cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cloning and Characterization of the Human Homologue of a Dystrophin Related Phosphoprotein Found at the Torpedo Electric Organ Post-Synaptic Membrane

Dystrophin is the protein product which is absent in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). In mammalian skeletal muscle, dystrophin is found in association with several integral and peripheral membrane proteins, forming a complex known as the dystrophin glycoprotein complex (DGC). In an expressed sequence tag (EST) database search to identify new dystrophin related genes, we isolated EST00891 which showed 57% homology to the cysteine-rich domain of dystrophin and localized to 18q12.1-12.2. This EST is also highly homologous (90%) to the Torpedo californica post-synaptic 87 kDa phosphoprotein. Screening human adult brain and skeletal muscle cDNA libraries with this EST resulted in cloning multiple cDNAs which encode several splice forms all homologous to the C-terminal domain of dystrophin. The largest open reading frame isolated shows 94% homology (86% identity) to the Torpedo 87 kDa protein and 50% homology to the cysteine-rich and carboxy-terminal domains of dystrophin. The other cDNAs isolated encode smaller splice forms of this gene which we have named dystrobrevin. The tissue distribution of dystrobrevin mRNA shows five distinct transcripts which are preferentially expressed between different tissues. In addition, antibodies against either the Torpedo 87 kDa protein or human dystrobrevin demonstrate that at least three of the splice forms are translated as proteins in human brain tissue extracts.
Performance analysis of blind signal estimation using fourth order cumulants

Investigates the performance of blind signal "COPY" algorithms which use fourth order cumulants to estimate the steering vectors. The steering vectors are then used to form a linear combiner, to produce estimates of the signals. The authors derive an asymptotic expression for the upper bound on the quality of the estimated signal in terms of the output signal-to-interference ratio. Some insight into the achievable performance of such algorithms is obtained by numerical evaluation of the bound for two test cases of interest. >
Biomarkers in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Current Practices and Recent Advances

Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis represent the two main forms of the idiopathic chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Currently available blood and stool based biomarkers provide reproducible, quantitative tools that can complement clinical assessment to aid clinicians in IBD diagnosis and management. C-reactive protein and fecal based leukocyte markers can help the clinician distinguish IBD from noninflammatory diarrhea and assess disease activity. The ability to differentiate between forms of IBD and predict risk for disease complications is specific to serologic tests including antibodies against Saccharomyces cerevisiae and perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic proteins. Advances in genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic array based technologies are facilitating the development of new biomarkers for IBD. The discovery of novel biomarkers, which can correlate with mucosal healing or predict long-term disease course has the potential to significantly improve patient care. This article reviews the uses and limitations of currently available biomarkers and highlights recent advances in IBD biomarker discovery.
Consultation Issues on a Cancer Ward: The Hidden Agenda:

This article describes a taxonomy of the hidden agenda contained in consultation issues identified during the authors' two years experience with the Oncology Unit of a large Veterans Administration Medical Center. The authors found that in an overwhelming majority of cases the motivation for referral was overdetermined. Not infrequently it was found that the staff was in need of support, while patients worked out their own destiny. A framework for understanding the conceptual themes of the taxonomy is formulated in terms of general systems theory.
Neotaphonomic measures of carnivore serial predation at Ngamo Pan as an analog for interpreting open-air faunal assemblages

Abstract Here I present a neotaphonomic account of natural bone accumulations that have resulted from carnivore serial predation at Ngamo Pan, a vast complex of seasonal water holes located in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Reconstructing the taphonomic histories of faunal assemblages from open-air archaeological sites is burdened with a host of interpretive complications, and this study is offered as a referential means for evaluating instances where stone tools and bone accumulations are associated in apparent archaeological contexts. While the presence of stone tools implies some involvement on the part of humans, open-air sites near water would also have served as prime locations for serial predation by large carnivores to ambush prey—a situation that, over time, can mimic archaeological bone accumulations. The taphonomic and zooarchaeological signatures of carnivore serial predation at Ngamo Pan show marked similarities with the open-air faunal accumulation from Kalkbank, a late Pleistocene site in Limpopo Province, South Africa, located along the margins of a relict pan. Many potential archaeological sites within the interior of southern Africa dating to the Middle Stone Age are known from open-air settings near permanent or ephemeral bodies of water, and the ability to decipher between hominin and non-hominin carnivore involvement with bone accumulations is paramount in determining the hunting and scavenging behaviors of our early ancestors. As much of our understanding of hominin subsistence during the Middle Stone Age is drawn from coastal cave locations, this study is intended to encourage a broadening of our perspective on the taphonomic histories of faunal accumulations dating to the Middle Stone Age by incorporating supplementary evidence provided by these open-air sites.
Wegener's granulomatosis: a model of auto-antibodies in mucosal autoimmunity.

Abstract Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) is an autoimmune condition marked by vasculitis of small and medium sized vessels particularly affecting the upper respiratory tract and kidneys. There is a strong mucosal component similar to other autoimmune conditions such as systemic lupus erythematosus and Behcet's disease. While the pathogenesis of WG is not completely known, auto-antibodies such as IgG ANCAs have been implicated in endovascular damage and modulation of neutrophil/monocyte responses by Fc receptor (FcR) signaling. Due to the substantial mucosal involvement in WG (oral, nasal, and upper respiratory tract involvement), it is probable that IgA antibodies (perhaps IgA ANCAs) play a role in disease. Given discrepancies in associating ANCA levels with disease activity, future work should determine if IgA ANCAs are present in WG patients and examine the biology underlying the ANCAs' signaling partners — the FcRs.
Lasing in sub-micron semiconductor disk

Lasing was realized a sub-micron GaAs disk, which was fabricated by standard optical lithography and wet-etching method. As the disk thickness is comparable to the disk radius, 3D-FDTD was used to simulate the resonant modes.
Incidence of Common Postural Abnormalities in the Cervical, Shoulder, and Thoracic Regions and Their Association with Pain in Two Age Groups of Healthy Subjects

The purposes of this study were to identify the incidence of postural abnormalities of the thoracic, cervical, and shoulder regions in two age groups of healthy subjects and to explore whether these abnormalities were associated with pain. Eighty-eight healthy subjects, aged 20 to 50 years, were asked to answer a pain questionnaire and to stand by a plumb line for postural assessment of forward head, rounded shoulders, and kyphosis. Subjects were divided into two age groups: a 20- to 35-year-old group (mean = 25, SD = 63) and a 36- to 50-year-old group (mean = 47, SD = 2.6). Interrater and intrarater reliability (Cohen's Kappa coefficients) for postural assessment were established at .611 and .825, respectively. Frequency counts revealed postural abnormalities were prevalent (forward head = 66%, kyphosis = 38%, right rounded shoulder = 73%, left rounded shoulder = 66%). No relationship was found between the severity of postural abnormality and the severity and frequency of pain. Subjects with more severe postural abnormalities, however, had a significantly increased incidence of pain, as determined by chi-square analysis (critical chi 2 = 6, df = 2, P less than .05). Subjects with kyphosis and rounded shoulders had an increased incidence of interscapular pain, and those with a forward-head posture had an increased incidence of cervical, interscapular, and headache pain.
Assessing the Impact of Ad Watches on the Strategic Decision-Making Process A Comparative Analysis of Ad Watches in the 1992 and 1996 Presidential Elections

The percentage of presidential ads containing a misleading statement rose to 52% in 1996, up from 14% in 1992. At the same time, there was a drop both in broadcast and print press coverage of the presidential election, as well as in ad watches. The amount of broadcast coverage of the election was down 55% from 1992. Front-page newspaper campaign coverage was down 45% from 1992, whereas campaign coverage, measured in stories, was down 40% from 1992. Proportionally, broadcast ad watch stories in 1996 dropped by 68%, whereas print ad watches dropped by 20%. This article examines how ads were covered by the media and asks whether the drop in broadcast and print ad watches affected the decisions of political ad makers about creating or continuing to air controversial ads. In addition to a content analysis of print and broadcast ad watches, ad watch journalists and presidential ad consultants were questioned to help determine how ad watches affect the strategic decision-making process.
Short-term lime pretreatment of poplar wood.

Short-term lime pretreatment uses lime and high-pressure oxygen to significantly increase the digestibility of poplar wood. When the treated poplar wood was enzymatically hydrolyzed, glucan and xylan were converted to glucose and xylose, respectively. To calculate product yields from raw biomass, these sugars were expressed as equivalent glucan and xylan. To recommend pretreatment conditions, the single criterion was the maximum overall glucan and xylan yields using a cellulase loading of 15 FPU/g glucan in raw biomass. On this basis, the recommended conditions for short-term lime pretreatment of poplar wood follow: (1) 2 h, 140°C, 21.7 bar absolute and (2) 2 h, 160°C, and 14.8 bar absolute. In these two cases, the reactivity was nearly identical, thus the selected condition depends on the economic trade off between pressure and temperature. Considering glucose and xylose and their oligomers produced during 72 h of enzymatic hydrolysis, the overall yields attained under these recommended conditions follow: (1) 95.5 g glucan/100 g of glucan in raw biomass and 73.1 g xylan/100 g xylan in raw biomass and (2) 94.2 g glucan/100 g glucan in raw biomass and 73.2 g xylan/100 g xylan in raw biomass. The yields improved by increasing the enzyme loading. An optimal enzyme cocktail was identified as 67% cellulase, 12% β-glucosidase, and 24% xylanase (mass of protein basis) with cellulase activity of 15 FPU/g glucan in raw biomass and total enzyme loading of 51 mg protein/g glucan in raw biomass. Ball milling the lime-treated poplar wood allowed for 100% conversion of glucan in 120 h with a cellulase loading of only 10 FPU/g glucan in raw biomass. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009
A quantitative comparison of graph-based models for Internet topology

Graphs are commonly used to model the topological structure of internetworks in order to study problems ranging from routing to resource reservation. A variety of graphs are found in the literature, including fixed topologies such as rings or stars, "well-known" topologies such as the ARPAnet, and randomly generated topologies. While many researchers rely upon graphs for analytic and simulation studies, there has been little analysis of the implications of using a particular model or how the graph generation method may affect the results of such studies. Further, the selection of one generation method over another is often arbitrary, since the differences and similarities between methods are not well understood. This paper considers the problem of generating and selecting graphs that reflect the properties of real internetworks. We review generation methods in common use and also propose several new methods. We consider a set of metrics that characterize the graphs produced by a method, and we quantify similarities and differences among several generation methods with respect to these metrics. We also consider the effect of the graph model in the context of a specific problem, namely multicast routing.
Efficiency of research investments in the presence of international spillovers: wheat research in developing countries.

Expenditures on agricultural research in the public sector, including the International Agricultural Research Centers (IARCs) have stagnated and in some cases, declined sharply in recent years. This has focused attention on issues of efficiency of agricultural research systems, especially the number, size, scope, type, and locations of their programs. This paper examines the issue of research efficiency through a case study of wheat improvement research in developing countries. The basic premise of this study is that the optimal level of research investment should be determined in a global model that incorporates direct research spill-ins. An analytical framework is developed to determine the threshold levels of crop production in a country (or a region within a country) needed to justify crop improvement research programs of different sizes in the presence of spill-ins from abroad. Spill-in coefficients are estimated from yield performance of varieties of different origins grown across a range of environments. The model is then applied to analyze the efficiency of current investments in 69 wheat improvement research programs in 35 developing countries. A major conclusion of the paper is that given the magnitude of potential spill-ins from the international research system, many wheat research programs could significantly increase the efficiency of resource use by reducing the size of their wheat research programs and focusing on the screening of varieties developed elsewhere. ©2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
A Screen for Modifiers of Hedgehog Signaling in Drosophila melanogaster Identifies swm and mts

Signaling by Hedgehog (Hh) proteins shapes most tissues and organs in both vertebrates and invertebrates, and its misregulation has been implicated in many human diseases. Although components of the signaling pathway have been identified, key aspects of the signaling mechanism and downstream targets remain to be elucidated. We performed an enhancer/suppressor screen in Drosophila to identify novel components of the pathway and identified 26 autosomal regions that modify a phenotypic readout of Hh signaling. Three of the regions include genes that contribute constituents to the pathway—patched, engrailed, and hh. One of the other regions includes the gene microtubule star (mts) that encodes a subunit of protein phosphatase 2A. We show that mts is necessary for full activation of Hh signaling. A second region includes the gene second mitotic wave missing (swm). swm is recessive lethal and is predicted to encode an evolutionarily conserved protein with RNA binding and Zn+ finger domains. Characterization of newly isolated alleles indicates that swm is a negative regulator of Hh signaling and is essential for cell polarity.
Clinical pharmacology in sleep medicine.

The basic treatment goals of pharmacological therapies in sleep medicine are to improve waking function by either improving sleep or by increasing energy during wakefulness. Stimulants to improve waking function include amphetamine derivatives, modafinil, and caffeine. Sleep aids encompass several classes, from benzodiazepine hypnotics to over-the-counter antihistamines. Other medications used in sleep medicine include those initially used in other disorders, such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and psychiatric disorders. As these medications are prescribed or encountered by providers in diverse fields of medicine, it is important to recognize the distribution of adverse effects, drug interaction profiles, metabolism, and cytochrome substrate activity. In this paper, we review the pharmacological armamentarium in the field of sleep medicine to provide a framework for risk-benefit considerations in clinical practice.
Postural tachycardia syndrome and inappropriate sinus tachycardia: role of autonomic modulation and sinus node automaticity.

Background Inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST) and postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) are 2 disorders characterized by sinus tachycardia. It is debated whether the pathophysiology of IST and POTS results from abnormal autonomic regulation or abnormal sinus node function. We hypothesized that intrinsic heart rate (IHR) after autonomic blockade would be increased in patients with IST but not POTS. Methods and Results We enrolled 48 POTS patients, 8 IST patients, and 17 healthy control (HC) subjects. Intravenous propranolol and atropine were given to block the sympathetic and parasympathetic limbs of the autonomic nervous system in order to determine the IHR. Patients with IST have a higher sympathetic contribution to heart rate when compared with POTS patients (31±13 bpm versus 12±7 bpm, P <0.001) and HC (8±4 bpm; P <0.001) and a trend to less parasympathetic contribution than POTS and HC (IST: 31±11 bpm versus POTS: 46±11 bpm versus HC: 48±11 bpm, ANOVA P =0.108). IHR was not significantly different between IST and either POTS or HC (IST: 111±11 bpm versus POTS: 108±11 bpm versus HC: 106±12 bpm, ANOVA P =0.237). Conclusions IST patients have more sympathetic tone when compared with either POTS or HC, but IST patients do not have abnormal sinus node automaticity. These data suggest that the treatment of IST and POTS should focus on sympatholysis, reserving sinus node modification for patients with continued debilitating symptoms after beta-blockade and possibly ivabradine. Clinical Trial Registration URL: . Unique identifier: [NCT00262470][1]. [1]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV&access_num=NCT00262470&atom=%2Fahaoa%2F3%2F2%2Fe000700.atom
Getting Along or Getting Your Own Way: The Development of Young Children's Use of Argument in Conflicts with Mother and Sibling

The development of children's use of argument in conflicts with their mother and sibling during their fourth vear, a period of marked changes in their understanding of others, was studied in 49 children observed at home with their mothers and siblings at 33 and 47 months. Children's use of reasoned argument in conflict increased: however, the proportion used for conciliation and compromise decreased, and children used justifications increasingly to support their own position. Mothers, hut not siblings, changed in parallel to the children over this period. Both the initiator of a dispute and children's expression of affect were related to children's use of argument; children used less reasoned argument when they were upset. Results are discussed in relation to differences in the development of children's relationships with mother and sibling and the importance of the link between affective expression and the use of argument in family disputes.
Role of sphingolipids in murine radiation-induced lung injury: protection by sphingosine 1-phosphate analogs

Clinically significant radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) is a common toxicity in patients administered thoracic radiotherapy. Although the molecular etiology is poorly understood, we previously characterized a murine model of RILI in which alterations in lung barrier integrity surfaced as a potentially important pathobiological event and genome-wide lung gene mRNA levels identified dysregulation of sphingolipid metabolic pathway genes. We hypothesized that sphingolipid signaling components serve as modulators and novel therapeutic targets of RILI. Sphingolipid involvement in murine RILI was confirmed by radiation-induced increases in lung expression of sphingosine kinase (SphK) isoforms 1 and 2 and increases in the ratio of ceramide to sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) and dihydro-S1P (DHS1P) levels in plasma, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and lung tissue. Mice with a targeted deletion of SphK1 (SphK1(-/-)) or with reduced expression of S1P receptors (S1PR1(+/-), S1PR2(-/-), and S1PR3(-/-)) exhibited marked RILI susceptibility. Finally, studies of 3 potent vascular barrier-protective S1P analogs, FTY720, (S)-FTY720-phosphonate (fTyS), and SEW-2871, identified significant RILI attenuation and radiation-induced gene dysregulation by the phosphonate analog, fTyS (0.1 and 1 mg/kg i.p., 2×/wk) and to a lesser degree by SEW-2871 (1 mg/kg i.p., 2×/wk), compared with those in controls. These results support the targeting of S1P signaling as a novel therapeutic strategy in RILI.
Binary Detection in an Optical Polarization Modulation Communication Channel

An exact derivation is presented for the binary detection probability for an optical polarization modulation communication system. A Gaussian approximation to this formulation is developed and compared to the exact derivation.
A theory of multi-channel schedulers for quality of service

A computer network consists of a set of computing nodes interconnected via communication channels. It is commonly assumed that, for each pair of network nodes u and v, there is at most one channel from u to v. However, it is often desirable to have multiple channels between nodes. That is, for every pair of network nodes u and v, there may be multiple channels from u to v. In this paper, we consider the problem of providing deterministic quality of service guarantees when there are multiple channels between nodes. We show that any packet scheduling protocol that operate over a single channel can be modified to operate over multiple channels. In addition this transformation increases the packet delay through the node by only a small amount. However, having multiple channels between nodes may cause packet reorder. This reorder significantly increases the upper bound on end-to-end delay. We show how this increase in delay is avoided through the use of efficient sorting techniques.
The new biology: beyond the Modern Synthesis

Background: The last third of the 20th Century featured an accumulation of research findings that severely challenged the assumptions of the "Modern Synthesis" which provided the foundations for most biological research during that century. The foundations of that "Modernist" biology had thus largely crumbled by the start of the 21st Century. This in turn raises the question of foundations for biology in the 21st Century. Conclusion: Like the physical sciences in the first half of the 20th Century, biology at the start of the 21st Century is achieving a substantive maturity of theory, experimental tools, and fundamental findings thanks to relatively secure foundations in genomics. Genomics has also forced biologists to connect evolutionary and molecular biology, because these formerly Balkanized disciplines have been brought together as actors on the genomic stage. Biologists are now addressing the evolution of genetic systems using more than the concepts of population biology alone, and the problems of cell biology using more than the tools of biochemistry and molecular biology alone. It is becoming increasingly clear that solutions to such basic problems as aging, sex, development, and genome size potentially involve elements of biological science at every level of organization, from molecule to population. The new biology knits together genomics, bioinformatics, evolutionary genetics, and other such general-purpose tools to supply novel explanations for the paradoxes that undermined Modernist biology. Open Peer Reviewers: This article was reviewed by W.F. Doolittle, E.V. Koonin, and J.M. Logsdon. For the full reviews, please go to the Reviewers' Comments section.
Die Kompetenzen und die Persönlichkeit des Leaders

Es ist nutzlich, sich als Leader Gedanken zu machen uber die Rollen, die Sie als Fuhrungskraft einnehmen. In der Regel sind es mehrere und teilweise durchaus widerspruchliche Erwartungen, die mit diesen Rollen verknupft sind. Das klassische Beispiel: gestern noch gehorten Sie als Mitarbeiter zu den Leistungstragern in Ihrer Organisation – heute sollen Sie nach der Ernennung zur Fuhrungskraft plotzlich zukunftige Leistungstrager anleiten.
Insect fauna visiting carrion in Southwest Virginia

Successional patterns of insect fauna on pig carcasses were studied in southwest Virginia. The objective was to identify and qualitatively assess the major taxa of forensic importance in this region. Studies were conducted in spring and summer 2001 and 2002, and fall 2002. Over 50 taxa were collected and identified. Phormia regina was the dominant fly species in the spring (>90%) and co-dominant with Phaenicia coeruleiviridis in the summer. Phaenicia sericata, Lucilia illustris, and Calliphora spp. were collected in spring and summer, but less frequently. Eleven species of Sarcophagidae also were collected with Sarcophaga utilis and Helicobia rapax the most common. In the fall, the dominant fly species were Calliphora vomitoria, L. illustris, and P. coeruleiviridis. The primary beetle species collected in spring and summer included three Staphylinidae (Creophilis maxillosus, Platydracus maculosus, and Aleochara lata) and three Silphidae (Oiceoptoma noveboracense, Necrodes surinamensis, and Necrophila americana). No beetles were collected in the fall.
The palmitoylation state of PMP22 modulates epithelial cell morphology and migration

PMP22 (peripheral myelin protein 22), also known as GAS 3 (growth-arrest-specific protein 3), is a disease-linked tetraspan glycoprotein of peripheral nerve myelin and constituent of intercellular junctions in epithelia. To date, our knowledge of the post-translational modification of PMP22 is limited. Using the CSS-Palm 2.0 software we predicted that C85 (cysteine 85), a highly conserved amino acid located between the second and third transmembrane domains, is a potential site for palmitoylation. To test this, we mutated C85S (C85 to serine) and established stable cells lines expressing the WT (wild-type) or the C85S-PMP22. In Schwann and MDCK (Madin–Darby canine kidney) cells mutating C85 blocked the palmitoylation of PMP22, which we monitored using 17-ODYA (17-octadecynoic acid). While palmitoylation was not necessary for processing the newly synthesized PMP22 through the secretory pathway, overexpression of C85S-PMP22 led to pronounced cell spreading and uneven monolayer thinning. To further investigate the functional significance of palmitoylated PMP22, we evaluated MDCK cell migration in a wound-healing assay. While WT-PMP22 expressing cells were resistant to migration, C85S cells displayed lamellipodial protrusions and migrated at a similar rate to vector control. These findings indicate that palmitoylation of PMP22 at C85 is critical for the role of the protein in modulating epithelial cell shape and motility.
Tree-ring footprint of joint hydrologic drought in Sacramento and Upper Colorado river basins, western USA

Abstract Growing and changing demands on water supply, along with natural climate variability and possible anthropogenically induced climate change, make water resource management and planning increasingly challenging, particularly in arid regions. Instrumental climate and gaged streamflow records provide just a snapshop of recent natural hydrologic variability. In this paper, we use tree-ring-based annual streamflow reconstructions for the Sacramento River in California and the Blue River in western Colorado to analyze the temporal and spatial variability of widespread drought simultaneously affecting both basins over the past five centuries. Stability of joint-drought episodes and the covariation of reconstructed flows in the two basins are analyzed with sliding correlations, spectral analysis and a hypergeometric test. Year-to-year spatial patterns of moisture anomalies in a singular joint-drought episode in the late-1500s are mapped with a network of tree-ring data. Climatological aspects of joint droughts of the 20th century are investigated with 500-mb geopotential height data and climatic indices. Although flow in the two rivers is only very weakly correlated over the full 538-yr reconstruction period, more years of joint drought occur than would be expected by chance alone. Covariation in reconstructed flows is stronger in the late 1500s and mid-1700s than at any time since 1800. The late 1500s period of drought is not characterized as a decades-long unbroken drought, but as a series of drought impulses broken by wet years, with widespread moisture deficits in joint dry years. Periods of high inter-basin correlation in reconstructed flow are characterized by coherency at frequencies within the ENSO band. However, joint droughts in instrumental gage records do not display any consistent relationship with ENSO or the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and so it is difficult to infer either as a causal mechanism for joint droughts in the past.
One Giant Leap: How Insects Achieved Altruism and Colonial Life

ABSTRACT The advanced colonial state of eusociality has evolved in insects as a defense of nest sites within foraging distance of persistent food sources. In the Hymenoptera, the final step in the approach to eusociality is through a suite of preadaptations comprising simultaneous provisioning, fidelity to the nest, and a preexisting propensity toward dominance behavior and the selection of tasks according to opportunity. The only genetic change needed to cross the threshold to the eusocial grade is the foundress's possession of an allele that holds the foundress and her offspring to the nest. The preadaptations provide the phenotypic flexibility required for eusociality, as well as the key emergent traits arising from interactions of the group members. Group (colony-level) selection then immediately acts on both of these traits. The rarity of the origin of eusociality is evidently due to the rarity of the combination of progressive provisioning with environments of the kind that give an edge to group sel...
A Model for the Associations among: Stress, Locus of Control, and Auditor Longevity

Time/budget constraints and the need to reduce costs affect decision making (Mautz and Sharaf 1961). These pressures can cause considerable stress and result in job dissatisfaction, reduced quality of work, and personnel turnover (Collins 1993; Kelley and Cook 1982; Margheim and Pany 1986; Pearson et al. 1985). Kelley and Seiler (1982) found that the ability to live with pressure may be a prerequisite to a long career when time budgets are imposed.
Thermomechanical and Rheological Studies of Copolymers of Methyl Methacrylate with a Series of Linear Vinyl Esters

A series of copolymers of methyl methacrylate (MMA) with linear vinyl esters (LVEs), including vinyl acetate (VA), vinyl propionate (VP), vinyl hexanoate (VH), and vinyl decanoate (VD), were synthesized by free radical copolymerizations at 60 °C. The LVE composition was varied from 3 to 41 mol % in the resultant copolymers. The glass transition (Tg) of the copolymers ranged from 60 to 108 °C. The storage moduli (E′) of the copolymers decreased as the LVE composition increased from 4 × 109 to 1.5 × 109 Pa. Copolymers containing VD exhibited a more obvious reduction in storage moduli and a larger shift of the tan δ peak. The rheological property analysis of the copolymers at different temperatures showed that the shear storage and loss moduli of poly(LVE-co-MMA) (G′ and G″) were mostly dominated by MWs. Short side chains did not have an obvious impact on the shear moduli and complex viscosities.
INTERACTION OF CARBON DIOXIDE WITH IRH2(TBU2)PCH2CH2CHCH2CH2P(TBU2)

The pincer ligand dihydride complex interacts with carbon dioxide to give an isolable bicarbonate derivative and a metal hydride carbonyl compound. An intermediate metallo−formate complex can be detected by NMR spectroscopy. The reaction described is a reverse water gas shift process, CO2 + H2 ⇌ CO + H2O.
Participation and Investment in Local Agriculture: What's in a Community?

This commentary highlights how participation and investment in local food systems vary between differently situated actors in Alaska, with an emphasis on communities in the interior of the state. Our experiences with various food system research projects over the last five years have revealed several exclusionary and inclusionary practices and policies that call into question shared notions of community among local food producers and consumers. We note the different motivations and discourses that producers and consumers construct for themselves and each other regarding their participation in local food movements. Tension and frictions exist in these multilayered foodscapes where cultural values of community, as imagined by both producers and consumers, confront the reality of market interactions. Hence, rather than producing a unified narrative of sustainability that is agreed upon by all members of some imagined community, we suggest that future food system research and development initiatives should be open to how foodscapes will and must remain contested landscapes whose contours are ever shifting. The alternative, we argue, is to perpetuate a facade of food system reform that, while sufficient for some, will remain vulnerable to external criticism by those who continue to promote only large-scale and industrial paradigms.
Festival and the Laughter of Being

We present a performance in festival laughter that unfolds in three movements. Movement I traces the emergence and proliferation of Renaissance “faires” in America as spectacle, a Rabelaisian lands...
Influence of Phosphatidylethanolamine Concentration and Composition on the Detection of Antiphosphatidylethanolamine Antibodies by ELISA

Background Accumulating evidence supports a positive correlation between the presence of antiphosphatidylethanolamine (aPE) autoantibodies and clinical symptoms of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). However, there is a lack of standardized ELISA-based method for detecting aPE. The current study was conducted to investigate the dependence of aPE ELISA on lipid concentration and composition of PE antigens. Methods A range of ELISA conditions were examined by varying the concentrations of egg PE and by substituting egg PE with combinations of synthetic DOPE and DSPE. The physical properties of the synthetic PE species were also characterized. Results Our data indicated that there are different optimal PE concentrations for conducting ELISA assays for cofactor-dependent and cofactor-independent aPEs. In addition, using a two-component synthetic lipid system, we demonstrated aPE ELISA readouts can be modulated to approach the performance level of egg PE, which is currently the most commonly used PE antigen. Conclusion These data raised the possibility of ultimately replacing natural PE antigens with a blend of defined synthetic lipid species, thus overcoming a known variable factor in aPE detection. The outcome of this study will help pave the way to developing a standardized aPE test.
Little pamphlets and big lies: federal authorities respond to childhood lead poisoning, 1935-2003.

aLate in 1935, Alice Hamilton, who a generation earlier had done more than any other government-sponsored researcher to expose and ameliorate industrial lead poisoning, wrote to Martha May Eliot, assistant chief of the U.S. Children’s Bureau. 1 A young friend of Hamilton’s, a new mother married to a third-year medical student at Harvard, had asked Hamilton how to be sure that paint on baby furniture was lead-free. Although Hamilton had always assumed “that furniture and toys were painted with enamel paint, lead-free,” the Bureau of Standards informed her that in fact many enamel paints contained lead. Hamilton’s purpose in writing Eliot, then, was to urge “that tests would have to be made of furniture paints and toy paints,” and to suggest who should take on this task: “Do not you think that it is an important question and that it lies within the field of the Children’s Bureau?” No such investigation was ever undertaken by the Children’s Bureau, the federal agency charged with advocating for “the welfare of children and child life among all classes of our people.” 2
Analysis of hygienic condition of Mahjong in community senior activity centers in Zengcheng

Objective:In order to know and evaluate the hygienic condition of Mahjong in community senior activity centers(referred to as the centers below) in Zengcheng.Methods: Taking 122 samples randomly in eight large-scale centers in Zengcheng for investigation.All the samples were examine for aerobic bacterial count,Coliform bacteria,Salmonella bacteria,Staphylococcus aureus and hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg).Results: 11.4% samples of the regular disinfection group were detected with aerobic bacterial count on the surface of the Mahjong above the standard,and the without regular disinfection group was 76.9%.The total detection rate of Coliform bacteria was 5.7%(7/122).Salmonella bacteria and HBsAg were not detected.Staphylococcus aureus was not detected in the regular disinfection group,but it was detected in 4 samples of without regular disinfection group,the detection rate was 7.7%(4/52).Conclusion: The results showed that the overall sanitary level of Mahjong in the centers was not satisfactory in Zengcheng.In order to avoid health and hygiene problems,the relevant government departments should enhance hygiene supervision and management in such places.
Foreword—A Student Symposium on National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius

In June of 2012, the United States Supreme Court decided National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (“NFIB v. Sebelius”). The case addressed the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Affordable Care Act”), which enacted wide-ranging changes to the American health care system. Health care reform is one of the most substantively important and politically salient issues in American public life. And the legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act implicated fundamental aspects of our constitutional structure, including the limits of Federal power, the nature of state sovereignty, individual liberty, and interpretive methodology. As a result, NFIB v. Sebelius was the most closely followed Supreme Court case since Bush v. Gore. It captured the imagination of the public and inspired an extraordinary amount of commentary in the build up to the decision. Given the political and legal importance of the issues addressed in the case, the editors of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review and I concluded that NFIB v. Sebelius merits substantial attention in the pages of the review. In addition to being significant, the constitutional issues that the Supreme Court adjudicated in NFIB v. Sebelius are complicated. And there are many such issues. The case thus does not lend itself to traditional student scholarship. It is simply too long in length and too broad in scope for a single student note or comment. Accordingly, I proposed that the Law Review conduct a written student symposium on NFIB v. Sebelius, with each student piece tackling one of the difficult questions raised in the case. The editors accepted my recommendation, and the results are set forth in this volume of the review.
Voluntary Control of Static Endpoint Stiffness During Force Regulation Tasks

The goals of this study were to determine the degree to which subjects could voluntarily modulate static endpoint stiffness orientation and to quantify the effects of simultaneously generated volun...
A Renal Cause for Massive Retroperitoneal Hemorrhage—renal Angiomyolipoma

AbstractA 17-year-old black girl suffered massive retroperitoneal hemorrhage from a fractured kidney containing a huge angiomyolipoma. The clinical presentation and management of renal angiomyolipoma are discussed.
The community development balancing act: reconciling expectations for a hybrid block grant

Community development was one of the first block grant programs, a “hybrid” which retained categorical features and constraints. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) has proven to be resilient and popular with local officials. It has been reauthorized by Congress a number of times over the past three decades, and is among the 15 largest federal grant-in-aid programs. In recent years, the Bush administration, Government Accountability Office, and others have called for major changes in the program, including funding formula, program priorities, performance reporting, and agency location. This paper describes the general characteristics of block grants, the dynamics of the block grant “balancing act,” and lessons from experience. In this context, the varying expectations of CDBG stakeholders and reformers are identified and implications for policy-makers are discussed. Options for the future design and direction of the program are offered.
Collaboration among Faculty Members and Community Partners: Increasing the Quality of Online Library and Information Science Graduate Programs through Academic Service-Learning

Finding innovative ways to deliver effective classroom instruction resulting in demonstration of student proficiency of the eight American Library Association core competencies within the online le...
IFNγ Receptor-STAT1 Signaling and Cancer Immunoediting

Investigations from many different laboratories on the contributions of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway to oncogenesis have suggested a general categorization of the STAT molecules as either tumor suppressors or tumor promoters. In this regard, STAT1 can be broadly defined as a tumor suppressor whereas STAT3, STAT5 and STAT6 can be classified as tumor promoters. In this review, we focus primarily on recent contributions from our laboratory and others regarding the existence of an extrinsic tumor suppressor system that involves interferon-gamma (IFNγ), STAT1 and lymphocytes. First, we describe the experimental path that led us to investigate a role for IFNγ and its STAT1 signaling pathway in promoting natural host responses against cancer before summarizing our findings that the IFNγ/STAT1 axis functions as the basis of an extrinsic tumor suppressor system. Second, we discuss possible mechanisms by which STAT1 exerts its tumor suppressor effects. Finally, we incorporate these observations into the much debated hypothesis of cancer immunosurveillance and bring closure to this 100 year old controversy by introducing a refined concept of immunosurveillance we have termed Cancer Immunoediting.
Relapse of POEMS Following Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation: A Single Center Experience

Abstract 3101 The POEMS (polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M-protein, skin changes) syndrome is a rare paraneoplastic disorder secondary to a clonal plasma cell process. The most experience with successful outcomes in POEMS with disseminated disease has been with high dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). However, the risk of relapse of POEMS following an ASCT or the outcome of the patients who relapse is not known. We therefore performed a retrospective review of POEMS patients who underwent ASCT at our center and subsequently relapsed or progressed. Over the past 12 years, 58 patients with POEMS underwent autologous stem cell transplantation at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester between Mar 18, 1999 and Jun 22, 2011. With a median follow up of 40 months (1–147 months), 12 patients have relapsed. The median time to relapse was 41 months. The 1, 2, and 5 year PFS rates were 98%, 94%, and 75%, respectively (Figure 1), and the 1, 2, and 5 year OS rates were 98%, 98%, and 94%. Of the 12 patients with documented relapse, 7 had baseline PET/CT scans all of which had FDG avid lesions. By 1 year, the FDG avidity had not resolved in 4 of these patients who then went on to either develop additional lesions or increasing SUV of existing lesions. Of the 12 patients with documented relapse, 8 had baseline VEGF measurements, and all but 1 had normalization by 1 year. The first sign of relapse was a clinical deterioration in 2, a rising M-protein in 3, and a rising plasma VEGF level in 5 patients. All of these patients had new or worsening of existing lesions on PET/CT scan (n= 9) or x-ray imaging (n= 3). The symptoms of clinical relapse included pain at the site of the lytic lesion and generalized pain with swelling. Of the patients who relapsed, 5 were treated with radiation therapy, 4 received lenalidomide or thalidomide, 2 had alkylator based therapy and 1 had bortezomib based therapy. One patient was treated with surgical resection of his hepatic plasmacytoma and 2 patients have been observed without needing definitive treatment as of yet. One patient also received anti-VEGF treatment with bevacizumab unsuccessfully after failing cyclophosphamide therapy. In this large cohort of POEMS patients treated with high dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation in a single center, a relapse rate of 21% was noted. Not every patient who relapsed has been deemed to need further treatment, and most patients could be salvaged with chemotherapy or radiation. Only one patient died from relapsed POEMS following stem cell transplantation. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Notch Pathway: Lateral Inhibition

The Notch signaling pathway is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism that allows a cell to communicate with its immediate neighbor and regulate its fate. In doing so, it plays extraordinarily diverse roles in defining how different types of cells are distributed within a tissue. By regulating the spatiotemporal pattern of differentiation and cell morphology, this signaling pathway can maintain progenitor cells and regulate the acquisition of distinct fates or behavior of individual cells within a particular tissue.
Theory for Linear Models

Theory for linear models is used to show that linear models have good statistical properties. Linear model theory previously proved in the text includes Propositions 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.10, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, and Theorem 3.3. Some matrix manipulations are illustrated in Example 4.1. Unproved results include Propositions 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.11, Theorems 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8.
Approaches to photographic art I: life imitates art.

The word “photography” derives from Greek roots meaning “light” and “writing”. Photography, then, is writing with light. In conventional photography, such as landscapes or seascapes, many elements in addition to effective lighting are necessary to turn an ordinary snapshot into a memorable image.