cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bio-Lithography: A Novel Process for Modification and Patterning of Supported Lipid Bilayers using Lipopolysaccharide, a Biological Amphiphile

Biological cell membranes are highly organized, multi-component systems that carry out complex energy and information processing. Supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) have shown great promise as model membranes but generating biologically-relevant complexity is challenging using existing membrane patterning techniques. Here we demonstrate an unconventional method that allows the controlled formation and in situ modification of complex membrane arrangements. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a membrane-inserting amphiphile and an important human toxin. We recently reported that LPS can insert into and destabilize fluid-phase SLBs, leading to the formation of voids [Adams et al. (2014) Biophys J. 106, 2395]. We noted that the fluidity and continuity of the remainder of the SLB was maintained. In the current study, we exploit this effect of LPS to generate SLBs containing voids that can be backfilled to introduce desired functional components. This ‘biochemical-assisted lithography’ procedure was used to generate hierarchically organized membrane domains and microscale 2-D array patterns of domains. These domains could be formed using proteins, gel-phase lipids or even synthetic polymers. Alternatively, the voids could be healed by introducing new fluid-phase lipids. Significantly, this technique can be used to repeatedly modify membranes allowing iterative control over membrane composition. This approach expands our toolkit for functional membrane design, with potential applications for enhanced materials templating, biosensing and mimicking biological processes. Furthermore, we present fundamental insights into the interaction of lipids and other amphiphiles, demonstrating that line tension and alkyl chain packing effects can direct the organisation of a membrane-inserted amphiphile into geometric patterns.
Proteoglycan analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Abstract Three different well-characterized preparations of proteoglycan subunits were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography on a silica-based material bonded with an amide phase. The biochemical integrity of the proteoglycan subunits was retained during this procedure. The high sensitivity coupled with the increased speed of high-performance liquid chromatography will permit rapid analysis and comparisons of very small specimens.
The Language of Virtues: Toward an inclusive Approach for Integrating Spirituality in Management Education

There is an increasing recognition that spirituality is an important variable in organizational life, and in the study and practice of management. As a result, a growing number of management educators are incorporating discussions of spirituality in the workplace into their classrooms. Because of the newness of this field and the lack of experience with teaching about this topic, it is important to pay attention to issues of language when speaking about spirituality in the workplace. The first key issue that management educators will face is what language to use that will be effective and inclusive. In this paper we will address the issue of a working definition of spirituality for the academic or training classroom and how the management educator can create a bridge from the personal to public language for the group learning process. We shall introduce the concept of virtues (transcendent values such as compassion, courage and integrity) as an inclusive language that can integrate the private languages o...
The Foundations of Anti-Apartheid: Liberal Humanitarians and Transnational Activists in Britain and the United States, c. 1919–1964

Rob Skinner New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010 272 pp., ISBN 9780230203662 (£55.00) Rob Skinner's The Foundations of Anti-Apartheid is a study that, in principle, aims to provide an outline of the ...
Antecedents and Outcomes of Older Adults’ Motivations to Volunteer With Experience Corps®

This study examined factors associated with motivations to volunteer among older adults and how these motivations related to the subsequent volunteer experience. Focusing on one large national program, Experience Corps (EC), the authors interviewed 510 volunteers at the time they first volunteered for EC and again after one year of service. Eighty-seven percent were females, with ages ranging from 50 to 93 years. Volunteers were asked why they volunteered for this program; open-ended responses were coded into four types of motivations. Results showed that 33% reported altruistic motives; another 36% reported a mixture of altruistic and self-oriented motives, followed by self-oriented motives (16%) and practical features of the program (15%). Motivational type was regressed on demographic antecedents as well as volunteer history and receiving a stipend. Findings showed that African Americans and males were more likely to be motivated by altruism, whereas non-African Americans were more likely to report vol...
Preformed CD40 ligand exists in secretory lysosomes in effector and memory CD4+ T cells and is quickly expressed on the cell surface in an antigen-specific manner.

CD40 ligand (CD40L) is an essential effector cytokine for macrophage activation, dendritic cell licensing, and T-cell–dependent antibody responses. Although CD40L is known to be made de novo following antigen recognition, several reports have described surface mobilization of preformed, intracellular CD40L in certain CD4+ effector T cells. Here we show that rapid surface expression of preformed CD40L following antigen recognition is a general property of both effector and memory CD4+ T cells, including in vitro and in vivo activated T-cell–receptor transgenic T cells, memory phenotype CD4+ T cells from pathogen-free naive mice, and polyclonal virus–specific effector and memory T cells. Intracellular CD40L is stored in secretory lysosomes, and colocalizes more strongly with Fas ligand than with CTLA-4, two other molecules that are delivered to the cell surface following antigen recognition. Stimulated surface expression of preformed CD40L is found in memory CD4+ T cells from CD40-deficient mice, indicating that it does not depend on CD40-induced internalization for delivery to the secretory compartment. We suggest that delivery of preformed CD40L to antigen-presenting cells (APCs) could enable antigen-specific activation of APCs in transient interactions that are too brief to permit de novo synthesis of CD40L.
Serum Biomarkers and Transient Elastography as Predictors of Advanced Liver Fibrosis in a United States Cohort: The Boston Children's Hospital Experience

Objective To evaluate and compare the ability of serum hyaluronic acid (HA) and human cartilage glycoprotein-39 (YKL-40) values, as well as transient elastography (TE) findings, to predict advanced hepatic fibrosis in a cohort from a single pediatric center. Study design Subjects who underwent liver biopsy analysis within 12 months before enrollment were eligible for this prospective study. HA and YKL-40 measurements were obtained within 1 month of TE. A METAVIR score of F3 or F4 was considered to indicate advanced fibrosis. Results A total of 128 patients (51% males) aged 1.4 months to 27.6 years (22% aged P = .03) and YKL-40 ( P P P P = .85). The combination of TE and HA was not better than TE alone for predicting advanced fibrosis ( P = .15). Conclusion In this study, which evaluated TE, HA, and YKL-40 to predict liver fibrosis in children in the US, YKL-40 had no predictive value and TE was superior to HA, but the addition of HA did not improve the performance of TE. Our data suggest that TE and HA may be useful noninvasive tools for assessing liver fibrosis in children.
Disruption of the Insulin-like Growth Factor Type 1 Receptor in Osteoblasts Enhances Insulin Signaling and Action *

Defective bone formation is common in patients with diabetes, suggesting that insulin normally exerts anabolic actions in bone. However, because insulin can cross-activate the insulin-like growth factor type 1 receptor (IGF-1R), which also functions in bone, it has been difficult to establish the direct (IGF-1-independent) actions of insulin in osteoblasts. To overcome this problem, we examined insulin signaling and action in primary osteoblasts engineered for conditional disruption of the IGF-1 receptor (DeltaIGF-1R). Calvarial osteoblasts from mice carrying floxed IGF-1R alleles were infected with adenoviral vectors expressing the Cre recombinase (Ad-Cre) or green fluorescent protein (Ad-GFP) as control. Disruption of IGF-1R mRNA (>90%) eliminated IGF-1R without affecting insulin receptor (IR) mRNA and protein expression and eliminated IGF-1R/IR hybrids. In DeltaIGF-1R osteoblasts, insulin signaling was markedly increased as evidenced by increased phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate 1/2 and enhanced ERK/Akt activation. Microarray analysis of RNA samples from insulin-treated, DeltaIGF-1R osteoblasts revealed striking changes in several genes known to be downstream of ERK including Glut-1 and c-fos. Treatment of osteoblasts with insulin induced Glut-1 mRNA, increased 2-[1,2-(3)H]-deoxy-d-glucose uptake, and enhanced proliferation. Moreover, insulin treatment rescued the defective differentiation and mineralization of DeltaIGF-1R osteoblasts, suggesting that IR signaling can compensate, at least in part, for loss of IGF-1R signaling. We conclude that insulin exerts direct anabolic actions in osteoblasts by activation of its cognate receptor and that the strength of insulin-generated signals is tempered through interactions with the IGF-1R.
Effects of temperature acclimation on muscle relaxation in the carp: A mechanical, biochemical, and ultrastructural study

Common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) were acclimated to either 5–8°C or 20–25°C for a minimum of 1 month, and the twitch contraction kinetics of a myotomal nerve-muscle preparation were investigated. A significant compensation for the acute effects of temperature was achieved in twitch kinetics by acclimation to 8°C. An acute drop in temperature from 20 to 8°C in preparations from warm-acclimated fish led to approximately two- to three-fold increases in the half-times for activation and relaxation. At 8°C, values were 50% faster in 8°C- than in 20°C-acclimated fish, indicating a partial capacity adaptation in rates of both twitch activation and relaxation. The mechanisms underlying temperature compensation of twitch contraction kinetics were investigated. A quantitative ultrastructural study was performed on the sarcoplasmic reticulum (S.R.) of fast and slow myotomal muscles. No differences were found in the surface and volume densities of the S.R. in fast-twitch fibres between cold- and warm-acclimated fish. The surface densities of terminal cisternae and S.R. were higher in slow-twitch fibres from the warm-acclimated fish. Parvalbumin concentration in fast fibres was found to be independent of acclimation temperature (0.61–0.68 mmol/kg wet weight). Although the relative proportions of parvalbumin isoforms (I–IV) showed considerable individual variation this was not correlated with environmental temperature. The Ca2+-ATPase activity of S.R.-enriched microsomes prepared from fast myotomal muscle was 60% higher at 8°C in cold- than warm-acclimated carp. This suggests that changes in the kinetics and/or density of Ca2+ pumps contribute to the observed capacity adaptation in relaxation rate with temperature acclimation. Other possible mechanisms underlying the plasticity of twitch contraction kinetics in carp are briefly discussed.
The genetic requirements for UmuDC-mediated cold sensitivity are distinct from those for SOS mutagenesis.

The umuDC operon of Escherichia coli, a member of the SOS regulon, is required for SOS mutagenesis. Following the posttranslational processing of UmuD to UmuD* by RecA-mediated cleavage, UmuD* acts in concert with UmuC, RecA, and DNA polymerase III to facilitate the process of translesion synthesis, which results in the introduction of mutations. Constitutive expression of theumuDCoperon causes an inhibition of growth at 30&C (cold sensitivity). TheumuDC-dependent physiological phenomenon manifested as cold-sensitive growth is shown to differ from SOS mutagenesis in two respects. Intact UmuD, the form inactive in SOS mutagenesis, confers a significantly higher degree of cold sensitivity in combination with UmuC than does UmuD*. In addition, umuDC-mediated cold sensitivity, unlike SOS mutagenesis, does not require recA function. Since the RecA protein mediates the autodigestion of UmuD to UmuD*, thisfinding supports the conclusion that intact UmuD is capable of conferring cold sensitivity in the presence of UmuC. The degree of inhibition of growth at 30&C correlates with the levels of UmuD and UmuC, which are the only two SOS-regulated proteins required to observe cold sensitivity. Analysis of the cellular morphology of strains that exhibit cold sensitivity for growth led to thefinding that constitutive expression of theumuDCoperon causes a novel form ofsulA-andsfiC-independentfilamentationat30&C.Thisfilamentationisobservedinastrainconstitutivelyexpressing the single, chromosomal copy ofumuDCand can be suppressed by overexpression of theftsQAZoperon.
Tracking mean shift clustered point clouds for 3D surveillance

We present in this paper a method of tracking multiple objects (people) in 3D for application in video surveillance. The tracking method is designed to work on images with objects at low resolution and has two major contributions. First we propose a way to generate 3D point clouds that imposes multiple constraints (both geometric and appearance-based) to ensure minimal noise in the 3D data. Second, we incorporate a method to group the points into clouds (or clusters) that correspond to objects in the environment being imaged. We show that this method is more powerful than current 3D tracking techniques that try to fuse 2D tracking information into 3D tracks. A comparison to competing 3D tracking methods are shown, and performance and limitations are discussed.
Ethanol is a Fast Channel Inhibitor of P2X4 Receptors

P2X receptors (P2XRs) are ion channels gated by synaptically released ATP. The P2X4 is the most abundant P2XR subtype expressed in the central nervous system and to date is the most ethanol-sensitive. In addition, genomic findings suggest that P2X4Rs may play a role in alcohol intake/preference. However, little is known regarding how ethanol causes the inhibition of ATP-gated currents in P2X4Rs. We begin to address this issue by investigating the effects of ethanol in wild-type and mutant D331A and M336A P2X4Rs expressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells using whole-cell patch-clamp methods. The results suggest that residues D331 and M336 play a role in P2X4R gating and ethanol inhibits channel functioning via a mechanism different from that in other P2XRs. Key findings from the study include: 1) ethanol inhibits ATP-gated currents in a rapid manner; 2) ethanol inhibition of ATP-gated currents does not depend on voltage and ATP concentration; 3) residues 331 and 336 slow P2X4 current deactivation and regulate the inhibitory effects of ethanol; and 4) ethanol effects are similar in HEK293 cells transfected with P2X4Rs and cultured rat hippocampal neurons transduced with P2X4Rs using a recombinant lentiviral system. Overall, these findings provide key information regarding the mechanism of ethanol action on ATP-gated currents in P2X4Rs and provide new insights into the biophysical properties of P2X4Rs.
Social cognitive theory in diabetes exercise research: an integrative literature review.

PURPOSE This integrative review critically examined the literature on diabetes research using Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to determine its predictive ability in explaining exercise behavior and to identify key interventions that enhance exercise initiation and maintenance. METHODS Literature published between 1985 and 2002 was searched using the following keywords: SCT, self-efficacy, diabetes mellitus, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, physical activity, and exercise. The databases searched were CINAHL, Medline, and PsychInfo. Of the 38 articles retrieved from databases, 13 were reviewed. RESULTS A statistically significant relationship between self-efficacy and exercise behavior was found in correlational studies. Results from the predictive study support the predictability of self-efficacy for exercise behavior. Mixed results were found for the predictive ability of outcome expectancies for exercise behavior. Self-efficacy was predictive of exercise initiation and maintenance over time. The evidence for successful interventions to increase self-efficacy and exercise behavior over time was inconclusive. CONCLUSIONS To better understand exercise behavior and to develop effective exercise interventions, a microanalytic, theory-driven approach to studying exercise behavior is needed. Several suggestions are offered to strengthen exercise self-efficacy.
Waldspurger's Involution and Types

Waldspurger's involution for the genuine irreducible supercuspidal representations of is parametrized in terms of types in the case -adic with odd. In particular, it is shown that the in-volution is given by conjugating by an element of and twisting one of the defining parameters of an associated type by a quadratic character, the relevant parameter being a character on the norm one elements of a quadratic extension.
Acceptability of a multi-step intervention system to improve apple cider safety

A multi-step intervention system against Escherichia coli O157:H7 in apple cider was studied. The system consisted of adding 0.05% (w/v) each of sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate, holding cider at 35 °C for 6 h, followed by freezing and thawing the cider. This system was tested in triplicate 10 ml volumes of eight lots of cider throughout the 2000 season. For all ciders, E. coli O157:H7 numbers were reduced by ⩾3.0 log units, with ⩾5.0 log unit reductions for 6 of 8 ciders. For blends of early- and late-season (2000) ciders treated and then thawed in 3.5 l volumes (jugs), no survivors were detected (⩾3.3–4.3 log unit reductions). In consumer acceptance panels (one cider tasted per panel) each treated cider received a mean (n of 191–201) score of 5.5–6.1 (5=“like slightly”; 6=“like moderately”). In a direct comparison, the treated cider had a significantly (P<0.05) lower mean score (n=189) of 5.6 compared to heat-pasteurized cider (mean score of 6.1). Although the multi-step intervention system may provide sufficient lethality under certain conditions, its inconsistent lethality and lower consumer acceptability reduce its usefulness as an alternative to high-temperature short-time pasteurization.
Cold tolerance in tomato. II. Early seedling growth of Lycopersicon spp.

Hypocotyl and root growth elongation of etiolated seedlings was measured non-destructively for the wild tomato accessions LA 460 (Lycopersicon chilense Dun.), PI 126435, PI 127831 and PI 127832 (L. peruvianum Mill.) and controls PI 120256 and T3 (L. esculentum Mill.) on slant boards at 10, 15 and 20°C. Both hypocotyl and root elongation over time were fitted by a logistic growth function with three parameters estimated for each seedling by non-linear least squares regression. Analysis of variance of these equation parameters indicated linear decreases of both hypocotyl and root growth rate parameters with temperature. All four wild accessions maintained greater hypocotyl growth rate parameters at 10°C than the fast-germinating cultivated accession PI 120256, but not significantly greater than T3. Hypocotyl growth rates of the wild accessions were less inhibited at 10°C relative to 20°C than were either cultivated accession. These results suggest that these wild accessions have greater chilling tolerance than cultivated controls for early seedling growth, and may have potential use for genetically improving emergence times for tomatoes sown in cold soil.
Leukocyte migration in adipose tissue of mice null for ICAM-1 and Mac-1 adhesion receptors.

Objective: To determine whether the leukocyte adhesion receptors ICAM-1 and Mac-1, regulators of immune cell migration, have an intrinsic role within adipose tissue by 1) analyzing the expression of ICAM-1 in adipose tissue, 2) identifying leukocyte populations within adipose tissue, and 3) determining whether ICAM-1 and Mac-1 mutant mice exhibit abnormal numbers of adipose tissue leukocytes. Research Methods and Procedures: Wild-type, ICAM-1−/−, and Mac-1−/− mice were fed a long-term high-fat diet. ICAM-1 expression was analyzed by Northern blot and immunohistochemistry. Leukocytes within adipose tissue were identified by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. Results: ICAM-1 was expressed in adipose tissue and localized to the vascular endothelium. Macrophages and lymphocytes were prevalent within the stromal-vascular cell fraction of adipose tissue, and gender-specific differences were observed, with adipose tissue from female mice containing significantly more macrophages than tissue from male mice. Numbers of leukocytes in ICAM-1−/− and Mac-1−/− mice were not different from wild-types, however, indicating that these adhesion receptors are not required for leukocyte migration into adipose tissue. Discussion: Our results documented leukocyte populations within adipose tissue, which may be involved in the development of heightened inflammation that is characteristic of obesity.
Pulmonary Angiography: Recent Advances in Technique, Indications, and Methods of Interpretation

Pulmonary angiography has become a routine procedure in most hospitals as part of the evaluation of patients for pulmonary embolism [1–3]. Although radiologic examination of the pulmonary vascular tree has been performed since the middle of the 1930s, pulmonary angiography has only been a routine diagnostic procedure for the last 15 years. Pulmonary embolism is an elusive diagnostic entity in which clinical acumen may result in a correct diagnosis in as few as 50% of cases. The advent of routinely available pulmonary angiography has considerably improved the accuracy of diagnosis for this disease. In recent years, pulmonary angiography has been performed as part of the diagnostic evaluation of patients with a variety of other pulmonary and cardiovascular conditions. Moreover, a number of new techniques have improved and expanded the information obtained from the pulmonary angiogram.
Detecting multipath signals with the matched-lag filter

A detection problem is considered for a single broadband source of unknown waveform and emission time. The signal travels to the receiver along multipath with unknown delays and temporal separation exceeding the inverse bandwidth of the signal. The received noise has uncertain variance. The travel times of the multipath are impractical to predict because of uncertainties in the environment. The presence or absence of the signal is estimated from the auto-correlation function. Instead of stochastically modeling the multipath in terms of their received auto-correlation function, receivers are constructed which constrain the signal-related lags in the auto-correlation function to have physically possible arrangements. For simple cases, this approach, called a matched-lag filter, yields probabilities of detection that are 1.35 times greater (for a false-alarm probability of 0.001) than conventional filters which base their decision on the signal-to-noise ratio in the autocorrelation function.
Short Term Effects of Grazing Sheep on Agroforestry based Pasture

The efficacy of producing sheep by grazing on agroforestry based pasture in relation to growth, breeding traits, and impacts on the pasture were investigated. Sheep were placed on traditional or agroforestry grazing pasture and experiments determined growth rates, organic material and nitrogen concentrations of the soil, forestry utilization, and female breeding traits. There were no significant differences between the growth traits. There was significantly higher organic material from the agroforestry vs. the traditional pasture. The nitrogen content from the agroforestry without sheep was significantly higher compared to the other plots. The percent of understory cover on the agroforestry plot was significantly less compared to a control. There were no significant differences in sexual receptivity or pregnancy rates in the ewes, but the lambing rates of the agroforestry was significantly higher than the traditional pasture.
Topic initiator detection on the world wide web

In this paper we introduce a new Web mining and search technique - Topic Initiator Detection (TID) on the Web. Given a topic query on the Internet and the resulting collection of time-stamped web documents which contain the query keywords, the task of TID is to automatically return which web document (or its author) initiated the topic or was the first to discuss about the topic.To deal with the TID problem, we design a system framework and propose algorithm InitRank (Initiator Ranking) to rank the web documents by their possibility to be the topic initiator. We first extract features from the web documents and design several topic initiator indicators. Then, we propose a TCL graph which integrates the Time, Content and Link information and design an optimization framework over the graph to compute InitRank. Experiments show that compared with baseline methods, such as direct time sorting, well-known link based ranking algorithms PageRank and HITS, InitRank achieves the best overall performance with high effectiveness and robustness. In case studies, we successfully detected (1) the first web document related to a famous rumor of an Australia product banned in USA and (2) the pre-release of IBM and Google Cloud Computing collaboration before the official announcement.
Electrochemical Synthesis of Aluminum Nitride in Liquid Ammonia Electrolyte Solutions

An electrochemical method for the preparation of high purity metal nitride ceramic precursors is described. Constant current electrolysis of an electrolyte solution containing NH3 and NH4Br at an Al electrode yields a solid mixture consisting of Al(NH3)6Br3 and [Al(NH2)(NH)]n after evaporation of excess NH3. Calcination of this mixture above 800 C in flowing NH3 results in sublimation of Al(NH3)6Br3 and conversion of the ceramic polymer precursor, [Al(NH2)(NH)]n, to pure, high surface area AlN. Here we discuss some electrochemical aspects of the polymer precursor synthesis, precursor processing parameters, and materials characterization of the AlN powder before and after sintering.
Rising Incidence of Oropharyngeal Cancer and the Role of Oncogenic Human Papilloma Virus

Objectives/Hypothesis: To document the increasing incidence of oropharyngeal (OP) cancer and to provide evidence that this increase is caused by oncogenic human papilloma virus (HPV). Study Design: Epidemiologic review and retrospective case series analysis. Methods: We collected data from Colorado and the United States comparing the average annual age-adjusted incidence rates of OP and non-OP head and neck cancer between the periods 1980 to 1990 and 1991 to 2001. We obtained data on 72 patients with OP cancer from a single county in Colorado, from 1980 through 2004. HPV status was determined by DNA-polymerase chain reaction. We assessed disease-specific survival. Results: The average annual age-adjusted incidence of OP cancer in males in Colorado increased from 2.54 per 100,000 to 3.47 (P < .05) or 36.6%, whereas the U.S. rate increased from 4.34 to 4.81 (P < .05) or 10.8%. The rates in females and the rates of non-OP head and neck cancer decreased. Of the 72 cases, 50 (69%) were positive for HPV subtype 16. The ratio of HPV-positive to HPV-negative cases prior to 1995 was 0.72 (8:11) but was 3.81 (42:11) afterward. Survival was positively affected by HPV status (hazard ratio of 0.15, confidence intervals 0.07–0.36, P < .001). Disease-specific survival was 83% in the HPV-positive patients and 15% in the HPV-negative group. Conclusions: OP cancer incidence is increasing in Colorado males and to a lesser extent in U.S. males. The HPV-positive OP cancer cases were more frequent in the later years of the study. Disease-specific survival was much better in the HPV-positive patients, confirming that HPV testing defines a unique subset of patients. These findings suggest that HPV oncogenesis accounts for the increase in average annual age-adjusted incidence of OP cancer.
Application of adaptive probing for fault diagnosis in computer networks

This dissertation presents an adaptive probing based tool for fault diagnosis in computer networks by addressing the problems of probe station selection and probe selection. We first present algorithms to place probe stations to monitor the network in the presence of various failures in the network. We then present algorithms for probe selection in an adaptive manner to perform fault diagnosis. We present algorithms considering both deterministic as well as non-deterministic environments. We present evaluation of the proposed algorithms through comprehensive simulation studies. The dissertation is available at http://www.cis.udel.edu/~natu/papers/dissertation.pdf.
A miniaturized ingestible antenna for capsule medical imaging system

The conformal capsule antenna possesses attractive features like conformal geometry, miniaturized size, polarization diversity, omni-directional pattern similar to dipole, easy and straightforward tuning ability to compensate the effects of electrical components inside the capsule and human body which makes it a good candidate for capsule imager.
Is glycine a surrogate for a D-amino acid in the collagen triple helix?

Collagen is the most abundant protein in animals. Every third residue in a collagen strand is a glycine with φ, ψ = −70°, 175°. A recent computational study suggested that replacing these glycine residues with d-alanine or d-serine would stabilize the collagen triple helix. This hypothesis is of substantial importance, as the glycine residues in collagen constitute nearly 10% of the amino acid residues in humans. To test this hypothesis, we synthesized a series of collagen mimic peptides that contain one or more d-alanine or d-serine residues replacing the canonical glycine residues. Circular dichroism spectroscopy and thermal denaturation experiments indicated clearly that the substitution of glycine with d-alanine or d-serine greatly disfavors the formation of a triple helix. Host–guest studies also revealed that replacing a single glycine residue with d-alanine is more destabilizing than is its replacement with l-alanine, a substitution that results from a common mutation in patients with collagen-related diseases. These data indicate that the glycine residues in collagen are not a surrogate for a d-amino acid and support the notion that the main-chain torsion angles of a glycine residue in the native structure (especially, φ > 0°) are critical determinants for its beneficial substitution with a d-amino acid in a protein.
Structured trainable networks for matrix algebra

A novel approach to a large variety of matrix algebra problems is proposed. The basic idea is to represent a given problem by a structured network architecture, train the structured network to match some desired patterns, and obtain the solution to the problem from the weights of the resulting structured network. The basic unit used to construct the network is a simple linear multi-input, single-output weighted summer. The training algorithms for the problems are either standard error back-propagation or the modified error back-propagation. Three detailed structured networks and the corresponding training algorithms are presented for matrix LU decomposition, linear equation solving and singular value decomposition, respectively. Extensions to other matrix algebra problems are straightforward. These new approaches use parallel architectures and algorithms, suitable for VLSI realizations; provide robust computations, with no divisions involved in all the calculations, so that they are free of the divide-by-zero problem; and are very general, suitable for most matrix computation and matrix equation-solving problems
Optical limiting of submicrowatt long-pulse cw lasers with extremely nonlinear nematic liquid crystal films

We report the demonstration of optical limiting of long-pulse cw lasers using methyl red dye-doped nematic liquid-crystal films in a self-defocusing configuration. The nonlinear mechanism employed is a recently discovered extraordinarily large nonlinear optical effect associated with optically induced liquid-crystal director axis reorientation and the resultant refractive-index change.
Alterations to bone mineral composition as an early indication of osteomyelitis in the diabetic foot.

OBJECTIVE Osteomyelitis in the diabetic foot is a major risk factor for amputation, but there is a limited understanding of early stage infection, impeding limb-preserving diagnoses. We hypothesized that bone composition measurements provide insight into the early pathophysiology of diabetic osteomyelitis. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Compositional analysis by Raman spectroscopy was performed on bone specimens from patients with a clinical diagnosis of osteomyelitis in the foot requiring surgical intervention as either a biopsy ( n = 6) or an amputation ( n = 11). RESULTS An unexpected result was the discovery of pathological calcium phosphate minerals in addition to normal bone mineral. Dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, also called brushite, and uncarbonated apatite were found to be exclusively associated with infected bone. CONCLUSIONS Compositional measurements provided a unique insight into the pathophysiology of osteomyelitis in diabetic foot ulcers. At-patient identification of pathological minerals by Raman spectroscopy may serve as an early stage diagnostic approach.
Plethysmographic Techniques in the Diagnosis of Venous Disease

Various techniques of plethysmography have been developed to evaluate venous function in the lower extremity. They have been extensively investigated, but have been replaced with color duplex scanning for the anatomic examination of the deep and superficial venous systems. In the current management of venous disease, plethysmography is useful to assist in the management of complex venous disease when multiple anatomic abnormalities are identified and to document improvement in venous function after interventions are performed. In this way, it functions similarly to an ankle-brachial index to document improvement after arterial revascularization is performed.
Photocatalytic Conversion of Nitrobenzene to Aniline through Sequential Proton-Coupled One-Electron Transfers from a Cadmium Sulfide Quantum Dot

This paper describes the use of cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CdS QDs) as visible-light photocatalysts for the reduction of nitrobenzene to aniline through six sequential photoinduced, proton-coupled electron transfers. At pH 3.6–4.3, the internal quantum yield of photons-to-reducing electrons is 37.1% over 54 h of illumination, with no apparent decrease in catalyst activity. Monitoring of the QD exciton by transient absorption reveals that, for each step in the catalytic cycle, the sacrificial reductant, 3-mercaptopropionic acid, scavenges the excitonic hole in ∼5 ps to form QD•–; electron transfer to nitrobenzene or the intermediates nitrosobenzene and phenylhydroxylamine then occurs on the nanosecond time scale. The rate constants for the single-electron transfer reactions are correlated with the driving forces for the corresponding proton-coupled electron transfers. This result suggests, but does not prove, that electron transfer, not proton transfer, is rate-limiting for these reactions. Nuclear magn...
Excited State Electron Distribution and Role of the Terminal Amine in Acidic and Basic Tryptophan Dipeptide Fluorescence.

Abstract The results of quantum yield (QY) study of tryptophanyl glutamate (Trp–Glu), tryptophanyl lysine (Trp–Lys) and lysinyl tryptophan (Lys–Trp) dipeptides over the pH range, 1.5–13, show that the charge state of the N-terminal amine, and not the nominal molecular charge determines the QY. When the terminal amine is protonated, QY is low (10−2) for all three dipeptides. As the terminal amine cation is found proximal to the indole ring in Trp–Glu and Trp–Lys conformers but not in those for Lys–Trp, its effect may lie only in the partitioning of energy between nonradiative processes, not on QY reduction. QY is also low when both the N-terminal amine and indole amine are deprotonated. These two low QY states can be distinguished by fluorescence lifetime measurement. Molecular dynamics simulation shows that the Chi 1 conformers persist for tens of nanoseconds such that 100–101 ns lifetimes may be associated with individual Chi 1 conformers. The ground state electron density or isosurface of high QY (0.30) 3-methyindole has a uniform electron density over the indole ring as do the higher QY Trp dipeptide conformers. This validates the association of ground state isosurfaces with QY. Excited state orbitals from calculated high intensity, low energy absorption transitions are typically centered over the indole ring for higher QY dipeptide species and off the ring in lower QY species. Thus excited state orbitals substantiate the earlier finding that the ground state isosurface charge density pattern on the indole ring can be predictive of QY.
Air-stable polythiophene-based thin film transistors processed using oxidative chemical vapor deposition: Carrier transport and channel/metallization contact interface

Abstract Oxidative chemical-vapor-deposition (oCVD) provides a facile route to polymerize and deposit insoluble monomers in thin film form. Here, we report on oCVD polythiophene (PT)-based organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) that present both high mobility and excellent stability over time in air. The measured field effect mobility (μFE) is ∼0.02 cm2/V sec with the low threshold voltage between −1 V and 0.3 V. Additionally the PT OTFTs show no evidence of performance degradation after 3 months exposure in air. The transmission line model (TLM) enables the determination of the specific contact resistance (ρC) of oCVD PT channel/metallization interface and reveals that ρC is improved with increasing gate bias. The oCVD PT channel conductivity (σch) and carrier density (p) were evaluated from more than 100 devices using TLM measurements and the relation of σch = qpμFE. Carrier transport analysis suggests that the charge screening effect governs hole carrier mobility in the carrier density regime below approximately 1018/cm3 where an increase in carrier density leads to higher mobility. We also demonstrate photo-conductivity of oCVD PT through an increase in device on-state current and the field effect mobility when the PT OTFT is illuminated. Strategies to further enhance the performance of the materials and devices are also suggested.
MIND THE GAP: PALLIATIVE CARE KNOWLEDGE AMONG CARDIOVASCULAR CLINICIANS

Cardiovascular clinicians routinely care for patients with serious illness, including candidates for transcatheter aortic valve replacements (TAVR) and ventricular assist devices (VAD). However, experience integrating palliative care into treatments plans may be lacking. We surveyed ACC members to
Two phenomenological constants explain similarity laws in stably stratified turbulence.

In stably stratified turbulent flows, the mixing efficiency associated with eddy diffusivity for heat, or equivalently the turbulent Prandtl number (${\text{Pr}}_{t}$), is fraught with complex dynamics originating from the scalewise interplay between shear generation of turbulence and its dissipation by density gradients. A large corpus of data and numerical simulations agree on a near-universal relation between ${\text{Pr}}_{t}$ and the Richardson number (${R}_{i}$), which encodes the relative importance of buoyancy dissipation to mechanical production of turbulent kinetic energy. The ${\text{Pr}}_{t}--{R}_{i}$ relation is shown to be derivable solely from the cospectral budgets for momentum and heat fluxes if a Rotta-like return to isotropy closure for the pressure-strain effects and Kolmogorov's theory for turbulent cascade are invoked. The ratio of the Kolmogorov to the Kolmogorov-Obukhov-Corrsin phenomenological constants, and a constant associated with isotropization of the production whose value ($=3/5$) has been predicted from Rapid Distortion Theory, explain all the macroscopic nonlinearities.
Abstract A66: βarrestin2 contributes to aggressive tumor growth in African American prostate cancer cells

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of death in African American males (AA). Studies have found the incidence of PCa to be 60% higher in AA men than their Caucasian American counterparts (CA). Poorer prognosis in AA men is exacerbated by lack of adequate access to healthcare and non financial factors such as distrust of the healthcare system. However, these social and socioeconomic factors fail to fully account for this disparity. AA men are diagnosed at younger ages and often present with more advanced tumor stages and higher Gleason scores. Thus, elucidating possible biological causes of prostate cancer disparity is of utmost importance. βarrestin2 (βarr2) is a scaffold protein that associates with G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and leads to the desensitization and internalization of these receptors. In addition, more recent studies have implicated βarr2 in a variety of cellular processes including androgen metabolism. We have shown increased βarrestin2 expression in prostate cell lines from AA men (MDA PCa 2B) when compared to those from CA men (LNCap). Furthermore, overexpression of βarr2 in LNCap cells or knockdown of βarr2 in MDA PCa 2B cells was sufficient to alter the growth properties of these cells. These results were seen both in vitro and in vivo. Thus preliminary data indicates that βarr2 may contribute to differences between tumor growth in our model system. Further studies are needed to ascertain the cause and mechanism of βarr2 overexpression in AA men, as well as the clinical significance of these findings. Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2011;20(10 Suppl):A66.
TheMolluscicidal Effect of Ammonium Bicarbonate Centralized Sprinkle and Spraying With Earth Covered Black Plastic Mulch

Objective To observe the molluscicidal effect of ammonium bicarbonate centralized sprinkle and spraying with earth covered black plastic mulch at different dosages.Methods A ditch with Oncomelania snails was selected as the study site,and was divided into a control group and two molluscicide groups from upper to lower places.The two molluscicide groups were applied ammonium bicarbonate with 5 different dosages in ways of centralized embarking or spraying by earth covered black plastic mulch.The molluscicidal effect was observed before and 10,20,30,60,90 and 180 days after the experiments.Results The reduced rates of snail density of centralized embarking were 32.71%-98.55% and the other molluscicide group was 95.44%-100% between 10d and 180d.There was significant difference between molluscicide group and the control group(P0.05).The mortality of the spraying group could reach up to 100% after 10d above the dosage of 300 g/m2.Conclusion The molluscicidal effect of ammonium bicarbonate spraying by earth covered with black plastic mulch is superior to centralized sprinkle method.The optimal time and dosage is respectively 300g/m2 and 10d.
Host Factors that Contribute to Equine Arteritis Virus Persistence in the Stallion: an Update

Abstract Studies in our laboratory have shown that horses can be divided into two distinct groups based on whether they possess a subpopulation of CD3 + T lymphocytes susceptible to in vitro infection by equine arteritis virus (EAV) or not. It has been also demonstrated that stallions with the CD3 + T lymphocyte susceptibility phenotype to in vitro EAV infection are at higher risk of becoming persistently infected carriers compared to those that lack this phenotype. Furthermore, experimental EAV infection of horses with either the in vitro CD3 + T lymphocyte susceptibility or resistance phenotype showed a significant difference between the two groups in terms of proinflammatory and immunomodulatory cytokine mRNA expression. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) demonstrated that these phenotypes are associated with the CXCL16 gene located in equine chromosome 11 (ECA11). We demonstrated that the membrane bound form of the protein encoded by EqCXCL16 gene function as a primary receptor molecule for EAV. Moreover, the secretory form of the CXCL16 protein is the ligand for the chemokine receptor CXCR6 that is predicted to be expressed on CD4 + and CD8 + T cells, NKT cells, and NK cells. Thus, equine CXCL16 and CXCR6 may be two major cellular proteins associated with the EAV carrier state in stallions. Finally, analysis of multiple tissues from EAV carrier stallions unequivocally confirmed the ampullae of the vas deferens as the primary site of EAV persistence with dual immunohistochemistry studies showing that EAV is localized in fibrocytes and mononuclear cells (T and B lymphocytes) but not in the glandular epithelium.
Near-Infrared Optical Imaging Noninvasively Detects Acutely Damaged Muscle

Muscle damage is currently assessed through methods such as muscle biopsy, serum biomarkers, functional testing, and imaging procedures, each with its own inherent limitations, and a pressing need for a safe, repeatable, inexpensive, and noninvasive modality to assess the state of muscle health remains. Our aim was to develop and assess near-infrared (NIR) optical imaging as a novel noninvasive method of detecting and quantifying muscle damage. An immobilization–reambulation model was used for inducing muscle damage and recovery in the lower hindlimbs in mice. Confirmation of muscle damage was obtained using in vivo indocyanine green–enhanced NIR optical imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, and ex vivo tissue analysis. The soleus of the immobilized–reambulated hindlimb was found to have a greater amount of muscle damage compared to that in the contralateral nonimmobilized limb, confirmed by in vivo indocyanine green–enhanced NIR optical imaging (3.86-fold increase in radiant efficiency), magnetic resonance imaging (1.41-fold increase in T 2 ), and an ex vivo spectrophotometric assay of indocyanine green uptake (1.87-fold increase in normalized absorbance). Contrast-enhanced NIR optical imaging provides a sensitive, rapid, and noninvasive screening method that can be used for imaging and quantifying muscle damage and recovery in vivo .
Fast computation for secure communication with full-duplex radio

With good design for radio self-interference isolation and cancellation, full-duplex radio promises to be feasible for real world applications. One of the important applications is secure communication since such a radio can receive information from a desired source while it also transmits jamming noise to eavesdroppers at the same time and same frequency. This paper considers a three-node multicarrier network consisting of a source, a full-duplex destination and an eavesdropper where the source and destination both apply power distributions to maximize the secrecy capacity against the eavesdropper. Fast algorithms feasible for real-time applications are developed to achieve the maximum secrecy capacity subject to both power constraint and source-to-destination rate constraint.