Specified Moving-Horizon State Estimation With Minimum Risk

This paper is concerned with the estimation of the state of a linear dynamic system when the measurements may contain outliers. The most common method for outlier detection utilizes the traditional Neyman-Pearson (NP) Kalman filter approach which ignores all residuals greater than a designer specified threshold. When measurements with outliers are used (i.e., missed detections), the estimated state becomes incorrect and the computed state error covariance is too small, yielding an over confidence in the estimator in the incorrect state estimate. When valid measurements are ignored, information is lost, but this is only critical if it causes the performance specification to be violated. In signal rich applications, with a large number of sensor measurements, a smaller subset of measurements than is accepted by the NP approach, could be able to achieve the specified level of performance with lower risk of including an outlier in the set of utilized measurements. In the moving-horizon approach used herein, the number of measurements available for state estimation is affected by both the number of measurements per time step and the number of time steps over which measurements are retained. This moving horizon, performance-specified, risk-averse state estimation approach will be formulated in an optimization setting that selects measurements from within the window, to achieve a specified level of performance while minimizing the incurred risk. Simulation results are included, which demonstrate the application of the technique and its enhanced performance and robustness to outliers relative to traditional methods.
Macular Degeneration: An Overview.

This article presents an overview of information on macular degeneration for professionals who help persons with the disease adjust to their visual loss. It covers the types of macular degeneration...
Evening chronotype is associated with poor cardiovascular health and adverse health behaviors in a diverse population of women.

Chronotype reflects time of day preferences for performing daily activities. Previous research within Asian and European cohorts indicates evening chronotype is associated with elevated cardiometab...
Activity Level-Predation Risk Tradeoff in a Tadpole Guild: Implications for Community Organization Along the Hydroperiod Gradient

Increasing activity levels permit greater food intake for use towards growth and reproduction, consequently increasing predation risk via increased detection. Larval anurans are models to examine activity level-predation risk tradeoffs, as they occupy a variety of lentic habitats that impose constraints on the distribution and abundance of species. Ephemeral ponds have a low abundance and diversity of predators and as a result tadpole species tend to have high foraging rates for rapid development. Permanent ponds generally possess a greater diversity and abundance of predators and tadpoles inhabiting these locations tend to have low activity rates or chemical defenses to minimize predation risk. The objective of this research was to examine how interspecific variation in activity level and response to predation risk, corresponds to the distributions of tadpole species along the hydroperiod gradient. Furthermore, we examined the intraspecific variation in activity level among the species. We conducted a series of laboratory experiments in which we quantified baseline activity patterns and the change in activity after the addition of a predator or exposure to alarm cues, for 12 species of larval anurans native to East Texas. Species that maintained a high activity level generally occupied ephemeral ponds and species that maintained low activity levels generally occupied permanent ponds. Only one species (Gastrophryne carolinensis) decreased their activity level in the presence of predator cues or conspecific alarm cues. These results highlight this tradeoff can have consequences on the life histories of multiple species, providing insight into how it affects the organization of ecological communities.
Synthesis, function, and degradation of catecholamine neurotransmitters.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses some of the recent findings on the function and regulation of neurotransmitters. The chapter focuses on the intracellular synthesis and degradation of biogenic amines. A few specific examples illustrate the growing knowledge of the role of neurotransmitter-synthesizing and -degrading enzymes in disease processes. Neurotransmitter synthesizing and degrading enzymes play crucial roles in neuronal activity and normal physiological function by contributing to regulation of neurotransmitter levels. They also are important determinants in pathological conditions, as exemplified by the deficiency of dihydropteridine reductase (DHPR) in phenylketonuria variants and by the MAO B-catalyzed activation of a neurotoxin that causes Parkinson's disease in humans and primates. DHPR deficiency appears to be a typical genetic disorder, in which a missing enzyme leads to aberrations in the brain metabolism, although the precise nature of these abnormalities has not yet been identified. MAOs contribution to 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-toxicity is particularly intriguing because the disease symptoms result from the interaction of an environmentally derived chemical with a genetically controlled amine-degrading enzyme.
A Cryogenic Quantum-Based RF Source

We performed a preliminary calibrated measurement of the output power of a Josephson arbitrary waveform synthesizer up to 1 GHz. We present the results and measurement procedure for generating quantum-based signals using an array of Josephson junctions operating at cryogenic temperature and calibrating those signals to transfer the on-wafer quantum-based accuracy to room temperature.
Outburst of Comet 17P/Holmes Observed with the Solar Mass Ejection Imager

We present time-resolved photometric observations of the Jupiter family comet 17P/Holmes during its dramatic 2007 outburst. The observations, from the orbiting Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI), provide the most complete measure of the whole-coma brightness, free from the effects of instrumental saturation and with a time resolution well matched to the rapid brightening of the comet. The light curve is divided into two distinct parts. A rapid rise between the first SMEI observation on UT 2007 October 24 06h 37m (mid-integration) and UT 2007 October 25 is followed by a slow decline until the last SMEI observation on UT 2008 April 6 22h 16m (mid-integration). We find that the rate of change of the brightness is reasonably well described by a Gaussian function having a central time of UT 2007 October 24.54 ? 0.01 and a full width at half-maximum of 0.44 ? 0.02 days. The maximum rate of brightening occurs some 1.2 days after the onset of activity. At the peak, the scattering cross-section grows at 1070 ? 40 km2 s?1 while the (model-dependent) mass loss rates inferred from the light curve reach a maximum at 3 ? 105 kg s?1. The integrated mass in the coma lies in the range (2-90) ? 1010 kg, corresponding to 0.2%-10% of the nucleus mass, while the kinetic energy of the ejecta is (0.7-30) megatonnes TNT. The particulate coma mass could be contained within a shell on the nucleus of thickness 1-60 m. This is also the approximate distance traveled by conducted heat in the century since the previous outburst of 17P/Holmes. This coincidence is consistent with, but does not prove, the idea that the outburst was triggered by the action of conducted heat, possibly through the crystallization of buried amorphous ice.
Two-photon above-threshold ionization of helium

Multiphoton ionization provides a clear window into the nature of electron correlations in the helium atom. In the present study, the final-state energy range extends up to the region near the $N=2$ and $N=3$ ionization thresholds, where two-photon ionization proceeds via continuum intermediate states above the lowest threshold. Our calculations are performed using multichannel quantum defect theory (MQDT) and the streamlined $R$-matrix method. The sum and integration over all intermediate states in the two-photon ionization amplitude is evaluated using the inhomogeneous $R$-matrix method developed by Robicheaux and Gao. The seamless connection of that method with MQDT allows us to present high-resolution spectra of the final-state Rydberg resonances. Our analysis classifies the resonances above the $N=2$ threshold in terms of their group theory quantum numbers. Their dominant decay channels are found to obey the previously conjectured propensity rule far more weakly for these even-parity states than was observed for the odd-parity states relevant to single-photon ionization.
Remembering Emmett Till: by Dave Tell, Chicago IL, University of Chicago Press, 2019, 312 pp., $25.00 (hardcover), ISBN: 978-0-226-55953-7.

Remembering Emmett Till is a much needed contribution to the larger historiography surrounding Emmett Till’s murder, memory, and the ongoing struggle for reconciliation in the Mississippi Delta. Da...
Anchorhold Afference: Virtual Reality, Radical Compassion, and Embodied Positionality

This work situates the potential of empathy and affective application in VR systems - as well as explore the role of gamified spaces through digital humanities and critical making. We argue that the material infrastructure of VR technologies make Anchorhold Afference, a virtual reality model of Julian of Norwich's anchorhold created by Author 1 with Unity and Oculus, an especially vivid experience. In a time when VR is conflated with video games and in which games are most traditionally associated with conquest, winning, and mastery, Anchorhold Afference opposes this and instead fosters radical compassion, as aligning with feminist media and data understandings, to invite users to an embodied experience. This work considers how VR technology can allow us to discover and evaluate the embodiment and materiality of isolation and confinement through a singular, unified and gamified experience, while also retrospectively considering the rhetorical emergence evoked through this process.
tiRNA signaling via stress-regulated vesicle transfer in the hematopoietic niche.

Summary Extracellular vesicles (EVs) transfer complex biologic material between cells. However, the role of this process in vivo is poorly defined. Here, we demonstrate that osteoblastic cells in the bone marrow (BM) niche elaborate extracellular vesicles that are taken up by hematopoietic progenitor cells in vivo. Genotoxic or infectious stress rapidly increased stromal-derived extracellular vesicle transfer to granulocyte-monocyte progenitors. The extracellular vesicles contained processed tRNAs (tiRNAs) known to modulate protein translation. 5′-ti-Pro-CGG-1 was preferentially abundant in osteoblast-derived extracellular vesicles and, when transferred to granulocyte-monocyte progenitors, increased protein translation, cell proliferation, and myeloid differentiation. Upregulating EV transfer improved hematopoietic recovery from genotoxic injury and survival from fungal sepsis. Therefore, EV-mediated tiRNA transfer provides a stress-modulated signaling axis in the BM niche distinct from conventional cytokine-driven stress responses.
A stochastic simulation of the impact of price insulation policies on world wheat market stability

A nonspatial wheat trade model is developed for wheat. Stochastic simulation of the model is performed to determine the impact of insulated wheat markets in India, and the European Community, on the stability of world wheat prices. The effect of production variability in the Soviet Union on the stability of the world wheat market is also examined;The research shows widespread price intervention in world wheat trade, with price transmissions between world and domestic markets limited to only the United States, Canada, and Australia. A 79 percent reduction in production variability in the U.S.S.R. lowers U.S. gulf port price uncertainty by 34 percent. A 56 percent reduction in E.C. price levels lowers E.C. production by 22 percent and increases U.S. net exports by 10.3 MMT. The gulf port price level rises by 13 percent; instability of this price falls by 13 percent, also. Therefore, higher price transmission between world and E.C. prices indeed lowers world price uncertainty;Setting the wheat price in India to its world price equivalent lowers India's demand more than it increases production, therefore, India becomes a net exporter. The effect is a fall in both U.S. net exports and gulf port price. Lagged price response in India's supply equation is the reason why perfect world price transmission into India raises wheat market instability within and outside India;The analyses suggest that the greater market stability argument for free trade may be exaggerated because theoretical models supporting the argument do not include lagged price response in the supply functions.
Alcohol binding in the C1 (C1A+C1B) domain of protein kinase C epsilon.

Abstract Background Alcohol regulates the expression and function of protein kinase C epsilon (PKCe). In a previous study we identified an alcohol binding site in the C1B, one of the twin C1 subdomains of PKCe (Das et al., Biochem. J., 421, 405–13, 2009). Methods In this study, we investigated alcohol binding in the entire C1 domain (combined C1A and C1B) of PKCe. Fluorescent phorbol ester, SAPD and fluorescent diacylglycerol (DAG) analog, dansyl-DAG were used to study the effect of ethanol, butanol, and octanol on the ligand binding using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). To identify alcohol binding site(s), PKCeC1 was photolabeled with 3-azibutanol and 3-azioctanol, and analyzed by mass spectrometry. The effects of alcohols and the azialcohols on PKCe were studied in NG108-15 cells. Results In the presence of alcohol, SAPD and dansyl-DAG showed different extent of FRET, indicating differential effects of alcohol on the C1A and C1B subdomains. Effects of alcohols and azialcohols on PKCe in NG108-15 cells were comparable. Azialcohols labeled Tyr-176 of C1A and Tyr-250 of C1B. Inspection of the model structure of PKCeC1 reveals that these residues are 40 A apart from each other indicating that these residues form two different alcohol binding sites. Conclusions The present results provide evidence for the presence of multiple alcohol-binding sites on PKCe and underscore the importance of targeting this PKC isoform in developing alcohol antagonists.
Straton of Lampsakos

Straton was the second head of the Peripatos after Aristotle. Keywords: ancient Greece; history of science; medicine and technology; philosophy
Initiation of Sperm Motility after Mating in the Rat and Hamster

: Unlike those of many mammals, rat and hamster spermatozoa do not appear to be fully activated at ejaculation. Most rat spermatozoa transported en masse to the uterus approximately 2 minutes after coitus were vigorously motile on recovery soon thereafter in uterine fluid, whereas a majority, and sometimes all, were immotile in samples collected less than 2 minutes after coitus from the anterior vagina of normal females and up to 15 minutes after coitus from the anterior vagina in females with obstructed cervices. Many of these immotile rat vaginal spermatozoa began instant vigorous movement upon exposure to Tyrode's solution or uterine fluid. Hamster spermatozoa recovered from the vagina about 2 minutes after coitus were also immotile or displayed only slow, languid serpentine movements, but that motility profile remained very similar in spermatozoa taken 0.5 hours to 6 hours after coitus from the uterus, which is essentially fluid-free in the hamster. In the hamster, actively motile spermatozoa were evident only in the isthmus of the (transilluminated) oviduct. As in the rat, immotile vaginal and uterine hamster spermatozoa instantly began vigorous progressive motility in vitro on contact with Tyrode's solution or rat uterine fluid. Immotile spermatozoa from the rat and hamster cauda epididymidis immediately became highly motile in Tyrode's solution, and they developed a somewhat less rapid flagellar beat in 150 mmol/L NaCI or KCI, with or without 2mmol/L CaCI2. In contrast, dilution with an isotonic sucrose solution containing no ions, or only 2mmol/L CaCI2, evoked very slow and transient movement of rat and hamster epididymal sperm tails. We conclude that uterine fluid is a primary activating agent of sperm motility in the rat, whereas in the hamster active motility first develops only in the oviduct. The motility initiation factors in the female reproductive tract of the rat and hamster appear to be nonspecific. In vitro observations confirm that, although dilution of epididymal immobilin in which spermatozoa are enmeshed may play some minor part in initiating motility, other elements, including monovalent cations, are the major stimulus for the initiation of epididymal sperm motility in these species.
Steel: Price Links between Primary and Scrap Markets

Steel is used as a case study to decompose the links between primary and secondary markets, in order to examine how prices in the one market influence the prices in the other, and how volatility can be transmitted between them.
Patterns in seismic anisotropy driven by rollback subduction beneath the High Lava Plains

Received 24 March 2011; revised 25 May 2011; accepted 31 May 2011; published 8 July 2011. [1] We present three‐dimensional laboratory modeling of the evolution of finite strain and compare these to shear wave splitting observations in the Northwest U.S. under the High Lava Plains (HLP). We show that relationships between mantle flow and anisotropy are complicated in subduction zones and factors such as initial orientation of the olivine fast‐axis, style of subduction, and time evolving flow are important. Due to increased horizontal shear, systems with a component of rollback subduction have simple trench‐normal strain alignment within the central region of the backarc mantle wedge while those with more simple longitudinal sinking are often variable and complex. In the HLP, splitting observations are consistent with rollback‐driven laboratory results. Citation: Druken, K. A., M. D. Long, and C. Kincaid (2011), Patterns in seismic anisotropy driven by rollback subduction beneath the High Lava Plains, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L13310, doi:10.1029/2011GL047541.
Dignity and Victimhood

If Sandy Kadish has reminded us of limitations of consequentialist approaches to the criminal law and has proposed persuasive resolutions of issues that deontological perspectives reveal, Meir Dan-Cohen has jarred us to rethink fundamental premises about rules in the criminal justice system. His Essay is an example of his ingenuity for unsettling understandings. The Essay reads easily and seems deceptively straightforward, but it is rich in nuance and its themes are complex. This Response identifies the various themes and evaluates their plausibility. I take Professor Dan-Cohen's Essay as a preliminary exploration of a major subject, and I have responded accordingly, indicating doubts without trying to pursue them to any systematic resolution. I hope these thoughts will contribute to the evolution of Dan-Cohen's ideas about dignity and criminal law. What are Professor Dan-Cohen's main theses? He claims: (1) some crimes cannot be adequately understood as safeguarding autonomy or consequentialist welfare: They need to be conceived as protecting dignity, a respect for people's equal worth;' (2) a special feature of basic offenses to dignity is that no essential role is played by the victim's state of mind-in this respect violations of dignity differ from violations of welfare and autonomy;2 (3) dignity is an "expressive value"3 whose violation depends on the social meaning of practices within a linguistic community;4 and (4) dignity, in some ultimate sense, is more fundamental than welfare or autonomy.
Percutaneous Mitral Balloon Valvuloplasty: Surviving the Test of Time

ardiovascular disease remains the most important disease of the Western world. As such, many strides against cardiovascular disease have been made in recent decades, particularly when considering coronary artery disease. Cardiologists have gone from an era of “watchful waiting” of patients with acute myocardial infarction and severe coronary disease to aperiod of surgical revascularisation, which finally evolved to the new percutaneous interventional era, culminating with drug-eluting stents. Thus, the new subspecialty of interventional cardiology was born.
Multiple Components of Ca2+ Channel Facilitation in Cerebellar Granule Cells: Expression of Facilitation during Development in Culture

The contribution of pharmacologically distinct Ca2+ channels to prepulse-induced facilitation was studied in mouse cerebellar granule cells. Ca2+ channel facilitation was measured as the percentage increase in the whole-cell current recorded during a test pulse before and after it was paired with a positive prepulse. The amount of facilitation was small in recordings made during the first few days in tissue culture but increased substantially after 1 week. L-type channels accounted for the largest proportion of facilitation in 1-week-old cells (60-70%), whereas N-type channels contributed very little (approximately 3%). The toxins omega-agatoxin IVa or omega-conotoxin MVIIC (after block of N-, L-, and P-type channels) each blocked a small percentage of facilitation (approximately 12 and 14%, respectively). Perfusion of cells with GTP-gamma-S enhanced the facilitation of N-type channels, whereas it inhibited of L-type channels. During development in vitro, the contribution of L-type channels to the whole-cell current decreased. Single-channel recordings showed the presence of 10 and 15 pS L-type Ca2+ channels in 1-d-old cells. After 1 week in culture, a approximately 25 pS L-type channel dominated recordings from cell-attached patches. Positive prepulses increased the activity of the 25 pS channel but not of the smaller conductance channels. The expression of Ca(2+) channel facilitation during development may contribute to changes in excitability that allow frequency-dependent Ca(2+) influx during the period of active synaptogenesis
A learning scheme for open-loop and closed-loop control

The problem of control design for systems to perform repetitive tracking is considered. The control structure combines open-loop control and closed-loop control. The specific organization is designed on the philosophy that open-loop control should be used to take full advantage of a priori knowledge and feedback control should be used for regulation against modeling uncertainties and disturbances. With this control structure learning takes place in the open-loop controller. In each iteration the share of the open-loop control in the total control input increases, while that of the closed-loop control decreases. Convergence theorems are established as design guidelines for learning algorithms. Numerical examples are given. >