cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
193 PLACENTAL GROWTH FACTOR PROTECTS ERYTHROID CELLS FROM CYTOKINE-MEDIATED APOPTOSIS.

Inflammatory cytokines suppress erythropoiesis as part of the pathogenesis of anemia of chronic disease. Although sickle cell anemia is the result of an abnormality in the beta globin chain of hemoglobin, its clinical manifestations cannot be explained solely on that basis. Inflammatory mechanisms contribute to the clinical syndromes associated with sickle cell disease. Placental growth factor (PlGF) is a member of the vascular endothelial growth factor family and is associated with inflammation and with pathologic angiogenesis. Perelman and colleagues have reported that PlGF is released from marrow erythroid cells and that its circulating concentration is 50% higher in patients with severe sickle cell disease than it is in healthy controls (Blood 2003;102:1506-13 and 1514-24). In studies we reported previously, we measured PlGF and other cytokines in the marrow of stable homozygous sickle cell (SS) patients and controls. Plasma PlGF did not differ between homozygous sickle cell SS patients and controls, but bone marrow PlGF concentrations were significantly higher in SS patients. This was not a phenomenon general to cytokines and did not reflect increased erythroid activity but rather represented an increase per erythropoietic unit (J Invest Med 2005;53:S305-6). In subsequent studies, we observed that CFU-E from SS patients were less sensitive to inhibition by recombinant human gamma interferon (rhIFN) than those from healthy controls, with this effect being most pronounced at lower IFN concentrations. The potential contribution of PlGF to this process was then evaluated. At PlGF concentrations 10-1,000 pg/mL, no inhibition or enhancement of CFU-E colony formation was observed, and there were no differences between the responses of progenitors from SS patients or from normal volunteers to PlGF. However, PlGF 100 pg/mL reversed the inhibitory effects of rhIFN on CFU-E colony formation (p = .04). This effect was most apparent at lower rhgIFN concentrations and was investigated using the HCD57 cell line. PlGF decreased apoptosis induced by rh IFN. This effect was associated with a significant attenuation by PlGF of rhIFN induction of Fas ligand. HCD57 cells were shown to express Flt-1, a receptor for PlGF. In conclusion, increased PlGF concentrations in the marrow of stable SS patients may contribute to protecting erythroid progenitors from cytokine-induced apoptosis and may be a mechanism by which erythropoiesis in sickle cell disease is preserved despite concurrent inflammation.
Nigeria: Rangers, Igbo Identity, and the Imagination of War

Several scholars and essayists have written on the Nigerian civil war that took place between 1967 and 1970. The war involved mostly Igbo-speaking people in the East of Nigeria who sought to break away from the country and form an independent nation of Biafra. Most of the war literature focused on antecedents to the war, and on the war itself including military coups, political crises, military victories, refugee problems, and similar stories. The war officially ended after an estimated 30,000 Igbos were killed in a prewar pogrom, a further 100,000 military casualties died in the military war, and 500,000 to two million civilians died from starvation. While there is an abundance of literature on these war facts, there is far less literature on postwar issues such as latent war situations that may have continued to exist years after the war was declared over. As one can imagine, the stress of a civil war that began with an extensive pogrom cannot end overnight based on an arbitrarily declared date for the end of the conflict. Instead, there is always a trace, albeit psychological, that follows an official end to such conflicts. Traces after crises are marked in postwar relationships, sport, social behavior, and other everyday life events. The Nigerian civil war was not free of such traces in spite of the fact that there is very little literature that has sought to record them.
CHAPTER 15 – APHIDS, VIRUSES, AND THE YELLOW PLAGUE

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses aphids, viruses, and the yellow plague. The general acceptance of the yellowing diseases as being induced by natural factors has plagued man since the dawn of agriculture. Diseases that occasionally break out with explosive force are less dangerous in many ways than the diseases are accepted as inevitable or normal. The general acceptance of the yellowing diseases as being induced by natural factors has plagued man since the dawn of agriculture. The yellowing diseases in areas such as the Salinas Valley of California have been ubiquitous for as long as can be remembered. The distinction between diseased and disease-free crops was not observed for many years and thus, the diseased crops were regarded as normal and there was no incentive to investigate the losses induced by these omnipresent diseases. The development of virus-resistant varieties offers additional possibilities in the control of the losses caused by virus yellows. The common occurrence of the yellows viruses on a large number of plant species, and the intricate biological relationships of the viruses with their hosts and vectors have both played a major role in the great variability of this virus group. The true relationships of a few members of the complex are now known. The determination of the relationships of other members of the complex with different host ranges and vector species is a challenge.
The attempt at unification

In order to understand the ideological development of Anglo-Dutch relations 1650–1652, it is necessary to begin with the mission of Walter Strickland and Oliver St. John to the United Provinces in the spring of 1651. Why did the Council of State see fit to send the extraordinary ambassadors? What were their aims? Despite Parliamentary professions of friendship, the Orangist-dominated States General had refused to recognize the English Republic. Although the provincial government of Holland had effectively prevented the Stadholder William II from aiding his brother-in-law Charles II, Parliament's ambassadors were refused audience by the States General, and one – Dr. Dorislaus – had been cruelly murdered in The Hague. The Rump was right to insist that “the fault hath not been in them” that closer relations had not been established. In the summer and autumn William II began conducting an aggressive and largely successful campaign to compel the resistant provinces, especially Holland, to support his policies. Dutch pro-Stuart neutrality in the English war against Scotland looked as if it would soon become active hostility. In the wake of William's attack on Amsterdam, the Mercurius Politicus warned that it would not be long before the Dutch “show their teeth at England.” Fortunately for the Rump, William II suddenly died from smallpox just as he was poised to intervene in British affairs. Immediately after William's death two Dutch pamphlets appeared in England – A Faithfull Advertisement to all Good Patriots of the United Provinces, in the present Conjunctures Since the Death of the Prince of Orange and The Troubles of Amsterdam – explaining the recent developments in the Netherlands.
High-Impact Teaching in Economics: A Flexible Paradigm Utilizing Introductory Econometrics for Promoting Undergraduate Research and Publishing:

This article provides a framework that can be used to increase undergraduate publishing in economics. A two-track research delivery system is outlined in detail: faculty–student co-authorship of papers targeting peer-reviewed journals, and student-authored, faculty-mentored/directed, papers intended for presentation at academic conferences offering the opportunity of publishing revised, presented papers in conference proceedings. This two-track research delivery system is inspired by three perspectives. First, the fact that completing a research project successfully, for students strongly interested in or at least potentially interested in a graduate degree in economics, significantly improves their graduate school prospects (admissions plus financial support). Second, for undergraduates who are not interested in graduate study in economics, completing a research project successfully can significantly improve employment prospects following graduation. Third, the self-confidence and satisfaction associated...
A 66pW discontinuous switch-capacitor energy harvester for self-sustaining sensor applications

We present a discontinuous harvesting approach for switch capacitor DC-DC converters that enables ultra-low power energy harvesting. By slowly accumulating charge on an input capacitor and then transferring it to a battery in burst-mode, switching and leakage losses in the DC-DC converter can be optimally traded-off with the loss due to non-ideal MPPT operation. The harvester uses a 15pW mode controller, an automatic conversion ratio modulator, and a moving sum charge pump for low startup energy upon a mode switch. In 180nm CMOS, the harvester achieves >40% end-to-end efficiency from 113pW to 1.5µW with 66pW minimum input power, marking a >10× improvement over prior ultra-low power harvesters.
A study of CdZnTe coplanar and pixel detectors for neutrinoless double beta decay

We studied the performance of coplanar and pixel CdZnTe detectors that could potentially observe neutrino-less double beta decays. Some radioactive isotopes contained in the CdZnTe crystal are expected to decay by neutrino-less double beta decay if the neutrinos behaved like Majorana particles as opposed to Dirac particles by violating the conservation of lepton number. This rare mode of decay has never been observed with adequate statistics before and there is strong incentive to further improve the energy resolution of the detector to accurately record MeV range energy deposition by two beta electrons. We are currently studying the coplanar grid structure to achieve better energy resolution but concurrently we are also exploring the tracking capability of pixilated CdZnTe detectors of which results are also briefly reported here.
Assessing experiential education factors contributing to a PGY1 residency match: Pharmacy residency program director and comparative student survey.

Abstract Objective To compare and contrast experiential education perceptions of pharmacy residency program directors (RPDs) and doctor of pharmacy students in their last year of the curriculum for residency application considerations. Methods The New England Regional Departments of Experiential Education (NERDEE) consortium developed a 17-question survey to assess residency factors, including those related to experiential education. The survey was dispersed to advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) students from six colleges/schools of pharmacy and RPDs nationwide. Results Students have different values on experiential preferences compared to RPDs. Sample findings include internal medicine and specialty clinical elective experiences prior to American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear were extremely important to important for students, while RPDs viewed these experiences as somewhat important at best (p Conclusion Based on findings, information outlined can be used to dispel and/or validate common beliefs held by students regarding experiential factors that help or hinder a successful postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) residency match.
The Role of Formal Methods in the Philosophy of Science

In the period that ran from Frege to the Vienna Circle and Carnap, a strongly reductionist view of the philosophy of science held sway. The significant problems should be reducible to problems that could be formalized within logic. Those that could not be treated in this fashion should be dismissed as being too vague to be of interest. This description is something of a caricature but I shall not convert it into a genuine historical account. It is too familiar to all of us to be recounted here. My point is, rather, to emphasize that such a reductionist view of the place of formal methods in the philosophy of science is now faded. If anything, we face currently a new imperialism of historical methods, but I am doubtful that we will move to anything like a reductionist Hegelian position that all questions are ultimately historical in nature.
Essential thrombocythemia and epidural analgesia in the parturient. Does thromboelastography help

Background and Objectives It is often considered that essential thrombocythemia contraindicates placement of an epidural catheter because of the danger of epidural hematoma. Thromboelastography offers a possible means of determining the appropriateness of epidural analgesia in a patient with this disorder. Methods A pregnant woman with essential thrombocythemia and a history of spontaneous abortions was evaluated by thromboelastography at 38 weeks of gestation to determine the safety of using epidural analgesia for labor pain management. On the basis of the thermoelastography findings, the patient was given epidural analgesia with bupivacaine and fentanyl during her labor. Results The patient experienced good pain relief, delivered a healthy infant vaginally, and suffered no complications. Conclusions Thromboelastography may be a useful diagnostic test in determining the suitability of regional techniques for labor analgesia in parturients with essential thrombocythemia. However, success in one patient does not prove the general safety of this approach.
Computerized Adaptive Testing for Effective and Efficient Measurement in Counseling and Education

Computerized adaptive testing (CAT) is described and compared with conventional tests, and its advantages summarized Some item response theory concepts used in CAT are summarized and illustrated. T...
Automobile accidents in patients with sleep disorders

Sleep-related motor vehicle accidents are a serious safety hazard both for the driver who falls asleep and for others on the road. Sleep disorders may be significant contributing factor in some of these accidents. We reviewed data on sleep-related accidents from 70 control subjects and 424 adults with four categories of sleep disorders: sleep apnea, narcolepsy, other disorders of excessive sleepiness, and sleep disorders without excessive sleepiness. The proportion of individuals with sleep-related accidents was 1.5-4 times greater in the hypersomnolent patient groups than in the control group. In patients with hypersomnia, the incidence of sleep-related accidents per year of excessive sleepiness was 3-7%. Although the proportion of patients with sleep-related accidents was highest in narcoleptics, apneics were involved in more sleep-related accidents because of their greater number. Apneics and nacroleptics accounted for 71% of all sleep-related accidents. The proportion of severe apneics who had sleep-related accidents was almost twice that of patients with mild or moderate apnea. Mean sleep latency by Multiple Sleep Latency Test did not differ significantly in patients with accidents and those without. Patients with a wide variety of sleep disorders appear to be at increased risk for sleep-related accidents. The severity and duration of hypersomnia are probably not the only factors that contribute to that risk. These findings have implications for the management of patients with sleep disorders.
Pprocesses That Couple Amino Acid Availability to Neurotransmitter Synthesis and Release

Certain neurotransmitters are synthesized from precursor amino acids (e. g. catecholamines from tyrosine; serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine or 5HT] from tryptophan) which must be obtained from the circulation. The concentrations of tyrosine and tryptophan, as well as of the other large neutral amino acids (LNAA) in plasma, are subject to wide variations (1, 2), changing not only when people or animals receive various drugs (3, 4) or the amino acids themselves (5, 6), but also in disease states affecting amino acid metabolism (7, 8), and, of major physiological relevance, in association with eating (1, 2) or with strenuous exercise (9, 10, 11). As will be described below, these variations often cause parallel changes in the levels of these amino acids within the monoaminergic neurons, and thereby may influence both neurotransmitter synthesis and even central neurotransmission (12).
Unscharfe Break-Even-Analyse

Die Break-Even-Analyse ist ein bewahrtes Instrument der Entscheidungsunterstutzung, das Unternehmen hilft, „einen Uberblick uber Umsatze, Kosten, Gewinne und Verluste fur alternative Beschaftigungsgrade“1 zu erhalten. Neben der Planungsfunktion besitzt die Break-Even-Analyse auch eine Kontrollfunktion. Mit ihr sollen bei Abweichungen Ansatzpunkte fur notwendige betriebliche Anpassungsentscheidungen gefunden werden.2
“Loser” aesthetics: Korean internet freaks and gender politics

In the aftermath of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, a new Internet freak culture emerged in South Korea in response to the rapid development of the Internet as well as the country’s neoliberal ref...
A gas flow meter with linear sensitivity based on freely-suspended nanofilms of smectic liquid crystal

A technique of mechanical airflow sensing based on coupling to a film of fluid smectic liquid crystals is presented. A gas jet confined to a narrow channel induces flow in a continuous, freely suspended film with racetrack geometry, whose velocity field is then mapped using video microscopy and particle tracking techniques. Because the nanofilm has so little mass compared to the air, its velocity provides a direct readout of the velocity profile of the gas in the channel. This method of flow measurement offers several advantages over conventional mechanical flow meters: It has linear sensitivity, and so, it can operate at low flows, and the energy lost due to the measurement is negligible.
Helping the Suicidal Person: Tips and Techniques for Professionals

Helping the Suicidal Person provides a highly practical toolbox for mental health professionals. The book first covers the need for professionals to examine their own personal experiences and fears around suicide, moves into essential areas of risk assessment, safety planning, and treatment planning, and then provides a rich assortment of tips for reducing the person’s suicidal danger and rebuilding the wish to live. The techniques described in the book can be interspersed into any type of therapy, no matter what the professional’s theoretical orientation is and no matter whether it’s the client’s first, tenth, or one-hundredth session. Clinicians don’t need to read this book in any particular order, or even read all of it. Open the book to any page, and find a useful tip or technique that can be applied immediately.
Novel Flow Field for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Made from 72%-Porous Aluminum Foam

Abstract Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) has emerged as the most widely-used type among fuel cells, due to various advantages. Bipolar plates play a major role in the performance of PEMFC. Flow fields in the bipolar plates distribute fuel and oxidant over the reactive sites of the membrane electrode assembly. Bipolar plates are typically graphite with parallel or serpentine channels as flow fields. Graphite is heavy and has fabrication inaccuracy; it is also costly and brittle. In this paper, open-cell aluminium foam is experimentally investigated as a flow field for a new bipolar plate design made from solid aluminium. The performance of the conventional bipolar plate/flow field was directly compared to that of the aluminium-foam novel design at the same operational conditions. Results show that the cell current, voltage and power density were improved. As importantly, the conversion efficiency was higher for the aluminium-foam design, and the fuel consumption was reduced.
Vaccinating against Vasoori: Eradicating smallpox in the ‘model’ princely state of Travancore, 1804–1946:

The social and medical histories of vaccination are increasingly important in the twenty-first century, as anti-vaccination narratives threaten herd immunity across the world. Much of the historica...
Extractive Landscapes: The Case of the Jordan Refugee Compact

In a climate of immigration securitization, recent years have seen a global move away from humanitarian resettlement responses in sites of displacement. Instead, wealthy governments in the Global North often finance poorer third countries and rural regions of territories to abet border enforcement. The Jordan Compact, in particular, has been upheld as an economic development model that provides an “innovative alternative” to refugee camps, as well as to protracted refugee situations. Yet, as much research shows, the direct economic gains from this trade concessions scheme have been limited. This raises the question, What value does the Jordan Compact hold with such ample evidence of failure? Importantly, how is this failure experienced by refugees in practice? Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Amman and northern Jordan, this article advances a framework centred on extractivism to better detail how value is extracted from migrants and displaced persons at the expense of their well-being. The article illuminates the disjuncture between the lack of profit achieved directly from the Jordan Compact’s trade concessions and the forms of value extracted from refugees’ immobility. Overall, I argue that these economic development policies formalize precariousness, allowing the international community to abdicate global responsibility and reap the benefits of a purported altruism.
Longitudinal Analyses of Sexual Development through Early Adulthood

Longitudinal data analysis is a category of analytic techniques used to assess data in which units (e.g., persons) are measured more than once. These techniques can be used to inform specific questions such as (1) what are the trajectories and rates of change in a behavior (e.g., latent growth modeling); (2) what are the relations of changes in behavior (e.g., bivariate latent growth models); (3) can we predict outcomes using measures of change (e.g., latent growth models with exogenous outcomes); and (4) when are events most likely to occur for individuals along some temporal metric (e.g., discrete-time survival analysis). While these questions are unique, they are all concerned with understanding patterns and relations of intraindividual change utilizing longitudinal data. In this article, we apply these methods in order to demonstrate different ways of interpreting longitudinal change in sexual behavior from late childhood through young adulthood.
New combinations in Monardella (Lamiaceae)

The following new combinations are made: Monardella odoratissima Benth. subsp. franciscana (Elmer) Brunell, comb. nov.; Monardella odoratissima Benth. subsp. obispoensis (Hoover ex Jeps.) Brunell, comb. nov.; Monardella odoratissima Benth. subsp. villosa (Benth.) Brunell, comb. & stat. nov.
Estimation and Control of Fluid Flows Using Sparsity-Promoting Dynamic Mode Decomposition

Control and estimation of fluid systems is a challenging problem that requires approximating high-dimensional, nonlinear dynamics with computationally tractable models. A number of techniques, such as proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) have been developed to derive such reduced-order models. In this letter, the problem of selecting the dynamically important modes of dynamic mode decomposition with control (DMDc) is addressed. Similar to sparsity-promoting DMD, the method described in this letter solves a convex optimization problem in order to determine the most important modes. The proposed algorithm produces sparse dynamical models for systems with inputs by solving a regularized least-squares problem that minimizes the reweighted $\mathcal {L}_{1}$ norm of the relative mode weights and can work even with snapshot data that are not sequential. In addition, the process of estimating the modeling errors and designing a Kalman filter for flow estimation from limited measurements is presented. The method is demonstrated in the feedback control and estimation of the unsteady wake past an inclined flat plate in a high-fidelity direct numerical simulation.
Genome-wide association study of suicide death: Results from the first wave of Utah completed suicide data

Background: Heritability of suicide risk is estimated at 43%, thus genetic risk likely plays an important role in completion of suicide. Previous genetic research has focused primarily on suicidal behavior or ideation rather than actual completed suicide. And previous genome-wide association studies of completion of suicide have been very small due to the difficulty in obtaining suicide sample data, and have been unable to identify genome-wide significant variants, likely due to power limitations. This study presents results from the first wave of a large Utah sample of completed suicides, and represent the most statistically powerful sample of completed suicide to date. Methods: Tissue samples from 1321 decedents were collected via partnership with the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner and genotyped using the Illumina Infinium PsychArray platform. Bioconductor package RaMWAS (A.S.) was used on post-QC hard call data (271,894 common variants) to conduct GWAS. Because the sample is from Utah, the authors were able to conduct a relatively direct comparison with 1000 Genomes controls also from Utah (CEU), as well as European controls (EUR). The first GWAS with Utah CEU controls (n of only 99) was followed by a second GWAS with EUR controls (n = 503) with and without CEU included in the control sample. Results: Analyses identified 8 SNPs in 6 genes associated with the completion of suicide. Six SNPs met genome-widesignificanceat5x10- 8 .Two of these variant hits were replicated using EUR controls not including the CEU sample, though the case sample was the same in both analyses. Subsequent QC steps (linkage disequilibrium analysis and EUR GWAS replication) further substantiated significant results implicating cytochrome P450 genes. Conclusions: This GWAS and partial replication of findings across control samples, using hard call genotype data, represents a significant step toward understanding the genetic architecture of suicide. These are late breaking results, and in January this group will follow up with analyses using the full 2 waves (N = 4800 cases), a far larger control group, and imputed data to ~11 million variants. Analyses to date implicate cytochrome P450 sites involved in metabolism of arachidonic acid and related inflammatory mediators. Results implicate inflammation in suicide risk, and also add to the growing body of evidence that lung function may be tied to suicide.
The Muslim Ban and preterm birth: Analysis of U.S. vital statistics data from 2009 to 2018.

Abstract Anti-immigrant stigma or xenophobia is increasingly pervasive globally. Racism is a determinant of adverse health outcomes, but the epidemiological implications of the recent wave of xenophobic policies have not been well studied. The 2017 travel ban on individuals from Muslim majority countries is an example of such policy efforts in the United States. Using the 2009–2018 National Center for Health Statistics period linked infant birth-death data, we used time series methods to compare the monthly odds of preterm births to women from travel ban countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) after the January 2017 travel ban to the number expected had the ban not been implemented. We estimated our counterfactual from the history of preterm birth among women born in countries included in the ban as well as trends in preterm birth among native-born non-Hispanic (NH) White women. Among the 18,945,795 singleton live births included in our study period (including 191,121 born to women from banned countries), the average monthly rate of births that were preterm birth was 8.5% (range: 6.8%, 10.6%) among women born in the countries affected by the ban and 8.6% (range: 7.7%, 9.8%) among native-born NH White women. Our results show an increase in the odds of preterm birth among infants born to women from travel ban countries in September 2017 and persisting through the cohort born in August 2018. The coefficient for exposed infants born in these months suggests that the odds of preterm birth increased by 6.8% among women from banned countries (p
Provision of Helpful Review Videos: Effects of Video Characteristics on Perceived Helpfulness

With the rapid growth and popularity of YouTube, an increasing number of consumers rely on online product review videos to obtain product-related information. Review videos, with visual and sound cues, can convey product experiences in rich and immersive ways and have a powerful impact on consumer’s perceptions and intentions to purchase the product. As the provision of online review videos grows and consumers increasingly rely on them for their purchase decisions, understanding factors that contribute to the perceived helpfulness of video reviews becomes critical for video review management. This paper examines how various video content characteristics—information accessibility, positivity, and subjectivity—and voice characteristics of reviewers—speech rate, pitch, and speech dynamics—are associated with the perceived helpfulness. We collect detailed data on 14,486 electronic product review videos posted on YouTube and employ speech recognition and natural language processing techniques to extract sentimental and speech characteristics. We find that video viewers perceive online product review videos that are more information-accessible, more positive, and less subjective as more helpful. In addition, review videos created by reviewers with faster speech rates, lower voice pitch, and more vocal dynamicity are perceived as more helpful. We additionally find that reviewers’ popularity can moderate the effect of information accessibility, positivity, and reviewers’ voice characteristics on perceived review helpfulness.
Employee coping with organizational change in the face of a pandemic: The role of transparent internal communication

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many businesses and organizations to implement changes to manage operational and economic challenges. Understanding how employees manage such changes during the process is critical to the success of organizations. Integrating the literature from transparent internal communication, the transactional theory of stress and coping, and organizational change research, this study proposes a theoretical model to understand the role of internal communication and its effects on employees’ management of organizational change. An online survey was conducted with 490 full-time employees in the U.S. during the second and third weeks of April 2020. The findings of this study demonstrate that transparent internal communication can help encourage problem-focused control coping, reduce uncertainty, and foster employee-organization relationships during organizational change. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Hemodynamics and Vascular Remodeling

The flow of blood in the vasculature generates forces that act on vessel walls. Blood pressure generates circumferential stresses within the walls, while the endothelial lining of vessels experiences shear stresses as a consequence of blood’s motion over it. Both types of stress can elicit biological responses from cells in the walls, including growth and remodeling that are required for the normal function of the vasculature, and the development of vascular diseases. The main objective of this review is to summarize the dynamical features of blood flow as they affect the stresses that act on vessel walls. A second objective is to summarize the relationship between these stresses and the resulting structural responses in normal and disease states.
Performance of precooling strategies using switchable insulation systems for commercial buildings

Abstract The energy efficiency and demand response benefits of switchable insulation systems (SISs) are evaluated for commercial buildings based on a comprehensive simulation analysis. In particular, switchable insulation systems, operated using temperature-based controls, are combined with precooling strategies to maximize the benefits from passive thermal storage of commercial buildings. The performance of switchable insulation system-based precooling strategies has been evaluated considering a wide range of design and operational control parameters. The simulation results indicate that switchable insulation system can achieve significant savings in annual heating and cooling energy end-uses reaching up to 65% and 25%, respectively, when considering deploying roof-integrated switchable insulation system during weekends in addition to weekdays for the various investigated climates. Moreover, the analysis found that when combined with precooling, the energy efficiency benefits from switchable insulation system are decreased. However, switchable insulation system-based precooling results in significant savings in electrical peak demand. For instance, operating switchable insulation system with precooling results in 18% savings in electrical peak demand when the building is located in Denver, CO. It has been demonstrated that precooling and switchable insulation system can provide both energy efficiency and demand response benefits for commercial buildings located in the US and other countries with diverse climates.
Regulatory small RNA, Qrr2 is expressed independently of sigma factor-54 and can function as the sole Qrr sRNA to control quorum sensing in Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Bacterial cells alter gene expression in response to changes in population density in a process called quorum sensing (QS). In Vibrio harveyi, LuxO, a low cell density activator of sigma factor-54 (RpoN), is required for transcription of five non-coding regulatory sRNAs, Qrr1-Qrr5, which each repress translation of the master QS regulator LuxR. Vibrio parahaemolyticus, the leading cause of bacterial seafood-borne gastroenteritis, also contains five Qrr sRNAs that control OpaR (the LuxR homolog), controlling capsule polysaccharide (CPS), motility, and metabolism. We show that in a ΔluxO deletion mutant, opaR was de-repressed and CPS and biofilm were produced. However, in a ΔrpoN mutant, opaR was repressed, no CPS was produced, and less biofilm production was observed compared to wild type. To determine why opaR was repressed, expression analysis in ΔluxO showed all five qrr genes were repressed, while in ΔrpoN the qrr2 gene was significantly de-repressed. Reporter assays and mutant analysis showed Qrr2 sRNA can act alone to control OpaR. Bioinformatics analysis identified a sigma-70 (RpoD) -35 -10 promoter overlapping the canonical sigma-54 (RpoN) -24 -12 promoter in the qrr2 regulatory region. The qrr2 sigma-70 promoter element was also present in additional Vibrio species indicating it is widespread. Mutagenesis of the sigma-70 -10 promoter site in the ΔrpoN mutant background, resulted in repression of qrr2. Analysis of qrr quadruple deletion mutants, in which only a single qrr gene is present, showed that only Qrr2 sRNA can act independently to regulate opaR. Mutant and expression data also demonstrated that RpoN and the global regulator, Fis, act additively to repress qrr2. Our data has uncovered a new mechanism of qrr expression and shows that Qrr2 sRNA is sufficient for OpaR regulation. Importance The quorum sensing non-coding sRNAs are present in all Vibrio species but vary in number and regulatory roles among species. In the Harveyi clade, all species contain five qrr genes, and in V. harveyi these are transcribed by sigma-54 and are additive in function. In the Cholerae clade, four qrr genes are present, and in V. cholerae the qrr genes are redundant in function. In V. parahaemolyticus, qrr2 is controlled by two overlapping promoters. In an rpoN mutant, qrr2 is transcribed from a sigma-70 promoter that is present in all V. parahaemolyticus strains and in other species of the Harveyi clade suggesting a conserved mechanism of regulation. Qrr2 sRNA can function as the sole Qrr sRNA to control OpaR.
Testing assumptions for nitrogen transformation in a low-gradient agricultural stream

Summary Common assumptions of the nitrogen cycle in agricultural streams point to biologic transformation of nitrate being tightly linked to benthic carbon turnover within fine sediments of the streambed. While the nitrogen and carbon linkage has been supported in agricultural streams using multi-week stream injection studies, few studies have tested these assumptions using multi-year time-series of carbon and nutrient species. We made elemental and isotopic measurements from 8 years of weekly suspended sediment samples on the main-stem, 14 months of dissolved nitrate samples on the main-stem and tributaries, and point observations of sediment samples from benthic algae and stream banks in an agricultural stream to test the assumptions. Results from Empirical Mode Decomposition of carbon and nitrogen time series suggest agreement with the prevailing assumption and coupling of benthic carbon dynamics with nitrate from late spring through fall during the 8 year sampling period for the temperate stream. During late spring, summer and fall, autotrophic growth and organic matter decomposition assist with controlling temporary sequestration of nitrate and denitrification in stream sediments, respectively. Contrary to conventional wisdom, our data results suggest decoupling of carbon and nitrogen dynamics from winter through mid-spring for much of the 8 year sampling period. During the winter and spring, nitrate loadings from upland fertilizer application and delivery of upland sediments by storm events are shown to instantaneously increase sediment nitrogen and instantaneously decrease transported nitrate. The result is attributed to abiotic transfer of transient nitrate storage during the winter and early spring due to variably charged sesquioxides within streambed sediments. The results provide the first study, to our knowledge, of the potential importance of nitrate sorption in the stream nitrogen cycle and potential implications are that sorption could retard nitrate loadings from downstream transport and increase the potential for denitrification beyond which would be expected with purely biologic based assumptions.
Voluntary scheduled exercise alters diurnal rhythms of behaviour, physiology and gene expression in wild‐type and vasoactive intestinal peptide‐deficient mice

The circadian system co-ordinates the temporal patterning of behaviour and many underlying biological processes. In some cases, the regulated outputs of the circadian system, such as activity, may be able to feed back to alter core clock processes. In our studies, we used four wheel-access conditions (no access; free access; early night; and late night) to manipulate the duration and timing of activity while under the influence of a light-dark cycle. In wild-type mice, scheduled wheel access was able to increase ambulatory activity, inducing a level of exercise driven at various phases of the light-dark cycle. Scheduled exercise also manipulated the magnitude and phasing of the circadian-regulated outputs of heart rate and body temperature. At a molecular level, the phasing and amplitude of PER2::LUCIFERASE (PER2::LUC) expression rhythms in the SCN and peripheral tissues of Per2::Luc knockin mice were altered by scheduled exercise. We then tested whether scheduled wheel access could improve deficits observed in vasointestinal polypeptide-deficient mice under the influence of a light-dark cycle. We found that scheduled wheel access during the late night improved many of the behavioural, physiological and molecular deficits previously described in vasointestinal polypeptide-deficient mice. Our results raise the possibility that scheduled exercise could be used as a tool to modulate daily rhythms and, when applied, may counteract some of the negative impacts of ageing and disease on the circadian system.
RETHINKING COPYRIGHT: PROPERTY THROUGH THE LENSES OF UNJUST ENRICHMENT AND UNFAIR COMPETITION

† 1 Most of these infirmities have been attributed to internal tensions within copyright law and policy, including the competing philosophies of access and control, use and exclusion, and rights and exceptions. Professor Stadler's insightful article documents these tensions and proposes a new way of mediating them. 2 She ar- gues that copyright law is best understood as instantiating a restriction on unfair competition and, consequently, that it should do little more than protect creators of original works from "competitive harm" in a previously identified ("relevant") market. 3 She goes on to propose that this principle be applied exogenously in determining the struc- ture of copyright, and that the copyright grant be reformulated to consist of no more than an exclusive right to distribute works pub- licly. 4
An Explanation of our Long Hiatus

Now that we are getting ready to publish this much delayed issue of Pakistaniaat, I owe it to our readers to explain our long hiatus. This break in our publication schedule occurred due to various personal and professional reasons. Before I explain, please accept my sincere apologies for this delay. I understand that it is crucial for a journal to publish its issues on time and to give the authors the kind of attention and care that they deserve.
Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E. Britton ex Britton and Wilson, a new addition to the flora of Nepal

Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E. Britton ex Britton and Wilson belongs to family Verbenaceae, collected from Rupandehi district of Nepal. It is reported as a new addition to the Flora of Nepal. Key words: Lippia alba ; flora; Nepal J. Nat. Hist. Mus. Vol.22, 2005 p.157-158
Modeling, Control, and Stability Analysis of Heterogeneous Thermostatically Controlled Load Populations Using Partial Differential Equations

Thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) account for more than one-third of the U.S. electricity consumption. Various techniques have been used to model TCL populations. A high-fidelity analytical model of heterogeneous TCL (HrTCL) populations is of special interest for both utility managers and customers (that facilitates the aggregate synthesis of power control in power networks). We present a deterministic hybrid partial differential equation (PDE) model which accounts for HrTCL populations and facilitates analysis of common scenarios like cold load pick up, cycling, and daily and/or seasonal temperature changes to estimate the aggregate performance of the system. The proposed technique is flexible in terms of parameter selection and ease of changing the set-point temperature and deadband width all over the TCL units. We investigate the stability of the proposed model along with presenting guidelines to maintain the numerical stability of the discretized model during computer simulations. Moreover, the proposed model is a close fit to design feedback algorithms for power control purposes. Hence, we present output- and state-feedback control algorithms, designed using the comparison principle and Lyapunov analysis, respectively. We conduct various simulations to verify the effectiveness of the proposed modeling and control techniques.
Quantification of Gordona amarae Strains in Foaming Activated Sludge and Anaerobic Digester Systems with Oligonucleotide Hybridization Probes

Previous studies have shown the predominance of mycolic acid-containing filamentous actinomycetes (mycolata) in foam layers in activated sludge systems. Gordona (formerly Nocardia) amarae often is considered the major representative of this group in activated sludge foam. In this study, small-subunit rRNA genes of four G. amarae strains were sequenced, and the resulting sequences were compared to the sequence of G. amarae type strain SE-6. Comparative sequence analysis showed that the five strains used represent two lines of evolutionary descent; group 1 consists of strains NM23 and ASAC1, and group 2 contains strains SE-6, SE-102, and ASF3. The following three oligonucleotide probes were designed: a species-specific probe for G. amarae, a probe specific for group 1, and a probe targeting group 2. The probes were characterized by dissociation temperature and specificity studies, and the species-specific probe was evaluated for use in fluorescent in situ hybridizations. By using the group-specific probes, it was possible to place additional G. amarae isolates in their respective groups. The probes were used along with previously designed probes in membrane hybridizations to determine the abundance of G. amarae, group 1, group 2, bacterial, mycolata, and Gordona rRNAs in samples obtained from foaming activated sludge systems in California, Illinois, and Wisconsin. The target groups were present in significantly greater concentrations in activated sludge foam than in mixed liquor and persisted in anaerobic digesters. Hybridization results indicated that the presence of certain G. amarae strains may be regional or treatment plant specific and that previously uncharacterized G. amarae strains may be present in some systems.
Characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa LpxT reveals dual positional lipid A kinase activity and co-ordinated control of outer membrane modification

Summary Gram-negative bacteria have evolved modification machinery to promote a dynamic outer membrane in response to a continually fluctuating environment. The kinase LpxT, for example, adds a phosphate group to the lipid A moiety of some Gram-negatives including Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. LpxT activity is inhibited under conditions that compromise membrane integrity, resulting instead in the addition of positively charged groups to lipid A that increase membrane stability and provide resistance to cationic antimicrobial peptides. We have now identified a functional lpxT orthologue in P. aeruginosa. LpxTPa has unique enzymatic characteristics, as it is able to phosphorylate P. aeruginosa lipid A at two sites of the molecule. Surprisingly, a previously uncharacterized lipid A 4′-dephospho-1-triphosphate species was detected. LpxTPa activity is inhibited by magnesium independently of lpxTPa transcription. Modulation of LpxTPa activity is influenced by transcription of the lipid A aminoarabinose transferase ArnT, known to be activated in response to limiting magnesium. These results demonstrate a divergent activity of LpxTPa, and suggest the existence of a co-ordinated regulatory mechanism that permits adaptation to a changing environment.
FDA Review Practices and Priorities for Drugs Used in Cancer Treatmenta

: The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and related regulations (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) give FDA staff the legal authority and responsibility to review the safety and effectiveness of drugs and biological products (including products used in cancer treatment), from preclinical testing through all phases of clinical research and marketing. FDA review activities in the oncology arena can be divided into five major categories: (1) initial review of investigational new drug (IND) applications; (2) ongoing review of premarketing research (including new research protocols submitted to existing INDs and IND safety reports describing adverse events with the new drug); (3) discussions with commercial sponsors regarding their clinical development plans, including the design and conduct of key studies that are intended to support initial marketing approval for a new product or to support the addition of new indications to the prescribing information for currently marketed products; (4) review of submitted new drug applications (NDAs) or biological licensing applications (BLAs); and (5) continuing review of the safety and effectiveness of marketed products. Through these review activities, FDA staff work to ensure that products approved for marketing for cancer treatment are effective and adequately safe for their intended uses and to ensure that the quality, effectiveness, and safety of products on the market are preserved or enhanced, so patients and physicians may use these products with confidence and with adequate safety. Because these review activities generally fall into a chronologic sequence, the following discussion parallels the development course of a typical new drug.