cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A multi-protein receptor-ligand complex underlies combinatorial dendrite guidance choices in C. elegans

Ligand receptor interactions instruct axon guidance during development. How dendrites are guided to specific targets is less understood. The C. elegans PVD sensory neuron innervates muscle-skin interface with its elaborate dendritic branches. Here, we found that LECT-2, the ortholog of leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin-2 (LECT2), is secreted from the muscles and required for muscle innervation by PVD. Mosaic analyses showed that LECT-2 acted locally to guide the growth of terminal branches. Ectopic expression of LECT-2 from seam cells is sufficient to redirect the PVD dendrites onto seam cells. LECT-2 functions in a multi-protein receptor-ligand complex that also contains two transmembrane ligands on the skin, SAX-7/L1CAM and MNR-1, and the neuronal transmembrane receptor DMA-1. LECT-2 greatly enhances the binding between SAX-7, MNR-1 and DMA-1. The activation of DMA-1 strictly requires all three ligands, which establishes a combinatorial code to precisely target and pattern dendritic arbors.
Measuring the acoustoelectric interaction constant in cardiac tissue using ultrasound current source density imaging

This paper demonstrates the first measurement of the acoustoelectric (AE) interaction constant in cardiac tissue. Radiofrequency catheter ablation is performed in clinics as a standard treatment for cardiac arrhythmia with a high success rate. The procedure requires a detailed map of the heart's activation wave prior to treatment. Conventional electrical mapping techniques are slow, prone to registration errors and have limited spatial resolution. We have developed Ultrasound Current Source Density Imaging (UCSDI) as a new modality to map reentry currents in the heart. UCSDI is based on the AE effect and Ohm's Law. The AE effect states that ultrasound pressure can be converted to a change in resistivity. The conversion efficiency is determined by the AE interaction constant K, a fundamental property of all materials; it directly affects the magnitude of the detected signals in UCSDI. In this study, K was measured in rabbit heart tissue, NaCl and CuSO 4 solution with UCSDI. A custom chamber was fabricated to control the geometry for estimating K. A 1 MHz transducer was pulsed at 200 Hz to induce a local and transient modulation of resistivity. K was calculated to be 0.043±0.013% /MPa in the heart based on the AE signal recorded with UCSDI. The value of K was in range of 0.9% NaCl. This provides a baseline estimate of K for mapping reentry currents in the heart with UCSDI.
Betting against Beta or Demand for Lottery

Frazzini and Pedersen (2014) document that a betting against beta strategy that takes long positions in low-beta stocks and short positions in high-beta stocks generates a large abnormal return of 6.6% per year and they attribute this phenomenon to funding liquidity risk. We nd strong conrmation of their results on U.S. equity data, but provide evidence of an alternative explanation. Portfolio and regression analyses show that the betting against beta phenomenon disappears after controlling for the lottery characteristics of the stocks in our sample, while other measures of rm characteristics and risk fail to explain the eect. Furthermore, the betting against beta phenomenon only exists when the price impact of lottery demand falls disproportionately on high-beta stocks. We also nd that this lottery characteristic aggregates at the portfolio level and therefore cannot be diversied away. Finally, factor models that include our lottery demand factor explain the abnormal returns of the betting against beta portfolio as well as the betting against beta factor generated by Frazzini and Pedersen.
Ecological factors influencing lifetime productivity of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) in an Alaskan stream

Ecological factors underlying freshwater productivity and marine survival of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) were evaluated by analyzing a 30 year time series of local environmental data and censuses of migrating adult and juvenile fish collected at Auke Creek, Alaska. Freshwater productivity was influenced primarily by spawning habitat limitation and less so by stream temperature and flow. Furthermore, a trend of declining freshwater productivity was detected over the time series, which may be related to observed declines in spawning substrate quality and in the duration of the adult migration. Marine survival was highly variable among brood years and was influenced by physical conditions in the nearshore marine environment; warm sea-surface temperatures during nearshore residency were associated with higher marine survival rates, whereas high stream flows late in the fry emigration period were associated with reduced marine survival. Simulations of adult recruitment, based on ecological factors in ...
Place and Punishment: The Spatial Context of Mass Incarceration

Research on race and urban poverty views incarceration as a new and important aspect of social disadvantage in inner-city neighborhoods. However, in quantitative studies of the spatial distribution of imprisonment across neighborhoods, the pattern outside urban areas has not been examined. This paper offers a unique analysis of disaggregated prison admissions and investigates the spatial concentrations and levels of admissions for the entire state of Massachusetts. Spatial regressions estimate census tract-level prison admission rates in relation to racial demographics, social and economic disadvantage, arrest rates, and violent crime; an analysis of outlier neighborhoods examines the surprisingly high admission rates in small cities. Regression analysis yields three findings. First, incarceration is highly spatially concentrated: census tracts covering 15% of the state’s population account for half of all prison admissions. Second, across urban and non-urban areas, incarceration is strongly related to concentrated disadvantage and the share of the black population, even after controlling for arrest and crime rates. Third, the analysis shows admission rates in small urban satellite cities and suburbs comprise the highest rates in the sample and far exceed model predictions. Mass incarceration emerged not just to manage distinctively urban social problems but was characteristic of a broader mode of governance evident in communities often far-removed from deep inner-city poverty. These notably high levels and concentrations in small cities should be accounted for when developing theories of concentrated disadvantage or policies designed to ameliorate the impacts of mass incarceration on communities.
Chapter 1 Introduction: The Force of Landscape

Voris explains that the “landscape plays” Stein began writing in 1922 represent a critical breakthrough and introduces this period of writing as a case study for a new critical approach. The landscape homology is a painterly analogy that allows Stein to address the problems of time sense she identifies in conventional drama by creating spatial effects in composition. This in turn gives her new impetus and a spatial method for re-examining the temporality associated with knowledge. Voris summarizes critical debates concerning the interpretation of meaning in Stein’s work, including competing approaches of Marjorie Perloff and Jennifer Ashton. She proposes that the landscape homology enacts Stein’s radical empiricism, and that we might use Stein’s model of knowledge and her method of making sense in place of rationalism. Subsequent chapters trace how Stein’s epistemology develops in her landscape writing and why it results in a new method of portraiture.
Flow derivatives and curvatures for a normal shock

A detached bow shock wave is strongest where it is normal to the upstream velocity. While the jump conditions across the shock are straightforward, many properties, such as the shock’s curvatures and derivatives of the pressure, along and normal to a normal shock, are indeterminate. A novel procedure is introduced for resolving the indeterminacy when the unsteady flow is three-dimensional and the upstream velocity may be nonuniform. Utilizing this procedure, normal shock relations are provided for the nonunique orientation of the flow plane and the corresponding shock’s curvatures and, e.g., the downstream normal derivatives of the pressure and the velocity components. These algebraic relations explicitly show the dependence of these parameters on the shock’s shape and the upstream velocity gradient. A simple relation, valid only for a normal shock, is obtained for the average curvatures. Results are also obtained when the shock is an elliptic paraboloid shock. These derivatives are both simple and proportional to the average curvature.
Binaural pitch fusion in bilateral cochlear implant users

Objectives Binaural pitch fusion is the fusion of stimuli that evoke different pitches between the ears into a single auditory image. Individuals who use hearing aids or bimodal cochlear implants (CIs) experience abnormally broad binaural pitch fusion, such that sounds differing in pitch by as much as 3-4 octaves are fused across ears, leading to spectral averaging and speech perception interference. The goal of this study was to determine if adult bilateral CI users also experience broad binaural pitch fusion. Design Stimuli were pulse trains delivered to individual electrodes. Fusion ranges were measured using simultaneous, dichotic presentation of reference and comparison stimuli in opposite ears, and varying the comparison stimulus to find the range that fused with the reference stimulus. Results Bilateral CI listeners had binaural pitch fusion ranges varying from 0 to 12 mm (average 6.1 ± 3.9 mm), where 12 mm indicates fusion over all electrodes in the array. No significant correlations of fusion range were observed with any subject factors related to age, hearing loss history, or hearing device history, or with any electrode factors including interaural electrode pitch mismatch, pitch match bandwidth, or within-ear electrode discrimination abilities. Conclusions Bilateral CI listeners have abnormally broad fusion, similar to hearing aid and bimodal CI listeners. This broad fusion may explain the variability of binaural benefits for speech perception in quiet and in noise in bilateral CI users.
Graph constrained multi-model unmixing using LIDAR information

Spectral unmixing is a challenging, ill-posed, inverse problem that may result in infinitely many solutions, most of which are meaningless. Constraints must be added to guide the search process and narrow the space of possible solutions. Multiple sources of information can be used to find such constraints. In this paper, we introduce a semi-supervised context dependent hyperspectral unmixing algorithm, called Graph Constrained Multi-Model Unmixing (GC-MMU), that uses partial supervision from a LIDAR sensor to help constrain the unmixing. The algorithm is based on a novel objective function that combines context identification, semi-supervision and linear spectral unmixing into a joint function. The LIDAR image is used to generate the constraints allowing for meaningful contexts. The linear unmixing provides optimal endmembers and abundances for each context. An alternating optimization algorithm is derived. GC-MMU is evaluated using real hyperspectral and LIDAR data. We show that GC-MMU is able to identify meaningful and coherent contexts, and appropriate endmembers within each context.
Automated Calibration of Balanced Control to Optimize Performance of Silicon Photonic Switch Fabrics

Highly-efficient, fabric-wide calibration of balanced control for optical switch fabrics without built-in power-detectors is first realized with fully-automated implementation. This technique co-optimizes thermo-optic and electro-optic phase elements, correcting phase-error and power-imbalance simultaneously for optimized performance.
Detection of Immunoglobulin G Antibodies to Taenia solium Cysticercosis Antigen Glutathione- S-Transferase-rT24H in Malian Children Using Multiplex Bead Assay

Blood samples from 805 students attending 42 elementary schools in Mopti, Sikasso, and Koulikoro regions, and Bamako district in Mali participated in a school water, sanitation, and hygiene intervention. Immunoglobulin (Ig) G responses to several antigens/pathogens were assessed by a multiplex bead assay (MBA), and the recombinant Taenia solium T24H antigen was included. Of all students tested, 8.0% were positive to rT24H, but in some schools 25-30%. A cluster of 12 widespread school locations showed not only a relative risk of 3.23 for T. solium exposure and significantly higher IgG responses (P < 0.001) but also significantly lower elevation (P = 0.04) (m, above sea level) compared with schools outside the cluster. All schools at elevations < 425 m showed significantly higher IgG responses (P = 0.017) than schools at elevations ≥ 425 m. The MBA is an excellent serological platform that provides cost-effective opportunities to expand testing in serosurveys.
Lab exercises for a discrete structures course: exploring logic and relational algebra with Alloy

Students in computing disciplines need a strong basis in the fundamentals of discrete mathematics, but traditional offline approaches to teaching this material provide limited opportunities for the kind of interactive learning that computing students experience in their programming assignments. We have been using the Alloy language and analyzer to teach concepts in discrete structures (relational algebra, logic, and graphs) in an exploratory, programming-oriented way. Alloy, however, constitutes a new programming paradigm for introductory students, and careful mediation is needed to keep students on track. We use the familiar programming lab format, where students work on small-scope problems co-located with instructors, to provide guidance as students wrestle with the languages of relational algebra and predicate logic through Alloy. We describe selected lab exercises, and report on initial findings based on our experiences with students.
Hypoxia-Induced Right Ventricular Aneurysm

Aneurysm is a permanent abnormal dilatation of an artery or ventricle resulting from localized structural weakness and stretching of the arterial or ventricular wall due to high transmural pressure. Aneurysms occur mainly in systemic arteries and, to a lesser extent, in the left ventricle.
Stimulus specific induction of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) gene expression.

The movement of blood monocytes from the peripheral vasculature into an area of inflammation is an ill defined process. Typically the recruitment of monocytes is associated with a characteristic temporal delay, as these mononuclear phagocytes are histologic markers of chronic cell-mediated responses or delayed type hypersensitivity reactions. While monocytes are typical cells that are found in cell mediated inflammatory lesions, neutrophils are conspicuous by their absence in these lesions. This observation is important for a number of reasons. First, it is apparent that different inflammatory cells are required to perform different functions during the development and maintenance of different inflammatory responses. Second, the low numbers of monocytes in acute inflammatory lesions and high numbers associated with chronic inflammation suggests that specific recruitment signals are expressed to coincide with acute or chronic inflammation. Finally, redundancy exists with regard to chemotactic factors. This is especially true of those chemotactic factors which exhibit activity for more than one population of inflammatory cells. For example, a number of well studied chemotactic factors, such as C5a, leukotriene B4, and fMLP, are potent agents for the movement of both monocytes and neutrophils (Table 1). As mentioned above, monocytes and neutrophils are relatively faithful markers for chronic and acute inflammation, respectively.
Sources of Anisotropy and Extraordinary Magnetic Ordering in Cerium and Actinide Intermetallics

The cerium and light actinide monopnictides of NaCl - structure exhibit highly unusual magnetic structures. This behavior is strikingly similar for the cerium and the light actinide monopnictides in the existence of extremely strong anisotropy favoring 〈100〉 alignment, and in the fact that often there are transitions between unusual linear magnetic structures.
Spatial Statistics in SAS

From the abacus to the adding machine to the supercomputer, for centuries humans have used aids to enable mathematical computations. As the mathematical tabulations grew in complexity, so did the ‘machines’ that enabled more complex calculations. This in turn presented the problem of implementing beautifully written formulas in a form a computer ‘aid’ could understand. Today statistics specifically has a huge variety of software implementations available to choose from, some of which focus on a specific subdiscipline of statistics, while others encompass statistics more broadly. SAS Institute, as did many specialized software companies, evolved from an academic background in partnership with IBM, and its statistical package is used widely in statistics as well as a plethora of disciplines that rely on statistical results. Here we describe some of the ways SAS has been used in the past for spatial statistics, and some of the more recent additions made to explicitly include spatial information and geographic visualization, and give two SAS implementation examples, the calculation of Moran’s I and the eigenvector spatial filtering spatial statistical technique.
Animal Language Research: Marine Mammals Re-Enter the Controversy

A horse named Clever Hans, who lived in Germany at the turn of the century, drew world-wide attention because he could apparently talk and solve arithmetical problems. By tapping with his front leg the horse could not only do arithmetic, but could also combine letters into words, words into sentences, and thus express his thoughts. What his questioners were unaware of was that Clever Hans used a simple “go” or “no-go” set of cues. The “go” cue was a slight leaning forward by the questioner, the “no-go” cue was an inadvertent straightening-up by the questioner when the correct number of taps had been reached (Pfungst, 1911; Sebeok and Rosenthal, 1981). Every time the correct number of taps was given the horse received a food reward. There are two lessons to be learned from the Clever Hans Effect, as it has come to be known. The first lesson is an obvious one; take precautions to prevent inadvertent cueing of subjects in psychological experiments. The second, and related, lesson is that one should interpret animal behavior parsimoniously rather than otherwise, i.e. use simple and straightforward assumptions and explanations of behavior rather than invoking uncalled-for complex processes.
Measuring risk-importance in a Dynamic PRA framework

Abstract Risk Importance Measures (RIMs) are indexes that are used to rank Structures, Systems, and Components (SSCs). The most used measures are: Risk Reduction Worth, Risk Achievement Worth, Birnbaum and Fussell-Vesely. Once obtained from Classical Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA), these risk measures can be effectively employed to identify the most risk-important SSCs. The objective of this paper is to present a series of methods that can be employed to measure risk importance of SSCs from Dynamic PRA. In contrast to Classical PRA methods, Dynamic PRA methods couple stochastic models with system simulators to determine risk associated to complex systems such as nuclear plants. Compared to Classical PRA methods, Dynamic PRA approaches can evaluate with higher resolution the safety impact of timing and sequencing of events on the accident progression. The developed set of RIMs are directly derived from Classical RIMs and adapted to deal with simulation-based data. We present a series of analytical tests to show how RIMs can be obtained from a Dynamic PRA data and a comparison of the RIMs obtained from Classical and Dynamic PRA for a Large Break Loss Of Coolant Accident (LB-LOCA) initiating event of a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). The obtained results have highlighted differences among the two PRA approaches in the predicted final outcome of few accident sequences. This have consequently affected the risk importance of a subset of basic events.
Strategy in war and peace: A critical introduction: by Aaron Edwards, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2017, 250 pp.

The teaching and learning of most practical arts includes a substantial physical component that is not only important, but absolutely critical. An institution that purported to teach drawing, but w...
An Efficient Coupled Dipole Method for the Accurate Calculation of van der Waals Interactions at the Nanoscale

The van der Waals (VDW) force arises from purely quantum mechanical charge fluctuations and is variously called a dispersion or London or Casimir force. This often considered as weak, yet ubiquitous, attractive interaction is important in many nanoscale systems. This chapter provides an overview of the Coupled Dipole Method (CDM), an atomistic and accurate computational method widely adopted to predict the VDW forces between dielectric nanomaterials. There is a concern about the burden of memory and computing time needed to solve eigenvalue problems by either diagonalization or iteration, which have hindered the implementation of CDM for large systems. Here, an efficient way, named trace-CDM (TCDM), is presented. TCDM uses the simple fact that the trace of a square matrix is equal to the sum of its eigenvalues and thus calculates the accurate VDW energies without solving for the eigenvalues. Four examples are solved to demonstrate the advantages of the method.
Abandoning Medical Authority: When Medical Professionals Confront Stigmatized Adolescent Sex and the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine:

Despite authority’s centrality to the medical profession, providers routinely forgo their medical authority during clinical encounters. Research focuses on patients challenging medical authority bu...
Illicit Drugs Breaking One Heart at a Time

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TCM) is triggered by multiple physical and psychological stressors and frequently mimics acute coronary syndrome. Acute alcohol intoxication as a trigger for TCM has been rarely reported as TCM is usually associated with alcohol withdrawal, not intoxication. The authors report a 41-year-old woman with polysubstance and alcohol abuse history, who presented with acute alcohol intoxication and electrocardiogram demonstrating ventricular tachycardia with syncope. Laboratory parameters revealed elevated Troponin-I and metabolic acidosis. Coronary angiogram was unrevealing for coronary atherosclerosis and she was managed conservatively for acute heart failure from TCM.
Parent Tutoring, Instructional Hierarchy, and Reading: A Case Study.

AbstractParents of three second-grade students identified as at-risk readers were trained to tutor their children. The reading interventions were either accuracy (i.e., modeling and phrase drill) o...
Availability of health facilities and utilization of maternal and newborn postnatal care in rural Malawi

This study explored the role of health facility availability as it relates to maternal and newborn PNC use in rural Malawi. Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) 2015–16 data, MDHS 2015–16 household cluster GPS data, Malawi Service Provision Assessment (MSPA) 2013–14 data and MSPA 2013–14 facility GPS data were used. Household clusters were spatially linked with facilities using buffers. Descriptive analyses were performed and generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to determine the effects of having different types of facilities at varying distances from household clusters on receipt of maternal and newborn PNC in rural Malawi. In rural Malawi, around 96% of women had facilities providing PNC within 10 km of where they live. Among women who have clinic-level facilities within 5 km of where they live, around 25% had clinic-level facilities that provide PNC. For rural women who gave birth in the past 5 years preceding the survey, only about 3% received maternal PNC within 24 h and about 16% received maternal PNC within the first week. As for newborn PNC, 3% of newborns had PNC within 24 h and about 26% had newborn PNC within the first week. PNC mostly took place at facilities (94% for women and 95% for newborns). For women who delivered at home, having a health center providing PNC within 5 km was positively associated with maternal and newborn PNC. For women who delivered at facilities, having a health center providing PNC within 5 km was positively associated with maternal PNC and having a health center providing PNC between 5 km and 10 km was positively associated with both maternal and newborn PNC. Regardless of the place of delivery and distance band, having a clinic-level facility providing PNC did not have significant positive effects on maternal and newborn PNC. Providers should be trained to perform quality PNC at all facilities. It would also be important to address concerns related to health workers. Lastly, it would be key to increase community awareness about the importance of seeking timely PNC and about the utility of lower-level facilities for receiving preventative PNC.
Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Causes Long-Term Deficits in Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Cognition

Young children who have sustained severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can suffer from debilitating neurocognitive deficits. Impairment of adult hippocampal neurogenesis is associated with cognitive...
Internal jugular venous aneurysm-A report of two cases with literature review.

Abstract Internal jugular venous aneurysm (IJVA) is a rare entity that usually remains asymptomatic with only rare complications. We report two cases of IJVA. Both patients presented with a palpable soft tissue mass in the neck and were found to have IJVA on imaging with associated lymphadenopathy. In both cases, the aneurysms and involved lymph nodes were resected, with the jugular vein being primarily reconstructed. There are only a few case reports involving IJVA, and treatment guidelines are not well established. Whereas nonoperative management is frequently chosen, the most common indication for surgery is cosmetic; both management options have favorable outcomes.
Direct and Transitive 3D Localization Using a Zone-Based Positioning Service

We propose a novel indoor optical positioning technique called zone-based positioning. The approach enables coordinate prediction of a mobile user device with the assistance of trusted optical anchor points, angle diversity, and optical wireless communications. Then, by a process called transitive positioning, additional targets within the field-of-view of the device can also be positioned once the user device is localized. Through modeling and analysis, the predicted performance of the approach reaches less than 5cm mean square error for direct 3D positioning with insignificant degradations for iterative transitive positioning. Experimental validations of the models using a prototype zone positioning unit demonstrate the potential for the approach including opportunities for additional accuracy refinement.
Developing a visual art community of practice: a participatory action research study of a museum-based partnership for art teachers in Los Angeles

This article highlights the development and outcomes of a visual art educator community of practice (CoP) cultivated in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, known as the ...
Porphyria Cutanea Tarda Masquerading as Systemic Sclerosis: Two Cases Demonstrating an Important Clinical Observation.

Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) is a heme biosynthesis disorder characterized by photosensitive bullae and skin fragility1. Sclerodermoid changes and dystrophic calcification are uncommon, occurring in 18% and 8% of patients, respectively1. Scarring alopecia in PCT, or alopecia porphyrinica, is rarely described, with 5 reports to date2,3,4,5,6,7. A 75-year-old man with longstanding facial and …
Androgen receptor positively regulates gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor in pituitary gonadotropes

Within pituitary gonadotropes, the gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor (GnRHR) receives hypothalamic input from GnRH neurons that is critical for reproduction. Previous studies have suggested that androgens may regulate GnRHR, although the mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that androgens positively regulate Gnrhr mRNA in mice. We then investigated the effects of androgens and androgen receptor (AR) on Gnrhr promoter activity in immortalized mouse LβT2 cells, which represent mature gonadotropes. We found that AR positively regulates the Gnrhr proximal promoter, and that this effect requires a hormone response element (HRE) half site at -159/-153 relative to the transcription start site. We also identified nonconsensus, full-length HREs at -499/-484 and -159/-144, which are both positively regulated by androgens on a heterologous promoter. Furthermore, AR associates with the Gnrhr promoter in ChIP. Altogether, we report that GnRHR is positively regulated by androgens through recruitment of AR to the Gnrhr proximal promoter.
Comparison of linear combination modeling strategies for edited magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 3 T.

J-difference-edited spectroscopy is a valuable approach for the in vivo detection of γ-aminobutyric-acid (GABA) with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). A recent expert consensus article recommends linear combination modeling (LCM) of edited MRS but does not give specific details regarding implementation. This study explores different modeling strategies to adapt LCM for GABA-edited MRS. Sixty-one medial parietal lobe GABA-edited MEGA-PRESS spectra from a recent 3-T multisite study were modeled using 102 different strategies combining six different approaches to account for co-edited macromolecules (MMs), three modeling ranges, three baseline knot spacings, and the use of basis sets with or without homocarnosine. The resulting GABA and GABA+ estimates (quantified relative to total creatine), the residuals at different ranges, standard deviations and coefficients of variation (CVs), and Akaike information criteria, were used to evaluate the models' performance. Significantly different GABA+ and GABA estimates were found when a well-parameterized MM3co basis function was included in the model. The mean GABA estimates were significantly lower when modeling MM3co , while the CVs were similar. A sparser spline knot spacing led to lower variation in the GABA and GABA+ estimates, and a narrower modeling range-only including the signals of interest-did not substantially improve or degrade modeling performance. Additionally, the results suggest that LCM can separate GABA and the underlying co-edited MM3co . Incorporating homocarnosine into the modeling did not significantly improve variance in GABA+ estimates. In conclusion, GABA-edited MRS is most appropriately quantified by LCM with a well-parameterized co-edited MM3co basis function with a constraint to the nonoverlapped MM0.93 , in combination with a sparse spline knot spacing (0.55 ppm) and a modeling range of 0.5-4 ppm.
Analysis of Radiosensitivity of in Vitro Derived Apple

Studies on obtaining mutant apple trees by different methods have long been carried on. However it is a new development to obtain mutants by treating mutagens to the expiants taken from invitro. This method also offers the opportunity to work with a large quantity of material and under controlled conditions. The objective of this research carried out with a breeding line showing radiosensitivity, was to determine the optimum x-ray dosage.
Behavioral adaptations of the cubozoan medusa Tripedalia cystophora for feeding on copepod ( Dioithona oculata ) swarms

The cubozoan medusa Tripedalia cystophora preys on dense swarms of the copepod Dioithona oculata in the mangrove prop-root habitat of Puerto Rico. The copepod swarms form in shafts of sunlight that penetrate the mangrove canopy during the day. T. cystophora are found primarily within the same illuminated areas, feeding heavily on the dense swarms of copepods. Laboratory studies were conducted to examine the behavioral adaptations of T. cystophora that allow them to remain within these dense copepod swarms. In the presence of vertical light shafts, T. cystophora showed both a significant change in swimming speed and a significant increase in turning rate. T. cystophora turn abruptly when they leave a vertical shaft of light and quickly re-enter. The presence or absence of copepod prey, either in swarms or dispersed, had no significant effect on T. cystophora swimming speed or turning behavior. Feeding rates of T. cystophora on the copepod D. oculata increase rapidly with copepod density, and maximum rates are not achieved until the high densities associated with swarms are reached. It seems doubtful that these small medusae could survive without their ability to encounter and exploit these dense swarms of copepods.
Biallelic expression of HRAS and MUCDHL in human and mouse.

At least eight genes clustered in 1 Mb of DNA on human chromosome (Chr) 11p15.5 are subject to parental imprinting, with monoallelic expression in one or more tissues. Orthologues of these genes show conserved linkage and imprinting on distal Chr 7 of mice. The extended imprinted region has a bipartite structure, with at least two differentially methylated DNA elements (DMRs) controlling the imprinting of two sub-domains. We previously described three biallelically expressed genes (MRPL23, 2G7 and TNNT3) in 100 kb of DNA immediately downstream of the imprinted H19 gene, suggesting that H19 marks one border of the imprinted region. Here we extend this analysis to two additional downstream genes, HRAS and MUCDHL (mu-protocadherin). We find that these genes are biallelically expressed in multiple fetal and adult tissues, both in humans and in mice. The mouse orthologue of a third gene, DUSP8, located between H19 and MUCDHL, is also expressed biallelically. The DMR immediately upstream of H19 frequently shows a net gain of methylation in Wilms tumors, either via Chr 11p15.5 loss of heterozygosity (LOH) or loss of imprinting (LOI), but changes in methylation in CpG-rich sequences upstream and within the MUCDHL gene are rare in these tumors and do not correlate with LOH or LOI. These findings are further evidence for a border of the imprinted region immediately downstream of H19, and the data allow the construction of an imprinting map that includes more than 20 genes, distributed over 3 Mb of DNA on Chr 11p15.5.
Infrared properties of ferropericlase Mg 1-x Fe x O : Experiment and theory

The temperature dependence of the reflectance spectra of magnesium oxide (MgO) and ferropericlase (Mg1-xFexO, for x=0.06 and x=0.27) have been measured over a wide frequency range (~50 to 32000 cm-1) at 295 and 6 K. The complex dielectric function has been determined from a Kramers-Kronig analysis of the reflectance. The spectra of the doped materials resembles pure MgO in the infrared region, but with much broader resonances. We use a shell model to calculate the dielectric function of ferropericlase, including both anharmonic phonon-phonon interactions and disorder scattering. These data are relevant to understanding the heat conductivity of ferropericlase in the earth's lower mantle.
Structural study of the blood group A active glycolipids of hog gastric mucosa.

Abstract Two forms of blood group A active glycolipids (L and U) containing oligosaccharides of 7 sugar residues have been isolated from hog stomach mucosa lipid extract (Slomiany, A., and Horowitz, M. I. (1973) J. Biol. Chem. 248, 6232–6238. Partial acid hydrolysis, infrared spectroscopy, periodate oxidation, permethylation, and sequential enzymatic degradation were used to elucidate the glycolipid structures. The structures were shown to be: [see PDF for equation]
Single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy using phospholipid bilayer nanodiscs

Nanodiscs are a new class of model membranes that are being used to solubilize and study a range of integral membrane proteins and membrane-associated proteins. Unlike other model membranes, the Nanodisc bilayer is bounded by a scaffold protein coat that confers enhanced stability and a narrow particle size distribution. The bilayer diameter can be precisely controlled by changing the diameter of the protein coat. All these properties make Nanodiscs excellent model membranes for single-molecule fluorescence applications. In this chapter, we describe our work using Nanodiscs to apply total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM), fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), and Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to study the integral membrane protein cytochrome P450 3A4 and the peripheral membrane-binding proteins islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) and alpha-synuclein, respectively. The monodisperse size distribution of Nanodiscs enhances control over the oligomeric state of the membrane protein of interest, and facilitates accurate solution-based measurements as well. Nanodiscs also comprise an excellent system to stably immobilize integral membrane proteins in a bilayer without covalent modification, enabling a range of surface-based experiments where accurate localization of the protein of interest is required.
Local closed world semantics: grounded circumscription for description logics

We present an improved local closed world extension for description logics. It is based on circumscription, and deviates from previous circumscriptive description logics [1,3] in that extensions of minimized predicates may contain only extensions of named individuals in the knowledge base. Besides an (arguably) higher intuitive appeal, the improved semantics is applicable to expressive description logics without loss of decidability.
Properties of Synchronous and Asynchronous Release During Pulse Train Depression in Cultured Hippocampal Neurons

Neurotransmitter release displays at least two kinetically distinct components in response to a single action potential. The majority of release occurs synchronously with action-potential-triggered...
Comparison of methods of measuring HER-2 in metastatic breast cancer patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy

PURPOSE: HER-2 is overexpressed in 20% to 30% of human breast cancer and is associated with poor outcome. Studies suggest an association between HER-2 overexpression and resistance to alkylating agents. To further evaluate this relationship, we assessed the interaction of HER-2, measured by different methods, and outcome after dose intensification with alkylating agents in metastatic breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From 1988 to 1995 at Duke University, 425 patients with metastatic breast cancer were enrolled in a study of high-dose alkylating agents (HDC) with autologous cellular support after doxorubicin-based therapy (AFM). HER-2 was measured in serum for shed extracellular domain (ECD) and in tissue by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). RESULTS: HER-2 ECD was positive in 29% (19 of 65) of patients pre-AFM and in 11.7% (34 of 290) pre-HDC. Higher pre-AFM and higher pre-HDC HER-2 ECD predicted worse overall survival (P = .045 and P = .0096, respectively). HER-2 ...
Learning from Error, Learning from Each Other:A Peer Review Process in Texas

“To err is human” is more than a famous line by poet Alexander Pope; it is also the title of a 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report addressing a safer health care system while recognizing the fallibility of clinicians. Morbidity and Mortality Conferences (M&MC) originated in the early 1900s and provide a time-honored method of learning from error. The Rural & Community Health Institute (RCHI) created a process to meet a need for M&MC in rural Texas. The RCHI reviews selected charts from 58 rural hospitals and facilitates discussions via teleconference at four to six meetings per week representing a variety of specialties and service units. Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, hospital administrators, and health care students participate in these calls. Learning from error allows us to learn from each other.
Die zeitaufgelöste Photoakustische Kalorimetrie und ihre Studienobjekte: von Carbenen bis zu Proteinen

Warum wurden Molekule immer nur beobachtet und nie belauscht? Uber ein Jahrhundert lang studierten Chemiker Reaktionen mit verschiedenen spektroskopischen Methoden, um etwas uber die Struktur, das dynamische Verhalten und die Reaktivitat der von ihnen untersuchten Molekule zu erfahren. Sie haben jedoch nie zugehort, wenn ihre Molekule reagierten. Obwohl man das photoakustische Phanomen schon seit 1880 kennt, hat sich die Technik erst in den letzten zwanzig Jahren so weit entwickelt, das die Schallwellen, die von reagierenden Molekulen ausgehen, zeitlich aufgelost und die in ihnen enthaltenen Informationen entschlusselt werden konnen. Diese Informationen sind wirklich reichhaltig, denn man kann aus einer photoakustischen Welle etwas uber die Dynamik und die Grose von Enthalpieanderungen sowie uber die Dynamik von Anderungen des Molekulvolumens bei einer Reaktion erfahren. Diese Ubersicht beschreibt die Entwicklung der zeitaufgelosten photoakustischen Kalorimetrie und ihre Anwendung auf eine Vielzahl von organischen, metallorganischen und biochemischen Reaktionen.
Is the τ a Paraelectron

I show that the equality of the rates for $\ensuremath{\tau}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{+}+\mathrm{neutrinos}$ and ${\ensuremath{\tau}}^{+}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{e}^{+}+\mathrm{neutrinos}$ does not necessarily exclude the possibility that ${\ensuremath{\tau}}^{+}$ is a paraelectron with the same lepton number as ${e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, but it does require some rather unconventional decay matrix element. Different matrix elements predict different values for Michel $\ensuremath{\rho}$ parameters and daughter lepton helicities; tests for the paraelectron assignment occur in ${e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ annihilation.
Fargo: The violent production of the masochistic contract as a cinematic concept

Using Deleuze and Guattari's philosophy of “immanence”; and “concepts”; as an entry into the violent 1995 film Fargo, this essay argues for the necessity to produce a cinematic rhetoric of violence that gets beyond the crippling moralizing framework provided by the prevailing freedom‐of‐speech/censorship debate. Fargo is exceptionally well‐suited for developing this new cinematic rhetoric because the film connects “violence”; as a concept to a more traditional philosophical/rhetorical issue: that of the production of truth and fiction. By carefully mapping out and responding to Fargo’s immanent forces‐especially the film's incessant alterations between narrative speed and slowness that crucially frame its violence‐this essay works with the film to produce the masochistic contract as a specifically cinematic concept. Since Fargo not only suggests an essentially masochistic aspect of (violent) film but actually stages the masochistic contract as a genuinely cinematic concept, an encounter with this film nec...
Argument and conceptual engagement

Abstract Dole and Sinatra (1998) have argued that promoting the level of engagement necessary to facilitate conceptual change could be achieved by “weighing issues and arguments” (p. 121). The present study sought to test the efficacy of a conceptual change intervention based on argumentation. Participants who were asked to argue in favor of an alternative explanation of a physics problem (the scientific explanation) were more likely to show improved reasoning on that problem than control participants who were asked to solve the problem without argumentation. We argue that this intervention is consistent with other pedagogical techniques that promote conceptual change (such as conducting experiments and benchmark lessons, diSessa & Minstrell, 1998 , or generating self-explanations, Chi, 2000 ), in that it fosters high engagement and opportunities to juxtapose ideas, with the added advantage of ease of implementation and significant effects with little investment of instructional time.
A review of the effects of prenatal or early postnatal ethanol exposure on brain ligand-gated ion channels.

Background: Ligand-gated ion channels mediate fast excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission in the developing central nervous system. These channels have been shown to have roles in neuronal proliferation, differentiation, and programmed cell death. Numerous studies over the past 10 years indicate that prenatal and/or early postnatal ethanol exposure affects neurotransmitter-gated ion channels. Methods: We conducted a review of the relevant literature, identified by a computer-assisted literature search. This review presents an overview of studies performed with experimental preparations from the brains of rodents exposed to ethanol in utero and/or during the neonatal period and summarizes some of the salient issues that have developed in the course of these investigations. Differences in ethanol exposure paradigms and blood alcohol concentrations obtained in these studies are highlighted, and directions for future research are suggested. Results: Most studies have focused on the effects of prenatal or early postnatal ethanol exposure on NMDA receptors. These studies show that ethanol exposure affects ligand binding, subunit expression, and function of this receptor. Fewer studies have examined ethanol's effects on ligand-gated ion channels other than NMDA receptors. For instance, a study reported changes in ligand binding to hippocampal kainate receptors. Another study found alterations in modulation of GABAA receptors by benzodiazepines and neurosteroids. Conclusions: These studies suggest that the effects of ethanol on brain ion channels may have a role in the pathophysiology of Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
Reactions of Azotobacter vinelandii nitrogenase using Ti(III) as reductant

Nitrogenase-catalyzed reactions using Ti(III) were examined under a wide variety of conditions to determine the suitability of Ti(III) to serve as a general nitrogenase reductant. Solutions prepared from H2-reduced TiCl3, aluminum-reduced TiCl3, TiCl2, evaporated TiCl3 from an HCl, solution, and TiF3 were evaluated as reductants. Three general types of reactivity were observed. The first showed that, below Ti(III) concentrations of about 0.50 mM, nitrogenase catalysis utilized Ti(III) in a first-order reaction. The second showed that, above 0.50 mM, the rate of nitrogenase catalysis was zero order in Ti(III), indicating the enzyme was saturated with this reductant. Above 2.0-5.0 mM, nitrogenase catalysis was inhibited by Ti(III) depending on the titanium source used for solution preparation. This inhibition was investigated and found to be independent of the buffer type and pH, while high salt and citrate concentrations caused moderate inhibition. [Ti(IV)] above 2.0-3.0 mM and [Ti(III)] above about 5.0 mM were inhibitory. ATP/2e values were 4-5 for [Ti(III)] at or below 1.0-2.0 mM, 2.0 from 5.0 to 7.0 mM Ti(III) where nitrogenase is not inhibited, and 2.0 above 7.0 mM Ti(III) where severe inhibition occurs. For nitrogenase-catalyzed reactions using Ti(III) as reductant, the potential of the solution changes with time as the Ti(III)/Ti(IV) ratio changes. From the change in the rate of product formation (Ti(III) disappearance) with change in solution potential, the rate of nitrogenase catalysis was determined as a function of solution potential. From such experiments, a midpoint turnover potential of -480 mV was determined for nitrogenase catalysis with an associated n = 2 value.
Analysis of Frozen Aqueous Solutions by Spark Source Mass Spectroscopy

Abstract Aqueous solutions can be analyzed directly in a spark source mass spectrograph by sparking to frozen drops of the sample solution. The minimum detection limit obtained from a 10−8 coulomb exposure is about 5 × 10−7 M solution concentration. Analytical precision of 8 to 30% relative is achieved through use of an internal standard added to the sample solution.