cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mapping the evolutionary landscape of Zika virus infection in immunocompromised mice.

The fundamental basis of how arboviruses evolve in nature and what regulates the adaptive process remain unclear. To address this problem, we established a Zika virus (ZIKV) vector-borne transmission system in immunocompromised mice that mimics evolutionary characteristics of ZIKV infection in humans. Using this system, we defined factors that influence the evolutionary landscape of ZIKV infection and show that transmission route and specific organ microenvironments impact viral diversity and defective viral genome (DVG) production. In addition, we identified in mice the emergence of ZIKV mutants previously seen in natural infections, including variants present in currently circulating strains, as well as mutations unique to the mouse infections. With these studies, we have established an insect-to-mouse transmission model to study ZIKV evolution. We also defined how organ microenvironments and infection route impact the ZIKV evolutionary landscape, providing a deeper understanding of the factors that regulate arbovirus evolution and emergence.
The identification of /r/ and /l/ in natural and synthesized speech

Abstract: The purposes of this study were: (1) to examine the identification of /r/ and /1/ by Japanese and Americans, and (2) to compare the linguistic behaviors of the two groups in response to natural speech and synthesized speech. Studies carried out by Goto (1971) and Miyawaki et at. (1975) using natural and synthesized speech respectively indicated their Japanese subjects could not distinguish between /r/ and /l/. We attempted to check the findings of these studies. The results of identification tests for /r/ and /l/ tokens produced by both a Japanese and an American speaker indicated that the position of /r/ and /l/ in a word has a large effect on the degree of difficulty not only of identification but also of production by the Japanese. Subjects were presented with synthesized three-formant patterns in which the frequency of the initial steady state of F3 was varied in 10 steps. All the stimuli identified as /r/ by the Americans were not equally well identified by the Japanese. A second test of the same stimuli suggested that /w/ exists in the /r/–/l/ continuum tested for the Japanese and not for the Americans.
Algorithm for writing efficient recursive functions in assembly languages

Assembly programming is required for some embedded software products and is an important component in teaching computer organization and architecture, compiler design, and programming languages. In this paper, an algorithm for writing efficient recursive functions in the MIPS assembly programming is presented. The proposed algorithm generates assembly programs with a reduced number of stack operations compared with the known algorithm. The algorithm can be easily modified for other assembly languages. Also, the proposed algorithm is suitable for students with no background in compiler techniques and code optimization.
Reducing the Impact of Phase-Change Memory Conductance Drift on the Inference of large-scale Hardware Neural Networks

We extensively analyze the impact of conductance "drift" – inherent to Phase Change Memory (PCM) devices – on the inference of pre-trained Deep Neural Networks (DNNs). Starting from large-array experimental characterization of PCM drift in partial-SET states, we build a statistical model of conductance drift capturing the cycle-to-cycle variability in drift-coefficient ν observed empirically. Using a variety of small and large DNNs (few-layer perceptrons using MNIST dataset, ResNet-(10,18,34) using CIFAR-10, and a 2-layer LSTM using "Alice in Wonderland"), we characterize how the combination of drift and ν-variability can induce long-term degradations in DNN accuracy. We then introduce several techniques to suppress these effects, including "slope correction" and modifications to the DNN architecture (choice of squashing function, the number of hidden units, hidden layers, or convolution filters). Finally, we show how noise sources such as 1/f and Random Telegraph Noise (RTN), and device-to-device variability in heater diameter, can complicate the accurate measurement of PCM drift.
Narrative Persuasion and Violent Extremism: Foundations and Implications

Communication researchers have long-explored the ability of narratives to change the viewpoints of those that are exposed to them. Only recently, however, have terrorism researchers begun to investigate whether narratives produced by terrorist groups effectively promote terrorist ideologies. This chapter provides a brief summary of narrative persuasion, how terrorists use narratives to promote radicalization, and how terrorist narratives targeted at adolescents can be challenged.
Chapter 9 – Campylobacter

Campylobacter species are pathogens of both humans and animals and show a worldwide distribution. Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli are the most common causes of human gastroenteritis. The acute clinical illness ranges from mild watery diarrhea in developed countries to severe inflammatory diarrhea characterized by abdominal pain, fever, nausea, and bloody stool in developing countries. Major medical complications of C. jejuni infections include Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) and reactive arthritis. Campylobacter are fastidious organisms and C. jejuni does not replicate outside a warm-blooded host. However, the infectious dose is low (<1000 organisms) and transmission occurs through the food chain primarily by eating undercooked poultry or meat. C. jejuni is a natural commensal of chicken and its presence in chicken flocks is frequent. Contaminated food and subsequent illness are a huge economical burden, and processing control and prevention measures are important.
Correction: Thrombin-Par1 signaling axis disrupts COP9 signalosome subunit 3-mediated ABCA1 stabilization in inducing foam cell formation and atherogenesis

ATP-binding cassette transporters A1 (ABCA1) and G1 (ABCG1) play a vital role in promoting cholesterol efflux. Although, the dysregulation of these transporters was attributed as one of the mechanisms of atherogenesis, what renders their dysfunction is not well explored. Previously, we have reported that thrombin without having any effect on ABCG1 levels depletes ABCA1 levels affecting cholesterol efflux. In this study, we explored the mechanisms underlying thrombin-induced depletion of ABCA1 levels both in macrophages and smooth muscle cells. Under normal physiological conditions, COP9 signalosome subunit 3 (CSN3) was found to exist in complex with ABCA1 and in the presence of proatherogenic stimulants such as thrombin, ABCA1 was phosphorylated and dissociated from CSN3, leading to its degradation. Forced expression of CSN3 inhibited thrombin-induced ABCA1 ubiquitination and degradation, restored cholesterol efflux and suppressed foam cell formation. In Western diet (WD)-fed ApoE-/- mice, CSN3 was also disassociated from ABCA1 otherwise remained as a complex in Chow diet (CD)-fed ApoE-/- mice. Interestingly, depletion of CSN3 levels in WD-fed ApoE-/- mice significantly lowered ABCA1 levels, inhibited cholesterol efflux and intensified foam cell formation exacerbating the lipid laden atherosclerotic plaque formation. Mechanistic studies have revealed the involvement of Par1-Gα12-Pyk2-Gab1-PKCθ signaling in triggering phosphorylation of ABCA1 and its disassociation from CSN3 curtailing cholesterol efflux and amplifying foam cell formation. In addition, although both CSN3 and ABCA1 were found to be colocalized in human non-lesion coronary arteries, their levels were decreased as well as dissociated from each other in advanced atherosclerotic lesions. Together, these observations reveal for the first time an anti-atherogenic role of CSN3 and hence, designing therapeutic drugs protecting its interactions with ABCA1 could be beneficial against atherosclerosis.
Agency beliefs are associated with lower health information avoidance

Background:Avoiding health information is relatively common and is associated with lower knowledge of health risks and lower engagement in protective health behaviour. Health information avoidance ...
Recent Advances In Understanding Tick and Rickettsiae Interactions

Ticks are hematophagous arthropods with unique molecular mechanisms for digesting host blood meal while acting as vectors for various pathogens of public health significance. The tick's pharmacologically active saliva plays a fundamental role in modulating the host's immune system for several days to weeks, depending on the tick species. The vector tick has also developed sophisticated molecular mechanisms to serve as a competent vector for pathogens, including the spotted fever group rickettsiae. Evidence is still inadequate concerning tick-rickettsiae-host interactions and saliva-assisted transmission of the pathogen to the mammalian host. Rickettsia parkeri, of the spotted fever group rickettsia, can cause a milder version of Rocky Mountain spotted fever known as American Boutonneuse fever. The Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum) often transmits this pathogenic rickettsia in the United States. This review discusses the knowledge gap concerning tick-rickettsiae-host interactions by highlighting the spotted fever group rickettsia and the Am. maculatum model system. Filling this knowledge gap will provide a better understanding of the tick-rickettsiae-host interactions in disease causation, which will be crucial for developing effective methods for preventing tick-borne diseases.
Analysis of a COVID-19 Clinical Trial to Emphasize Experimental Design and Quantitative Reasoning in an Introductory Biology Course

Increasing student exposure to primary literature in early biology coursework can enhance scientific literacy and quantitative reasoning skills. The efficacy of primary literature discussion is heavily impacted by article selection, as student engagement is optimal with material that is topical and has clear relevance to real world issues. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of COVID-19-related scientific research in the mainstream media makes it an ideal topic for current discussion in entry-level biology courses. Here, we present an activity developed to facilitate a remote, synchronous discussion of an open access clinical trial publication on the experimental drug remdesivir in the treatment of COVID-19 (Beigel et al., 2020, N Engl J Med https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa2007764). The activity, which is amenable to adaptation for other research articles, emphasizes concepts in experimental design, statistical analysis, graphical interpretation, and the structure, content, and organization of typical sections of a primary research article. Importantly, the activity highlights the utility of the classroom response tool Pear Deck, a Google Slides add-on, for creating engaging literature discussions that can be readily adapted to a wide variety of teaching modalities.
Striking a New Grand Bargain: Workers' Compensation as a Social Safety Net

States have responded to COVID-19's ongoing workplace disruptions with myriad workers' compensation policy changes. While some states have extended presumptions of coverage to a large swath of workers who are at risk of contracting COVID-19 on the job, others have been far more measured or have declined to meaningfully change their policies. In contemplating state responses to COVID-19, this Comment makes two novel contributions to legal scholarship: First, it categorizes states into one of four groupings along a spectrum of coverage, from most likely to extend workers' compensation benefits to at-risk employees to least likely. Second, it contends that both historical and economic principles counsel states to adopt a selective coverage approach to pandemic workers' compensation. Under a selective coverage approach, states adopt a presumption of coverage for certain workers, such as first responders and grocery store clerks, who are most at risk of contracting pandemic diseases through the course of their work.
Food Insecurity: What Are Its Effects, Why, and What Can Policy Do About It?:

Food insecurity—lack of access to sufficient food for an active and healthy lifestyle—affects more than 10 million children in the United States. Ample research links food insecurity to hampered ch...
Morphometrics and Redescription of Aphyllon fasciculatum and Aphyllon franciscanum, Two Widespread but Previously Conflated Species in Western North America

We continue the taxonomic reevaluation of Aphyllon sect. Aphyllon by describing a widespread species throughout western North America previously recognized within a polyphyletic A. fasciculatum. To support our description and revised key, we analyzed fifteen continuous and discrete characters sampled from 186 herbarium specimens and iNaturalist observations representing the geographic and host ranges. Principal component and multiple correspondence analyses reveal clear variation in floral characters. Discriminant analyses show that three aspects of floral color, corolla lobe tip shape, the calyx cup to calyx lobe ratio, calyx lobe length, and degree of bend in the corolla tube are useful distinguishing features, but not diagnostic in every case.
Eocene fossils and the early evolution of frogmouths (Podargiformes): further specimens of Masillapodargus and a comparison with Fluvioviridavis

New fossils of the podargiform Masillapodargus longipes are described from the early Eocene German fossil site Messel. Previously unreported skeletal details of this species confirm its assignment to Podargiformes (frogmouths), and especially the wing and pectoral girdle bones exhibit close similarities to crown group Podargiformes. Here, I show that the postcranial skeletal morphology of Masillapodargus is quite different from that of the early Eocene North American taxon Fluvioviridavis, for which podargiform affinities were recently proposed. With regard to the morphologies of the humerus and the coracoid, Fluvioviridavis more closely resembles Steatornithiformes (oilbirds). These may be plesiomorphic similarities, if Steatornithiformes and Podargiformes are sister taxa as recently suggested. Both podargiform affinities of Fluvioviridavis, as well as a sister group relationship between Podargiformes and Steatornithiformes, are, however, only weakly based. A well-founded classification of Fluvioviridavis depends on a better understanding of the basal divergences within extant Strisores, the clade including “caprimulgiform” and apodiform birds, which remain controversial.
Minding the Machine: Languages of Class in Early Industrial America

In this innovative book, Stephen P. Rice offers a new understanding of class formation in America during the several decades before the Civil War. This was the period in the nation's early industrial development when travel by steamboat became commonplace, when the railroad altered concepts of space and time, and when Americans experienced the beginnings of factory production. These disorienting changes raised a host of questions about what machinery would accomplish. Would it promote equality or widen the distance between rich and poor? Among the most contentious questions were those focusing on the social consequences of mechanization: while machine enthusiasts touted the extent to which machines would free workers from toil, others pointed out that people needed to tend machines, and that that work was fundamentally degrading and exploitative. Minding the Machine shows how members of a new middle class laid claim to their social authority and minimized the potential for class conflict by playing out class relations on less contested social and technical terrains. As they did so, they defined relations between shopowners--and the overseers, foremen, or managers they employed--and wage workers as analogous to relations between head and hand, between mind and body, and between human and machine. Rice presents fascinating discussions of the mechanics' institute movement, the manual labor school movement, popular physiology reformers, and efforts to solve the seemingly intractable problem of steam boiler explosions. His eloquent narrative demonstrates that class is as much about the comprehension of social relations as it is about the making of social relations, and that class formation needs to be understood not only as a social struggle but as a conceptual struggle.
Implementing Web-Based Scientific Inquiry in Preservice Science Methods Courses

This paper describes how the Web-based Inquiry for Learning Science (WBI) instrument was used with preservice elementary and secondary science teachers in science methods courses to enhance their understanding of Web-based scientific inquiry. The WBI instrument is designed to help teachers identify Web-based inquiry activities for learning science and classify those activities along a continuum from learner directed to materials directed for each of the five essential features of inquiry, as described in Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 2000). Implementations of WBI analysis activities in preservice science methods courses are discussed.
Transition Metal-Carborane Complexes

Publisher Summary The chemistry of compounds having boron groups connected to transition metals has expanded very rapidly in the past few years. The complexes in the iron group have significance in the history of organometallic and boron chemistry. The first reported examples of π-bonded carborane-transition metal compounds were the 1, 2-dicarbollyl analogs of ferrocene and the ferricinium ion discovered by Hawthorne and co-workers. The crystal and molecular structure of the cyclopentadienyl complex obtained by X-ray diffraction afforded the first confirmation of the sandwich bonding of the carborane ligand to the iron atom. The positions of substitution are as far as possible from the carbon atoms. If this reaction is electrophilic in nature, this result pinpoints the region of highest electron density in this type of molecule. The syntheses of the carbollide-transition metal complexes thus far reported are based on three general routes closely related to the preparative methods used for the dicarbollyl sandwich compounds.
Nurses' Knowledge of Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety and Agitation

The diagnosis of mental illness is becoming more prevalent in the United States. With the increased identification, it is imperative that health care professionals are astute in identifying mental health conditions and behaviors associated with those conditions. The most common use of pro re nata (PRN) or “as needed” psychoactive medications in the inpatient psychiatric setting is for the reduction of behaviors associated with anxiety, agitation, and aggression. The administration of PRN medication rests solely on the nursing staff and their ability to use autonomous clinical decision-making to distinguish between different behaviors associated with those conditions prior to the administration of PRN medication. For the past 30 years, research has recognized the lack of national standards, assessment criteria, and ethical practices when administrating PRN medications in the acute inpatient setting. The purpose of this study was to identify nurses’ knowledge of signs and symptoms of anxiety or agitation in the acute care setting. The model used to guide this research is the Synergy Model of Patient Care. The design for this research study was a descriptive design using a case study approach. This study was conducted at a nonprofit, general medical-surgical community hospital in Rhode Island specializing in rehabilitation and psychiatric services. The target sample consisted of all registered nurses working on three study units. Two case studies, each portraying a patient experiencing symptoms or behaviors of anxiety and agitation were used to measure nurses’ knowledge of signs and symptoms of anxiety and agitation. A total of 17 RNs (N=17) participated in this research project. This research implied that there were gaps in clinical knowledge and variations in practice when nurses were asked to recognize symptoms of anxiety or behaviors associated with agitation.
Oxygen Toxicity and the Superoxide Dismutase

Oxygen caused an increase in the amount of superoxide dismutase in Escherichia coli B but not in Bacillus subtilis. E. coli B cells, induced by growth under 100% O2, were much more resistant to the lethal effects of 20 atm of O2 than were cells which contained the low uninduced level of this enzyme. In contrast, B. subtilis, which could not respond to O2 by increasing its content of superoxide dismutase, remained equally sensitive to hyperbaric O2 whether grown under 100% O2 or areobically. The catalase in these organisms exhibited a reciprocal response to oxygen. Thus, the catalase of E. coli B was not induced by O2, whereas that of B. subtilis was so induced. These results are consistent with the view that superoxide dismutase is an important component of the defenses of these organisms against the toxicity of oxygen, whereas their catalases are of secondary importance in this respect. The ability of streptonigrin to generate O2−, by a cycle of reduction followed by spontaneous reoxidation, has been verified in vitro. It is further observed that E. coli B which contain the high induced level of superoxide dismutase were more resistant to the lethality of this antibiotic, in the presence of oxygen, than were E. coli B which contained the low uninduced level of this enzyme. This difference between induced and uninduced cells was eliminated by the removal of O2. These results are consistent with the proposal that the enhanced lethality of streptonigrin under aerobic conditions may relate to its in vivo generation of O2− by a cycle of reduction and spontaneous reoxidation. In toto, these observations lend support to the hypothesis that O2− is an important agent of oxygen toxicity and that superoxide dismutase functions to blunt the threat posed by this reactive radical.
Developing an Assessment of the Adolescent Therapeutic Community Treatment Process Via Client Report

Introduction and Aims: We developed and evaluated an instrument (DCI-A) to measure the adolescent therapeutic community (TC) treatment process.Design and Methods: Participants were adolescents from one of seven U.S. TC programs (N1 = a76, N2 = a66). We used Sample 1 to identify the instrument’s structure, confirmed this with Sample 2, and generated descriptive statistics for the final solution using the combined sample.Results: We identified and confirmed a 5-factor solution (Treatment Motivation, Personal Development, Problem Recognition, Family Relations, Social Network). Analyses provide preliminary evidence for the instrument’s reliability and validity.Discussion and Conclusions: The DCI-A may be useful for assessing adolescent TC treatment process.
Achievable Rate and Outage Probability of Cognitive Radio with Finite-Alphabet Inputs under Imperfect Spectrum Sensing

In this paper, we propose an effective method to calculate the average achievable rate and outage probability of a practical cognitive radio (CR) link with finite-alphabet inputs under imperfect spectrum sensing in fast and slow Rayleigh fading, respectively. In the considered CR system, the secondary user (SU) senses and dynamically exploits the spectrum pool via dynamic frequency hopping. Since spectrum sensing is not perfect, miss- detection occurs. Under this event, the interference emerged from collisions due to the simultaneous spectrum access of both primary and cognitive users leads to a non-Gaussian CR link. This makes it very challenging to evaluate the information theoretical limits, especially when finite-alphabet inputs are used. To overcome such challenge, we first introduce a simple method to calculate the instantaneous differential entropy of the channel output for a given fading gain using Laguerre-Gauss quadrature formulas. Using this result, we propose a piece-wise linear curve fitting (PLCF)-based method to calculate the average output entropy and outage probability, respectively. It is then demonstrated that the average achievable rate in fast fading and the outage probability in slow fading of the considered CR channel can be calculated effectively to achieve any predetermined accuracy level for a given finite-alphabet input.
Axonal ramifications of hippocampal Ca1 pyramidal cells

Intracellular injections of Lucifer Yellow into CA1 pyramidal cells of the in vitro guinea pig hippocampal slice enabled us to examine in detail the morphology of the axons of these neurons. We also recorded the electrophysiological responses of these neurons to alvear stimulation. In our morphological examinations, we found that many axons bifurcate in the alveus, with the major branch projecting caudally toward the subiculum and the second, thinner branch projecting rostrally toward the fimbria. Either axons may bifurcate further to produce several axon branches which follow parallel paths in the alveus. These axons also have local collaterals which project into strata oriens and pyramidale. In addition, a very fine plexus of axonal processes was observed in stratum oriens located largely within the basal dendritic field of the parent cell. Our electrophysiological experiments demonstrated that neurons could be activated antidromically by stimulation of the alveus at sites both rostral ad caudal to the neuron. Weak alvear stimulation occasionally evoked small potentials which appeared similar to fast prepotentials. The local axonal ramifications may be involved in recurrent pathways mediating feedback inhibition and/or excitation. The axonal bifurcations also may provide a basis for understanding the origins of fast prepotentials elicited with antidromic stimulation.
The Effects of Portrayals of Gay Men on Homonegativity and the Attribution of Gender-Based Descriptors

The present study examined the effects of a gay male television portrayal on a sample of 107 college-aged participants. Participants were exposed to either a representation of a feminine gay male character, representation of a masculine gay male character, or no gay male character and were subsequently asked questions to determine the stereotypes they associate with gay men and their overall level of homonegativity. Results indicated that political identification was a significant moderator of the relationship between exposure to depictions of a gay character and levels of homonegativity and between exposure and the application of gender-based descriptors to gay men. Findings suggested that the mere presence of a gay male character, whether masculine or feminine, primed homonegative attitudes and opinions about gay male masculinity and femininity.
The Massachusetts school‐based body mass index experiment—gleaning implementation lessons for future childhood obesity reduction efforts

In 2009, Massachusetts (MA) Department of Public Health (DPH) implemented new regulations that required public schools in the state to measure height and weight, determine body mass index (BMI), and notify parents of children in grades 1, 4, 7, and 10 of their child's weight status. After 3 years of implementation, MA DPH recently abandoned parental notification of school-based BMI screening results citing several concerns including flaws in the ability to monitor the way that the BMI screening results were communicated from the schools to parents/guardians and some reports of breaches in confidentiality of students' measurements. In this article, we review implementation issues that could have impacted the success of the MA DPH regulation as well as lessons to be learned and potentially applied to future childhood obesity efforts.
Apes of the World: Their Social Behavior, Communication, Mentality and Ecology

This is the first major and most comprehensive synthesis of results from ecological, naturalistic behavioral, comparative psychological, and humanoid language research on apes since the classic work, "The Great Apes", by Robert M. and Ada Yerkes in 1929. Based on more than 1,360 references from scientific journals, monographs, symposium volumes, and other public sources, the book contains a wealth of current information on the taxonomy, ecology, postural and locomotive behavior, natural communications, and social behavior of the apes. Topical discussions in the book are organized to show the extent of progress, including the development of new research questions, and the way our views of apes have changed as new information has become available since 1929.
Abstract P5-20-04: Autophagy promotes escape from PI3K inhibition in ER+ breast cancer

PI3K inhibitors have shown promise for the treatment of ER+ breast cancers. Autophagy has been suggested to promote resistance to PI3K inhibitors. Interestingly, cancer cells often exhibit basal levels of autophagy, which is thought to serve as a mechanism to manage oxidative stress and remove damaged organelles (e.g., mitochondria). Pharmacodynamic analysis of the orally available pan-PI3K inhibitor GDC-0941 at low (100 mg/kg) and high (800 mg/kg) doses, and 2 low doses administered 12 hours apart (BID), in combination with fulvestrant in mice bearing MCF-7 xenografts revealed that treatment induced accumulation of LC-3 II (marker of autophagy) after 24-48 h. In ER+ breast cancer cells cultured in hormone-depleted medium, PI3K inhibition gradually induced apoptosis while increasing LC-3 II. Autophagy promotes glucose metabolism, and PI3K activation is a major driver of glucose uptake. We thus hypothesized that inhibition of autophagy will potentiate the anti-tumor effects of PI3K inhibition by suppressing glucose metabolism. Chloroquine (CQ) is an anti-malarial drug that inhibits autophagy in mammalian cells by an unknown mechanism. CQ inhibited proliferation and autophagy in ER+ breast cancer cells in vitro. CQ treatment potentiated GDC-0941-induced inhibition of cell proliferation and promotion of apoptosis in growth conditions (10% FBS) with or without fulvestrant, and in hormone-depleted conditions (10% DCC-FBS). CQ treatment increased PI3K inhibitor-induced mitochondrial membrane depolarization, suggesting that this drug combination engages an intrinsic apoptotic pathway. PI3K inhibition also induced autophagy in fulvestrant-resistant MCF-7/FR and CAMA-1/FR cells. CQ increased GDC-0941-induced apoptosis in MCF7/FR and CAMA-1/FR cells, offering combined targeting of PI3K and autophagy as a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of anti-estrogen resistant breast cancer. Mice bearing ZR75-1 xenografts are currently being treated with vehicle, CQ (2 mg/day via drinking water), 800 mg/kg GDC-0941 QW, or the combination. Thus far, single-agents treatments significantly inhibit tumor growth. However, the drug combination has not shown synergistic effects in vivo. Analysis of different doses and schedules of GDC-0941 plus CQ, with or without anti-estrogen treatment, is ongoing. Citation Format: Wei Yang, Todd W Miller. Autophagy promotes escape from PI3K inhibition in ER+ breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-20-04.
Competition and Productivity in the UK and U.S. Tobacco Industries, 1879-1939

The UK and U.S. tobacco industries provide a particularly clean place to examine the impact of changes in market structure on firm conduct and productivity in a rapidly innovating industry. Both industries were competitive in the 1880s, and the U.S. appeared to have a slight lead resulting from earlier adoption of cigarette manufacturing machines. After the formation of the Tobacco Trust in 1890, U.S. productivity growth slowed and the UK assumed the productivity lead. Productivity leadership passed back to the U.S. after the UK industry formed a monopoly in 1902 and the U.S. Trust was broken up by anti-trust action in 1911. This case provides examples of competition leading to more rapid productivity growth through both more rapid technological progress and increased technical efficiency.
The Good Girl–Bad Girl Dichotomy: Sexual Double Standards, STDs, and Stigma Management

Currently in the United States, rates of HPV (human papillomavirus) and HSV (herpes simplex virus) continue to rise, yet HPV vaccinations are marketed as cancer prevention, conveniently avoiding focus on the sexual transmission of the disease they hope to prevent. Thus, while commercials for products like Gardasil and the prescription medication Valtrex are publicly visible, there is little dialogue about the nature of these STDs or the individuals who have contracted such infections. In Damaged Goods? Women Living with Incurable Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Adina Nack explores the medical and social implications for women diagnosed with genital herpes or HPV or both, recounting compelling narratives of misinformation, diagnosis and treatment experiences, stigma development and management, and chronic illness. Nack begins with her own autoethnographic account of learning about her exposure to and eventual diagnosis of HPV, and offers full detail of her experience in the subsequent appendix. Her story is moving, vivid, and contextualizes her standpoint on both women’s experiences with STDs and her motivation for becoming a sexual health researcher and advocate for sexual education. Nack’s frank discussion of her experience, along with the benefits and challenges it created for engaging her research, is an excellent model of personal ethnography in tandem with well-executed ethnographic interviewing and analysis. Data consist of interviews with forty-three women who have contracted genital herpes or HPV or both, and volunteered for the research after hearing about Nack’s work. A detailed methodological appendix recounts the challenges involved, including negotiating the roles of researcher and sexual educator when respondents recounted inaccurate information about the nature of their disease. The book is
Mechanism of Protection by Diethyldithiocarbamate against Cisplatin Ototoxicity: Antioxidant System

This investigation was undertaken to explain the possible, mechanism(s) of protection by diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) against cisplatin ototoxicity. Male Wistar rats (250-275 g) underwent pretreatment auditory brain stem-evoked responses (ABRs). The different groups of rats were injected as follows: (1) cisplatin (16 mg/kg i.p.), (2) cisplatin plus DDTC (16 mg/kg i.p. + 600 mg/kg, s.c.), and (3) control rats. Post-treatment ABRs were performed after 3 days and the rats were euthanized and cochleae were harvested. The cochleae were analyzed for glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione, by HPLC, and for the activities of the antioxidant enzymes, and malondialdehyde levels, by spectrophotometry. The cisplatin-injected rats showed a threshold elevation of 36 +/- 3.05 dB above the pretreatment thresholds using click stimulus. Rats treated with cisplatin and then DDTC did not show a significant elevation of hearing threshold. DDTC-mediated protection was associated with higher levels of GSH (0.81 +/- 0.11 nmol/mg tissue), compared to 0.45 +/- 0.02 nmol/mg tissue following administration of cisplatin alone. Administration of cisplatin + DDTC restored the cochlear GSH-Px activity to control level. Cisplatin-treated rats were found to have decreased GSH-Px activity (75% of control). Cochlear SOD and CAT activities and MDA levels showed a decreasing trend in the animals injected with cisplatin + DDTC, compared to cisplatin-alone-treated rats. These data suggest that the protection conferred by DDTC against cisplatin ototoxicity is associated with sparing of the cochlear GSH/GSH-Px.
Formation of 2-D paracrystals of F-actin on phospholipid layers mixed with quarternary ammonium surfactants

Two-dimensional paracrystalline arrays of F-actin have been formed on positively charged lipid layers composed of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and quaternary ammonium surfactants. These quaternary ammonium surfactants were found to be better promoters of two-dimensional order than PC lipid layers mixed with stearylamine. In addition, the length of the hydrocarbon chain was found to influence the achievement of 2-D order. Lipid layers composed of dilauryl-PC and didodecyldimethylammonium bromide, which are saturated C12 lipids, promoted 2-D crystallization better than mixtures of dipalmitoyl-PC, a saturated C16 lipid, and dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide, a saturated C18 lipid. Thus, the hydrocarbon chain length, which influences lipid layer fluidity, had a significant effect on paracrystal formation. We suggest that quaternary ammonium surfactants may have advantages in some cases for forming ordered arrays on lipid layers. In addition to investigating the effect of lipid layer composition on paracrystal formation, we found that the injection of G-actin rather than F-actin under a fluid lipid layer into a polymerizing solution produced better ordered paracrystals.
Cyclic AMP response element mediates dexamethasone induced suppression of prostaglandin H synthase-2 gene expression in human amnion derived WISH cells.

Abstract A human PGHS-2 promoter fragment (300 BP) linked to the luciferase reporter was used to study the regulation of PGHS-2 gene expression in human amnion-derived WISH cells. A cyclic AMP (cAMP) response element (CRE) was found to be important in the induction of PGHS-2 gene expression. This was demonstrated by showing that coexpression of CREB stimulated native but not CRE mutant promoter and that IL-1β and PMA induced less activity with the mutant promoter as compared to the native promoter. The effect of dexamethasone on IL-1β and PMA induced promoter activities was further examined. IL-1β or PMA induced activity was blocked by dexamethasone, whereas IL-1β or PMA induced mutant activity was not responsive to dexamethasone. Direct activation of CRE by a cAMP elevating agent, isoproterenol, was found to be inhibited significantly dexamethasone. These results suggest that CRE may mediate the induction of PGHS-2 by IL-1β and PMA as well as the suppression of expression by dexamethasone in amnion-derived cells.
THE PSYCHOSOCIAL IMPACT OF SKIN DISEASE: An Overview

When the skin is disfigured by disease, it has an impact on the afflicted person. The intensity of the effect depends on many variables including the natural history of the disease, the characteristics of the individual patients and their life situation, as well as the attitudes and assumptions of the culture at large about the meaning of skin disease. Fantasies about skin disease, shared by patients and onlookers alike, relate to guilt, control of bodily boundaries, and perfectionist yearnings. Some issues involved in these fantasies include distortions about contagion, dirt, and sexuality. Ways of helping patients to manage the impact of their skin disease include an empathic doctor-patient alliance, education of patients and the community, and if indicated, referral for psychiatric consultation.
Current Perspectives on Gleason Grading of Prostate Cancer

The 5-tier Gleason grading system for prostate cancer, introduced in 1966, has been proven to be one of the main independent predictors of prostate cancer outcome. This review addresses interobserver concordance in Gleason grading; the persistence of grading discrepancies with frequent upgrading from the biopsy to the prostatectomy specimen; the 2005 International Society of Urologic Pathologists’ modifications to Gleason grading; the impact of this modified grading on grade migration and outcome prediction; and molecular correlates of cancer morphology. Data from the most recent years are emphasized.
Evaluation Of EL Display Technology For Portable Computer Applications

A 4x8 inch, 256x512 pixel EL display has been evaluated for use in a portable computer. The display has proven to have excellent visual qualities as well as good reliability. The main challenge now is for manufacturer's to get the cost down.
Comparative immunogenicity of recombinant B domain‐deleted porcine factor VIII and Hyate:C in hemophilia A mice presensitized to human factor VIII

Summary. Hyate is a commercial plasma-derived porcine factor (F)VIII concentrate that is used in the treatment of patients with inhibitory antibodies to FVIII. OBI-1 is a recombinant B domain-deleted form of porcine FVIII that is in clinical development for the same indication. Hemophilia A mice were presensitized with human FVIII to simulate clinical inhibitory antibody formation and then were randomized to receive OBI-1 or Hyate:C in a comparative immunogenicity trial. OBI-1 or Hyate:C were given in a series of four intravenous injections at weekly intervals at doses of 1, 10, or 100 U kg−1. Inhibitory antibodies to porcine FVIII were not detected by Bethesda assay in most of the mice given OBI-1 or Hyate:C at doses of 1 or 10 U kg−1, but were identified in 81% and 94% of mice given 100 U kg−1 of OBI-1 or Hyate:C, respectively. There was no significant difference between OBI-1 and Hyate:C in inhibitory antibody formation at any dose, although there was a trend toward a lower Bethesda titer in OBI-1-treated mice at 10 U kg−1 (P = 0.09). Total anti-FVIII antibodies to Hyate:C and OBI-1 were also measured by ELISA using immobilized purified plasma-derived porcine FVIII and OBI-1, respectively, as antigens. At the 10 and 100 U kg−1 doses, the mean anti-FVIII response was higher in Hyate:C-treated-mice than in OBI-1-treated mice (P = 0.02 and P = 0.004, respectively). The results using this model suggest that OBI-1 may be less immunogenic and safer than Hyate:C in FVIII inhibitor patients.
chi and the RecBC D Enzyme of Escherichia Coli

The products of genes recB and recC are responsible for conjugal recombination and for the repair of chromosomal double chain breaks in Escherichia coli. The product of the recD gene, which combines with the RecB and RecC proteins to comprise the RecBCD enzyme, is not required for either recombination or repair. On the contrary, RecBCD enzyme is a potent exonuclease which inhibits recombination by destroying linear DNA. The RecD Ejection model supposes that RecBCD enzyme enters DNA at a double-chain end and travels destructively along the DNA until (typically) it encounters the recombination hotspot sequence chi. Chi then alters the RecBCD enzyme by weakening the affinity of the RecD subunit for the RecBC heterodimer. With the loss of the RecD subunit from the enzyme, the resulting protein, RecBC(D-), becomes deficient for exonuclease activity and proficient as a recombinagenic helicase. Thus, the RecD Ejection model proposes that chi participates in recombination by acting as a toggle to convert RecBCD (a powerful exonuclease) to RecBC(D-) (a recombinase). We review the properties of RecBCD and its cognate site chi, including recent results that support both the RecD Ejection model and the view that chi plays only an indirect role in recombination.
Summarizing Speech Without Text Using Hidden Markov Models

We present a method for summarizing speech documents without using any type of transcript/text in a Hidden Markov Model framework. The hidden variables or states in the model represent whether a sentence is to be included in a summary or not, and the acoustic/prosodic features are the observation vectors. The model predicts the optimal sequence of segments that best summarize the document. We evaluate our method by comparing the predicted summary with one generated by a human summarizer. Our results indicate that we can generate 'good' summaries even when using only acoustic/prosodic information, which points toward the possibility of text-independent summarization for spoken documents.
Overcoming the guidance effect in motor skill learning: feedback all the time can be beneficial.

Extensive research has shown that augmented feedback presented too often can create a dependency on the feedback and hinder long-term memory formation of a motor skill. This dependency has been labeled the guidance effect, and one way to overcome the guidance effect is to reduce how often augmented feedback is presented during training. In two experiments, participants were presented with visual augmented feedback during every trial in a 5-min training interval. Participants were provided visual augmented feedback in the form of a Lissajous template of a 1:2 multi-frequency pattern and a cursor representing the coordination between the limbs. Some participants were trained with the cursor superimposed (behind group) on the Lissajous template, and others were trained with the cursor presented in a separate window (side group) from the Lissajous template. In experiment 1, motion of the end-effectors was constrained to the medial–lateral direction in the horizontal plane. In experiment 2, end-effector motion was possible in both the medial–lateral and anterior–posterior directions in the horizontal plane. The location of the cursor did not influence performance during the 5-min training interval in either experiment. After a 15-min break, a retention test performed without the visual feedback provided by the cursor revealed that the behind groups’ performance was guided by the visual feedback in both experiments, whereas the side groups were able to perform without visual feedback. In experiment two, the side group’s performance without feedback was influenced when anterior–posterior motion was not constrained; however, the extent of the guidance effect was significantly less compared to the behind trained group in both experiments. The results show that the emergence of guided motor performance depends on the format of the display that provides visually based augmented feedback, and not just on how often the feedback is provided. In conclusion, visually based augmented feedback leads to the simultaneous development of a spatial and motor representation of the task. The behind format led to a dependence on the spatial representation developed during training, while the side format facilitated the development of the motor representation as a means to overcome guidance.
Analysis and design methodology for an FRP cable-stayed pedestrian bridge

Abstract This paper describes the various analysis and design aspects of a fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) bridge. The design methodology is illustrated by describing the steps taken in the design of the first US FRP cable-stayed pedestrian bridge to be constructed in Lincoln, Nebraska. The analysis is made using three dimensional (3-D) macro models of the bridge to describe its overall behavior under static and dynamic loads. Separate analysis is done to study the local stability of the different structural elements. The orthotropy of the material is taken into account during this analysis. The short term and long term stiffnesses and strengths are evaluated and accounted for in the design process.
1370 THE MICROENVIRONMENT OF PREMATURE INFANTS UNDER A PLEXIGLASS DOME AND PLASTIC BLANKET

We measured air temp (Ta-micro), relative humidity (rh) and air velocity (V) surrounding 6 non-distressed prematures, <11 days old, 28-36 wks, in the thermoneutral zone in a forced convection incubator. Core temperature (Te), mean skin temperature (Tsk), abdominal heat flux (q) and O2 consumption (VO2) were also measured. Results are means at thermal equilibrium: Under these environmental conditions: (1) the air under the dome or bubble blanket is warmer and less turbulent. (2) rh measurements are confounded by ↑Ta-micro. (3) Abdominal heat flux is reduced and is associated with an increase in Te and Tsk. (4) VO2 is reduced when the infants are covered. These data help to clarify the mechanisms and support the use of a heat shield in the management of premature infants.