cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Viral internal ribosome entry site elements: novel ribosome-RNA complexes and roles in viral pathogenesis.

Viruses have multifaceted approaches to ensure that viral genome amplification can be achieved in an efficient and, in some instances, a cell-type-specific manner. To accomplish this task, some viruses encode their own polymerases which selectively amplify the viral genomes; other viruses have evolved a variety of ways to compete directly with the host cell for factors that are needed for viral gene replication and packaging (5). However, there is one piece of macromolecular machinery in the host cell for which all viruses have to compete: the ribosome. Early in infection, the viral mRNAs have to compete with the host, not so much for ribosomes, but for the limited pool of eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs) that mediate the recruitment of ribosomes to both viral and cellular mRNAs (10). To circumvent this competition, viruses often modify certain eIFs within infected cells so that ribosomes can be recruited selectively to viral mRNAs even though only a limited repertoire of eIFs is present (2). Of course, this strategy implies that such viral mRNAs have structural features that are distinct from most polymerase II-derived host mRNAs. For example, it was a long-standing puzzle how poliovirus, a human picornavirus, can inhibit the translation of capped host cell mRNAs when translation of its own uncapped mRNA remained uninhibited. More than a decade ago, it was discovered that poliovirus, and all other picornaviruses, contain internal ribosome entry site elements, commonly abbreviated as IRES elements, in their 5′ noncoding regions that can directly recruit ribosomal 40S subunits with a reduced set of eIFs (13, 24). The cap binding protein eIF-4E is especially dispensable for IRES activity in most viral IRES-containing mRNAs. Since then, IRES elements have been detected in many positive-stranded viral RNA genomes (9). More recently, IRESs have also been identified in Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, which contains a DNA genome. Specifically, a polycistronic transcript, found in all latently infected cells, is used to express the v-FLIP (FLICE-inhibitory protein) protein whose function is to counteract fatty acid synthase-induced apoptosis (1, 7). These findings have provided ample evidence that IRES elements have important functions in the viral life cycle, mostly to ensure efficient viral translation when components of the host translation machinery are limited due to virus-induced modification or host-induced antiviral responses, such as the phosphorylation of eIF-2 (9). In this minireview, I will discuss the surprising structural information we have obtained from studies on binary hepatitis C virus (HCV) IRES-40S complexes and the roles of specific canonical initiation and IRES-transacting factors (ITAFs) in translation initiation and in viral pathogenesis. I apologize for not mentioning and citing the many important contributions of other investigators who have made contributions in the viral IRES field. Due to space constraints in this minireview, I needed to focus on a few selected topics.
VSP traveltime inversion: Near‐surface issues

P-wave velocity information obtained from vertical seismic profiles (VSPs) can be useful in imaging subsurface structure, either by directly detecting changes in the subsurface or as an aid to the interpretation of seismic reflection data. In the shallow subsurface, P-wave velocity can change by nearly an order of magnitude over a short distance, so curved rays are needed to accurately model VSP traveltimes. We used a curved-ray inversion to estimate the velocity profile and the discrepancy principle to estimate the data noise level and to choose the optimum regularization parameter. The curved-ray routine performed better than a straight-ray inversion for synthetic models containing high-velocity contrasts. The application of the inversion to field data produced a velocity model that agreed well with prior information. These results show that curved-ray inversion should be used to obtain velocity information from VSPs in the shallow subsurface.
Moral incapacity and Huckleberry finn

Bernard Williams distinguishes moral incapacities – incapacities that are themselves an expression of the moral life – from mere psychological ones in terms of deliberation. Against Williams I claim there are examples of such moral incapacity where no possible deliberation is involved – that an agent's incapacity may be a primitive feature or fact about their life. However Michael Clark argues that my claim here leaves the distinction between moral and psychological incapacity unexplained, and that an adequate understanding of the kind of examples I suggest must involve at least some implicit reference to deliberation. In this paper I attempt to meet Clark's objection and further clarify my account of primitive moral incapacities by considering an example from Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. What this example shows, I argue, is how our characterization of an agent's response as a moral incapacity turns not on the idea of deliberation but on the way certain primitive incapacities for action are connected to a larger pattern of response in an agent's life, a pattern of response that itself helps to constitute our conception of that agent's character and the moral life more generally.
Tissue targeting of multivalent GalNAc Lex terminated N-glycans in mice

N-Linked biantennary and triantennary oligosaccharides containing multiple terminal GalNAc Le(x) (GalNAcss1-4[Fuc-alpha1-3]GlcNAc) determinants were radioiodinated and their pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and hepatic cellular localization were determined in mice. Pharmacokinetic analysis revealed GalNAc Le(x) biantennary and triantennary oligosaccharides had a similar mean residence time and steady-state volume of distribution but differed in their total body clearance rate due a shorter alpha half-life for GalNAc Le(x) triantennary. Biodistribution and whole-body-autoradiography studies revealed that both GalNAc Le(x) terminated biantennary and triantennary oligosaccharides predominately targeted to the liver, which accumulated 72% and 79% of the dose 30 min after administration, respectively. Separation of mouse liver parenchymal from non-parenchymal cells demonstrated both N-glycans were almost exclusively (94%) taken up by the parenchymal cells. By comparison, GalNAc terminated biantennary and triantennary N-glycans accumulated in the liver with a targeting efficiency of 73% and 81%, respectively. It is concluded that GalNAc and GalNAc Le(x) terminated N-glycans are recognized in vivo with equivalent affinity by the murine hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor.
Analyzing internet voting security

By David Jefferson, Aviel D. Rubin, Barbara Simons, AND David Wagner V OTING S ECURITY An extensive assessment of a proposed Internet-based voting system. The Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment (SERVE) is an Internet- based voting system built by Accenture and its subcontractors for the U.S. Department of Defense FVAP (Federal Voting Assis- tance Program). 1 FVAP’s mission is to reduce voting barriers for all citizens cov- ered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citi- zens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), namely U.S. citizens who are members of the military services, their family members, and nonresident U.S. citizens. SERVE is intended to allow UOCAVA voters both to register to vote and to vote via the Internet, from anywhere in the world. It is meant to be a complete, Independent Testing Author- ity-qualified and state-certified voting sys- tem that collects real votes. A NALYZING I NTERNET The authors are four of a group of eight computer scientists and security experts who reviewed the Pentagon’s $22 million SERVE program for voting over the Internet. Shortly after the release of the full report in January 2004 [3], the Penta- gon decided not to implement SERVE in the 2004 election, citing security con- cerns. It is still possible that a program similar to SERVE could be proposed for future elections. This article, derived from the full report, describes the security issues the authors identified with SERVE, most of which apply to Internet voting in general. To simplify the presentation, the present tense is used, even though there are no longer current plans to use SERVE in any election. To participate, an eligible voter first enrolls in the SERVE program. After enrollment, the voter may register to vote, and then vote in one or two short sessions from any Internet-connected PC. The PC must run a Microsoft Windows operating system and either the Internet Explorer or Netscape Web browser. The browser must be configured to enable JavaScript, along with either Java or ActiveX scripting, and session cookies; no additional hardware or software is required. When a person registers online to vote, his or her information is stored on the cen- tral Web server for later retrieval by the Local Election Official (LEO), at which point the LEO updates its database. When a person votes in the election, the com- pleted ballot is stored on the central server and later downloaded by the LEO, who stores it for canvass. The communication between the user’s Web browser and the central server is protected using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol. Once that connection is established, an ActiveX control is downloaded to the voter’s PC and run to provide functionality not available in current browsers. COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM October 2004/Vol. 47, No. 10
Multicast routing and bandwidth dimensioning in overlay networks

Multicast services can be provided either as a basic network service or as an application-layer service. Higher level multicast implementations often provide more sophisticated features and can provide multicast services at places where no network layer support is available. Overlay multicast networks offer an intermediate option, potentially combining the flexibility and advanced features of application layer multicast with the greater efficiency of network layer multicast. In this paper, we introduce the multicast routing problem specific to the overlay network environment and the related capacity assignment problem for overlay network planning. Our main contributions are the design of several routing algorithms that optimize the end-to-end delay and the interface bandwidth usage at the multicast service nodes within the overlay network. The interface bandwidth is typically a key resource for an overlay network provider, and needs to be carefully managed in order to maximize the number of users that can be served. Through simulations, we evaluate the performance of these algorithms under various traffic conditions and on various network topologies. The results show that our approach is cost-effective and robust under traffic variations.
Bile ducts and portal and central veins are major producers of tumor necrosis factor alpha in regenerating rat liver

Abstract BACKGROUND & AIMS: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha mediates both liver injury and regeneration. Kupffer cells are thought to produce TNF because gadolinium chloride (GdCl), a drug that depletes Kupffer cells, prevents TNF-mediated injury. However, GdCl increases liver TNF and regeneration after partial hepatectomy (PH), suggesting that other cells produce TNF during regeneration. The aim of this study was to identify the source(s) of TNF after PH in normal and Kupffer cell- depleted rats. METHODS: Livers were harvested at 0, 1, or 48 hours after PH from saline- or GdCl-treated rats. TNF expression was evaluated by in situ reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: In saline-treated rats, neither TNF transcripts nor protein was detected before PH, but both increased after PH. One hour after PH, 64% +/- 8% portal areas had TNF-positive bile ducts or veins and 61% +/- 1% central veins were TNF positive; by 48 hours, 57% +/- 1% portal areas, 40% +/- 1% central veins, and a few sinsusoidal cells expressed TNF. In GdCl-treated rats, TNF was expressed in 22% +/- 6% portal areas before PH; in 76% +/- 3% portal areas and 75% central veins at 1 hour; and in 88% +/- 2% portal areas and 80% +/- 9% central veins at 48 hours after PH. CONCLUSIONS: In the regenerating livers of both normal and Kupffer cell-depleted rats, bile ducts and veins are the predominant sources of TNF-alpha. (Gastroenterology 1997 Jun;112(6):2089-98)
Publish or perish: An evaluation of the quality, quantity, ethics and review process of IEEE/PES publications: A summary of the Power Globe discussion

Every year, the number of papers submitted to the Power Engineering Society increases. This growth, which is in part the result of the pressure to publish, is straining the publication process, overloading the pool of reviewers, and creating the impression that the quality of publications is diminishing. This paper summarizes the informal discussions which have taken place on the Power Globe List serve and shows the level of concern among members of the power engineering community. The paper covers aspects of the peer review process in PES, including present IEEE/PES publication policies, ethical aspects of the review process, technologies for aiding the review process, topics related to value of the technical content, graphics and peer review, and more. The several contributions make constructive suggestions which will hopefully improve the PES peer review process and the quality of the publications.
Kinetics of Excision of Purine Lesions from DNA by Escherichia Coli Fpg Protein

The kinetics of excision of damaged purine bases from oxidatively damaged DNA by Escherichia coli Fpg protein were investigated. DNA substrates, prepared by treatment with H2O2/Fe(III)-EDTA or by gamma-irradiation under N2O or air, were incubated with Fpg protein, followed by precipitation of DNA. Precipitated DNA and supernatant fractions were analyzed by gas chromatography/isotope-dilution mass spectrometry. Kinetic studies revealed efficient excision of 8-hydroxyguanine (8-OH-Gua), 2,6-diamino-4-hydroxy-5-formamidopyrimidine (FapyGua) and 4, 6-diamino-5-formamidopyrimidine (FapyAde). Thirteen other modified bases in the oxidized DNA substrates, including 5-hydroxycytosine and 5-hydroxyuracil, were not excised. Excision was measured as a function of enzyme concentration, substrate concentration, time and temperature. The rate of release of modified purine bases from the three damaged DNA substrates varied significantly even though each DNA substrate contained similar levels of oxidative damage. Specificity constants (kcat/KM) for the excision reaction indicated similar preferences of Fpg protein for excision of 8-OH-Gua, FapyGua and FapyAde from each DNA substrate. These findings suggest that, in addition to 8-OH-Gua, FapyGua and FapyAde may be primary substrates for this enzyme in cells.
Ramadge-Wonham supervisory control of mobile robots: lessons from practice

We used Ramadge-Wonham (RW) theory (1987) of supervisory control to control a system of mobile robots. We discuss our experience in modeling and implementation of the developed control system. We specifically address the control program structure that manages the interaction of the RW controller with its plant. We also present our approach in dealing with practical issues such as forcing events and simultaneous events. The advantages and disadvantages of the RW controller are discussed.
Scintigraphy as a confirmatory test of brain death

The concept of "brain death" was introduced to medicine in the second half of the 20th century, when technological advancements began to allow sustaining cardiorespiratory functioning of the body in the absence of brain function. Although physicians generally agree that a patient can be declared brain dead when the loss of brain function is total and irreversible, different approaches have been taken to define what constitutes brain death. A thorough clinical examination is essential to the diagnosis. The role of confirmatory tests differ among countries in the world but generally are indicated when a specific part of the clinical examination cannot be performed or is deemed unreliable. Under certain circumstances, confirmatory tests can be used to shorten the clinical observation. Of the confirmatory tests recommended by the American Academy of Neurology and the American Academy of Pediatrics, cerebral scintigraphy is a safe, reliable, and widely available alternative. Once the radiopharmaceutical is properly compounded, cerebral scintigraphy can be performed rapidly and can be interpreted in a straightforward manner. It is tolerant of metabolic aberrations and pharmacologic intoxicants. It is not affected by electrical interference, and the presence of skull defects or scalp trauma do not preclude its performance. The radiopharmaceuticals used in scintigraphy have no deleterious effects on potential donor organs. Cerebral radionuclide angiography has been highly sensitive. Either cerebral planar scintigraphy or cerebral scintitomography with Tc-99m hexamethylpropyleneamineoxime also are highly sensitive, but, in addition, appear to be 100% specific.
Pathogenesis of Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a primary myocardial disease. It is characterized by frequent ventricular arrhythmias and increased risk of sudden cardiac death typically arising as an early manifestation before the onset of significant myocardial remodelling. Myocardial degeneration, often confined to the right ventricular free wall, with replacement by fibrofatty scar tissue, develops in many patients. ACM is a familial disease but genetic penetrance can be low and disease expression is highly variable. Inflammation might promote disease progression. It also appears that exercise increases disease penetrance and accelerates its development. More than 60% of probands harbour mutations in genes that encode desmosomal proteins, which has raised the possibility that defective cell-cell adhesion might play a role in disease pathogenesis. Recent advances have implicated changes in the canonical wingless-type mouse mammary tumour virus integration site (Wnt)/β-catenin and Hippo signalling pathways and defects in forwarding trafficking of ion channels and other proteins to the intercalated disk in cardiac myocytes. In this review we summarize the current understanding of the pathogenesis of ACM and highlight future research directions.
Weight-Related Eating Behavior Questionnaires: Applying Theory to Measurement

Obesity research conducted to date has focused on identifying and educating the public on “what” and “how much” to eat. Despite our efforts, the prevalence of obesity continues to rise. Some of the more promising obesity research is focused on identifying and assessing cognitive and psychological aspects of eating behavior with the intent of understanding “how” we make food-related decisions and “why” we initiate eating episodes if not for physiological reasons. Three theories emerged over the past 50 years that have enhanced our understanding of the cognitive/psychological aspects of eating that influence the relationship between energy intake and obesity: the psychosomatic theory, the theory of externality, and the theory of restraint. These theories have served as the foundation for at least seven psychometric instruments that assess eating behavior in nonclinical, adult populations. With recent changes in the production and marketing of food in developed and developing countries, there is an increased interest among behavioral scientists and psychologists as well as neurobiologists to utilize these psychometric instruments to assess and understand patterns of eating that promote weight gain. We are now exposed to an overabundance of food-related cues encouraging the consumption low-cost, energy-dense foods. Decisions prompting energy intake in this “obesogenic” environment are believed to be guided more frequently by the desire to eat and less frequently by the physiological need for energy. Gaining a greater understanding of the behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms that influence our decision-making processes will aid in the design of more effective interventions aimed to reduce the prevalence of obesity. In this chapter, the three cognitive/psychological eating behavior theories will be reviewed, and a summarized description of the development and validation of select psychometric instruments will be provided. Recent research of the neurobiological mechanisms linking theory-based eating behavior constructs with obesity will also be presented. To conclude, guidelines for the selection of the most suitable ins?trument for research are offered.
New techniques for liver transplantation: reduced-size, split-liver, living-related and auxiliary liver transplantation.

Mortality among patients on a waiting list for orthotopic liver transplantation continues to be 10-15%; this is of particular concern in the pediatric population and may become more problematic in adult patients as longer waiting lists for cadaveric transplantation accrue. The longer cold ischemia times afforded by use of University of Wisconsin (UW) solution and improved hepatic surgery techniques have allowed the development of reduced-size liver transplantation (RSLT), split-liver transplantation (SLT), and living-related liver transplantation (LRLT). These new surgical techniques have been predominantly employed in children, up to 40% of whom may be candidates for one of these modified procedures. With the exception of SLT, these approaches have been associated with comparable rates of biliary tract and vascular complications, rejection episodes and graft and patient survival when compared to whole organ transplantation. Right hepatic lobe graft recipients have approximately 15% decreased graft surviv...
The NOD/RIP2 pathway is essential for host defenses against Chlamydophila pneumoniae lung infection.

Here we investigated the role of the Nod/Rip2 pathway in host responses to Chlamydophila pneumoniae–induced pneumonia in mice. Rip2−/− mice infected with C. pneumoniae exhibited impaired iNOS expression and NO production, and delayed neutrophil recruitment to the lungs. Levels of IL-6 and IFN-γ levels as well as KC and MIP-2 levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were significantly decreased in Rip2−/− mice compared to wild-type (WT) mice at day 3. Rip2−/− mice showed significant delay in bacterial clearance from the lungs and developed more severe and chronic lung inflammation that continued even on day 35 and led to increased mortality, whereas WT mice cleared the bacterial load, recovered from acute pneumonia, and survived. Both Nod1−/− and Nod2−/− mice also showed delayed bacterial clearance, suggesting that C. pneumoniae is recognized by both of these intracellular receptors. Bone marrow chimera experiments demonstrated that Rip2 in BM-derived cells rather than non-hematopoietic stromal cells played a key role in host responses in the lungs and clearance of C. pneumoniae. Furthermore, adoptive transfer of WT macrophages intratracheally was able to rescue the bacterial clearance defect in Rip2−/− mice. These results demonstrate that in addition to the TLR/MyD88 pathway, the Nod/Rip2 signaling pathway also plays a significant role in intracellular recognition, innate immune host responses, and ultimately has a decisive impact on clearance of C. pneumoniae from the lungs and survival of the infectious challenge.
Chemoprevention of N-Nitrosomethylbenzylamine-induced Esophageal Cancer in Rats by the Naturally Occurring Thioether, Diallyl Sulfide

Diallyl sulfide (DAS) is a principal thioether of garlic (Allium sativum) accounting, in part, for the flavor and fragrance of this herb. Previous studies have shown that DAS is a potent inhibitor of experimentally induced colon cancer in mice. Metabolic studies of other garlic-derived substances suggested that DAS could prevent tumorigenicity of other hepatic activated carcinogens. The present study was designed to determine whether DAS could inhibit the DNA-damaging and tumorigenic effects of N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine in rat esophagus. A dose of 200 mg/kg of DAS given p.o. 3 h prior to N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine administration was found to inhibit the carcinogen-induced nuclear toxicity by 64% to 56% at the two doses (3 and 5 mg/kg) of NMBA tested. These results suggested that the compound was potentially anticarcinogenic. In the carcinogenicity experiment it was found that DAS totally inhibited tumor formation in rats treated with a carcinogenic dose of NMBA (100% inhibition of papilloma and squamous cell carcinoma incidence, P less than 0.0001). Additionally DAS was found to substantially reduce hepatic microsomal metabolism of the carcinogen. These data demonstrate that DAS is unique in its anticarcinogenic activity. It strongly suppresses the tumorigenic effects of potent, metabolically activated monoalkylating carcinogens in the gastrointestinal tract.
Strategies for achieving improved processor throughput

Deeply pipelined processors have relatively low issue rates due to dependencies between instructions. In this paper we examine the possibility of interleaving a second stream of instructions into the pipeline, which would issue instructions during the cycles the first stream was unable to. Such an interleaving has the potential to significantly increase the throughput of a processor without seriously imparing the execution of either process. We propose a dynamic interleaving of at most 2 instructions streams, which share the the pipelined functional units of a machine. To support the interleaving of 2 instruction streams a number of interleaving policies are. described and discused. Finally, the amount of improvement in processor throughput is evaluated by simulating the interleaving policies for several machine varianv;.
Using MapReduce to Speed Up Storm Identification from Big Raw Rainfall Data

This paper describes an efficient MapReduce algorithm for converting raw rainfall data into meaningful storm information, which can then be easily analyzed and mined. Our previous work proposed a method to identify relevant storm characteristics from raw rainfall data. The original storm identification system takes too long to produce the summarized storm characteristics, because: (1) the raw rainfall data, which is considered as big data, is stored in a traditional relational database based on CUAHSI (Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc.) ODM (Observations Data Model), which leads to substantial disk I/O; (2) the storm identification algorithm is based on recursion and regular depth-first-search (DFS), which leads to multiple retrievals for parts of the data. In this paper, we obtain a substantial improvement in performance by utilizing MapReduce. We also utilize the original raw rainfall data text files instead of using the data in the relational database. In our experiments, the performance of the new storm identification system is significantly improved compared to the previous one. With this new system, it will dramatically benefit hydrologists in helping them performing rainfall- related analysis (both location-specific and storm-specific) such as flood prediction using our identified storms.
Tetra-butyl-ammonium tetra-kis-(trimethyl-silanolato-κO)ferrate(III).

In the title salt, (C16H36N)[Fe(C3H9OSi)4], the cation contains a central N atom bonded to four n-butyl alkyl groups in a tetra­hedral arrangement, while the anion contains a central FeIII atom tetra­hedrally coordinated by four trimethyl­silanolate ligands.
Pawn Stars: Putting Theories of Negotiation to the Test

Management science and economic theories of negotiations are tested using a unique data set. The History Channel television show Pawn Stars portrays many negotiations between customers and workers of a pawn shop. This provides a unique data set not typically available to researchers as the tactics of bargaining can be observed, recorded, and analyzed. Many, but not all, of the primary theories developed receive empirical support. The use of experts, experience, the gap between the initial offers, and the use of final offers all affect the likelihood of a deal being made as well as the division of the surplus. The party making the opening offer suffers a disadvantage, which stands in contrast to predictions of sequential bargaining and anchoring effects.
How Should Firms Select Advertising Agencies

In his book, Where the Suckers Moon: An Advertising Story, Randall Rothenberg, a former advertising columnist for the New York Times, describes how Subaru of America selected a new agency in 1991. This behind-the-scenes account was made possible by his sitting in on the meetings that led to the selection of Wieden and Kennedy to handle Subaru’s $75 million account. The book is thus a first-hand look at how an agency makes a proposal to a client. Rothenberg also reports on the subsequent relationship between Wieden and Kennedy and Subaru. Along the way, he describes the advertising industry in general. The book should be of interest to those in the advertising business, those who hire advertising agencies, students contemplating a career in advertising, and teachers of advertising.
Clinical Presentation and Therapy of Ventricular Septal Defect

Atrioventricular septal defects (AVSDs) consist of a number of cardiac malformations that result from abnormal development of the endocardial cushions. AVSDs occur in 0.19 of 1000 live births and constitute 4–5 % of congenital heart defects. AVSDs can be categorized as (1) incomplete (or partial) or (2) complete (Fig. 25.1) and (3) intermediate or transitional.
Microscale isoelectric fractionation using photopolymerized membranes.

In this work, we introduce microscale isoelectric fractionation (μIF) for isolation and enrichment of molecular species at any desired location in a microfluidic chip. Narrow pH-specific polyacrylamide membranes are photopatterned in situ for customizable device fabrication; multiple membranes of precise pH are easily incorporated throughout existing channel layouts. Samples are electrophoretically driven across the membranes such that charged species, for example, proteins and peptides, are rapidly discretized into fractions based on their isoelectric points (pI) without the use of carrier ampholytes. This format makes fractions easy to compartmentalize and access for integrated preparative or analytical operations on-chip. We present and discuss the key design considerations and trade-offs associated with proper system operation and optimal run conditions. Efficient and reproducible fractionation of model fluorescent pI markers and proteins is achieved using single membrane fractionators at pH 6.5 and 5...
The Application of Environmental Design Principles and Human Factors Guidelines to the Design of Training and Instructional Facilities: Room Size and Viewing Considerations:

A review of selected research and past projects has resulted in the identification of a set of design principles, guidelines, and explanations which may be used with confidence by the facility planner and architect in the development of training and educational facilities that promote desired participant interaction and comfortable and accurate viewing of displays.
Fatigue Life of Shallow Shells Subjected to Experimental and Simulated Non-Gaussian Excitations

In conventional high-cycle fatigue life analysis the response is generally sufficiently accurate in terms of root-mean square level and power spectral density, but there is no information available regarding the response probability function. Lacking that information the response is frequently erroneously assumed to have a Gaussian distribution (white-noise). Recorded aircraft acoustic pressure fluctuations have shown non-Gaussian (non-white) power spectral density characteristics induced by high levels of acoustic excitations and yielding to large deformations. This study presents a comparative in highcycle fatigue life analysis between experimental and simulated pressure fluctuations with almost identical probability distributions. An efficient finite element time domain modal formulation was employed to determine the shallow shell responses, and the probabilistic Palmgren-Miner cumulative damage theory in combination with the rainflow counting cycle’s method was used to estimate the fatigue life. An easily applied stochastic nonGaussian simulation method capable of reliably converging to a target power spectral density function and marginal probability density function was employed to accurately generate the simulated pressure fluctuations. Limited results indicate the current design guidelines of assuming linear structural analysis and truncated white-noise may not always be conservative since some intuitive results from flat panels do not apply to curved panels.
Instrumental Evaluation of Fabric Pilling

Image analysis has been widely accepted as an objective method for evaluating fabric appearance, This paper presents the development of an image-analysis method that aims at characterizing and rating fabric-pilling appearance. The procedures involved in using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) and other techniques to correct image defects, such as non-uniform background and low contrast, are demonstrated. Examples are given. A novel approach that splits a fabric image into periodic and non-periodic structures is explained. A template-matching technique used for extracting pills from the non-periodic image is presented. Pill properties are characterized by density, size, and contrast, and measurements on the ASTM photographic standards are used to build the empirical grading equations of fabric-pilling.
Experimental Study on Induction and Expansion of Dendritic Cells from Human Peripheral Blood In Vitro

Objective: To investigate a culture system for DC expansion.Methods: Using serum medium with rhGM-CSF(100ng/mL) and rhIL-4(50ng/mL) for 6 days,rhTNF-a(100ng/mL) was added on the 6th day of culture.Human peripheral blood were seeding at the concentration of 5×106/mL,6×106/mL and 7×106/mL in 6-well flat-bottomed plates.Suspension cells were harvested at days 6,9 and 12 and analysed on morphology,phenotype observed.Result: Cells on day 9 of culture displayed DC-like morphology.Phenotype analysis on DCs acquired showed that the cells of 6×106/mL cultured for 9 days contained a higher percentage of DC cells.Conclusion: The results suggested the culture method was feasible.
Do not allow the patient immediate access to test results

Over the last few years a considerable number of Dutch hospitals has introduced electronic patient charts. Many of these systems include an option for patients to have access to their own files, including 'real time' results of blood tests and scans. Although systems such as 'My Chart' should be supported in general, a problem might arise when patients have access to test results before these have been interpreted by the treating physician. Particularly for (cancer) patients being treated by a multidisciplinary team rather than a single physician, interpretation of test results and deciding on (non-) treatment is often organised through one or two (tumour) board meetings a week. Test results are often reinterpreted during such meetings and as it is generally acknowledged that multidisciplinary teams can improve the quality of clinical decision-making, systems such as My Chart should provide medical professionals the opportunity to discuss and reinterpret test results before patients themselves have access to them.
Raabe in internationalen Bezügen

Raabe war uber den deutschen Sprachraum hinaus wenig bekannt. Seine Werke wurden kaum ubersetzt. Eine Wirkung auf Autoren auserhalb Deutschlands zu seinen Lebzeiten ist nicht belegt. Anders als etwa Honore de Balzac mit seiner 88 Bande umfassenden Comedie humaine, Charles Dickens, der als Chronist und Kritiker sozialer Veranderungen im England des 19.
The View from Down Here: Foster Children's Stories

Foster children have stories and the whole foster care system, including the child, need to hear them. The story metaphor is useful in understanding how foster children perceive and process their world. Stories can help foster children better understand themselves, and help case managers, therapists, foster parents, teachers and policy makers hear these children in order to better attend to their needs. These children desire to have a greater part in the decisions that affect their lives, and hearing from them is important in honoring the unique and powerful story each child experiences. A framework for understanding and using stories is offered and relevant studies are reviewed and research suggestions are made.
Reduced-order multivariable modeling and nonlinear control of melt-pool geometry and temperature in directed energy deposition

There has been continuing effort in developing analytical, numerical and empirical models of laser-based additive manufacturing (AM) processes in the literature. However, advanced physics-based models that can be directly used for feedback control design, i.e., control-oriented models, are severely lacking. In this paper, we develop a reduced-order (in contrast to finite element models) multivariable model for directed energy deposition. One important difference between our model from the existing work lies in a novel parameterization of the material transfer rate in the deposition as a function of the process operating parameter. Such parameterization allows a more accurate characterization of the steady-state melt-pool geometry compared to the existing lumped-parameter analytical models. Predictions of melt-pool geometry and temperature from our model are validated using experimental data obtained from deposition of Ti-6AL-4V on a laser engineering net shaping (LENS) AM process and finite element analysis. Then based on this reduced-order multivariable model, we design a nonlinear multi-input multi-output (MIMO) control, specifically a feedback linearization control, to track both melt-pool height and temperature reference trajectories using laser power and laser scan speed.
Diseases Caused by Fungi

In a eukaryotic kingdom of their own, fungi have interactions with humans ranging from colonization of skin by dermatophytes to local invasion of mucous membranes and deeper invasion with hematogenous dissemination. Various fungi are normal flora (e.g., Candida), opportunists that infect only persons with compromised host defenses (e.g., Aspergillus), and dimorphic organisms that are spore-forming molds in nature and convert into yeasts after entry as often occurs by inhalation (e.g., Histoplasma). Dimorphic fungi are capable of causing infections even in immunocompetent persons. The most frequently detected fungal structures in infected hosts are hyphae and budding yeast. Although detection of fungi invading tissue contributes to diagnosis, culture and mycologic identification provide a definitive answer.
The genetic architecture of novel trophic specialists: larger effect sizes are associated with exceptional oral jaw diversification in a pupfish adaptive radiation

The genetic architecture of adaptation is fundamental to understanding the mechanisms and constraints governing diversification. However, most case studies focus on loss of complex traits or parallel speciation in similar environments. It is still unclear how the genetic architecture of these local adaptive processes compares to the architecture of evolutionary transitions contributing to morphological and ecological novelty. Here we identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) between two trophic specialists in an excellent case study for examining the origins of ecological novelty: a sympatric radiation of pupfishes endemic to San Salvador Island, Bahamas containing a large-jawed scale-eater and a short-jawed molluscivore with a skeletal nasal protrusion. These specialized niches and trophic traits are unique among over 2,000 related species. Measurements of the fitness landscape on San Salvador demonstrate multiple fitness peaks and a larger fitness valley isolating the scale-eater from the putative ancestral intermediate phenotype of the generalist, suggesting that more large-effect QTL should contribute to its unique phenotype. We evaluated this prediction using an F2 intercross between these specialists. We present the first linkage map for pupfishes and detect significant QTL for sex and eight skeletal traits. Larger-effect QTL contributed more to enlarged scale-eater jaws than the molluscivore nasal protrusion, consistent with predictions from the adaptive landscape. The microevolutionary genetic architecture of larger-effect QTL for oral jaws parallels the exceptional diversification rates of oral jaws within the San Salvador radiation observed over macroevolutionary timescales and may have facilitated exceptional trophic novelty in this system. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
CD40-Activation of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Cells Induces Latent Sensitivity to Fas/TRAIL-Mediated Apoptosis Via a P53-Independent, C-Abl-Dependent Pathway.

Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) experienced rapid reductions in leukemia cell count and lymph node size following an intravenous infusion of autologous CLL cells that were transduced to express a recombinant ligand for CD40 (CD154), including patients with leukemia cells that had inactivating mutations in P53 . Subsequent studies demonstrated that ligation of CD40 on CLL cells induced latent sensitivity to Fas (CD95)-dependent apoptosis and that this might account, in part, for the early reductions in leukemia cell counts observed in patients treated with CD154 gene therapy (Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 100:3854–9, 2002). We found that ligation of CD40 induces CLL cells to express P53, as well as P53-dependent genes encoding CD95, DR5, and p21. Similar effects were observed following treatment of CLL cells with γ-radiation. In contrast to the effects of γ-radiation, however, CD40-ligation also induced CLL cells to express high-levels of Bid, a pro-apoptotic protein that mediates cross talk between extrinsic death receptors and mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathways. CLL cells that had inactivating mutations in P53 also were induced to express CD95, DR5, p21, and Bid following CD40-ligation, but not following γ-radiation, demonstrating that the gene expression response to CD40-ligation is dependent on a factor(s) other than p53. A good candidate for this is P73, a member of the P53 gene family that has been implicated in lymphocyte activation-induced cell death. Consistent with this notion, we found that ligation of CD40 on CLL cells induced expression of the α isoform of P73. The induction of P73 and latent sensitivity to CD95 (and TRAIL)-mediated apoptosis could be inhibited with the c-abl kinase inhibitor, imatinib mesylate, when added at the time of CD40-ligation. However, transduction of leukemia cells with a mutant gene encoding a c-abl kinase resistant to imatinib mesylate resulted in CLL cells that could be induced by CD40-ligation to express P73 and Bid even in the presence of imatinib mesylate. We conclude that sensitization to CD95-mediated apoptosis following CD40-activation is via a p53-independent, c-abl-kinase dependent process that is associated with activation of p73. Unlike p53, p73 mutations are extremely rare in human cancer. As such, CD154-based immune gene therapy may have activity even in patients who have CLL cells with dysfunctional P53 that are resistant to many of the anti-leukemia drugs currently used in the treatment of this disease.
A computational fluid dynamics based artificial neural network model to predict solid particle erosion

Abstract Solid particle erosion plays a critical role in the design and reliability of equipment employed in the oil and gas industry. Significant erosion occurs due to solid particle loading, especially in applications involving sand production. Low particle loading in drilling fluids ( This study employs machine learning approach along with CFD-based methodology to develop robust erosion models. A generalized model is developed based on experiments conducted on 90-degree elbows of 1-in. diameter and made from Inconel 718, Nickel Alloy 825, 25% Cr, Nickel Alloy 925, and 13% Cr L-80 materials. The Baker Hughes erosion model developed in 2008 is studied as a baseline. Statistical analysis was performed on CFD output parameters to identify those that most affect erosion rates. A correlation analysis and non-parametric statistical analysis is performed resulting in the development of two new regression models based on turbulent kinetic energy, and surface shear stress was developed. A 25-% improvement is observed in the predictions of cumulative erosion rate error compared to baseline. An artificial neural network with multilayer feed-forward model with the back-propagation algorithm and Levenberg-Marquardt training was developed. This model, along with Bayesian regularization, reduced cumulative error to less than 10%, compared to more than 40% in the baseline Baker Hughes model.
Cybersecurity and Other Issues to Get Attention in the New Congress

An inauguration is supposed to reflect a new beginning, and it does to some extent. However, the Presidential inauguration trailed the installation of the 113th Congress by a couple of weeks. And with the recent “fiscal cliff” debate, the 113th Congress seemed to trail the end of the 112th Congress by a couple of minutes, it seemed that political life in the Nation’s Capital never really seemed to have much of an end or a beginning. Similarly, it often seems that there is neither an end to nor a beginning of the issues that Congress and the Obama Administration will need to deal with, including those that impact the information industry. The 112th Congress did accomplish a fairly significant action in enacting the America Invents Act, the long debated patent reform initiative that updated critical areas of Patent Law and brought U.S. patent law into closer harmonization with patent law traditions worldwide. While the law was enacted in 2011, one of its most significant provisions will go into effect in March 2013 with the change to a “first-to-file” standard, which establishing priorities for awarding new patents. Patent specialists have been focusing on this and other provisions of the America Invents Act for quite some time, but as with any new venture, some implementation glitches and growing pains are expected.
Can Elites Contain and Manage the Crisis

Clear and pressing needs for many kinds of work have declined steadily since the mid-1970s in Western countries, and the declines show no sign of stopping. In the United States today, for example, roughly 7 million prime working-age men no longer seek work and are officially outside the labor force, with increasing numbers of formerly employed women joining them. Policy-making elites in Western countries have been myopic about problems of work in advanced postindustrial conditions and how they lead to the kind of demagogic populism personified by Donald Trump, AfD leaders in Germany, Marine Le Pen in France, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, Beppe Grillo in Italy, and leaders and parties in at least two of the four Visegrad countries. The declining need for work and populist exploitations of employment insecurities and fears it produces threaten the elite basis of stable political systems in the West and give rise to an apparition of deep and protracted civil strife.
Predicting adverse drug events from personal health messages.

Adverse drug events (ADEs) remain a large problem in the United States, being the fourth leading cause of death, despite post market drug surveillance. Much post consumer drug surveillance relies on self-reported “spontaneous” patient data. Previous work has performed datamining over the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) and other spontaneous reporting systems to identify drug interactions and drugs correlated with high rates of serious adverse events. However, safety problems have resulted from the lack of post marketing surveillance information about drugs, with underreporting rates of up to 98% within such systems1,2. We explore the use of online health forums as a source of data to identify drugs for further FDA scrutiny. In this work we aggregate individuals’ opinions and review of drugs similar to crowd intelligence3. We use natural language processing to group drugs discussed in similar ways and are able to successfully identify drugs withdrawn from the market based on messages discussing them before their removal.