cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Batesian mimic and its model share color production mechanisms

Batesian mimics are harmless prey species that resemble dangerous ones (models), and thus receive protection from predators. How such adaptive resemblances evolve is a classical problem in evolutionary biology. Mimicry is typically thought to be difficult to evolve, especially if the model and mimic produce the convergent phenotype through different proximate mechanisms. However, mimicry may evolve more readily if mimic and model share similar pathways for producing the convergent phenotype. In such cases, these pathways can be co-opted in ancestral mimic populations to produce high-fidelity mimicry without the need for major evolutionary innovations. Here, we show that a Batesian mimic, the scarlet kingsnake Lampropeltis elapsoides , produces its coloration using the same physiological mechanisms as does its model, the eastern coral snake Micrurus fulvius . Therefore, precise color mimicry may have been able to evolve easily in this system. Generally, we know relatively little about the proximate mechanisms underlying mimicry.
Evaluation of Solitary Simple Renal Cysts in Children

Abstract Because there is a proportionately higher incidence of solid renal neoplasm in children than in adults early operative intervention is more common in these cases. For this reason the most important consideration when evaluating children is to exclude the presence of a malignant neoplasm. The clinical features, radiologic manifestations and management of solitary simple renal cysts in 3 children are discussed. We suggest that the increased accuracy and availability of newer imaging techniques now permit this entity to be managed in a fashion similar to its more common adult counterpart. Surgical exploration should be reserved for those cases in which there is doubt as to the benign nature of the cyst.
Sex and Genetics are Important Cofactors in Assessing the Impact of Iron Deficiency on the Developing Mouse Brain.

The present study was designed to investigate the possible role of genetic background and sex in the behavioral and neurochemical responses to early iron deficiency. Male and female C57 and DBA mic...
Suppression of Couplings in High-Speed Interconnects Using Absorbing Materials

In this paper, we propose and investigate two novel applications of absorbing materials to suppress high-frequency couplings in high-speed interconnects. In the first application, absorbing materials are added to connector housing to reduce the noises caused by crosstalk and resonances. In the second application, a low-emission inductor is proposed by applying absorbing materials surrounding the body of an inductor. Full-wave simulations and measurements are performed to verify the proposed techniques. Results show absorbing materials significantly improve the performance of signal/power integrity and greatly reduce electromagnetic interference for high-speed digital system designs.
A History of Weather Reporting from Aircraft and Turbulence Forecasting for Commercial Aviation

Manual pilot reporting of weather conditions, including turbulence, has been standard procedure during most of the Twentieth century. By the late 1940s, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had developed standards which included aircraft-based weather observations by pilots and subsequent government distribution. In the USA, commercial airlines developed their own collection and distribution methods. This was in response to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements that pilots should report hazardous weather, and airlines should have ability to monitor the progress of every flight. By the 1980s, flight location as well as wind and temperature were being automatically reported in some areas of the world. But automated turbulence report capability was mainly a research effort with some operational capability introduced during the 1990s and 2000s.
Developments in large blades for lower cost wind turbines

WindPACT scaling and concept studies have looked at identifying issues and constraints associated with growing turbines from 1-10 MW. As part of the WindPACT project, the Blade System Design Studies developed innovations in manufacturing, materials, and design that would alleviate issues and provide breakthroughs in constraints identified for large blade production. This paper describes the recent and predicted trends in blade-size growth and new COE goals developed by DOE’s wind program. It also provides sample results from WindPACT studies and associated blade research activities that facilitate larger blade development in ways that reduce COE. 1 Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin company, for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000
Abstract 324: Collectrin in The Kidney Determines Salt-Sensitivity

Collectrin (Tmem27), an ACE-2 homologue and a chaperone of amino acid transporters, is expressed in the endothelium throughout the vasculature and in the renal epithelia, including the proximal tubules and collecting duct. Its renal expression is upregulated after reduction of nephron mass and during salt-sensitive hypertension (SSH). These observations raise the question of how collectrin might be functionally integrated in the ACE family in the context of blood pressure (BP) regulation. We previously reported that, on a permissive genetic background, collectrin-deficient (KO) mice have baseline hypertension (HTN) that is ameliorated by supplementation with L-arginine (L-Arg). Furthermore, they have augmented SSH that is corrected by TEMPOL, a superoxide dismutase mimetic. These phenotypes are associated with impaired cellular uptake of L-Arg, impaired endothelial-dependent relaxation, decreased levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase dimerization (eNOS), and a rightward shift of the pressure-natriuresis relationship. Here, we demonstrate that the activity or dimerization of neuronal NOS (nNOS) in the renal medulla is also significantly decreased in KO mice. To determine the effect of renal versus extra-renal collectrin on BP regulation, we performed renal cross-transplantation (XTP) studies (through a service provided by the Duke O’Brien Center), under normal and high salt conditions, in the following groups: 1) wild-type (WT) mice with WT kidney (WT -> WT), 2) collectrin KO mice with WT kidney (WT -> KO), and 3) WT mice with collectrin KO kidney (KO -> WT). BP was measured by radiotelemetry. Collectrin KO -> WT group displayed a trend towards higher baseline systolic BP (SBP, mm Hg), but did not reach significance (WT -> WT 137.3, WT -> KO 133.5, KO -> WT 142.4, p = not significant, n = 3-5 per group). By paired analysis, all groups had significantly higher SBP on high salt diet (HSD), compared to normal salt diet. However, collectrin KO -> WT group had a statistically significantly higher SBP under HSD (WT -> WT 148.9, WT -> KO 151.6, KO -> WT 168.6, p= 0.037, one way ANOVA). In conclusion, collectrin may regulate BP by influencing renal hemodynamics and/or epithelial sodium handling through its central role in mediating cellular L-Arg uptake.
Nailing the TA Interview: Using a Rubric to Hire Teaching Assistants

Where would we be without them? Teaching assistants (TAs) make it possible for us to deliver high-quality large-scale computer science courses with relatively few faculty. Though their responsibilities vary by institution, TAs often play a crucial role in student learning. The use of teaching assistants in computer science courses is a common and longstanding practice and, yet, little has been published about how to choose the best TAs among those interested in the job. This paper describes the development of an interview rubric in use by faculty teaching a large introductory computer science course to score applicant responses in a formal in-person 30-minute interview. We describe the motivation behind developing such a rubric, the initial development process, its refinement based on feedback provided by students about their TAs, and the preliminary results of implementing this hiring system.
Fibrin regulation of interleukin-8 gene expression in human vascular endothelial cells.

Recent studies in our laboratory, as well as others, have suggested that fibrin can regulate cell function in vitro and likely control inflammation in vivo by acting as a potent cell activator. This has led us to hypothesize that during tissue and vascular injury, fibrin can enhance leukocyte recruitment by inducing vascular endothelial cell expression of leukocyte chemotactic factors. To begin to test this hypothesis, we developed an in vitro model of in situ fibrin polymerization on human umbilical vein endothelial cell culture (HUVEC) and determined the ability of fibrin to induce HUVEC expression of the potent leukocyte chemotactic factor interleukin-8 (IL-8). Our initial studies showed that fibrin induced IL-8 expression in a time- and dose-dependent fashion. Fibrin-induced IL-8 expression in HUVEC could be seen as early as 2 hours post-fibrin stimulation. Additionally, fibrin concentrations as low as 30 μg/mL stimulated a detectable level of IL-8 antigen expression from HUVEC. We also showed that this fibrin induced IL-8 had the identical molecular weight and similar antigenic identity as recombinant and monocyte derived IL-8. Northern blot analysis showed that the IL-8 antigen increase seen in fibrin treated HUVEC was due to fibrin induced elevation of steady state mRNA expression in HUVEC. These data clearly support our hypothesis that fibrin is a potent vascular endothelial cell (VEC) activator that can directly contribute to leukocyte recruitment and activation by inducing leukocyte chemotactic factor expression from VEC.
Exploration in Automated Systems for Analyzing Public Policy Documents

Speeches given by decision makers within Central Banks are subject to frequent and careful analysis. However, a systematic process for their evaluation has remained elusive. This paper introduces a methodology for a systematic process in the form of a semantic network that can be used to augment existing approaches. The approach suggests a correlation between the new systematic method and public market securities data.
The who, where and how of fusobacteria and colon cancer

The association between the bacterium Fusobacterium nucleatum and human colon cancer is more complicated than it first appeared.
Combinatorial chemistry methods for coating development: III. Development of a high throughput screening method for abrasion resistance: correlation with conventional methods and the effects of abrasion mechanism

Combinatorial chemistry has proven to be a valuable tool for the development of new compounds. In the pharmaceutical industry, where combinatorial chemistry began, the approach has been instrumental in the high-speed development of new drugs. Due to the overwhelming success of the combinatorial methodology in the pharmaceutical industry, it has been recently applied to materials development. We have developed a combinatorial factory capable of preparing and evaluating of the order of 100 organic clear coatings per day. One of the most challenging aspects of the creation of the combinatorial factory was the development of the high throughput screening (HTS) methods for determining the primary properties of interest such as optical clarity, abrasion resistance, adhesion, and weatherability. For each property, an entirely new method was developed that allowed for rapid measurement on very small samples. This paper describes, in detail, some of the results obtained during the development of an HTS method for abrasion resistance. In particular, this document illustrates the importance of understanding the mechanism of abrasion and its influence on the measurement of abrasion resistance.
Eliminating Conflicts of Interest: The Perspective of Jewish Law

This paper demonstrates how Jewish law (halacha) is concerned with conflicts of interest. In fact, it is not only witnesses and judges that have to consider the presence of conflicts of interest; the rules also apply to public officials, CEOs, auditors, and any individual who has a fiduciary relationship with another party. An official who does not reveal a conflict of interest is in violation of several biblical laws including the prohibition against taking bribes and “placing a stumbling block before the blind.” Numerous cases from the Talmud are provided to see how the sages dealt with conflicts of interest.
A Geometric Rational Form for Artin Groups of FC Type

If A is an Artin group whose poset of finite type special subgroups is a flag complex, then A is said to be of FC type. Such groups act cocompactly on a CAT(0) cubical complex with finite type Artin groups as stabilizers. We use the geometry of this complex to obtain a rational normal form for the group.
Prophecy: using history for high-throughput fault tolerance

Byzantine fault-tolerant (BFT) replication has enjoyed a series of performance improvements, but remains costly due to its replicated work. We eliminate this cost for read-mostly workloads through Prophecy, a system that interposes itself between clients and any replicated service. At Prophecy's core is a trusted sketcher component, designed to extend the semi-trusted load balancer that mediates access to an Internet service. The sketcher performs fast, load-balanced reads when results are historically consistent, and slow, replicated reads otherwise. Despite its simplicity, Prophecy provides a new form of consistency called delay-once consistency. Along the way, we derive a distributed variant of Prophecy that achieves the same consistency but without any trusted components.A prototype implementation demonstrates Prophecy's high throughput compared to BFT systems. We also describe and evaluate Prophecy's ability to scale-out to support large replica groups or multiple replica groups. As Prophecy is most effective when state updates are rare, we finally present a measurement study of popular websites that demonstrates a large proportion of static data.
The life and death of gene families

One of the unique insights provided by the growing number of fully sequenced genomes is the pervasiveness of gene duplication and gene loss. Indeed, several metrics now suggest that rates of gene birth and death per gene are only 10-40% lower than nucleotide substitutions per site, and that per nucleotide, the consequent lineage-specific expansion and contraction of gene families may play at least as large a role in adaptation as changes in orthologous sequences. While gene family evolution is pervasive, it may be especially important in our own evolution since it appears that the "revolving door" of gene duplication and loss has undergone multiple accelerations in the lineage leading to humans. In this paper, we review current understanding of gene family evolution including: methods for inferring copy number change, evidence for adaptive expansion and adaptive contraction of gene families, the origins of new families and deaths of previously established ones, and finally we conclude with a perspective on challenges and promising directions for future research.
Ephemeral sandscapes: using robotics to generate temporal landscapes

Using commercially available parts, Ephemeral Sandscaper produces complex layered landscapes by semi-randomly selecting predefined elements and sculpting them onto a material field with compelling implications for Soft Architecture.
Revisiting the role of distributive justice in Tyler’s legitimacy theory

Tyler’s theory of legitimacy identified procedural justice and distributive justice as antecedents of legitimacy, but placed distributive justice in a relatively minor position compared with procedural justice. This has led to researchers paying less attention to distributive justice in the development of theory, despite consistent findings that distributive justice is important to a number of outcomes for criminal justice authorities. This report uses uncertainty management theory to revisit Tyler’s legitimacy model and gain a more nuanced understanding of distributive justice. The proposed model is tested using a series of latent variable analyses conducted on a sample of 2169 adults and a factorial vignette design. The vignette design randomly manipulates outcome favorability and officer behavior during a hypothetical traffic stop. Multiple indicator multiple cause (MIMIC) models are then utilized to test the impact of these manipulations on perceptions of procedural justice and distributive justice. This is followed by a structural equation model that tests the relationships between procedural justice, distributive justice, and legitimacy. Officer behavior is a primary predictor of both procedural justice and distributive justice. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that distributive justice judgments are shaped by perceptions of procedural justice. Accordingly, distributive justice mediates the relationship between procedural justice and legitimacy. Distributive justice should not be treated as a competing explanation for legitimacy evaluations, but as a concept that contextualizes why procedural justice is important.
Simultaneous Photoacoustic Imaging and Cavitation Mapping in Shockwave Lithotripsy

Kidney stone disease is a major health problem worldwide. Shockwave lithotripsy (SWL), which uses high-energy shockwave pulses to break up kidney stones, is extensively used in clinic. However, despite its noninvasiveness, SWL can produce cavitation in vivo . The rapid expansion and violent collapse of cavitation bubbles in small blood vessels may result in renal vascular injury. To better understand the mechanism of tissue injury and improve treatment safety and efficiency, it is highly desirable to concurrently detect cavitation and vascular injury during SWL. Current imaging modalities used in SWL ( ${e.g.}$ , C-arm fluoroscopy and B-mode ultrasound) are not sensitive to vascular injuries. By contrast, photoacoustic imaging is a non-invasive and non-radiative imaging modality that is sensitive to blood, by using hemoglobin as the endogenous contrast. Moreover, photoacoustic imaging is also compatible with passive cavitation detection by sharing the ultrasound detection system. Here, we have integrated shockwave treatment, photoacoustic imaging, and passive cavitation detection into a single system. Our experimental results on phantoms and in vivo small animals have collectively demonstrated that the integrated system is capable of capturing shockwave-induced cavitation and the resultant vascular injury simultaneously. We expect that the integrated system, when combined with our recently developed internal-light-illumination photoacoustic imaging, will find important applications for monitoring shockwave-induced vascular injury in deep tissues during SWL.
The sensory innervation of the chest wall and its implications.

We would like to thank Dr Hongye et al for their interest in our article[1][1]; however, we would like to clarify that we did not suggest that pecoralis muscles/serratus blocks fail to provide some degree of sensory analgesia/anesthesia of the chest wall. We argued that this effect is the result of
Bonding and Reactivity of Tungstenacyclobutadiene Complexes

The bonding and structural peculiarities of some tungstenacyclobutadienes are discussed. The reaction path and electronic requirements for rearrangement to a tungstenatetrahedrane are formulated. Two reaction paths are proposed to account for the addition of an acetylene to the tungstenacyclobutadienes which ultimately yield cyclopentadienyl complexes. One path involves coordination and direct collapse to the cyclopentadienyl complex. The acetylene inserts into a W-C bond in the other path yielding a tungstenabenzene intermediate.
A multi-layer platform for low-loss nonlinear silicon photonics

We demonstrate four-wave mixing (FWM) interactions in a-Si:H waveguides in a multilayer integrated silicon photonic chip. The a-Si:H waveguides are accessed through interlayer couplers from waveguides composed of SiNx. The interlayer couplers achieve a coupling of 0.51 dB loss per transition at the target wavelength of 1550 nm. We observe greater idler power extraction and conversion efficiency from the FWM interaction in the interlayer-coupled multilayer waveguides than in single-material waveguides.
Strength Adjusted Multilayer Spectral Clustering

Network representations are useful for describing the structure of a variety of complex systems. One of the important problems in the analysis of such complex systems is inferring the network structure from the available data. Community detection has been a common way to infer network topology. In recent years, network representation has been extended to describe multi-relational or multiview data sets resulting in multilayer networks. These types of networks arise in different applications including social, ecological, biological and brain networks. Even though different graph theoretic metrics have been extended to study multilayer networks, approaches for network topology inference, e.g. community detection, have been limited. In this paper, we introduce a multilayer community detection method based on a modified graph cut definition and propose a corresponding algorithm. The proposed multilayer community detection method is evaluated on both simulated network models and a multilayer brain network, where the layers correspond to different frequency bands.
Legal aspects of information sharing and communication by poison centers in the United States

To keep pace with changing technology and to provide better treatment to the public, U.S. poison control centers have increasingly implemented new ways of communicating with healthcare providers and with patients, including electronic transfer of patient information. Innovation in communication and information sharing raises concerns over patient privacy and compliance with applicable laws. This narrative review analyzes both typical activities and emerging innovations of PCCs in relation to U.S. law and regulation regarding privacy, specifically the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act. PCCs that are "covered entities" under HIPAA may exchange patient health information with other providers by telephone for purposes of treatment, and certainly during the emergency management of poisonings. SAMHSA regulations, however, limit information that can be shared outside of emergencies without patient consent. The FTC Act prohibits unfair or deceptive trade practices which may in some circumstances involve privacy violations. Text message exchanges between PCCs and patients present particularly difficult privacy challenges under these laws.
A Narrative Review of the Epidemiology of Congenital Syphilis in the United States From 1980 to 2019.

OBJECTIVES Congenital syphilis (CS) is the result of antepartum transmission from mother to fetus of the spirochete Treponema pallidum. Although preventable through timely screening and treatment, the incidence of CS in the United States is increasing. This review describes the epidemiological trends in CS in the United States from 1980 to 2019 and characteristics of mothers of infants with CS. METHODS We performed a narrative review of epidemiological studies of CS following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for reporting of observational studies in epidemiology. Quality and bias of included studies were assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Studies that described the demographics and characteristics of pregnant women with syphilis or who delivered an infant with CS in the United States were identified from PubMed and Embase. RESULTS We identified a total of 2771 studies, of which 309 were selected for further review and 27 were included in the final analysis. Substance use during pregnancy was a risk factor for CS in 16 studies. Maternal cocaine use was described in 11 of the 16 studies, 10 of which were published between the years 1980 and 1999. No prenatal care was a risk factor for CS in 17 studies. Evidence of inadequate syphilis testing (i.e., no maternal screen, first screen after the first trimester, or no repeat screen in third trimester) or treatment (i.e., no treatment, treatment <30 days before delivery, or nonpenicillin treatment) was significantly associated with CS in 13 studies. Finally, higher rates of CS were reported among African American women in 11 studies. CONCLUSIONS Infection with and antepartum transmission of syphilis disproportionately affect certain subgroups of women. Women who report substance use during pregnancy are more likely to give birth to an infant with CS. No prenatal care and evidence of inadequate syphilis testing and treatment during pregnancy are also significantly associated with giving birth to an infant with CS. Finally, cases of CS disproportionately affect African American women. Addressing the CS epidemic will require identification and targeted allocation of resources to communities at elevated risk for syphilis, removal of barriers to prenatal care, and ensuring timely treatment and adequate partner notification of identified cases.
Oral Microbiome Signatures in Hematological Cancers Reveal Predominance of Actinomyces and Rothia Species

The endogenous microbiome of healthy individuals in oral cavities is diverse, representing over 700 bacterial species. Imbalance in oral and gut microbiome composition and associated gene expression has been linked to different forms of hematological (blood) cancers. Our objective is to compare oral microbiome profiles of patients with blood cancers (BC group: N = 39 patients, n = 124 oral samples) to those of healthy control subjects (HC group: N = 27 subjects, n = 100 oral samples). Saliva samples and swabs of buccal mucosa, supragingival plaque, and tongue were collected from blood cancer patients and healthy controls. Next-generation sequencing (16S-rRNA gene V3-V4 region) was used to determine the relative abundance of bacterial taxa present at the genus and species levels. Differences in oral microbiome beta-diversity were determined using multivariate permutational analysis of variance (PERMANOVA). Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size (LEfSe) analysis was performed to identify differentiating bacterial taxa in pairwise comparisons. The PATRICv3.6.7 online tool was used to determine the predominance of potential pathogenicity in the BC group. The oral microbiome beta-diversities of the BC and HC groups differed and corresponded to a reduced alpha-diversity in the BC group. LEfSe analysis showed significant LDA scores for Actinomyces and Rothia spp., differentiating the BC group from the HC group. In silico analysis using PATRICv3.6.7 demonstrated that the groups of bacteria possessing traits of "antibiotic resistance", "oral pathogen", and "virulence" was enriched in the BC group. Although 56% of the BC patients received antibiotics within two weeks of the oral bacterial sampling, Actinomyces genus remained the top differentiating feature in the BC group regardless of the administration of antibiotics, while Rothia dentocariosa was detected as the top differentiating feature in the BC patients who did not receive antibiotics, but not in those who received antibiotics. Further investigation is needed to better understand the interactions of certain oral species with the host immune system to better characterize clinically relevant associations with hematological cancers.
Racial Disparities in Diabetes Technology Use and Outcomes in Type 1 Diabetes in a Safety-Net Hospital.

Background:Limited data exist regarding diabetes technology use among adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in urban racially/ethnically diverse safety-net hospitals. We examined racial/ethnic differen...
[Use of coblation in resection of nasopharyngeal angiofibroma of nasopharynx under nasal endoscope: report of 3 cases].

本文介绍了3例鼻内镜下等离子切除儿童鼻咽纤维血管瘤的诊疗经验。3例患儿临床表现为持续性鼻塞、打鼾伴间断性鼻出血，其中1例为10岁女童，初期曾误诊为鼻腔恶性肿瘤并给予活检。术前根据病史、体格检查、鼻内镜、CT及MRI诊断为鼻咽纤维血管瘤。术中行数字减影血管造影栓塞肿瘤供血动脉，栓塞成功后即刻鼻内镜下行鼻咽纤维血管瘤等离子全程切除术，术后病理证实为鼻咽纤维血管瘤。术后随访3~6个月，患儿均无鼻塞、鼻出血、脑脊液鼻漏、视力障碍等症状，检查未见肿物复发。.
Greater uptake, an alternative reimbursement methodology needed to realize cost-saving potential of oncology biosimilars in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Biologics are an important treatment option for solid tumors and hematological malignancies but are a primary driver of health care spending growth. The United States has yet to realize...
Finite Control Set Model Predictive Control for a DC-DC Boost Converter Ensuring Time Optimal Regulation and Controlled Output Voltage Deviation

In this paper, a new, one-step, finite control set model predictive control (FCS-MPC) for a DC-DC boost converter output voltage regulation with minimum recovery time and limited deviation is proposed. The cost function is designed to track specific natural switching surfaces to achieve minimum time control while the model predictive control constraint limits the voltage deviation. To validate the proposed control scheme, a boost converter is programmed with the proposed algorithm and implemented in MATLAB-Simulink.
Some Recent Results Related to the Uniformization Problem in Several Complex Variables

One formulation of the uniformization problem in several complex variables is the problem of determining when the universal covering space of a compact complex manifold is biholomorphic to a Hermitian symmetric manifold. The negative curvature case of the problem and the positive curvature case of the problem are very different. The uniformation problem is intimately linked to the theory of rigidity and strong rigidity. In complex geometry rigidity for a compact complex manifold means no holomorphic local deformation whereas strong rigidity in a certain category means that the topology or homotopy type determines its complex structure among objects in that category, e.g. the category of compact Kahler manifolds. In the negative curvature case of the theory of complex-analytic strong rigidity harmonic maps play an essential role. Recently such investigations by the method of harmonic maps branched out to the study of the properties of the fundamental groups of compact Kahler manifolds and of superrigidity and metric rigidity. We discuss here some such recent results stemming from the investigation of the uniformization problem and strong rigidity and we divide our discussion into two parts: the first part on the negative curvature case and the second part on the positive curvature case.
Mobile DNA in the Pathogenic Neisseria

The genus Neisseria contains two pathogenic species of prominant public health concern: Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis. These pathogens display a notable ability to undergo frequent programmed recombination events. The recombination-mediated pathways of transformation and pilin antigenic variation in the Neisseria are well-studied systems that are critical for pathogenesis. Here we will detail the conserved and unique aspects of transformation and antigenic variation in the Neisseria. Transformation will be followed from initial DNA binding through recombination into the genome with consideration to the factors necessary at each step. Additional focus is paid to the unique type IV secretion system that mediates donation of transforming DNA in the pathogenic Neisseria. The pilin antigenic variation system uses programmed recombinations to alter a major surface determinant, which allows immune avoidance and promotes infection. We discuss the trans- and cis- acting factors which facilitate pilin antigenic variation and present the current understanding of the mechanisms involved in the process.
The implementation of Circles of Support and Accountability in the United States

Abstract According to estimates from the U.S. National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC), at least 95% of state prisoners are released back to their communities after a period of incarceration. The complex issue of returning individuals convicted of sex offenses to their communities often evokes particular concern for both criminal justice agencies and the general public. Amid increases in the scope and intensity of sex offenders’ supervision, there has been a growing interest among academics, criminal justice practitioners, and faith groups in using restorative justice approaches with this population. Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) is a restorative justice-based community reentry program for sex offenders deemed to be at the highest risk of reoffending and with little or no pro-social community support. This integrative review synthesizes both the previous literature on the effectiveness of CoSA in reducing reoffending with findings from a recent evaluability assessment of CoSA provision in the US. It describes the various forms of implementation, the methods by which CoSA has and can be evaluated, and the possible obstacles that impede rigorous evaluation. The implications for the future implementation and evaluation of CoSA are discussed along with the implications for reentry policy and practice in general.
THE IMMUNOPATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF ACUTE GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST-DISEASE

The major complication after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is the development of graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD). This disease is initiated during the conditioning of the recipient, when host tissues are damaged. During the afferent phase of the disease, alloreactive donor T cells recognize foreign major and minor histocompatibility antigens of host tissues. The efferent phase includes activation of inflammatory effector cells as well as the secretion of cytopathic molecules which induce pathology in skin, gastrointestinal tract, liver, lung, and the immune system. Substantial experimental and clinical evidence now indicates a central role of cytokines in the immunopathophysiology of acute GVHD, which forms the basis of this review. The balance between cytokines released by T helper 1 (Th1) cells (interleukin 2, interferon-gamma) or by T helper 2 (Th2) cells (interleukin 4, interleukin 10) after allogeneic BMT is hypothesized to govern the extent of the systemic inflammatory response. Because Th2 cytokines can inhibit the production of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 1 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, a Th1-->Th2 shift in the initial response of donor T cells may interrupt the cytokine cascade and thus offer a new approach to the prevention and treatment of acute GVHD. Successful interventions to modify the response of donor T cells may obviate the need for T cell depletion and thereby avoid the increased risk of relapse of malignancy and impairment of donor cell engraftment.
Inhibition of cathepsin L-like cysteine proteases by cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-2 beta.

The protein sequence of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-2 beta (CTLA-2 beta) is 36% identical to the proregion of mouse cathepsin L (Denizot, F., Brunet, J.F., Roustan, P., Harper, K., Suzan, M., Luciani, M. F., Mattei, M. G., and Goldstein, P. (1989) Eur. J. Immunol. 19, 631-635). Here we report the expression, purification, and characterization of recombinant murine CTLA-2 beta. The protein was purified by consecutive gel-filtration, anion-exchange, and reverse-phase (C4) chromatography. Purified CTLA-2 beta exists in solution primarily as a dimer but also as a disulfide-linked tetramer as judged by size exclusion chromatography. Circular dichroism studies suggest that the dimeric form of the protein contains 8% alpha-helix, 67% beta-sheet, and 21% random coil and also indicates that there is a conformational change upon formation of the tetramer. The protein is a competitive inhibitor of certain cysteine proteases including papain (Ki = 25 nM), cathepsins L (Ki = 24 nM) and H (IC50 = 67 nM) but not cathepsin B. CTLA-2 beta forms a noncovalent complex with cathepsin L and has a stoichiometry of binding to papain of 1 mol of CTLA-2 beta/mol of papain. There is no homology between CTLA-2 beta and any of the known cysteine protease inhibitors, including the kininogens and cystatins. Therefore, CTLA-2 beta represents a novel class of cysteine protease inhibitor that is specific for the cathepsin L family of proteases.
Radiation-induced microRNA: Discovery, functional analysis, and cancer radiotherapy

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-protein coding RNA that play an important role in gene regulation. These RNA molecules function as post-transcriptional regulators. miRNAs bind to complementary sequences on target messenger RNA transcripts, usually resulting in translational repression or target mRNA degradation and gene silencing. miRNA are abundantly present in all human cells, target approximately 60% of all genes, and are able to repress hundreds of targets each. Since their discovery in 1993 miRNA are emerging as important modulators in cellular pathways such as growth and proliferation, apoptosis, carcinogenesis, timing of cell-fate decision, and metabolic pathways. A large number of studies have examined the general and specific effects of miRNAs perturbation in radiation-exposed cells. These studies include expression profiling of miRNA, functional analysis, the role of specific miRNAs in tumor radiosensitivity, and targeting miRNA for improved cancer radiotherapy. Other studies have explored the involvement of miRNA in radiobiological phenomenon like bystander effect. Emerging evidence is establishing that miRNA are involved in regulating radiation-induced cellular processes, can be exploited to improve cancer radiation therapy, and could serve as biomarkers of human radiation exposure.
Organoboranes for synthesis. 5: Stoichiometrically controlled reaction of organoboranes with oxygen under mild conditions to achieve quantitative conversion to alcohols

Abstract The reaction of organoboranes with oxygen under mild conditions can be controlled to give an essentially quantitative conversion of all three alkyl groups on boron to the corresponding alcohol. The controlled oxidation is a very clean reaction, with only minor amounts of carbonyl and hydrocarbon products formed. All organoboranes react quite rapidly in the initial stages, but vary considerably in the time required to achieve the desired uptake of oxygen. In contrast to oxidation by alkaline hydrogen peroxide, a portion of this reaction proceeds through alkyl radicals, thus resulting in some loss of stereospecificity. Oxidation of mixed organoboranes reveals that the relative rates of oxidation of alkyl groups on boron are consistent with a radical mechanism, with tertiary ⪢ secondary ⪢ primary in the rate of oxidation. The selective oxidation of one alkyl group in the presence of the other is not possible, due to small differences in relative rates of oxidation. However, thexyl and cyclohexyl groups can be selectively removed from boron in the presence of alkenyl groups. Thus, controlled oxidation of thexyldialkenylborane affords pure dialkenylborinic acid.
A multifunctional protein EWS is essential for early brown fat lineage determination

The recent surge in obesity has provided an impetus to better understand the mechanisms of adipogenesis, particularly in brown adipose tissue (BAT) because of its potential utilization for antiobesity therapy. Postnatal brown adipocytes arise from early muscle progenitors, but how brown fat lineage is determined is not completely understood. Here, we show that a multifunctional protein, Ewing Sarcoma (EWS), is essential for determining brown fat lineage during development. BATs from Ews null embryos and newborns are developmentally arrested. Ews mutant brown preadipocytes fail to differentiate due to loss of Bmp7 expression, a critical early brown adipogenic factor. We demonstrate that EWS, along with its binding partner Y-box binding protein 1 (YBX1), activates Bmp7 transcription. Depletion of either Ews or Ybx1 leads to loss of Bmp7 expression and brown adipogenesis. Remarkably, Ews null BATs and brown preadipocytes ectopically express myogenic genes. These results demonstrate that EWS is essential for early brown fat lineage determination.
Quality-control testing for asbestos analysis with synthetic bulk samples

Asbestos-containing bulk samples which are routinely synthesized in the laboratory from known masses of readily available materials are part of an internal quality-control testing program. Quantitative analysis of asbestos in these samples by a laboratory's standard procedure yields precision and accuracy of that procedure. Permanent microscope-slide preparations of these samples are used specifically to assess polarized-light microscopic (PLM) analyses. Archives of these samples become references for field samples and allow determination of long-term precision and accuracy. The reliability of a two-step PLM method is determined by the above method.
Terrestrial locomotion and back anatomy in vervets (Cercopithecus aethiops) and patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas)

This comparative study addressed the problem of relationships between locomotor behavior and back anatomy in the cursorial monkeys, Cercopithecus aethiops and Erythrocebus patas. Analysis of cine-film revealed that patas and vervet monkeys differed significantly in the degree to which they used their backs to increase stride length during galloping. C. aethiops showed increased ranges of sagittal back motion as galloping speed increased almost fivefold; E. patas failed to show significant increases in amplitudes of sagittal back motion despite a five-to-sixfold increase in galloping speed. Comparison of epaxial anatomies demonstrated conservative morphologic features which could not be used to explain interspecific differences in sagittal movement patterns of the back. However, when compared to patas monkeys, vervets possessed thicker intervertebral discs, relative to vertebral bone, and reduced dorsoventral diameters of their theracic cages. These anatomic differences were explained on the basis of theoretical bio-mechanics as being necessary structural prerequisites for enhancing sagittal back mobility. The present analysis of locomotor behavior involving the back and epaxial morphologies was integrated with observations of interspecific differences in limb anatomies and comparative anatomic studies of other mammalian species to develop a general description of strategies used by patas and vervet monkeys to increase stride length during galloping.
Alteration of Intracellular Structure and Function of Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase: A Common Phenotype of Neurodegenerative Disorders?

Recent evidence reveals that glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is not simply a classical glycolytic protein of little interest. Instead, it is a multifunctional protein with diverse cytoplasmic, membrane and nuclear activities. Significantly, each activity is separate and distinctfrom its role in energy production. Its nuclear activities include its emerging role in apoptosis especially in neuronal cells. GAPDH translocates into the nucleus during programmed cell death. Introduction of antisense GAPDH sequences reduces apoptosis and prevents its nuclear translocation. Independent analyses demonstrate that GAPDH may be involved in the cellular phenotype of age-related neurodegenerative disorders. GAPDH binds uniquely in vitro to the beta-amyloid precursor protein (betaAPP), to huntingtin as well as to other triplet repeat neuronal disorder proteins. In Parkinson's disease (PD) cells, immunofluorescent data suggests the co-l localization of GAPDH and alpha-synuclein in Lewy bodies. Drugs used to treat PD bind specifically to GAPDH. Our recent findings (Mazzola and Sirover, 2001) demonstrate a subcellular reduction in GAPDH glycolytic activity in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in Huntington's disease (HD) cells. The latter may be due to intracellular alteration of GAPDH structure (Mazzola and Sirover 2002). We discuss the hypothesis that the intracellularformation of GAPDH: neuronal protein complexes may represent an emerging cellular phenotype of neurodegenerative disorders. The cytoplasmic binding of neuronal proteins to GAPDH could affect energy production. Nuclear interactions could affect its apoptotic activity. Other functions of this multidimensional protein may also be inhibited. Experimental paradigms to test this hypothesis are considered.
Seeking Teacher Employment.

A candidate's academic record, of course, is always basic when considering state requirements and institutional standards. In addition to the academic portfolio, however, there lies a more subjective area of preparation or experience in which most school districts expect a degree of competency or exposure. It is an area embodying experiences both in and outside the realm of schooling. Specifically, the effectiveness with which students apply professional knowledge and the breadth of their diverse interests are of great concern to potential employers. These experiences probably did not count for much credit on a transcript, but in the long run they complement the candidate's formal study. A successful teacher, it is believed, possesses a good scholastic record and a variety of professional and cultural interests.
A response to comments on modeling undesirable factors in efficiency evaluation

F€are and Grosskopf (2004) address the approach of Seiford and Zhu (2002) where undesirable input and output measures are treated in data envelopment analysis (DEA). One key feature of Seiford and Zhu s (2002) approach is that the bad outputs are treated as outputs in DEA model but are reduced when DEA efficiency is evaluated. F€are and Grosskopf (2004) suggest an alternative approach in treating the undesirable measures by distinguishing between weak and strong disposability and using a directional distance function. F€are and Grosskopf (2004) point out that the two approaches do not give the same results, and mention the possible causes. We further investigate the approach of F€are and Grosskopf (2004) and show that their directional distance function can be linked to the additive DEA model (Charnes et al., 1985). We further extend their model. Use the notions in Seiford and Zhu (2002), we suppose we have n decision making units (DMUs), each DMUj produces s good outputs y g rj ðr 1⁄4 1; . . . ; sÞ and d bad outputs yb tj ðt 1⁄4 1; . . . ; dÞ using m inputs xij ði 1⁄4 1; . . . ;mÞ. The model suggested in F€are and Grosskopf (2004) can be expressed as
Are Recent Medical Graduates More Skeptical of Vaccines

Rates of delay and refusal of recommended childhood vaccines are increasing in many U.S. communities. Children’s health care providers have a strong influence on parents’ knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about vaccines. Provider attitudes towards immunizations vary and affect their immunization advocacy. One factor that may contribute to this variability is their familiarity with vaccine-preventable diseases and their sequelae. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of health care provider year of graduation with vaccines and vaccine-preventable disease beliefs. We conducted a cross sectional survey in 2005 of primary care providers identified by parents of children whose children were fully vaccinated or exempt from one or more school immunization requirements. We examined the association of provider graduation cohort (5 years) with beliefs on immunization, disease susceptibility, disease severity, vaccine safety, and vaccine efficacy. Surveys were completed by 551 providers (84.3% response rate). More recent health care provider graduates had 15% decreased odds of believing vaccines are efficacious compared to graduates from a previous 5 year period; had lower odds of believing that many commonly used childhood vaccines were safe; and 3.7% of recent graduates believed that immunizations do more harm than good. Recent health care provider graduates have a perception of the risk-benefit balance of immunization, which differs from that of their older counterparts. This change has the potential to be reflected in their immunization advocacy and affect parental attitudes.