cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Constricted microfluidic devices to study the effects of transient high shear exposure on platelets.

Due to the critical roles that platelets play in thrombosis during many biological and pathological events, altered platelet function may be a key contributor to altered hemostasis, leading to both thrombotic and hemorrhagic complications. Platelet adhesion at arterial shear rates occurs through binding to von Willebrand Factor via the glycoprotein (GP) GPIb receptor. GPIb binding can induce platelet activation distinguishable by P-selectin (CD62P) surface expression and αIIbβ3 activation, resulting in platelet aggregation and formation of the primary hemostatic plug to stop bleeding. Previous studies have used cone and plate viscometers to examine pathologic blood flow conditions, applied shear rates that are relatively low, and examined exposure times that are orders of magnitude longer compared to conditions present in ventricular assist devices, mechanical heart valves, or pathologic states such as stenotic arteries. Here, we evaluate the effect of short exposure to high shear on granule release and receptor shedding utilizing a constricted microfluidic device in conjunction with flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In this study, platelets were first perfused through microfluidic channels capable of producing shear rates of 80 000–100 000 s−1 for exposure times of 0–73 ms. We investigated platelet activation by measuring the expression level of CD62P (soluble and surface expressed), platelet factor 4 (PF4), and beta-thromboglobulin (βTG). In addition, we measured potential platelet receptor shedding of GPVI and GPIb using flow cytometry. The results showed that a single pass to high shear with short exposure times (milliseconds) had no effect on the levels of CD62P, GPVI and GPIb, or on the release of alpha granule content (PF4, βTG, and sP-selectin).Due to the critical roles that platelets play in thrombosis during many biological and pathological events, altered platelet function may be a key contributor to altered hemostasis, leading to both thrombotic and hemorrhagic complications. Platelet adhesion at arterial shear rates occurs through binding to von Willebrand Factor via the glycoprotein (GP) GPIb receptor. GPIb binding can induce platelet activation distinguishable by P-selectin (CD62P) surface expression and αIIbβ3 activation, resulting in platelet aggregation and formation of the primary hemostatic plug to stop bleeding. Previous studies have used cone and plate viscometers to examine pathologic blood flow conditions, applied shear rates that are relatively low, and examined exposure times that are orders of magnitude longer compared to conditions present in ventricular assist devices, mechanical heart valves, or pathologic states such as stenotic arteries. Here, we evaluate the effect of short exposure to high shear on granule release and r...
Enactment of Ongoing Formative Assessment: Challenges and Opportunities for Professional Development and Practice

Formative assessment practices have been shown to improve science instruction. However, examples of teachers’ moment-to-moment informal formative assessment practices are still sparse. This multipl...
Transfer of Learning and Music Understanding: A Review of Literature:

Transfer of learning is considered to be a fundamental goal of education, yet it is often assumed or left to chance on the part of the learner. This paradox points to the renewed investment in crea...
The impact of neural responses to food cues following stress on trajectories of negative and positive affect and binge eating in daily life.

Stress and affect have been implicated in the maintenance of binge eating for women with symptoms of bulimia nervosa (BN). Neuroimaging and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) have separately examined how these variables may contribute to eating disorder behavior. Though both methodologies have their own strengths, it's unclear how either methodology might inform the other. This study examined the impact of individual differences in neural reactivity to food cues following acute stress on the trajectories of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) surrounding binge eating. Women (n = 16) with BN symptoms viewed palatable food cues before and after a stress induction in the scanner. For two weeks, participants responded to prompts assessing affect and binge episodes several times a day. EMA data revealed NA increased and PA decreased before binge episodes in the natural environment. Additionally, NA decreased while PA increased following binge episodes. Changes in activation in the ACC, amygdala, and the vmPFC significantly moderated the relationship of affect to binge eating. However, lateral differences of each brain region uniquely moderator the trajectory of PA, NA, or both to binge eating. Specifically, those with less change in BOLD response reported significantly increasing NA and decreasing PA prior to binges, while women with greater decreases reported no change in affect. Following binge eating, individuals with decreased change in BOLD response reported decreasing NA and increasing PA. This may suggest individual differences in neural response to food cues under stress appear to underlie affect driven theory on the antecedents to binge eating.
Evaluation of Epidemiologic Study Designs for the Assessment of Risk in Chemical Carcinogenesis

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the major study designs used in epidemiology to detect cancer risk. But before I address that issue, I would like to examine briefly the strengths and limitations of epidemiology relative to animal studies in cancer risk assessment.
Modeling real-time Tolapai based embedded system using MARTE

With the advances in integration of different units such as I/O controllers and network interfaces in a single chip, Intel introduced the low power Tolapai embedded processor. This processor is the first IA based system-on-chip (SoC) with an IA-32 processor core, North and South Bridges, and integrated Accelerator and network interface. In this paper we will show a way to design and model a real-time embedded system that will perform several tasks regarding road surface conditions based on multiple sensor readings. The sensor data will be processed in real-time to reconstruct the road profile and provide an estimate for the texture contents of the road surface. The Tolapai embedded processor will be used in the design of such a system. Modeling will be done with the aid of UML profile for modeling and analysis of real-time and embedded (MARTE) systems.
Second-order sensitivities of a general functional of the forward and adjoint fluxes in a multiplying nuclear system with source

Abstract This work presents an application of the Second-Order Adjoint Sensitivity Analysis Methodology (2nd-ASAM) to compute efficiently and exactly all of the 1st- and 2nd-order functional derivatives (“sensitivities”) of a generic scalar-valued response to parameters for a multiplying subcritical system comprising a non-fission neutron source. The response is defined to be a nonlinear functional of the forward and adjoint particle fluxes while the system parameters include isotopic number densities, microscopic cross sections, fission spectrum, sources, and detector response functions. As indicated by the general theoretical considerations underlying the 2nd-ASAM, the number of computations required to obtain the 1st- and 2nd-order increases linearly in augmented Hilbert spaces as opposed to increasing exponentially in the original Hilbert space. This unique feature provides the fundamental reason for the unmatched efficiency of the 2nd-ASAM for computing exactly all of the 1st- and 2nd-order responses sensitivities to model parameters. The results presented in this work are currently being implemented in several production-oriented three dimensional neutron transport code systems for analyzing specific subcritical systems.
SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY USING MECHANICAL CIRCULATORY DEVICE FOR MANAGEMENT OF LEFT MAIN OCCLUSION ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION COMPLICATED WITH CARDIOGENIC SHOCK

Unprotected left main (ULM) occlusion is culprit in ~1% of all ST elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMI) and carries poor prognosis. Despite advances in hemodynamic support devices the optimal management strategy for circulatory shock associated with ULM MI remains elusive. A 57 year man with
Criteria for CITES species protection−Response

Challender et al. argue against a near-automatic pathway from the IUCN Red List to a listing proposal in CITES for species that are threatened with extinction and can be linked to international wildlife trade. They emphasize that the Red List and CITES use different criteria when making their assessments and listing decisions. We respect the fact that the two institutions evaluate species using different criteria, but we nonetheless stand by our recommendation. A near-automatic pathway will ensure that Red List assessments are not overlooked or neglected. It will be up to CITES to then apply its own set of criteria when drafting the proposal, discussing it, and voting on whether to list the species in Appendix I or II. A determination from CITES that the party members have reviewed the case brought on by the Red List assessment and have decided not to list the species will be important and informative. Absent such a pathway, it is difficult to know whether a given species was assessed informally by CITES and deemed unworthy of protection from trade or whether it was overlooked. The Red List assessment process will also benefit if the CITES party members can convey to IUCN what factors went into their decision not to list a species on either Appendix. Even if international trade is not the primary threat to an imperiled species, it nonetheless contributes to its endangerment. We think CITES should err on the side of caution and seek to halt even minor amounts of trade for gravely imperiled species. Conservation policy on a global scale, which involves 183 party members, is a complicated challenge. Better use of the Red List assessments can help ensure that species get reviewed when there is a risk they might go extinct in the wild due partly to trade.
Preparation of anti-HER-2 antibody PLGA polymer nano-ultrasound contrast agent In vitro targeting experiment

Abstract In this report, we demonstrated a novel method to prepare a hollow nano-targeted ultrasound contrast agent carrying anti-HER-2 antibody with high molecular weight polylactic acid-glycolic acid (PLGA) as a film-forming material, and to investigate in vitro targeting and imaging effects. We utilized the camphor as porogen, PLGA nano-ultrasound contrast agent was prepared by modified double emulsion solvent evaporation method. The general characteristics were characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and laser particle size analyzer. The angiography was performed by carbodiimide method. The anti-HER-2 antibody was used to prepare the PLGA-targeted nano-ultrasound contrast agent with anti-HER-2 antibody. The in-situ imaging ability was evaluated by laser confocal scanning microscopy. Results indicate that the average particle size of PLGA nano-ultrasound contrast agent was (152.00± 58.08) nm. The particles were regular spherical, uniform in size and good in dispersion. In vitro targeting experiments showed that PLGA-targeted contrast agents with anti-HER-2 antibodies were more strongly aggregated on the surface of breast cancer cells. In vitro imaging experiments showed that the PLGA-targeted nano-ultrasound contrast imaging showed a fine and uniform point-like hyperechoic echo, and no significant attenuation of the posterior echo. This study successfully produced a PLGA-targeted nano-ultrasound contrast agent with anti-HER-2 antibody, which can specifically bind to breast cancer cells with high expression of HER-2 receptor in vitro, and the imaging effect in vitro is better.
Coviewing Educational Media: Does Coviewing Help Low-Income Preschoolers Learn Auditory and Audiovisual Vocabulary Associations?:

Coviewing media is a practice commonly recommended to parents of young children. However, little is known about how coviewing might scaffold the vocabulary learning of low-income preschoolers. The ...
Enhancing Indoor Inertial Odometry with WiFi

Accurately measuring the distance traversed by a subject, commonly referred to as odometry, in indoor environments is of fundamental importance in many applications such as augmented and virtual reality tracking, indoor navigation, and robot route guidance. While theoretically, odometry can be performed using a simple accelerometer, practically, it is well-known that the distances measured using accelerometers suffer from large drift errors. In this paper, we propose WIO, a WiFi-assisted Inertial Odometry technique that uses WiFi signals as an auxiliary source of information to correct these drift errors. The key intuition behind WIO is that among multiple reflections of a transmitted WiFi signal arriving at the WiFi receiver, WIO first isolates one reflection and then measures the change in the length of the path of that reflection as the subject moves. By identifying the extent through which the length of the path of that reflection changes, along with the direction of motion of the subject relative to that path, WIO can estimate the distance traversed by the subject using WiFi signals. WIO then uses this distance estimate to correct the drift errors. While researchers have previously proposed to use WiFi signals to correct drift errors, prior schemes suffer from one or more of the following six limitations: they 1) do not work indoors, 2) require manual exhaustive fingerprinting, 3) are not resilient against changes in environment including human movements, 4) do not work on commodity WiFi devices, 5) require multiple access points, and/or 6) can measure distance traversed by humans but not by non-human subjects. WIO addresses all of these limitations. We implemented WIO using commodity devices, and extensively evaluated it in a wide variety of complex indoor scenarios on both human and robotic subjects. Our results demonstrate that WIO achieved an average error of just 6.28% in estimating the distances traversed by the subjects.
Effects of fire rotation interval and overstory type on ambient soil temperatures in ponderosa pine forests in Arizona

Ambient soil temperatures were measured every four weeks from May 1986 to November 1986 at three depths under the organic forest floor in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson) forests...
Socioeconomic status related differences in resting state EEG activity correspond to differences in vocabulary and working memory in grade school.

Abstract There is increasing evidence that children from low income homes exhibit differences in brain, language and cognitive development. To better understand these differences and how they relate to one another, we compared the resting state EEG of forty-five 8–15-year-olds from low-income homes and 45 age and sex matched children from higher income homes who completed a battery of language and cognitive assessments. Children from low income homes performed worse on language tasks and exhibited differences in resting state EEG including more theta and less alpha power. To investigate the relationship between language, cognition and resting state EEG we performed multiple regression analyses. Better working memory was related to lower resting state theta power. There was an interaction between alpha and vocabulary, such that only for children from low income homes, greater resting state alpha was related to higher vocabulary scores. Both relationships held when controlling for resting state changes in the other frequency band, indicating they are somewhat independent effects. These findings shed new light on SES, neural development and cognitive and language outcomes in school-aged children.
Differences in Rates of High-Value and Low-Value Care Between Community Health Centers and Private Practices.

Community health centers (CHCs) are an integral part of the health care safety net. As health systems seek to improve value, it is important to understand the quality of care provided by CHCs. To evaluate the performance of CHCs compared with private practices on a comprehensive set of high-value and low-value care measures. This cross-sectional study used data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2010 through 2012. We compared CHCs with private practices using logistic regression models that adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance, number of chronic illnesses, rural versus urban location, region of country, and survey year. We included outpatient visits to generalist physicians at either CHCs or private practices by patients 18 years and older. We examined 12 measures of high-value care and 7 measures of low-value care. A total of 29,155 physician visits, representing 584,208,173 weighted visits, from 2010 through 2012 were included. CHCs were more likely to provide high-value care by ordering beta-blockers in CHF (46.9% vs. 36.5%; aOR 2.56; 95%CI 1.18–5.56), statins in diabetes (37.0% vs 35.5%; aOR 1.35; 95%CI 1.02–1.79), and providing treatment for osteoporosis (35.7% vs 23.2%; aOR 1.77; 95%CI 1.05–3.00) compared with private practices. CHCs were more likely to avoid low-value screening EKGs (98.7% vs. 88.0%; aOR 11.03; 95%CI 2.67–45.52), CBCs (75.9% vs. 65.7%; aOR 1.72; 95%CI 1.18–2.53), or urinalyses (86.0% vs. 80.5%; aOR 1.87; 95%CI 1.11–3.14) during a general medical exam. CHCs were also less likely to prescribe antibiotics for a URI (48.3% vs. 63.1%; aOR 0.59; 95%CI 0.40–0.88). On a number of high-value and low-value measures of care, CHCs performed similar to or better than private practices. As healthcare delivery reforms continue to progress, CHCs are well positioned to provide high-value healthcare.
Bulk Density and Shear Strength of Several Deep-Sea Calcareous Sediments

Deep-sea calcareous sediment commonly consists of chemically active, fragile, biologically derived sand- or silt-size carbonate particles combined with terrigenous silt and clay and biologically derived opaline silica. The shearing strength of these sediments depends on whether the noncarbonate matrix or a carbonate framework dominates and on the physical nature of the noncarbonate matrix. A model based on relations between bulk density and carbonate content is developed to delineate three types of behavior: matrix dominant, transition, and carbonate-framework dominant. The model is quantitatively evaluated using vane shear, bulk density, grain density, carbonate content, and triaxial shear strength measurements from four studies of deep-sea calcareous sediments. The divisions between the three behavior types are found to be determined primarily by the character of the noncarbonate matrix. The presence or absence of opaline silica in the noncarbonate fraction has the strongest influence and is related to the overall sedimentary environment. Vane shearing strength increases with carbonate content through the transition and carbonate-framework-dominant zones. It is independent of carbonate content in the matrix-dominant zone. This trend may be masked by coring disturbance if only the results of laboratory analyses as opposed to in situ tests are considered. The cause of the strength increase with carbonate content may be the granular nature of the carbonate particles (mechanical) or interparticle cementation (chemical).
Methodology for the development of a national Dental Practice-Based Research Network survey on dentist's beliefs and behaviors concerning antibiotic prophylaxis.

Background Dentists are high prescribers of antibiotics for both treatment and prevention of infection, although there are few guidelines to aid clinicians. Given the worldwide concerns about unnecessary use of antibiotics, there is a need for a better understanding of dentists’ use of these drugs for antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) to prevent distant site infections (i.e., infective endocarditis and prosthetic joint infection). Objective The aim of this study was to develop and implement an effective, self-reporting, cross-sectional, survey instrument that optimized the response rate and maximized reliability and validity for determining the beliefs and behaviors of a large and nationally representative group of generalist and specialist dentists concerning their use of AP. Study Design A 15-question survey (58 items) was developed in a structured process by a multidisciplinary team and configured for automated online dissemination to 3584 national Dental Practice-Based Research Network (DPBRN; hitherto referred to as “Network”) practitioners. The implementation phase consisted of 3 waves of greater than 1000 Network members. Additionally, 47 randomly selected dentists were surveyed twice to assess test–retest reliability. Results Of 3584 eligible Network members, 2169 (60.5%) completed the survey. The age and geographic distributions of responders was similar to those of dentists in the 2019 American Dental Association census. Furthermore, test–retest weighted kappa values for the survey were acceptable (median 0.56; interquartile range 0.42–0.64). Conclusions We developed a highly structured survey with a high response rate and good reliability that will allow us to obtain unique data on dentists’ beliefs and practices regarding AP prescribing.
Finite and infinite matrix product states for Gutzwiller projected mean-field wave functions

Matrix product states (MPS) and ``dressed'' ground states of quadratic mean fields (e.g., Gutzwiller projected Slater determinants) are both important classes of variational wave functions. This latter class has played important roles in understanding superconductivity and quantum spin liquids. We present a method to obtain both the finite and infinite MPS (iMPS) representation of the ground state of an arbitrary fermionic quadratic mean-field Hamiltonian (which in the simplest case is a Slater determinant and in the most general case is a Pfaffian). We also show how to represent products of such states (e.g., determinants times Pfaffians). From this representation one can project to single occupancy and evaluate the entanglement spectra after Gutzwiller projection. We then obtain the MPS and iMPS representation of Gutzwiller projected mean-field states that arise from the variational slave-fermion approach to the $S=1$ bilinear-biquadratic quantum spin chain. To accomplish this, we develop an approach to orthogonalize degenerate iMPS to find all the states in the degenerate ground-state manifold. We find the energies of the MPS and iMPS states match the variational energies closely, indicating the method is accurate and there is minimal loss due to truncation error. We then present an exploration of the entanglement spectra of projected slave-fermion states, exploring their qualitative features and finding good qualitative agreement with the respective exact ground-state spectra found from density matrix renormalization group.
Rational Control of Self-Recognition of Macroionic γ-Cyclodextrin by Host-Guest Interaction with Super-Chaotropic Borate Cluster Ions

We report a feasible method to control self-recognition during the self-assembly of a hydrophilic macroion, phosphate-functionalized γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD-P), though host-guest interactions. We confirmed that γ-CD-P can form a host-guest complex with a super-chaotropic anion, namely the B12 F122- borate cluster, by using NMR spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry. The loaded γ-CD-P, which has a higher charge density, can be distinguished from the uncomplexed γ-CD-P, leading to self-sorting behavior during the self-assembly process, confirmed by the formation of two types of individual supramolecular structures (Rh of ca. 57 nm and 18 nm, determined by light scattering) instead of hybrid structures in mixed dilute solution. This self-recognition behavior is accounted for by the difference in intermolecular electrostatic interactions arising from the loading.
Data Science Techniques, Assumptions, and Challenges in Alloy Clustering and Property Prediction

Data analytics methods have been increasingly applied to understanding materials chemistry, processing due to the manufacturing approach, and uni-axial and cyclic property relationships in the highly complex space of alloy design. There are several benefits to applying data analytics to this space, including the ability to manage non-linearities in the responses of the alloy attributes and the resulting mechanical properties. However, key difficulties in applying and understanding the results of data analytics include the often lack of reported assumptions and data processing steps necessary to improve interpretation and reproducibility in derived results. In this work, the methods used to generate clustering and correlation analyses for experimental 9% Cr ferritic-martensitic steel data were investigated and the resulting implications for mechanical property predictions were assessed. This work uses principal component analysis, partitioning around medoids, t-SNE, and k-means clustering to investigate trends in composition, processing and microstructure information with creep and tensile properties, building on work done previously using a smaller version of the same dataset. The initial assumptions, preprocessing steps and methods are investigated and outlined in order to depict the fine level of detail required to convey the steps taken to process data and produce analytical results. The variations in the resulting analyses are explored due to the influence of new and more varied data.
Implementing Drone Mapping Along the US West Coast for Eelgrass Meadow Extent and Dynamics

Eelgrass acts as a natural habitat for a wide range of species and maintains many important ecosystem functions. However, many researchers along the U.S. west coast have noticed a recent decline in eelgrass populations and have begun researching the possible causes for this decline. One of those causes, eelgrass wasting disease, has been drawing the attention of researchers from multiple fields and universities, including the University of Central Florida. Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), we utilize GIS and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for remote sensing data collection and analysis that demonstrated important findings. This drone mapping fieldwork will be conducted annually to compare spatio-temporal changes in certain measured environmental factors, such as eelgrass abundance and related environmental factors. For the benefit of future GIS research into eelgrass, other research institutes in collaboration were taught proper drone flight protocols as well as GIS processing.
JAXED: Reverse Engineering DNN Architectures Leveraging JIT GEMM Libraries

General matrix multiplication (GEMM) libraries on x86 architectures have recently adopted Just-in-time (JIT) based optimizations to dramatically reduce the execution time of small and medium-sized matrix multiplication. The exploitation of the latest CPU architectural extensions, such as the AVX2 and AVX-512 extensions, are the target for these optimizations. Although JIT compilers can provide impressive speedups to GEMM libraries, they expose a new attack surface through the built-in JIT code caches. These software-based caches allow an adversary to extract sensitive information through carefully designed timing attacks. The attack surface of such libraries has become more prominent due to their widespread integration into popular Machine Learning (ML) frameworks such as PyTorch and Tensorflow.In our paper, we present a novel attack strategy for JIT-compiled GEMM libraries called JAXED. We demonstrate how an adversary can exploit the GEMM library’s vulnerable state management to extract confidential CNN model hyperparameters. We show that using JAXED, one can successfully extract the hyperparameters of models with fully-connected layers with an average accuracy of 92%. Further, we demonstrate our attack against the final fully connected layer of 10 popular DNN models. Finally, we perform an end-to-end attack on MobileNetV2, on both the convolution and FC layers, successfully extracting model hyperparameters.
Bereavement, Storytelling, and Reconciliation: Peacebuilding Between Israelis and Palestinians

Despite the ongoing conflict and the general neglect by the media, power brokers, and the public, grassroots organizations in the Middle East persist in their dedication to “people to people” diplomacy between Israelis and Palestinians. The Parents Circle-Families Forum is a bi-national NGO committed to peacebuilding and reconciliation between Jewish Israelis and Palestinians from East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Its most distinctive features are its membership, composed of 300 families from each side who have lost a close relative to the conflict, and its use of storytelling to connect the two sides. Bereaved individuals develop the capacity for empathy and moral responsibility beyond their own people by encountering “the other” via personal stories of loss and suffering. In pairs, Palestinian and Israeli members then share these stories with students in each society, modeling compassion and human solidarity, in an effort to bring about social transformation. This paper, based on ethnographic research recently conducted in Israel and the West Bank, considers the moral dynamics of these encounters and presentations, and their potential contribution to reconciliation and conflict transformation. Author Bio(s) Frida Kerner Furman is Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at DePaul University, where she is also an affiliated faculty member in the Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies Program. Her current research interests include social and feminist ethics, peacebuilding, and reconciliation across national, religious, and cultural divides. E-mail: ffurman@depaul.edu Cover Page Footnote/Acknowledgements I would like to thank my colleagues Elizabeth A. Kelly, Charles Strain, and David Wellman for reading earlier versions of this article and providing valuable feedback. The research for this paper was partially supported by a Competitive Research Grant of the University Research Council and by Academic Affairs' funding for Vincent de Paul Professors, DePaul University. This article is available in Peace and Conflict Studies: http://nsuworks.nova.edu/pcs/vol20/iss2/1 Peace and Conflict Studies
Fuzzy Shortest Path Problem

In this chapter we consider the shortest route problem where distances/costs are not known precisely and are modeled using fuzzy numbers. The fuzzy shortest route problem is outlined in the next section. We have previously used an evolutionary algorithm to solve an example problem (Section 6.5.1 of [2] and [3]). In Section 18.3 we plan to apply our fuzzy Monte Carlo method to obtain a solution to this example problem and then compare both solution methods.
Rewiring Transcriptional Circuitry: Mating-Type Regulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans as a Model for Evolution

This chapter discusses insights into transcriptional evolution that have arisen from detailed comparisons of the mating circuitry in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the related ascomycete Candida albicans. The chapter reviews major concepts in mating-type regulation in S. cerevisiae which have been established over the past several decades. It then reviews more recent work describing mating-type determination in C. albicans, a pathogenic yeast that last shared a common ancestor with S. cerevisiae some 200 to 800 million years ago. Close comparison of the two circuits reveals multiple changes in transcriptional regulation, which fall into distinct mechanistic classes, and also provides multiple examples of both phenotypic variance and phenotypic conservation accompanying transcriptional regulatory evolution. a, α, and a/α cells each follow distinct transcriptional regulatory programs. a and α cells are specialized for mating with each other: a cells express the a-specific genes (asgs), which include a mating pheromone for communicating with α cells (a-factor) and a pheromone receptor which detects pheromone signals from α cells (STE2). S. cerevisiae and C. albicans share several important overall similarities in their mating-type regulatory circuits. First, a cells can mate with α cells, forming nonmating a/α cells. Second, mating type is determined by orthologous site-specific DNA binding proteins encoded at the MAT locus. Mating-type regulation in S. cerevisiae has long served as a model system to understand principles of gene regulation, cell-to-cell signaling, polarized growth, cell fusion, and many other aspects of cell and molecular biology.
The Ribosome Is a Ribozyme

Ribosomes, the cellular factories that manufacture proteins, contain both RNA and protein, but exactly how all of the different ribosomal components contribute to protein synthesis is still not clear. Now, as Thomas Cech explains in his Perspective, atomic resolution of the structure of the large ribosomal subunit reveals that, as predicted by those convinced of a prebiotic RNA world, RNA is the catalytic component with proteins being the structural units that support and stabilize it ( Ban et al ., Nissen et al ., Muth et al .).
Chapter 12: Mechanistic Differences Between Chemical and Electrical Gating of Gap Junctions

Publisher Summary The mechanisms of gap junction channel gating have been studied in a variety of heterologous expression systems and cell lines. The data discussed in this chapter, however, derive from the paired Xenopus oocyte expression system, which allows more rapid analysis of connexins and their mutants than expression in the mammalian systems. The use of antisense oligonucleotides also allows the effective elimination of endogenous coupling, something that is difficult to achieve in the mammalian systems. Functional characterization can generally be accomplished within hours or days after the injection of cRNA. After microinjection of RNA encoding the gene of interest, the oocytes are stripped of their vitelline membrane and pushed together to form a pair from which intercellular currents can be recorded using the dual-cell two electrode voltage clamp technique. Virtually all connexins have been expressed in oocytes using this technique, and in almost all cases where the properties of connexins expressed in both oocytes and mammalian cells have been compared, they have proven to be identical.
Language and Social Relations: Norm and trope in kinship behavior

Introduction In this chapter I outline a reflexive approach to the study of kinship relations. As in previous chapters, the approach sketched here differentiates a reflexive model of semiotic activity from the actual activities that the model organizes and enables for those acquainted with it. Many of the features of semiotic activity discussed in previous chapters – the interanimation of linguistic and non-linguistic signs, the enregisterment of models of action, their ‘normalization’ for certain practices and contexts of action, the tropic manipulation of norms in behavior – play a critical role in the picture of kinship developed here. A general implication of this approach is that many traditional assumptions regarding kinship – for instance, that every culture has uniformly shared concepts of kinship, or that the comparative study of kinship requires a universal concept of kinship – are shown to be fundamental mistakes that a theory of kinship must move beyond. Debates about ‘concepts’ of kinship are debates about reflexive models of kinship behavior. We have already seen in previous chapters that models of behavior become relevant to the actual conduct of those acquainted with them only under conditions where text-level indexicality imposes some further structure on acts of their performance and construal. This issue has important consequences for the comparative study of kinship.
Direct laser acceleration in a capillary channel

A simple channel with a conducting boundary acts as a slow-wave structure under certain conditions. For infrared frequencies and “capillary” channels in a metal the wave moves at the speed of light and has a forward electric field component. For a diameter of ∼600 μm the channel wave can be directly driven by a long-wavelength laser (λ=10 μm). Acceleration gradients in the GeV/m range over many cm distances are projected using state-of-the-art high power CO2 lasers. Projected accelerations and possible limitations of this concept are discussed.
Automatic Selection of Dynamic Data Partitioning Schemes for Distributed-Memory Multicomputers

For distributed-memory multicomputers such as the Intel Paragon, the IBM SP-1/SP-2, the NCUBE/2, and the Thinking Machines CM-5, the quality of the data partitioning for a given application is crucial to obtaining high performance. This task has traditionally been the user's responsibility, but in recent years much effort has been directed to automating the selection of data partitioning schemes. Several researchers have proposed systems that are able to produce data distributions that remain in effect for the entire execution of an application. For complex programs, however, such static data distributions may be insufficient to obtain acceptable performance. The selection of distributions that dynamically change over the course of a program's execution adds another dimension to the data partitioning problem. In this paper, we present a technique that can be used to automatically determine which partitionings are most beneficial over specific sections of a program while taking into account the added overhead of performing redistribution. This system is being built as part of the PARADIGM (PARAllelizing compiler for DIstributed-memory General-purpose Multicomputers) project at the University of Illinois. The complete system will provide a fully automated means to parallelize programs written in a serial programming model obtaining high performance on a wide range of distributed-memory multicomputers.
Economic analysis of veterans affairs initiative to prevent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections.

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a common cause of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in the US. In October 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched the National MRSA Prevention Initiative, a nationwide effort to reduce MRSA transmission through universal screening and isolation.
Histidine Availability Alters Glucagon Gene Expression in Murine αTC6 Cells

Because individual amino acids (AA) stimulate glucagon release from pancreatic alpha-cells, the purpose of this study was to determine if individual AA could influence glucagon gene expression. Preproglucagon mRNA levels were 67% lower (P < 0.05) in mouse alphaTC6 cells incubated for 12 h in amino acid-free medium compared with cells incubated in complete medium containing all 20 AA. A time-course study indicated that alphaTC6 cells incubated in amino acid-free medium +/-1 micromol/L puromycin or amino acid-containing medium plus puromycin exhibited similar preproglucagon mRNA decreases over 12 h. When 1 micromol/L actinomycin was added to medium with or without AA, ppG mRNA concentrations decreased (P < 0.05) for 3h; however, values at 12 h were not different than those at 3 h. Deletions of single AA from complete medium demonstrated that only histidine removal or depletion reproduced the decrease in ppG mRNA observed in amino acid-free medium. We conclude that histidine is involved in the regulation of preproglucagon mRNA levels in alphaTC6 cells and that this regulation may be operative during both transcriptional and post-transcriptional events.
Optimising lot sizing and order scheduling with non-linear production rates

This research focuses on developing an optimum production schedule in a process with a non-linear production rate. Non-linear production processes may exhibit an increasing production rate as the lot size increases, which results in increasing efficiency in per-unit production. The degree to which this learning is carried forward into the next lot varies by process. Sometimes the learning effect experiences a 100% carryover into the next lot, but other times some learning is forgotten and there is less than a 100% carryover. We consider processes in which the learning effect is completely forgotten from lot to lot. In practice non-linear processes are often treated as linear. That is, the production data are collected and aggregated over time and an average production rate is calculated which leads to inaccuracies in the production schedule. Here we use a discretised linear model to approximate the non-linear process. Production occurs in discrete time periods within which the amount produced is known. Th...
Reliability and Reproducibility of a Sequential Extraction Procedure for Trace Metal Determination in Marsh Sediments in Southwest Louisiana

This work describes the rationale used to substantiate the reliability and reproducibility of results obtained from a sequential extraction procedure employed to determine trace metals in restored marsh sediments originating from Calcasieu River ship channel dredge spoils in southwestern Louisiana. The determination was conducted using flame and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Metals determined were Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn. The variations in concentrations between replicate samples and duplicate samples were not statistically significant. Concentrations of all trace metals studied were in agreement with previous studies.
Fertility preservation using controlled ovarian hyperstimulation and oocyte cryopreservation in a premenarcheal female with myelodysplastic syndrome.

Objective To report the first case of fertility preservation in a premenarcheal female by use of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation and oocyte cryopreservation. Design Case report. Setting Reproductive endocrinology and infertility unit of a tertiary care university-based medical center. Patient(s) A 13-year-old premenarcheal female with Tanner stage 3 breast development and Tanner stage 1 pubic hair diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, referred by her medical oncologist for fertility preservation before undergoing a potentially sterilizing antineoplastic therapy. Intervention(s) Evaluation of ovarian reserve, ovarian stimulation, transvaginal oocyte aspiration, in vitro maturation of immature oocytes, and oocyte cryopreservation. Main Outcome Measure(s) Cryopreservation of mature oocytes. Result(s) Successful controlled ovarian hyperstimulation allowed for the cryopreservation of 18 mature oocytes before the patient's gonadotoxic treatment. The oocyte retrieval and cryopreservation did not delay the patient's planned chemotherapy. Conclusion(s) Ovarian stimulation and oocyte cryopreservation can be successfully performed in premenarcheal/peripubertal patients, thus providing a viable alternative to ovarian tissue freezing for fertility preservation in the pediatric population.
Sickle cell resistance to in vivo hypoxia

THE rapid disappearance from circulation of human erythrocytes transfused to rats can be prevented if the animals are pretreated with ethyl palmitate (EP) and a cobra venom factor (CVF)1. The improvement in human erythrocyte survival in these animals is due to EP-induced impairment of reticuloendothelial function2 and to suppression of intravascular haemolysis through CVF inhibition of the third component of complement3. The halflife of normal human erythrocytes in the blood of untreated rats is less than 15 min, but is about 30 h in the EP and CVF treated rats4.
Serotonin-containing neurons: their possible role in pain and analgesia.

Abstract Experimental evidence is reviewed showing that brain and spinal cord serotonergic neurons are involved in nociceptive responses, as well as in the analgesic effects of opiate narcotics. This evidence, based on studies employing pharmacological, surgical, electrophysiological and dietary manipulations of central nervous system serotonergic neurotransmission, suggests that increases in the activity of brain and spinal cord serotonin neurons are associated with analgesia and enhanced antinociceptive drug potency, whereas decreases in the activities of these neurons correlate with hyperalgesia and diminished analgesic drug potency.
Exercise thallium-201 myocardial imaging in left main coronary artery disease: sensitive but not specific.

Abstract To determine the usefulness of thallium-201 scintigraphy for identifying left main coronary artery disease, the results of scintigraphy at rest and during exercise were compared in 24 patients with 50 percent or greater narrowing of the left main coronary artery and 80 patients with 50 percent or greater narrowing of one or more of the major coronary arteries but without left main coronary involvement. By segmental analysis of the scintigrams, perfusion defects were assigned to the left anterior descending, left circumflex or right coronary artery, singly or in combination, and the pattern of simultaneous left anterior descending and circumflex arterial defects was used to identify left main coronary artery disease. Of the 24 patients with left main coronary artery disease, 22 (92 percent) had abnormal exercise scintigrams. Despite this high sensitivity, the pattern of perfusion defects was not specific; the “left main pattern” was found in 3 patients (13 percent) with left main coronary artery disease but also in 3 (33 percent) of 9 patients with combined left anterior descending and left circumflex arterial disease, 4 (19 percent) of 21 patients with three vessel disease and 3 (6 percent) of 50 patients with one or two vessel disease but excluding the group with left anterior descending plus left circumflex arterial disease. The pattern of perfusion defects in the patients with left main coronary artery disease was determined by the location and severity of narrowings in the coronary arteries downstream from the left main arterial lesion. Concomitant lesions in other arteries were found in all patients with left main coronary disease (one vessel in 1 patient, two vessels in 7 patients and three vessels in 16). For this reason, it is unlikely that even with improvements in radiopharmaceutical agents and imaging techniques, myocardial perfusion scintigraphy will be sufficiently specific for definitive identification of left main coronary artery disease.
Intracellular endocardial calcium and myocardial function in rat hearts.

Abstract Analyses of [Ca2+]i in the isolated beating rat heart (using Indo-1 dye) demonstrated a direct relationship between developed pressure and each of the following: (a) systolic [Ca2+]i; (b) amplitude of [Ca2+]i transients; and (c) diastolic level of [Ca2+]i. Agents which increased cAMP levels, augmented amplitude of [Ca2+]i translents, and lowered the resting level of [Ca2+]i, thereby shifting the relationship between developed preesure and diastolic as well as systolic [Ca2+]i concentrations towards lower [Ca2+]i levels for comparable peak systolic pressure measurements at constant end-diastolic pressure. Addition of adenosine to the perfusate containing isoproterenol completely prevented any cAMP-induced cytosolic changes. Interventions which altered [Ca2+]i and developed pressure, but did not increase cAMP (e.g., perfusion pressure, extracellular calcium, calcium entry blockers, and alpha agonist), caused an increase in diastolic levels of [Ca2+]i commensurate with the augmentation in developed pressure and amplitude of [Ca2+]i translents. When the diastolic [Ca2+]i rose to 400 nmoles and the cAMP was below 4 nmolus the heart fibrillated. The heart fibrillated at a diastolic [Ca2+]i of 350 nmoles when the cAMP was elevated to 6 nmoles. The diastolic level of [Ca2+]i at which the heart begins to fibrillate is indicative of the effect contraction threshold.