cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 287: A nuclear cAMP microdomain suppresses tumor growth by Hippo Pathway inactivation

Cyclic AMP can both promote and suppress tumor growth; however, how this single second messenger can simultaneously have such disparate effects on cancer remains largely undefined. It is well appreciated that cAMP does not diffuse within a cell but is made in microdomains, which consist of a unique adenylyl cyclase, one or more phosphodiesterases, and cAMP effector proteins, but the role of specific cAMP microdomains in cancer is unclear. Examination of human tissue biopsies revealed that the nuclear cAMP microdomain, defined by the soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC), is upregulated early in tumorigenesis, but is lost with melanoma invasion and metastasis. Further, we showed that loss of sAC led to the transformation of melanocytes and reintroduction of sAC, only into the nucleus, was sufficient to block tumorigenesis in vitro and in mice. Neither mitochondrial, nor cytoplasmic cAMP microdomains affected tumor cell growth. Activation of nuclear sAC led to significant changes in chromatin accessibility suggesting that this cAMP microdomain regulates numerous transcription factors. Specifically, activation of nuclear sAC led to reduced chromatin accessibility for the TEAD and SMAD family of transcription factors, the key effectors of the Hippo Pathway. Consistent with those data, nuclear sAC suppressed TEAD-dependent pro-cancer gene expression profiles (e.g., MYC) by inhibiting YAP, one of the main oncoproteins in this signaling cascade. Moreover, we showed that nuclear cAMP evokes the same YAP-dependent inhibition of the Hippo Pathway in a variety of cancers, suggesting tumor suppression by nuclear sAC is not limited to melanoma. These studies reveal that a cAMP microdomain wholly contained within the nucleus is a pivotal a tumor suppressor that acts via Hippo Pathway inactivation. Citation Format: Marek M. Drozdz, Ashley Doane, Garrett Desman, Jenny Wang, Michael Reilly, Kelsey Aguirre, Elsbeth Kane, Jedd Wolchok, Taha Merghoub, Olivier Elemento, Elena Piskounova, Jonathan Zippin. A nuclear cAMP microdomain suppresses tumor growth by Hippo Pathway inactivation [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 287.
Use of advanced statistical techniques to predict all-cause mortality in the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial.

Background The Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) was conducted in patients with hypertension and additional risk for cardiovascular disease who were randomized to the intensive blood pressure group targeting systolic blood pressure (SBP) less than 120 mm Hg and to the standard group where the target was less than 140 mm Hg. Analyses were done in the matched group of participants with the same gender, same age (±2 years) and same SBP (±3 mm Hg) at three months of treatment regardless of initial randomization to intensive or standard group (shaded area in Figure 1). Methods and results During 3.26 years of follow-up, intensive group participants had 14.8 mm Hg lower SBP and received on average one more (2.8 vs. 1.8) blood pressure lowering medications. This was associated with lower all-cause mortality in the intensive treatment group (hazard ratio, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.90, p = 0.003). The effect on SBP was achieved at 3 months and remained unchanged thereafter. This paper addresses two questions with respect to all-cause mortality in SPRINT in the matched set. 1) What is the effect of receiving more than one drug on all-cause mortality. Conditional logistic regression for all-cause mortality with respect to number of drugs indicated that during the 3.26 years of follow-up persons who received more than one drug were more likely to die (coefficient = 0.5039, OR = 1.6552, p = 0.0322) than patients who received one drug. 2) Was there a U curve relationship between on treatment SBP and all-cause mortality? A U curve fitting a quadratic equation (parabola) of SBP and all-cause death was observed. This was seen in the patients randomized to the standard target group in unadjusted analyses as well as in analyses adjusted for demographics or all covariates (p < 0.001 for all). The U curves in the combined group and the intensive treatment group were less pronounced. Conclusion SPRINT participants who were matched for gender, age, and SBP at 3 months, and received more than one drug had higher all-cause mortality during the 3.26 years of follow-up. Those who were randomized to standard treatment target had a U curve relationship between SBP at three months and all-cause mortality. The U curves in the combined group and the intensive treatment group were less pronounced.
Food Worry in the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ObjectiveThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID) pandemic has highlighted preexisting health disparities, including food insecurity, in the deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) population. We examined facto...
Data-Set and Experimentation Methods for Cyber-Physical LoRa Network

Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) are cutting edge systems which not only deploy optimal controls for a system but also incorporate networking constraints. This enables the system to be realistic and practical. A key issue in such a study is the limited availability of realistic datasets which incorporate both the controls and the networking aspect. This paper investigates the implementation of Cyber-physical Control on a triple counter-current rinse tank used in the electroplating process. Long range (LoRa) transceivers will be used in conjunction with wired conductivity sensor link to send and receive sensor data through a wireless and wired network. Data will be presented from both networks and analyzed. The effects of the wireless network, such as packet loss, time delays, network reliability, will be analyzed, while optimal controls such as the Kalman Filter and Model Predictive Control will be considered to alleviate said effects. A mathematical model is first derived for the rinse tank system then simulated in Simulink software to predict the behavior of the wireless data transmission and implementation of the optimal controls.
Long-Acting Cabotegravir for HIV/AIDS Prophylaxis

The retrovirus HIV-1 is the etiological agent of the decades-long AIDS pandemic. Although vaccination is the most common preexposure route to prevent acquisition of viral disease, scalable efficacious vaccination strategies have yet to be developed for HIV-1. By contrast, small molecule inhibitors of the HIV-1 enzymes reverse transcriptase, integrase, and protease have been developed that effectively block virus replication. Three different drug compounds are commonly prescribed for people living with HIV as once-daily oral tablets. Once-daily pills composed of two different reverse transcriptase inhibitors are moreover approved as preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) treatment for virus naive individuals who may partake in behaviors associated with increased risk of HIV-1 acquisition such as unprotected sex or injection drug use. Long-acting (LA) injectable HIV-1 enzyme inhibitors are at the same time being developed to sidestep adherence noncompliance issues that can arise from self-administered once-daily oral dosing regimens. Cabotegravir (CAB)-LA, which inhibits integrase strand transfer activity, has in recent clinical trials been shown to prevent HIV-1 acquisition more effectively than once-daily oral dosed reverse transcriptase inhibitors. In this Perspective, we examine bench to bedside aspects of CAB-LA treatment and development, starting from the biochemical basis of HIV-1 integration and pharmacological inhibition of integrase catalysis. We also review the results of recent clinical trials that evaluated CAB-LA, as well as the promises and challenges that surround its use for HIV/AIDS PrEP.
Evaluation ofLung Mucociliary Transport and Clearance in Ferrets: Imaging Nebulized Radioaerosols

1490 Introduction: Mucociliary clearance dysfunction leads to a myriad of airway diseases, including ciliary dyskinesia, bronchiectasis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and cystic fibrosis (CF). Thus, non-invasively imaging of inhaled radioaerosols with varying particle size, particle deposition with planar scintigraphy or positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, may offer a method of choice to understand pathophysiology of lung mucociliary transport, clearance and will facilitate the evaluation of CF therapies. Objectives: The objective of the study is to visualize mucociliary transport and clearance using 99mTc sulfur colloid or [18F] fluoride alumina nanoparticles in a CF ferret model that reflects the full spectrum of CF phenotypes observed in human patients. Methods: [18F]fluoride alumina nanoparticles were synthesized as previously reported (J Nucl Med May 1, 2019 vol. 60 no. supplement 1 293). [99mTc]Tc-sulfur colloid was obtained from our Nuclear Pharmacy. Wild type ferrets were used in this preliminary study. [18F]fluoride alumina nanoparticles (15 mCi in 3 mL of saline) were nebulized with Insta/Vent™ Plus Radioaerosol Lung Imaging System. [99mTc]Tc-sulfur colloid (15 mCi in 3 mL of saline) were nebulized using Omron C801 nebulizer delivered with oxygen flowing at 4 L/min. A 5-minute nebulization was carried out for both the scans. PET scans were obtained in dynamic mode for 60 minutes, along with a CT scan for attenuation correction. Planar imaging was obtained in the prone position for 60 min. Results: Despite modest radioaerosol delivery (<0.1% with clinically used nebulizers) we achieved radioaerosol deposition in the ferrets. [18F]fluoride alumina nanoparticles and [99mTc]Tc-sulfur colloid were deposited in trachea and lungs within 5 minutes. At 60 minutes, 60% tracheal clearance is observed from the PET images, while 25% tracheal clearance is observed from the planar images. A homogeneous distribution and limited clearance from lungs are observed for both aerosols at later time points. Conclusions: The [18F]fluoride alumina nanoparticles and [99mTc]Tc-sulfur colloids were nebulized and delivered to the respiratory tract of ferrets. The [18F]fluoride alumina nanoparticles had good clearance from trachea. Most of the mucociliary transportation and clearance happened in the first few minutes of the study.
Neurotrophins, Their Receptors and Autism: Ligand vs. Receptor Abnormalities

The role of the neurotrophins in supporting brain growth, development and maintenance is increasingly recognized in health and disease. On the other hand, the role of their receptors is just unfolding, as is, the hypothesis of the ligand-receptor homeostasis. Many toxins, toxicants, and infectious agents affect both the ligands and their receptors, disrupting this homeostasis and affecting many developmental processes. Accumulating evidence points to the abnormalities in both the neurotrophins and their receptors in autism. This chapter highlights some of the recent findings regarding neurotrophin/receptor abnormalities in autism
Understanding the graduate college experience: perceptual differences by degree type, point-in-program and disciplinary subgroups

This study investigated graduate students’ perceptions of their graduate college experiences. Participants were 1704 masters and doctoral students across colleges and disciplines at a research university. They completed questionnaires reporting their perceptions of their teaching and advising faculty, academic programs, centralised services, social experiences, career preparation, self-efficacy and identity development. Results are reported for the whole group as well as for subgroups by degree type (masters, doctoral), by point-in-program towards degree (entrance, mid-point, exit) and by disciplinary clusters (hard sciences, social sciences, arts, interdisciplinary). An overall pattern in trajectory of perceptions was highest at entrance, a drop at mid-point, and some recovery at end-of-program. Three characteristics were significantly different by degree type, all higher for doctoral than masters students: satisfaction with program of study, satisfaction with academic advisor; and perceptions of professional competence and identity development. Additionally, three characteristics were significantly different by point-in-program, all lowest at midpoint: satisfaction with overall graduate experience; satisfaction with program of study; and perception of career preparation. Significant interactions were demonstrated between degree type and point-in-program for: satisfaction with academic advisor and interaction in the academic community. Significant disciplinary differences were demonstrated for all perceptual characteristics except satisfaction with program faculty and satisfaction with career preparation. All students reported lower levels of interaction and involvement in the academic community than for any other variable.
Protection from Lethal Coxsackievirus-Induced Pancreatitis by Expression of Gamma Interferon

Coxsackievirus infection causes severe pancreatitis and myocarditis in humans, often leading to death in young or immunocompromised individuals. In susceptible strains of mice, coxsackievirus strain CB4 causes lethal hypoglycemia. To investigate the potential of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) in protection and clearance of the viral infection, IFN-gamma knockout mice and transgenic (Tg) mice specifically expressing IFN-gamma in their pancreatic beta cells were infected with CB4. Lack of IFN-gamma in mice normally resistant to CB4-mediated disease resulted in hypoglycemia and rapid death. However, expression of IFN-gamma in the beta cells of Tg mice otherwise susceptible to lethal infection allowed for survival and protected them from developing the accompanying hypoglycemia. While all the mice had high levels of viral replication in their pancreata and comparable tissue pathology following viral infection, the Tg mice had significantly lower levels of virus at the peak of infection, significantly higher numbers of activated macrophages before and after infection, and less damage to their acinar tissue. Additionally, despite having increased levels of inducible nitric oxide synthetase (iNOS) expression, treatment of Tg mice with the iNOS inhibitor aminoguanidine did not alter the level of protection afforded by IFN-gamma expression. In conclusion, IFN-gamma protects from lethal coxsackievirus infection by activating macrophages in an iNOS-independent manner.
Jewish Eating and Identity Through the Ages

1. Introduction 2. Food in the Bible: Our Animals, Their Animals 3. The Second Temple Period: The Food of the Gentiles 4. "Thou Shalt Not Eat a Calf with a Mother's Milk" 5. Problematic Mixings 6. Blessing Food 7. Waiting for the Next Meal 8. Separating the Dishes 9. Crossing Boundaries 10. "Bugs in the System (Kashrut Wars)
Leveraging the digital mammography image screening trial (DMIST) data for the evaluation of computer-aided detection (CAD) devices: a proposal

The availability of the large dataset of screen/film and full-field digital mammograms acquired through the Digital Mammography Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST) presents an extraordinary opportunity for the assessment of CAD devices. The National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at the U.S. National Institutes of Health have engaged FDA scientists in the development of a plan to leverage this imaging resource to benchmark the performance of current CAD systems. In this talk, we will present an initial proposal for utilizing the DMIST data to quantitatively assess current CAD systems. It is our goal to engage the IWDM community and other interested groups in the development of a consensus on acceptable study designs for this purpose.
Gene Pathway Text Mining and Visualization

Automatically extracting gene-pathway relations from medical research texts gives researchers access to the latest findings in a structured format. Such relations must be precise to be useful. We present two case studies of approaches used to automatically extract gene-pathway relations from text. Each technique has performed at or near the 90 percent precision level making them good candidates to perform the extraction task. In addition, we present a visualization system that uses XML to interface with the extracted gene-pathway relations. The user-selected relations are automatically presented in a network display, inspired by the pathway maps created by gene researchers manually. Future research involves identification of equivalent relations expressed differently by authors and identification of relations that contradict each other along with the inquiry of how this information is useful to researchers.
Thirty-day hospital readmissions for adults with and without HIV infection.

Objectives Risk-adjusted 30-day hospital readmission rate is a commonly used benchmark for hospital quality of care and for Medicare reimbursement. Persons living with HIV (PLWH) may have high readmission rates. This study compared 30-day readmission rates by HIV status in a multi-state sample with planned subgroup comparisons by insurance and diagnostic categories. Methods Data for all acute care, nonmilitary hospitalizations in nine states in 2011 were obtained from the Healthcare Costs and Utilization Project. The primary outcome was readmission for any cause within 30 days of hospital discharge. Factors associated with readmission were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression. Results A total of 5 484 245 persons, including 33 556 (0.6%) PLWH, had a total of 6 441 695 index hospitalizations, including 45 382 (0.7%) among PLWH. Unadjusted readmission rates for hospitalizations of HIV-uninfected persons and PLWH were 11.2% [95% confidence interval (CI) 11.2, 11.2%] and 19.7% (95% CI 19.3, 20.0%), respectively. After adjustment for age, gender, race, insurance, and diagnostic category, HIV infection was associated with 1.50 (95% CI 1.46, 1.54) times higher odds of readmission. Predicted, adjusted readmission rates were higher for PLWH within every insurance category, including Medicaid [12.9% (95% CI 12.8, 13.0%) and 19.1% (95% CI 18.4, 19.7%) for HIV-uninfected persons and PLWH, respectively] and Medicare [13.2% (95% CI 13.1, 13.3%) and 18.0% (95% CI 17.4, 18.7%), respectively], and within every diagnostic category. Conclusions HIV infection is associated with significantly increased readmission risk independent of demographics, insurance, and diagnostic category. The 19.7% 30-day readmission rate may serve as a preliminary benchmark for assessing quality of care of PLWH. Policy-makers may consider adjusting for HIV infection when calculating a hospital's expected readmission rate.
Vegetation dynamics in response to water inflow rates and fire in a brackish Typha domingensis Pers. marsh in the delta of the Colorado River, Mexico

Abstract The Cienega de Santa Clara is a 5600 ha, anthropogenic wetland in the delta of the Colorado River in Mexico. It is the inadvertent creation of the disposal of brackish agricultural waste water from the U.S. into the intertidal zone of the river delta in Mexico, but has become an internationally important wetland for resident and migratory water birds. We used high resolution Quickbird and WorldView-2 images to produce seasonal vegetation maps of the Cienega before, during and after a test run of the Yuma Desalting Plant, which will remove water from the inflow stream and replace it with brine. We also used moderate resolution, 16-day composite NDVI imagery from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) sensors on the Terra satellite to determine the main factors controlling green vegetation density over the years 2000–2011. The marsh is dominated by Typha domingensis Pers. with Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. Ex Steud. as a sub-dominant species in shallower marsh areas. The most important factor controlling vegetation density was fire. Spring fires in 2006 and 2011 were followed by much more rapid green-up of T. domingensis in late spring and 30% higher peak summer NDVI values compared to non-fire years ( P P P
Test Characteristics of Neck Fullness and Witnessed Neck Pulsations in the Diagnosis of Typical AV Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia

Results—Comparing typical AVNRT to atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (AFL) patients, the proportions with neck fullness and witnessed neck pulsations did not significantly differ: in the best case scenario (using the upper end of the 95% confidence interval [CI]), none of the positive or negative predictive values exceeded 79%. After restricting the population to those with supraventricular tachycardia other than AF or AFL (SVT), neck fullness again exhibited poor test characteristics; however, witnessed neck pulsations exhibited a specificity of 97% (95% CI 90– 100%) and a positive predictive value of 83% (95% CI 52–98%). After adjustment for potential confounders, SVT patients with witnessed neck pulsations had a 7 fold greater odds of having typical AVNRT, p=0.029.
Overexpression of Glut-1 glucose transporter in human breast cancer. An immunohistochemical study

Background. Breast cancers have higher than normal glucose metabolism, but the mechanism of glucose entry into these tumors is not well understood. Methods. The expression of five facilitative glucose transporters, Glut-1 (erythrocyte type), Glut-2 (liver type), Glut-3 (brain type), Glut-4 (muscle/fat type), and Glut-5 (small intestine type), was studied by immunohistochemistry of paraffin sections from 12 primary human breast cancers and 8 lymph node metastases from 2 patients. Rat tissues known to express these glucose transporters were used as controls. Results. All the primary breast cancers and the lymph node metastases were positive for Glut-1. This transporter was expressed on the cell membrane and in the cytoplasm of the tumor cells, but exhibited marked intratumoral and intertumoral variability in the proportions of positive cells and the intensity of staining. Staining of the normal mammary epithelium, if present, was much lower than observed in tumor cells from the same patient. Glut-2 was expressed in all of the tumors, but the intensity of staining was not consistently stronger than that seen in healthy breast. Clusters of Glut-4-positive granule were observed in cells in six of the tumors. None of the tumors or the healthy breast in the tissues studied expressed Glut-3 or Glut-5. Conclusions. Higher expression of the glucose transporter Glut-1 by breast cancer cells compared with the healthy breast tissue is common. Increased glucose transporter protein expression may contribute to the increased uptake of 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) by these tumors observed by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging.
An Efficient, Noniterative Method of Identifying the Cost-Effectiveness Frontier

Cost-effectiveness analysis aims to identify treatments and policies that maximize benefits subject to resource constraints. However, the conventional process of identifying the efficient frontier (i.e., the set of potentially cost-effective options) can be algorithmically inefficient, especially when considering a policy problem with many alternative options or when performing an extensive suite of sensitivity analyses for which the efficient frontier must be found for each. Here, we describe an alternative one-pass algorithm that is conceptually simple, easier to implement, and potentially faster for situations that challenge the conventional approach. Our algorithm accomplishes this by exploiting the relationship between the net monetary benefit and the cost-effectiveness plane. To facilitate further evaluation and use of this approach, we also provide scripts in R and Matlab that implement our method and can be used to identify efficient frontiers for any decision problem.
Involvement of protein kinase and G proteins in the signal transduction of benzophenanthridine alkaloid biosynthesis

Abstract Benzophenanthridine alkaloid biosynthesis and biosynthetic enzyme activity were induced in suspension-cells of Sanguinaria canadensis L. by compounds that stimulate the activities of protein kinase and GTP-binding proteins. The results indicate that one or more protein kinases, and putative G proteins are involved in the signal transduction pathway that mediates ABA and fungal-induced benzophenanthridine alkaloid biosynthesis. We have previously reported that elicitor-induced benzophenanthridine alkaloid biosynthesis in suspension-cell cultures of Sanguinaria canadensis L. (SCP-GM) is mediated by a signal transduction system that involves calcium and possibly protein kinase(s). In this work, a number of exogenous agents were employed to further investigate the components of the signal transduction pathway involved in the induction of alkaloid biosynthesis by a fungal elicitor and abscisic acid (ABA). SCP-GM suspension-cells were treated with compounds that modify protein kinase activity, including phorbol esters, and 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-rac-glycerol (OAG), a synthetic diacylglycerol analogue. Phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate induced alkaloid accumulation by as much as 65-fold over control values, while the negative control, phorbol-13-monoacetate, had no effect. OAG also increased alkaloid production by approximately 25-fold as compared to controls. Likewise, pretreatment of the suspension-cell cultures with H-7 or staurosporine, significantly suppressed ABA- or fungal-induction of benzophenanthridine alkaloid biosynthesis. Modulators of GTP-binding protein activity were also active in this system. Treatment of the suspension-cells with cholera toxin (CHX) induced alkaloid accumulation by 25-fold, which increased to 34-fold when CHX was combined with a fungal elicitor derived from Penicillium expansum (PE), and 32-fold when CHX was combined with ABA. Treatment of SCP-GM cells with CHX also enhanced the activities of two N -methyltransferases in the benzophenanthridine biosynthetic pathway namely, tetrahydroberberine- N -methyltransferase and tetrahydrocoptisine- N -methyltransferase, by six and seven fold, respectively. Furthermore, benzophenanthridine alkaloid biosynthesis was induced by treating the suspension-cells with the G-protein activators, mastoparan, mas-7 or melittin, while the inactive homologue, mas-17, did not. Suppression of alkaloid accumulation occurred when the susoension-cells were treated with GDPsS or pertussis toxin prior to treatment of the SCP-GM cells with either PE or ABA. The results support the hypothesis that one or more protein kinases, and putative G proteins are involved in the signal transduction pathway that mediates ABA and fungal-induced benzophenanthridine alkaloid biosynthesis.
Concomitant calcium antagonist plus isosorbide dinitrate therapy for markedly active variant angina

The present study was performed to assess the efficacy of concomitant calcium antagonist/isosorbide dinitrate therapy in patients with frequent episodes of variant angina and to compare such combination therapy with isosorbide dinitrate alone. We enrolled nine such patients (six men and three women, aged 47 +/- 9 [mean +/- standard deviation] years) in a long-term comparison of (1) oral isosorbide dinitrate (117 +/- 63 mg per day) alone, (2) verapamil (453 +/- 75 mg per day) + isosorbide dinitrate (given in the same dose as stated above), and (3) nifedipine (71 +/- 14 mg per day) + isosorbide dinitrate (also given in the same dose as stated), each administered for 2 months. During isosorbide dinitrate therapy, these nine patients averaged 23.7 +/- 37.3 chest pains per week, consumed 24.4 +/- 47.4 sublingual nitroglycerin tablets per week, and demonstrated 46.5 +/- 43.2 episodes per week of transient ST segment deviations on calibrated two-channel Holter monitoring. During therapy with verapamil/isosorbide dinitrate and nifedipine/isosorbide dinitrate, the frequency of angina and ST segment deviations was dramatically reduced (verapamil/isosorbide dinitrate, 3.9 +/- 3.6 chest pains per week and 3.5 +/- 2.6 ST segment deviations per week, p less than 0.05; nifedipine/isosorbide dinitrate, 3.1 +/- 4.0 chest pains per week and 5.5 +/- 6.6 ST segment deviations per week, p less than 0.05). In all respects, verapamil/isosorbide dinitrate and nifedipine/isosorbide dinitrate were similar to one another.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
US energy security and policy options for the 1990s

Abstract This paper makes the case that the current complacency regarding the world oil market and the weakened position of OPEC in the aftermath of the Gulf War is premature as well as shortsighted. It proceeds to argue that in the foreseeable future, a core group of OPEC countries, all located in the Persian Gulf, that hold two-thirds of the world's proved reserves of oil, may regain control of the world oil market and thereby develop into a more dominant cartel than OPEC was in the 1970s. Given the pattern of production and consumption of energy in the 1980s and those projected for the 1990s, oil will remain the most critical energy source into the 21st century both for the USA and the world. Progress in terms of improved energy efficiency in the form of conservation, and fossil fuel substitution in the form of renewables, is not expected to increase the energy security of the USA by 2000 given present circumstances and the absence of a comprehensive national energy policy. On the contrary, US energy security will be lessened and the USA will be increasingly vulnerable to external energy shocks.
ABERRANT INTEGRIN EXPRESSION IN THE ENDOMETRIUM OF WOMEN WITH ENDOMETRIOSIS

Integrins are ubiquitous cell adhesion molecules that undergo dynamic alterations during the normal menstrual cycle in the human endometrium. The alpha v beta 3 vitronectin receptor integrin is expressed in endometrium at the time of implantation, but its presence is delayed in endometrium that is assessed to be out of phase using classical histological features. To investigate the expression of this integrin in women with endometriosis, we assessed the presence of the beta 3-subunit throughout the menstrual cycle in 268 "in-phase" endometrial biopsies, using immunohistochemistry. The beta 3-subunit was expressed on endometrial epithelium after days 19-20 of the menstrual cycle. In 241 women whose biopsies were obtained after day 19, a lack of beta 3 expression was found to be closely related to the diagnosis of endometriosis (by Wilcoxon test, P = 0.02). This defect in integrin expression was associated with nulliparity, inversely related to the stage of disease, and occurred despite the presence of in-p...
Increased expression of geminin stimulates the growth of mammary epithelial cells and is a frequent event in human tumors.

Geminin is a potent inhibitor of origin assembly and re-replication in multicellular eukaryotes and is a negative regulator of DNA replication during the cell cycle. Thus, it was proposed as an inhibitor of cell proliferation and as a potential tumor suppressor gene. However, the protein was found specifically expressed in proliferating lymphocytes and epithelial cells and up-regulated in several malignancies. Therefore, geminin is now regarded as an oncogene but its role in tumor development remains unknown. In this study, we evaluated by Western blot analysis the expression of geminin in a series of human cancer cell lines of various histogenetic origin and in a series of human primary colon, rectal, and breast cancers. Expression of geminin was variable in different cell lines and not related to the expression level of the corresponding mRNA. Moreover, geminin was expressed at higher level in 56% and 58% of colon and rectal cancers, respectively, compared with the corresponding adjacent normal mucosa. A high expression of geminin was also detected by immunohistochemistry in 60% of human primary breast cancers. We also transfected a full-length geminin cDNA in a human non-tumorigenic and a cancer breast cell lines and obtained derivatives expressing high levels of the protein. Geminin overexpression stimulated cell cycle progression and proliferation in both normal and cancer cells and increased the anchorage—independent growth of breast cancer cells. These results demonstrate that expression of geminin is frequently deregulated in tumor cells and might play an important role in the regulation of cell growth in both normal and malignant cells. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The Changing Media in the USSR: New Evidence from a Recent Survey.

A study examined the changes taking place in the Soviet press and readers' attitude to the media in the age of glasnost. A suri,ey, prepared in English and translated into Russian, was conducted among 96 fourth and final year journalism students at the Leningrad State University, U.S.S.R. to obtain information concerning demographics, readership frequency and sources, and readership of foreign news. Five centrally circulated national newspapers were used ("Pravda," "Izvestia," "Trud," "Selskaya Zhizn," and "Komsomolskaya Pravda"); respondents were requested to report the countries they read about and the countries about which they would like to have more information. Findings revealed that readers appreciated the changes in newspaper content and coverage as a result of the new press freedoms, that they would like to read more about Western countries, and that the circulation of "Pravda" was on the decline in the wake of a rising electronic media as the primary source in the U.S.S.R. (Six tables of data are included; 39 references are attached.) (KEH) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. THE CHANGING MEDIA IN THE USSR: NEW EVIDENCE FROM A RECENT SURVEY Festus Eribo, Stephen Vaughn and Hayg Oshagan Mass Communication Research Center University of Wisconsin-Madison 5050 Vilas Hall Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (608) 263-4859
Mechanotransduction: Feeling the Squeeze in the C. elegans Reproductive System

Summary A new study reports that the RhoGAP SPV-1 senses membrane curvature and cell stretch in the Caenorhabditis elegans spermatheca. Without SPV-1, the cells of the spermatheca are hypercontractile, leading to deformation and rapid ejection of the fertilized eggs. The spermatheca may provide a paradigm for understanding how cells detect mechanical stimuli in vivo .
The cell and molecular biology of fracture healing

Fracture healing is a complex physiologic process that involves the coordinated participation of several cell types. By using a reproducible model of experimental fracture healing in the rat, it is possible to elucidate the integrated cellular responses that signal the pathways and the role of the extracellular matrix components in orchestrating the events of fracture healing. Histologic characterization of fracture healing shows that intramembranous ossification occurs under the periosteum within a few days after an injury. Events of endochondral ossification occur adjacent to the fracture site and span a period of up to 28 days. Remodeling of the woven bone formed by intramembranous and endochondral ossification proceeds for several weeks. Spatial and temporal expression of genes for major collagens (Types I and II), minor fibrillar collagens (Types IV and XI), and several extracellular matrix components (osteocalcin, osteonectin, osteopontin, fibronectin and CD44) are detected by in situ hybridization. Immunohistochemical studies show that expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen is both time and space dependent and differentially expressed in the callus tissues formed by the intramembranous and endochondral processes. Chondrocytes involved in endochondral ossification undergo apoptosis (programmed cell death), and early events in fracture healing may be initiated by the expression of early response genes such as c-fos. Additional characterization and elucidation of fracture healing will lay the foundation for subsequent studies aimed at identifying mechanisms for enhancing skeletal repair.
Serum hormones in men with human immunodeficiency virus-associated wasting.

Weight loss is commonly associated with increased morbidity and mortality in individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We performed a nested case-control study of 26 HIV-infected subjects recruited from a cohort of gay men enrolled in the Multicenter Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Cohort Study. To test the hypothesis that hormonal changes precede and may induce the wasting syndrome, we performed a nested case-control study and analyzed serum gonadal steroids and GH in samples of HIV-infected men with or without weight loss, uncomplicated by diarrhea or ever having an opportunistic infection. We studied 13 cases (mean age +/- SD, 45 +/- 7.2 yr) with a mean weight loss of 13 +/- 3.6%, considered to have the wasting syndrome by Centers for Disease Control criteria (weight loss of > 10%) and 13 controls matched for age and duration of follow-up. Serum bioavailable testosterone (T) levels decreased in the case group (P < 0.05) before the definition of wasting was attained, although wei...
Acoustic instabilities in a constant flux gas core nuclear rocket

The gaseous core nuclear rocket has a potential for significant improvement in propulsion capability over the solid fuel nuclear rocket because the gaseous system may permit operation at much higher temperatures. The similarity of the core of the gaseous core nuclear rocket to the combustion chamber of a chemical rocket invites speculation that acoustic instabilities, which have been troublesome in chemical rocket systems, may also occur in the gaseous core nuclear rocket system. Such instabilities can occur in compressible fluids with pressure dependent heat generation. A simplified and idealized physical model of a gaseous core nuclear rocket is presented in which the gasdynamic field is perturbed by wave phenomena while the neutron field is assumed constant. A simple stability criterion is obtained from this model in terms of the equilibrium values of the state variables and the size of the system. The criterion is aplied to a reference case with the result that instability is predicted for nuclear rockets well within the size envelope presently proposed in conceptual designs.
Mesoscale Simulation of the Effect of a Lactide Segment on the Nanostructure of Star Poly(ethylene glycol-co-lactide)-Acrylate Macromonomers in Aqueous Solution

The distribution of reactive groups and micelle formation in amphiphilic macromonomers and the extent of network formation in aqueous solution depend on the segment length of the hydrophobic monomer. The objective of this work was to simulate by dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) the structure of the four-arm star poly(ethylene glycol-co-lactide)-acrylate (SPELA) macromonomer in aqueous solution. The effect of lactide segment length (n) in each arm and macromonomer concentration on the distribution and size of the micelles was investigated. In the absence of lactide, the reactive acrylate groups were uniformly distributed in the aqueous solution. With the addition of lactide segments, micelles formed with a hydrophobic core containing lactide and acrylate beads and a hydrophilic corona of ethylene oxide beads. The size and average number of macromonomers (aggregation number) of the micelles increased with n while the number density of micelles decreased. Furthermore, the fraction of macromonomer arms incorporated in the micelles as either loops or intermicellar bridges increased with increasing n. The macromonomer bridge fraction showed a biphasic behavior with a maximum at n = 4. The accumulation of water beads around acrylates decreased with increasing n. The aggregation of acrylates initially increased with n, and then, it decreased for n > 4 due to the decrease in size and distance between the micelles. The fraction of acrylates in the core surface layer of the micelles decreased from 66 to 19% when n increased from 4 to 16 with a higher fraction of acrylates trapped in the micelles' core. Macromonomer concentration increased the number density of micelles, but it did not have a significant effect on the micelle size or distribution of the acrylates. The simulation results indicate that SPELA macromers with <4 lactide segment length can potentially produce degradable PEG-based hydrogels with the highest network density.
The ileo-cecal valve in diseases.

A brief discussion of the roentgen appearances of ileocecal valve, in various pathological processes of the ileocecal region has been made with description of the conditions that affect the valve. The authors wish to express their appreciation to Dr. Maxwell H. Poppel, Professor of Radiology, for his stimulating help and constructive criticism.
Dicobalt octacarbonyl‐catalyzed tandem isomerization and cationic polymerization of functionalized allylic ethers

) in combination with or-ganosilane cocatalysts that is capable of mediating thecationic polymerization of a wide variety of enol ethermonomers including vinyl ethers, 1-propenyl ethers,1-butenyl ethers, alkoxyallenes, and ketene acetals. Inthis laboratory, it has been further demonstrated thatthis catalyst is active for a new class of polymerizationsthat have been termed “tandem isomerization and cat-ionic polymerizations.” In the presence of such mono-mers, allylic ethers and several related classes of com-pounds can be directly polymerized. Given in eq. (1) isa general scheme for this new type of polymerization.(1)Mechanistic studies have shown that during poly-merization, an allyl ether,
Defending the defense

My hunch has always been that in the end, Fregeanism will defeat Millianism. So I suspect that my (1998) arguments on behalf of Millianism are flawed. Peter Graham (1999) is confident he has found the flaws, but he has not. I hope that some clarification will encourage others to reveal the errors. The criticisms most easily refuted are those targeting my folk psychological argument for Millianism (Frances 1998, Sc. 4). Here is the argument's structure.
Unmasking the acoustic effects of vowel-to-vowel coarticulation: A statistical modeling approach

Coarticulation is a source of acoustic variability for vowels, but how large is this effect relative to other sources of variance? We investigate acoustic effects of anticipatory V-to-V coarticulation relative to variation due to the following C and individual speaker. We examine F1 and F2 from V1 in 48 V1-C#V2 contexts produced by 10 speakers of American English. ANOVA reveals significant effects of both V2 and C on F1 and F2 measures of V1. The influence of V2 and C on acoustic variability relative to that of speaker and target vowel identity is evaluated using hierarchical linear regression. Speaker and target vowel account for roughly 80% of the total variance in F1 and F2, but when this variance is partialed out C and V2 account for another 18% (F1) and 63% (F2) of the remaining target vowel variability. Multinomial logistic regression (MLR) models are constructed to test the power of target vowel F1 and F2 for predicting C and V2 of the upcoming context. Prediction accuracy is 58% for C-Place, 76% for C-Voicing and 54% for V2, but only when variance due to other sources is factored out. MLR is discussed as a model of the parsing mechanism in speech perception.
Symbolic Evaluation and the Analysis of Programs

Symbolic evaluation is a form of static program analysis in which symbolic expressions are used to denote the values of program variables and computations. It does not require the user to specify which path at a conditional branch to follow nor how many cycles of a loop to consider. Instead, a symbolic evaluator uses conditional expressions to represent the uncertainty that arises from branching and develops and attempts to solve recurrence relations that describe the behavior of loop variables.
Re-interpretation of 28Si(p,p)28Si cross-section and polarization measurements in the giant dipole resonance region

Abstract The 28 Si(p,p) 28 Si cross-section and polarization data previously published are re-examined. It is shown that a strong 9 2 + resonance can account for the data predicts the existence of a 9 2 + 2 p -1 h doorway state in the 29 P giant dipole resonance region.
Dislocation and depression: Social consequences of hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Hurricane Katrina has been the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States, rendering 205,000 houses uninhabitable. Hurricane Rita also dislocated many residents. Previous disaster research has shown that the psychological consequences for the affected population often manifested themselves 1 to 2 years later. This article presents results from a 2007 survey of hurricane evacuees living in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) trailer parks in Louisiana regarding their emotional well-being. Almost 60% of respondents reported clinical levels of depressive symptoms. Adding hurricane-specific variables to a general model of depressive symptoms substantially increased the variance explained. Key factors are conditions within the trailer parks, such as sense of belonging and perception of obstacles to getting involved.
HTLV-1 HBZ: stop making sense

Comment on Arnold et al, page [3976][1] An antisense-encoded protein of HTLV-1 is dispensable for infection and transformation of T cells in vitro, yet modulates viral infectivity and persistence in vivo. Negative-strand–encoded retrovirus proteins may provide new targets for attenuating viral
Gender-Dependent Differences in Outcome After the Treatment of Infection in Hospitalized Patients

ContextWhile it is established that management strategies and outcomes differ by gender for many diseases, its effect on infection has not been adequately studied.ObjectiveTo investigate the role of gender among hospitalized patients treated for infection.DesignObservational cohort study conducted during a 26-month period from December 1996 through January 1999.SettingUniversity-affiliated hospital.ParticipantsA total of 892 patients in the surgical units of the hospital with 1470 consecutive infectious episodes (782 in men and 688 in women).Main Outcome MeasuresMortality during hospitalization by gender for infection episodes overall and for specific infectious sites, including lung, peritoneum, bloodstream, catheter, urine, surgical site, and skin/soft tissue.ResultsAmong all infections, there was no significant difference in mortality based on gender (men, 11.1% vs women, 14.2%; P = .07). After logistic regression analysis, factors independently associated with mortality included higher APACHE (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation) II score, older age, malignancy, blood transfusion, and diagnosis of infection more than 7 days after admission, but not gender (female odds ratio [OR] for death, 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.90-1.94; P = .16). Mortality was higher in women for lung (men, 18% vs women, 34%; P = .002) and soft tissue (men, 2% vs women, 10%; P≤.05) infection; for other infectious sites, mortality did not differ by gender. Factors associated with mortality due to pneumonia by logistic regression included higher APACHE II score, malignancy, diabetes mellitus, diagnosis of infection more than 7 days after admission, older age, transplantation, and female gender (OR for death, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.17-4.32; P = .02).ConclusionsAlthough gender may not be predictive of mortality among all infections, women appear to be at increased risk for death from hospital-acquired pneumonia, even after controlling for other comorbidities.
Adaptive age replacement

Loss structure models concerning age replacement policies, discussing mathematical aspects of maintenance with dynamic programming formulation