cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Teaching for Social Justice in Three Voices

In today’s neoliberal educational climate that puts privatization and profit above children and learning, critical pedagogies are sorely needed so that schools may instead serve as vehicles for social change. Data from research using grounded theory methods with eight P-12 critical educators across the United States were used to construct a framework for teaching for social justice. This framework consists of listening to students’ voices, inserting missing voices, and co-constructing agentic voices.
Systems Biology Analyses to Define Host Responses to HCV Infection and Therapy

While 170 million people worldwide are chronically infected with HCV, the response rate to the current treatment regimens of pegylated IFN-α (IFN) in combination with ribavirin is only approximately 55 % of all HCV patients undergoing therapy. This IFN-based therapy is now slated to serve as the backbone for future combination therapeutics involving direct-acting antiviral compounds, including HCV protease inhibitors, viral polymerase inhibitors, and other small molecules. It is essential that the application of IFN be improved for overall enhancement of therapy outcome to effectively cure HCV infection. Systems approaches, including genomics and network modeling, are particularly powerful tools that are now being used to dissect the underlying mechanisms of successful or failed treatment response in an effort to design improved IFN-based therapeutic regimens. Furthermore, systems applications can be used to define virus-host interactions and map their variation within viral and host genomes, leading to identification of targets for novel therapy strategies. Using these approaches, we have defined distinct hepatic expression and tissue distribution of innate immune signaling molecules and gene networks that associate with IFN-based treatment outcome for HCV infection. This chapter will focus on using systems approaches to understand the host response to both HCV infection and therapy to drive the development of improved HCV therapeutics.
On Multipath Transmission Scheduling in Cognitive Radio Mesh Networks

Nodes in a cognitive radio mesh network comprised of secondary users may select from a set of available channels provided they do not interfere with primary users. This ability can improve overall network performance but introduces the question of how best to use these channels. Given a routing multipath M, we would like to choose which channels each link in M should use and a corresponding transmission schedule so as to maximize the end-to-end data flow rate (throughput) supported by the entire multipath. This problem is relevant to applications such as streaming video or data where a connection may be long lasting and require a high constant throughput as well as providing robust, high-speed communications in wireless mesh networks deployed in rural environments, where there are significant amounts of spectrum available for secondary use. Better transmission scheduling can lead to improved network efficiency and less network resource consumption, e.g. energy-use. The problem is hard to due the presence of both intra-flow and inter-flow interference. In this paper, we develop a new polynomial time constant-factor approximation algorithm for this problem. We also present an effective heuristic method for finding effective multipath routes. It has been shown by simulation results that the end-to-end throughput given by the proposed algorithms provide nearly twice the throughput of single path routes and that the schedules generated are close to optimal.
Semi-supervised Multi-label Dimensionality Reduction via Low Rank Representation.

Multi-label dimensionality reduction is an appealing and challenging task in data mining and machine learning. Previous works on multi-label dimensionality reduction mainly conduct in an unsupervised or supervised way, and ignore abundant unlabeled samples. In addition, most of them emphasize on using pairwise correlations between samples, therefore, unable to utilize the high-order sample information to improve the performance. To address these challenges, we propose an approach called Semi-supervised Multi-label Dimensionality Reduction via Low Rank Representation (SMLD-LRR). SMLD-LRR first utilizes the low rank representation in the feature space of samples to calculate the low rank constrained coefficient matrix, then it adapts the coefficient matrix to capture the high-order structure of samples. Next, it uses low rank representation in the label space of labeled samples to explore the global correlations of labels. After that, SMLD-LRR further employs the learned high-order structure of samples to enforce the consistency between samples in the original space and the corresponding samples in the projected subspace by maximizing the dependence between them. Finally, these two high-order correlations and the dependence term are incorporated into the multi-label linear discriminant analysis for dimensionality reduction. Extensive experimental results on four multi-label datasets demonstrate that SMLD-LRR achieves better performance than other competitive methods across various evaluation criteria; it also can effectively exploit high-order label correlations to preserve sample structure in the projected subspace.
Dianionic Mononuclear Cyclo-P4 Complexes of Zero-Valent Molybdenum: Coordination of the Cyclo-P4 Dianion in the Absence of Intramolecular Charge Transfer

Relative to other cyclic poly-phosphorus species (that is, cyclo-Pn ), the planar cyclo-P4 group is unique in its requirement of two additional electrons to achieve aromaticity. These electrons are supplied from one or more metal centers. However, the degree of charge transfer is dependent on the nature of the metal fragment. Unique examples of dianionic mononuclear η4 -P4 complexes are presented that can be viewed as the simple coordination of the [cyclo-P4 ]2- dianion to a neutral metal fragment. Treatment of the neutral, molybdenum cyclo-P4 complexes Mo(η4 -P4 )I2 (CO)(CNArDipp2 )2 and Mo(η4 -P4 )(CO)2 (CNArDipp2 )2 with KC8 produces the dianionic, three-legged piano stool complexes, [Mo(η4 -P4 )(CO)(CNArDipp2 )2 ]2- and [Mo(η4 -P4 )(CO)2 (CNArDipp2 )]2- , respectively. Structural, spectroscopic, and computational studies reveal a similarity to the classic η6 -benzene complex (η6 -C6 H6 )Mo(CO)3 regarding the metal-center valence state and electronic population of the planar-cyclic ligand π system.
Overexpression of Arabidopsis thaliana cysteine2/histidine2-type transcription factor 6 gene enhances plant resistance to a bacterial pathogen

Transcription factors can be used to engineer plants for enhanced productivity. However, the mechanism(s) by which the C2H2-type zinc finger transcription factor enhances pathogen resistance in cells is not fully understood. Here, Agrobacterium tumefaciens carrying the gene for Arabidopsis thaliana cysteine2/histidine2-type transcription factor 6 (ZAT6) was used to engineer rice (Oryza sativa L.), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), and slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) to generate transgenic cell lines. Transgenic cells were then inoculated with the pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae. Compared to the control, cell viability of transgenic cells increased 39–47% and growth rate increased 9–15% by 7 days after inoculation in rice, cotton and slash pine. Acid phosphatase activity and alkaline phosphatase activity and transcript levels of Ca2+-dependent protein kinase genes OsCPK1, OsCPK2, OsCPK6, and OsCPK8 and mitogen-activated protein kinase genes OsMAPK1, OsMAPK2, OsMAPK3, and OsMAPK8 increased significantly in transgenic rice cells by 3 day after inoculation, and extracellular pH had decreased by 10–14% by 96 min after inoculation in transgenic rice, cotton and slash pine cells. These results suggest that ZAT6 enhances P. syringae resistance in plant cells by modulating transcription of CPK and MAPK and oxidase activity.
Descriptors and Indicators of the Acoustic Environment in Andorra and Escaldes-Engordany

Noise pollution is one of the growing issues in our cities. Every day the streets are full of vehicles of all kinds and works using noisy machinery; it seems difficult to find an area that escapes from this acoustic environment. Nowadays, multiple studies are being carried out in the area of engineering in order to be able to attenuate the causes of this noise pollution. Nevertheless, are only cars the cause of the noise in the city? Are there other noise sources that may affect the quality of life of the citizens? What defines a city as heavily polluted or not? Maybe it can be assumed that truck noise is annoyant and that it contributes to noise pollution, while the sound of birds does not and it is pleasant for people. This paper pretends to analyze the physical parameters that allow us to define if any sound causes annoyance, taking into account its acoustic environment. In order to do this, a specific case will be analysed; we will study three locations measured in Andorra La Vella and Escaldes-Engordany. The audio recordings will be studied deeply, and compared one to the other using data from two different days and all day schedule. We will finally evaluate the annoyance of each location, day and time, as well as giving details about the several types of sound labelled in that recordings.
Neutrino Mass$^2$ Inferred from the Cosmic Ray Spectrum and Tritium Beta Decay

An earlier prediction of a cosmic ray neutron line right at the energy of the knee of the cosmic ray spectrum was based on the speculation that the electron neutrino is a tachyon whose mass is reciprocally related to the energy of the knee, $E_k$. Given the large uncertainty in $E_k$, the values of ${m_\nu}^2$ corresponding to it are consistent with values recently reported in tritium beta decay experiments.
A Jurisprudence of Dangerousness

This article addresses the state's police power authority to deprive people of liberty based on predictions of antisocial behavior. Most conspicuously exercised against so-called "sexual predators," this authority purportedly justifies a wide array of other state interventions as well, ranging from police stops to executions. Yet there still is no general theory of preventive detention. This article is a preliminary effort in that regard. The article first surveys the various objections to preventive detention: the unreliability objection; the punishment-in-disguise objection; the legality objection; and the dehumanization objection. None of these objections justifies a complete prohibition on the state's power to detain people based on dangerousness. But they do suggest significant limitations on that power regarding acceptable methods of prediction, the nature and duration of preventive detention, the threshold conduct that can trigger such detention, and the extent to which it can replace punishment as the official response to antisocial behavior. On the latter issue, the central conclusion is that preventive detention which functions as a substitute for punishment, as in the case of sexual predator statutes, is only permissible if certain psychological and predictive criteria are met. The rest of the paper develops these criteria. It argues that the psychological criterion should be undeterrability, defined as the characteristic ignorance that one's criminal activity is criminal or a characteristic willingness to commit crime despite certain and significant punishment, a definition that differs from both the usual academic stance and the Supreme Court's inability-to-control formulation. The paper next argues that selection of a prediction criterion should be informed by two principles, the proportionality principle (which varies the legally requisite level of dangerousness with the nature and duration of the state's intervention) and the consistency principle (which takes as a reference point the implicit dangerousness assessments in the law of crimes). Finally, the paper explores some of the implications of the latter principle for the criminal law, including the possibility that some crimes - in particular various possession offenses, reckless endangerment and vagrancy - violate the fundamental norms of the police power authority.
Toward developing a dynamic theory of electric breakdown in solids

The relationship between breakdown modeling and the phenomenology of breakdown are elucidated. This phenomenology is based mostly on studies of electric breakdown in thick specimens (1 mm to 25 mm) of both polymeric and nonpolymeric materials, in a macroscopically uniform field geometry. Each specimen was subjected to a single impulse, with breakdown occurring typically on the rise. Risetimes to breakdown were 10 to 30 ns, depending on thickness and rate of rise. Diagnostics included waveforms (specimen voltage, current, and intensity of the self-luminosity), photographs of breakdown configurations from their self-luminosity, and post mortem microscopic studies of damage to the dielectrics and the electrodes. Breakdown initiation and tree propagation are treated. Some generalizations on breakdown modeling are presented. The need for a dynamical model that incorporates the macroscopic geometry, presence of the key microscopic field enhancement site, realistic parameters for high-field conduction processes, initial conditions on space charge distribution, the time history of the applied stresses, and three-dimensional time-dependent solutions is emphasized. >
Performance evaluation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ad hoc networks

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can form an ad-hoc network to communicate and cooperate with each other via wireless links. UAV ad hoc networks have the potential to provide reliable and real-time services using single-hop or multi-hop communications. However, the network topology of a UAV ad-hoc network is highly dynamic because of the fast flying UAVs that result in short lived communication links between UAVs. In mission critical applications, small delays could result in catastrophic outcomes. Thus it is required for UAVs to exchange their information as quickly as possible (with shortest possible delay). In this paper, we evaluate the performance of UAV ad hoc networks by considering the effect of network size on throughput, energy consumption and effective transmission range (total coverage range). Numerical results obtained from simulations are presented to evaluate the performance of UAV ad hoc networks. Our results show that when network size (the number of UAVs) increases, the throughput per UAV and energy consumption decrease while the total network transmission range (effective coverage range) increases.
Rapid microinjection of fertilized eggs.

Publisher Summary The chapter focuses on methods for using a picospritzer to inject large numbers of eggs that have been immobilized in open plastic dishes. The microinjection of reagents into eggs and early embryos aids in analyzing many cellular and developmental processes and is essential in studying cell lineages and cell fate specification, gene regulation, gene function, and biochemical pathways. This approach is especially useful for rapid, repetitive microinjection of reagents, such as morpholino antisense oligonucleotides, mRNAs, and DNA constructs. Many other molecules and cellular components can also be introduced into oocytes and zygotes by microinjection, including sperm, cytoplasm, calcium, aequorin, phosphatases, peptides, and antibodies. The advantages of pressure-based microinjection as a delivery method are that it allows precise control over (1) the amount of reagent introduced into the cell, (2) the time of introduction, and (3) the specific cell(s) into which the reagent is introduced. Current methods for microinjecting the oocytes and embryos of echinoderms and other invertebrate deuterostomes are based on a pressure-injection method. The chapter describes specific methods currently used in the laboratory for microinjecting the fertilized eggs of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus and Lytechinus variegatus, two species of sea urchins. With slight modifications, the same methods are also useful for microinjecting molecules into specific blastomeres of early cleavage stage embryos.
Security of Cultural Property: U.S. Engagement and Potential for Improvement

Recent armed conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan and political violence in Egypt have revealed the strategic significance of cultural property. This paper assesses the role of historic sites and antiquities in foreign engagement. Over the past century, U.S. foreign policy has had successes and shortcomings in leveraging protection of cultural patrimony to strategic advantage. The contrast of successful policy on the protection of immovable cultural property, such as religious monuments, in armed conflict and missed opportunities for tactical intelligence on the trade in movable cultural property, such as antiquities trafficking, identifies potential for development of foreign policy.
Nanostructured selenium for preventing biofilm formation on polycarbonate medical devices

Biofilms are a common cause of persistent infections on medical devices as they are easy to form and hard to treat. The objective of this study was for the first time to coat selenium (a natural element in the body) nanoparticles on the surface of polycarbonate medical devices (such as those used for medical catheters) and to examine their effectiveness at preventing biofilm formation. The size and distribution of selenium coatings were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The strength of the selenium coating on polycarbonate was assessed by tape-adhesion tests followed by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Results showed that selenium nanoparticles had a diameter of 50–100 nm and were well distributed on the polycarbonate surface. In addition, more than 50% of the selenium coating survived the tape-adhesion test as larger nanoparticles had less adhesion strength to the underlying polycarbonate substrate than smaller selenium nanoparticles. Most significantly, the results of this in vitro study showed that the selenium coatings on polycarbonate significantly inhibited Staphylococcus aureus growth to 8.9% and 27% when compared with an uncoated polycarbonate surface after 24 and 72 h, respectively. Importantly, this was accomplished without using antibiotics but rather with an element (selenium) that is natural to the human body. Thus, this study suggests that coating polymers (particularly, polycarbonate) with nanostructured selenium is a fast and effective way to reduce bacteria functions that lead to medical device infections. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 100A: 3205–3210, 2012.
An Ecological Paradigm

Abstract Consultation is defined as a preventive service, the goal of which is to create a variety of social, economic, and psychological resources for the continued development of the consultee organization. Ten principles are presented for the assessment and development of the consultee organization. These principles focus upon ways to generate social support and self-direction for the individual members and for the total organization. The framework for the presentation of the principles is an ecological perspective which emphasizes the concepts of persons, settings, and events as resources for the individual members of the organization and the total organization. Ecological concepts are presented, such as interdependence and adaptation, to direct the work of the consultation. Working from an ecological perspective, the consultant focuses upon assessing the natural social processes that bind persons and social settings together, while also assessing the prospects for how new social processes can be gene...
Patient education and recall regarding postsplenectomy immunizations.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to determine the rates of initial vaccinations after splenectomy for trauma, assess the effectiveness of patient education on reimmunizations, and evaluate patients' utilization of their knowledge regarding immunization after discharge. Methods From June 1996–December 2011, 144 patients underwent splenectomy after traumatic injury. A telephone survey was completed in 100 of 144 splenectomized patients (69%) at a mean of 7.9 y after their splenectomy. Questions were directed to determine the quality of patients' recall of the implications of splenectomy, the need for vaccinations, and the quality of the health information administered. Research electronic data capture tool was used for collecting data, and data were analyzed with Stata 11.2. Results Only 27% of participants recall receiving education on postsplenectomy vaccination and 41% of those patients rated their education as poor or minimal. Ninety-one percent of patients indicated that they would like more information in the form of a brochure. Our overall initial vaccination rates among patients who had splenectomy from 1996–2011 were 76%, 75%, and 68% for Streptococcus pneumoniae , Neisseria meningitidis, and Hemophilus influenza type b, respectively. Since 2004, 95% of those who had splenectomy between 2004 and 2007 received all three vaccines. Since 2008, our institution has maintained 100% initial vaccination rates for all three vaccines. The revaccination rates in this group of patients (from 1996–2007) were 39% and 15% for pneumococcal and meningococcal vaccines, respectively. Conclusions Patients had poor recall of the information provided during hospitalization for splenectomy. There were low revaccination rates in our patient cohort. Specific educational and vaccination surveillance strategies are required to improve vaccination rates.
Effects of Ultraviolet Light on Silver Nanoparticle Mobility and Dissolution

Nanomaterials are subject to various physical, chemical, and biological transformations, necessitating a better understanding of the impact of “aging” processes on nanoparticle fate and transport in engineered and natural porous media. The objective of this study was to evaluate the mobility and dissolution of citrate-coated silver nanoparticles (nAg, 11 nm diameter) in water-saturated sand following ultraviolet (UV) irradiation with UVA (320–400 nm) or UVB (280–320 nm) light. A 3-day UV exposure resulted in up to a 5-fold increase in mean diameter, a 10 to 15 mV increase in zeta potential (i.e., less negative), red shifts in surface plasmon resonance, and up to a 25-fold increase in Ag+ release. The addition of a reactive oxygen species (OH˙) scavenger, tert-butyl alcohol, reduced aggregation and dissolution of nAg exposed to UV light up to 50%, indicating that free radical activity plays a central role in aging. Transport experiments conducted in columns packed with 40–50 mesh Ottawa sand revealed that 25 to 50% more UVA- and UVB-aged nAg were retained compared to freshly prepared (un-aged) nAg. Additionally, 35 to 50% of the applied UV-aged nAg mass eluted as Ag+, compared to less than 1% in experiments with fresh nAg. UVB exposure resulted in up to 4-fold greater Ag+ release and greater nAg retention compared with UVA exposure, consistent with the less negative zeta potential of UVB- compared to UVA-aged nAg (−31 vs. −37 mV). These findings demonstrate that exposure to UV light significantly enhances nAg retention and dissolution in porous media, and thus, oxidative aging of nAg is likely to enhance Ag+ release.
Photoluminescence and electron spin resonance in nitrogen-rich amorphous silicon nitride

Abstract Electron spin resonance (ESR) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements have been employed to investigate some electronically important defects in nitrogen-rich amorphous silicon nitride films (a-SiNx:H where x > 1.3) prepared using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The PL intensity decreases with time (fatigues) when excited with UV light. This fatigued PL can be restored (bleached) with the application of visible light. There exists an ESR signal in as-deposited films of a-SiNx:H which is temperature dependent. This ESR signal can be increased by irradiation with UV light, and the increased ESR signal can be bleached by application of visible light. Microscopic models for the defects responsible for these effects are discussed.
A speleothem record of Holocene paleoclimate from the northern Wasatch Mountains, southeast Idaho, USA

Abstract A speleothem stable isotope record from Minnetonka Cave, located in the northern Wasatch Mountains, is shown to be a winter season biased record of Holocene paleoclimate. The season-specific sensitivity of the record provides an opportunity to more robustly evaluate long-term variability in large-scale Pacific teleconnection patterns such as ENSO and PDO, as precipitation anomalies associated with these teleconnection patterns occur primarily in winter. Seasonal climate composite maps of high and low snowpack years at the study site demonstrate that winter precipitation is strongly linked to the relative strength of the Aleutian Low and the associated changes from/to more meridional or more zonal steering level wind patterns. Minnetonka Cave data suggest wetter/cooler than modern early Holocene winters, and a dry middle Holocene with a consistent warming trend from 7400 to 3800 BP. After ∼4000 BP, data suggest a return to wetter and/or colder than modern winters for much of the late Holocene. Prolonged winter-dry intervals are identified from 7400 to 6000 BP and ∼4200 BP.
Some factors influencing the proportion of periplasmic hepatitis B virus pre-S2 antigen in the recombinant yeast Hansenula polymorpha.

A central composite design (CCD) was used to evaluate, for the purpose of future process optimization, the influence of pH, yeast extract and ammonium chloride concentrations on the proportion of periplasmic hepatitisB pre-S2 antigen in the recombinant yeastHansenula polymorpha. Each factor was tested at five levels, and a second order polynomial model for the proportion of periplasmic antigen was fitted to the treatment combinations. pH showed the greatest effect: the proportion of periplasmic antigen was greatly increased at the higher pH levels. At the higher pH levels used, the proportion of periplasmic antigen was enhanced by a high concentration of ammonium chloride. Additional experiments have confirmed both the validity of the selected model and the optimal conditions found. A significant correlation was found between the proportion of periplasmic antigen and the total yield of antigen. These results indicated that is should be possible to modulate the distribution of the pre-S2 antigen between the periplasm and the cytoplasm of the yeast.
Intra and inter-body cognitive communication system

Improving health care, while managing and reducing costs, requires a more efficient health care system. Adopting smart health-monitoring sensors, in- or on-body, will play a key role in successfully addressing the challenges. Currently, smart health-monitoring sensors and medical devices exist in implantable, ingestible, and wearable forms. On the other hand, artificial organs, such as artificial hearts and limbs, are now becoming a reality to replace unhealthy organs. Together all these devices are about to transform the medical care that once was either unimaginable or was categorized as a science fiction.
Customary Sea Tenure in Oceania as a Case of Rights-based Fishery Management: Does it Work?

page 285 Abstract This paper outlines the general characteristics of customary sea tenure (CST) in Oceania and identifies areas in which these characteristics overlap with modern rights-based fisheries management systems such as ITQs and CDQs. It also examines the effectiveness of CST regimes at regulating marine resource use and access by focusing on a particular case from the Solomon Islands. The institutional robustness or vulnerability of CST is assessed by examining various performance criteria for two communities in the Roviana Lagoon, Western Solomons. These criteria include people's (1) settlement patterns in relation to their property, (2) cultural consensus, (3) cultural attitudes with regard to governance and management, and (4) fishing efforts and yields. The results show that a number of historical processes have shaped CST systems into hetero- geneous and dynamic institutions, and that CST regimes can vary even on small geographical scales. Understanding the circumstances in which CST regimes are more likely to be successful has facilitated the design and implementation of co-management fishery prescriptions (MPAs) for protecting particular species and habitats in the region. More generally, the paper proposes that by discerning the effectiveness of local governance institutions at regulating resource use and access - taking into consideration that these are embedded in particular historical and political contexts - we can better predict whether or not an introduced fishery management system will work. This knowledge can also assist in designing hybrid
Bayesian nonparametric models for ranked set sampling

Ranked set sampling (RSS) is a data collection technique that combines measurement with judgment ranking for statistical inference. This paper lays out a formal and natural Bayesian framework for RSS that is analogous to its frequentist justification, and that does not require the assumption of perfect ranking or use of any imperfect ranking models. Prior beliefs about the judgment order statistic distributions and their interdependence are embodied by a nonparametric prior distribution. Posterior inference is carried out by means of Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques, and yields estimators of the judgment order statistic distributions (and of functionals of those distributions).
Racial differences in the relationship between hepatitis C infection and iron stores

Black race and increased hepatic iron stores predict poor response to interferon treatment for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We tested the hypothesis that these 2 observations are linked by investigating whether HCV-infected African-Americans have increased iron stores relative to uninfected persons. Using data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), we determined the risk of having increased iron stores, defined as elevation of both serum ferritin and transferrin-iron saturation (TS), in HCV-RNA-positive blacks (n = 100) and nonblacks (n = 126) relative to HCV-RNA-negative blacks (n = 4,002) and nonblacks (n = 10,943). HCV-positive blacks were 5.4 times (95% CI, 1.2 to 24) more likely to have increased iron stores than HCV-positive nonblacks. The proportion of HCV-positive blacks who had increased iron stores was 16.4% among those with abnormal liver enzymes and 2.8% among those with normal liver enzymes, compared with only 0.6% among HCV-negative blacks. After adjustment for age, alcohol intake, gender, menopausal status, education, body mass index, and poverty index, HCV-positive blacks with abnormal liver enzymes had an elevated risk of having increased iron stores (odds ratio, 17.8; 95% CI, 5.1 to 63). In contrast, among persons of other races, there was a much smaller difference in the proportion of persons with increased iron stores between HCV-positive persons with (3.4%) or without (1.4%) abnormal liver enzymes and HCV-negative persons (0.9%). In conclusion, a greater proportion of blacks than persons of other races respond to HCV infection with an increase in iron stores. This finding may partly explain the reduced response of HCV-positive African-Americans to antiviral treatment. (Hepatology 2003;37:795-801.)
Expression of fibroblast growth factors and their receptors in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-associated Kaposi sarcoma tissue and derived cells.

BACKGROUND Fibroblast growth factors (FGF), such as basic FGF, have been implicated in the development of Kaposi sarcoma (KS) in vitro. The expression of several genes of the FGF family and their receptors in KS tumor lesions and KS-derived cells were evaluated. METHODS Cultures of KS-derived cells were established. The expression of FGF family members and their receptors in these cells and in fresh biopsies from KS tumors was evaluated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR). The RTPCR products were confirmed by nucleotide sequencing. RESULTS The expression of basic FGF and FGF receptor-1 (flg) was detected in all the samples tested. Acidic FGF (aFGF) and FGF-5 were detected in two of six and four of six KS tumor specimens, respectively, whereas both of these growth factors were expressed in all of the cell cultures, including six KS-derived cell cultures and human endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells. FGF-6 was expressed in two of six KS tumor specimens, but was not expressed in any of the cultured KS cells. Like flg, bek was expressed in all tissue samples and KS-derived cell cultures except in one KS specimen obtained from the patient's tongue showing expression of a high level of FGF-6. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that the expression of FGF in KS tumors with the coexpression of FGF receptors may provide a basis for autocrine and paracrine mechanisms contributing to the development of KS.
Perspectives on physiology and medicine from Nobel Prize Winners: the 64th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting.

“Educate. Inspire. Connect.” Those are the missions of the annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. Since 1951, Nobel laureates have gathered in the picturesque town of Lindau, Germany, to discuss science. Starting in 1953, the meetings incorporated young scientists from across the world to instill in them enthusiasm for and knowledge of science, while also providing an atmosphere for collaboration. From 29 June to 4 July 2014, approximately 600 young scientists representing nearly 80 countries gathered in this small town on the shores of Lake Constance and in view of the snow-capped Swiss Alps to directly interact with 37 Nobel laureates. Given this year’s theme of Physiology and Medicine, it was a great privilege to attend this meeting as a young dermatologic investigator. Although it was a general scientific meeting, many of the insights into research, publication, funding, and professional development offered by the Nobel laureates are relevant to dermatology. My goal in this Editorial is to share these insights and to increase awareness of this unique scientific meeting.
Thickness Expansion Coefficients of Composite Laminates

Fahmy and Ragai-Ellozy [1] have recently treated the problem of the thermal expansion coefficient in the thickness direction of a symmetric composite laminate. Unfortunately, however, an error has been made in their analysis. Specifically, Equation (1) of that work should take the form $${a_{3r}} = {a_T} - \frac{1}{{1 - {v_{12}}{v_{21}}}}\left[ {({v_{13}} + {v_{12}}{v_{23}})({a_{1C}} - {a_L}) + ({v_{23}} + {v_{13}}{v_{21}})({a_{2c}} - {a_T})} \right]$$ (1) in the notation of [1]. In particular, v 12 is major Poisson’s ratio.
Comparison of developmental toxicology of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) in rats using selected dosing paradigms.

Pfizer Global Research and Development, Groton, ConnecticutBACKGROUND: Analysis of the literature for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) suggests that a low incidenceof developmental anomalies occurs in rats given NSAIDs on specific days during organogenesis. Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid [ASA]),an irreversible cyclooxygenase 1 and 2 inhibitor, induces developmental anomalies when administered to Wistar rats on gestationalday (GD) 9, 10, or 11 (Kimmel CA, Wilson JG, Schumacher HJ. Teratology 4:15–24, 1971). There are no published ASA studies usingthe multiple dosing paradigm of GDs 6 to 17. Objectives of the current study were to compare results between Sprague–Dawley (SD)and Wistar strains when ASA is administered on GD 9, 10, or 11; to compare the malformation patterns following single and multipledosings during organogenesis in SD rats; and to test the hypothesis that maternal gastrointestinal toxicity confounds the detectionof low incidence malformations with ASA when a multiple dosing paradigm is used. METHODS: ASA was administered as a singledose on GD 9 (0, 250, 500, or 625 mg/kg), 10 (0, 500, 625, or 750 mg/kg), or 11 (0, 500, 750, or 1000 mg/kg) and from GD 6 to GD 17 (0, 50,125, or 250 mg/kg a day) in the multiple dose study to SD rats. Animals were killed on GD 21, and fetuses were examined viscerally.RESULTS: The literature evaluation suggested that NSAIDs induce ventricular septal defects (VSDs) and midline defects (MDs) in ratsand diaphragmatic hernia (DH), MDs, and VSDs in rabbits (Cook JC et al., 2003); hence, the present study focused on thesemalformations, even though ASA induces several other low-incidence malformations. In single dose studies, DH, MD, and VSD wereinduced on GDs 9 and 10. VSD also was noted following treatment on GD 11. In contrast, DH and MD were noted in the multiple dosestudy design only in the high-dose group, and VSD was noted across all dose groups. CONCLUSIONS: High concordance in majordevelopmental anomalies between Wistar and SD rats were noted with the exception of VSD in the SD rats and hydrocephalus in theWistar rats. Variations and malformations were similar when ASA was administered as a single dose or during the period oforganogenesis (GDs 6 to 17). It was also evident that, by titrating the dose to achieve a maximum tolerated dose, malformations thatnormally occur at low incidence, as reported from previous single dose studies, could also be induced with ASA given at multiple doses.Birth Defects Research (Part B) 68:27–37, 2003. r 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Delay and Probability Discounting as Candidate Markers for Dementia: An Initial Investigation

The present study investigated delay discounting and probability discounting—behavioral economic indices of impulsivity and risk proneness, respectively—in 39 healthy older adults and 25 older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Relative to the healthy group, it was hypothesized that older adults with MCI would display greater levels of impulsivity, risk proneness, and response inconsistency. The MCI group was found to display a unique delay discounting profile characterized by increasing impulsivity with decreasing reward magnitude, such that cognitively impaired older adults were significantly more impulsive than healthy controls at the small reward magnitude. The two groups exhibited similar levels of probability discounting, though older adults with MCI were significantly less consistent in their risk preferences. The present findings shed light onto decision-making in pre-dementia disease stages and suggest that discounting performance holds potential to complement early diagnostic instruments, likely due to pathophysiological processes in relevant brain regions.
A REVIEW OF URBAN PLUME STUDIES

An overview is given of recent urban-plume field studies sponsored by the EPA and of related studies sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) and by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The EPA studies were aimed at determining pollution transport, transformation, and removal rates. The studies and projects discussed include the Regional Air Pollution Study (RAPS EPA), the Midwest Interstate Sulfur Transport and Transformation (MISTT) project (EPA), the Sulfur Transport and Transformation in the Environment (STATE) program (EPA), the Visibility Impairment due to Sulfur Transport and Transformation in the Atmosphere (VISTTA) program (EPA), the Multi-State Atmospheric Power Production Pollution Study (MAP3S DOE), and the Sulfate Regional Experiment (SURE EPRI). It is noted that the projects of the EPA, DOE, and EPRI are coordinated and, taken together, provide a comprehensive national program to study the transport, transformation, and removal of energy-related pollution.
Transient spinal cord injuries in the young athlete.

Spinal cord injuries are be potentially devastating. Despite initial presentation, they may be permanent or transient. A small percentage of spinal cord patients with motor or sensory dysfunction recover rapidly and completely with no neurological sequelae. Cervical cord neurapraxia is a frequent cause of transient neurologic symptoms. This transient neurological phenomenon involves bilateral motor paralysis and/or sensory manifestations that appear in the absence of any structural deficiencies of the cervical spine as evidence by negative diagnostic imaging. All patients with any history of neurologic deficits should be assessed thoroughly and rendered care appropriately to avoid secondary injury. This article will present a case study of a 15-year-old high school football player who complained of motor and sensory deficits after tackling another player. Treatment was provided and his neurological symptoms resolved completely. The pathophysiology of cellular injury related to the spinal cord and cervical cord neurapraxia is reviewed. In addition treatment modalities such as high dose steroids to reduce secondary spinal cord injury are discussed. Language: en
The role of money and religiosity in determining consumers' ethical beliefs

This article presents the results of a study that investigated the roles that religiosity and ones money ethic play in determining consumer attitudes/beliefs in various situations regarding questionable consumer practices. One dimension of religiosity – intrinsic religiousness – was studied. Four separate dimensions of a money ethic scale were initially examined, but only one was used in the final analyses. Results indicated that both intrinsic religiousness and one’s money ethic were significant determinants of most types of consumer ethical beliefs.
Postnatal developmental changes of tryptophan hydroxylase activity in serotonergic cell bodies and terminals of rat brain

Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) is the rate limiting enzyme in serotonin biosynthesis, so its development is very important to the functional maturation of the serotonergic neurons. In the present study, we examined changes of TPH activity in serotonergic cell bodies and terminals of rat brain during postnatal development. TPH activity reached its peak in the cell body regions at 24 days after birth, while the enzyme activity in a terminal region rose to its plateau at day 30. TPH activity in adult rat is the highest in nucleus raphe dorsalis, then nucleus raphe centralis and hypothalamus in a decreasing order.
Isotopic labelling of heart mitochondria as a function of respiratory state

Abstract Studies in this laboratory have demonstrated marked effects of specific histone fractions on mitochondrial activity (1,2). It was suggested that the mechanism may involve an interaction of the basic protein with acidic polyelectrolytes present in mitochondria (3). Two possible candidates are RNA and DNA, both of which are now known to occur in mammalian mitochondria (4–9). The latter polynucleotide is usually associated with histones in the nucleus. Studies involving the separation and characterization of DNA and RNA from mitochondria were undertaken and the effects of histones on incorporation of precursors into mitochondrial RNA, were studied. Several aspects of this investigation suggested that the functional state of the mitochondria may play a role in the incorporation process. Some of these results are reported in this communication.
The confusion between scale‐defined levels and conventional levels of organization in ecology

Abstract. Conventional levels of organization in ecology can be hierarchically ordered, but there is not necessarily a time or space scale-dependent difference between the classes: cell, organism, population, community, ecosystem, landscape, biome and biosphere. The physical processes that ecological systems must obey are strictly scaled in time and space, but communities or ecosystems may be either large or small. Conventional levels of organization are not scale-dependent, but are criteria for telling foreground from background, or the object from its context. We erect a scheme that separates scale-ordered levels from the conventional levels of organization. By comparing landscapes, communities and ecosystems all at the same scale, we find that communities and ecosystems do not map onto places on the landscape. Rather, communities and ecosystems are wave interference patterns between processes and organisms interfering with and accomodating to each other, even though they occur at different scales on the landscape, and so have different periodicities in their waved behavior. Population members are usually commensurately scaled and so do not generally interact to give interference patterns. Populations are therefore tangible, oratleastcan be assigned a location at an instant in time.
The response of skeletal muscle arterioles to common carotid occlusion

Abstract The vasoactive response of skeletal muscle (cremaster) arterioles was observed during 2 min occlusions of the common carotid arteries in small albino rats. Small distribution arterioles, with diameters of less than 20 μm and an orientation oblique to the skeletal muscle fibers, reduced their diameters to 63% of control ( P P
Polymeric surface-mediated, high-density nano-assembly of functional protein arrays.

Abstract The exploding field of biomedical research and biotechnology demands convenient and reliable solid-state methods for protein detection and underscores the importance of high-density, high-payload protein arrays assembled on two-dimensional platforms. Proteins immobilized on various polymeric surfaces are of particular importance in basic research and biomedical applications as surface-bound proteins on polymers are routinely utilized in numerous biological measurements in laboratory and clinical settings. Specifically, protein nanoarrays can function effectively as low-cost, miniaturized, and small-volume assay platforms. In this paper, top-down and bottom-up approaches to assemble functional protein arrays are discussed in depth, while focusing on the recent contributions from the nanoscience field to protein assembly on polymeric surfaces. Research endeavors to improve the density, uniformity, stability, and biological activity of surface-bound proteins on polymers are outlined. Biosensing applications of such systems and the associated challenges of quantitative and analytical detection are addressed. In addition, the future outlook of the applications of nanoscale polymer-based, solid-phase protein detection is provided.
Optical imaging of cervical pre-cancers with structured illumination: An integrated approach

Abstract Objective. Structured illumination microscopy is an inexpensive alternative to confocal microscopy that allows optical sectioning at a sub-cellular resolution. However, its application in imaging biological tissue has been limited by inadequate contrast present in them especially in reflectance imaging. Novel, optically active contrast agents like gold nanoparticles and quantum dots targeted against biomarkers of cancer can be integrated with structured illumination to image both the morphological and biochemical changes associated with epithelial pre-cancers. Methods. We modified the optical path of a widefield microscope to implement structured illumination both in reflectance and fluorescence modes. For imaging, we used 25-nm-diameter gold nanoparticles and CdSe quantum dots for reflectance and fluorescence imaging, respectively, to label three-dimensional tissue constructs of SiHa cervical cancer cells. Contrast agents were targeted against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) using an anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody. Agents targeted with a non-specific IgG antibody served as a control to monitor non-specific labeling. Results. Our result shows that optically sectioned images taken with structured illumination are very comparable to those obtained using confocal microscopy. Moreover, images of three-dimensional cultures stained with the anti-EGFR agents show significantly more image intensity than those stained with the IgG targeted control. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that the combination of novel optical contrast agents and structured illumination can differentiate neoplastic cells which overexpress EGFR from normal cells in intact tissue. Combining structured illumination microscopy with novel contrast agents can potentially provide a powerful and inexpensive tool to aid in the detection of cervical pre-cancers.