cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Knockout of Epstein-Barr Virus BPLF1 Retards B-Cell Transformation and Lymphoma Formation in Humanized Mice

ABSTRACT BPLF1 of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is classified as a late lytic cycle protein but is also found in the viral tegument, suggesting its potential involvement at both initial and late stages of viral infection. BPLF1 possesses both deubiquitinating and deneddylating activity located in its N-terminal domain and is involved in processes that affect viral infectivity, viral DNA replication, DNA repair, and immune evasion. A recently constructed EBV BPLF1-knockout (KO) virus was used in conjunction with a humanized mouse model that can be infected with EBV, enabling the first characterization of BPLF1 function in vivo. Results demonstrate that the BPLF1-knockout virus is approximately 90% less infectious than wild-type (WT) virus. Transformation of human B cells, a hallmark of EBV infection, was delayed and reduced with BPLF1-knockout virus. Humanized mice infected with EBV BPLF1-knockout virus showed less weight loss and survived longer than mice infected with equivalent infectious units of WT virus. Additionally, splenic tumors formed in 100% of mice infected with WT EBV but in only 25% of mice infected with BPLF1-KO virus. Morphological features of spleens containing tumors were similar to those in EBV-induced posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) and were almost identical to cases seen in human diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The presence of EBV genomes was detected in all mice that developed tumors. The results implicate BPLF1 in human B-cell transformation and tumor formation in humanized mice. IMPORTANCE Epstein-Barr virus infects approximately 90% of the world9s population and is the causative agent of infectious mononucleosis. EBV also causes aggressive lymphomas in individuals with acquired and innate immune disorders and is strongly associated with diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, classical Hodgkin lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Typically, EBV initially infects epithelial cells in the oropharynx, followed by a lifelong persistent latent infection in B-cells, which may develop into lymphomas in immunocompromised individuals. This work is the first of its kind in evaluating the effects of EBV9s BPLF1 in terms of pathogenesis and lymphomagenesis in humanized mice and implicates BPLF1 in B-cell transformation and tumor development. Currently, there is no efficacious treatment for EBV, and therapeutic targeting of BPLF1 may lead to a new path to treatment for immunocompromised individuals or transplant recipients infected with EBV.
Cooperative Resource Allocation for Primary and Secondary Users with Adjustable Priorities in Cognitive Radio Networks

The ability of cognitive radio to sense the spectrum and adapt its parameters in response to the dynamic environment makes it an ideal candidate for resource allocation of spectrum in wireless networks, especially co-existing and emergency networks. In the two latter networks, the secondary users should sense the spectrum and adapt their parameters such that they can use these resources without causing a degradation or interference to the performance of the primary/licensed users. Therefore, in this paper, a decentralized game theoretic approach for resource allocation of the primary and secondary users in a cognitive radio networks is proposed. In this work, the priorities of the networks are incorporated in the utility and potential functions which are in turn used for resource allocation. It is demonstrated analytically by using the potential and utility functions and through simulation studies that a unique NE exists for the combined game with primary users (PU) and secondary users (SU), and the combined game converges to the NE.
A Collaborative Venture: The Advanced Gas Turbine Systems Research Program

The Advanced Gas Turbine Systems Research (AGTSR) program is a university-industry research consortium that was established in September 1992. The AGTSR program is sponsored by the Department of Energy–Morgantown Energy Technology Center. The South Carolina Energy Research and Development Center (SCERDC) heads the effort and is responsible for administering and managing the AGTSR program, which is expected to continue to the year 2000. At present, 67 American Universities are AGTSR Performing Members, representing 35 states. Two RFP’s have already been announced and the third RFP was released in December, 1994. There are presently 23 research subcontracts underway at Performing Member universities. Approximately seven new subcontracts are expected to be awarded in 1995. The research is focused on topics as defined by the AGTSR Industry Review Board composed of five major cost-sharing U.S. gas turbine manufacturers, including EPRI and GRI as advisors. All university projects must be relevant to advancing stationary gas turbines for the next generation of electrical power generation systems. Research areas being addressed include: turbine heat transfer, combustion modeling and instability, thermal barrier coatings, aerodynamic losses, and advanced cycle analyses. This paper will present the objectives and benefits of the AGTSR program, progress achieved to date, and future planned activity in fiscal year 1995.Copyright © 1995 by ASME
Seasonal evolution of water contributions to discharge from a Greenland outlet glacier: insight from a new isotope-mixing model

The Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) subglacial hydrological system may undergo a seasonal evolution, with significant geophysical and biogeochemical implications. We present results from a new isotope-mixing model to quantify the relative contributions of surface snow, glacial ice and delayed flow to the bulk meltwater discharge from a small (� 5k m 2 ) land-terminating GrIS outlet glacier during melt onset (May) and at peak melt (July). We use radioactive ( 222 Rn) and stable isotopes ( 18 O, deuterium) to differentiate the water source contributions. Atmospherically derived 7 Be further constrains meltwater transit time from the glacier surface to the ice margin. We show that (1) 222 Rn is a promising tracer for glacial waters stored at the bed and (2) a quantitative chemical mixing model can be constructed by combining 222 Rn and the stable water isotopes. Applying this model to the bulk subglacial outflow from our study area, we find a constant delayed-flow (stored) component from melt onset through peak melt. This component is diluted first by snowmelt and then by increasing glacial ice melt as the season progresses. Results from this pilot study are consistent with the hypothesis that subglacial drainage beneath land-terminating sections of the GrIS undergoes a seasonal evolution from a distributed to a channelized system.
Multicenter retrospective evaluation of the validity of the Thoracolumbar Injury Classification and Severity Score system in children

OBJECTIVE The Thoracolumbar Injury Classification and Severity Score (TLICS) system was developed to streamline injury assessment and guide surgical decision making. To the best of the authors' knowledge, external validation in the pediatric age group has not been undertaken prior to this report. METHODS This study evaluated the use of the TLICS in a large retrospective series of children and adolescents treated at 4 pediatric medical centers (Texas Children's Hospital, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Riley Children's Hospital, and Doernbecher Children's Hospital). A total of 147 patients treated for traumatic thoracic or lumbar spine trauma between February 1, 2002, and September 1, 2015, were included in this study. Clinical and radiographic data were evaluated. Injuries were classified using American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) status, Denis classification, and TLICS. RESULTS A total of 102 patients (69%) were treated conservatively, and 45 patients (31%) were treated surgically. All patients but one in the conservative group were classified as ASIA E. In this group, 86/102 patients (84%) had Denis type compression injuries. The TLICS in the conservative group ranged from 1 to 10 (mean 1.6). Overall, 93% of patients matched TLICS conservative treatment recommendations (score ≤ 3). No patients crossed over to the surgical group in delayed fashion. In the surgical group, 26/45 (58%) were ASIA E, whereas 19/45 (42%) had neurological deficits (ASIA A, B, C, or D). One of 45 (2%) patients was classified with Denis type compression injuries; 25/45 (56%) were classified with Denis type burst injuries; 14/45 (31%) were classified with Denis type seat belt injuries; and 5/45 (11%) were classified with Denis type fracture-dislocation injuries. The TLICS ranged from 2 to 10 (mean 6.4). Eighty-two percent of patients matched TLICS surgical treatment recommendations (score ≥ 5). No patients crossed over to the conservative management group. Eight patients (8/147, 5%) had a calculated TLICS of 4, which meant they were candidates for surgery or conservative therapy by TLICS criteria. Excluding these patients, the degree of agreement between TLICS and surgeon decision was deemed to be very good (κ = 0.878). CONCLUSIONS The TLICS results and recommendations matched treatment in 96% of conservative group cases. In the surgical group, TLICS recommendations matched treatment in 93% of cases. The TLICS recommendations and surgeon decision making displayed very good concordance. The TLICS appears to be effective in the classification of thoracic and lumbar spine injuries and in guiding treatment in the pediatric age group.
Solar Sails and Lunar South Pole Coverage

Potential orbits for continuous surveillance of the lunar south pole with just one spacecraft and a solar sail are investigated. Periodic orbits are first computed in the EarthMoon Restricted Three-Body Problem, using Hermite-Simpson and seventh-degree GaussLobatto collocation schemes. The schemes are easily adapted to include path constraints favorable for lunar south pole coverage. The methods are robust, generating a control history and a nearby solution with little information required for an initial guess. Five solutions of interest are identified and, using collocation, transitioned to the full ephemeris model (including the actual Sun-to-spacecraft line and lunar librations). Of the options investigated, orbits near the Earth-Moon L2 point yield the best coverage results. Propellant-free transfers from a geosynchronous transfer orbit to the coverage orbits are also computed. A steering law is discussed and refined by the collocation methods. The study indicates that solar sails remain a feasible option for constant lunar south pole coverage.
The Cultural and Agglutinative Relationships of Intestinal Streptococci

Although there is a voluminous literature on the serologic relationships of streptococci concerned in infections of the respiratory tract, skin and various other organs and tissues of the body, very few such studies have appeared dealing with the intestinal types which are generally grouped under the term "Streptococcus ovalis" or "enterococcus." This is probably due to the widely held view that the latter have little or no pathologic significance. A number of papers have appeared recently, however, which claim an etiologic relationship of certain probable representatives of this group to ulcerative processes in the gastro-intestinal tract. In 1924, Bargen 1 described a diplostreptococcus 2 which he believed played a specific role in chronic ulcerative colitis, and he has supported his theory by numerous subsequent publications. Later Saunders 3 reported the constant occurrence of a grampositive and pleomorphic lanceolate coccus in the tissues of resected gastric, duodenal and gastrojejunal ulcers and in certain types of throat ulcers. Strains of this organism, as isolated from a large series of patients, exhibited similar cultural and almost identical serologic characteristics and seem from a frequent positive reaction in esculin bile medium and resistance to a temperature of 63 C. to be related to the enterococcus group. Studies have recently appeared which indicate frequent invasion of the blood stream by enterococci in certain clinical conditions. Thus Traut 4 reported that 71 per cent of 38 patients with chronic arthritis yielded positive blood cultures with the characteristics of enterococci, and Callow,5 in a paper appearing almost simultaneously, claimed that
Rethinking rescue medicine.

The prospect of rescuing a person in immediate peril seems at first glance to be an unqualified good. Take, for example, the events of April 15, 2013, at the 117th Boston Marathon. Two consecutive ...
Understanding reimbursement for pharmacy residents

n most hospitals in the United States, Medicare patients make up a substantial portion of the total number of patients treated. As a result, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), which manages the Medicare program, reimburses for its share of certain expenses associated with the training and education of health care professionals. Medicare reimbursement must therefore be considered during cost– benefit analysis of any new or existing training and education programs. The complicated rules and regulations of Medicare reimbursement are particularly important to the justification and continual cost– benefit analysis of pharmacy residency programs. Background. A general understanding of Medicare reimbursement of residency programs for health care professions might be useful during discussions with administrative and financial executives. Currently, the costs of pharmacy residency programs are reimbursable under different rules than those that apply to medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, and podiatry residency programs. In the past, however, reimbursement for pharmacy residency programs and for other approved programs (such as some nursing and radiology technician training programs) was more closely tied to the same rules that applied to medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, and podiatry. Making the distinction between the two sets of rules might be useful for educating executives and financial managers. Graduate medical education pass-through costs. Direct costs of medical education (e.g., allocated overhead costs, salaries of interns and residents) are excluded from the Medicare definition of inpatient operating costs covered by the prospective pricing system (PPS). This means that the direct costs of approved medical education activities are not included in hospital-specific, regional, or national payment rates to hospitals under the PPS but continue to be reimbursed on the basis of reasonable costs.1 These expenses are frequently referred to as graduate medical education (GME) costs and are sometimes called GME pass-through costs because they are not reimbursed on the basis of the PPS but, rather, pass through the PPS, thus avoiding the reimbursement limitations imposed by the PPS. To qualify for exclusion from the PPS, interns’ and residents’ services must satisfy the provisions of Section I Appendix D
Primary B cell lymphoma of the external auditory canal.

Temporal bone lymphomas are rare and typically metastatic neoplasms. We describe a case of primary B cell lymphoma that originated in the external auditory canal of an elderly woman. The diagnosis ...
Follicular size and number in human in vitro fertilization

In an attempt to maximize the success of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer (ET) as a treatment for human infertility, we have examined the relationship of follicular size and number to the rates of oocyte recovery, fertilization, cleavage, and ET in clomiphene citrate-stimulated cycles. The recovery of oocytes from follicles
The Expanding Universe of Perioperative Myocardial Infarction.

In this issue of the Journal , Parashar et al. [(1)][1] present a single-center 10-year retrospective analysis characterizing patients undergoing coronary angiography after perioperative myocardial infarction (MI). The authors present an analysis of angiograms from 1,093 patients with perioperative
Comparative studies of tidal rhythms. VI. Several clocks govern the activity of two species of fiddler crabs

The tide‐associated persistent activity rhythms of the ocypod crabs, Uca pugnax and U. pugilator were observed in constant conditions, some for as long as three months. In some animals the twice/day peaks of activity were found to scan the day at significantly different rates from one another. Individual peaks in some animals split into two fragments. And at times, one peak would fade and then return, or vanish completely. These examples of the independence between tide‐related activity peaks have become the basis for a hypothesis that each peak is controlled by its own clock(s). The basic period of these clocks is “circalunidian”, with periods varying up to about 4–8% on either side of 24.8 hours.
SWINGLE, L.J. The Obstinate Questionings of English Romanticism: Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State Univ. Press, 1987. 211 pp. $28.00

(1990). SWINGLE, L.J. The Obstinate Questionings of English Romanticism. ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews: Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 142-145.
Emotion regulation in the context of daily stress: Impact on daily affect

Abstract A daily diary study was used to examine how person-level emotion regulation (i.e., reappraisal and suppression) impacts daily affect following stressful daily life events. Research has highlighted the positive and negative impacts of reappraisal and suppression on daily affect, respectively, but has yet to investigate emotion regulation in light of daily stress. After completing a measure of emotion regulation, participants completed measures of daily stress and daily affect at the end of each day for one week. As hypothesized, multilevel modeling results indicated that as daily stress increased, individuals were more likely to report lower positive and higher negative affect. Consistent with prior research, reappraisal was associated with better affect. Suppression was associated with lower positive affect. The main finding of this study was a significant cross-level interaction of daily stress and suppression on daily positive affect where individuals high in suppression experienced lower positive affect on days of high stress than days of low stress. This suggests that suppression may not be detrimental in low stress situations when emotion regulation is less important, but negatively impacts positive affect during high stress. These results point to the importance of considering emotion regulation in the context of stressful life events.
Media Reporting on Suicide: Evaluating the Effects of Including Preventative Resources and Psychoeducational Information on Suicide Risk, Attitudes, Knowledge, and Help‐Seeking Behaviors

We evaluated the effects of exposure to a suicide news article on a variety of outcome variables and whether adhering to one specific media guideline (i.e., including psychoeducational information and preventative resources) buffered any of the negative effects of exposure. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of three articles and then asked to complete a battery of self-report questionnaires. Overall, we found no effect of exposure to a suicide news article, regardless of the inclusion of resources and information, with a few minor exceptions. Although researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of media guidelines in the aggregate at reducing imitative suicidal behavior, it remains unclear which guidelines in particular are responsible for this effect.
The Aircraft Dropwindsonde System in the Global Weather Experiment

A major component of the Tropical Observing System deployed during the Global Weather Experiment was the Aircraft Dropwindsonde System. The emphasis in this article is upon the processing of the data gathered by this system and upon factors that influence the quality of the data. The wind-finding algorithm is presented together with a description of the interactive raw data editing procedures. Some examples of drops illustrating various points are included.
Cell Function and Response to Injury

Cells constitute the basic structural building blocks of all living matter. This chapter attempts to describe how biological structure is adapted to perform physiologic function. This concept extends from cells (and their subcellular constituents) to the organization of tissues, and of organs. Beginning with the smallest subunits of cellular organization, we will build to progressively more complex systems.
Test and Burn-in Sockets

This chapter addresses the use of area-array socket technology during test and burn-in at the module level. Single chip and multichip modules (SCM, MCM) and their corresponding socket form factors are described ranging from small chip scale packages (CSP) having micro ball grid arrays (MBGA) to very large land grid arrays (LGA) having in excess of 5000 I/Os [1]. Module sizes correspondingly range from tens of millimeters to over one hundred millimeters. Module frequencies of operation range from typical values of approximately 60 MHz for low-end digital applications to multi-gigahertz rf applications. Operating frequency is a primary socket design factor since it has a significant influence on the module contacting method.
Oxygen-dependent Cytotoxic Activity of Phagocytes

Phagocytic leukocytes (neutrophils, eosinophils, mononuclear phagocytes) respond to phagocytosis (or more accurately perturbation of the plasma membrane) with a burst of oxygen consumption and much, if not all, of the extra oxygen consumed is converted to the superoxide anion (O2), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hydroxyl radicals (OH) and possibly singlet molecular oxygen 1O2). The role of these highly reactive products of oxygen reduction and excitation in the toxic activity of phagocytes will be considered here.
Homozygous Deletions at Chromosome 9p21 Involving p16 and p15 Are Associated With Histologic Progression in Follicle Center Lymphoma

Low-grade follicle center lymphoma (LGFCL) is characterized genetically by the t(14;18) translocation and an indolent clinical course. Histologic progression from LGFCL to an aggressive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLCL) occurs in 60% to 80% of cases, and this transformation is associated with the accumulation of secondary genetic alterations. Using 10 polymorphic microsatellite markers spanning the chromosome 9p21 region harboring the p15 (p15INK4B/MTS-2/CDKN2B) and p16 (p16INK4A/MTS-1/CDKN2) tumor-suppressor gene loci, we analyzed 11 matched pairs of LGFCL and their corresponding progressed DLCL biopsies for loss of heterozygosity and homozygous deletions at 9p21. A comparative multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay was also used for the detection of homozygous deletions. Deletions were identified in 8 of the 11 cases studied (73%): 6 homozygous (54%) and 2 hemizygous (18%). The deletions were identified exclusively in the progressed DLCL biopsies. Immunohistochemical studies showed an excellent correlation with the results from the genetic analyses. Of the 9 matched pairs of LGFCL and progressed DLCL with interpretable immunohistochemical staining, 9 of 9 (100%) of the LGFCL showed diffuse reactivity for p16. Four of the 9 (44%) immunohistochemically evaluable cases of progressed DLCL showed loss of or, in 1 case, markedly diminished p16 expression. All 4 of these cases correspondingly showed homozygous deletions at 9p21. Five of the 9 progressed DLCL cases showed p16 expression and demonstrated retention of one or both 9p21 alleles by genetic analysis. This is the first longitudinal series examining sequential biopsy specimens of low-grade and progressed FCL for genetic loss at 9p21 encompassing the p16 and p15 loci. The high frequency and exclusive occurrence of deletions involving p16 in the progressed DLCLs suggests that genetic loss at 9p21 targeting p16 and/or p15 is an important secondary genetic event in the histologic progression of FCL.
Relationship of Fitness and Wheelchair Mobility With Encounters, Avoidances, and Perception of Environmental Barriers Among Manual Wheelchair Users With Spinal Cord Injury.

Abstract Objective To assess (1) if fitness and mobility are related to behavior and perception of physical barriers and (2) if behavior and physical barrier perception are related. Design Cross-sectional case series. Setting Academic Medical Laboratory. Participants Manual wheelchair users (N=50) with chronic spinal cord injury (62% paraplegia). Intervention None. Main Outcome Measures Participants completed the following assessments: (1) fitness: graded exercise test (aerobic) and Wingate (anaerobic); (2) mobility: 6-minute push test and 30-second sprint test; (3) physical barrier behavior: Encounters of Environmental Features in the Environmental Aspects of Mobility Questionnaire (EAMQ); (4) physical barrier perception: Craig Hospital Inventory of Environmental Factor (CHIEF) Environmental Barriers domain. Results Individuals with paraplegia had higher fitness, mobility, and environmental barrier encounter rates and lower avoidance per encounter rates vs tetraplegia (all P≤.05). For individuals with tetraplegia only, as mobility and fitness increased, frequencies of (1) encounters increased; (2) avoidances per encounter decreased, in multiple EAMQ domains (all P≤.05). Perception of barriers did not differ between lesion levels (P=.79). Mobility and fitness were not related to environmental barriers perception in both groups (all P>.17). Conclusions Fitness and mobility are associated with barrier behaviors (ie, encounters and avoidances) among individuals with tetraplegia, but not paraplegia. Despite a greater barrier avoidance rate, persons with tetraplegia do not perceive more physical barriers than persons with paraplegia. Surprisingly, fitness and mobility were not related to perception of barriers in either group. More research is required on if barrier perception, behavior, or both influence participation, to enable rehabilitation programs to tailor interventions to enhance participation.
North Pacific Phytoplankton Stocks in Gyre, Transition, and Subarctic Waters are Similar when Picoplankton are Included

Large gradients have been reported in nutrients, biomass, and rates of production between subtropical and subarctic oceanic regions. We measured chlorophyll concentrations as a function of depth from 20°N to 48°N along 152°W during March, 1991. Surface chlorophyll concentrations (for GF/F filters, nominal pore size 0.7 μm) ranged from 0.021 to 0.404 μg/L, with the lowest values in subtropical waters and the highest values in subarctic waters. Deep subsurface chlorophyll maxima were located at approximately 100 meters in subtropical and transition waters, but were absent in subarctic water. Relative picoplankton abundance at the chlorophyll maximum was highest in subtropical water (85% of total) and lowest in subarctic water (35–50% of total).
This Dance Which Is Not One: Carole McCurdy's ((waver))

Carole McCurdy’s ((waver)) illuminates the cross-cultural histories of the butoh and tango dance forms that inspire it and approximates the sometimes harmonious, sometimes contradistinctive structu...
MEDIA REVIEW: Clinical Atlas of Polysomnography

Clinical Atlas of Polysomnography by Ravi Gupta, S.R. Pandi-Perumal, and Ahmed BaHammam and published by Apple Academic Press in 2018 is an illustrative book geared toward sleep technologists but c...
Buying Time: Capitalist Temporalities in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

In November 2017, Nintendo released Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (Nintendo 2017) for iOS and Android devices. At first blush, the game is much like previous instalments in the series. The player character finds themselves as a new denizen of a rural space populated by sentient animals that all have wants and offer rewards for those that satisfy those wants. However, the conversion of Animal Crossing from console game to mobile game was not without its major changes. A free-to-play game par excellence, Pocket Camp introduces Leaf Tokens, a separate currency from bells which can be bought with real money. Leaf Tokens can be used to buy certain in-game objects but, for the most part, are used to eliminate instances of waiting in the game, which stands in direct opposition to the series’ apparent valorization of slower, simpler living. Through a discussion of this translation of Animal Crossing’s mechanics and values into the mobile game genre, Pocket Camp is shown to gamify the capitalist monetization of time. In the face of this reality, the paper concludes examining the role of the player as a critical actor within this system and suggests that, far from being a passive victim of the game’s capitalist logics, one might engage with the game in subversive ways that articulate a virtual refusal of virtual labour and an instance of what the author has taken to calling radical slowness.
Designing Policy in Weak States: Unintended Consequences of Alcohol Prohibition in Bihar

We study the impact of an alcohol-prohibition policy on crime in the Indian state of Bihar, where nearly 1.5 percent of the world's population lives. Using a difference-in-difference empirical strategy, we show that banning the sale and consumption of alcohol led to an increase in crime, even after adjusting for prohibition-related cases. The rise in violent and property crime is highest in districts with greater black-market prices of country liquor. Since state capacity and supply of police is fixed, diverting law enforcement resources towards implementing the alcohol ban effectively reduces institutional bandwidth to prevent crimes. The findings can be reconciled with a model where crime is deterred by both police enforcement and collective action. In places where public support for the policy was strongest, we find that the rise in crime was the smallest. Our results caution against `big-bang reforms' in states with weak institutions.
Chalcogen Incorporation Process during High-Vacuum Conversion of Bulk Mo Oxides to Mo Dichalcogenides

The optical, electronic, catalytic, and mechanical properties of transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) bulk crystals and monolayers have been examined extensively. TMD materials can be prepared thr...
Critical Theory and the Liberating Potential of the Fetish

Through the theological resonances in Walter Benjamin’s work, we see an ambiguity that underlies conceptualizations of fetishism, wherein the theological cannot be separated from the mythological. Pursuing his elaborations upon violence, his re-reading of historiographical operations and outlining the dialectical image in relation to the fetish-object, we see how Benjamin endows the “commodification” (or reification) of the self with a surprisingly emancipatory potential. Taking up this possibility for the sacramental within the realm of the aesthetic, I also look toward Theodor Adorno for whom the artificiality of the fetish is of apiece with its positive potential and the possibility for an “inverse theology” to deploy moments of grace within the material conditions of lived reality.
True colors: Grayscale setting reduces screen time in college students

Excessive smartphone use has been related to numerous negative outcomes including anxiety, depression, sleep deficits, and lower life satisfaction. Though empirical works have made these associatio...
Improved cellulose X-ray diffraction analysis using Fourier series modeling

This paper addresses two fundamental issues in the peak deconvolution method of cellulose XRD data analysis: there is no standard model for amorphous cellulose and common peak functions such as Gauss, Lorentz and Voigt functions do not fit the amorphous profile well. It first examines the effects of ball milling on three types of cellulose and results show that ball milling transforms all samples into a highly amorphous phase exhibiting nearly identical powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) profiles. It is hypothesized that short range order within a glucose unit and between adjacent units survives ball milling and generates the characteristic amorphous XRD profiles. This agrees well with cellulose I d-spacing measurements and oligosaccharide XRD analysis. The amorphous XRD profile is modeled using a Fourier series equation where the coefficients are determined using the nonlinear least squares method. A new peak deconvolution method then is proposed to analyze cellulose XRD data with the amorphous Fourier model function in conjunction with standard Voigt functions representing the crystalline peaks. The impact of background subtraction method has also been assessed. Analysis of several cellulose samples was then performed and compared to the conventional peak deconvolution methods with common peak fitting functions and background subtraction approach. Results suggest that prior peak deconvolution methods overestimate cellulose crystallinity.
Time to Positive Blood and Cerebrospinal Fluid Cultures in Febrile Infants ≤60 Days of Age.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the time to positivity for bacterial pathogens and contaminants in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cultures in a cohort of febrile infants ≤60 days of age. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of prospective observational multicenter study of noncritically ill infants ≤60 days of age with temperatures ≥38°C and blood cultures (December 2008 to May 2013). The main outcome was time to positivity for bacterial pathogens and contaminants. RESULTS: A total of 256 of 303 (84.49%) patients with positive blood cultures, and 73 of 88 (82.95%) with positive CSF cultures met inclusion criteria. Median time (interquartile range [IQR]) to positivity for blood cultures was 16.6 hours (IQR 12.6–21.9) for bacterial pathogens (n = 74) and 25.1 hours (IQR 19.8–33.0) for contaminants (n = 182); P CONCLUSIONS: Among febrile infants ≤60 days of age, time to blood and CSF positivity was significantly shorter for bacterial pathogens than contaminants. Most blood and CSF cultures for bacterial pathogens were positive within 24 hours. With our findings, there is potential to reduce duration of hospitalization and avoid unnecessary antibiotics.
On emergent quantities, mental perceptions and constructs, and agencies: A holistic view of existence

There is general agreement that physical entities exist, but there is widespread disagreement on whether nonphysical entities such as emergent quantities, mental constructs, and agencies qualify as existence and the nature of those quantities. At the core of this disagreement lie subjective worldviews and ideological convictions rather than objective reasoning based on observations. Further, there is a growing tendency to view all nonphysical quantities as properties of organization and label them emergent qualities which appear out of nothing and disappear into nothingness. In this paper we present plausible arguments that emergent qualities are not limited to large assemblies of matter and that they are encountered even at subatomic level. We also make a distinction among different kinds of nonphysical entities such as mental constructs invented by the mind and entities discovered by inference, such as the laws of nature. Finally, we present a novel view of the notion of agency, such as the agency of physics which is comprised of the laws and forces of physics, characterized by causal power with the capacity to subjugate and manipulate physical entities made of matter–energy. Once the emergent quantities, mental constructs, and agencies are properly characterized and their concealed interconnections revealed, we can develop a better understanding of reality and envisage how physical and nonphysical entities interplay and how they can be manipulated.
The Shadows and Shallows of Explanation

We introduce two notions–the shadows and the shallows of explanation–in opening up explanation to broader, interdisciplinary investigation. The “shadows of explanation” refer to past philosophical efforts to provide either a conceptual analysis of explanation or in some other way to pinpoint the essence of explanation. The “shallows of explanation” refer to the phenomenon of having surprisingly limited everyday, individual cognitive abilities when it comes to explanation. Explanations are ubiquitous, but they typically are not accompanied by the depth that we might, prima facie, expect. We explain the existence of the shadows and shallows of explanation in terms of there being a theoretical abyss between explanation and richer, theoretical structures that are often attributed to people. We offer an account of the shallows, in particular, both in terms of shorn-down, internal, mental machinery, and in terms of an enriched, public symbolic environment, relative to the currently dominant ways of thinking about cognition and the world.
Dry eye syndrome in aromatase inhibitor users

Background Aromatase inhibitors are frequently used as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of breast cancer. We observed that several patients taking aromatase inhibitors presented with severe dry eye symptoms, and we investigated whether there is a relationship between aromatase inhibitors and dry eyes in these patients. Design Retrospective chart review. Participants Forty-one women. Methods A computerized search of health records was performed to identify patients using anastrazole, letrozole and exemestane seen by the Cornea Service from August 2008 to March 2011. The results were compared with age-matched controls. Main Outcome Measures Ocular surface changes among aromatase inhibitors users. Results Of the 41 women, 39 were Caucasians. Thirty-nine patients had breast cancer (95%), one patient had ovarian cancer (2.5%) and one had an unknown primary cancer. Mean age was 68 ± 11.3 years (range 47–95). Most common presenting symptoms were blurred vision in 28 (68%) patients, irritation/foreign body sensation in 12 (29%) patients, redness in 9 (22%) patients, tearing in 6 (22%) patients and photosensitivity in 2 (5%) patients. Mean Schirmer's test measurement was 11 ± 5.8 mm (range 0.5–20 mm). Blepharitis was noted in 68 of 82 eyes (73%), decreased or poor tear function in 24 eyes (29%), conjunctival injection in 18 eyes (22%) and superficial punctate keratitis in 12 eyes (29%). Among an age-matched population (45–95 years), dry eye syndrome was found in only 9.5% of patients. Conclusions Because the prevalence of ocular surface disease signs and symptoms appears to be higher in study group than control patients, aromatase inhibitors might be a contributing factor to the dry eye symptoms.
Manganese nodule price trends

Abstract Prospects for the commercialization of deep seabed mining hinge upon projections of future revenues and estimates of costs associated with new technologies. Future revenues will depend upon the behaviour of prices for metals that might be recovered from nodules. In this article, we construct a hypothetical grade and recoverability weighted manganese nodule price from the turn of the century forward and examine its behaviour over time. We consider long-term trends and the potential for cycles in the prices of nodule metals. We employ four techniques to make future predictions about the commercial prospects for deep seabed mining. The most optimistic expected date of commercialization resulting from these predictions is well into the 21st century. Given fixed assumptions about technologies, there are many other reasons for being even more pessimistic about the commercial prospects for deep seabed mining.
Molecular pathogenesis of AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma: growth and apoptosis.

Publisher Summary Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a multicentral, multiorgan tumor, with individual lesions characterized by proliferating spindle-shaped cells, ongoing angiogenesis, infiltration of inflammatory mononuclear cells, extravasated erythrocytes, and edema. KS is common in patients seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This chapter outlines recent advances in the molecular pathogenesis of KS. The symptoms of KS include lesions that are widespread in skin and oral mucosa and involve lymph nodes and internal organs. The lesions vary from patches to plaques to nodules that occur at any site of the body. Examinations of cell surface antigens showed that most KS cells express endothelial cell markers but some cells express characteristic antigens of smooth muscle cells, macrophages, or dermal dendritic cells. Flow cytometry analysis of cellular DNA content showed that most KS lesions are normal diploid. KS has a variable clinical course, ranging from limited, asymptomatic cutaneous disease to a widespread, explosively progressive disease with visceral involvement and edema. Some clinical observations revealed that glucocorticoid use is a possible risk factor in KS. The chapter describes the molecular mechanisms of Kaposi's sarcoma cell growth. Immunosuppression induced by HIV may relate to the risk of KS. Apoptosis in Kaposi's sarcoma cells is prevented due to resistance of KS cells to anticancer drugs, expression of antiapoptotic molecules in KS cells, death receptor-mediated apoptosis, and human Herpesvirus-8-encoded antiapoptotic molecules. Existing chemotherapeutic treatments and radiation therapy for KS are only partially effective and often cause significant adverse effects; therefore, cure or long-term remission cannot be achieved with currently available treatments.
Flower-predominant expression of a gene encoding a novel class I chitinase in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

A flower-predominant cDNA for a gene, termed OsChia1;175, was isolated from a cDNA library of rice pistils. Northern blot and RT-PCR analyses revealed that the OsChia1;175 gene is highly expressed in floral organs (pistils, stamens and lodicules at the heading stage) but not or at an extremely low level in vegetative organs. OsChia1;175 encodes a protein that consists of 340 amino acid residues, and the putative mature protein shows 52% to 63% amino acid identity to class I chitinases of rice or other plants. The phylogenetic tree shows that the OsChia1;175 protein is a new type of plant class I chitinase in rice. The expression of OsChia1;175 in vegetative organs is not induced by several chemicals, UV, and wounding. The soluble putative mature OsChia1;175 protein expressed in Escherichia coli exhibited chitinase activity in the assay with colloidal chitin as a substrate. Genomic Southern analysis revealed that the OsChia1;175 gene was organized as a low-copy gene family. The rice genomic library was screened and a genome clone corresponding to OsChia1;175 was isolated. The transcription start sites of the OsChia1;175 gene were mapped by primer extension analysis. The 1.2 kb putative promoter region of the OsChia1;175 gene was fused to the GUS (β-glucuronidase) gene, and this chimeric gene was introduced to rice by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The flower-predominant gene expression was identified also in the transgenic rice plants. The high promoter activity was detected in the stigmas, styles, stamens and lodicules in transgenic plants. The possible functions of OsChia1;175 are discussed.
Pulsed D 2 - F 2 Chain-Laser Damage To Coated Window and Mirror Components

Large-spot laser damage thresholds were measured for bowl-feed-polished CaF/sub 2/ and sapphire windows (bare and antireflection-coated) and for highly polished copper mirrors (bare and carbyne-coated) at DF chain-laser wavelengths (3.58-4.78 ..mu..m). Commercially available antireflection-coated CaF/sub 2/ and Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ samples were found to have damage thresholds from 17 to 28 J/cm/sup 2/. Significantly larger damage thresholds were observed for uncoated, polished samples of Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/, but damage resistance of uncoated polished CaF/sub 2/ was found to equal that of the best antireflection-coated CaF/sub 2/ samples. A highly polished copper mirror had the highest damage threshold of all the materials tested, i.e., 58 J/cm/sup 2/. Carbyne films of diamond-like hardness, a type of carbon coating, were applied to polished copper mirrors and bowl-feed-polished CaF/sub 2/ surfaces. The carbyne coatings prepared in this work contained numerous carbon-bearing particles that were easily damaged (approx.10 J/cm/sup 2/). However, regions of the irradiated carbyne film that were free of carbon particles withstood high laser fluences (25 J/cm/sup 2/).
How the pharmacokinetics and receptor-binding profile of lurasidone affect the clinical utility and safety of the drug in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Introduction: This paper reviews the pharmacokinetic and safety profile of lurasidone from the perspective of clinical pharmacology and helps the clinician compare this drug with others from the same therapeutic class to aid in drug selection and use in specific situations.Areas covered: We reviewed the literature using the keywords ‘lurasidone,’ ‘schizophrenia’ and ‘clinical trials.’ In our review, particular attention was paid to those articles that reviewed the pharmacokinetic characteristics of the drug and its efficacy and safety/tolerability based on data from registration trials.Expert opinion: Lurasidone may be more effective and/or better tolerated than other antipsychotics by some patients although there is currently no way to identify which patients will best respond to which antipsychotic medication. Data from clinical trials of lurasidone in schizophrenia suggest a lower likelihood of weight gain and metabolic problems in patients being treated with lurasidone versus olanzapine and quetiapine.
Stratospheric transport in a three-dimensional isentropic coordinate model

[1] A new version of the Model of Atmospheric Transport and Chemistry (MATCH) is developed, which uses a coordinate that is terrain-following near the surface and becomes isentropic in the upper troposphere. Starting from a simulation of age of air and water vapor in a standard version of National Center for Atmospheric Research's Middle Atmospheric Community Climate Model (MACCM), we use the meteorological fields to drive two versions of the off-line MATCH model: the standard hybrid-pressure coordinate (MATCH) and the new hybrid-isentropic coordinate (IMATCH). An analysis of the age of air estimates from MACCM, MATCH, and IMATCH and observations shows that the hybrid-isentropic model, IMATCH, is better able to capture the observed ages than either the original online MACCM or the hybrid-pressure MATCH model. Comparisons of water vapor distributions in the tropical lower stratosphere in the three different model versions and observations suggest that IMATCH produces a better propagation of the seasonal cycle than the other models. Analysis of the model results and vertical velocities suggests that the improvements in the age of air and the water vapor simulations are largely due to the reduced numerical vertical diffusion in IMATCH in the lower tropical stratosphere region. In this region, diabatic vertical motions are much smaller than reversible adiabatic motions, making simulations less susceptible to numerical errors if the transport is calculated on isentropic surfaces. Because the lower tropical stratosphere acts as the source region for transport into the stratosphere, correct simulation of the transport in the lower tropical stratosphere is crucial for improving model simulations of the stratosphere.
Electronic structural information from Q-band ENDOR on the type 1 and type 2 copper liganding environment in wild-type and mutant forms of copper-containing nitrite reductase.

Q-band ENDOR elucidated proton and nitrogen hyperfine features to provide spin density information at ligands of blue-green Type 1 and catalytic Type 2 copper centers in nitrite reductase. The blue-green Type 1 center of nitrite reductase has a redox, electron-transfer role, and compared to the blue center of plastocyanin, it has the following structural differences: a shortened Cu−Smet bond length, a longer Cu−Scys bond length, and altered ligand−copper−ligand bond angles (Adman, E. T., Godden, J. W., and Turley, S. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 27458−27474). The hyperfine couplings of the two Type 1 histidine (Nδ) ligands showed a larger percentage difference from each other in electron spin density than previously reported for other blue Type 1 proteins, while the cysteine β-proton hyperfine couplings, a measure of unpaired pπ spin density on the liganding cysteine sulfur, showed a smaller electron spin density. A mutation of the Type 1 center, M182T, having the copper-liganding Met182 transformed to Thr...