cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 5661: Targeting CD47 expression on macrophages regulates immunometabolism enhancing tumoricidal activity against cancer cells

Macrophage mediated elimination of cancer cells is critical for control of tumor growth. Cancer cells evade immune recognition by expressing receptors that send inhibitory signals to prevent macrophage mediated cytotoxicity. Clinical studies show that overexpression of the cell surface receptor CD47 is a poor prognostic factor in cancer, allowing tumors to bypass immunosurveillance and activation pro-growth pathways. Prior studies have described that CD47 cell surface expression on cancer cells inhibits phagocytic activity through engagement of its counter receptor SIRPα on macrophages. However, the role of CD47 expression on macrophage function is not known. Here, we show that CD47 is expressed on primary mouse macrophages, RAW 264.7 and the U937 cell lines. Moreover, knockdown of CD47 on macrophages enhanced the tumoricidal capacity against melanoma and breast cancer cells as measured by cell impedance and LDH release. Blockade of CD47 enhanced the macrophage-mediated cytotoxicity against B16 melanoma and 4T1 cells when compared to untreated effector/target pairs. Blockade of CD47 on differentiated U937 human monocytes also enhanced tumoricidal activity against the triple-negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 by over 50% when compared to untreated co-cultures. This indicates that expression of CD47 on macrophages may play a role in polarization and macrophage tumoricidal capacity against cancer cells beyond the known interactions with SIRPα. Our previous studies show that blockade of CD47 preserves T cell viability under stress by increasing glycolytic flux. Activation of M1 cytotoxic macrophages requires a shift in metabolism from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis. Our data shows that blockade of CD47 on RAW 264.7 macrophages increases glycolytic flux when compared to untreated controls as measured by extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) using a Seahorse© XF analyzer. The increase in glycolysis was associated with a significant elevation of glucose uptake by macrophages treated with anti-sense CD47 morpholino, indicating that targeting this receptor regulates glucose metabolism to improve macrophage tumoricidal activity. Interestingly, blockade of CD47 in the 4T1 breast cancer cell line reduced ECAR and reduced glucose uptake indicating that targeting CD47 reverses Warburg metabolism in cancer cells. Overall, these results show a new role of CD47 expression that extends beyond suppressing macrophage mediated killing through engagement of SIRPα. Therefore, anti-CD47 immunotherapy may regulate immunometabolism to improve clinical outcomes of cancer patients. Citation Format: Ashley A. Smith, Adam S. Wilson, David R. Soto-Pantoja. Targeting CD47 expression on macrophages regulates immunometabolism enhancing tumoricidal activity against cancer cells [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 5661. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5661
A rationally designed polysulfide-trapping interface on the polymeric separator for high-energy Li–S batteries

Abstract A coating layer consisting of a layer of graphene oxide (GO) inserted in between two layers of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) forms a multifunctional polysulfide-trapping triple-interface on the polymeric separator for lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. The top and bottom highly conductive MWCNT interfaces are able to physically inhibit polysulfide diffusion and effectively reutilize the trapped active material during cycling. The inserted ultrathin GO layer with negatively charged carboxyl groups, on the other hand, electrostatically repels the migrating polysulfide anions. The stacked GO sheets also extensively prolong the migration routes of the polysulfides. Additionally, the “buffer zones” interspersed within the triple-interface accommodate the migrating polysulfides. Thus, the sandwiched separators enable Li–S cells with a high-sulfur-loading (10 mg cm−2), high areal capacity (10.9 mA h cm−2), and stable cycling ability even though the coating layer is ultra-thin (∼17 μm) and light-weight (∼0.23 mg cm−2).
Photochemistry and Photophysics of the 3-Styrylidenebenz[e]indanes

The photochemical and photophysical properties of the extended conformers of trans- and cis-1-(2-naphthyl)-2-phenylethenes (t- and c-NPEB) are strikingly different than those of their rigid analogues, trans- and cis-3-styrylidenebenz[e]indane (t- and c-BPE). The fluorescence quantum yield and lifetime at 25 °C in methylcyclohexane drop from 0.76 and 22.2 ns in t-NPEB to 0.0051 and 0.25 ns in t-BPE and there are complementary changes in the photoisomerization quantum yields. In both cases photoisomerization occurs in S2, a stilbenic excited state. The differences in behavior are traced to the diminished S1/S2 energy gap on the alkyl substitution afforded by the five-membered ring in BPE. The effect of viscosity on the torsional relaxation of t-BPE, evaluated in glycerol/methanol mixtures at 25 °C and in 95/5 and 99.9/0.1 glycerol/methanol (% v/v) as a function of T, is well accounted for by the medium enhanced barrier model. Absorption and fluorescence spectra of t-BPE in pure glycerol reveal aggregate formation. Quenching of t-BPE fluorescence in methylcyclohexane by tri-n-butylamine (TBA) leads to exciplex fluorescence. Comparison with analogous results for t-NPEB suggests that charge transfer involves primarily the naphthalenic S1 state in t-NPEB and the stilbenic S2 state in t-BPE. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Embedding Career Issues in Advanced Psychology Major Courses

Despite the popularity of the psychology major, complaints regularly arise about the value of majoring in psychology. This article reviews the workforce advantages that accrue to successful psychol...
9.13 – Brachytherapy Physics

Brachytherapy is the treatment of disease using small radioactive sources placed in or near the tissues to be treated. This chapter explores some of the most common sources used for brachytherapy as well as their therapeutic applications. The delivered dose rate is one means utilized to categorize brachytherapy treatments into low, medium, or high dose-rate delivery. Further characterization is based on how long the sources are implanted, either as a temporary or a permanent implant. Several clinical examples are reviewed. Calculation methods, optimization and quality management are also discussed.
Time Domain Reflectometry

This chapter describes how to measure water content in the soil using time domain reflectometry (TDR). The TDR technique measures the velocity of propagation of a high-frequency signal down waveguides in the soil. The velocity is related to the dielectric constant of the soil, which is then related to the water content. Basic physical definitions for period and frequency are given. It is noted that frequency is measured in a unit called the hertz, named after H.R. Hertz. Measurements taken in the time domain and the frequency domain are distinguished. Coaxial cables and waveguides, needed for TDR measurements, are described. It is shown that water extraction by roots at different depths can be determined by using TDR. A biography of Hertz is given in the first appendix, and a biography of S.A. Schelkunoff, a developer of the coaxial cable, is given in a second appendix.
Fingerprint Stimulated Raman Scattering Imaging Reveals Retinoid Coupling Lipid Metabolism and Survival.

Retinoids play critical roles in development, immunity, and lipid metabolism, and their deficiency leads to various human disorders. Yet, tools for sensing retinoids in vivo are lacking, which limits the understanding of retinoid distribution, dynamics and functions in living organisms. Here, using hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, we discover a previously unknown cytoplasmic store of retinoids in Caenorahbditis elegans. Following the temporal dynamics of retinoids, we reveal that their levels are positively correlated with fat storage, and their supplementation slows down fat loss during starvation. We also discover that retinoids promote fat unsaturation in response to high-glucose stress, and improve organism survival. Together, our studies report a new method for tracking the spatiotemporal dynamics of retinoids in living organisms, and suggest the crucial roles of retinoids in maintaining metabolic homeostasis and enhancing organism fitness upon developmental and dietary stresses.
Home vs clinic blood pressure in essential hypertension with and without behavioral therapy

Behavioral treatments of relaxation alone (RL = 13) and relaxation in combination with EMG biofeedback (RL/BF = 14) were given to uncontrolled essential hypertensives (diastolic blood pressure greater than 90 mmHg) between the ages of 35 and 62. Comparisons were made between RL, RL/BF and a control condition in which patients monitored their own blood pressures (SM = 14). These three groups of patients all receiving anti-hypertensive medications were compared with a fourth un-medicated relaxation group (RL/noD = 17). Both home and clinic laboratory blood pressure were compared during 6 weeks of baseline and 10 weeks of treatment. In the baseline period, sitting quietly for 15 min in the laboratory significantly reduced the systolic blood pressure in the anti-hypertensive drug treated patients. This effect was not apparent in the un-medicated group. Relaxation and relaxation/biofeedback were equally effective in reducing blood pressure at home in the morning and evening and produced significantly greater systolic and diastolic decreases than those seen in the SM control group. Relaxation therapy in the non-drug group was significant only for morning blood pressures. Clinic blood pressures did not reflect significant differences between the groups. It is concluded that the setting (laboratory/clinic vs home) and the condition (before or after sitting quietly) under which blood pressure measurements are made may influence the effect of medications or behavioral therapy.
Mineral Intake Ratios Are a Weak but Significant Factor in Blood Pressure Variability in US Adults.

Background Hypertension contributes substantially to chronic disease and mortality. Mineral intakes can modify blood pressure. Objective Individual minerals and their intake ratios in US adults and their association with blood pressure were examined. Methods Regression models were used to examine the associations of sodium, potassium, and calcium intakes and their ratios from food and supplements with blood pressure in 8777 US adults without impaired renal function from the 2011-2014 NHANES. We evaluated men (n = 4395) and women (n = 4382) separately. Models for predicting blood pressure were developed using age, blood pressure medication, race, body mass index (BMI), and smoking as explanatory variables. Results Few adults met the recommended intake ratios for sodium:potassium (1.2% and 1.5%), sodium:calcium (12.8% and 17.67%), and sodium:magnesium (13.7% and 7.3%) for men and women, respectively. Approximately half of adults (55.2% of men and 54.8% of women) met calcium:magnesium intake ratio recommendations. In our regression models, the factors that explained the largest amount of variability in blood pressure were age, blood pressure medication, race/ethnicity, BMI, and smoking status. Together, these factors explained 31% and 15% of the variability in systolic blood pressure in women and men, respectively. The sodium:potassium (men and women), sodium:magnesium (women), and sodium:calcium (men) intake ratios were positively associated with systolic blood pressure, whereas calcium intake was inversely associated with systolic blood pressure in men only. When mineral intake ratios were added individually to our regression models, they improved the percentage of variability in blood pressure explained by the model by 0.13-0.21%. Conclusions Strategies to lower blood pressure are needed. Lower sodium:potassium intake ratios provide a small benefit for protection against hypertension in US adults.
Condition-Based Maintenance for Queues With Degrading Servers

The integration of condition monitoring with queueing systems to support decision making is not well explored. This paper addresses the impact of condition monitoring of the server on the system-level performance experienced by entities in a queueing system. The system consists of a queue with a single-server subject to Markovian degradation. The model assumes a Poisson arrival process with service times and repair times according to general distributions. We develop stability conditions and perform steady-state analysis to obtain performance measures (average queue length, average degradation, and so on). We propose minimizing an objective function involving four types of costs: repair, catastrophic failure, quality, and holding. The queue performance measures derived from steady-state analysis are benchmarked and compared to those from a discrete event simulation model. After verifying the queuing model, a sensitivity analysis is performed to determine the relationships between system performance and model parameters. Results indicate that the total cost function is convex and, thus, subject to an optimal repair policy. The model is sensitive to service time, quality costs, and failure costs for late-stage policy repairs decisions and sensitive to expected repair times and repair costs for early stage policy repair decisions. Note to Practitioners —We propose condition-based maintenance for queues with degrading servers. The proposed model has been verified in simulation using degradation data of tools in a manufacturing facility. In order to implement, one must first model the underlying degradation process using the data from condition monitoring. We can get service and repair time distributions using data from the plant floor. Then, we need reasonable estimates of costs. These include costs of holding, quality, repair, and failure. They can be relative, prioritized or zero. The long-run average cost per unit time can then be evaluated. Then, the model provides the degradation state of the server at which maintenance is the most cost efficient. The degradation data can be used to continually obtain the optimal state of degradation at which the server can be taken offline with minimal costs.
What do we know about volumetric medical image interpretation?: a review of the basic science and medical image perception literatures

Interpretation of volumetric medical images represents a rapidly growing proportion of the workload in radiology. However, relatively little is known about the strategies that best guide search behavior when looking for abnormalities in volumetric images. Although there is extensive literature on two-dimensional medical image perception, it is an open question whether the conclusions drawn from these images can be generalized to volumetric images. Importantly, volumetric images have distinct characteristics (e.g., scrolling through depth, smooth-pursuit eye-movements, motion onset cues, etc.) that should be considered in future research. In this manuscript, we will review the literature on medical image perception and discuss relevant findings from basic science that can be used to generate predictions about expertise in volumetric image interpretation. By better understanding search through volumetric images, we may be able to identify common sources of error, characterize the optimal strategies for searching through depth, or develop new training and assessment techniques for radiology residents.
Competitive Climates, Athletic Skill, and Children's Status in After-School Recreational Sports Programs

Relationships among competition, athletic skill, and social relationships among children have received considerable attention from social psychologists and have also sparked considerable public debate. Most studies of these relationships have concentrated on sports programs involving upper elementary or older boys. This field work study examined these relationships in three after-school recreation programs for children ages 5 to 8. Although all programs professed to stress skills development over competition, teams act varied substantially in competitive climates. Competitive environments heightened the tendency for athletic skill to function as a generalized status element in peer networks. After-school sports programs contributed to the reproduction of athletic skill as a basis of peer status, even for young children.
Mobile health promotion of human immunodeficiency virus self-testing in the United States.

Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) self-testing could overcome barriers associated with traditional HIV testing and increase people’s awareness of their serostatus. Mobile health, which utilizes mobile wireless technology, could alleviate concerns associated with HIV self-testing and increase access to this screening test. Methods: We conducted a PubMed, Google Scholar, and Google search to identify research studies and public health programs in the United States that used mobile health to provide HIV self-testing kits for participants. Nine research studies and two public health programs in the United States met the inclusion criteria and were included in the narrative review. Results: Mobile health interventions delivered through online platforms and smartphone apps tailored towards high-risk populations could promote HIV self-testing distribution, pre- and post-test counseling, and linkage to follow-up care. Conclusions: Given mobile health’s potential to encourage HIV self-testing, prevention, and treatment among high-risk communities, we included recommendations that incorporated this mode of HIV self- testing into public health programs to appropriately address the HIV epidemic in the United States.
Pyogenic Flexor Tenosynovitis as a Rare Complication of Dyshidrotic Eczema.

Author(s): Nimjareansuk, Waroot S.; Rosselli, Michael | Abstract: Introduction: Pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis is an unusual complication of dyshidrotic eczema. The diagnosis has traditionally been made by Kanavel’s signs. Point-of-care ultrasound can be a useful adjunct in the diagnosis of this surgical emergency.Case Report: We report the case of a 23-year-old male who presented with right middle finger pain and swelling and an overlying eczematous rash. The use of point-of-care ultrasound was performed to aid in the diagnosis of pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis. An incision and drainage was performed with deep wound cultures positive for Staphylococcus aureus.Discussion: The presentation of pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis with underlying concomitant dermatological disease can complicate this challenging diagnosis. Point-of-care ultrasound can be an effective adjunct in revealing pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis rather than relying solely on the classical Kanavel’s signs, leading to earlier treatment. Conclusion: Our case demonstrates that point-of-care ultrasound can be a rapid and effective tool for the diagnosis of pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis in the setting of superimposed dermatological diseases.
Cord Blood Unit (CBU) search and distribution to Transplant Centers (TC): real-life experience from the National Cord Blood Program (NCBP)

Background & Aim One of the most important attributes of cord blood is the prompt availability of high quality cell therapy products for clinical use. To achieve this, the NCBP has implemented a strong infrastructure supporting CBU search, selection, review and release. The key components include: - Fully integrated IT system for running searches in real-time, generating reports, receiving/sharing results and documents - Streamlined procedures for management of search requests - Expert review and search flexibility - Verification of product quality - Timely CBU release to TC - Expertise in regulatory requirements and shipment logistics Methods, Results & Conclusion We describe our recent clinical activity (period: 04/2016-12/2019) following this strategy. Our dedicated website, WebSearch, is used for CBU reservations directly by TC or requests received via registries (National Marrow Donor Program [NMDP] or International Registries). During the study period, 3943 CBU were reserved for 2831 patients from 153 TC. All reservations trigger full review of CBU information as well as confirmatory HLA typing (CT), effectively preparing the reserved CBU for shipment. Each patient's search is reviewed by a medical and an HLA expert within 48 hours to identify the best CBU and share recommendations with the TC. Further, the system is flexible, allowing “customized” searches that include TC's own selection criteria such as high CD34 counts, HLA requirements (allele level matching, patient's anti-HLA antibodies, maternal HLA), eligibility, CBU storage time, and various clinical study specifications. High resolution CT results are obtained routinely within 6 business days. All units with available segments are evaluated for potency (CD34/CD45 counts and viability and CFU) at reservation and/or shipment. During this period, 514 CBU were shipped for 501 patients to 91 TC; 53% were facilitated by the NMDP and the remaining were direct shipments. 170 CBU went to 23 International TC in 20 countries. Average time between shipment request and shipment was 5 business days (Figure 1). TC's shipment schedule requirements were met in all cases. With over 60,000 CBU available, the NCBP Inventory holds almost 8% of the world's unrelated CBU, including 11,100 FDA licensed products (HEMACORD®). The flexibility and efficiency of the search and review procedures, as well as the fact that 10% of the CBU have CT already performed and are “ready to ship”, enable us to process routine or emergency shipment requests expeditiously.
Trends of Mesh Utilization for Stress Urinary Incontinence Before and After the 2011 Food and Drug Administration Notification Between FPMRS-Certified and Non-FPMRS-Certified Physicians: A Statewide All-Payer Database Analysis.

Abstract Objectives To investigate the utilization of mesh slings for stress urinary incontinence (SUI) across time – before and after the 2011 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) public health notification regarding an increase in adverse events related to transvaginal mesh (TVM) for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) repair – and among FPMRS-certified urologists and gynecologists and non-FPMRS counterparts using a statewide database. Methods The New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System all-payer database was utilized to extract outpatient Current Procedural Terminology procedure codes for SUI mesh sling utilization and revision or removal performed between 2007 and 2015. Results After the 2011 FDA warning on POP with TVM, sling placement decreased by 43% from 5214 cases in 2011 to 2958 in 2015. However, over the study period, the rate of sling revision remained stable relative to total sling placement. The rise and fall in mesh sling usage for SUI was primarily driven by non-FPMRS providers. FPMRS providers performed a higher proportion of sling procedures. The number of FPMRS physicians also increased from 2011 to 2015, and each individual physician had a higher median case volume for sling placements and revisions. Conclusion In New York state, utilization of mesh slings for SUI has significantly decreased since the 2011 FDA public health notification, without any specific warning for the utilization of mesh in this setting. This trend was mainly driven by a decrease in mesh usage among non-FPMRS physicians, although the specific causality is likely complex.
The Quasi-Periodic Compact Green’s Function

In this chapter we investigate sound generation by cascades with multiple aerofoils per period window. This topic has received scant attention in the literature, possibly due to the non-trivial topology associated with the geometry of the cascade. Nevertheless, the modelling of interference effects between adjacent cascades is essential for the accurate modelling of rotor-stator interaction noise.
Outcomes of severe Legionella pneumonia requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

Abstract Background Legionella pneumonia with acute respiratory failure may necessitate extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The medical literature in this area is comprised primarily of case reports and small case series. Our goal was to summarize published data and contribute our institutional experience regarding survival in severe Legionella pneumonia requiring ECMO. Methods A National Library of Medicine (PubMed) search was conducted, identifying reports of ECMO therapy in patients with severe Legionella pneumonia. Electronic health records of Montefiore Medical Center (Bronx, NY) captured all such patients treated at our institution during the 10-year period 2010–2019. Results 23 articles reported 73 patients. Survival to hospital discharge was 78.1%. In an attempt to avoid publication bias, we culled from the search four series (53 patients), reporting surviving and non-surviving patients. Survival in this group was 71.7%. Our institutional experience included 10 patients with survival rate 80%. Conclusions Review of clinical experience with ECMO for severe Legionella pneumonia yields a survival rate of over 70%. The similarity in survival rates among all published cases (78.1%), case series reporting surviving and non-surviving patients (71.7%), our institutional experience (80%), and recently reported Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) registry data (71%) supports the veracity of this encouraging survival rate.
Patterns of bi-directional relations across alcohol use, religiosity, and self-control in adolescent girls

Examining predictors of alcohol use among adolescent girls is increasingly important to enhance prevention efforts, given that the gender gap in alcohol use is steadily closing. While both religiosity and self-control have been independently associated with decreased alcohol use, little research has explored 1) whether religiosity and self-control are reciprocally related and 2) whether the reciprocal association between these constructs may indicate different patterns in the development of alcohol use. As such, this study examined whether there are multiple patterns of reciprocal relationships across religiosity, self-control, and alcohol use among adolescent girls. Latent variable mixture modeling was combined with an autoregressive cross-lagged panel model to identify discrete, prototypical patterns of longitudinal associations (i.e., subgroups) across religiosity, self-control, and alcohol use among 2,122 girls ages 13-17. Psychosocial covariates (e.g., conduct problems) were examined as predictors of each subgroup. Two subgroups were identified. Self-control was associated with reduced alcohol use in both the majority (87.56% of the sample) and minority (12.44% of the sample) subgroups, but only the majority subgroup also demonstrated associations between religiosity, self-control, and alcohol use. Religiosity may predict lower alcohol use in a majority of adolescent girls but this association may not be present among all girls, suggesting that there is a qualitative difference in how religiosity is associated with self-control and alcohol use between subgroups. Results also suggest that higher levels of conduct problems may predict which girls are more likely to demonstrate associations between only self-control and alcohol use, and demonstrate no significant associations with religiosity.
Dynamic regulation of TFH selection during the germinal centre reaction.

The germinal centre is a dynamic microenvironment in which B cells that express high-affinity antibody variants produced by somatic hypermutation are selected for clonal expansion by limiting the numbers of T follicular helper cells1,2. Although much is known about the mechanisms that control the selection of B cells in the germinal centre, far less is understood about the clonal behaviour of the T follicular helper cells that help to regulate this process. Here we report on the dynamic behaviour of T follicular helper cell clones during the germinal centre reaction. We find that, similar to germinal centre B cells, T follicular helper cells undergo antigen-dependent selection throughout the germinal centre reaction that results in differential proliferative expansion and contraction. Increasing the amount of antigen presented in the germinal centre leads to increased division of T follicular helper cells. Competition between T follicular helper cell clones is mediated by the affinity of T cell receptors for peptide–major-histocompatibility-complex ligands. T cells that preferentially expand in the germinal centre show increased expression of genes downstream of the T cell receptor, such as those required for metabolic reprogramming, cell division and cytokine production. These dynamic changes lead to marked remodelling of the functional T follicular helper cell repertoire during the germinal centre reaction. T follicular helper cells undergo antigen-dependent selection in germinal centres, with higher-affinity T cell receptors supporting stronger proliferation leading to their clonal dominance.
Evidence linking satellite-derived sea-surface temperature signals to changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

Abstract This study explores an application of satellite-derived Sea Surface Temperature (SST) to climate studies by focusing on a connection with the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Here we focus on SSTs from the advanced very high resolution radiometer and report a 99% significant correlation between the changes of in situ measured AMOC transport and the variation of 1-month leading SST anomalies in the subpolar North Atlantic region (45°N–70°N) based on analyses of an 85-month period. The leading mode of the singular value decomposition analysis of SST and Sea Level Pressure (SLP) for 31 years (1981/12–2012/12) shows an apparent North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) forcing on the SST fields. Specifically, the SST and SLP one-month phase lag covariance is notable at temporal scales of 4 to 11 months. After removing the first order component of the NAO, the residual SST (RESST) provides better estimates of the AMOC on a shorter time scale than the SST. This is because that RESST is less likely to be affected by the local SLP on these time scales. The high correlation is primarily between the RESST and variations of the geostrophic Upper Mid-Ocean transport component of the AMOC. The 31-year RESST time series in the North Atlantic subpolar region is also significantly correlated with the Gulf Stream path SST anomalies with a one-month lead, implying a fast signal transport from the subpolar North Atlantic to the Gulf Stream. A similar fast adjustment signal is also found in 500-year control simulations of the GFDL model CM2.1. These results indicate a prospective capability of satellite-derived SSTs to predict AMOC variability.
Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithm for DS-CDMA Pseudonoise Sequence Design in a Multiresolutive Acquisition

In DS-CDMA communications, pseudonoise sequence sets must fulfil crosscorrelation and autocorrelation minimization properties in order to minimize multiuser interference and improve the probability of acquisition. When a multiresolutive acquisition scheme is to be used [3] the pseudonoise sequences (PN) have to satisfy more strict constraints for achieving proper acquisition performance. In this paper we present a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm to design a set of pseudonoise sequences meeting all the constraints that the receiver of DS-CDMA communication system demands. The new pseudonoise sequence set accomplishes not only the basic pseudorandom waveform properties but also the new crosscorrelation and autocorrelation features required by the multiresolutive structure, obtaining better results in terms of crosscorrelation and stability. This way a better trade off between mean acquisition time and computational requirements can be achieved regarding traditional adquisition schemes.
The early chemical history of the earth: Some critical elemental fractionations

Abstract Thermodynamic data for reactions relevant to the upper parts of the earth satisfactorily explain the observed geochemical behavior of trace elements. Reactions in a primitive earth undergoing core formation through Fe S liquid segregation indicate that the alkali elements K, Rb and Cs, in contrast to their surficial behavior, will be strongly chalcophile and thus withdrawn into the core. Chondritic models for the earth need not be discarded because of the apparent depletion of the alkalies from the silicate fraction of the earth. Segregation of K into the core will decouple the heat production of40K from that of U and Thearly in the earth's history. The subsequent thermal and differentiation history would contrast markedly with that obtained in presently existing models which employ a coherent relationship between K and U in the earth. The present model can satisfactorily explain the evolution of the radiogenic isotopes of Pb and Sr in the earth, in addition to providing sufficient40K heat energy in the core to account for the geomagnetic field.
Chip‐Based Biosensors for Environmental Monitoring

Technological advances in microfabrication and detection techniques continue to effectively miniaturize biosensors onto planer surfaces. One of the advantages of this evolution is the ability to simultaneously measure multiple analytes or multiple attributes of a single sample using an array of biorecognition elements. Multi-analyte capability often requires more versatile, complex, and expensive instrumentation adapted to multiple biorecognition elements (e.g., multiple antibodies). Although biosensor technologies, for the most part, have shown limited application and commercialization as stand-alone analytical devices, biosensor concepts and technologies, particularly for biochip formats, have provided key components in a wide range of clinical, diagnostic, and research instrumentation. Although chip-based biosensors show the potential for meeting some of the persistent environmental monitoring needs such as simple, cost-effective, and portable multi-analyte analysis methods, a range of challenges must be overcome before biosensors find widespread use in environmental monitoring applications. One of the keys to the successful development of chip-based biosensor systems for environmental applications will be to make use of their multi-analyte array capability. Nevertheless, it is critical to consider issues such as multiple and shifting pollutants of concern as well as sample preparation strategies for difficult and variable matrices. Keywords: biosensors; biochips; environmental monitoring
pbitMCE: A bit-based approach for maximal clique enumeration on multicore processors

Maximal clique enumeration (MCE) is a fundamental problem in graph theory. It plays a vital role in many network analysis applications and in computational biology. MCE is an extensively studied problem. Recently, Eppstein et al. proposed a state-of-the-art sequential algorithm that uses degeneracy based ordering of vertices to improve the efficiency. In this paper, we propose a new parallel implementation of the algorithm of Eppstein et al. using a new bit-based data structure. The new data structure not only reduces the working set size significantly but also by enabling the use of bit-parallelism improves the performance of the algorithm. We illustrate the significance of degeneracy ordering in load balancing and experimentally evaluate the impact of scheduling on the performance of the algorithm. We present experimental results on several types of synthetic and real-world graphs with up to 50 million vertices and 100 million edges. We show that our approach outperforms Eppstein et al.'s approach by up to 4 times and also scales up to 29 times when run on a multicore machine with 32 cores.
Frequency-domain synthesis of optimal inputs for multiinput-multioutput (MIMO) systems with process noise

This paper generalized the approach of Ref. [1] for the design of optimal inputs to MIMO systems with process or driving noise. First an expression for the information matrix is derived and it is shown to consist of two parts, one depending on the designed input and the other depending on the process noise input. The equivalence relationships between D-optimal designs and min-max designs are obtained leading up to numerical algorithms for computing globally optimal designs. Easily computable bounds are derived for the loss in performance due to suboptimal designs. It is shown that the optimal input may be chosen to have a discrete spectrum with a finite number of frequencies.
Gender and returns to promotion: The role of social and power relations

Abstract This study extends a theoretical framework of structural resources and vulnerabilities to an examination of individual promotion outcomes. Promotions of 454 individuals to administrative and professional staff positions in one higher education organization are analyzed. The findings confirm that both individual and structural resources are important for explaining the administrative level achieved by promotion in this setting. Although the returns to resouces do not vary by gender, women receive significantly less return to their promotions than men do to theirs. These findings underscore the importance of examining not only individual and structural resources but also the role of gender in the social and power relations that influence the promotion of women and men in organizations.
Wavelet and multiple scale reproducing kernel methods

Multiple scale methods based on reproducing kernel and wavelet analysis are developed. These permit the response of a system to be separated into different scales. These scales can be either the wave numbers corresponding to spatial variables or the frequencies corresponding to temporal variables, and each scale response can be examined separately. This complete characterization of the unknown response is performed through the integral window transform, and a space-scale and time-frequency localization process is achieved by dilating the flexible multiple scale window function. An error estimation technique based on this decomposition algorithm is developed which is especially useful for local mesh refinement and convergence studies. This flexible space-scale window function can be constructed to resemble the well-known unstructured multigrid and hp-adaptive finite element methods. However, the multiple scale adaptive refinements are performed simply by inserting nodes into the highest wavelet scale solution region and at the same time narrowing the window function. Hence hp-like adaptive refinements can be performed without a mesh.
Elastic scattering of alpha particles and the phase of the nucleon-nucleon scattering amplitude.

Glauber theory can describe elastic scattering of alpha particles by He-4, He-3, H-2, and H-1 at 7 GeV/c if the phase of the nucleon-nucleon elastic-scattering amplitude varies with momentum transfer. The phase variation leads to diffraction patterns differing markedly from those typical of constant-phase calculations and greatly affects the magnitudes of the intensities. These changes are mainly due to changes in the interference between amplitudes for different orders of multiple scattering and to a decrease in their moduli.
Estimation of upper bounds of errors in identifying autoregressive models

Abstract The estimation of ARMA (autoregressive-moving-average) models and of Kalman-Bucy filter models of stationary time-series in cases of complete parameter and Covariance ignorance can be obtained from first identifying a corresponding pure AR (autoregressive) model of finite order. Since the correct AR model is, in general, of infinite order, a bias is introduced in an otherwise consistent estimation procedure. Upper bounds of this bias are presently estimated in terms of a bound on the error in the corresponding innovations process. This bound is shown to converge to zero with increasing the order of the AR model or for the correct order if this order is finite. The above upper bound is thus also shown to yield a criterion for evaluating the finite order to approximate infinite AR models.
Na+ and K+ concentrations and the regulation of protein synthesis in Sindbis virus-infected chick cells.

Abstract Selective inhibition of host-specified protein synthesis in Sindbis virus-infected chick cells occurs at the level of the initiation of translation of host cell mRNAs. This inhibition is temporally correlated with an increase in the intracellular Na + concentration and a decrease in the intracellular K + concentration. Raising or lowering the NaCl concentration of the medium in which uninfected chick cells are incubated also inhibits protein synthesis, interferes with the initiation of translation of cellular mRNAs, and changes the intracellular monovalent cation concentrations. Lowering the NaCl concentration of the medium decreases intracellular K + , while raising the extracellular NaCl concentration increases both intracellular Na + and K + . The selective inhibition of host cell protein synthesis, both by Sindbis virus and by altered NaCl media, appears to result from changes in the intracellular na + and K + concentrations. Under conditions of decreased K + and/or increased Na + , viral and a few host mRNAs (such as that for chick actin), which apparently possess higher affinity for some component(s) of the initiation complex (high affinity mRNAs), can initiate while the majority of cellular mRNAs (low affinity mRNAs) cannot.
Hyperplasia, hyperproliferation and decreased migration rate of colonic epithelial cells in mice fed a diet deficient in vitamin D

Abstract Low serum levels of vitamin D metabolites have been associated with an increased risk for colon cancer. To investigate the effects of vitamin D deficiency on the colon, 4-week-old mice were fed a diet either containing (100000 IU/kg diet) or lacking this vitamin for 3 weeks. Food consumption and body weight gain were similar in both groups. Following injection with 3H-thymidine to label dividing cells, cellular proliferation and migration up the colonic crypt were determined autoradiographically. Although overall crypt lengths were similar in both groups, there was hyperplasia and hyperproliferation in crypts of the deficient animals. Also, their epithelial cells migrated up the crypt at a significantly slower rate (maximum 0.78 μm/h) than did those from control mice (1.42 μm/h). There was no difference in cellularity, proliferation or migration in duodenal epithelium. These results indicate that vitamin D deficiency significantly alters colonic but not duodenal epithelial cells.
Genome sequencing: Revelations from a bread mould.

The filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa is an organism much loved by geneticists. Its genome sequence has now been unveiled, and includes some surprises — such as the relatively high number of genes.
Stochastic Dynamics in Irreversible Nonequilibrium Environments. 3. Temperature-Ramped Chemical Kinetics

A generalization of the generalized Langevin equation (stochastic dynamics) is introduced in order to model chemical reactions which take place in environments with both density and temperature var...
Surface water‐groundwater interface geomorphology leads to scaling of residence times

[1] We know little regarding how geomorphological features along the surface-groundwater interface collectively affect water quality and quantity. Simulations of surface water-groundwater exchange at increasing scales across bed forms, bars and bends, and basins show that groundwater has a power-law transit time distribution through all these features, providing a purely mechanistic foundation and explanation for temporal fractal stream chemistry. Power-law residence time distributions are almost always attributed to spatial variability in subsurface transport properties- something we show is not necessary. Since the different geomorphological features considered here are typical of most landscapes, fractal stream chemistry may be universal and is a natural consequence of water exchange across multifaceted interfaces.
Effects of 1985 Food Security Act and 1990 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act on the 1993 Flooding on the Upper Mississippi and Missouri River Basins

ABSTRACT Flooding was unusually sever throughout the Upper Midwest during the spring and summer of 1993. These floods resulted in locally great economic damages, but provided an ideal “field laboratory” for evaluation of national erosion control programs. This article documents the amount of runoff reduction and corresponding flood damage reduction resulting from the Food Security Act (FSA) and the Food Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act (FACTA) to agricultural areas and rural infrastructure. Specifically, the impact on runoff and flooding of single storms with I-, 5; 25- and 100-year frequency probabilities was calculated using existing, commonly accepted methods of determining runoff. This procedure was applied to nine midwestern states (Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) on a county basis. Conservation practices studied were those applied through FSA and FACTA Results indicate the FSA and FACTA total programs were consistently more su...
Anginal Status and Prediction of Cardiac Events in Patients Enrolled in the Asymptomatic Cardiac Ischemia Pilot (ACIP) Study

Abstract We hypothesized that among the patients enrolled in the Asymptomatic Cardiac Ischemia Pilot (ACIP) trial, those who reported angina either within the previous 6 weeks or experienced angina during ambulatory electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring during activities of daily life or during stress testing would be more likely to experience an adverse cardiac event within a year than those who did not experience angina. Of the 558 patients enrolled in ACIP, 325 (58.2%) reported angina in the previous 6 weeks, 300 (53.8%) had stress-induced angina, and 63 (11.3%) reported angina during activities of daily life associated with ST-segment changes on the 48-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram. Some patients had >1 of these angina symptoms and thus 8 angina status categories were identified. Adverse cardiac events were defined as death, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), or hospitalization for ischemic events, which included revascularization not specified by the ACIP protocol. One hundred and sixty-seven patients (29.9%) were asymptomatic (i.e., they never had angina) by our defined criteria. Three hundred ninety-one patients (70.1%) were symptomatic. Symptomatic patients had a higher incidence of death, MI, or hospitalization for ischemic events (15.3% symptomatic vs 7.8% asymptomatic, p = 0.016). History of angina within 6 weeks before randomization was predictive of death, MI, or hospitalization for ischemic event (p = 0.007). This finding was due to a large difference in the need for hospitalizations which would be expected to be driven by the presence of angina. By contrast, angina during ambulatory electrocardiogram or stress test was not predictive of an adverse cardiac event. The asymptomatic status of coronary disease patients who have objective documentation of ischemia is not uniformly defined and many different categories can be identified. In this population of patients with proven coronary artery disease and myocardial ischemia, a history of angina in the previous 6 weeks was a good predictor of an adverse event occurring in the next year. Among patients with proven coronary artery disease, a positive stress test, and asymptomatic cardiac ischemia on the ambulatory electrocardiogram, those who report angina within the previous 6 weeks have an increased risk of adverse cardiac events within 1 year compared with those who do not.