cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Alpha hemispheric asymmetry and stuttering: some support for a segmentation dysfunction hypothesis.

The alpha hemispheric asymmetries of normal-speaking males, normal-speaking females and male stutterers were examined with electroencephalographic (EEG) techniques during exposure to connected spee...
Latitudinal Range Variation of Trees in the United States: A Reanalysis of the Applicability of Rapoport's Rule*

Abstract In 1975 E. H. Rapoport described a pattern of increasing latitudinal range sizes for organisms with increasing latitude, a pattern that is now known as Rapoport's rule. The universal applicability of Rapoport's rule has been long contested, making it one of the more controversial biogeographic “rules.” This study aims to reassess the applicability of Rapoport's rule to U.S. tree species. Data presented here suggest that Rapoport's rule does indeed apply to most tree taxa within the United States, but may be taxon specific. In addition, data presented here suggest that tree range patterns consistent with Rapoport's rule in the United States are not restricted to high latitudes and are not the result of a “boundedness effect” but may be intimately linked with the glacial history and physical geography of North America. The analyses conducted here are intended to emphasize the utility of such biogeographic rules even if they are not universally applicable and should, in turn, only be considered biog...
Spin dynamics of chromium. I. Formalism and commensurate alloys.

The spin dynamics of chromium alloys are produced by the fluctuations about a spin-density wave (SDW) consisting of bound electron-hole pairs. While commensurate (C) alloys have a single SDW with wave vector G/2=2\ensuremath{\pi}/a, incommensurate (I) alloys have two SDW's with wave vectors on either side of G/2. Spin fluctuations with frequency \ensuremath{\omega} and wave vector q correspond to possible quasiparticle transitions between the two (C) or three (I) bands of hybridized electron and hole energies with energy change \ensuremath{\omega} and momentum change q. This paper develops the random-phase approximation for the spin dynamics of both C and I alloys. The collective excitations of C alloys consist of a transverse spin-wave (SW) mode with linear dispersion and a longitudinal amplitude mode. Incoherent spin fluctuations lie above the amplitude mode frequency and below the SW frequency. While the SW mode involves the rigid rotation of the local magnetic moments, the amplitude mode involves the oscillation of the SDW amplitude, which decays in time according to a power law. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
White Matter Injury Due to Experimental Chronic Cerebral Hypoperfusion Is Associated with C5 Deposition

The C5 complement protein is a potent inflammatory mediator that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of both stroke and neurodegenerative disease. Microvascular failure is proposed as a potential mechanism of injury. Along these lines, this investigation examines the role of C5 in the setting of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. Following experimental bilateral carotid artery stenosis, C5 protein deposition increases in the corpus callosum over thirty days (p<0.05). The time course is temporally consistent with the appearance of white matter injury. Concurrently, systemic serum C5 levels do not appear to differ between bilateral carotid artery stenosis and sham-operated mice, implicating a local cerebral process. Following bilateral carotid artery stenosis, C5 deficient mice demonstrate decreased white matter ischemia in the corpus callosum when compared to C5 sufficient controls (p<0.05). Further, the C5 deficient mice exhibit fewer reactive astrocytes and microglia (p<0.01). This study reveals that the C5 complement protein may play a critical role in mediating white matter injury through inflammation in the setting of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion.
Mental Health in Violent Crime Victims: Does Sexual Orientation Matter?

The present study investigates victim sexual orientation in a sample of 641 violent crime victims seeking emergency medical treatment at a public-sector hospital. Victim sexual orientation was examined as it: (a) varies by type of violent crime and demographic characteristics, (b) directly relates to psychological symptoms, and (c) moderates the relationship between victim and crime characteristics (i.e., victim gender, victim trauma history, and type of crime) and psychological symptoms (i.e., symptoms of acute stress, depression, panic, and general anxiety). Results showed that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) victims were more likely to be victims of sexual assault. Heterosexual victims were more likely to be victims of general assault and shootings. LGBT victims demonstrated significantly higher levels of acute stress and general anxiety. Moreover, victim sexual orientation moderated the association of type of crime with experience of panic symptoms. Also, victim sexual orientation moderated the relation of victim trauma history and general anxiety symptoms. Results are discussed in relation to victimization prevalence rates, sexual prejudice theory, and assessment and treatment of violent crime victims.
Effects of resource distribution, patch spacing, and preharvest information on foraging decisions of northern bobwhites

We investigated patch assessment by northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) in an experimental arena where the distribution of resources in patches, preharvest information about these patches, and spacing of patches varied. We found that preharvest information about patch quality and a bimodal distribution of patch rewards allowed birds to selectively exploit patches high in resources. In contrast, uniform distribution of patch qualities and lack of preharvest information caused birds to forage nonselectively among patches. Birds distinguished among patches of different quality when these patches were spaced 1 3 m apart, but failed to react to patch quality differences when patches were 0 or S m apart We also found a strong effect of the level of patch depletion on foraging decisions: as resources in die arena became scarce, birds increasingly foraged selectively in die most profitable patches. Foraging decisions of bobwhites are biased by die way they experience and memorize a spatially and temporally variable environment. The relative cost of this cognitive bias (i.e., lost opportunity) is nonlinearty related to die mean resource density in die environment and to die difference between this mean density and die resource density in die exploited patch. Cognitive bias should be considered when evaluating patch assessment capabilities of foragers in complex environments.
End-to-end delay reduction via in-network computation in cognitive radio sensor networks

To potentially alleviate the spectrum shortage for sensor networks of tremendous number of nodes, cognitive radio technology, and thus multi-hop opportunistic and concurrent transmissions overlaying with the primary system suggest an attractive facilitation of large-scale sensor networks. However, it is shown to result in significant end-to-end delay to prohibit practical applications. Noting the nature of traffic in sensor networks, with the aid of distributed source coding and broadcasting in wireless communication, we develop in-network computation to reduce requisite transmissions and to accommodate more concurrent transmissions within given spectrum. Without end-to-end table to significantly save control signaling, a greedy networking algorithm schedules traffic among cooperative relay paths and achieves great delay reduction under various communication scenarios. Such in-network computation further suggests a new design paradigm of communication-computation tradeoff in multi-hop cognitive sensor networks and thus machine-to-machine communications.
Synergy mechanism in combined polymer and microbubble drag reduction: Decreased polymer diffusion

Drag reduction (DR) experiments with combined micro-bubble and polymer solution injection were conducted in a water tunnel at the ARL/Penn State. Previous research has shown that gas injected upstream of polymer produced higher levels of DR than expected based on DR levels observed with the independent injection of micro-bubbles or polymer alone. This synergy between the two injection processes was speculated to have resulted from a decrease in the diffusion rate of injected polymer away from the surface by the effects of the micro-bubbles. The slowed polymer diffusion should extend the length of the zone where large polymer DR occurs. In the current work, a confocal-style laser induced fluorescence based probe was developed and used to measure the wall concentration of injected polymer solutions and injected water with and without upstream micro-bubble injection. The local wall concentrations were increased with gas injection by more than an order of magnitude in many cases. These results show that synergistic drag reduction occurs with combined injection as a result of increased polymer wall concentrations.© 2006 ASME
Combined Exchange Transfusion and Chelation Therapy for Neonatal Lead Poisoning

OBJECTIVETo describe the results of combined exchange transfusion and chelation therapy in a neonate with an elevated blood lead level (BLL).CASE SUMMARYA 34-year-old Latina woman with a long history of pica (eating glazed pottery) gave birth to a healthy-appearing girl at 40 weeks of gestation. The mother's preconception BLL was 117 μg/dL and remained elevated throughout pregnancy. At parturition, the mother's BLL was 87 μg/dL and the infant's cord BLL was 100 μg/dL. The infant underwent single-volume exchange transfusion within 12 hours of birth. BLL was 28 μg/dL following the exchange, and a 5-day course of chelation with dimercaprol and CaNa2 ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid was initiated at 36 hours of life. The infant's BLL was 37 μg/dL at the end of inpatient chelation.DISCUSSIONLong-term neurologic disability from in utero lead exposure is well described, but the optimal treatment of elevated neonatal BLLs in healthy-appearing infants at the time of birth is not established. This strategy of combi...
A New Approach for Rule-Based Knowledge Value-Added Treatment Inference

During knowledge accumulation, various knowledge sources and various expert comments in the knowledge base, lead to knowledge overlapping, conflict or different data size in the knowledge base, and as change of time and space, may cause knowledge inapplicability, and wrong knowledge would lead to wrong decision. This study proposed using reliability factor theory to express knowledge conflict, overlapping or variable data size. Based on knowledge correlation, the rule-based knowledge value added treatment algorithm is set up to run value added treatments such as merging, integrating, deleting, innovating and appending, so that the knowledge becomes more integral, correlative mapping and reliability can be exhibited in concrete, and wrong decisions can be avoided.
Hepcidin excess induces the sequestration of iron and exacerbates tumor-associated anemia

The iron-regulatory hormone hepcidin has been proposed as the mediator of anemia of inflammation (AI). We examined the acute and chronic effects of hepcidin in the mouse. Injections of human hepcidin (50 microg/mouse), but not of its diluent, induced hypoferremia within 4 hours. To examine the chronic effects of hepcidin, we implanted either tumor xenografts engineered to overexpress human hepcidin or control tumor xenografts into nonobese diabetic-severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD-SCID) mice. Despite abundant dietary iron, mice with hepcidin-producing tumors developed more severe anemia, lower serum iron, and increased hepatic iron compared with mice with control tumors. Hepcidin contributes to AI by shunting iron away from erythropoiesis and sequestering it in the liver, predominantly in hepatocytes.
Hormaphis hamamelidis Fundatrices Benefit by Manipulating Phenolic Metabolism of Their Host

We investigated the pattern and potential adaptive value of phenolic concentrations in galls induced by the aphid Hormaphis hamamelidis on leaves of Hamamelis virginiana. By the time that founding females began reproduction, galls had higher concentrations of condensed tannins and lower concentrations of hydrolyzable tannins than leaves. Galled and ungalled leaf laminas never differed significantly in any phenolic measure. Condensed tannin concentrations also were positively related to the number of offspring per gall when gall dry weight, another important correlate of fecundity, was accounted for. This could indicate the prior sink strength of the gall. Polyphenols may act as a repository for excess carbon drawn to the gall by increased sink strength, or be an indication of the fundatrix’ ability to manipulate host physiology. This study is the first to demonstrate a tangible, quantitative association between phenolic accumulation in galls and gall-former reproductive performance, and illustrates that condensed tannins may play roles other than plant defense.
Microwave Sintering of Nanocrystalline TiO2

Nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2} compacts having initial approximate mean grain sizes of 14 nm and approximate green densities of 70% of theoretical were sintered by short-time exposure in a 2.45 GHz microwave cavity to maximum temperatures of 800, 1000 or 1200{degree}C. Sample densities were measured before and after exposure to microwaves using Archimede's method. Transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction were utilized to monitor grain growth and phase changes. Rutherford backscattering was used to monitor any changes in oxygen stoichiometry. The results of this study indicate that enhanced densification behavior is obtained for microwave sintered samples relative to samples sintered using conventional pressureless-sintering techniques. 11 refs., 3 figs.
Map quality assessment

The maps generated by robots in real environment are usually incomplete, distorted, and noisy. The map quality is a quantitative performance measure of a robot's understanding of its environment. Map quality also helps researcher study the effects of different mapping algorithms and hardware components used. In this paper we present an algorithm to assess the quality of the map generated by the robot in terms of a ground truth map. To do that, First, localized features are calculated on the pre-evaluated map. Second, nearest neighbor of each valid local feature is searched between the map and the ground truth map. The quality of the map is defined according to the number of the features having the correspondence in the ground truth map. Three feature detectors are tested in terms of their effectiveness, these are the Harris corner detector, Hough Transform and Scale Invariant Feature Transform.
Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration associated with noncutaneous Merkel cell carcinoma

Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD) is a rare condition that often heralds an underlying tumor. The syndrome is often associated with small cell carcinoma of the lung, breast cancer, gynecologic cancers, and Hodgkin disease. Treatment options are not well defined and improvement is often limited. Diagnosis can often be aided by detection of antibodies to various cerebellar proteins, including Yo, voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCC), and the Delta/Notch-like epidermal growth factor–related receptor (the target antigen of the Tr immune response). Current therapeutic goals are aimed at suppression or removal of immune-mediated activity, resection of primary tumor, and symptomatic treatment. We report a case of PCD with VGCC autoantibodies and noncutaneous metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma.
Document-centric collaborative spaces for increased traceability in knowledge-intensive processes

Today's spectrum of Workflow to Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) tools provide a continuum of support ranging from process-driven to ad-hoc user-interaction. Depending on the position within this continuum, tools provide process visibility and traceability at the expense of flexibility. Here we present an architecture integrated within Microsoft Office and the Windows Shell, called “MySight”, that supports knowledge-intensive work using structured collaboration spaces. The collaboration spaces form a conceptual layer on heterogeneous systems. These spaces also provide the knowledge workers with flexibility to move in and out of spaces while at the same time maintaining the life-cycle visibility and traceability as a side effect. The architecture uses the Open XML standard supported by Microsoft(c) Office. The benefits of the tool are illustrated using a knowledge-intensive process from industry for managing architecture and technology changes, and impact to the operations of the installed IT systems.
Ras effectors and their role in mitogenesis and oncogenesis

Ras proteins are membrane-bound GTP-binding proteins that play a critical role in the control of cell growth. Through a large number of genetic and biochemical studies it is becoming increasingly evident that the biological activity of Ras proteins is mediated by multiple signaling pathways. This review provides an account of the target proteins that interact with Ras and the functional consequences of these interactions. The relative contribution of the different Ras effector pathways to the mitogenic and oncogenic effects of Ras are discussed.
Program Perspectives: A Relational Representation of Measurement Data

This paper concems the representation and processing of data resulting from the measurement of programs written in high-level programming languages. The value of various "perspectives" of measurement results, especially in languages having many levels of activity, is illustrated. A representation of measurement data based on ideas from relational data bases is presented, in which perspectives can be represented as hierarchically-organized permuted projections of measurement data. Applications described include measurement of Snobol4 and Fortran programs.
Reducing Out-of-Community Placement and Recidivism Diversion of Delinquent Youth With Mental Health and Substance Use Problems From the Justice System

For a number of reasons, researchers and policy makers are now focusing on diversion of youth from the juvenile justice system. This study examines New York State's diversion efforts focused on youth with mental health and substance abuse problems who are at risk of out-of-community placement (N = 2,309). Twelve counties participated in the Mental Health Juvenile Justice (MH/JJ) Diversion Project. Overall, the initiative was successful in reducing out-of-community placement and recidivism for diverted youth. In regression analysis site, services received, and problem-profile variables were important predictors of out-of-community placement. Prior record, prior placement, and significant mental health problems were statistically significant predictors of recidivism. This suggests some contrasts in explaining the results of two important goals of the MH/JJ project. Study results and implications for future research and intervention are discussed.
A two-fluid model for avalanche and debris flows

Geophysical mass flows—debris flows, avalanches, landslides—can contain O (10 6 –10 10 )m 3 or more of material, often a mixture of soil and rocks with a significant quantity of interstitial fluid. These flows can be tens of meters in depth and hundreds of meters in length. The range of scales and the rheology of this mixture presents significant modelling and computational challenges. This paper describes a depth-averaged ‘thin layer’ model of geophysical mass flows containing a mixture of solid material and fluid. The model is derived from a ‘two-phase’ or ‘two-fluid’ system of equations commonly used in engineering research. Phenomenological modelling and depth averaging combine to yield a tractable set of equations, a hyperbolic system that describes the motion of the two constituent phases. If the fluid inertia is small, a reduced model system that is easier to solve may be derived.
One language, multi-layered identities: English in a society in transition, South Africa

: Studies of language and identity have traditionally focused on how individuals or groups use language to negotiate, construct, manage or project their social identities. What seems to have attracted very little attention, though, is how, in a given society, a language is assigned not one but multiple identities at various times in its social history. In this paper I examine the latter issue, with a focus on English in a society in transition, South Africa. In particular, I argue that besides its identity as a global language and as we-code and they-code in the sense of Gumperz (1982), in South Africa English carries other identities: it is an ideological we-code, a pragmatic we-code and a naturalized we-code. I describe these multiple identities of the language along with their social history in South Africa, and consider their consequences for the indigenous African languages.1
Radiation-Induced Esophagitis is Mitigated by Soy Isoflavones

Introduction: Lung cancer patients receiving radiotherapy present with acute esophagitis and chronic fibrosis, as a result of radiation injury to esophageal tissues. We have shown that soy isoflavones alleviate pneumonitis and fibrosis caused by radiation toxicity to normal lung. The effect of soy isoflavones on esophagitis histopathological changes induced by radiation was investigated. Methods: C57BL/6 mice were treated with 10 Gy or 25 Gy single thoracic irradiation and soy isoflavones for up to 16 weeks. Damage to esophageal tissues was assessed by H&E, Masson’s Trichrome and Ki-67 staining at 1, 4, 10, 16 weeks after radiation. The effects on smooth muscle cells and leukocyte infiltration were determined by immunohistochemistry using anti-αSMA and anti-CD45 respectively. Results: Radiation caused thickening of esophageal tissue layers that was significantly reduced by soy isoflavones. Major radiation alterations included hypertrophy of basal cells in mucosal epithelium and damage to smooth muscle cells in muscularis mucosae as well as disruption of collagen fibers in lamina propria connective tissue with leukocyte infiltration. These effects were observed as early as one week after radiation and were more pronounced with a higher dose of 25 Gy. Soy isoflavones limited the extent of tissue damage induced by radiation both at 10 and 25 Gy. Conclusions: Soy isoflavones have a radioprotective effect on the esophagus, mitigating the early and late effects of radiation injury in several esophagus tissue layers. Soy could be administered with radiotherapy to decrease the incidence and severity of esophagitis in lung cancer patients receiving thoracic radiation therapy.
Neonatal Fc Receptor Blockade by Fc Engineering Ameliorates Arthritis in a Murine Model

Multiple autoimmune diseases are characterized by the involvement of autoreactive Abs in pathogenesis. Problems associated with existing therapeutics such as the delivery of intravenous immunoglobulin have led to interest in developing alternative approaches using recombinant or synthetic methods. Toward this aim, in the current study, we demonstrate that the use of Fc-engineered Abs (Abs that enhance IgG degradation [Abdegs]) to block neonatal FcR (FcRn) through high-affinity, Fc region binding is an effective strategy for the treatment of Ab-mediated disease. Specifically, Abdegs can be used at low, single doses to treat disease in the K/B×N serum transfer model of arthritis using BALB/c mice as recipients. Similar therapeutic effects are induced by 25- to 50-fold higher doses of i.v. Ig. Importantly, we show that FcRn blockade is a primary contributing factor toward the observed reduction in disease severity. The levels of albumin, which is also recycled by FcRn, are not affected by Abdeg delivery. Consequently, Abdegs do not alter FcRn expression levels or subcellular trafficking behavior. The engineering of Ab Fc regions to generate potent FcRn blockers therefore holds promise for the therapy of Ab-mediated autoimmunity.
A low-loss sliding short of limited travel for precision coaxial transmission lines

Construction details are described and illustrated for fabrication of a sliding short for use in precision transmission lines. The reflection coefficient of the short when used in GR series 900 transmission line was 0.996. The short is positioned with a micrometer and return-spring arrangement. The connection between the sliding element and the transmission line is believed to be unique and yields very low losses.
Evaluation of a Community–Academic Partnership Lessons From Latinos in a Network for Cancer Control

Established in 2002, Latinos in a Network for Cancer Control is a community–academic network supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute. The netwo...
A Ka-band cavity-enclosed aperture-coupled circular patch antenna and array for millimeter-wave circuit integration

A cavity-enclosed aperture-coupled circular patch antenna was used at 29.3 GHz for integration in microwave integrated circuits and monolithic microwave integrated circuits. The design addresses heat dissipation in active antenna applications, surface wave suppression in large phased arrays, isolation between antenna and circuit, increased impedance bandwidth, and reduced back radiation. A prototype 4*4 array demonstrated low mutual coupling between adjacent elements in a worst-case environment. This conformal antenna, should prove useful in many radar, communication, and remote sensing applications. >
Asthma episodes: stigma, children, and Hollywood films

Asthma has been systematically stigmatized in Hollywood feature films, including films seen by children. Through content analysis of 66 movies containing one or more scenes showing asthma, and through informant interviews with a dozen U.S. children about representative scenes, the study explores how stigmatizing portrayals are interpreted, accepted, or resisted. Children suffering from asthma actively counterargued with incriminating excerpts, but in some respects their healthy friends were less critical. Overall, children viewed stigmatizing scenes in terms of the social interaction and the social ethics entailed. They did not scrutinize the characters for damaged selfhood, per se, but dwelled on the social processes out of which stigma is erected.
Ethical and Legal Issues in Addictions Outcome Research

Addiction researchers have unique ethical and legal considerations in designing studies that protect participants who use substances. Ethical principles (including autonomy, nonmaleficence, benefic...
Developing an International Marketing Course for the Future

Surveys of business people reveal that instruction in international marketing is given a low priority for job candidates. This article presents an argument for making international marketing an advanced course, which would integrate and elaborate on many of the more quantitative functional areas of business.
Imaging Heart Failure in 2010

Heart failure is a common and serious public health problem in industrialized countries. The epidemics of diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and coronary disease are contributing to the increasing prevalence of heart failure. The diagnosis of heart failure is based on a detailed history and a thorough physical examination. Echocardiography plays a central role in aiding in the diagnosis and characterization of heart failure and in directing its management. This review highlights recent advances in echocardiography in relation to heart failure. Three-dimensional echocardiography, tissue Doppler imaging, and speckle tracking echocardiography represent recent developments in echocardiography relevant to heart failure and as such are emphasized in this review. Advanced cardiac imaging includes nuclear cardiac imaging, cardiac CT, and cardiac MRI, and they also play an important role in heart failure management; in this review we emphasize their application in heart failure secondary to ischemic heart disease.
Integrated process and inspection/metrology capacity planning

Discrete event simulation is used to integrate process and inspection/metrology capacity models. This allows fab yield to be estimated for different process and inspection/metrology capacity choices. The importance of this integration is demonstrated through diverse experiments that reveal how excursion detecting inspection/metrology affects critical parameters in process tool capacity models and vice versa. One experiment shows a new method of quantifying the yield benefits of automated material handling systems (AMHS)
Can Pornography Contribute to the Prevention of Sexual Problems

Consider for a moment the precept regarding sex that has in the past dominated in our society and still prevails today. In childhood and adolescence an individual should know nothing about sex, should have no interest in sex, and certainly should have no experience with sex. When the individual becomes an adult and marries (typically sometime during the decade between ages 18 and 27), an official representative of the society will issue a permit and utter an incantation at a ritual, the individual will go with a partner to a private chamber, and, without even a perfunctory education in the mysteries, will become a fully and adequately functioning sexual being from that point on.
Bowel Prep Quality in Patients of Low Socioeconomic Status Undergoing Screening Colonoscopy With Patient Navigation

The effectiveness of colonoscopy is directly affected by the quality of the patient's bowel preparation. Patients with lower socioeconomic status (SES) are at increased risk of having suboptimal bowel prep quality. Patient navigators can play a key role in clarifying bowel prep instructions. The aim of the present study was to examine the quality of bowel prep and its predictors among individuals of low SES undergoing screening colonoscopy with patient navigation. Participants (N = 607) were individuals of low SES who completed a screening colonoscopy with patient navigation. Demographic information was collected after the participants received a primary care referral for a screening colonoscopy. After the colonoscopy was completed, medical charts were reviewed to document the colonoscopists' bowel prep quality ratings. A total of 6.8% (41/607) of the sample had poor bowel prep, which significantly correlated with having a colonoscopy that did not reach the cecum. If fair preps were included, approximately 19.3% (117/607) of our cohort would be considered to have suboptimal bowel prep. Our suboptimal bowel prep rates were better than those reported from other low SES samples.
Abstract 4017: DLC1 and α-catenin protein interaction enhances DLC1 antioncogenic activity by stabilizing adherens junctions and suppressing NFκB signaling

Adherens junctions (AJs), which are cell-cell adhesion complexes closely associated with actin cytoskeleton, play an important role in maintaining epithelial tissue homeostasis. Both malignant transformation, and tumor progression to metastasis are often associated with major changes in cytoskeletal organization, the cell-cell adhesion, and aberrant adhesion-mediated signaling. The tumor suppressor gene DLC1 (Deleted in Liver Cancer 1) encodes a RhoGTPase activating protein (GAP) that acts as a negative regulator of the Rho family of small GTPases, which are implicated in cytoskeleton organization and regulation of AJs. A yeast two-hybrid screening identified α-catenin, a component of AJs, as a potential DLC19s binding partner. We relied on this finding and investigated the role of DLC1 in the regulation of AJs and in adhesion-mediated signaling. Using human embryonic kidney (HEK 293) cells we demonstrated that DLC1 interacted with α-catenin and associated with E-cadherin and β-catenin, both constitutive AJs proteins. Co-immunoprecipitation using various deletion constructs of DLC1 and of α-catenin established that the N-terminal (340-435 aa) of DLC1 interacted with the N-terminal (39-161 aa) of α-catenin. Immuno-fluorescence staining and western blot of cellular membrane and cytoplasmic fractions, demonstrated that binding of DLC1 to α-catenin recruited α-catenin to the plasma membrane and required DLC1 GAP activity. In contrast, the DLC1 GAP mutant (R718E) failed to produce the same effect. Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP) analysis demonstrated that DLC1-α-catenin interaction increased the GFP-E-cadherin mobility at cell-cell junctions, whereas phalloidin staining showed intact actin cable formation around the cell periphery, resulting in the stabilization of AJs. The DLC1-α-catenin interaction is instrumental for a maximal oncosuppressive effects of DLC1 (i.e., by inhibiting proliferation and abolishing colony formation of prostate carcinoma cells); DLC1 mutant defective for α-catenin binding failed to reproduce such an effect. Loss of α-catenin is usually accompanied by an increase in the activation of NFkB, which is associated with increased cell proliferation and resistance to apoptosis. We demonstrated that, by immobilizing NFkB to the AJ complex, DLC1-α-catenin interaction effectively inhibited NFkB phosphorylation and, therefore, its activation. Together, these results unravel a new mechanism through which DLC1 exerts its oncosuppressive function by stabilizing AJs and suppressing NFkB signaling. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4017. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-4017
102. Enriched maternal care decreases opioid self-administration in adulthood and alters neuroimmune signaling in the nucleus accumbens

Despite decades of progress, the biological mechanisms underlying addiction are unknown. Glia, including astrocytes and microglia, profoundly influence neuronal function and may play a critical role in the development of drug addiction. Previously, we have shown that a neonatal handling procedure (which promotes enriched maternal care) reduces glial activation to an acute morphine challenge and prevents reinstatement of morphine conditioned place preference; likewise, similar results were obtained by pharmacological manipulation of glia within the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Here, we investigated the effects of opioid self-administration on central immune signaling within the NAc and its modulation by early-life experience. Male rat pups were handled (15 min/day) from postnatal day (P) 2 to P20 or left undisturbed. In adulthood, all rats were tested for self-administration of intravenous remifentanil (a short-acting opioid) in daily 1 h sessions for 2 weeks. Brains were then collected to examine persistent alterations in glial activation. Neonatal handling reduced acquisition of remifentanil; this effect was specific for opioids, as acquisition of food reward was unaffected. Remifentanil self-administration substantially increased glial antigen expression (Iba1 and GFAP) and proinflammatory gene expression in NAc, including the innate immune receptor TLR4. However, only handled rats showed increased expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. These data establish neural–glial interactions in the NAc as an essential component of self-motivated drug acquisition that can be altered by early-life environmental conditions.
Abstract MS3-1: The Role of Providers in Breast Cancer Disparities

Recent research suggests that racial disparities in health care may be driven in part by differences in where minority patients seek care. Minority patients are more likely to receive care in lower performing hospitals and to be treated by physicians that are less well trained and have less access to important clinical resources than those treating white patients. We analyzed Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare to understand more about the influence of providers on care for older women with early-stage breast cancer. In a first analysis, we assessed the hospitals where white and black women with early-stage breast cancer received care. We observed that a small number of hospitals treated the majority of black patients (e.g., 81% of black patients had surgery at 82 of the 481 (17%) hospitals). We found that black women were more likely than white women to undergo breast cancer surgery at hospitals with lower rates of radiation following breast-conserving surgery. This difference in site of surgery explains some of the racial disparities in receipt of definitive primary therapy for early-stage breast cancer. In a second set of analyses, we assessed the role of distance, hospital racial composition, hospital safety net status, and other hospital characteristics on patient9s choice of hospital. Preliminary analyses suggest that proximity to certain hospitals explains only a portion of the greater distribution of black breast cancer patients in lower-quality hospitals. Black women with breast cancer appear to seek care in hospitals that also care for greater numbers of black patients with other medical conditions. Additional analyses are exploring the influence of other hospital characteristics on choice of hospital. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr MS3-1.
Novel Single-Molecule Resolution Method for Spatio-Temporal Simulations of Protein Binding and Recruitment on the Membrane

In the early stages of clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME), a variety of distinct proteins can bind to the membrane and engage in further interactions with proteins on the membrane and in solution. Understanding the dynamics of this process requires correctly accounting for the behavior of protein interactions while restricted to the 2D membrane surface, as it is fundamentally distinct from binding in solution due to changes in the dynamics of the proteins. Here we introduce the 2D Free-Propagator Re-weighting (2D-FPR) method that accurately models the spatial and temporal dynamics of proteins as they are recruited to the membrane surface and as they interact with one another while bound to the membrane. In this method the position of each diffusing protein is tracked, and reactions between binding partners can occur upon collisions. Reaction probabilities are determined by the solution to the 2D Smoluchowski diffusion equation with reactive boundary conditions, allowing us to take large time steps. Molecule positions are propagated by free diffusion, but by using a trajectory reweighting approach we can recover the exact association rates for all reactive pairs. This approach is uniquely able to capture the changes in protein binding dynamics that can occur upon membrane binding because it accounts for both the diffusional motion of proteins and their binding reactions. These important details are absent from models that lack spatial resolution. We present our simulation results on modeling adaptor protein interaction dynamics, and discuss the effects of varying local protein concentration on both recruitment to the membrane and complex formation in the confined 2D geometry.
Calculation of the electric field of finite uniformly charged cylinder with excavated a small cylinder by using the idea of polygon approximation

According to the formula of the electric field due to finite unifomfly charged line and the superposition of electric field,this article gives a new method to calculate the electric field of finite uniformly charged cylinder with excavated a small cylinder,(in vacuum) which is easier,faster and more definite than the method using elliptical integral.Furthermore,discussion and simulation of the cases that arbitrary number of small cylinders are excavated are presented.
Life Expectancy Among U.S.-born and Foreign-born Older Adults in the United States: Estimates From Linked Social Security and Medicare Data

In recent decades, the geographic origins of America’s foreign-born population have become increasingly diverse. The sending countries of the U.S. foreign-born vary substantially in levels of health and economic development, and immigrants have arrived with distinct distributions of socioeconomic status, visa type, year of immigration, and age at immigration. We use high-quality linked Social Security and Medicare records to estimate life tables for the older U.S. population over the full range of birth regions. In 2000–2009, the foreign-born had a 2.4-year advantage in life expectancy at age 65 relative to the U.S.-born, with Asian-born subgroups displaying exceptionally high longevity. Foreign-born individuals who migrated more recently had lower mortality compared with those who migrated earlier. Nonetheless, we also find remarkable similarities in life expectancy among many foreign-born subgroups that were born in very different geographic and socioeconomic contexts (e.g., Central America, western/eastern Europe, and Africa).
High spatial correspondence at a columnar level between activation and resting state fMRI signals and local field potentials

Although blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI has been widely used to map brain responses to external stimuli and to delineate functional circuits at rest, the extent to which BOLD signals correlate spatially with underlying neuronal activity, the spatial relationships between stimulus-evoked BOLD activations and local correlations of BOLD signals in a resting state, and whether these spatial relationships vary across functionally distinct cortical areas are not known. To address these critical questions, we directly compared the spatial extents of stimulated activations and the local profiles of intervoxel resting state correlations for both high-resolution BOLD at 9.4 T and local field potentials (LFPs), using 98-channel microelectrode arrays, in functionally distinct primary somatosensory areas 3b and 1 in nonhuman primates. Anatomic images of LFP and BOLD were coregistered within 0.10 mm accuracy. We found that the point spread functions (PSFs) of BOLD and LFP responses were comparable in the stimulus condition, and both estimates of activations were slightly more spatially constrained than local correlations at rest. The magnitudes of stimulus responses in area 3b were stronger than those in area 1 and extended in a medial to lateral direction. In addition, the reproducibility and stability of stimulus-evoked activation locations within and across both modalities were robust. Our work suggests that the intrinsic resolution of BOLD is not a limiting feature in practice and approaches the intrinsic precision achievable by multielectrode electrophysiology.
Applying Strategic Analysis to Quantify Investor Risk of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals

This study analyzes Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the global market. A strategic analysis is presented in order to understand the liquidity, asset utilizati...
Mapping the political opportunity space of secularism: French republican appeals to laïcité

As European populations become more religiously diverse and governments respond to the changes brought by recent migration, political debates vis-a-vis the place of religion in the public sphere are likely to increase. The apparent tensions between individual religious freedom, national cohesion, and government control of the public sphere lie at the heart of French narratives of ‘laicite,’ France’s particular approach to secularism. In this paper, the laicite narratives of the top Republicain candidates—Juppe, Fillon, and Sarkozy—illustrate the range of narratives used by parties on the right, from ‘establishment’ to ‘identitarian.’ The paper also provides a general political opportunity space model that incorporates right–left and cosmopolitan–identitarian dimensions and stretches beyond the boundaries of the French right to include a full range of the available space on this issue. This model can thus be applied to similar research in other states and regions.
Abstract 2242: Vitamin E δ-tocotrienol inhibits NF-κB activation by up-regulating A20 in macrophages and suppresses colitis-promoted colon tumorigenesis in mice

Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) plays a key role in inflammatory responses and cancer development. Inhibition of NF-κB has been shown to attenuate inflammation and cancer progression. δ-Tocotrienol (δTE) is a natural vitamin E form rich in annatto seeds and has been shown to inhibit NF-κB in pancreatic cells. However, potential effect of δTE on NF-κB activation in immune cells and the underlying mechanism have not been investigated. In the present study, we found that δTE inhibited TNF-α induced activation of NF-κB, as indicated by diminished phosphorylation and degradation of IκBα in the cytosol, and phosphorylation of p65 in the nucleus. Furthermore, δTE potently inhibited TNF-α-induced phosphorylation of TAK1, a key upstream kinase that is required for the activation of NF-κB. Interestingly, δTE significantly increased the expression of A20 and CYLD, both of which are negative regulators of NF-κB. Knockout of A20 partially diminished δTE9s anti-NF-κB effect, supporting the notion that induction of A20 plays a key role in δTE’s anti-NF-κB effect. To translate mechanistic findings to a whole body environment, we further investigated the effectiveness of δTE and its metabolite, δTE-13’-COOH, against azoxymethane (AOM) induced and colitis-promoted colon tumorigenesis in male BALB/c mice. We found that δTE-rich mixed tocotrienols (δTE /γTE ~8/1, at 0.035% diet) inhibited colon tumorigenesis, as indicated by 36% reduction of multiplicity of large adenomatous polyps (>2mm(2), P=0.07) and decreased tumor surface area by 31% (P Citation Format: Chao Yang, Qing Jiang. Vitamin E δ-tocotrienol inhibits NF-κB activation by up-regulating A20 in macrophages and suppresses colitis-promoted colon tumorigenesis in mice [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2242. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-2242
Metabolism of the fast-growing bacterium Vibrio natriegens elucidated by 13 C metabolic flux analysis.

Vibrio natriegens is a fast-growing, non-pathogenic bacterium that is being considered as the next-generation workhorse for the biotechnology industry. However, little is known about the metabolism of this organism which is limiting our ability to apply rational metabolic engineering strategies. To address this critical gap in current knowledge, here we have performed a comprehensive analysis of V. natriegens metabolism. We constructed a detailed model of V. natriegens core metabolism, measured the biomass composition, and performed high-resolution 13C metabolic flux analysis (13C-MFA) to estimate intracellular fluxes using parallel labeling experiments with the optimal tracers [1,2-13C]glucose and [1,6-13C]glucose. During exponential growth in glucose minimal medium, V. natriegens had a growth rate of 1.70 1/h (doubling time of 24min) and a glucose uptake rate of 3.90g/g/h, which is more than two 2-fold faster than E. coli, although slower than the fast-growing thermophile Geobacillus LC300. 13C-MFA revealed that the core metabolism of V. natriegens is similar to that of E. coli, with the main difference being a 33% lower normalized flux through the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway. Quantitative analysis of co-factor balances provided additional insights into the energy and redox metabolism of V. natriegens. Taken together, the results presented in this study provide valuable new information about the physiology of V. natriegens and establish a solid foundation for future metabolic engineering efforts with this promising microorganism.