cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Integrin-mediated attachment of articular chondrocytes to extracellular matrix proteins.

Objective To investigate the interactions between chondrocytes and their extracellular matrix (ECM). An attachment assay was used to determine the extent of integrin-mediated attachment of chondrocytes to a variety of ECM proteins and the effect of monolayer culturing on attachment activity. Methods Bovine and human articular cartilage chondrocytes were grown in high-density monolayer cultures for 3-21 days and used in the assays. Cell shape and production of 3H-proline-labeled collagen were monitored to assess phenotypic changes with time in culture. Cultured chondrocytes were incubated in wells coated with purified proteins, with and without specific inhibitors of integrin-mediated attachment, and cell attachment was determined. Results Compared with bovine serum albumin, chondrocytes showed significant attachment to fibronectin, matrix Gla protein (MGP), osteopontin, bone sialoprotein II (BSP II), vitronectin, and types II and VI collagen. A synthetic peptide containing the integrin-recognition sequence Arg-Gly-Asp inhibited attachment to all the proteins tested, except types II and VI collagen. A monoclonal antibody (MAb) to the beta 1-integrin subunit inhibited attachment to fibronectin, MGP, and type II collagen, and a MAb to the beta 3-integrin subunit inhibited attachment to BSP II and osteopontin. An increase in cell attachment was seen with time in culture, and this increase was followed by a change in the chondrocytes to flattened, type I collagen-producing cells. Conclusion Chondrocytes can attach to a variety of cartilage and bone proteins; this attachment is mediated via integrins, including members of both the beta 1 and beta 3 subunit families. The modulation of the chondrocyte phenotype during monolayer culture may be related to activation or increased expression of integrins.
In-tube condensation of zeotropic fluid mixtures: A review

Abstract The condensation of multi-component mixtures in tubes is critical to the function of many energy conversion processes. This paper reviews experimental and analytical studies of the coupled heat and mass transfer phenomena during condensation of different fluid mixtures in different in-tube geometries. Experimental studies on condensation of binary and higher order mixtures in vertical and horizontal smooth and enhanced tubes are discussed. For zeotropic mixtures the heat and mass transfer resistances in the vapor and liquid phases increase the overall heat transfer resistance beyond what would be expected from a weighted average of corresponding resistances for the pure components. There are significant opportunities to improve the quality of available data for new fluid combinations in smaller channels and at fine mass quality increments. Four categories of models are reviewed (1) Conservation equation (2) Non-equilibrium film theory (3) Equilibrium and (4) Empirical models.
Advanced RDMA-Based Admission Control for Modern Data-Centers

Current data-centers employ admission control mechanism to maintain low response time and high throughput under overloaded scenarios. Existing mechanisms use internal (on the overloaded server) or external (on the front- end proxies) approaches. External admission control is preferred since it can be performed transparently without any modifications to the overloaded servers and global decisions can be made based on the load information of all the back-end servers. However, this external approach is bound to use TCP/IP communication protocol to get the load information from the back-end servers and rely on coarse-grained load monitoring due to the overheads associated with fine-grained monitoring. In this paper, we provide a fine-grained external admission control mechanism by leveraging the one-sided RDMA feature of modern interconnects and consequently provide response time guarantees and overload control in the multi-tiered data-center environment. Our design is implemented over InfiniBand-based clusters working in conjunction with Apache based servers. Experimental evaluations with single file, world cup and zipf traces show that our admission control can improve the response time by up to 28%, 17% and 23%, respectively, as compared to performing TCP/IP-based admission control. The improvement become 51%, 36% and 42%, respectively, when comparing to the base performance without any admission control. Further, our evaluations also show that RDMA-based admission control can provide better QoS guarantees than the TCP/IP-based admission control and no admission control approaches.
Zirconium and hafnium polyhydrides. 2. Preparation and characterization of M3H6(BH4)6(PMe3)4 and M2H4(BH4)4(dmpe)2

Prolonged treatment of the tetrakis (tetrahydroborate) complexes Zr(BH{sub 4}{sub 4}) or Hf(BH{sub 4}){sub 4} with trimethylphosphine has given the first trinuclear group 4 polyhydrides, M{sub 3}H{sub 6}(BH{sub 4}){sub 6}(PMe{sub 3}){sub 4}, where M is Zr or Hf. The {sup 1}H, {sup 31}P, and {sup 11}B NMR data suggest that these trinuclear compounds contain noncyclic M ({mu}-H){sub 3}M({mu}-H){sub 3}M backbones with the phosphine and tetrahydroborate ligands distributed in 2:2:0 and 2:1:3 ratios among the three metal centers. Interestingly, several of the {eta}{sup 3}-BH{sub 4} groups are bonded asymmetrically, so that of the three Zr-H bonds to each BH{sub 4} ligand, one Zr-H bond is longer than the other two. Addition of 1,2-bis(dimethylphosphino) ethane(dmpe) to the previously reported polyhydrides of stoichiometry M{sub 2}H{sub 3}(BH{sub 4}){sub 5}(PMe{sub 3}){sub 2} results in phosphine exchange and loss of one BH{sub 3} unit to yield the new dinuclear hydrides M{sub 2}H{sub 4}(BH{sub 4}){sub 4}(dmpe){sub 2}. The NMR and X-ray crystallographic data show that three of the hydrides bridge the Zr{hor_ellipsis}Zr axis; the fourth hydride, one {eta}{sup 2}-BH{sub 4} group, and the two dmpe ligands are coordinated variable-temperature NMR data show that the terminal and bridging hydrides on zirconium exchange with each other via a {open_quotes}windshield wiper{close_quotes}more » type of motion with an activation energy of 12.6 {plus_minus} 0.1 kcal mol{sup -1}. 35 refs., 9 figs., 6 tabs.« less
Cycle Polyamide Motif for Recognition of the Minor Groove of DNA

Motifs for covalent linkage of side-by-side complexes of pyrrole−imidazole (Py−Im) polyamides in the DNA minor groove provide for small molecules that specifically recognize predetermined sequences with subnanomolar affinity. Polyamide subunits linked by a turn-specific γ-aminobutyric acid (γ) residue form hairpin polyamide structures. Selective amino-substitution of the prochiral α-position of the γ-turn residue relocates the cationic charge from the hairpin C terminus. Here we report the synthesis of pyrrole resin as well as a solid-phase strategy for the preparation of cycle polyamides. The DNA binding properties of two eight-ring cycle polyamides were analyzed on a DNA restriction fragment containing six base pair match and mismatch binding sites. Quantitative footprint titrations demonstrate that a cycle polyamide of sequence composition cyclo-(γ-ImPyPyPy-(R)^(H2N)γ-ImPyPyPy-) binds a 5‘-AGTACT-3‘ site with an equilibrium association constant K_a = 7.6 × 10^(10) M^(-1), a 3600-fold enhancement relative to the unlinked homodimer (ImPyPyPy-β-Dp)_2·5‘-AGTACT-3‘, and an 8-fold enhancement relative to hairpin analogue ImPyPyPy-(R)^(H2N)γ-ImPyPyPy-C3−OH·5‘-AGTACT-3‘. Replacement of a single nitrogen atom with a C−H (Im→Py) regulates affinity and specificity of the cycle polyamide by 2 orders of magnitude. The results presented here suggest that addition of a chiral γ-turn combined with placement of a second γ-turn within the hairpin structure provides a cycle polyamide motif with favorable DNA binding properties.
Seminal vesicle biopsy: Accuracy and implications for staging of prostate cancer

Abstract Objectives Seminal vesicle biopsy (SVB) is a new technique for detecting the spread of prostate cancer to the seminal vesicles. A comparison of findings following SVB in patients undergoing radiation therapy with pathologic findings following radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) was made to evaluate the accuracy of this test and its use in the staging of prostate cancer. Methods Four hundred nine patients with clinically localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate gland were evaluated for treatment: 222 patients underwent SVB prior to radiation therapy and 187 patients underwent RRP. Clinical stages in patients undergoing SVB included T1a (1 patient), T1b (4), T1c (35), T2a (49), T2b (96), and T2c (37); RRP clinical stages included T1b (3 patients), T1c (48), T2a (57), T2b (66), and T2c (13). The Gleason scores in patients undergoing SVB were 2 to 4 in 50 men, 5 to 6 in 110 men, and 7 and greater in 62 men; the Gleason scores in patients undergoing RRP were 2 to 4 in 53 men, 5 to 6 in 94 men, and 7 and greater in 40 men. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values ranged from 1.3 to 190 ng/mL (median 10.75) in men undergoing SVB and ranged from 0.5 to 140.6 ng/mL (median 9.0) in men undergoing RRP. Results The overall incidence of seminal vesicle involvement as determined by the two techniques was the same. Seminal vesicle involvement was found in 33 of 222 patients (15%) undergoing SVB and in 27 of 187 (14%) of the RRP specimens ( P = 0.9). When the two groups were further divided by three prognostic categories (clinical stage, PSA level, and grade), there was no difference in the incidence of seminal vesicle involvement between the two methods, except in the patients with Gleason score of 4 or less. In these patients, 5 of 53 (9%) had seminal vesicle involvement in the RRP group, compared with none of the 50 men in the SVB group ( P = 0.02). Disease that was not organ confined was found in 69 of 187 prostatectomy specimens (37%). Of these patients, 27 of 69 (39%) had seminal vesicle involvement. Conclusions SVB is an accurate method of detecting seminal vesicle invasion based on comparisons with radical prostatectomy findings. Its importance lies in its ability to detect a large percentage of patients with non-organ-confined disease and in its use in modifying treatment planning accordingly.
Changes in stone composition over two decades: evaluation of over 10,000 stone analyses.

To examine the changes in stone composition from 1990 to 2010. A retrospective review was performed of all renal and ureteral stones submitted from the state of Massachusetts to a single laboratory (Laboratory for Stone Research, Newton, MA) for the years 1990 and 2010. Stone composition was determined by infrared spectroscopy and/or polarizing microscopy. A total of 11,099 stones were evaluated (56.7 % from 1990, 43.3 % from 2010). From 1990 to 2010, the percentage of stones from females (i.e., female/male ratio) increased significantly (29.8 % in 1990 to 39.1 % in 2010, p 50 % uric acid (7.6–10.2 %, p < 0.005) and a significant decrease in struvite stones (7.8–3.0 %, p < 0.001). Among women with calcium stones, the % apatite per stone decreased significantly (20.0 vs. 11.7 %, p < 0.001). Among men, there were no changes in stones which were majority uric acid (11.7–10.8 %, p = 0.2). Among men with calcium stones, the % apatite per stone increased significantly (9.8 vs. 12.5 %, p < 0.001). Males also demonstrated a significant increase in both cystine (0.1–0.6 %, p < 0.001) and struvite stones (2.8–3.7 %, p = 0.02). The epidemiology of stone disease continues to evolve and appears to vary according to gender. While some of these findings may be related to population changes in body mass index and obesity, the etiology of others remains unclear.
The Moderating Effect of Organizational Environment on Post-IPO Corporate Governance Changes and Firm Performance Relationship

In this study, we investigated the possible moderating effects of environmental dynamism, environmental complexity, and environmental munificence on the relationships between changes in top managem...
Simultaneous 1H PFG‐NMR and confocal microscopy of monolayer cell cultures: Effects of apoptosis and necrosis on water diffusion and compartmentalization

Apoptosis and necrosis is induced in monolayer cultures of Chinese hamster ovary cells using okadaic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) respectively, and the effect on water diffusion and compartmentalization is examined using pulsed-field-gradient (PFG) 1H-NMR and simultaneous confocal microscopy. In PFG experiments characterized by a fixed diffusion time (< 4.7 msec) and variable b-values (0-27,000 s/mm2) 1H-NMR data collected with untreated cells exhibits multi-exponential behavior. Analysis using a slow-exchange model reveals two distinct cellular water compartments with different apparent diffusion coefficients (0.56, 0.06 x 10-3 mm2/sec) and volume fractions (0.96, 0.04). During the first 12 hours of either necrosis or apoptosis the amount of water in the smallest compartment increases two-fold prior to significant changes in cell density or plasma membrane integrity. Over the same period water content in the largest compartment decreases by over a factor of two in apoptotic cells, in accordance with observed cell shrinkage, and changes little in necrotic counterparts where only slight swelling is evident. PFG 1H-NMR therefore serves as a sensitive indicator of early cell death in monolayer cultures and can distinguish apoptosis from necrosis. Measurements of restricted diffusion and water exchange are also presented to elucidate compartment origins and justify model assumptions.
PLP-dependent H2S biogenesis

The role of endogenously produced H(2)S in mediating varied physiological effects in mammals has spurred enormous recent interest in understanding its biology and in exploiting its pharmacological potential. In these early days in the field of H(2)S signaling, large gaps exist in our understanding of its biological targets, its mechanisms of action and the regulation of its biogenesis and its clearance. Two branches within the sulfur metabolic pathway contribute to H(2)S production: (i) the reverse transsulfuration pathway in which two pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-dependent (PLP) enzymes, cystathionine β-synthase and cystathionine γ-lyase convert homocysteine successively to cystathionine and cysteine and (ii) a branch of the cysteine catabolic pathway which converts cysteine to mercaptopyruvate via a PLP-dependent cysteine aminotransferase and subsequently, to mercaptopyruvate sulfur transferase-bound persulfide from which H(2)S can be liberated. In this review, we present an overview of the kinetics of the H(2)S-generating reactions, compare the structures of the PLP-enzymes involved in its biogenesis and discuss strategies for their regulation. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Pyridoxal Phospate Enzymology.
Bovine costimulator. II. Generation and maintenance of a bovine costimulator-dependent bovine lymphoblastoid cell line

Abstract Bovine peripheral blood leukocytes, activated with conconavalin A, were cultured in bovine costimulator-containing conditioned medium prepared in a totally defined, serum-free medium. A population of leukocytes subsequently grew exponentially. These bovine cells had the morphology of lymphoblasts, were negative for chloroacetate esterase, slightly positive for nonspecific esterases, and highly peanut agglutinin-positve. These data suggested that the bovine leukocytes were of the T-cell lineage and that the active factor in the costimulator-containing conditioned medium might be the bovine equivalent of Interleukin 2. A quantitative microassay, subsequently developed, revealed that the lymphoblastoid cell line was costimulator-dependent and lectin-independent. Further utilization of the microassay supported this contention and strengthened the concept of a bovine Interleukin 2-dependent bovine T-cell line: Phytohemagglutin-M, phytohemagglutinin-P, and concanovalin A induced active factor from peripheral blood leukocytes, while lipopolysaccharide, a potent inducer of Interleukin 1 in other systems, failed to induce activity; and both T-cells and macrophages were required for optimal factor activity. Finally, a means by which to optimize production of the active moiety, utilizing lymph node cells, as opposed to peripheral blood leukocytes, was examined.
Simulataneous measurements of 24Na+-efflux and pyridine nucleotides in slices of rat liver

Abstract 1. 1. The efflux of 24Na+ from rat-liver slices incubated at 30° showed two main components, the slower of which appeared to be largely representative of the intracellular Na+. 2. 2. Some two-thirds of the efflux of intracellular 24Na+ was due to passive exchange for 23Na+ in the medium. The remaining one-third was associated with net transport of Na+ and K+ by the liver cells; it was inhibited by anaerobiosis, KCN and ouabain, and partially inhibited by oligomycin. 3. 3. Fluorescence measurements of pyridine nucleotides in the slices could satisfactorily be made simultaneously with the efflux measurements, inhibition of efflux by anaerobiosis of KCN being usually somewhat preceded by pyridine nucleotide reduction. 4. 4. Oligomycin induced only slight reduction of the pyridine nucleotides. 5. 5. These findings are all consistent with earliear work on the dependence of ion transport in rat-liver slices on oxidative phosphorylation. However, treatment with succinate caused some inhibition of ion movements.
Elongational rheology of fiber forming polymers

The elongational rheology of some fiber forming polymers, such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), nylon 66, and lyocell (cellulose dissolved in N-Methylmorpholine/water) solutions, has been characterized using hyperbolic convergent dies in a capillary rheometer, at different Hencky strains, processing temperatures, and as a function of elongational strain rates up to 600 s− 1. The influence of melt flow rate (MFR) and molecular parameters is studied and it is shown that the elongational viscosity curves can be shifted with respect to both temperature and Hencky strain.
On the spectrum of Schrödinger operators with quasi-periodic algebro-geometric KDV potentials

We characterize the spectrum of one-dimensional Schrodinger operatorsH=−d2/dx2+V inL2(ℝdx) with quasi-periodic complex-valued algebro-geometric potentialsV, i.e., potentialsV which satisfy one (and hence infinitely many) equation(s) of the stationary Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) hierarchy, associated with nonsingular hyperelliptic curves. The spectrum ofH coincides with the conditional stability set ofH and can be described explicitly in terms of the mean value of the inverse of the diagonal Green’s function ofH.
Family Concerns Surrounding Kindergarten Transition: A Comparison of Students in Special and General Education

Kindergarten transition is considered an important developmental milestone for children and families. Children with disabilities may be especially vulnerable during transition and may lack academic and behavioral readiness skills essential for kindergarten. Family concerns surrounding children’s transition were explored in 132 students (n = 29 special education; n = 103 general education) preparing to enter kindergarten. Caregivers responded to a survey on family experiences and involvement in transition and reported on the degree to which they were concerned about kindergarten transition. Caregivers of special education students reported significantly more concerns surrounding their child’s behavior, communication, academic readiness, and overall readiness for kindergarten than did caregivers of general education students. Implications for supporting children and families during transition are discussed.
Detection and activation of human Vα24+ natural killer T cells using α-galactosyl ceramide-pulsed dendritic cells☆

Abstract Human CD1d-restricted natural killer T (NKT) cells, which are postulated to regulate the immune response in several clinical settings, can be activated by α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) presented by CD1d molecules on antigen presenting cells (APCs). Simple methods to quantify NKT function in fresh blood will greatly benefit studies targeting NKT cells in humans. Here we show that freshly isolated human NKT cells can be readily quantified by an enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay and have a Th1 profile (secreting interferon-γ, but not IL-4), after stimulation using α-GalCer loaded APCs. Using this assay, we also evaluated APC requirements for human NKT cell activation in fresh blood. Monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) are more effective than monocytes/macrophages for detecting and activating NKT cells in fresh blood, with mature α-GalCer pulsed DCs being optimal. DCs are also efficient APCs for expanding NKT cells in culture and generating NKT cell lines. NKT cells expanded with DCs were functional, secreting both IFN-γ and IL-4, and killing NKT-sensitive targets. Optimal activation of these lines was seen using mature DCs loaded with 10–100 ng/ml of α-GalCer. DCs matured with several different stimuli were effective. These data help to establish the conditions for loading DCs with α-GalCer for immune therapeutic targeting of NKT cells, and provide a new simple assay to monitor NKT function in humans.
The effect of national hospital accreditation in bariatric surgery on perioperative outcomes and long-term mortality.

Abstract Background Controversy exists regarding the relevance of Center of Excellence accreditation to bariatric surgery outcomes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of national hospital accreditation on perioperative and long-term outcomes following bariatric surgery. Methods Retrospective, longitudinal study using 2004–2010 data from the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative longitudinal administrative database (n = 47,342). Multivariable logistic regression analyzed outcomes following laparoscopic bariatric surgery. Accredited hospitals and accreditation year were identified from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare website. Outcomes were analyzed with and without temporal correlation to accreditation year.>30-day mortality was determined from social security death records. Results Risk of perioperative morbidity OR 1.4 (range 1.2–1.6, P P = .01) and all-cause long-term mortality OR 1.4 (range 1.2–1.7, P = .0002) were significantly increased in unaccredited versus accredited hospitals on univariate analysis. In accredited hospitals, significant changes in payor and patient mix, operation, perioperative, and long-term outcomes were demonstrated following accreditation. A significant decrease in operations performed on black patients, Hispanic patients, and Medicare patients was also identified. Controlling for patient demographics, co-morbidity, insurance, and operative procedure, multivariable logistic regression demonstrated accreditation as independently associated with fewer major complications versus unaccredited hospitals OR 0.72 (range .63–.83, P P = .01). Following multiple cox proportional hazard model analysis, long-term mortality differences were not significant. Conclusion In New York State, bariatric hospital accreditation improved patient outcomes as compared to unaccredited hospitals and within the same hospital compared to preaccreditation. Significant changes were identified for some underserved at-risk populations. Measures to ensure equitable health care for at-risk populations following institutional accreditation are imperative.
Enterocyte apoptosis is increased following small bowel resection

The intestinal mucosa is in a steady state of turnover as the rate of cellular proliferation is balanced by the rate of cell death. Although it is accepted that adaptation after small bowel resection (SBR) results in increased proliferation, its effect on apoptosis is not known. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of adaptation following SBR on rates of enterocyte apoptosis. Male ICR mice underwent either 50% proximal SBR or sham operation (bowel transection/reanastomosis). After 12 and 24 hours, and 3 and 7 days, rates of proliferation were measured in the ileum as the percentage of crypt cells incorporating bromodeoxyuridine. Apoptosis was quantitated by end labeling of DNA strand breaks and propidium iodide staining of the number of apoptotic bodies per crypt and villus. Significant increases in enterocyte proliferation (30% to 40%) as well as apoptosis (57% to 87%) occurred at all time points following SBR when compared with sham-operated mice. Adaptation following SBR increases both the rate of enterocyte proliferation and the rate of apoptosis. Understanding the pathophysiology of intestinal adaptation and therapeutic interventions designed to augment this important response will require complete characterization of their effects on both proliferation and apoptosis.
Cognitive Patterns in Autism Spectrum Disorders

This article provides a brief overview of recent literature on the cognitive and neurocognitive profile characteristic of autism spectrum disorders. Emphasis is placed on potential links between co...
A comparison of GaAs transistors as passive mode mixers

A number of GaAs transistors were evaluated as passive mode mixers with a 10 GHz RF and 2 GHz IF. Both single-tone and two-tone performance were measured for an ion implanted MESFET, spike-doped PsMESFET, a power PsHEMT and a npn power HBT. All were shown to have a substantially lower distortion than a comparable diode mixer. One transistor, the spike-doped PsMESFET, has a relative third order intercept point 20 dB higher than that of a diode mixer. >
Outcome after urgent surgery for grade IV subarachnoid hemorrhage

BACKGROUND Outcome after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in patients presenting with poor clinical grade has historically been dismal. As a result, many poor-grade patients have been excluded from early, aggressive surgery. We present a consecutive series of 27 patients with acute (less than 24 h since clinical onset) Grade IV SAH treated with early surgery. METHODS All patients were treated with immediate ventricular drainage, rigid hemodynamic control, early angiography and surgery within 24 h of presentation. Patients were followed for a minimum of 6 months and their outcomes categorized using a four-tiered scale: 1) independent and working, 2) impaired but independent, 3) severely impaired and dependent, and 4) dead. RESULTS Seven patients died within 48 h of admission. The remaining 20 patients survived to discharge. At the time of discharge eight of these patients were considered to be impaired but independent and twelve were considered severely impaired and dependent. At follow-up, seven patients were independent and working, six were impaired but independent, five were severely impaired and dependent, and two severely impaired patients had subsequently died. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that urgent surgery for poor-grade SAH can produce quality survival for a higher percentage of patients than is historically reported with delayed surgery.
A fast radial offset surface-tracking model for simulation of patella-femoral articulation

A surface-tracking model of the motion of the patella with respect to the femur is introduced. The model involves a radial translation of the patella as a function of angle, based upon a sine fit to the precalculated offsets between the articulating surfaces which result from rotation of the patella about a fixed axis.
Computer-based, teleoperation of a new highwall mining system

A technology has been developed to economically mine a greater percentage of coal reserves in highwall outcrop settings. This mining system features a computer-based teleoperating subsystem for distant, non-line-of-sight control of a thin-seam continuous miner and coal haulage units. A single operator, situated at an ergonomically designed workstation within a protective enclosure on a highwall bench, controls all the coal extraction and haulage equipment that penetrate the coal seam deep within the hillside. The workstation consists of a special chair, two control modules, two color video monitors, an array of displays, and a control computer. Details of this operator workstation, a summary of the overall highwall mining system, and current test status are discussed. >
Effect of an Isocaloric High Fat Diet on Initiation of Puberty in Osborne-Mendel Rats

The relationships between age, body weight. naso-anal length, food intake, caloric intake and the Quetelet index of obesity were studied for 2 groups (12/group) of female Osborne-Mendel (O-M) weanling rats fed high fat (20% corn oil) and low fat (5% corn oil) diets until confirmation of first estrus by vaginal examination. The diets were isocaloric; corn oil was substituted for corn starch in the high fat diet. The rats fed high fat diets (UFD) had vaginal opening (VO) and first estrus (FE) significantly earlier (P<0.001) than did rats fed low fat diets (LFD). Sixty-six percent of the HFD rats experienced VO and FE on the same day, compared with 27% of the LFD rats. Caloric intake/100 g BW was approximately the same for both groups, increasing until 25 days of age and then decreasing to the onset of puberty. When the animals were grouped by day prior to the event of VO, the mean values for the index of obesity displayed a linear increase for the 2 groups (HFD: r = 0.97; LFD: r = 0.98). Three days before VO a significant difference was observed in the index of obesity (LFD, 47.7 ± 1.4 SEM; HFD, 46.4 ± 0.7; P<0.05). The linear equations for both groups intersected at VO, suggesting that UFD and LFD rats had a remarkably similar index of obesity at time of puberty. These findings suggest that a metabolic signal, related to body fatness, may be involved with the onset of puberty.
Simplified synthesis of double-wall carbon nanotubes

We demonstrate a simplified synthesis technique for double-wall carbon nanotubes that is an adaptation of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques used previously for the production of single-wall nanotubes. Double-wall nanotubes (DWNTs) provide ideal geometries for numerous fundamental structural, electronic, thermal and vibrational studies, as well as providing a unique new platform for practical applications. The diameter distribution of DWNTs is broad, and it is possible that in previous studies using CVD-grown small-diameter nanotubes, presumed to be single-wall, there were significant numbers of DWNTs present.
Distinguishing Terminal Monophyletic Groups from Reticulate Taxa: Performance of Phenetic, Tree-Based, and Network Procedures

Hybridization is a well-documented, natural phenomenon that is common at low taxonomic levels in the higher plants and other groups. In spite of the obvious potential for gene flow via hybridization to cause reticulation in an evolu- tionary tree, analytical methods based on a strictly bifurcating model of evolution have frequently been applied to data sets containing taxa known to hybridize in nature. Using simulated data, we evaluated the relative performance of phenetic, tree-based, and network approaches for distinguishing between taxa with known reticulate history and taxa that were true terminal monophyletic groups. In all methods examined, type I error (the erroneous rejection of the null hypothesis that a taxon of interest is not monophyletic) was likely during the early stages of introgressive hybridization. We used the gradual erosion of type I error with continued gene flow as a metric for assessing relative performance. Bifurcating tree-based meth- ods performed poorly, with highly supported, incorrect topologies appearing during some phases of the simulation. Based on our model, we estimate that many thousands of gene flow events may be required in natural systems before reticulate taxa will be reliably detected using tree-based methods of phylogeny reconstruction. We conclude that the use of standard bifur- cating tree-based methods to identify terminal monophyletic groups for the purposes of defining or delimiting phylogenetic species, or for prioritizing populations for conservation purposes, is difficult to justify when gene flow between sampled taxa is possible. As an alternative, we explored the use of two network methods. Minimum spanning networks performed worse than most tree-based methods and did not yield topologies that were easily interpretable as phylogenies. The performance of NeighborNet was comparable to parsimony bootstrap analysis. NeighborNet and reverse successive weighting were capable of identifying an ephemeral signature of reticulate evolution during the early stages of introgression by revealing conflicting phylogenetic signal. However, when gene flow was topologically complex, the conflicting phylogenetic signal revealed by these methods resulted in a high probability of type II error (inferring that a monophyletic taxon has a reticulate history). Lastly, we present a novel application of an existing nonparametric clustering procedure that, when used against a density landscape derived from principal coordinate data, showed superior performance to the tree-based and network procedures tested. (Hybridization; introgression; parsimony; phylogenetic network; principal coordinate analysis; reticulate evolution.)
Context-based person identification framework for smart video surveillance

Smart video surveillance (SVS) applications enhance situational awareness by allowing domain analysts to focus on the events of higher priority. SVS approaches operate by trying to extract and interpret higher "semantic" level events that occur in video. One of the key challenges of SVS is that of person identification where the task is for each subject that occurs in a video shot to identify the person it corresponds to. The problem of person identification is especially challenging in resource-constrained environments where transmission delay, bandwidth restriction, and packet loss may prevent the capture of high-quality data. Conventional person identification approaches which primarily are based on analyzing facial features are often not sufficient to deal with poor-quality data. To address this challenge, we propose a framework that leverages heterogeneous contextual information together with facial features to handle the problem of person identification for low-quality data. We first investigate the appropriate methods to utilize heterogeneous context features including clothing, activity, human attributes, gait, people co-occurrence, and so on. We then propose a unified approach for person identification that builds on top of our generic entity resolution framework called RelDC, which can integrate all these context features to improve the quality of person identification. This work thus links one well-known problem of person identification from the computer vision research area (that deals with video/images) with another well-recognized challenge known as entity resolution from the database and AI/ML areas (that deals with textual data). We apply the proposed solution to a real-world dataset consisting of several weeks of surveillance videos. The results demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our approach even on low-quality video data.
Glucocorticoid Potentiation of the Adenosine 3′,5′- Monophosphate Response to Parathyroid Hormone in Cultured Rat Bone Cells

We have previously demonstrated the presence of glucocorticoid receptors in bone cells and have suggested that direct inhibition of cell proliferation may contribute to glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. The present studies examine the issue of whether glucocorticoids might also alter bone status by interacting with parathyroid hormone (PTH) a major regulator of bone homeostasis. Since cyclic AMP (cAMP) is the putative mediator of PTH-induced inhibition of collagen synthesis as well as resorption, we assessed the ability of dexamethasone to modulate the cAMP response to PTH. Bone cells from calvaria of 20-21 day fetal rats were cultured for 6–7 days and the ability of PTH to stimulate cAMP was measured. The cells responded to both the synthetic (1–34) fragment and native PTH with a dose-dependent increase in cAMP. Dexamethasone treatment did not alter base-line levels of cAMP but did potentiate the cAMP response to PTH: 1- to 2- fold when assayed in the presence of theophylline and 2- to 4-fold in its a...
Globally panmictic population structure in the opportunistic fungal pathogen Aspergillus sydowii

Recent outbreaks of new diseases in many ecosystems are caused by novel pathogens, impaired host immunity, or changing environmental conditions. Identifying the source of emergent pathogens is critical for mitigating the impacts of diseases, and understanding the cause of their recent appearances. One ecosystem suffering outbreaks of disease in the past decades is coral reefs, where pathogens such as the fungus Aspergillus sydowii have caused catastrophic population declines in their hosts. Aspergillosis is one of the best-characterized coral diseases, yet the origin of this typically terrestrial fungus in marine systems remains unknown. We examined the genetic structure of a global sample of A. sydowii, including isolates from diseased corals, diseased humans, and environmental sources. Twelve microsatellite markers reveal a pattern of global panmixia among the fungal isolates. A single origin of the pathogen into marine systems seems unlikely given the lack of isolation by distance and lack of evidence for a recent bottleneck. A neighbour-joining phylogeny shows that sea fan isolates are interspersed with environmental isolates, suggesting there have been multiple introductions from land into the ocean. Overall, our results underscore that A. sydowii is a true opportunist, with a diversity of nonrelated isolates able to cause disease in corals. This study highlights the challenge in distinguishing between the role of environment in allowing opportunistic pathogens to increase and actual introductions of new pathogenic microorganisms for coral diseases.
Friendships and Suicidality among Mexican American Adolescent Girls and Boys.

Friendship factors have been implicated in adolescent suicidality, but this relationship has not been verified across ethnicities. This study examined suicidality and friendship problems (i.e., social isolation, poor friendship quality, friends' school disconnection, and friends' delinquency) among Mexican American adolescents, an understudied, vulnerable group in terms of suicidality. Three hundred thirty-eight community adolescents, two-thirds of whom were educationally at-risk, participated in the study. Suicidal ideation and behavior rates were high, particularly among girls. Friends' school disconnectedness increased girls' odds for suicidal ideation by 13%. This association was even greater for girls in good academic standing. Friendship problems were not associated with suicidality in boys. Ethnic identity was a minor factor in suicidal ideation, and only for girls. These findings confirm, among Mexican American adolescents, the role of gender in the relationship between friendship and suicidality.
The influence of concurrent anticonvulsants on the efficacy of the ketogenic diet

It is unknown if any particular anticonvulsants modify the likelihood of seizure reduction when used in combination with the ketogenic diet (KD). A retrospective study was performed of 217 consecutive children who started the KD from 2000-2007. Patients included did not have any changes to their anticonvulsant dose. Efficacy data at 3 months on the KD were analyzed with respect to the six most frequently used anticonvulsants in this cohort. A total of 115 patients were included. Children receiving phenobarbital in combination with the KD were significantly less likely to have a >50% seizure reduction (p = 0.003). Conversely, those receiving zonisamide in combination with the KD at onset were more likely to have a >50% reduction (p = 0.04). These results provide practical information to clinicians who are treating children receiving both the KD and anticonvulsants.
Neue Atomarten und Antimaterie

Da wir nunmehr uber Antineutronen, Antiprotonen und Positronen verfugen, hatten wir alle Bausteine einer Antimaterie. Voraussagen uber die Eigenschaften einer solchen hypothetischen Antimaterie bilden den Schlus des Beitrages.
Stigma, Secrets, and the Human Condition: Seeking to Remedy Alienation in PostSecret's Digitally Mediated Environment

While digitally mediated environments have altered how human communication takes place, they do not necessarily alter the human condition of alienation. Applying key principles from Goffman's Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity (1963), the popular blog PostSecret offers ways in which anonymous users attempt to remedy the alienations linked with the stigmatic act of secret keeping. Through imaginative, associative, and vicarious conversations, the blog purports to offer the unconditional acceptance necessary to remedy the alienations. Because of the complications of anonymity in the nonreal reality of the internet, the blog can offer only echoes of acceptance. Although some of the stigma literature argues that self-acceptance or assertions of power are the strongest solutions to stigma's negative effects, this article extends the stigma construct with the suggestion that vulnerability might be a viable option to remedy the attendant alienations correlated with stigma.
cAMP-activated Na+ current of molluscan neurons is resistant to kinase inhibitors and is gated by cAMP in the isolated patch

The cAMP-dependent Na+ current (INa,cAMP) modulates excitability in many molluscan neurons. Rapid activation of INa,cAMP by cyclic nucleotide, its ion dependence, and its blockade by divalent cations resemble cyclic nucleotide-activated cation currents in vertebrate photoreceptors and olfactory receptors, where activation has been found to be independent of kinase activity. We tested the phosphorylation dependence of INa,cAMP in neurons of the feeding and locomotory networks of the predatory marine snail Pleurobranchaea. Identified neurons of pedal and buccal ganglia were axotomized for recording the INa,cAMP response to iontophoretic injection of cAMP under two-electrode voltage clamp. Intracellular injections of specific peptide inhibitor of protein kinase A had no blocking effects on activation of INa,cAMP by iontophoretic injection of cAMP. Inward single-channel currents were activated in excised inside-out patches during exposure to cAMP in salines without added ATP. Sodium was the major current carrying ion. Two distinct types of INa,cAMP channel activity were observed, where opening probability and open times differed, but conductance was similar, 36.7 pS. These observations suggest that INa,cAMP activation occurs by direct binding of cAMP to a regulatory site at the channel, rather than by phosphorylation.
Internal oscillations in the Earth's fluid core

Summary. A formulation is given for the eigenvalue problem describing internal oscillations in the Earth’s fluid core. The description is appropriate for either the Boussinesq or the subseismic approximations to the full system of governing equations for a rotating, compressible, inhomogeneous, selfgravitating thick shell of fluid. The depth distribution of the buoyancy frequency N, which measures the strength of the stratification in the core, is highly speculative, although physical observations constrain the maximum value of N. Theories have been proposed in which an outer layer of the fluid core is stably stratified (NZ > 0) whereas the inner regions are allowed to convect. The present mathematical model incorporates arbitrary variation of N with depth. The structure of the ‘turning surfaces’, which delineate the spatially wave-like from the exponentially decaying regimes of an internal mode, are examined for a particular functional choice for N that models a plausible stratification distribution in the core. The shapes of the regions in which the waves are trapped are dependent on the function N and the frequency X of the wave. This fact is used to suggest a mechanism by which hypothetical surface detection of internal waves in the core could be used to estimate both the value of N at the core-mantle boundary and the thickness of the layer of stable stratification.
The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Politics of Opposites

The notion that the attitudes of the American public vis-a-vis the Soviet Union are driven essentially by emotion, and that they are more extreme and volatile than those of the government itself, is widely believed but may not be valid. While the public typically desires a combination of tough and conciliatory policies, it also tends to express, at any given moment, particular concern about whichever of the two it feels is most slighted in U.S. policy. Thus, the public will tend to seek conciliatory behavior from hawkish administrations while preferring a tough stance from administrations it deems dovish. By so doing, the public is likely to have a moderating effect on official behavior toward Moscow. The proposition is tested with reference to shifts in public approval of presidential Soviet policy, and certain implications are suggested for the manner in which political leadership perceives of its mandate.
Campylobacter pylori detected noninvasively by the 13C-urea breath test.

Abstract The high endogenous urease activity of Campylobacter pylori was exploited in a non-invasive test for the presence of this organism in the stomach. When 13 C-urea was administered orally after a test meal, urea-derived 13 CO 2 appeared in the respiratory CO 2 of infected individuals at a constant rate for >100 min. The test was validated in 26 individuals who underwent both the 13 C-urea breath test and endoscopic biopsy of the antral mucosa for culture and histological examination. Each positive breath test proved to be correlated with a positive culture or Warthin-Starry silver stain of a mucosal biopsy specimen, or both.
Skin-effect considerations on transient response of a transmission line excited by an electromagnetic pulse

The electromagnetic pulse can cause degradation of modern digital and analog devices. Many analytical models have been used extensively to study the susceptibility of equipment related to EMI/EMC (electromagnetic interference/electromagnetic compatibility) engineering, but the emphasis has been mainly on lossless transmission lines. This work takes into account the transient skin-effect of a transmission line exposed to a time-varying electromagnetic field. Beginning with the classical transmission line theory, the transient skin-effect of a transmission line and the equivalent sources due to the external fields are incorporated. As a result, an integral-differential equation is derived. By using the finite-difference-time-domain (FD-TD) approach, the induced voltages onto the line are predicted. There is also a discussion of the numerical approach and the propagation of the predicted induced voltage. >
Learning tactic-based motion models with fast particle smoothing

Learning parameters of a motion model is an important challenge for autonomous robots. We address the particular instance of parameter learning when tracking motions with a switching state-space model. We present a general algorithm for dealing simultaneously with both unknown fixed model parameters and state variables. Using an Expectation-Maximization approach, we apply a tactic-based multi-model particle filter to estimate the state variables in the E-step, and use particle smoothing to update the parameters in the M-step. We test our algorithm both in simulation and in a team robot soccer environment, as a substrate for applying the learned models to object tracking in a team. One of the soccer robots learns the actuation model of its teammate. The experimental results show that the particle smoothing efficiency is substantially increased and the tracking performance is significantly improved using the learned teammate actuation model.