cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Examining Sleep Quality Following Sleeve Gastrectomy Among Patients with Loss-of-Control Eating

Sleep is associated with post-bariatric surgical outcomes; however, little is known about sleep in bariatric patients with loss-of-control (LOC) eating, a consistent predictor of poorer weight outcomes. This study examined sleep quality and clinical correlates in sleeve gastrectomy patients with LOC eating. Participants (N = 145) were treatment-seeking post-operative sleeve gastrectomy patients with LOC eating. Eating-disorder features were assessed with the Eating Disorder Examination-Bariatric Surgery Version Interview (EDE-BSV) and participants completed established measures assessing sleep, health-related quality of life, perceived stress, depression, and night eating. 58.6% of participants were characterized with “poor” sleep. Poor sleep quality was significantly associated with greater eating-disorder psychopathology, physical and mental functioning, night eating, perceived stress, and less % excess weight loss (EWL); these findings remained significant after controlling for %EWL and race. Regression analyses, adjusting for correlated variables, revealed that sleep quality significantly predicted mental functioning. Poor sleep quality was common among post-operative sleeve gastrectomy patients with LOC eating. Sleep quality was significantly associated with eating-disorder psychopathology, less post-operative weight loss, and psychosocial and physical functioning problems. These findings suggest the importance of assessment and treatment of sleep problems following sleeve gastrectomy. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02259322.
A Diversity of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases Expressed by T Lymphocytes

Protein tyrosine phosphorylation is used by cells as a regulatory mechanism, controlling events such as activation and proliferation. Both protein tyrosine kinases (PTKases) and protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) are required to balance the state of tyrosine phosphorylation and, therefore, the regulation of PTKase and PTPase enzymatic activity is necessary to control signal transduction. The PTKases are an extensive set of enzymes and are well characterized due to their oncogenic potential (Hanks et al.1988). The molecular identification of PTPases has emerged more recently.
The Unfolded Protein Response As a Predictor of Chemosensitivity in Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Abstract Background: Survival in newly diagnosed pediatric patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is approximately 65% with a much lower survival in patients with relapsed disease. Leukemia cells are exposed to proteotoxic stress due to their rapid, inefficient metabolism and accumulation of reactive oxygen species. This proteotoxic stress results in the production of misfolded proteins, which leads to activation of cell stress pathways, such as the unfolded protein response (UPR). We hypothesized that UPR induction correlates with a better response to chemotherapy. Methods: Peripheral blood samples from pediatric patients with AML were collected prior to initiation of induction chemotherapy, then at ~6 hours (h) and 24 h post initiation of chemotherapy. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were frozen as pellets after depletion of non-tumor cells using magnetic bead selection (Miltenyi Biotech). The expression of UPR proteins was determined by chemiluminescence using an automated capillary electrophoresis system, ProteinSimple WesTM. The expressions of 5 UPR proteins were examined including Grp78, IRE1, total and phosphorylated (active) eIF2-α, and ATF6-α. Protein expression was normalized to actin expression and fold differences were compared between samples and within each sample at different time points. Results: Within each group of UPR proteins, there was a wide variability in the level of baseline expression, with 6 of 38 samples expressing >4 fold increase in Grp78, compared to the median level in healthy pediatric and adult controls (Figure 1). Basal IRE1 levels were also significantly higher in pediatric controls vs. adult controls. A trend towards lower overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) was noted in patients who had a low baseline Grp78 and a low baseline IRE1 (low baseline IRE1 was defined as 2 x above baseline level) was seen in a subset of patients, most notably for ATF6α. However, post chemotherapy UPR induction was not associated with differences in either event-free survival or overall survival. Conclusion: UPR has a variable expression at baseline in pediatric AML patients, with a trend for lower overall survival in patients with a low basal Grp78 and IRE1 expression, suggesting chemoresistance in this subset of patients. Download : Download high-res image (15KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure 1 . Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Isotopically Labeled Clickable Glutathione to Quantify Protein S-Glutathionylation

Protein S-glutathionylation is one of the important cysteine oxidation events that regulate various redox-mediated biological processes. Despite several existing methods, there are few proteomic approaches to identify and quantify specific cysteine residues susceptible to S-glutathionylation. We previously developed a clickable glutathione approach that labels intracellular glutathione with azido-Ala by using a mutant form of glutathione synthetase. In this study, we developed a quantification strategy with clickable glutathione by using isotopically labeled heavy and light derivatives of azido-Ala, which provides the relative quantification of glutathionylated peptides in mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis. We applied isotopically labeled clickable glutathione to HL-1 cardiomyocytes, quantifying relative levels of 1398 glutathionylated peptides upon addition of hydrogen peroxide. Importantly, we highlight elevated levels of glutathionylation on sarcomere-associated muscle proteins while validating glutathionylation of two structural proteins, α-actinin and desmin. Our report provides a chemical proteomic strategy to quantify specific glutathionylated cysteines.
Adult brain aging investigated using BMC-mcDESPOT-based myelin water fraction imaging.

Abstract The relationship between regional brain myelination and aging has been the subject of intense study, with magnetic resonance imaging perhaps the most effective modality for elucidating this. However, most of these studies have used nonspecific methods to probe myelin content, including diffusion tensor imaging, magnetization transfer ratio, and relaxation times. In the present study, we used the BMC-mcDESPOT analysis, a direct and specific method for imaging of myelin water fraction (MWF), a surrogate of myelin content. We investigated age-related differences in MWF in several brain regions in a large cohort of cognitively unimpaired participants, spanning a wide age range. Our results indicate a quadratic, inverted U-shape, relationship between MWF and age in all brain regions investigated, suggesting that myelination continues until middle age followed by decreases at older ages. We also observed that these age-related differences vary across different brain regions, as expected. Our results provide evidence for nonlinear associations between age and myelin in a large sample of well-characterized adults, using a direct myelin content imaging method.
Modulation versus Templating: Fine-Tuning of Hierarchally Porous PCN-250 Using Fatty Acids To Engineer Guest Adsorption

Modulation and templating are two synthetic techniques that have garnered significant attention over the last several years for the preparation of hierarchically porous metal-organic frameworks (HP-MOFs). In this study, by using fatty acids with different lengths and concentrations as dual-functional modulators/templates, we were able to obtain HP-MOFs with tunable mesopores that exhibit different pore diameters and locations. We found that the length and concentration of the fatty acids can determine if micelle formation occurs, which in turn dictates the porosity of the resulting HP-MOFs. The HP-MOFs with different mesopores differed in their performance in gas uptake and dye adsorption, and the structure-performance relationships were ascribed to the pore diameters and locations. This approach could provide a potentially universal method to efficiently introduce hierarchal mesopores into existing microporous MOF adsorbents with tunable properties.
The effect of vehicle countermeasures and age on human volunteer kinematics during evasive swerving events.

AbstractObjective: Emergency maneuvers such as evasive swerving often precede a crash. These events are typically low-acceleration, time-extended events where the inertial forces have the potential...
Lifetime of Almost Strong Edge-Mode Operators in One-Dimensional, Interacting, Symmetry Protected Topological Phases.

Almost strong edge-mode operators arising at the boundaries of certain interacting one-dimensional symmetry protected topological phases with ${Z}_{2}$ symmetry have infinite temperature lifetimes that are nonperturbatively long in the integrability breaking terms, making them promising as bits for quantum information processing. We extract the lifetime of these edge-mode operators for small system sizes as well as in the thermodynamic limit. For the latter, a Lanczos scheme is employed to map the operator dynamics to a one-dimensional tight-binding model of a single particle in Krylov space. We find this model to be that of a spatially inhomogeneous Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model with a hopping amplitude that increases away from the boundary, and a dimerization that decreases away from the boundary. We associate this dimerized or staggered structure with the existence of the almost strong mode. Thus, the short time dynamics of the almost strong mode is that of the edge mode of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model, while the long time dynamics involves decay due to tunneling out of that mode, followed by chaotic operator spreading. We also show that competing scattering processes can lead to interference effects that can significantly enhance the lifetime.
Optical Imaging of Mitochondria for Cancer Therapy

Mitochondria are essential organelles that provide most of the energy to eukaryotic cells and also regulate programmed cell death. Optical imaging has been used for over 100 years to visualize and characterize these organelles. In recent years, new and improved optical imaging approaches have been used for functional imaging of mitochondria. Notably, several novel small molecule imaging probes have been developed, alongside fluorescent protein probes, to permit optical imaging of mitochondria to shed light on the molecular functioning of the organelle and associated proteins in disease. This chapter examines an historic perspective on some of the major developments in optical imaging of mitochondria.
Effectiveness of the Fun For Wellness Online Behavioral Intervention to Promote Subjective Well-Being in Adults with Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Fun For Wellness is a self-efficacy theory-based online behavioral intervention developed to promote growth in well-being and physical activity by providing capability-enhancing opportunities to participants. Evidence has been provided for the efficacy of Fun For Wellness to promote subjective well-being in adults in a relatively controlled setting. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Fun For Wellness to increase subjective well-being in adults with obesity in the United States of America in a relatively uncontrolled setting. The data described in this manuscript were collected within a more broadly focused trial: the Well-Being and Physical Activity Study (ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT03194854, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03194854 ). The study design was a large-scale, prospective, double-blind, parallel group randomized controlled trial. Participants were recruited through an online panel recruitment company. Data collection occurred at three time points: baseline, 30 days and 60 days after baseline. Participants (N = 667) who were assigned to the Fun For Wellness group (nFFW = 331) were provided with 30 days of 24 h access to the online intervention (i.e., from baseline to 30 days after baseline). Participants assigned to the usual care group (nusual care = 336) were asked to conduct their lives as usual. There was evidence for a positive indirect effect of Fun For Wellness on both occupational and psychological subjective well-being at 60 days after baseline through occupational and psychological well-being self-efficacy at 30 days after baseline, respectively. There was evidence for a positive direct effect of Fun For Wellness on both community (d = 0.33) and physical (d = 0.26) subjective well-being at 60 days after baseline. Results from this study provided some initial evidence for both the effectiveness (e.g., promoting community, occupational, physical, and psychological subjective well-being), and the ineffectiveness (e.g., failing to promote interpersonal, economic, and overall subjective well-being), of the Fun For Wellness intervention for increasing subjective well-being in adults with obesity in the United States of America.
Let Them Play! A Call for Play-Based Instruction in Pre-K Physical Education

In physical education, specifically, we advocate for teachers to move from purely skills- and game-based instruction with their pre-kindergarten (PreK) students and opt for a play-based approach. W...
COVID-19 in Children With Kidney Disease: A Report of 2 Cases.

The presentation of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children with kidney disease is largely unknown. We report on 2 children with kidney disease not receiving long-term immunosuppression who were hospitalized due to COVID-19. The first case is an infant with end-stage kidney disease secondary to bilateral cystic dysplastic kidneys and posterior urethral valves receiving peritoneal dialysis, with a history of prematurity previously requiring mechanical ventilation in the neonatal intensive care unit, who presented with fever, hypertension, and emesis. He had no respiratory symptoms and recovered with supportive care. His hypertension was managed well with amlodipine. The second case is a child with steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome who presented with a relapse of nephrotic syndrome with concurrent peritonitis and sepsis caused by Streptococcus agalactiae. He was treated with antibiotics and prophylactic anticoagulation therspy. Steroid therapy was initiated after 48 hours of antibiotic therapy. Neither child required mechanical ventilation or developed COVID-19–related multisystem inflammatory syndrome.
A Global Survey of Lithospheric Flexure at Steep-Sided Domical Volcanoes on Venus Reveals Intermediate Elastic Thicknesses

Topographic flexure in response to vertical loads reveals key lithospheric properties, including elastic thickness and the heat flow from the interior. Flexural stresses may also control volcano mo...
Controlling the Formation of Charge Transfer Complexes in Chemically Doped Semiconducting Polymers

Chemical doping of semiconducting polymers predominantly takes place via integer charge transfer (ICT), where an electron is entirely removed from the host conjugated polymer and transferred to res...
Automated Spleen Injury Detection Using 3D Active Contours and Machine Learning

The spleen is one of the most frequently injured organs in blunt abdominal trauma. Computed tomography (CT) is the imaging modality of choice to assess patients with blunt spleen trauma, which may include lacerations, subcapsular or parenchymal hematomas, active hemorrhage, and vascular injuries. While computer-assisted diagnosis systems exist for other conditions assessed using CT scans, the current method to detect spleen injuries involves the manual review of scans by radiologists, which is a time-consuming and repetitive process. In this study, we propose an automated spleen injury detection method using machine learning. CT scans from patients experiencing traumatic injuries were collected from Michigan Medicine and the Crash Injury Research Engineering Network (CIREN) dataset. Ninety-nine scans of healthy and lacerated spleens were split into disjoint training and test sets, with random forest (RF), naive Bayes, SVM, k-nearest neighbors (k-NN) ensemble, and subspace discriminant ensemble models trained via 5-fold cross validation. Of these models, random forest performed the best, achieving an Area Under the receiver operating characteristic Curve (AUC) of 0.91 and an F1 score of 0.80 on the test set. These results suggest that an automated, quantitative assessment of traumatic spleen injury has the potential to enable faster triage and improve patient outcomes.
Hardware Assisted Smart Grid Authentication

A Cyber-Physical System (CPS) refers to the interconnection of control (actuation), computational nodes and sensors, in order to manage physical processes. In recent years, the CPS design methodology has been adopted in several large-scale infrastructures such as smart power grids. Given the application criticality, sustaining the security of these systems is of utmost importance. One of the major security goals is to protect CPS against impersonation, where an adversary intends to manipulate the system state by sending erroneous data that appears to be reported by one of the system nodes, e.g. PMUs of a power grid. This paper proposes a novel hardware-assisted authentication scheme to counter such a threat, by exploiting imperfections that occur in the manufacturing process of integrated circuits. In essence, the proposed scheme associates a fingerprint for each system node so that the authenticity of the data source could be verified. In addition, the paper tackles the threat of message replay where the adversary re-transmits a legitimate message so that the system factors in outdated rather than fresh sensor measurements. This paper thwarts such a replay attack by leveraging the synchronized clocks across the CPS nodes, e.g., based on GPS; the idea is to employ a combination of time-stamp signatures and hardware fingerprints. Our proposed schemes can also detect and prevent data forgery, and Sybil attacks. The viability and performance of the proposed schemes are validated through analysis and prototype implementation.
Proteomics Profiling with SWATH-MS Quantitative Analysis of Changes in the Human Brain with HIV Infection Reveals a Differential Impact on the Frontal and Temporal Lobes

The chronic irreversible regression of cognitive ability and memory function in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated dementia (HAND) is linked with late-stage HIV infection in the brain. The molecular-level signatures of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration are linked with dysfunction in HAND patients. Protein expression changes and posttranslational modification are epigenetic cues for dementia and neurodegenerative disease. In this study quantitative proteome analysis was performed to comprehensively elucidate changes in protein profiles in HIV-positive (HIV+) human brains. Frontal and temporal lobes of normal and HIV+ brains were subjected to label-free liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis using the data-independent acquisition method. Comprehensive proteomic identification and quantification analysis revealed that 3294 total proteins and 251 proteins were differentially expressed in HIV+ brains; specifically, HIV+ frontal and temporal lobes had 132 and 119 differentially expressed proteins, respectively. Proteomic and bioinformatic analyses revealed protein alterations predominantly in the HIV+ frontal lobe region. The expression of GOLPH3, IMPDH2, DYNLL1, RPL11, and GPNMB proteins was significantly altered in HIV+ frontal lobes compared to that in normal brains. These proteins are associated with metabolic pathways, neurodegenerative disorders, and dementia. These proteomic-level changes may be potential biological markers and therapeutic targets to relieve the dementia-associated symptoms in individuals with HAND.
Categorification of the Dempster Shafer theory

This paper contains preliminary steps in demonstrating how the Dempster Shafer theory can be placed into the framework of category theory. In the Dempster Shafer setting, the elements of the base set of a probability space are, typically, subsets of some set. Consequently, the elements of the corresponding sigma algebra are not subsets of a set, but rather, subsets of subsets of a set. A probability function, in this case, no longer has the classical meaning. This situation lends itself to the more general notions of inner and outer measures, which Shafer calls belief and plausibility, respectively. The categorical approach attempts to unify classical and non-classical concepts into a setting, so that, depending on the nature of the stochastic problem at hand, a general framework may be specialized appropriately to attack the problem.
Analysis of dynamically scheduled tile algorithms for dense linear algebra on multicore architectures

The objective of this paper is to analyze the dynamic scheduling of dense linear algebra algorithms on shared-memory, multicore architectures. Current numerical libraries (e.g., linear algebra package) show clear limitations on such emerging systems mainly because of their coarse granularity tasks. Thus, many numerical algorithms need to be redesigned to better fit the architectural design of the multicore platform. The parallel linear algebra for scalable multicore architectures library developed at the University of Tennessee tackles this challenge by using tile algorithms to achieve a finer task granularity. These tile algorithms can then be represented by directed acyclic graphs, where nodes are the tasks and edges are the dependencies between the tasks. The paramount key to achieve high performance is to implement a runtime environment to efficiently schedule the execution of the directed acyclic graph across the multicore platform. This paper studies the impact on the overall performance of some parameters, both at the level of the scheduler (e.g., window size and locality) and the algorithms (e.g., left-looking and right-looking variants). We conclude that some commonly accepted rules for dense linear algebra algorithms may need to be revisited. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tax Favors for Philanthropy: Should Our Republic Underwrite de Tocqueville's Democracy?

Tax theorists have long debated the rationales for the federal income tax system’s favorable treatment of philanthropy. The debate has certainly become more sophisticated, but it has nonetheless failed to produce anything near full convergence of opinion. This article reviews that debate and reaches a paradoxical conclusion: Although the present system of exemption and deduction is perhaps impossible to justify in any other way, that system almost perfectly co-ordinates three basic features of American society: the populist and anti-statist sources of American philanthropy, the consumerist orientation of our form of market capitalism, and our tax system’s reliance on income as its principal revenue source. To say that the Code’s treatment of philanthropy accommodates these three features well, however, is not to say that any of them is itself good; as an alternative to the current system’s fundamental populism and consumerism, this paper proposes a neo-classically republican view of the public good, grounded in the constitutional values of justice and general welfare. Philanthropy’s core function will be to promote those values. This, in turn, implies not only a very different tax treatment of philanthropy, but also a very different relationship between philanthropy and the state. The Code implicitly endorses the philanthropy of Jacksonian democracy and consumerist capitalism; the philanthropy of both Jefferson and Lincoln’s republicanism would look quite different (and much more like that of Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Ethics and Politics). It would better fit both the neo-classically republican elements of our constitutional culture and what Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature.”
Reliable communications in FTL

Local-area networks based on high-bandwidth packet-switching technology, such as ATM, show a tremendous promise in reducing communication latencies and overheads. However, the lack of flow-control and reliable delivery in ATM networks requires the higher protocol layers to deal with cell loss or corruption. While it is possible to use TCP-based communications over ATM, the protocol mismatch results in a significant loss of the bandwidth. In addition to this, there is also a significant mismatch between the stream-based communication model provided by TCP, and the message-oriented communication model required by the parallel applications.This paper describes the design and implementation of a reliable messaging layer aimed at workstation clusters using broadcast and packet-switched local area networks.
Mental Institutions: Legal Issues and Commitments

Mental institutions are a modern development. Although born of society's sense of need and scientific advances in psychiatry, their purpose and function have remained controversial since inception. Much of the controversy arose from the legal aspects of placing people in mental institutions. The expectations that society and the judiciary have about the ability of mental health professionals to treat persons committed to mental institutions have produced great debate. This article will review the history of mental institutions and describe the types of legal commitments for persons with mental impairment. Legal issues pertaining to the patients' commitment and their treatment will also be presented.
Inflammatory Pathways in Children with Insufficient or Disordered Sleep

Sleep is not only an essential physiological function, but also serves important roles in promoting growth, maturation, and overall health of children and adolescents. There is increasing interest regarding the impact of sleep and its disorders on the regulation of inflammatory processes and end-organ morbidities, particularly in the context of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and their complications. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is an increasingly common health problem in children, and in the last decade, the emergence of increasing obesity rates has further led to remarkable increases in the prevalence of OSAS, along with more prominent neurocognitive, behavioral, cardiovascular and metabolic morbidities. Although the underlying mechanisms leading to OSAS-induced morbidities are likely multi-factorial, and remain to be fully elucidated, activation of inflammatory pathways by OSAS has emerged as an important pathophysiological component of the end-organ injury associated with this disorder. To this effect, it would appear that OSAS could be viewed as a chronic, low-grade inflammatory disorder. Furthermore, the concurrent presence of obesity and OSAS poses a theoretically increased risk of OSAS-related complications. In this review, we will critically review the current state of research regarding the impact of insufficient and disrupted sleep and OSAS on the immune processes and inflammatory pathways that underlie childhood OSAS as a distinctive systemic inflammatory condition in children, and will explore potential interactions between OSAS and obesity.
The Friendship Model of Filial Obligations

ABSTRACT This paper [1] is a defence of a modified version of Jane English's model of filial obligations based on adult children's friendship with their parents. (I) Unlike the more traditional view that filial obligations are a repayment for parental sacrifices, the friendship model puts filial duties in the appealing context of voluntary, loving relationships. (II) Contrary to English's original statement of this view, which is open to the charge of tolerating filial ingratitude, the friendship model can generate obligations to help our parents even if we are no longer friendly with them. (III) Joseph Kupfer has pointed out several ways in which parent-child relationships differ from peer friendships; but his arguments do not preclude our enjoying a type of friendship with our parents. (IV) In response to Christina Hoff Sommers, who objects that feelings of friendship toward our parents are too flimsy a ground for filial duties, the friendship model can provide a plausible, robust account of filial obligations. (V) As for adult children who have never formed friendships with their loving, caring parents, and refuse to give them much-needed assistance, they can be criticised by moral considerations independent of but compatible with the friendship model.
Interaction of Basic Polyelectrolytes and Human Blood: The Effect of Antiheparin Agents

Two basic polyelectrolytes which function as antiheparin agents, protamine sulfate and Polybrene, were evaluated as to their effect on human blood. It was found that both drugs were potent agglutinins at concentrations as low as 0.01 mg/ml. The studies presented suggest that the erythrocyte functioning as a polyanion and serum components with negative groups interact with the basic polyelectrolytes. The drugs differ; Polybrene appears to have a greater affinity for the red cell while protamine sulfate appears more avid for serum components. Both agents induce severe erythrocyte alterations resulting in liver and splenic sequestration and a shortening of the red cell survival time.
Dynamic Shape Estimation using Kalman Filtering

This paper proposes the use of a modern control method, the Kalman filter, to perform dynamic shape estimation of structures. Existing dynamic shape estimation techniques use static estimation techniques at each time step. This approach has been shown to be unsatisfactory, since aliasing of the higher modes, which is largely not seen in the static case, occurs strongly in the dynamic case. In many cases the aliasing produces signal to noise ratios significantly greater than unity. The proposed approach uses a Kalman filter to sift out the desired low frequency modes, since they contribute the most to the displacements, and treats the higher modes as a component of the noise in the system. Also, unlike the static techniques, the Kalman filter allows sensing of a number of modes larger than the number of sensors, and it takes into account the measurement errors. Numerical simulations show that the Kalman filtering technique can reduce the error from a thousand percent down to less than a percent for an ideal cantilever beam. Experimental data, susceptible to modeling and sensing errors, show that the proposed method results in a significant improvement over existing techniques.
Relationship between pancreatic vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) and insulin expression in human pancreas

Vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) is expressed in pancreatic beta cells and has recently been proposed as a target for measurement of beta cell mass in vivo. We questioned, (1) What proportion of beta cells express VMAT2? (2) Is VMAT2 expressed by other pancreatic endocrine or non-endocrine cells? (3) Is the relationship between VMAT2 and insulin expression disturbed in type 1 (T1DM) or type 2 diabetes (T2DM)? Human pancreas (7 non-diabetics, 5 T2DM, 10 T1DM) was immunostained for insulin, VMAT2 and other pancreatic hormones. Most beta cells expressed VMAT2. VMAT2 expression was not changed by the presence of diabetes. In tail of pancreas VMAT2 immunostaining closely correlated with insulin staining. However, VMAT2 was also expressed in some pancreatic polypeptide (PP) cells. Although VMAT2 was not excluded as a target for beta cell mass measurement, expression of VMAT2 in PP cells predicts residual VMAT2 expression in human pancreas even in the absence of beta cells.
The boerhaave syndrome (spontaneous rupture of the oesophagus)

Two cases of spontaneous rupture of the oesophagus are presented. Thoracotomy and surgical closure of the perforations resulted in satisfactory outcome in both instances. It is believed that the second case is the only recorded case in which haematemesis from a bleeding duodenal ulcer was the precipitating factor, and also it is believed that he is the oldest survivor to be reported. The literature, aetiology, and treatment of this interesting disease are discussed.
Glucose Modulation of Spreading Depression Susceptibility

Spreading depression of Leao is an intense spreading depolarization (SD) wave associated with massive transmembrane ionic, water, and neurotransmitter shifts. Spreading depolarization underlies migraine aura, and occurs in brain injury, making it a potential therapeutic target. While susceptibility to SD can be modulated pharmacologically, much less is known about modulation by systemic physiological factors, such as the glycemic state. In this study, we systematically examined modulation of SD susceptibility by blood glucose in anesthetized rats under full physiological monitoring. Hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia were induced by insulin or dextrose infusion (blood glucose ∼40 and 400 mg/dL, respectively). Spreading depolarizations were evoked by direct cortical electrical stimulation to determine the intensity threshold, or by continuous topical KCl application to determine SD frequency. Hyperglycemia elevated the electrical SD threshold and reduced the frequency of KCl-induced SDs, without significantly affecting other SD properties. In contrast, hypoglycemia significantly prolonged individual and cumulative SD durations, but did not alter the electrical SD threshold, or SD frequency, amplitude or propagation speed. These data show that increased cerebral glucose availability makes the tissue resistant to SD.
Capacity of the Golgi Apparatus for Biogenesis from the Endoplasmic Reticulum

It is unclear whether the mammalian Golgi apparatus can form de novo from the ER or whether it requires a preassembled Golgi matrix. As a test, we assayed Golgi reassembly after forced redistribution of Golgi matrix proteins into the ER. Two conditions were used. In one, ER redistribution was achieved using a combination of brefeldin A (BFA) to cause Golgi collapse and H89 to block ER export. Unlike brefeldin A alone, which leaves matrix proteins in relatively large remnant structures outside the ER, the addition of H89 to BFA-treated cells caused ER accumulation of all Golgi markers tested. In the other, clofibrate treatment induced ER redistribution of matrix and nonmatrix proteins. Significantly, Golgi reassembly after either treatment was robust, implying that the Golgi has the capacity to form de novo from the ER. Furthermore, matrix proteins reemerged from the ER with faster ER exit rates. This, together with the sensitivity of BFA remnants to ER export blockade, suggests that presence of matrix proteins in BFA remnants is due to cycling via the ER and preferential ER export rather than their stable assembly in a matrix outside the ER. In summary, the Golgi apparatus appears capable of efficient self-assembly.
The x-ray crystal structure of 2,5-anhydro-d-mannitol

Abstract The crystal and molecular structure of 2,5-anhydro- d -mannitol, a model for β- d -fructofuranoses, has been determined by X-ray diffraction and statistical-phasing procedures. The crystals are orthorhombic, space group P2 1 2 1 2 1 , a =7.877(3), b =8.553(1), c =11.446(2) A, with four molecules per cell. In the crystal, the molecule does not have the expected C 2 symmetry: the ring C-O bonds are unequal in length, and the conformation deviates slightly from the ideal 4 T 3 structure by a pseudorotation angle of -11.7° (amplitude 39.9°). In contrast, the 1 H-n.m.r. spectrum indicated, on average, the 4 T 3 conformation in solution. A strong, inter-molecular, donor-acceptor, hydrogen-bonding network exists between hydroxyl groups on C-1, C-3, and C-4. The C-6 hydroxyl group participates in a much weaker, donor hydrogen-bond with a ring-oxygen atom.
Alternative‐Current Field‐Induced Forces and Their Biological Implications

Steady‐state, field‐induced forces on particles of microscopic size become significant at field strength values of the order of 100 v/cm. They include "pearl‐chain formation," i.e. the alignment of particles in the direction of the imposed field, and the orientation of nonspherical particles. The time constant, which describes the speed of these phenomena, depends on field strength, and particle and other parameters. For pulsed fields, a lower level of applied average power can suffice to evoke the phenomena mentioned. Biological implications include the possibility of nonthermal effects of biological significance.
PSI3: An open‐source Ab Initio electronic structure package

PSI3 is a program system and development platform for ab initio molecular electronic structure computations. The package includes mature programming interfaces for parsing user input, accessing commonly used data such as basis-set information or molecular orbital coefficients, and retrieving and storing binary data (with no software limitations on file sizes or file-system-sizes), especially multi-index quantities such as electron repulsion integrals. This platform is useful for the rapid implementation of both standard quantum chemical methods, as well as the development of new models. Features that have already been implemented include Hartree-Fock, multiconfigurational self-consistent-field, second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation theory, coupled cluster, and configuration interaction wave functions. Distinctive capabilities include the ability to employ Gaussian basis functions with arbitrary angular momentum levels; linear R12 second-order perturbation theory; coupled cluster frequency-dependent response properties, including dipole polarizabilities and optical rotation; and diagonal Born-Oppenheimer corrections with correlated wave functions. This article describes the programming infrastructure and main features of the package. PSI3 is available free of charge through the open-source, GNU General Public License.
Suppression of Temperature-Sensitive Chromosome Replication of an Escherichia coli dnaX(Ts) Mutant by Reduction of Initiation Efficiency

Temperature sensitivity of DNA polymerization and growth of a dnaX(Ts) mutant is suppressible at 39 to 40°C by mutations in the initiator gene, dnaA. These suppressor mutations concomitantly cause initiation inhibition at 20°C and have been designated Cs,Sx to indicate both phenotypic characteristics of cold-sensitive initiation and suppression of dnaX(Ts). One dnaA(Cs,Sx) mutant, A213D, has reduced affinity for ATP, and two mutants, R432L and T435K, have eliminated detectable DnaA box binding in vitro. Two models have explained dnaA(Cs,Sx) suppression of dnaX, which codes for both the τ and γ subunits of DNA polymerase III. The initiation deficiency model assumes that reducing initiation efficiency allows survival of the dnaX(Ts) mutant at the somewhat intermediate temperature of 39 to 40°C by reducing chromosome content per cell, thus allowing partially active DNA polymerase III to complete replication of enough chromosomes for the organism to survive. The stabilization model is based on the idea that DnaA interacts, directly or indirectly, with polymerization factors during replication. We present five lines of evidence consistent with the initiation deficiency model. First, a dnaA(Cs,Sx) mutation reduced initiation frequency and chromosome content (measured by flow cytometry) and origin/terminus ratios (measured by real-time PCR) in both wild-type and dnaX(Ts) strains growing at 39 and 34°C. These effects were shown to result specifically from the Cs,Sx mutations, because the dnaX(Ts) mutant is not defective in initiation. Second, reduction of the number of origins and chromosome content per cell was common to all three known suppressor mutations. Third, growing the dnaA(Cs,Sx) dnaX(Ts) strain on glycerol-containing medium reduced its chromosome content to one per cell and eliminated suppression at 39°C, as would be expected if the combination of poor carbon source, the Cs,Sx mutation, the Ts mutation, and the 39°C incubation reduced replication to the point that growth (and, therefore, suppression) was not possible. However, suppression was possible on glycerol medium at 38°C. Fourth, the dnaX(Ts) mutation can be suppressed also by introduction of oriC mutations, which reduced initiation efficiency and chromosome number per cell, and the degree of suppression was proportional to the level of initiation defect. Fifth, introducing a dnaA(Cos) allele, which causes overinitiation, into the dnaX(Ts) mutant exacerbated its temperature sensitivity.
Integration of the radiation belt environment model into the space weather modeling framework

We have integrated the Fok radiation belt environment (RBE) model into the space weather modeling framework (SWMF). RBE is coupled to the global magnetohydrodynamics component (represented by the Block-Adaptive-Tree Solar-wind Roe-type Upwind Scheme, BATS-R-US, code) and the Ionosphere Electrodynamics component of the SWMF, following initial results using the Weimer empirical model for the ionospheric potential. The radiation belt (RB) model solves the convection-diffusion equation of the plasma in the energy range of 10 keV to a few MeV. In stand-alone mode RBE uses Tsyganenko's empirical models for the magnetic field, and Weimer's empirical model for the ionospheric potential. In the SWMF the BATS-R-US model provides the time dependent magnetic field by efficiently tracing the closed magnetic field-lines and passing the geometrical and field strength information to RBE at a regular cadence. The ionosphere electrodynamics component uses a two-dimensional vertical potential solver to provide new potential maps to the RBE model at regular intervals. We discuss the coupling algorithm and show some preliminary results with the coupled code. We run our newly coupled model for periods of steady solar wind conditions and compare our results to the RB model using an empirical magnetic field and potential model. We also simulate the RB for an active time period and find that there are substantial differences in the RB model results when changing either the magnetic field or the electric field, including the creation of an outer belt enhancement via rapid inward transport on the time scale of tens of minutes.
Incomparability Graphs of Lattices

Let L be a finite lattice with atleast two atoms and \(W(L) = \{x \mid \,\mbox{there exists }\, y \in L\, \mbox{such that}\ x \parallel y\, \}\). The incomparability graph of L, denoted by Γ′(L), is a graph with vertex set W(L) and two distinct vertices a, b ∈ W(L) are adjacent if and only if they are incomparable. In this paper, we study the incomparability graphs of lattices. We prove that, a disconnected graph is a graph of a lattice L if and only if L is of the form \(L_{1}\bigoplus L_{2}\). We prove that, Γ′(L) cannot be an n-gon for any n ≥ 5. Some properties of incomparability graphs are obtained.
Measurement Of Tissue Fluorochromes With A He-Cd Ultraviolet Laser

AbstractMethods are described for exciting tissue fluorochromes by means of a He -Cd laser (325 nm). A laser micro - fluorimeter was used to measure emission spectra of tissue fluorochromes and to record the fluorescence bymeans of photographic and vidicon techniques. The results show previously undescribed fluorochromes in brainand adrenal tissues.IntroductionEmployment of a laser in a biological problem has resulted in new information that could not be obtained byother techniques. For example, a dye laser has been used to study the kinetics of respiratign in Titochon-dria(1), and lasers have been used to study macromolecules by doppler and Raman spectroscopyk4,3,4). Micro- scope techniques employing lasers have made possible studies of biological structure and function of a typenot heretofore possible. Laser technology has enabled quantitative observations of rapidly changing biochemicalevents to be made in situ on structures within living tissues. Widespread use of lasers will depend howeveron utilizing the many advantages of laser instrumentation, e.g. small beam size, monochromaticity, as well asan appreciation of the possible disadvantages,e.g. photodecomposition leading to tissue damage.Many of the important naturally occurring molecules are excited only by U.V. light and a He -Cd U.V. lasershould prove very useful in stimulating biologically important molecules to fluoresce.
Novel graphene bridge for NEMS based devices

In this paper we presented a method novel that enables formation of free-standing graphene channels and flexures between self-aligned copper electrodes. The method uses 30 nm Cu as the graphene catalyst. The Cu was patterned and under-etched after the graphene growth to free the graphene in selected regions. The graphene growth is carried out at 900°C in C 2 H 2 and hydrogen carrier gas at 5 mTorr. This process grows 0.5–5 nm thick graphene layer on copper as determined with micro-Raman peaks and AFM images. Large graphene regions up to the size of 100 µm × 50 µm were grown on Cu electrodes. In another approach, the graphene covered-Cu was patterned followed by copper under etch to produce free-standing graphene bridges supported under a thin layer of photoresist. The free-standing graphene bridges can be used in a variety of devices ranging from graphene transistors to NEMS switches.
Peeking at the relationship world of infant friends and caregivers

This qualitative study aimed to explore how infants share and experience friendships and examine the role of infant caregivers in social and friendship experiences among infants. The data were coll...
Effects of Chlorpromazine on Rats’ Acquisition of Lever-Press Responding with Immediate and Delayed Reinforcement

The effects of chlorpromazine (0, 2, 6, and 10 mg/kg) on the acquisition of lever-press responding by rats were examined under conditions where reinforcement (water delivery) was immediate or delayed. Under the immediate reinforcement condition, water-deprived rats were exposed during 8-h sessions to a fixed-ratio 1 (FR 1) schedule of water delivery without prior autoshaping or hand shaping. Under the delayed reinforcement condition, similar rats were exposed to a tandem FR 1 fixed-time 8-s schedule of water delivery. A different squad of eight rats was exposed to each delay condition and drug dose. For all subjects, responses on one lever produced water and responses on a second lever had no programmed consequences. Regardless of whether reinforcement was immediate or delayed, chlorpromazine reduced in dose-dependent fashion the mean number of operative-lever responses emitted, which suggests that the drug interfered with learning. At all chlorpromazine doses except 10 mg/kg, substantially more operative-lever than inoperative-lever responding occurred, indicating that the operant response was acquired. Chlorpromazine at 2 and 6 mg/kg disrupted the acquisition of stimulus control by the operative lever when reinforcement was delayed, but not when it was immediate. At 10 mg/kg, most subjects did not acquire lever-pressing regardless of whether they were exposed to the immediate or delayed reinforcement procedure. Procedures similar to those used in the present study appear to provide a reasonable assay for examining how drugs affect the initial behavioral effects of immediate and delayed reinforcement, and may merit further investigation.