cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Corrected effective-medium method. IV. Bulk cohesive and surface energies of second- and third-row metals and multilayer relaxation of Al, Fe, and Ni

We provide a detailed analysis and discussion of the recently developed corrected effective-medium method (CEM) as applied to calculations of the bulk cohesive energies of the second- and third-row metals. The results demonstrate that a quantitatively accurate description of these quantities requires a new ``covalent'' embedding function instead of the self-consistent-field local-density ``ionic'' embedding function of Puska and co-workers. Construction of these covalent embedding functions from diatomic and bulk electron-density binding potentials is detailed. We present the formalism within the CEM method for the calculation of the surface energy of infinitely periodic two-dimensional solid surfaces. Calculations of the surface energies for the perfectly terminated low-Miller-index faces of Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, Fe, Ni, and Cu are carried out. These results are compared to experimental measurements and very good agreement is found for almost all of these metals. More demanding multilayer surface-relaxation calculations are performed for Al(111), (110), and (100), Ni(110) and (100), and Fe(100). Very good agreement with experimental observations is obtained for these systems with the exception of Al(111) and (100). Detailed analysis of these calculations leads to an explanation of the relaxation process and its driving components.
Rickets: A roentgenographic scheme for diagnosis

The roentgenograms in seventy-two (72) patients with all forms of rickets were reviewed in an attempt to determine whether specific forms of rickets could be identified and classified roentgenographically. All cases were clinically proven and after analyzing the roentgenographic changes in all of the patients, it was determined that such a scheme was possible. This scheme allows one to either diagnose the specific type of rickets or offer a short, pertinent differential diagnosis from roentgenograms alone.
Unstable angina and evolving myocardial infarction following coronary bypass surgery: Pathogenesis and treatment with interventional catheterization

Effective therapy for patients with unstable angina or evolving myocardial infarction following coronary bypass surgery requires accurate delineation of the pathoanatomy and prompt intervention. We therefore performed cardiac catheterization in 10 consecutive patients: four with acute myocardial infarction and six with refractory unstable angina (NYHA class IV). All patients with acute myocardial infarction were found to have completely thrombosed vein grafts supplying totally occluded native coronary arteries. In three patients with evolving myocardial infarction occurring within 4 weeks of coronary bypass surgery, graft thrombosis was caused by venous valves in two patients and a suboptimal anastomosis in a third. The fourth patient sustained a myocardial infarction 7 years after coronary bypass surgery with atherosclerotic plaque rupture causing vein graft thrombosis. Therapy with intragraft streptokinase resulted in complete clearing of thrombus, pain relief, and control of injury current in all four patients. Rest angina with concomitant ST and T wave changes occurred in six patients. In two patients symptoms occurred early (within 6 months), whereas angina developed 4 to 10 years after coronary bypass graft surgery in four patients. In the two patients with early recurrence of symptoms suboptimal anastomosis was found in one, while the other patient had a venous valve in the vein graft in conjunction with a stenosis in the native coronary artery. In three of four patients with late recurrence of angina, symptoms developed as a result of atherosclerotic stenosis in their vein grafts; in the fourth patient an occluded graft was found to supply a stenosed native coronary artery.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Translational repression: biological activity of plasmid-encoded bacteriophage T4 RegA protein

The RegA protein of bacteriophage T4 is a translational repressor that regulates expression of several phage early mRNAs. We have cloned wild-type and mutant alleles of the T4 regA gene under control of the heat-inducible, plasmid-borne leftward promoter (PL) of phage lambda. Expression of the cloned regA+ gene resulted in the synthesis of a protein that closely resembled phage-encoded RegA protein in biological properties. It repressed its own synthesis (autogenous translational control) as well as the synthesis of specific T4-encoded proteins that are known from other studies to be under RegA-mediated translational control. Cloned mutant alleles of regA exhibited derepressed synthesis of the mutant regA gene products and were ineffective in trans against RegA-sensitive mRNA targets. The effects of plasmid-encoded RegA proteins were also demonstrated in experiments using two compatible plasmids in uninfected Escherichia coli. The two-plasmid assays confirm the sensitivities of several cloned T4 genes to RegA-mediated translational repression and are well-suited for genetic analysis of RegA target sites. Repression specificity in this system was demonstrated by using wild-type and operator-constitutive translational initiation sites of T4 rIIB fused to lacZ. The results show that no additional T4 products are required for RegA-mediated translational repression. Additional evidence is provided for the proposal that uridine-rich mRNA sequences are preferred targets for the repressor. Surprisingly, plasmid-generated RegA protein represses the synthesis of some E. coli proteins and appears to enhance selectively the synthesis of others. The RegA protein may have multiple functions, and its binding sites are not restricted to phage mRNAs.
Dynamics and performativity and imagination: The image between the visible and invisible

The book explores the marginalisation of the imagination in philosophy, grounded in approaches that view it with suspicion, as something illusory, potentially deceptive and thus antithetical to rea...
Relationship of prolactin response to meta-chlorophenylpiperazine with severity of drug use in cocaine dependence

Rationale Serotonergic (5-HT) mechanisms appear to mediate central effects of cocaine. Therefore 5-HT disturbances could be associated with drug severity. Objectives We investigated whether prolactin (PRL) response to meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (m-CPP), a mixed 5-HT agonist/antagonist were associated with severity of cocaine use. Methods Thirty-six cocaine-dependent subjects and 33 controls underwent a challenge with 0.5 mg/kg of oral m-CPP. Severity of drug use was assessed using the Addiction Severity Index (ASI). Results The PRL response to m-CPP was significantly blunted in cocaine patients compared to controls (F = 21.86, p < 0.001). ΔPRL (peak PRL—baseline PRL) was negatively correlated with ASI-drug (r = −0.45, p < 0.01), ASI-alcohol (r = −0.32, p < 0.05), and ASI-psychological (r = −0.41, p < 0.01) composite scores, and with the quantity, frequency and duration of drug use (r ranged from − 0.41 to − 0.32, p ranged from < 0.01 to 0.05). Hierarchical regressions showed that ASI-drug composite scores significantly predicted the variance in ΔPRL after controlling for behavioral and demographic variables (F = 4.27, p < 0.05). Conclusions The results indicate that disturbances in 5-HT function as reflected by a blunted response to m-CPP seem to be primarily associated with severity of drug use and to a lesser, although significant extent with behavioral traits in cocaine-dependent patients. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
STUDIES ON PNEUMONIA VIRUS OF MICE (PVM) : I. THE PRECISION OF MEASUREMENTS IN VIVO OF THE VIRUS AND ANTIBODIES AGAINST IT

This study on pneumonia virus of mice (PVM) was carried out in order to obtain as accurate data as possible on the degree of variation which may be expected in titrations of the virus or of antibodies against it in vivo . It is believed that the knowledge gained will facilitate further investigations on this latent pneumotropic virus and make possible a more exact assessment of the significance of experimental results obtained with the agent. The reproducibility of 50 per cent maximum score titration end points with PVM in mice is such that the chances are 19 out of 20 that a difference of 1.084 log units ( i.e . a twelvefold difference) in the end points obtained in two separate titrations is significant. The reproducibility of 50 per cent maximum score serum dilution end points in neutralization tests with PVM in mice is such that the chances are 19 out of 20 that a difference of 0.626 log units ( i.e . a fourfold difference) in the end points obtained with two sera against similar amounts of virus is significant. It was found that there is a linear exponential relationship between the serum dilution end point and the quantity of PVM used in a neutralization test. This relationship appears to be identical with immune serum obtained from different animal species, and appears also to be identical to the linear relationship described previously in similar studies with influenza A virus.
A simplified procedure for evaluation and storage of isoelectric focusing gels prior to second‐dimension electrophoresis

A simple method of stain fixation of polyacrylamide isoelectric focusing tube gels is described. Gel handling and storage are simplified by fixation and second-dimension quality is markedly improved over that from the original procedure involving quick freezing and frozen storage of the gel.
SYNTHESIS OF METHOXYPYRIDYL PHENYL KETONES VIA PYRIDYLLITHIUM COMPOUNDS

(1970). SYNTHESIS OF METHOXYPYRIDYL PHENYL KETONES VIA PYRIDYLLITHIUM COMPOUNDS. Organic Preparations and Procedures: Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 285-289.
An Assessment of Morphological Fidelity in the Sub-fossil Record of a Terebratulide Brachiopod

Abstract The process of time-averaging can have deleterious effects on the recognition of morphological variability in the fossil record. To explore this issue, a geometric morphometric study was conducted on a life and death assemblage of the terebratulide brachiopod Terebratalia transversa. The results from several geometric morphometric techniques (including Procrustes analysis and thin-plate spline) confirm a high degree of morphological variability with little change in mean shape between the living and sub-fossil assemblages. Additionally, there is no evidence of distinct morphogroups in either assemblage, as postulated for the species in previous studies. These trends persist at all depths and size classes. The similar range of morphological variability at each site suggests a common causal factor such as a similar array of microenvironments available at all depths. One implication of this consistency in morphological variability between the living and sub-fossil assemblages is that the variability...
Health status as a variable in aging research.

Abstract Findings from several studies bearing on the association between disease and age-associated behavior changes were briefly reviewed in order to stress the need for health assessment in gerontological psychology research. Despite the evidence favoring the need for health assessment such procedures have generally not been undertaken. Implications for experimental aging research were discussed.
Association of Ereynetes tritonymphs (Acari: Ereynetidae) with the fungus gnat, Bradysia impatiens (Diptera: Sciaridae)

Abstract Large numbers of tritonymphs of an Ereynetes (Ereynetes) species were found phoretic on the fungus gnat, Bradysia impatiens (Joh.), and in soilless growing media containing potato roots in a research greenhouse. The incidence of infestation of fungus gnats by mites was 98.9% and the mite load averaged 27, ranging from 0 to 85 mites per host. More mites were found on male than female hosts. Most mites were found on the thorax and anterior part of abdomen and about 60% of the mites were on the upper part of the body. Over 50% of the tested gnats showed some impairment of flying ability, apparently because the mite infestation affected the proper movement of the wings. Impaired flying ability increased with mite loads. Gnats infested with an average of 54 mites were unable to fly. This study comprises the first reported association of Ereynetes with Diptera and the first report on phoretic association of acarine tritonymphs with insects.
The Process of Social Identity Development in Adolescent High School Choral Singers: A Grounded Theory

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to describe the process of adolescent choral singers’ social identity development within three midsized, midwestern high school mixed choirs. Forty-nine interviews were conducted with 36 different participants. Secondary data sources included memoing, observations, and interviews with the choir teachers. The data analysis revealed an eight-stage process beginning with the student’s choice to audition and remain involved to the final stage, a desire to give back to the community. The central phenomenon of social identity was identified as team. Contextual conditions, including time, intensity, and size of group, strengthened participant experiences substantively. Social cliques and egos emerged as intervening conditions that impeded social identity development. Several individuals influenced participant social identity including peers, parents, school and community members, as well as the choir teacher. A temporal matrix is presented as well as propositions ill...
Connecting Beliefs and Practices: A Fine-Grained Analysis of a College Mathematics Teacher's Collections of Beliefs and Their Relationship to His Instructional Practices

Findings about mathematics teachers' beliefs typically involve broad characterizations of those beliefs that are compared with general descriptions of practices. Teacher development research suggests that changes happen effectively from attention to specific practices. Few investigations of beliefs and practices are done at this level of detail. Thus, little is known about how beliefs shape practices at the very grain-size where development appears to happen most productively. This study focused on fine-grained details of beliefs, practices, and connections between them. Findings indicate that particular units of analysis (“collections of beliefs”) are useful for investigating connections between beliefs and specific practices. Certain collections were also found to be especially influential, including beliefs about evidence of student understanding and about how learning happens.
Nonrigid motions as homogeneous transformations

In this paper, we present an approach to modeling nonrigid transformations (equivalently, nonrigid surfaces) by homogeneous transformations, and we illustrate the utility of this approach by describing how we used it to study sequences of static nonrigid motions of a membrane. Experimental results are presented. >
Recent results on processing random-order streams and space-efficient sampling

The data-stream model is a model of computation that has attracted significant attention over the last twenty years because of its applicability to a variety of problems including network monitoring, database query planning, and processing massive data sets residing in external memory. The model is also theoretically appealing and much of the research in the area has strong links to other areas of active research including compressed sensing, communication complexity, online algorithms, and metric embeddings. In this paper, we overview some of the recent research that has explored how the computational resources required to solve various problems in this model are dependent on how the data stream is ordered, specifically whether the order is chosen adversarially or uniformly at random.
The Near Eastern Chaoskampf in the River Battle of Iliad 21 1

Abstract This essay explores the river battle of Iliad 21 in terms of the Near Eastern mythological motif known as the Chaoskampf, wherein an order-promoting storm deity prevails over a water deity associated with chaos. The first section outlines four notable features of the protean Chaoskampf traditions in ancient Near Eastern literature, from Mesopotamia to the Levant to Anatolia. The second section traces these four features into the Iliad’s river battle and explains their presence by proposing cross-traditional mythopoesis, confluent with other cultural exchanges as established in recent decades. Understanding this part of the Iliad as influenced by West Asian traditions will help to explain why it is Hephaistos, not storm god Zeus, who unleashes his fire upon the menacing river god. The role of Hephaistos is examined against the roles of Ugaritic Kothar-wa-Hasis and Hittite-Hurrian Ea in their respective Chaoskampf myths.
Computer-based controller for pressure cycle comminution

The computer-based control and the implementation of an energy-efficient pressure cycle comminution technique for ore reduction are presented. The effects of various parameters, such as permeability, porosity, saturation time, and applied pressure, on process performance and modeling of a machine designed to reduce the particle size of porous material in tension through the use of rapid depressurization of water-saturated ore are discussed. In addition, the synergistic effect of surface energy modifiers and pressurization to achieve better performance is discussed. >
The New Deal, Cuba, and the Rise of a Global Foreign Economic Policy

It is generally held that the intense domestic preoccupations of the early New Deal were complemented by a cautious and reactive foreign policy that responded to a strong mood of isolationism in the country. The generalization does not apply to Cuba, where the level and extent of United States involvement actually increased during the period. This article explores the background of this increased involvement and its relationship to later periods of United States foreign policy that were actively internationalist, and seeks to show that the New Deal policy toward Cuba in the early 1930s involved precedent-setting actions that helped to form the basis for the globalist perspective of the 1940s and beyond. By the spring of 1933, economic depression and political dictatorship had brought the island of Cuba to the brink of economic collapse and social upheaval. The billion-dollar United States investment in the island was faced with ruin, and the regime of President Gerardo Machado, sustained for eight years by Wall Street loans and State
Morphological Correlates of Forelimb Protraction in Quadrupedal Primates

Among the issues that remain unresolved in regard to the origins of primates is the locomotor mode of the ancestral euprimate. In living primates, quadrupedal running and walking is the most common form of locomotion (Rose, 1973). Most analyses of fossil material also suggest that the ancestral primate locomotor type included some amount of quadrupedalism (e.g., Cartmill, 1972, 1974, 1992; Dagosto, 1988; Ford, 1988; Gebo, 1989a; Godinot and Beard, 1991; Godinot and Jouffroy, 1984; Martin, 1972; Szalay and Dagosto, 1980; Szalay and Delson, 1979; however, for a contrary view, see Napier, 1967; Napier and Walker, 1967). That most mammalian species are quadrupedal makes it tempting to view quadrupedalism as simply a primitive retention in primates. However, several lines of research indicate that the form of quadrupedal locomotion displayed by primates differs from that observed in other small to medium mammals (see Larson, 1998; Vilensky, 1987, 1989). These differences include use of a diagonal sequence/diagonal couplets walking gait pattern (Hildebrand, 1967; Howell, 1944; Prost, 1965,
Charles Simeon: Anglican Evangelical

The leaders of the Evangelical Movement in the Church of England till the end of the nineteenth century can, for convenience sake, be divided into three groups: the Awakeners, the Pastors and Organizers, and the Ecclesiastical Controversialists. The main concern of the first was to awaken the inert and indifferent population by preaching of sin and judgment, of forgiveness and eternal life; that of the Pastors and Organizers was to guide awakened and conscience-stricken people in the paths of righteousness, and to organize their resources for more efficient service to God and man; that of the Ecclesiastical Controversialists was to stem the rising tide of Tractarianism and Biblical criticism which seemed to them to be endangering the purity of the Gospel and to be leading the Church into false paths. It was under the leadership of this last group that the Evangelical Movement became definitely “Low Church” (at first, in distinction from the Latitudinarians, it had been relatively “High Church”) and what today would be called “fundamentalist.” If it be remembered that these groups were not hard and fast, that the Awakeners were pastors and that the Organizers were awakeners, and that the Ecclesiastical Controversialists were trying to be both, they will serve to indicate the general phases of the movement.
Characterization of the Intracellular Calcium Store at the Base of the Sperm Flagellum That Regulates Hyperactivated Motility

Abstract Hyperactivated sperm motility is usually characterized by high-amplitude flagellar bends and asymmetrical flagellar beating. There is evidence that an inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor-gated Ca2+ store in the base of the flagellum provides Ca2+ to initiate hyperactivation; however, the identity of the store was not known. Ca2+ stores are membrane-bounded organelles, and the only two membrane-bounded organelles found in this region of sperm are the redundant nuclear envelope (RNE) and mitochondria. Transmission electron micrographs revealed two different compartments of RNE, one enriched with nuclear pores and the other containing few pores but extensive membranous structures with enlarged cisternae. Immunolabeling showed that IP3 receptors and calreticulin are located in the region containing enlarged cisternae. In other cell types, mitochondria adjacent to Ca2+ stores are actively involved in modulating Ca2+ signals by taking up Ca2+ released from stores and also may respond by increas...
Child Care Enterprise, Community Development, and Work

Child care enterprise can be a vehicle for community-based economic development. Beyond the critical goal of child care service, day care as an enterprise can help build capacity for job creation and entrepreneurship in the inner city and in disadvantaged communities. Stable child care institutions with quality jobs can sound a counterpoint to the feminization of poverty.The demand for child care services is substantial and growing. In single parent families and in households with two working parents, day care is essential to enable parents to work or go to school. Further, high quality early childhood programs can have a positive impact on child development.But child care teachers face the dual obstacle of a public attitude that devalues their work and a harsh economic environment that relegates child care enterprise to the margin. The economic and social reality for day care centers too often means low-wage jobs for women, with few benefits and little opportunity for advancement.In any child care enterprise, the quality of care for the children substantially depends on the caregivers and on the quality of their work life. The quality of work, in turn, requires respect for the workers and sufficient resources to provide them with decent wages, benefits, and job security. The challenge, then, for a community economic development approach is two-fold. First, particularly in low-income neighborhoods, child care centers need to forge linkages beyond their own enterprises to external institutions with available resources. Second, they need to transform those resources into a corporate culture that values the work force and balances staff interests with the needs of the children and parents.Part I of this article describes the contours of the child care industry and underlying societal values that keep it at the economic margin. Part II locates child care in a community economic development context, with attention to child care employment and theories about women and work. Part III describes selected enterprise models, all of which involve child care centers strengthened by creative linkage with other institutions and one model that empowers staff through a participatory culture and worker ownership.
The Mixtecs of Oaxaca: Ancient Times to the Present

Among the native peoples of Mesoamerica, the Mixtecs are typically not afforded the same level of attention as are societies such as the Maya or Aztecs (or their contemporary descendants within var...
Studying the influence of standard compiler optimizations on symbolic execution

Systematic testing plays a vital role in increasing software reliability. A particularly effective and popular approach for systematic testing is symbolic execution, which analyzes a large number of program behaviors using symbolic inputs. Even though symbolic execution is among the most studied analyses during the last decade, scaling it to real-world applications remains a key challenge. This paper studies how a class of semantics-preserving program transformations, namely compiler optimizations, which are designed to enhance performance of standard program execution (using concrete inputs), influence traditional symbolic execution. As an enabling technology, the study uses KLEE, a well-known symbolic execution engine based on the LLVM compiler infrastructure, and focuses on 33 optimization flags of LLVM. Our specific research questions include: (1) how different optimizations influence the performance of symbolic execution for Unix Coreutils, (2) how the influence varies across two different program classes, and (3) how the influence varies across three different back-end constraint solvers. Some of our findings surprised us. For example, applying the 33 optimizations in a pre-defined order provides a slowdown (compared to applying no optimization) for a majority of the Coreutils when using the basic depth-first search with no constraint caching. The key finding of our work is that standard compiler optimizations need to be used with care when performing symbolic execution for creating tests that provide high code coverage. We hope our study motivates future research on harnessing the power of symbolic execution more effectively for enhancing software reliability, e.g., by designing program transformations specifically to scale symbolic execution or by studying broader classes of traditional compiler optimizations in the context of different search heuristics, memoization, and other strategies employed by modern symbolic execution tools.
Trends in International Strategic Management Research From 2000 to 2013: Text Mining and Bibliometric Analyses

This study provides an overview of the international strategic management literature from 2000 through 2013. By drawing from a sample of 736 articles, we employ bibliometric and text mining analyses in identifying 10 distinct subfields of international strategic management research. Our study serves as a resource for future research by shedding light on how trends in international strategic management research have evolved over time. The results of our analysis reveal a substantial increase in the volume of international strategic management articles published in high quality journals over this period of time. Specifically, our results demonstrate that certain subfields of international strategic management research, such as business strategy formulation, internal coordination, decision-making, corporate strategy implementation, international diversification, and national culture, are increasing in scholarly interest. However, other subfields of international strategic management research, such as political risk, corporate strategy formulation, business strategy implementation, and strategic alliances, have either stabilized or recently declined in scholarly interest. We also identify and report the most prominent theories employed within each subfield. We find that institutional theory, the resource-based view, organizational learning theory, social network theory, and the knowledge-based view have been the most frequently employed theories in the international strategic management literature.
A Probabilistic Proof of Stirling's Formula

(1974). A Probabilistic Proof of Stirling's Formula. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 81, No. 4, pp. 366-369.
Defining neonatal sepsis.

Purpose of reviewAlthough infection rates have modestly decreased in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) as a result of ongoing quality improvement measures, neonatal sepsis remains a frequent and devastating problem among hospitalized preterm neonates. Despite multiple attempts to address this
Techniques for Preparing Crustaceans for Scanning Electron Microscopy

ABSTRACT Several techniques for preparing the internal and external surfaces of crustaceans for SEM are described in detailed flow-chart form. Suggestions are given for improving fixation, cleaning, and overall appearance of specimens.
Formation of a Reversible, Intramolecular Main-Group Metal–CO2 Adduct

The P,P-chelated stannylene [(i-Pr2P)2N]2Sn takes up 2 equiv of carbon dioxide (CO2) to form an unusual product in which CO2 binds to the Sn and P atoms, thus forming a six-membered ring complex. Gentle heating of the solid product releases CO2, indicating that CO2 is bound as an adduct to the main-group complex. The groups bound to the CO2 fragment are not particularly sterically crowded or highly acidic, thus indicating that “frustrated” Lewis acid–base pairs are not required in the binding of CO2 to main-group elements.
Stressful Life Events Predict Peer Victimization: Does Anxiety Account for this Link?

Although limited, research suggests there is a link between stressful life events and peer victimization. However, little is known about the factors that might account for this association. The current study longitudinally evaluated whether stressful life events were associated with subsequent peer victimization, and examined whether anxiety symptoms partially accounted for this link. Participants included 294 elementary school-age children (M = 8.71, SD = 1.17, 50.7 % male). Results indicated that exposure to stressful life events was associated with high levels of peer victimization 1-year later, with anxiety symptoms accounting for 24 % of the variance in this association. Findings highlight the need for further evaluation of the association between stressful life experiences and peer victimization and factors that might account for this association. Future directions and implications for interventions are presented.
What is the value of determining the presence and measuring the level of circulating immune complexes in children with kidney disease and what methods should be used for their measurement

What is the value of determining the presence and measuring the level of circulating immune complexes in children with kidney disease and what methods should be used for their measurement?
Evaluation of granulocyte elastase as a seminal plasma marker for leukocytospermia

To evaluate the relationship between concentrations of the granulocytic enzyme poly-morphonuclear (PMN) elastase in seminal plasma and the presence of high numbers of white blood cells (WBC) in semen, specimens from 118 infertility patients were analyzed for each variable. PMN-elastase levels were determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and WBC numbers by a recently described immunohistologic technique. PMN-elastase levels in seminal plasma correlated well with WBC numbers in semen (r=+0.755). A three-step grading system of PMN-elastase values as low/normal ( 1000ng/ml) showed a highly significant relationship to a similar WBC number grading system: low/normal, 5 WBC/ml, intermediate, 10 5 to 10 6 WBC/ml, and high/leukocytospermic, >10 6 WBC/ml semen. Incubation of semen at 37°C resulted in a slight continuous decrease of immunoreactive PMN-elastase at a rate of approximately 10% per 3 hours. As all 18 samples with more than 1000ng PMN-elastase per ml seminal plasma showed more than 10 6 WBC/ml semen, PMN-elastase levels above 1000ng/ml were diagnostic for leukocytospermia.
Genetic variation of phosphoprotein (P) gene from measles epidemic strains in Zhejiang province

Objective To investigate the genetic characteristics and variation within the phosphoprotein (P) gene of measles epidemic strains circulated in Zhejiang province. Methods The whole sequence of P gene of the epidemic strains related to Zhejiang Measles virus during 1999 to 2008 was amplified, using the RT-PCR Assay. PCR products were sequenced and compared with the sequences of measles vaccine and other epidemic strains. Results Totally, 1524 nucleotides were sequenced from each epidemic strain and 507 amino acids were derived correspondingly. Compared with the vaccine strain, there were 59-75 nucleotides (divergent ratios were 3.9%-4.9%) mutated from the epidemic strains, which were isolated during 1999 to 2008 and causing mutation on 36-42 amino acid (divergent ratios were 7.1%-8.3% ). Changes were also observed on the secondary structure. The phylogenetic tree, constructed based on the sequences of P gene, was similar to that based on the N gene, recommended by WHO. In addition, the average divergent ratio of P protein was greater than the ratio occurred on the N and H genes. Conclusion The variation within the P gene between the vaccine and epidemic strains circulated in Zhejiang province during 1999 to 2008 was significant. Key words: Measles virus; Phosphoprotein; Nucleotide sequences; Variation
Personal Reminiscences from the Cavendish in the Thirties

Thank you, Bob, for your speech in praise of older physicists. Bob Chrien’s task in organizing this conference was not an easy one. We should therefore not blame him if he took a shortcut in a ranging today’s program. He simply asked Trudy to wake you up this morning and he asked me to put you to sleep tonight. I supposed it would be useful to organizers of conferences to have a “Michelin guide to after diner speakers.” It could, for instance, show the number of cups of coffee after each speaker’s name which are needed to keep awake during his speech.
Self-Reported Sleep Problems Prospectively Increase Risk of Disability: Findings from the Survey of Midlife Development in the United States

Objectives To determine whether subjective poor sleep prospectively increases functional limitations and incident disability in a national sample of adults living in the United States. Design Prospective cohort. Setting Longitudinal Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS). Participants Young, middle-aged, and older men and women (aged 24–75) surveyed in 1995/96 (MIDUS 1) and followed up in 2004–06 (MIDUS 2). Complete data were available for 3,620 respondents. Measurements Data were from telephone interviews and self-administered questionnaires. Participant reported chronic sleep problems within the prior month; functional limitations were assessed using the Functional Status Questionnaire. Demographic (age, sex, race), socioeconomic (educational attainment), health (chronic conditions, depression), and health behavior (obesity, smoking) covariates were assessed to reduce potential confounding. Results Approximately 11% of the sample reported chronic sleep problems at both MIDUS waves. Average number of activity of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) limitations increased significantly between MIDUS 1 (ADL limitations: 0.06; IADL limitations: 0.95) and MIDUS 2 (ADL limitations: 0.15; IADL limitations: 1.6; P < .001). Adjusted regression models estimating change in ADL scores showed that chronic sleep problems at MIDUS 1 predicted significantly greater increases in ADL (incident rate ratio (IRR) = 1.55, P < .001) and IADL (IRR = 1.28, P < .001) limitations. In those with no functional limitations at baseline, logistic regression models showed that chronic sleep problems significantly increased the odds of incident ADL (odds ratio (OR) = 2.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.68–3.24, P < .001) and IADL (OR = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.21–2.42, P = .002) disability. Conclusion Reports of chronic sleep problems predicted greater risk of onset of and increases in functional limitations 9 to 10 years later. Poor sleep may be a robust and independent risk factor for disability in adults of all ages.
Upregulation of Lipid Metabolism Modulators in Myeloma Cells Underlines Their Progression in a Supportive Microenvironment and Linking Metabolic Pathways with Growth Signaling

Abstract 329 Accumulating evidence indicate that cellular metabolism and bi-products also play important roles in signaling associated with tumor cell proliferation, cell cycle, survival and drug resistance. The overall goal of the study was to molecularly characterize MM cells grown in the supportive bone marrow (BM) of clinically relevant SCID-hu or SCID-rab models. MM cells from 22 patients were engrafted in experimental animals. Following establishment of the disease as determined by increased production of circulating human immunoglobulins over a period of 2–4 months, MM cells were isolated from the implanted bones and subjected to global gene expression profile (GEP). Based on stringent criteria (e.g. p 2 folds) we identified commonly overexpressed or underexpressed genes in post-engrafted MM cells compared to pre-engrafted cells from the same patients. Among the top upregulated genes we identified several factors associated with lipid metabolism including FABP5 (fatty acid-binding protein 5), SCD (stearoyl CoA desaturase 1), FADS1 (fatty acid desaturase 1) and SLC27A5 (a fatty acid transporter). Clinical GEP data of newly diagnosed patients from Total Therapy program at our institute revealed upregulation of these genes in high risk patients. We further sought to unravel the role of SCD in MM since it has been previously implicated in tumorigenesis and specific inhibitors are being developed for clinical use. SCD (encodes SCD1), is a rate-limiting enzyme responsible for synthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids. We hypothesized that while nutrient unsaturated fatty acids sufficiently satisfy requirement of most normal cells, growing MM cells demand higher content of these lipids for formation of new membrane phospholipids and immediate energy; therefore, inhibiting SCD1 may suppress MM cell survival and proliferation. Small-molecule inhibitor of SCD1 (BioVision) suppressed growth of 5 MM lines dose dependently; 72 hours IC50 ranged between 1μM (p Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
On existence of positive solutions for a class of discrete fractional boundary value problems

Motivated by some recent developments in the existence theory of fractional difference equations, in this paper we consider boundary value problem $$\begin{aligned} -\Delta _{\nu -2}^{\nu }u(t)=&f(t+\nu -1,u(t+\nu -1)),\quad 1<\nu \le 2,\\ u(\nu -2)&=0,\quad \Delta _{\nu -1}^{\nu -1}u(\nu +N)=0, \end{aligned}$$ where $$t\in [0,N+1]_{\mathbb {N}_0} $$ and N ( $$N\ge 2$$ ) is an integer. The nonlinear function $$f:[\nu -1,\nu +N]_{\mathbb {N}_{\nu -1}}\times \mathbb {R}\rightarrow \mathbb {R^+}$$ is assumed to be continuous. We establish some useful inequalities satisfied by the Green’s function associated with above boundary value problem. Sufficient conditions are developed to ensure the existence and nonexistence of positive solutions for the boundary value problem.
The Opiate Receptor and Its Endogenous Ligands An Overview

Contemporary research on the mode of action of narcotic analgesics has its origins in antiquity. The physical and psychological effects of the extract of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) were known to the ancient Sumerians (ca. 4000 B.C.) and were noted in the Eber papyrus, an Egyptian hieroglyphic document (ca. 1550 B.C.). Of the more than 20 alkaloids contained in opium, morphine, which was first isolated by Serturner in 1803, is the most important constituent. The relatively slow progress in elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying the myriad of pharmacological effects of morphine and its congeners may lie in part in our as yet incomplete understanding of the operations of the target tissue, the central nervous system (CNS). However, developments in the neurochemical and neuropharmacological aspects of opiate research in the past 9 years have engendered considerable activity and excitement. The exponential increase in the number of scientific reports in this field of research is an indication of the importance attached to this area of neurobiology. Two major breakthroughs, the discovery of opiate receptors in the CNS of animals and man and the ensuing discovery of endogenous opiate-like ligands for these receptors, are the focal points of this overview.
Crowdfunding Innovative Ideas: How Incremental and Radical Innovativeness Influence Funding Outcomes

We investigate the effect of innovativeness on crowdfunding outcomes. Because crowdfunding campaigns characterized by greater incremental innovativeness are more comprehensible and generate more us...
Serum-Factor- and Prolactin-Induced Stimulation of DNA Synthesis by Nuclei Externalized from Mammary Tissue

A very intriguing but poorly understood event in cell biology is the transition from the G1 to the S phase of the cell cycle. It is this event that marks the change from a nonproliferative to a proliferative state. Cell-fusion studies (Rao and Johnson, 1970; Graves, 1972; Rao et al., 1977) suggest that the transition is under positive, rather than negative, control exerted by certain cytoplasmic factors. A variety of exogenous agents, including serum protein factors and hormones, can stimulate cell proliferation in vitro, but the molecular mechanisms have not been delineated.
Insights into the structural basis of RNA recognition by STAR domain proteins.

STAR proteins regulate diverse cellular processes and control numerous developmental events. They function at the post-transcriptional level by regulating the stability, sub-cellular distribution, alternative splicing, or translational efficiency of specific mRNA targets. Significant effort has been expended to define the determinants of RNA recognition by STAR proteins, in hopes of identifying new mRNA targets that contribute their role in cellular metabolism and development. This work has lead to the extensive biochemical characterization of the nucleotide sequence specificity of a handful of STAR proteins. In contrast, little structural information is available to analyze the molecular basis of sequence specific RNA recognition by this protein family. This chapter reviews the relevant literature on STAR domain protein structure and provides insights into how these proteins discriminate between different RNA sequences.
SuperpowerGlass: A Wearable Aid for the At-Home Therapy of Children with Autism

We have developed a system for automatic facial expression recognition running on Google Glass, delivering real-time social cues to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The system includes multiple mechanisms to engage children and their parents, who administer this technology within the home. We completed an at-home design trial with 14 families that used the learning aid over a 3-month period. We found that children with ASD generally respond well to wearing the system at home and opt for the most expressive feedback choice. We further evaluated app usage, facial engagement, and model accuracy. We found that the device can act as a powerful training aid when used periodically in the home, that interactive video content from wearable therapy sessions should be augmented with sufficient context about the content to produce long-term engagement, and that the design of wearable systems for children with ASD should be heavily dependent on the functioning level of the child. We contribute general design implications for developing wearable aids used by children with ASD and other behavioral disorders as well as their parents during at-home parent-administered therapy sessions.
Incidental Langerhans cell histiocytosis of the colon with BRAF p.V600E mutation.

![Figure][1] A 57-year-old woman with no significant medical history presented for routine screening colonoscopy. An incidental ulcer was found 50 cm from the anus, and biopsy revealed colonic mucosa with an underlying proliferation of atypical cells with large plump oval nuclei with overt
Hydraulic fracturing fluid biocide, tributyl tetradecyl phosphonium chloride, causes mitochondrial dysfunction that is enhanced by sodium chloride in Chironomus riparius

Tributyl tetradecyl phosphonium chloride (TTPC) is a biocide used in hydraulic fracturing fluid to minimize bacterial contamination. This study used the larvae of the freshwater insect Chironomus riparius to investigate the toxicity of TTPC, NaCl, and TTPC+NaCl. LC50s (mg/L) at 24 hours for TTPC, NaCl, and TTPC+NaCl were 0.57, >10,000, and 0.32, respectively, indicating a synergistic effect for TTPC+NaCl. ATP production was significantly increased in response to TTPC alone as compared to controls, but decreased significantly when TTPC was combined with NaCl, indicating severe damage to mitochondria. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and lipid hydroperoxides (LPO) levels both increased in response to TTPC treatment, however, only LPO activity increased when TTPC was combined with NaCl. Red laser stimulation failed to enhance ATP production in response to increasing concentrations of TTPC and TTPC+NaCl. Taken together, these results indicate that hydraulic fracturing fluids entering freshwater ecosystems may put macroinvertebrates at risk.
The impact of urban expansion on the regional environment in Myanmar: a case study of two capital cities

This study examines the spatio-temporal patterns of urban expansion for Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw, the former and new national capitals of Myanmar, and its impact on the regional environment between 2000 and 2013. The objective is to examine different driving forces of urban expansion for Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw, and their environmental consequences during Myanmar’s transitional economy. Classified time-series Landsat images are used to evaluate urban expansion processes. Environmental parameters being evaluated in this study include five sets of remotely sensed MODIS land products that are land surface temperature (LST), percent tree cover (PTC), evapotranspiration (ET), terrestrial ecosystem net primary productivity (NPP), and aerosol optical depth (AOD). A time-series trend analysis technique is used to examine the environmental consequences. The built-up areas in Nay Pyi Taw and Yangon exhibit exponential and polynomial increase, respectively. A 1% increase of built-up area could potentially cause an increase of daytime LST of 0.7 °C, a PTC loss of 2.3%, a decrease in NPP of 34.3 kg/m2, and an ET decrease of 42.2 mm for Yangon. Similarly, for Nay Pyi Taw, a 1% increase in built-up area could potentially cause a daytime LST increase of 0.3 °C, a nighttime LST increase of 0.06 °C, a PTC loss of 2.5%, a decrease in NPP of 15.1 kg/m2, and a decrease of 19.2 mm ET. No significant change was observed for AOD for either city. Both cities have experienced extensive urban expansion but with different spatial and temporal characteristics, and their effects on the regional environment are different. Urban expansion of Nay Pyi Taw mainly was government-induced municipal infrastructure development. Yangon’s expansion is mainly caused by population pressure and migration from rural areas. The urban expansion in Yangon was mainly due to reconstruction and renovation, as well as infill development during the study period.