cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SURVIVAL OF LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES IN YOGURT WITH VARYING LEVELS OF FAT AND SOLIDS

Yogurts with varying levels of fat and solids were fermented with Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus in the laboratory to a titratable acidity (TA) of .09%. Each yogurt was seeded with one of three strains of Listeria monocytogenes at two levels and survival was monitored at 1–7, 14, 21 and 28 days during storage at 4°C. All strains survived longer in the skim milk/high solids yogurts which had a higher pH than the whole milk/low solids yogurt. To determine the effects of pH, solids and fat, simulated yogurts, prepared by acidifying milk preparations to pH 4.2, 4.1 and 4.0, were inoculated with L. monocytogenes. Survival was affected by differences in pH and solids content and strain L. monocytogenes while fat content had no apparent effect.
Fifteen New Species in the Genus Perubala (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Neobalinae)

ABSTRACT: Fifteen new species are added to the genus Perubala Linnavuori from South America. The new species are P. boliviano from Bolivia; P. chotai, P. dentata, P. elongata, P. hamata, P. lobata and P. torra from Colombia; P. egeri from French Guiana; and P. diata, P. nigropennis, P. ramosi, P. reversa, P. spina, P. stenostyla and P. sulca from Peru. A key to the species of Perubala is included.
Public Drinking Water Violations in Mountaintop Coal Mining Areas of West Virginia, USA

Mountaintop coal mining (MTM) has adverse impacts on surface and ground water quality. Instances of domestic well water contamination from mining activities have been documented, but possible mining impacts on public water treatment systems are unknown. We analyzed the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Information System to examine the number and type of public water treatment violations in West Virginia for the years 2001–2009. Violations were compared between three groups of water treatment facilities: those in counties with mountaintop coal mining (n=161 facilities), coal mining other than mountaintop mining (n=184 facilities), and with no coal mining (n=137 facilities). Adjusting statistically for system size and water source, there were 73.0 violations per system in MTM areas, 16.7 violations per system in other mining areas, and 10.2 violations per system in non-mining areas (F=7.21, df=7,475, p<0.0001). Excess violations in MTM counties were most often related to failure to conduct required sampling for organic compounds. Complete sampling and reporting of public drinking water quality in MTM areas is needed.
Too much face and not enough books: The relationship between multiple indices of Facebook use and academic performance

Because of the social media platform's widespread adoption by college students, there is a great deal of interest in how Facebook use is related to academic performance. A small number of prior studies have examined the relationship between Facebook use and college grade point average (GPA); however, these studies have been limited by their measures, sampling designs and failure to include prior academic ability as a control variable. For instance, previous studies used non-continuous measures of time spent on Facebook and self-reported GPA. This paper fills a gap in the literature by using a large sample (N=1839) of college students to examine the relationship among multiple measures of frequency of Facebook use, participation in Facebook activities, and time spent preparing for class and actual overall GPA. Hierarchical (blocked) linear regression analyses revealed that time spent on Facebook was strongly and significantly negatively related to overall GPA, while only weakly related to time spent preparing for class. Furthermore, using Facebook for collecting and sharing information was positively predictive of the outcome variables while using Facebook for socializing was negatively predictive.
Leasing versus purchasing: Direct evidence on a corporation’s motivations for leasing and consequences of leasing

This paper provides new evidence on the possible sources of lessee equity value changes when leasing contracts are announced. We show that lessee common equity value increases significantly in sale and leasebacks and insignificantly in direct leases. We find support, in sale and leasebacks, for the tax-savings hypothesis and for the savings in bankruptcy costs hypothesis. We also find support for the hypothesis that leasing reduces the external financing costs related to adverse selection that arise in markets with asymmetric information. Finally, we show that lessees gain less in direct leases when they lease assets with salvage values that are sensitive to use. © 2001 Bureau of Economic and Business Research, University of Illinois. All rights reserved.
Volumetric computed tomography analysis of the olfactory cleft in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.

Background Commonly used computed tomography (CT) staging systems for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) focus on the sinuses and do not quantify disease in the olfactory cleft. The goal of the current study was to determine whether precise measurements of olfactory cleft opacification better correlate with olfaction in patients with CRS. Methods Olfaction was assessed using the 40-item Smell Identification Test (SIT-40) before and after sinus surgery in adult patients. Olfactory cleft opacification was quantified precisely using three-dimensional (3D), computerized volumetric analysis, as well as via semiquantitative Likert scale estimations at predetermined anatomic sites. Sinus opacification was also quantified using the Lund-Mackay staging system. Results The overall cohort (n = 199) included 89 (44.7%) patients with CRS with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) and 110 (55.3%) with CRS without nasal polyposis (CRSsNP). The olfactory cleft opacified volume correlated with objective olfaction as determined by the SIT-40 (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient [Rs] = −0.461; p < 0.001). The correlation was significantly stronger in the CRSwNP subgroup (Rs = −0.573; p < 0.001), whereas no appreciable correlation was found in the CRSsNP group (Rs = −0.141; p = 0.141). Correlations between sinus-specific Lund-Mackay CT scoring and SIT-40 scores were weaker in the CRSwNP (Rs = −0.377; p < 0.001) subgroup but stronger in the CRSsNP (Rs = −0.225; p = 0.018) group when compared to olfactory cleft correlations. Greater intraclass correlations (ICCs) were found between quantitative volumetric measures of olfactory cleft opacification (ICC = 0.844; p < 0.001) as compared with semiquantitative Likert grading (ICC = 0.627; p < 0.001). Conclusion Quantitative measures of olfactory cleft opacification correlate with objective olfaction, with the strongest correlations seen in patients with nasal polyps.
Should a Normal Imputation Model be Modified to Impute Skewed Variables

Researchers often impute continuous variables under an assumption of normality–yet many incomplete variables are skewed. We find that imputing skewed continuous variables under a normal model can lead to bias. The bias is usually mild for popular estimands such as means, standard deviations, and linear regression coefficients, but the bias can be severe for more shape-dependent estimands such as percentiles or the coefficient of skewness. We test several methods for adapting a normal imputation model to accommodate skewness, including methods that transform, truncate, or censor (round) normally imputed values as well as methods that impute values from a quadratic or truncated regression. None of these modifications reliably reduces the biases of the normal model, and some modifications can make the biases much worse. We conclude that, if one has to impute a skewed variable under a normal model, it is usually safest to do so without modifications–unless you are more interested in estimating percentiles and...
ANG II receptor blockade prevents ventricular hypertrophy and ANF gene expression with pressure overload in mice

There is increasing evidence that the renin-angiotensin system may play a important role in cardiac hypertrophy. To assess the role of angiotensin II in the induction of cardiac hypertrophy, three groups of adult mice were subjected to left ventricular pressure overload by transverse aortic constriction (TAC). For the next 7 days the groups received either the specific angiotensin II subtype 1 receptor (AT1) antagonist (losartan, 1.05 g/l; n = 17), an angiotensin enzyme inhibitor (captopril, 2 g/l; n = 17), or no treatment (n = 22) administered in the drinking water and compared with three similarly treated sham-operated groups (n = 7 each). TAC resulted in a significant increase in heart weight-to-body weight ratio (0.634 +/- 0.087 vs. 0.525 +/- 0.039, g/g x 100, P < 0.05), which was prevented by losartan (0.506 +/- 0.069, g/g x 100, P < 0.0001) despite similar hemodynamic load (proximal systolic pressure 146 +/- 31 vs. 136 +/- 32 mmHg, untreated vs. losartan, P = NS). Proximal systolic pressure was positively correlated with the development of ventricular hypertrophy. In the presence of AT1-receptor blockade, the increase in heart weight-to-body weight ratio at any given systolic pressure was significantly attenuated compared with untreated TAC mice. The increase in heart weight-to-body weight ratio was also significantly attenuated by captopril compared with untreated banded controls (0.542 +/- 0.091, g/g x 100, P = 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The effects of montelukast on intradermal wheal and flare

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the effect of montelukast, a leukotriene receptor antagonist, on intradermal skin testing.STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We conducted a prospective, randomized, double-...
Microarray analysis in gastric cancer: A review

Gastric cancer is one of the most common tumors worldwide. Although several treatment options have been developed, the mortality rate is increasing. Lymph node involvement is considered the most reliable prognostic indicator in gastric cancer. Early diagnosis improves the survival rate of patients and increases the likelihood of successful treatment. The most reliable diagnostic method is endoscopic examination, however, it is expensive and not feasible in poorer countries. Therefore, many innovative techniques have been studied to develop a new non-invasive screening test and to identify specific serum biomarkers. DNA microarray analysis is one of the new technologies able to measure the expression levels of a large number of genes simultaneously. It is possible to define the gene expression profile of the tumor and to correlate it with the prognosis and metastasis formation. Several studies in the literature have been published on the role of microarray analysis in gastric cancer and the mechanisms of proliferation and metastasis formation. The aim of this review is to analyze the importance of microarray analysis and its clinical applications to better define the genetic characteristics of gastric cancer and its possible implications in a more decisive treatment.
A Tripartite Approach to Information Systems Development

Management information systems (MIS) development is a process in which a user's vague, ambiguous, informal thoughts are translated into precise, nonambiguous, formal systems specifications required for implementation on a computer. A variety of MIS development methodologies have been developed, many designed to model a business-oriented MIS in which either function modeling or data modeling predominates. Yet many of these techniques are inadequate for modeling time-dependent behavior of the MIS, particularly when the MIS involves asynchronous, concurrent execution of cooperating processes. This paper proposes a tripartite approach to MIS development in which descriptions of “what” the MIS is to do, and “how” it is to do it are more closely related to the actual system implementation than with traditional development methodologies. The technique is based on three independent modeling tools used in conjunction: data flow diagrams, Petri nets, and production rules. The methodology in the context of computer integrated manufacturing systems is illustrated.
Novel approach for α‐helical topology prediction in globular proteins: Generation of interhelical restraints

The protein folding problem represents one of the most challenging problems in computational biology. Distance constraints and topology predictions can be highly useful for the folding problem in reducing the conformational space that must be searched by deterministic algorithms to find a protein structure of minimum conformational energy. We present a novel optimization framework for predicting topological contacts and generating interhelical distance restraints between hydrophobic residues in α-helical globular proteins. It should be emphasized that since the model does not make assumptions about the form of the helices, it is applicable to all α-helical proteins, including helices with kinks and irregular helices. This model aims at enhancing the ASTRO-FOLD protein folding approach of Klepeis and Floudas (Journal of Computational Chemistry 2003;24:191–208), which finds the structure of global minimum conformational energy via a constrained nonlinear optimization problem. The proposed topology prediction model was evaluated on 26 α-helical proteins ranging from 2 to 8 helices and 35 to 159 residues, and the best identified average interhelical distances corresponding to the predicted contacts fell below 11 A in all 26 of these systems. Given the positive results of applying the model to several protein systems, the importance of interhelical hydrophobic-to-hydrophobic contacts in determining the folding of α-helical globular proteins is highlighted. Proteins 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
How would the self be remembered? Evidence for posthumous self-verification

Abstract Three correlational studies and one experiment examined self-verification versus self-enhancement in a posthumous context. In Study 1, in two samples (combined N = 3029) modal responses suggest a desire to be remembered as one really is, far into the future. Studies 2 ( N = 92) and 3 ( N = 414) showed that posthumous self-verification was independent of life satisfaction, positive self-evaluations, and self-construals but was related to self-esteem, the search for meaning in life, and generativity. In Study 4 ( N = 461), the salience of negative and positive self-aspects was manipulated. Even when negative qualities were salient, the majority of participants (61%) preferred to be remembered as they really are. The role of self-verification in existential concerns is discussed.
Concrete Revolution: Large Dams, Cold War Geopolitics, and the US Bureau of Reclamation

Christopher Sneddon. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2015. xii and 270 pp., photos, illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $45.00 cloth (ISBN 9780226284316), $10.00 to $45.00 electron...
Evidence supporting the Nucleotide Axis Hypothesis: ATP release and metabolism by coronary endothelium

The Nucleotide Axis Hypothesis, defined and supported herein, proposes that ATP stimulates the release of vasoactive mediators from endothelium, including ATP itself. Here, we show rapid endotheliu...
Alzheimer disease and genetics: Anticipating the questions

Three genes with autosomal dominant mutations have been identified that may lead to Alzheimer symptoms in carriers before they reach age 60. Genetic tests exist for Alzheimer disease, but they are considered useful only for the small number of families with a history of early-onset illness. As researchers continue to uncover evidence of genetic links to Alzheimer disease, nurses can expect to field questions from family members about genetic testing. The article presents a variety of questions nurses may be asked, as well as possible answers.
Optimal Use of the Frozen Section

The indications for requesting frozen-section examinations are examined and include determination of diagnosis of an unknown process, adequacy of resection, identification of tissue, and presence of lymph node metastases. An Intraoperative Pathology Consultation form is explored, which is designed to assist the surgeon in communicating essential information to the pathologist at the same time that it provides a source of quality assurance information such as turnaround time for the examination, frozensection quality, and agreement between frozen-section diagnosis and final diagnosis.
A Nudix Hydrolase Necessary for Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Survival under Oxidative Stress

Despite a constant decrease in tuberculosis (TB) incidence rates, nearly two billion people worldwide are estimated to have latent TB. Five to ten percent of people with latent TB will develop the active form of the disease. Of the estimated 8.6 million new cases of active TB in 2012, 1.3 million people died of the disease and 450,000 developed multidrug-resistant TB. Resistance to oxidative stress is essential for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) survival in host macrophages and the onset of latent TB infection. We have identified a Nudix (nucleoside diphosphate-linked moiety X) hydrolase, RenU, necessary for Mtb survival in oxidative stress environments. We show that RenU preferentially degrades adenosine derivatives over other nucleoside derivatives. Through a novel fluorescence based assay, we also determined that RenU prefers NADH as a substrate over NAD. Furthermore, we show that RenU is required for Mtb survival within macrophages. The link between RenU, NADH, and Mtb survival warrants further investigation as it could be the basis for novel therapeutic approaches to prevent and combat latent TB.
How an outside facilitator helped us create a better strategic plan

Using a facilitator can enhance a library’s strategic planning process and lead to the creation of a more clearly articulated strategic plan. Santa Clara University Library used a facilitator for its strategic planning process, which resulted in new vision and mission statements, and a plan centered around five priorities. This article will provide a description of the environment, details of the strategic planning process, the role and benefits of using a facilitator and questions to consider before bringing in a facilitator.
A Survey of the Prevention Knowledge and Behavior about Typhoon Disasters in a County of Wenzhou

[Objective] To assess the knowledge and skills in prevention,danger avoidance,self aid and buddy care,and disaster reduction in facing typhoon disasters among the urban and rural residents in a county of Wenzhou,so as to provide a basis for the government to make emergency defense strategy and carry out health education against typhoon disaster.[Methods] A total of 585 urban and rural residents from Cangnan County,which was affected by typhoons most often and severely over the years,were selected for the questionnaire survey with multistage random sampling in December 2010.[Results] The total awareness rate of typhoon related knowledge and skills was 74.3%,and that in the urban residents(76.5%) was significantly higher than that in the rural ones(72.2%)(P 0.01).The public consciousness and information demand on disaster prevention was significantly higher in urban residents than in rural ones(P 0.01).The mass media,such as cell phone short message service,television,newspaper,were most acceptable to people to receive the health education.[Conclusion] The awareness,knowledge and skills of typhoon prevention among the residents in Cangnan need to be further improved.The contents of education for urban and rural regions should focus on different aspects with appropriate health education theory and method.Rural residents are the key population of the education,and mass media should be the major tool to carry out health education.
Experimental Research on Guidance of Learning-method in P.E Teaching in Colleges and Universities

The Guiding ideology of Health First,implemented in P.E teaching in colleges and Universities,has been confirmed.P.E teaching is now stepping towards the road of the healthy education.It tries to make students do some exercises throughout their lives.The guidance of learning method has become the most important subject in P.E teaching.On the basis of investigations of lots of documents,this project researches on the guidance of learning-method in P.E teaching with the experimental method of teaching.Through the comparative experiment,it shows that the effect of teaching in experimental team is extraordinary and the quality of teaching has improved obviously.
Passive Wireless Frequency Doubling Antenna Sensor for Strain and Crack Sensing

This paper presents the design, simulation, and validation experiments of a passive (battery-free) wireless frequency doubling antenna sensor for strain and crack sensing. Since the length of a patch antenna governs the antenna’s resonance frequency, a patch antenna bonded to a structural surface can be used to measure mechanical strain or crack propagation by interrogating resonance frequency shift due to antenna length change. In comparison with previous approaches such as radio frequency identification, the frequency doubling scheme is proposed as a new signal modulation approach for the antenna sensor. The proposed approach can easily distinguish backscattered passive sensor signal (at the doubled frequency $2{f}$ ) from environmental electromagnetic reflections (at original reader interrogation frequency $f$ ). To accurately estimate the performance of the frequency doubling antenna sensor, a multi-physics coupled simulation framework is proposed to aid the sensor design while considering both the mechanical and electromagnetic behaviors. Two commercial software packages, COMSOL and Advanced Design System (ADS), are combined to leverage the features from each other. The simulated performance of the frequency doubling antenna sensor is further validated by experiments. The results show that the sensor is capable of detecting small strain changes and the growth of a small crack.
Synthesis and Antitumor Activity of Conjugate of Phosphate Zwitterions and Tegafur

Intermediate 2 was synthesized by one-pot reaction of 2-(N,N-diethylamino)-1,3,2-dioxaphospholane and N1-(2-furanidyl)-N3-(hydroxyalkyl)-5-fluyorouracil and sulfur.2 reacted with triethylamine to obtain conjugate of phosphate zwitterions and tegafur(3).The structures of 2 and 3 were confirmed by 1H NMR,31P NMR and elemental analysis.3 exhibited antitumor activity against human urinaryl bladder cancer cell T-24 and stomach cancer cell BGC-823.
Developmental expression of syndecan, an integral membrane proteoglycan, correlates with cell differentiation

Syndecan is an integral membrane proteoglycan that behaves as a matrix receptor by binding cells to interstitial matrix and associating intracellularly with the actin cytoskeleton. Using immunohistology, we have now localized this proteoglycan during the morphogenesis of various derivatives of the surface ectoderm in mouse embryos. Syndecan is expressed on ectodermal epithelia, but is selectively lost from the cells that differentiate into the localized placodes that initiate lens, nasal, otic and vibrissal development. The loss is transient on presumptive ear, nasal and vibrissal epithelia; the derivatives of the differentiating ectodermal cells that have lost syndecan subsequently re-express syndecan. In contrast, syndecan is initially absent from the mesenchyme underlying the surface ectoderm, and is transiently expressed when the surface ectoderm loses syndecan. These results demonstrate that expression of syndecan is developmentally regulated in a distinct spatiotemporal pattern. On epithelia, syndecan is lost at a time and, location that correlates with epithelial cell differentiation and, on mesenchyme, syndecan is acquired when the cells aggregate in proximity to the epithelium. This pattern of change with morphogenetic events is unique and not duplicated by other matrix molecules or adhesion receptors.
Bioelectric modulation of macrophage polarization

Macrophages play a critical role in regulating wound healing and tissue regeneration by changing their polarization state in response to local microenvironmental stimuli. The native roles of polarized macrophages encompass biomaterials and tissue remodeling needs, yet harnessing or directing the polarization response has been largely absent as a potential strategy to exploit in regenerative medicine to date. Recent data have revealed that specific alteration of cells’ resting potential (Vmem) is a powerful tool to direct proliferation and differentiation in a number of complex tissues, such as limb regeneration, craniofacial patterning and tumorigenesis. In this study, we explored the bioelectric modulation of macrophage polarization by targeting ATP sensitive potassium channels (KATP). Glibenclamide (KATP blocker) and pinacidil (KATP opener) treatment not only affect macrophage polarization, but also influence the phenotype of prepolarized macrophages. Furthermore, modulation of cell membrane electrical properties can fine-tune macrophage plasticity. Glibenclamide decreased the secretion and gene expression of selected M1 markers, while pinacidil augmented M1 markers. More interestingly, glibencalmide promoted macrophage alternative activation by enhancing certain M2 markers during M2 polarization. These findings suggest that control of bioelectric properties of macrophages could offer a promising approach to regulate macrophage phenotype as a useful tool in regenerative medicine.
Responsibility to Protect: A Questionable Norm

This thesis examines the commitment made by world leaders in the support of military humanitarian intervention in the name of human rights. In the context of humanitarian intervention in international law it can be said that there is ample state practice to indicate that the strength of opinion juris is not fully established. Humanitarian intervention, however, remains a highly controversial issue as it draws from the concept of universality central to the human rights discourse at the same time as it changes dominant conceptualizations of state sovereignty. This thesis assesses the effectiveness of existing Articles of the United Nations Charter framework that aim to reduce human rights violations. To establish a framework this thesis will rely on different writings by Mr. Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of United Nations, for their emphasis on the need for international actors to work toward the “common good” in order to realize a stable and secure international order. I examine four case studies: Bosnia (UN inaction), Kosovo (action without Security Council authorization), Libya (intervention with Security Council authorization), Syria (yet a case of inaction, even though violence is evident). The hypothesis that guides my thesis is that leaders at times place the moral imperative for humanitarian intervention above national interest but not always. National interests at other times prevent the moral action needed. I argue that: 1) The implementation of Responsibility to Protect has been inconsistent: Evidence will show the selectivity: Libya yes, Syria no. 2) Implementation is dependent on the national interests of major powers, especially the P-5. 3) UN and regional organizations must all be on board as they did for Libya under resolution 1973. The analysis leads to the conclusion that although, the adoption of the notion of the Responsibility to Protect, the subsidization of preventive mechanisms, and the creation of the Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide where the international community have had a significant impact, there needs to be more efficient visible collaboration of world leaders to go above national interest.
Factors Affecting the Ovarian Response to a Combined Estradiol-Sulpiride Treatment in Seasonally Anovulatory Mares

Abstract Twenty-three seasonally anovulatory mares, housed at two separate farms, were treated with 50 mg of estradiol cypionate (ECP) and 3 g of sulpiride in January to study factors that contributed to success of the treatment (response = ovulation within 28 days). Every other day, blood samples and pretreatment secretagogue challenges were used to characterize prolactin, luteinizing hormone (LH), insulin-like growth factor-I, leptin, and insulin concentrations. Ovaries of each mare were scanned via ultrasound regularly until detection of a 32–35 mm follicle, at which time the mare was artificially inseminated. Prolactin was stimulated in all treated mares and was similar (P > .05) in responding and nonresponding mares. Nine mares, all at the same farm (Ben Hur; farm effect, P = .006), responded with preovulatory sized follicles within 20 days of treatment. Five of the 9 were inseminated and 3 conceived. Retrospective analysis revealed that of the mares responding, body condition score (P = .03), body weight (P = .02), plasma concentrations of insulin (P = .01) and leptin (P = .09), and pretreatment response of LH to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (P = .106) were higher in responding than in nonresponding mares. In general, factors that differed and may contribute to whether a given mare responds to this ECP-sulpiride protocol were mainly characteristics pointing toward well-nourished mares. Minor nutritional differences between farms likely played a role in the lack of success on the one farm. Also, the LH response to gonadotropin-releasing hormone prior to treatment may be indicative of the subsequent LH response to ECP-sulpiride and hence the ovarian response.
CMP-NeuNAc:poly-alpha-2,8-sialosyl sialyltransferase and the biosynthesis of polysialosyl units in neural cell adhesion molecules.

Prokaryotic derived probes that specifically recognize alpha-2,8-ketosidically linked polysialosyl units were developed to identify and study the temporal expression of these unique carbohydrate moieties in developing neural tissue (Vimr, E. R., McCoy, R. D., Vollger, H. F., Wilkison, N. C., and Troy, F. A. (1984) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81, 1971-1975). These polysialosyl units cap N-linked oligosaccharides of the complex-type on neural cell adhesion molecules (N-CAM). A Golgi-enriched fraction from 20-day-old fetal rat brain contains a membrane-associated sialyltransferase that catalyzes the incorporation of [14C]N-acetylneuraminic acid [( 14C]NeuNAc) from CMP-[14C] NeuNAc into polymeric products. At pH 6.0, 84 pmol of NeuNAc mg of protein-1 h-1 were incorporated. In sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels, the major radiolabeled species migrated with a mobility expected for N-CAM. A bacteriophage-derived endoneuraminidase specific for polysialic acid was used to demonstrate that at least 20-30% of the [14C]NeuNAc was incorporated into alpha-2,8-linked polysialosyl units. This was confirmed by structural studies which showed that the endoneuraminidase-sensitive brain material consisted of multimers of sialic acid. The addition of a partially purified preparation of chick N-CAM to the membranous sialyltransferase stimulated sialic acid incorporation 3-fold. The product of this reaction was also sensitive to endoneuraminidase and contained alpha-2,8-linked polysialosyl chains, thus showing that N-CAM can serve as an exogenous acceptor for sialylation in vitro. Sialic acid incorporated into adult rat brain membranes was resistant to endoneuraminidase, indicating that the poly-alpha-2,8-sialosyl sialyltransferase activity is restricted to an early developmental epoch. It is recommended that the enzyme described here be designated CMP-NeuNAc:poly-alpha-2,8-sialosyl sialyltransferase and the trivial name poly-alpha-2,8-sialosyl sialyltransferase be adopted.
Effect of Dihydroasparagusic Acid on the Germination of Pisum sativum cv. Early Alaska

Summary The germination of Pisum sativum cv. Early Alaska is retarded by presoak treatments with dihydroasparagusic acid ( β,β’ -dithiolisobutyric acid). Plants grown to first anthesis from seeds receiving presoak treatments with this compound showed no effects compared with controls.
SMI-Ribosome inactivating protein conjugates selectively inhibit tumor cell growth

Cell-targeting conjugates of Saporin 6, a ribosome inactivating protein (RIP), were prepared using the Saporin Ala 157 Cys mutant, a small molecule inhibitor (SMI) of integrins αvβ3/αvβ5, and a potent cytotoxin, auristatin F (AF). The conjugates selectively and potently inhibited proliferation of tumor cells expressing the target integrins. We anticipate that the small molecule-RIP bioconjugate approach can be broadly applied using other small molecule drugs.
SUPERCOILED LOOPS AND TRANSCRIBING GENES

ABSTRACT The DNA in a eucaryotic nucleus is arranged into a series of supercoiled loops which are anchored at their bases to a nuclear skeleton or matrix. It can be shown that these supercoiled loops of DNA are mobile, as they appear to be reeled through the matrix during DNA replication. Using nuclease digestion, one can progressively cleave DNA from the loops, thereby isolating residual DNA that is close to the nuclear matrix anchorage sites. Several transcribed genes appear to be enriched in this residual DNA. The sequences examined are the genes coding for ribosomal RNA in rat liver cells, the SV40 genes in SV40 transformed mouse cells, the ovalbumin gene in hen oviduct cells, and the Alu sequence family in human lung cells. The results suggest that genes transcribed by all three mammalian RNA polymerases are oriented non-randomly with respect to supercoiled loop domains.
Hepatitis C Update

Page e6 The pace of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) drug development in recent years has accelerated dramatically. But, for patients to benefit from these impressive advances, practitioners (i.e. “us”) need to know the most recent and accurate data on the diagnosis and treatment. In 2013, The American Association for Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) and the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), put together web-based guidelines, which are frequently updated: www.hcvguidelines.org and www.aasld.org/practice-guidelines.1 The size of the problem: In the USA, the prevalence is 1.8% (4.1 million), 80% of them are viremic. It is the principal cause of death from liver disease. It is the leading indication for liver transplantation in the USA. Although, HCV is a curable disease, it is under-diagnosed and under-treated.2 Three quarters of individuals with HCV are unaware they are infected. 66-87% of patients diagnosed with HCV have not received antiviral treatment. Screening and diagnosis: 65-69% of anti-HCV positive patients were born between 1945 and 1964. Persons born between 1945 and 1964 had a 4.6 times higher prevalence of HCV than persons born prior to 1945 or after 1964 (3.7% vs. 0.73%).3 Treatment: Before treatment, you need to know: genotype and viral load, previous treatment, and presence of absence of cirrhosis.4 Generally speaking, 4 regimens are currently available. Ledipasvir/sofosbuvir × 12 weeks (8 weeks at discretion of practitioner), Paritaprevir/ritonavir/ombitasvir+dasabuvir + RBV × 12 weeks, Daclatasvir/sofosbuvir × 12 weeks and Sofusbuvir +Simeprevir±RBV × 12 weeks.5
Prior probabilities and confirmation theory: A problem with the fine-tuning argument

Fine-tuning arguments attempt to infer the existence of God from the presumably improbable fact that the universe is able to support life. Life would not be possible if any of approximately two-dozen fundamental laws and properties of the universe had been even slightly different. While there are different versions of the argument, they all attempt to show that the surprising fact that the universe has every one of these necessary properties supports the proposition that there exists a perfect God who created the universe for the purpose of supporting life. In this essay, I consider two versions of the fine-tuning argument that rely on different constructions of the following general principle of confirmation theory: if an observation O is more likely to occur under hypothesis HI than under hypothesis H2, then O supports accepting HI over H2. The strong version of the argument construes the critical term 'support' as connoting 'epistemically warranted'. On this construction, the fine-tuning argument purports to establish that God exists and hence counts, so to speak, as a proof of God's existence.1 The weak version construes 'support' as connoting 'counts as evidence in favor of. On this construction, the argument purports merely to show that the appearance of fine-tuning in the universe is a reason for preferring the hypothesis that God exists to the hypothesis that God does not exist. I argue that only the weaker version succeeds.
Establishment and characterization of leukemic T-cell lines, B-cell lines, and null-cell line: a progress report on surface antigen study of fresh lymphatic leukemias in man.

In 1971, Minowada et al. (20) established a set of leukemic lymphoid cell lines designated as MOLT 1–4 from a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The most striking feature which was associated with cell membrane of the MOLT cells was non-immune rosette-formation with erythrocytes of sheep, goat, pig and horse. This study has led to two significant contributions: 1. the non-immune rosettes which are now refered to as E rosettes, are indeed a cell surface marker for human thymus-derived lymphocytes (T-cells) and 2. a question whether or not all cases of ALL represent E+-ALL (T-cell leukemia).
Intermixing of Flowing Fluids

When different fluids are pumped successively in a pipeline, switching from one to the other forms a zone of contamination W between the two, as shown in Fig. 7.1.
The Correctness of a Fast String Searching Algorithm

Both the tautology-checker and the compiler examples dealt with recursive algorithms for handling tree structured data. This chapter describes the string searching problem informally and explains a very efficient string searching algorithm. It describes the string searching problem and, using the inductive assertion method, presents a derivation of the formulas called verification conditions. The chapter also illustrates the proofs of those verification conditions. String searching algorithms can be easily written; the problem becomes more difficult and more interesting, however, if implementation of an efficient algorithm is considered. String searching is fairly common in everyday computing. For example, string searching is crucial to the on-line preparation of text (for example, editing programs stored in text files, preparing letters and memos on word processors, and inputting and correcting text for large scale computer typesetting applications). Thus, it is advantageous to use an efficient algorithm. A standard way to measure the efficiency of an algorithm is to count the number of machine instructions required to execute it on the average.
Stopped Flow and Temperature Jump Studies of Colloidal Suspensions

Time dependent changes in the intensity of light scattered by colloidal particles can provide clues to the mechanism of surfactant micelle dissociation, erythrocyte solubilization by surfactants, and non-electrolyte transport through biological membranes. Stopped flow and temperature jump kinetic studies of this general type are described.
Time-Varying Modification of Reference Model for Adaptive Control with Performance Optimization

This paper presents a new adaptive control approach that involves a performance optimization objective. The control synthesis involves the design of a performance optimizing adaptive controller from a subset of control inputs. The resulting effect of the performance optimizing adaptive controller is to modify the initial reference model into a time-varying reference model which satisfies the performance optimization requirement obtained from an optimal control problem. The time-varying reference model modification is accomplished by the real-time solutions of the time-varying Riccati and Sylvester equations coupled with the least-squares parameter estimation of the sensitivities of the performance metric. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by an application of maneuver load alleviation control for a flexible aircraft.
Art Can Change the World: A Review of Nato Thompson’s Seeing Power: Art and Activism in the 21 st Century

Nato Thompson, Seeing Power: Art and Activism in the 21st Century. Brooklyn, NY: Melville House, 2015. 176 pp. $17.96 This review of Nato Thompson’s Seeing Power, I pull from the text the make clear how art might be used to tactically change our communities in a Trumpian world.
The Physical and Mental Health of Middle Aged and Older Adults on the Autism Spectrum and the Impact of Intellectual Disability.

Abstract Background People on the autism spectrum may have more physical and mental health conditions in midlife and old age compared to the general population. This study describes the physical and mental health of a unique sample of all middle aged and older Wisconsin Medicaid beneficiaries with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and tests differences between those with and without co-occurring intellectual disability. Method Using de-identified Medicaid claims data for 143 adults with a recorded autism spectrum disorder diagnosis aged 40–88 years with any Wisconsin Medicaid claims in 2012 through 2015, we extracted diagnoses for physical and mental health conditions from fee-for-service claims. Logistic regression analyses—controlling for sex, race, and age—compared the adjusted odds of physical and mental health conditions for those with and without intellectual disability. Results Many physical and mental health conditions, including immune conditions (70.6%), cardiovascular disease (49.0%) and its risk factors (46.2%), sleep disorders (85.3%), gastrointestinal disorders (49.7%), neurologic conditions (55.9%), and psychiatric disorders (72.0%) were highly prevalent in our full sample. Although there were many similarities between those individuals with and without co-occurring intellectual disability, middle aged and older adults on the autism spectrum had higher prevalence of epilepsy and lower prevalence of depression and anxiety compared to those without co-occurring intellectual disability. Conclusions Findings suggest that people on the autism spectrum have a high prevalence of physical and mental health conditions in midlife and old age, regardless of intellectual disability status.
On recommending

The core of any document retrieval system is a mechanism that ranks the documents in a large collection in order of the likelihood with which they match the preferences of any person who interacts with the system. Given a broader interpretation of recommending than is commonly accepted, such a preference ordering may be viewed as a recommendation, made by the system to the information seeker, that is itself typically derived through synthesis of multiple preference orderings expressed as recommendations by indexers, information seekers, and document authors. The ERIn (Evaluation-Recommendation-Information) model, a decision-theoretic framework for understanding information-related activity, highlights the centrality of recommending in the document retrieval process, and may be used to clarify the respects in which indexing, rating, and citation may be considered analogous, as well as to make explicit the points at which content-based, collaboration-based, and context-based flavors of document retrieval systems vary.
PLASMA CATECHOLAMINES UNDER BASAL AND STRESSFUL CONDITIONS IN RAT STRAINS SELECTIVELY BRED FOR DIFFERENCES IN RESPONSE TO STRESS

Under basal conditions, Maudsley Reactive (MR) rats had lower plasma norepinephrine (NE) levels than Maudsley Non-Reactive (MNR) rats. Following open-field (OF), handling (H) and immobilization (I) stressors, MR rats exhibited significant increases in plasma NE, but MNR rats showed no significant change from basal NE levels. Plasma epinephrine (E) levels did not differ under basal conditions in the two strains, but the increases in plasma E following stress were larger and more consistent in MR compared with MNR animals. These results suggest that the differential susceptibility of the two strains to stressful stimuli indicated by their marked differences in behavioral and autonomic response in stressful situations may be related to differences in the function of their noradrenergic system under basal conditions.
Text, Image, Data, Interaction: Understanding Information Visualization

Abstract Interactive visualizations of data are increasingly addressed to everyday users with a range of interests and goals. As a medium of communication, information visualization (or infovis) is a rich and relevant object of study for writing researchers and teachers as we endeavor to understand and help our students gain proficiency with new digital literacies and practices. This article proposes a framework that engages four key elements in information visualizations—text, image, data, and interaction—with the goal of better understanding how information visualizations communicate, especially with mainstream audiences.
Abundances and Physical Conditions in the Interstellar Gas toward HD 185418

We present a study of the abundances and physical conditions in the interstellar gas toward the moderately reddened B0.5 V star HD 185418. This star is located at (l, b) = (53°, - 22) and has an estimated distance of 790 pc and a reddening E(B-V) = 0.50. This work is based on the analysis of Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) and Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (HST/STIS) spectra covering the range from 912 to 1361 A. We used both sets of far-ultraviolet data, together with high-resolution optical data, to derive accurate gas-phase column densities for important interstellar species such as C I, C I*, C I**, N I, O I, O I*, Mg II, S I, S III, Cl I, Mn II, Fe II, Ni II, Cu II, Ge II, Kr I, and CO. Numerous lines of H2 are present in the FUSE spectra, with a kinetic temperature for the lowest rotational levels T01 = 100 ± 15 K. Analysis of the C I fine-structure excitation at that temperature implies an average local density of hydrogen nH = 6.3 ± 2.5 cm-3. Chemical arguments based on analyses of CH, CH+, and C2 indicate that a fraction of the CH (≥20%) is formed as a by-product of nonequilibrium CH+ synthesis. The electron density ne, derived under the assumption of photoionization equilibrium, ranges from 0.03 to 0.32 cm-3 for the six different neutral/first-ion ratios considered. The relatively complex component structure seen in high-resolution spectra of K I, Na I, and Ca II, the relatively low average volume densities, the modest molecular fraction f(H2) = 0.44, and the measured depletions all indicate no evidence for the presence of translucent components in the light path. The line of sight rather contains a mixture of cold and warm neutral diffuse gas. The detection of Si III and S III indicates the presence of some ionized gas (at a 1% level) along the line of sight. We could not determine unambiguously whether this ionized gas was physically related to the neutral components.
Professor R. C. Gupta Receives the Kenneth O. May Prize

Professor Radha Charan Gupta, who founded and nurtured Gaṇita Bhāratī as editor for over a quarter century, was awarded the Kenneth 0. May prize of 2009, jointly with Prof. Ivor Grattan—Guinness of UK—by the International Commission for the History of Mathematics (ICHM).
Quantitative Performance Metrics for the Community Reinvestment Act: How Much Reinvestment Is Enough?

ABSTRACTSince the passage of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) in 1977, regulators have grappled with the question of how best to evaluate a bank’s performance in meeting the credit needs of its...