cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Female proximity stimulates development of male competition in juvenile brown-headed cowbirds, Molothrus ater

We investigated how individual variation in social behaviour among group members interacts to affect social structure and development of reproductive skills. We randomly assigned juvenile male and juvenile and adult female cowbirds to four aviaries and observed patterns of singing and social assortment in each. Although social composition of each aviary was the same, juvenile males in one aviary engaged in more intra- and intersexual affiliation and singing interactions. We designed a series of rotations of individuals among the aviaries to determine which individual traits were responsible for the observed group differences. First, we rotated groups of three males from a less interactive aviary into a more interactive aviary, replacing interactive males. Within 4 days, the rotated males changed their behaviour to match the aviary into which they had been moved (i.e. interactive males became less interactive and vice versa). Next, we rotated juvenile females through the aviaries. After this rotation, the behaviour of the juvenile females remained the same, but the behaviour of the resident males changed, becoming like the males in the females’ former aviaries (i.e. when juvenile females were moved from an interactive aviary into a noninteractive aviary, the males in the new aviary became more interactive and vice versa). Across the aviaries, the amount of female–male associations correlated positively with male–male competition. During the breeding season, males that had experienced more competition over the year received more copulations than males that had experienced little competition. Furthermore, more eggs were produced in aviaries containing competitive males than in aviaries containing less competitive males. Past work has shown that females can influence male vocal development; here we show that they can also influence male social development.
Intersubjectification and clause periphery

Ways of identifying subjectification and especially intersubjectification are discussed using data from the history of English no doubt and surely. These adverbs arose out of non-modal expressions and were recruited for use as epistemic adverbs and metadiscursive markers. The data are shown not to support the hypothesis that expressions at left periphery are likely to be subjective (oriented toward turn-taking and discourse coherence), those at right periphery intersubjective (oriented toward turn-giving or elicitation of response, and toward the Addressee’s stance and participation in the communicative situation.). While no doubt is subjective at both left and right periphery, surely is intersubjective at both peripheries
Self-Expansion through Fictional Characters

The prevalence of entertainment media in everyday life might offer unexpected social opportunities. The present paper examined whether cognitive overlap with the character and self-expansion occur as a result of exposure to fictional characters. Results of two studies indicated that transportation into a narrative leads to greater cognitive overlap with the character and perceived self-expansion. Providing a distinction between these two concepts, we found that cognitive overlap with the character increases to the extent the character represents one's actual self-guide; perceived self-expansion increases to the extent the character represents one's ideal self-guide. Together, these findings illustrate the nature of parasocial relationships and impact of entertainment media on the self.
On an algebraic theory of systems defined by convolution operators

For a large class of linear continuous-time systems including delay-differential systems, an algebraic theory is presented in terms of Noetherian operator rings generated from a finite number of elements belonging to a convolution algebra of distributions. The external behavior of these systems is given by a finite set of input/output (convolution) operator equations which are solved in a novel manner by constructing an operational transfer function matrix and then applying an extension of the Mikusinski operational calculus. After the formulation of an internal representation consisting of a finite set of scalar operational-differential equations, the problem of realizing an operational transfer function matrix by such an internal description is considered. Results on the existence and construction of realizations are given.
The effect of primary productivity and seasonality on the distribution of deep-sea benthic foraminifera in the North Atlantic

Deep-sea benthic foraminifera from 43 Holocene core tops in the North Atlantic were studied to evaluate the influence of primary productivity and the seasonality of primary productivity on the distributional patterns of species, faunal assemblages, and microhabitat groups. Two faunal assemblages, Epistominella exigua-Alabaminella weddellensis assemblage and Globocassidulina subglobosa-Epistominella umbonifera assemblage, were found to correlate with seasonality of primary productivity. The E. exigua-A. weddellensis assemblage is found at high latitudes and positively correlates with seasonality, while the G. subglobosa-E. umbonifera assemblage is generally found at low latitudes and has a negative correlation. Correlation analysis indicates that the relative abundance of one species alone (E. exigua or A. weddellensis ) is not a strong indicator of either primary productivity or seasonality. No significant relationships are found between benthic foraminiferal species, faunal assemblages, or microhabitat groups and bottom water properties, which suggests that the deep-sea fauna may not be used to reconstruct bottom water properties in this region. Based on microhabitat preferences of individual species, the fauna is categorized into epifaunal, infaunal, and phytodetrital groups and is compared with primary productivity of the overlying surface waters and seasonality. No significant relationship was found between the relative abundance of the infaunal group and primary productivity or its seasonality, and only a weak correlation was found between these variables and the epifaunal group (r2=0.33r2=0.33; 0.46). However, the relative abundances of the phytodetrital group correlate relatively well with seasonal variability (r2=0.63)(r2=0.63), reflecting the association of these species with phytodetritus in regions marked by high seasonal variation in organic carbon flux. These results indicate that the relative abundance of the phytodetrital group may be used to reconstruct seasonality of productivity in the North Atlantic.
Epstein-Barr Virus Antibodies in Multifocal Choroiditis and Panuveitis

A syndrome of multifocal choroiditis, pigment epithelial disturbance, and inflammatory vitreous cells was found to be associated with Epstein-Barr virus specific antibodies. The ten patients in this series had positive viral capsid antigen IgM or Epstein-Barr early antigen antibody titers. Patients with this syndrome were generally healthy and had no history of a clinical episode of infectious mononucleosis. No patient from the control group with other ocular diseases had positive viral capsid antigen IgM or early antibody titers. All patients in the study group and most of the control patients had viral capsid antigen IgG and Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen antibodies, indicating a previous exposure to the virus as expected in an adult population.
Viral interactions with the nuclear transport machinery : Discovering and disrupting pathways

Viruses have been invaluable tools for discovering key pathways of nucleocytoplasmic transport. Conversely, disruption of specific nuclear transport pathways, are crucial for the productive life cycle of some viruses. The major cellular mRNA export pathway, which uses TAP (NXF1)/p15(NXT) as receptor, was discovered as a result of TAP interaction with CTE-containing RNAs from Mason-Pfizer Monkey Virus. In addition, CRM1 or exportin 1, which is a transport receptor that mediates nuclear export of proteins, snRNAs, rRNAs and a small subset of mRNAs, was discovered as an interacting partner of the Rev protein of HIV1. Viruses may disrupt the nuclear transport machinery to prevent host antiviral response. VSV Matrix (M) protein inhibits mRNA export by forming a complex with the mRNA export factor Rae1 whereas poliovirus inhibits nuclear import of proteins by probably degrading Nup62 and Nup153. Hence, this review focuses on viruses as tools and as disruptors of nucleocytoplasmic trafficking.
Towards development of a surrogate aqueous mixture for studying flux decline characteristics of membranes and membrane processes

Abstract A synthetic mixture of solutes (colloids, macromolecules, small organic molecules, and salts) was evaluated to facilitate consistent bench and small pilot-scale studies of membrane flux decline. In this paper, we present physical, chemical, and filtration resistance properties of inexpensive, commercial, off-the-shelf components—colloidal silica and dried whey protein in pH-buffered aqueous electrolyte solution—that we used to investigate membrane flux decline with ultrafiltration membranes. We also include some comparisons of their properties with those reported in the literature for natural waters. Our data shows that these synthetic components have many comparable physical and chemical properties as the constituents of natural waters. These results suggest that a well-characterized “surrogate” mixture for natural waters can be used for ongoing studies of membrane and membrane process performance and remove ambiguities that can result from seasonal, geographical, and storage-related variations in natural waters. Thus, the use of a surrogate mixture facilitates equitable comparisons among materials, equipment, and processes which would assure better-informed engineering decisions.
Elucidation of the structural basis of interaction of the BCR-ABL kinase inhibitor, nilotinib (Tasigna) with the human ABC drug transporter P-glycoprotein.

Elucidation of the structural basis of interaction of the BCR-ABL kinase inhibitor, nilotinib (Tasigna) with the human ABC drug transporter P-glycoprotein
Centroiding accuracy of infrared Earth images mitigating impact of blurring and Earth non-uniformity

Infrared (IR) Earth thermal image tracking has potential to enable optical communications throughout the solar system and is a promising alternative to traditionally proposed laser beacon tracking. Image blurring due to finite receiver aperture size introduces distortions to IR Earth image in the presence of Earth's non-uniform emissivity and reduces the centroiding accuracy in identifying the center of the Earth. The impact is largest in the 0.5 to 2 AU range. We demonstrate that a deconvolution algorithm can mitigate the effect of blurring associated with IR Earth non-uniformity and improve centroiding edge detection accuracy.
Picture media and emotion: Effects of a sustained affective context

Pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant pictures were presented in a continuous series, and the effects of repetitive exposure to pictures of the same affective valence were assessed in somatic (corrugator electromyographic [EMG] activity) and visceral (heart rate and skin conductance) systems. Probe stimuli (startle or reaction time probes) were presented to index emotional and attentional concomitants of processing. Affective discrimination was maintained across time in all response systems, and sensitization was found for the corrugator EMG response. Responses to reaction time probes indexed differences in attentional allocation as a function of cognitive and affective variables in this paradigm. Taken together, the data suggest that presentation of a series of affective pictures of similar valence produces emotional reactions that are either maintained or sensitized across the temporal intervals used here but that do not habituate.
Mutations within A 35 amino acid region of P6 influence self-association, inclusion body formation, and Caulimovirus infectivity.

Cauliflower mosaic virus gene VI product (P6) is an essential protein that forms cytoplasmic, inclusion bodies (IBs). P6 contains four regions involved in self-association, termed D1–D4. D3 binds to D1, along with D4 and contains a spacer region (termed D3b) between two RNA-binding domains. Here we show D3b binds full-length P6 along with D1 and D4. Full-length P6s harboring single amino acid substitutions within D3b showed reduced binding to both D1 and D4. Full-length P6s containing D3b mutations and fused with green fluorescent protein formed inclusion-like bodies (IL-Bs) when expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. However, mutant P6s with reduced binding to D1 and D4, showed smaller IL-Bs, than wild type. Likewise, viruses containing these mutations showed a decrease in inoculated leaf viral DNA levels and reduced efficiency of systemic infection. These data suggest that mutations influencing P6 self-association alter IB formation and reduce virus infection.
Enzyme-independent formation of nitric oxide in biological tissues

The gaseous free radical nitric oxide (NO.) is an important regulator of a variety of biological functions and also has a role in the pathogenesis of cellular injury. It has been generally accepted that NO. is solely generated in biological tissues by specific nitric oxide synthases, NOSs, which metabolize arginine to citrulline with the formation of NO.. We report that NO. can also be generated in the ischaemic heart by direct reduction of nitrite to NO. under the acidotic and highly reduced conditions that occur. This NO. formation is not blocked by NOS inhibitors, and with long periods of ischaemia progressing to necrosis, this mechanism of NO. formation predominates. We observe that enzyme-independent NO. generation results in myocardial injury with a loss of contractile function. The existence of this enzyme-independent mechanism of NO. formation has important implications in our understanding of the pathogenesis and treatment of tissue injury.
Genotype and Environment Effects on Tocopherol, Tocotrienol, and γ-Oryzanol Contents of Southern U.S. Rice

ABSTRACT Rice bran contains phytochemicals such as E vitamers (i.e., tocopherols and tocotrienols) and the γoryzanol fraction that reportedly may have positive effects on human health. Brown rice, rice bran, and rice bran extracts are therefore attractive candidates for use in the development of functional foods. The objectives of this project were to quantify the effects of genetics versus environment on the tocopherol, tocotrienol, and γ-oryzanol contents of Southern U.S. rice and to determine associations between the levels of these phytochemicals. Seven rice cultivars grown in four states during two years were studied. Averaged across all samples, the content of α-tocotrienol > γ-tocotrienol > α-tocopherol > gamma;-tocopherol, and the tocopherols and tocotrienols were 27.5 and 72.5% of the total E vitamer content, respectively. Total E vitamer content ranged from 179 to 389 mg/kg and γ-oryzanol from 2,510 to 6,864 mg/kg. A low correlation between total E vitamer and γ-oryzanol contents suggests that t...
Detection of High Altitude Nuclear Detonations Using the VLF Phase Shift Technique

High altitude nuclear detonations can affect the ionization of the lower ionosphere through a number of mechanisms. Three of the more important ones listed in their order of occurrence and in order of increasing time of onset are: (1) Prompt effect created by the prompt x-rays, gamma rays and neutrons from the bomb. The horizontal extent of this effect can range from rather limited regions resulting from sub-ionospheric burst heights to a hemisphere for a space burst. Registration of the rapid onset times of the prompt effects appears to afford a useful method for distinguishing between bomb-induced and natural effects. (2) Neutron-beta decay effects can affect up to one-half the earth, depending upon burst height. The onset time is rapid and also affords a basis for discrimination from natural events. (3) Delayed debris effects can result from gammas or betas radiated from the debris cloud in the region of the burst. The horizontal extent of the ionization depends upon the size of the debris cloud and the travel distance of the ionizing radiations. Enhanced ionization can also be created in regions magnetically conjugate in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. In the first two cases the ionization will decay (seconds to minutes)4 but in the last case the effect may persist for several days.
Discourse Performance in Older Adults

Thirty-three elderly women, whose mean age was 76.2 years, and eighteen middle-aged women, whose mean age was 45.6 years, were assessed on a number of linguistic discourse tasks. The women were well educated, and most of them were or had been engaged in the teaching profession. Each woman was given 1) narrative discourse tasks involving recall of stories, summarizing stories, giving the morals of the stories, 2) procedural discourse tasks, 3) interview to assess cognitive functioning and communicative abilities, and 4) the following cognitive tests: Block Design, Symbol-Digit, Raven Coloured Progressive Matrices, and Word Fluency. The findings were that the older group generally performed more poorly than did the middle-aged group on most of the discourse tasks and cognitive tests. Within the older group, measures of quality of discourse were generally negatively related to age and positively related to scores on cognitive tests.
Cognitive radar for indoor positioning with a software-defined UWB OFDM system

In this paper a cognitive radar platform is studied from the self-positioning perspective. A system is assumed to be placed in an unknown environment with the goal of locating objects and targets and adjust its movement trajectory depending on its position with respect to those targets. In this initial study we address the following scenario: A radar platform is placed in an empty room with a doorway and is tasked with locating the latter. A simulator which accomplishes the task of computing the return power from a radar-illuminated area was constructed and used. Method of moments was used in conjunction with it to provide estimates of the return power based upon the known models of the environment's components (such as walls). Simulation results are presented and discussed; it is shown that at SNR levels above 0 dB the doorway can be successfully located. Autonomous operation of the resultant cognitive radars sensor system is the desired outcome for the future work.
Effect of chlordecone and mirex on the acute hepatotoxicity of acetaminophen in mice

Abstract 1. Acetaminophen toxicity, as measured by leakage of intracellular enzymes, was increased by chlordecone and mirex with mirex having the greater effect. 2. These effects were confirmed by histological examination and by studies of enzyme leakage from isolated hepatocytes.
Children's developmental understanding of ethnicity and race

Abstract Research on children's development of ethnic cognition from preschool through adolescence was reviewed. This review was based on research conducted on (a) children's ethnic cognition, (b) children's social-cognitive development, (c) children's understanding of a variety of social status, and (d) Quintana's model of children's understanding of ethnicity. Four developmental levels were described: Integration of affective and perceptual understanding of ethnicity (level 0), literal understanding of ethnicity (level 1), social and nonliteral perspective of ethnicity (level 2), and ethnic-group consciousness and ethnic identity (level 3). For each developmental level, applied implications were discussed.
To liberalize or not to liberalize: Political and economic determinants of financial liberalization

Abstract Using a sample of 70 emerging market and developing countries, we examine the political and economic factors which affect the government's decision to liberalize the domestic equity markets. We document that the levels of industrialization and financial development, the quality of investor protection, and the level of the government's involvement in the economy are closely associated with the stock market liberalization decision. Furthermore, we find a positive and significant relation between the amount of foreign financial aid received by the governments in emerging market countries and the probability of stock market liberalization.
Conformational analysis of pyridoxal amino acid schiff's bases

The conformational properties of a series of pyridoxal amino acid Schiff's bases have been calculated. The calculations were performed using the program CAMSEQ which employs a set of empirical potential energy functions. The cndo/2 charge distributions are also given in this preliminary report. The locations of the local energy minima are consistent with Dunathan's hypothesis that the course of enzymatic reaction is related to the conformation of the pyridoxal phosphate Schiff's base. Calculated results are also in agreement with experiment.
The formation of α-d-(1→3) branch linkages by a d-glucansucrase from Streptococcus mutans 6715 producing a soluble d-glucan☆

Abstract An exocellular d -glucansucrase that synthesizes a water-soluble, α- d -(1→6)-linked d -glucan having a high proportion of α- d -(1→3) branches was purified from the culture broth of Streptococcus mutans 6715. The rate of incorporation of d -[ 14 C]glucose from [ 14 C]sucrose into d -glucan of high molecular weight by this enzyme was increased (stimulated) by the presence of exogenous Leuconostoc mesenteroides B-512F dextran, and it was found that this dextran could act as an acceptor. A highly branched dextran, containing 45–50% of α- d -(1→3) branch linkages, did not stimulate the enzyme nearly so much as B-512F dextran, which has a low degree (5%) of α- d -(1→3) branches. We interpret this as evidence that the stimulating effects of dextran are not due to priming. If they were, the more highly branched dextran should have produced the greatest stimulation per unit weight, because a much greater number of nonreducing-end, priming sites would be available. We show that the d -glucansucrase was capable of transferring d -glucosyl groups from sucrose to B-512F dextran to form α- d -(1→3) branches, thereby rendering the dextran more resistant to hydrolysis by endodextranase. The presence of 1.6 m ammonium sulfate caused the enzyme to synthesize a d -glucan having a much higher percentage of α- d -(1→3) linkages.
All of the above … and more: Design considerations not taught in the classrooms

Today, a designer of electronics software and hardware must be aware that a commercial product should meet all required specifications, operate correctly, and be relatively easy to service when it fails to operate.
Semantic integrity enforcement in centralized DBMS and distributed DBMS based on slow (geographically distributed) and fast (local area) networks

Abstract In this paper we investigate techniques for decreasing the overhead of semantic integrity enforcement or equivalently the overhead of transaction validation with respect to a set of semantic integrity (SI) assertions. We discuss the problem of semantic integrity enforcement from two points of view. First we describe three approaches to decrease the overhead of SI enforcement. Second we analyze the cost of several SI enforcement methods in centralized and distributed database systems based on slow and fast (local) networks.
Role of frameless stereotaxy in the surgical treatment of cerebral arteriovenous malformations: technique and outcomes in a controlled study of 44 consecutive patients.

OBJECTIVE To describe a frameless stereotactic technique used to resect cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and to determine whether frameless stereotaxy during AVM resection could decrease operative times, minimize intraoperative blood losses, reduce postoperative complications, and improve surgical outcomes. METHODS Data for 44 consecutive patients with surgically resected cerebral AVMs were retrospectively reviewed. The first 22 patients underwent resection without stereotaxy (Group 1), whereas the next 22 patients underwent resection with the assistance of a frameless stereotaxy system (Group 2). RESULTS The patient characteristics, AVM morphological features, and percentages of preoperatively embolized cases were statistically similar for the two treatment groups. The mean operative time for Group 1 was 497 minutes, compared with 290 minutes for Group 2 (P = 0.0005). The estimated blood loss for Group 1 was 657 ml, compared with 311 ml for Group 2 (P = 0.0008). Complication rates, residual AVM incidences, and clinical outcomes were similar for the two groups. CONCLUSION Frameless stereotaxy allows surgeons to 1) plan the optimal trajectory to an AVM, 2) minimize the skin incision and craniotomy sizes, and 3) confirm the AVM margins and identify deep vascular components during resection. These benefits of stereotaxy were most apparent for small, deep AVMs that were not visible on the surface of the brain. Frameless stereotaxy reduces the operative time and blood loss during AVM resection.
Item structural properties as predictors of item difficulty and item association

Logical Test Design (LTD) is a technique for developing test items that evaluate procedural learning. This research investigated the ability of LTD to predict student performance in reading Roman numerals. The study (a) compared item structural properties identified by LTD with item size and expert judgment, in their ability to predict item difficulty, and (b) investigated the consistency of students' performance on item pairs varying on their LTD structural similarity. Two hundred and eleven sixth-grade students were tested on Roman numeral items varying on LTD-related and LTD-non-related variables. An LTD-related variable, item iterativity, the number of iterations through the algorithm for decoding a Roman numeral, was found to be the best predictor of item difficulty. Furthermore, item association, the proportion of students that consistently performed correctly or incorrectly on any two items, was greater for those items identified by LTD as structurally equivalent. However, that expert judgment, alm...
Multiple Binary Independent Mark-Space as an Improved Form of M-ary FSK Signaling

Multiple binary Frequency Shift Key (FSK/ Frequency Hop (FH) communications is an attractive alternative to conventional M-ary FSK/FH, providing increased transmission capacity with less susceptibility to interference. In non-coherent reception of independent binary Mark-Space signals, errors most often occur when only the complementary channel is jammed. Since conventional M-ary FSK/FH offers more opportunities for error than multiple binary FSK/FH, it is more prone to digital data error. Multiple binary FSK/FH provides the (same) high data rate of conventional M-ary signaling with the bit error rate of binary independent Mark-Space signaling.
Precise individualized armature for ear reconstruction

The cosmetic result of an ear restored surgically or via prosthetics is dependent on the surgeon''s ability to carve a precise cartilage armature at the time of surgery or the prosthetist''s ability to sculpt in wax an exact duplicate of the patient''s " missing" ear. Introducing CAD/CAM technology into the process benefits the esthetic outcome of these procedures. By utilizing serial section information derived from CAT MRI or moulage techniques a mirrorimage of the patient''s " donor" ear is generated. The resulting earform data is then used for the design of a cartilage armature produced by multi-axis milling or to produce by stereolithography a model which serves as the basis for a prosthesis.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Study on Monitoring Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Process by Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy

In this paper, method of monitoring bacillus subtilis fermentation process using attenuated total reflectance mid infrared (ATR-MIR) spectroscopy is explored. The bacillus subtilis fermentation produces poly-glutamic acid which is widely used. The routine measure of fermentation broth includes glucose, glutamic acid, poly-glutamic acid, and biomass. Traditional method of monitoring fermentation process is based on biosensor or spectrophotometer, which is laborious and time consuming. ATR-MIR spectroscopy is used in the fermentation process, which is efficient and multivariate can be obtained simultaneously in one measurement. Calibration method is addressed take into account the peculiarity of fermentation liquid, such as solvent concentration change correlation in fermentation batch. Using PLS several concentrations of solvents are get and the fermentation process can be monitored timely. The experiment results show that spectroscopy is a feasibility method in the poly-glutamic acid producing bacillus subtilis fermentation process.
A review of the natriuretic hormone system's diagnostic and therapeutic potential in critically ill children.

Objective:To review the natriuretic hormone system and discuss its diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic potential in critically ill children.Data Source:A thorough literature search of MEDLINE was performed using search terms including heart defects, congenital; cardiopulmonary bypass, atrial nat
A High-Titer Lentiviral Production System Mediates Efficient Transduction of Differentiated Cells Including Beating Cardiac Myocytes

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV, lentivirus) type-1 based vectors have a number of attractive features for gene therapy, including the ability to transduce non-dividing cells and long term transgene expression. We used a three-plasmid expression system to generate pseudotyped lentivirus-based vectors by transient transfection of human embryonic kidney 293T cells in the presence of sodium butyrate, which is known to activate the long terminal repeat-directed expression of HIV. Using this system we successfully generated versatile high titer lentivirus at titers of up to 2 x 10(8) transducing units/ml (TU/ml), and improved transduction efficiency in various cell types from seven to over twenty fold. We demonstrate its applicability of these vectors for the efficient transduction of non-dividing cells, including post mitotic beating rat cardiac myocytes and well-differentiated rat L6 myofibers. While both lentivirus-based and murine retrovirus-based vectors effectively transduced dividing cardiac fibroblasts and L6 muscle myoblasts in culture, lentivirus-based vectors also efficiently transduced cardiac myocytes and yielded titers of (6.3 +/- 1.2) x 10(5) TU/ml; however murine retrovirus-based vectors showed low transduction efficiency with titers reaching only (8.9 +/- 2.1) x 10(2) TU/ml. Furthermore, even 12 days after induction of differentiation of L6 myofibers, lentivirus-mediated transduction of beta-galactosidase (beta-Gal) at approximately 30-40% of the maximum expression levels achieved in replicating myoblasts. In contrast, the expression of beta-Gal following transduction of the myofibers by murine retrovirus-based vectors fell to less than 1% of an already reduced level of transduction in undifferentiated confluent myoblasts. These results demonstrate that lentivirus-based vectors can efficiently transduce both well-differentiated cardiac myocytes and differentiated myofibers. This appears to be an efficient method and provides a new tool for research and therapy for cardiovascular diseases.
Non-small cell lung cancer: The era of targeted therapy

In this review, the authors aim to provide an overview of current molecular targeted therapies for NSCLC, to propose an algorithm for clinical application of presently available treatment strategies, and to identify future directions for this important area of research. Historically, choice of treatment algorithm for the management of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has relied heavily upon histology and clinical staging information, typically assigning patients to surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination thereof. However, previous treatment strategies have been fraught with disappointing response rates and significant systemic toxicities. The concept of personalized therapy for NSCLC involves characterization of each individual patient's tumor, in terms of genetic aberrations and expected biologic behavior, and using this information to tailor subsequent clinical management. Several driver mutations have been identified to date in subsets of patients with NSCLC, and, by focusing on specific molecular targets, new agents have been developed with the intent of treating the cancer cells while causing minimal toxicity to benign, healthy cells. In particular, current strategies exist to identify patients with epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutations and anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangements, with promising results upon clinical application of agents targeting these abnormalities. Moving forward, attempts are being made to determine comprehensive genetic and biologic characterization of individuals' NSCLC tumors and to incorporate these findings into everyday practice. The era of targeted therapy is upon us. As we seek to expand our knowledge of the specific molecular and cellular derangements leading to growth and proliferation of NSCLC tumors, our efforts bring us closer to ultimately providing each patient with a personalized plan of care.
The relationship between dissociative symptoms, alexithymia, impulsivity, sexual abuse, and self-mutilation

The overall purpose of the present study was to further our understanding of the mechanisms of self-mutilative behavior in a sample of female inpatients. The study found that self-mutilators (n = 103) displayed a greater degree of dissociative symptoms and alexithymia and a greater number of self-injurious behaviors, as well as higher rates of childhood sexual abuse, than nonmutilators (n = 45). In addition, the study found that among these variables, the number of self-injurious behaviors had the strongest relationship to self-mutilation. However, both dissociative symptoms and alexithymia were independently associated with self-mutilative behavior. Implications of our findings for clinicians and researchers are discussed.
Soluble ribonucleic acid and glycoprotein biosynthesis in the mouse liver

The specific activity of subcellular fractions of liver was determined at varying intervals after the intraperitoneal injection of [1-14C]glucosamine in mice. The deoxycholate-soluble portion of microsomal particulates was the most active. During the course of [14C]glucosamine incorporation into microsomal fraction in vivo, by way of uridine diphosphate-N-acetylglucosamine, the soluble ribonucleic acids isolated from the high-speed supernatant fraction were not labeled. Soluble ribonucleic acids from ribosomes were unlabeled also. Attempts to incorporate [14C]glucosamine into ribonucleic acids in vitro were also unsuccessful. A possible mechanism of carbohydrate addition to polypeptide chains is discussed.
Light-induced ultracold spin-exchange collisions

We study collisional loss rates due to spin-exchange collisions in very-low-intensity ${}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ magneto-optical traps. The loss rate exhibits an unpredicted intensity dependence for low intensities, accounting for a large disparity between loss rates observed in light-force traps and magnetically confined Bose condensates. Possible collision mechanisms considered include light-altered collision phase shifts, flux enhancement, and excited-state hyperfine changing collisions.
Test of shell-model interactions for nuclear structure calculations

The binding energy and excitation spectra of 6Li are calculated in a no-core shell-model space giving encouraging results. The results of this calculation are then treated as a theoretical experiment, against which different effective-interaction approximations are compared. In this way insight into the perturbation expansion for the effective interaction is obtained.
Startle response to unpredictable threat in comorbid panic disorder and alcohol dependence.

Background Although the adverse consequences of comorbid panic disorder (PD) and alcohol dependence (AD) are well-established, relatively little is known about the mechanisms underlying their co-occurrence. Several researchers have postulated that alcohol's ability to dampen response to unpredictable threat may be an important motivational factor in comorbid PD and AD. To date, no research has examined these processes using a clinical sample and it is unclear whether individuals with PD and AD evidence different reactivity to unpredictable threat relative to individuals with PD-only.
Tunable diode laser measurements of N2- and air-broadened halfwidths: lines in the (ν4+ν5)0 band of 12C2H2 near 7.4 μm

Abstract Nitrogen- and air-broadened Lorentz halfwidths have been determined for 29 lines in the P and R branches of the (ν4 + ν5)0 combination band of 12C2H2 using a tunable diode laser spectrometer. Two tunable diode lasers operating in the region 1250–1380 cm−1 were used in recording the data. For nitrogen broadening, the measured halfwidths at 296 K decrease from about 0.11 cm−1 atm−1 at |m| = 1 to about 0.05 cm−1 atm−1 at |m| = 30, where m = J″ + 1 for R-branch lines, m = −J″ for P-branch lines, and J″ is the lower state rotational quantum number. On the average, the air-broadened halfwidths are 97% of the N2-broadened halfwidths.
The Development of a Model for the Design of Motivational Adult Instruction in Higher Education

This article provides educators and instructional designers with a prescriptive model for the instructional motivation of adults. Adult learning theory has been integrated with John Keller's instructional motivation model to develop two motivational needs-assessment instruments. Results of research eliciting adults' perceptions of their motivational needs were analyzed. These results show that specific instructional strategies are perceived to be important for the motivation of adult learners. A prescriptive model for the instructional motivation of adult learners is presented. This model provides an important step in the integration of adult learning theory into the design of motivational instruction for adult learners.
Triggers and Monitoring in Intelligent Personal Health Record

Although Web-based personal health records (PHRs) have been widely deployed, the existing ones have limited intelligence. Previously, we introduced expert system technology and Web search technology into the PHR domain and proposed the concept of an intelligent PHR (iPHR). iPHR provides personalized healthcare information to facilitate users' daily activities of living. The current iPHR is passive and follows the pull model of information distribution. This paper introduces triggers and monitoring into iPHR to make iPHR become active. Our idea is to let medical professionals pre-compile triggers and store them in iPHR's knowledge base. Each trigger corresponds to an abnormal event that may have potential medical impact. iPHR keeps collecting, processing, and analyzing the user's medical data from various sources such as wearable sensors. Whenever an abnormal event is detected from the user's medical data, the corresponding trigger fires and the related personalized healthcare information is pushed to the user using natural language generation technology, expert system technology, and Web search technology.
Sociodemographic Predictors of Survival in Differentiated ThyroidCancer: Results from the SEER Database

Background. Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) is prognosticated upon a combination of tumor characteristics, such as histology and stage, and patient age. DTC is also notable for having a strong female predominance. Using a nationwide database with long follow-up times, we explored the interplay between tumor biology and patient characteristics in predicting mortality. Methods. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry data 1973–2005 was examined for patients with DTC as their only known malignancy. Cox multivariate analyses were used to generate mortality hazard ratios to evaluate the effects of age, gender, ethnicity, and marital status. Results. We identified 55,995 patients with DTC as their only malignancy. Consistent with the existing literature, the tumors are primarily diagnosed in women (77.5%), and predominantly affect Caucasians (78.3%). Female gender had a protective effect resulting in a 37% decrease in mortality. Age at diagnosis predicted mortality over age 40. Black ethnicity was associated with a 51% increase in mortality compared to Caucasians. Conclusion. Multiple demographic factors predict mortality in patients with DTC after adjusting for tumor characteristics, and they appear to have complex interactions. Recognizing the importance of these factors may enable clinicians to better tailor therapy.
Pseudorapidity dependence of long-range two-particle correlations in pPb collisions at 5.02 TeV with CMS

Abstract CMS measurements of two-particle correlations of charged particles have previously been published for proton–proton (pp), proton–lead (pPb), and lead–lead (PbPb) systems. This analysis studies the pseudorapidity dependency of the two-particle correlations by restricting one of the particles in a narrow η range. The near-side ( Δ ϕ ≈ 0 ) correlation in high-multiplicity collisions is decomposed into a short-range jet-like component and a long-range ridge component in pseudorapidity. The jet-like correlations are subtracted, and the remaining ridge correlations are studied versus Δη. Furthermore, the Fourier coefficients of the two-particle correlations are extracted for high-multiplicity collisions, with and without subtraction of jet contributions approximated by the scaled low-multiplicity collision data. The η dependence of the azimuthal anisotropy parameters is reported.
Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy Study of Water in Carbon Nanopipes

The ability of the ESEM to condense and evaporate liquids has enabled the in situ dynamic study of condensation, evaporation and transport of water inside carbon nanotubes. It has been possible to see liquid menisci inside straight, CVD-fabricated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) having disordered walls. From the measured contact angles, it is clear that these CNTs are hydrophilic. Complex meniscus shapes and slow liquid dynamics due to water confinement and strong interaction with tube walls have been observed.
Hippocampal volumetry in children 6 years or younger: assessment of children with and without complex febrile seizures.

Abstract Purpose : To study the relationship of complex febrile seizures (CFS) in the evolution of mesial temporal sclerosis. Methods : We studied five children 22–68 (mean 44) months old with MRI volumetry 2 days–46 months after their first CFS, and compared total hippocampal volumes and right to left hippocampal volume ratios to those of 11 controls, 15–83 (mean 55) months old, who had MRI for complaints which turned out to be neurologically insignificant. Results : In control children, total hippocampal volumes increased linearly with age, while right to left hippocampal volume ratios tended to decrease with age. In children with CFS total hippocampal volumes tended to be smaller than in controls. Right to left ratios were greater than 1 in all five children with CFS compared to seven of 11 controls. Hippocampal asymmetry was noted in only one child, with the right to left volume ratio exceeding two standard deviations from the control mean. The MRI of this child also demonstrated a subarachnoid cyst in the left frontocentral region, ipsilateral to the smaller hippocampus. Visual inspection of the remaining patients revealed no definite structural cortical abnormalities. None of the children developed subsequent afebrile seizures during the brief follow-up period. Conclusions : Hippocampal volumetry in controls revealed a linear increase in total hippocampal volumes and a statistically nonsignificant trend toward reduced right larger than left hippocampal ratios between 17 and 83 months old. The tendency for smaller total hippocampal volumes and larger right to left hippocampal volume ratios in children with CFS compared to controls could suggest a developmental abnormality, injury during CFS, or be age-related. The significant hippocampal asymmetry in a single child with CFS suggests that age may not be a factor in every case. Further studies are needed to collect control data in young children as well as prospectively follow children with CFS with serial imaging to better understand the relationship between CFS and the evolution of hippocampal atrophy.
Theius: A Streaming Visualization Suite for Hadoop Clusters*

As cloud computing clusters continue to grow, maintaining the health of these clusters becomes increasingly challenging. Recent work has studied how we can efficiently monitor the status of machines in these clusters and how we can detect problems or predict them before they occur, yet little work has focused on addressing the bottleneck between when these failures occur and when they are fixed: system administrators. As monitoring and failure detection systems mature, we are able to extract tremendous amounts of information about the status of the system in real time. However, this amount of data is difficult to understand for human beings, especially those inexperienced with the particular cluster. In this paper, we introduce a web-based visualization suite called Theius to allow system administrators to quickly understand the state of the cloud system as a whole. We outline the key features of this visualization tool, and show that it is more intuitive and easy to use than Ganglia, a state-of-the art visualization tool for clusters. Likewise, we demonstrate that our tool can scale, presenting a use case with our visualization showing a 5000 node cluster. Although our tool is implemented for Hadoop clusters, our contribution is general to any cloud computing system.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Implementations: Theory and Practice

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have been widely implemented by numerous firms throughout the industrial world. While success stories of ERP implementation abound due to its potential in resolving the problem of fragmented information, a substantial number of these implementations fail to meet the goals of the organization. Some are abandoned altogether and others contribute to the failure of an organization. This article seeks to identify the critical factors of ERP implementation and uses statistical analysis to further delineate the patterns of adoption of the various concepts. A cross-sectional mail survey was mailed to business executives who have experience in the implementation of ERP systems. The results of this study provide empirical evidence that the theoretical constructs of ERP implementation are followed at varying levels. It offers some fresh insights into the current practice of ERP implementation. In addition, this study fills the need for ERP implementation constructs that can be utilized for further study of this important topic.