cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Expression of ganglioside GD2, reprogram the lipid metabolism and EMT phenotype in bladder cancer

// Venkatrao Vantaku 1, * , Sri Ramya Donepudi 2, * , Chandrashekar R. Ambati 2, * , Feng Jin 2 , Vasanta Putluri 2 , Khoa Nguyen 3 , Kimal Rajapakshe 1 , Cristian Coarfa 1, 2 , Venkata Lokesh Battula 3 , Yair Lotan 4 and Nagireddy Putluri 1, 2 1 Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA 2 Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Advanced Technology Core, Alkek Center for Molecular Discovery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA 3 Section of Molecular Hematology and Therapy, Department of Leukemia, and Department of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA 4 Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX, USA * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Nagireddy Putluri, email: putluri@bcm.edu Keywords: bladder cancer; ganglioside GD2; lipid metabolism; EMT Received: June 27, 2017 Accepted: August 04, 2017 Published: September 16, 2017 ABSTRACT High-grade Bladder Cancer (BLCA) represents the most aggressive and treatment-resistant cancer that renders the patients with poor survival. However, only a few biomarkers have been identified for the detection and treatment of BLCA. Recent studies show that ganglioside GD2 can be used as cancer biomarker and/or therapeutic target for various cancers. Despite its potential relevance in cancer diagnosis and therapeutics, the role of GD2 is unknown in BLCA. Here, we report for the first time that high-grade BLCA tissues and cell lines have higher expression of GD2 compared to low-grade by high-resolution Mass Spectrometry. The muscle invasive UMUC3 cell line showed high GD2, mesenchymal phenotype, and cell proliferation. Besides, we have shown the cancer stem cells (CSC) property (CD44hiCD24lo) of GD2+ UMUC3 and J82 cells. Also, the evaluation of lipid metabolism in GD2+ BLCA cell lines revealed higher levels of Phosphatidylinositol (PI), Phosphatidic acid (PA), Cardiolipin (CL) and lower levels of Phosphatidylserine (PS), plasmenyl-phosphatidylethanolamines (pPE), plasmenyl-phosphocholines (pPC), sphingomyelins (SM), triglycerides (TGs) and N-Acetylneuraminic acid. These findings are significantly correlated with the tissues of BLCA patients. Based on this evidence, we propose that GD2 may be used as an effective diagnostic and therapeutic target for aggressive BLCA.
Reconfigurable nanowire assembly enabled field-switchable broadband polarizers

In this paper, a switchable broadband polarizer based on the electric field directed reconfigurable assembly of gold nanowires (NWs) is presented. Taking advantage of the collective optical properties of the two-dimensional gold NW lattices, we have experimentally demonstrated that transmission of linear polarized light can be purposely controlled using a dual electrode design to reversibly rotate the lattice by 90° on-demand. In addition, our experiments reveal that the transmission control is closely related to the geometrical dimensions of the NWs as well as the applied electric field conditions.
Insomnia in Children

The clinical manifestations, evaluation methods, and interventions for children with insomnia are distinct from adults. As is the case with adults, there is solid empirical evidence supporting a number of behavioral interventions for insomnia in children 5 years and younger. The literature provides little guidance, however, on the treatment of insomnia in school-age children and adolescents. The goal of this article is to describe the varied presentations of pediatric insomnia across developmental phases, and offer a framework for evaluation and individualized treatment.
High gain observer based adaptive SMC for longitudinal dynamics of a customized mini UAV

This paper deals with the design of adaptive SMC integrated with a standard high gain observer for tracking the longitudinal dynamics of a customized mini UAV. In the proposed scheme for control law model parameters are assumed to be unknown and are estimated via adaptive laws, while the system states are estimated using high gain observer. Extensive simulations have been carried out to check the robustness of the system to external disturbances and model parametric uncertainties. Simulation results show the effectiveness of ASMC with HGO compared to full state feedback ASMC.
Community‐supported agriculture in the United States: Social, ecological, and economic benefits to farming

In the United States, there is a tremendous amount of interest in community‐supported agriculture (CSA) among farmers, consumers, activists, and policymakers. Despite the attention garnered by CSA and the resurgence of local agriculture, relatively few studies have examined the livelihood opportunities for farmers within local agriculture. This paper evaluates the livelihoods of CSA farmers from the farmers' perspective in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts. Results indicate that although CSA farmers earn more farm income than other farms across the United States on average, they still earn far below the median national income and generally fail to earn a living wage. Despite these findings, CSA farmers stressed the importance of the broader social, ecological, and economic benefits to farming. Although these non‐market benefits are a significant source of well‐being from the CSA farmers' perspective, CSA has largely failed to provide adequate livelihoods for farmers to date.
Alpha and beta blockers: effects on renin release.

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the analysis of alpha- and beta-receptors, their role in renin release, and the efficacy of receptor blockade. A growing body of evidence demonstrates the intimate relationship between the adrenergic nervous system and renin release. Changes in the activity of either appear to be reflected in the activity changes of the other. Current evidence suggests that such a relationship exists within certain areas of the central nervous system, within the kidney, and at peripheral adrenergic vascular termination. A variety of modes of interaction has been proposed, but none has been confirmed. Adrenergic receptor blocking agents have been used in an attempt to clarify mechanisms of action. Because of the nuances in experimental design, results appear equivocal. Stimulation of renin release can be evoked by both alpha and beta adrenergic agonists, but beta blockade appears to be far more consistent in modification of renin release. Dissection of the interrelationship is dependent upon elucidation of each of the feedback loops involved and specification of receptor types.
Realism and Antifoundationalism

“Of course, it all goes back to Peirce,” said Angelica Pabst to Persse McGar-rigle after Morris Zapp’s lecture on the reading of a text as a kind of narrative striptease. To McGarrigle’s bewilderment over the allophone of his own name, she responds: “Peirce. Another variant spelling of your name. He was an American philosopher. He wrote somewhere about the impossibility of stripping the veils of representation from meaning. And that was before the First World War” (Lodge 1984:28). David Lodge tells me that Angelica got this interpretation of C.S. Peirce as a forerunner of post-structuralism from reading Patricia Parker’s Inescapable Romance (Parker 1979), and that she in turn got it from the Collected Papers of C.S. Peirce: The meaning of a representation can be nothing but a representation. In fact, it is nothing but the representation itself stripped of irrelevant clothing. But this clothing never can be completely stripped off; it is only changed for something more diaphanous. (CP 1.399)
The Lyapunov Spectrum of Blockdiagonal Semilinear Control Systems

For semilinear control systems the Lyapunov spectrum is approximated via the Floquet and the Morse spectrum. If the semilinear control system possesses singular subspaces, which corresponds to blockdiagonality of the system, it can be shown that the analysis of these two spectra can be reduced to these lower-dimensional systems. The Floquet spectrum of control sets with nonvoid interior is contained in the Floquet spectra of the restricted control systems. The Morse spectrum coincides with the union of the Morse spectra of the restricted systems. In particular, all Lyapunov exponents are attained on the singular subspaces.
Menopause and disorders of the central nervous system

The cessation of ovarian estrogen production occurring around the time of menopause has the potential to influence central nervous system function, as well as a number of neurological disorders that affect women during midlife and old age, including memory loss and mild cognitive impairment, ischemic stroke, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. During midlife, there is observational evidence that episodic memory is not substantially affected by natural menopause or by use of estrogen-containing hormone therapy, but short-term clinical trial evidence suggests hormone therapy might benefit verbal memory after surgical menopause. Clinical trial data indicate that hormone therapy does not reduce, and may increase, stroke incidence. Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease are the 2 most common neurodegenerative illnesses. Estrogen influences dopaminergic pathways within the central nervous system. However, available observational evidence is limited and inconclusive regarding any role of hormone therapy in influencing risk or symptoms of Parkinson's disease, a disorder of dopaminergic neurons. Finally, clinical trial data indicate that hormone therapy should not be initiated in the late postmenopause with the goal of improving memory, preventing cognitive decline, reducing dementia risk, or improving Alzheimer's disease symptoms. An important priority for clinical investigation is to determine whether hormone therapy used during the menopausal transition and early postmenopause has long-term effects on cognition or dementia risk. The critical window hypothesis as applied to Alzheimer's disease conjectures that effects of early hormone therapy might differ from those of hormone therapy initiated in the late postmenopause, but convincing evidence is yet to be obtained.
No Evidence for Recent Selection at FOXP2 among Diverse Human Populations

FOXP2, initially identified for its role in human speech, contains two nonsynonymous substitutions derived in the human lineage. Evidence for a recent selective sweep in Homo sapiens, however, is at odds with the presence of these substitutions in archaic hominins. Here, we comprehensively reanalyze FOXP2 in hundreds of globally distributed genomes to test for recent selection. We do not find evidence of recent positive or balancing selection at FOXP2. Instead, the original signal appears to have been due to sample composition. Our tests do identify an intronic region that is enriched for highly conserved sites that are polymorphic among humans, compatible with a loss of function in humans. This region is lowly expressed in relevant tissue types that were tested via RNA-seq in human prefrontal cortex and RT-PCR in immortalized human brain cells. Our results represent a substantial revision to the adaptive history of FOXP2, a gene regarded as vital to human evolution.
The Electric Possibilities of Teaching and Learning

In order to elevate the effectiveness of teaching and learning, business deans must manage the dynamic interplay among four elements—strategy, budget, curriculum, and delivery. When these elements reinforce and complement each another, a business school can generate powerful energy in the form of new curricular and cocurricular developments, strategic initiatives, and effective delivery modes. Imbalances among these elements, however, can significantly reduce faculty and student energy and cause teaching and learning to stagnate.
Tau neutrinos at DUNE: New strategies, new opportunities

We propose a novel analysis strategy, which leverages the unique capabilities of the DUNE experiment, to study tau neutrinos. We integrate collider physics ideas, such as jet clustering algorithms in combination with machine learning techniques, into neutrino measurements. Through the construction of a set of observables and kinematic cuts, we obtain a superior discrimination of the signal ($S$) over the background ($B$). In a single year, using the nominal neutrino beam mode, DUNE may achieve $S/\sqrt{B}$ of 3.3 and 2.3 for the hadronic and leptonic decay channels of the tau respectively. Operating in the tau-optimized beam mode would increase $S/\sqrt{B}$ to 8.8 and 11 for each of these channels. We premier the use of the analysis software rivet, a tool ubiquitously used by the LHC experiments, in neutrino physics. For wider accessibility, we provide our analysis code.
Tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane-Catalyzed Cyclopropanation of Styrenes with Aryldiazoacetates

Methods for the synthesis of cyclopropanes are critical for drug discovery, chemical biology, total synthesis, and other fields. Herein, we report the use of the strong sterically encumbered Lewis ...
Interrater Reliability for a Two-Interval, Observer-Based Procedure for Measuring Hearing in Young Children

Purpose To overcome methodology limitations for studying auditory development in young children, we have recently developed an observer-based procedure that uses a conditioned, play-based, motor response (see Bonino & Leibold, 2017). The purpose of this article was to examine interrater reliability for the method. Method Video recordings of test sessions of 2- to 4-year-old children (n = 17) were examined. Detection of a 1000-Hz warble tone was measured with the Play Observer-Based, Two-Interval (PlayO2I) method in each of two conditions: for a fixed intensity level (30 dB SPL) or for a variable intensity level signal (0-30 dB SPL). All test sessions were scored independently by three observers (one real-time, two offline). Observer consensus was evaluated with Fleiss' kappa statistic. To determine if summary data were similar across the observers of each test session, the proportion of correct trials (fixed-level condition) or threshold (variable-level condition) were computed. Results The strength of observer consensus was classified as "almost perfect" and "substantial" for the fixed-level and variable-level conditions, respectively. Follow-up analysis of the variable-level data indicated that differences in observer consensus were seen based on the signal level, the type of response behavior provided by the child, and the confidence level of the real-time observer. Resulting summary data were similar across the three observers of each test session: no significant differences for estimates of the proportion of correct trials or threshold. Conclusions Results from this study confirm strong interrater reliability for the method. The PlayO2I method is a powerful tool for measuring detection and discrimination abilities in young children. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12978197.
The Net Neutrality Debate is Outdated: Time for a New Wider View

In 2008, former FCC Commissioner McDowell warned that Net Neutrality regulatory rulings could change every two to four years with election results His prediction was prescient. The democrat-led Wheeler Commission used technical definitions of telecommunication and information services to place all carriers under light touch Title II common carrier regulations. The succeeding republican-led Pai Commission rescinded the Wheeler Commission’s Order. The problem with both orders is that telecommunications and information services as separate categories are losing relevance in the online economy. A new approach to Net Neutrality policy is introduced that recognizes the emergence of large platforms and Internet service providers (ISPs) competing against each other. The recommendation is to break regulatory silos and develop a holistic oversight of the online ecosystem that examines in an integrated way anticompetitive behavior associated with communication, information, and services.
An estimation of the harm of menthol cigarettes in the United States from 1980 to 2018.

Background Menthol cigarettes are thought to encourage smoking initiation among youths and young adults and make it more difficult for smokers to quit, thus increasing cigarette harm. However, no study to date has quantified the damage that menthol cigarettes have caused the US population. Objective To estimate the excess smoking prevalence, smoking initiation, and mortality in the US from 1980 through 2018 that can be attributed to menthol cigarettes. Methods Using a well-established simulation model of smoking prevalence and health effects and data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), we first reproduced the overall US adult smoking prevalence between 1980 and 2018 (pseudo-R2=0.98) and associated mortality. Then we re-ran the model, assuming that menthol cigarettes were not present in the market over the same period. Finally, we compared both scenarios to quantify the public health harm attributable to menthol over the 1980–2018 period. Results From 1980 to 2018, we found that menthol cigarettes were responsible for slowing down the decline in smoking prevalence by 2.6 percentage points (13.7% vs 11.1% in 2018). Our results also show that menthol cigarettes were responsible for 10.1 million extra smokers, 3 million life years lost and 378 000 premature deaths during that period. Conclusions With millions of excess smoking initiators and thousands of smoking-related deaths due to mentholated cigarettes from 1980 through 2018, our results indicate that these products have had a significant detrimental impact on the public’s health and could continue to pose a substantial health risk. Our findings can assist the Food and Drug Administration in evaluating potential regulatory actions for mentholated tobacco products.
An International Virtual COVID-19 Critical Care Training Forum for Healthcare Workers

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic resulted in redeployment of non-critical care-trained providers to intensive care units across the world. Concurrently, traditional venues for delivery of medical education faced major disruptions. The need for a virtual forum to fill knowledge gaps for healthcare workers caring for patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was apparent in the early stages of the pandemic. Objective: The weekly, open-access COVID-19 Critical Care Training Forum (CCCTF) organized by the American Thoracic Society (ATS) provided a global audience access to timely content relevant to their learning needs. The goals of the forum were threefold: to aid healthcare providers in assessment and treatment of patients with COVID-19, to reduce provider anxiety, and to disseminate best practices. Methods: The first 13 ATS CCCTF sessions streamed live from April to July 2020. Structured debriefs followed each session and participant feedback was evaluated in planning of subsequent sessions. A second set of 14 sessions streamed from August to November 2020. Content experts were recruited from academic institutions across the United States. Results: As of July 2020, the ATS CCCTF had 2,494 live participants and 7,687 downloads for a total of 10,181 views. The majority of participants had both completed training (58.6%) and trained in critical care (53.8%). Physicians made up a majority (82.2%) of the audience that spanned the globe (61% were international attendees). Conclusion: We describe the rapid and successful implementation of an open-access medical education forum to address training and knowledge gaps among healthcare personnel caring for patients with COVID-19.
An Affective Approach for Behavioral Performance Estimation and Induction.

Emotions have a major interactive role in defining how humans interact with their environment by encoding their perception to external events and accordingly, influencing their cognition and decision-making process. Therefore, increasing attention has been directed toward integrating human affective states into system design in order to optimize the quality of task performance. In this work, we seize on the significant correlation between emotions and behavioral performance that is reported in several psychological studies and develop an online closed-loop design framework for Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). The proposed approach monitors the behavioral performance based on the levels of Pleasure, Arousal, and Dominance (PAD) states for the human operator and when required, applies an external stimulus which is selected to induce an improvement in performance. The framework is implemented on an HRI task involving a human operator teleoperating an articulated robotic manipulator. Our statistical analysis shows a significant decrease in pleasure, arousal, and dominance states as the behavioral performance deteriorates $(p < 0.05)$. Our closed-loop experiment that uses an audio stimulus to improve emotional state shows a significant improvement in the behavioral performance of certain subjects.
Solmsia Baill.: a taxonomic revision of an endemic New Caledonian genus of Thymelaeaceae

The endemic New Caledonian Solmsia Baill. (Thymelaeaceae Juss.: Octolepidoideae Gilg) was founded in 1871 on two species, S. calophylla Baill. and S. chrysophylla Baill. Over the past 150 years, the genus has received little attention taxonomically or otherwise. New morphological, ecological and distribution information gathered from 484 herbarium specimens indicate that the two currently recognized species (evaluated as morphogroups) exhibit continuous, overlapping variation based on statistical multivariate analyses. Both partially sympatric morphogroups are treated here as conspecific under S. calophylla, the lectotype of the genus, and formal recognition of either group at any infraspecific rank is deemed unnecessary. The recircumscribed, single species is completely restricted to Grande Terre, where it occurs in maquis vegetation on ultramafic rocks (peridotite and serpentinite) and some form of ferrallitic soil (ferralsols/oxisols). Lectotypes, selected from a total of c. 55 sheets representing probable or possible syntypes, are designated for both of Baillon's binomials. Full descriptions are provided for the genus and species, accompanied by illustrations, photographs, a distribution map, and a preliminary IUCN conservation assessment of Near Threatened (NT). Morphological and biogeographical relationships of Solmsia are discussed in the phylogenetic context of other Octolepidoideae, a basal subfamily of Thymelaeaceae, along with the closely related, but massively disjunct, Guayana Shield-centered Tepuianthus Maguire & Steyerm. (formerly Tepuianthaceae Maguire & Steyerm.). Dehiscence and capsule size at maturity are also confirmed and documented, respectively, for the first time in the closely related, Deltaria Steenis, another poorly known New Caledonian monospecific endemic genus.
Optical 2D Coherent Spectroscopy of Photoexcited Carriers in Methylammonium Lead Iodide Perovskite at Room Temperature

We performed two-dimensional coherent spectroscopy of photoexcited carriers in methylammonium lead iodide perovskite at room temperature. The 2D spectra revealed ultrafast dynamics of two resonances which can be attributed to hot carriers and excitons.
The Cost of ESG Investing

Even against increasing interest in socially responsible investing mandates, we find that implementing ESG strategies can cost nothing. Modifying optimal portfolio weights to achieve an ESG-investing tilt negligibly affects portfolio performance across a broad range of ESG measures and thresholds. This is because those ESG measures do not provide information about future stock performance, either in relation to risk or mispricing, beyond what is provided by other observable firm characteristics. That the stock market does not reflect significant equilibrium pricing of ESG information is rationalized in a model of responsible investing wherein investors differ in which ESG-related criteria are used to weight their portfolios.
Data Model Bugs

In today’s internet-centric world, web applications have replaced desktop applications. Cloud systems are frequently used to store and manage user data. Given the complexity inherent in web applications, it is imperative to ensure that this data is never corrupted. We overview existing techniques for data model verification in web applications, list bugs discovered by these tools, and discuss the impact, difficulty of detection, and prevention of these bugs.
A new angle on a pervasive oncogene

Human cancers result from a multistep pathogenesis associated with the progressive accumulation of mutations in proto-oncogenes and tumour-suppressor genes. This mechanism accounts for the frequent occurrence of dysplastic lesions before the development of life-threatening cancers. Furthermore, the neoplastic process can be jump-started by inheritance of mutant alleles in tumour-suppressor genes, as is the case in rare families whose members are predisposed to the development of cancer. These families are particularly useful for identifying genes whose function is important for the suppression of malignant transformation, mostly for cancers of epithelial cells (carcinomas). In contrast, an inherited susceptibility to leukaemia is exceedingly rare and most pedigrees are too small for linkage studies. Geneticists have therefore concentrated on analysing somatically acquired mutations, in particular, the chromosomal translocations, in an attempt to isolate genes whose mutation contributes to leukaemia pathogenesis. On page 166, Woojoo Song and colleagues1 identify the gene whose mutation underlies the rare autosomal dominant disease known as familial platelet disorder with predisposition to acute myelogenous leukaemia (FPD/AML). They identify CBFA2, which has emerged in recent years as the most frequent target for chromosomal translocations associated with leukaemias2. This study sheds new light on the pervasive role of CBFA2 in human leukaemia pathogenesis and has implications for understanding how leukaemias arise.
A new framework of learning control for a class of nonlinear systems

This paper illustrates a new nonlinear learning control design based on Lyapunov's direct method. The design is applicable to the class of nonlinear systems consisting of finite cascaded subsystems in performing repeated tasks. A class of difference or difference-differential learning laws is proposed. It is shown that, under a difference learning control, the class of nonlinear systems is guaranteed to be asymptotically stable with respect to the number of trials. For better rejection of measurement noise, the difference-differential learning law can be applied to yield arbitrarily good accuracy. The proposed approach provides closed-form expressions of learning controls, and it gives the designer much flexibility in choosing various combinations of feedforward and learning control parts.
Building a Nonviolent Organization: Religious Leadership in a Violent World.

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to demonstrate the role of leaders in building nonviolent organizations and the role of organizations in cultivating habits of peace, thereby preparing people as peacemakers in a violent world. Leadership literature asks how to build healthy organizations; conflict literature asks how to make global peace. Both ask how people are shaped by their leaders and communities, but conversations between organizational and peace theories are minimal, as are conversations about peacemaking in local and global contexts. This study identifies practices for building nonviolent organizations, recognizing the significance of educating leaders and organizations as just peace-builders.
Shielding effectiveness in a reverberation chamber using finite element techniques

The emphasis of this work is to apply finite element techniques at cutoff to the analysis of a two-dimensional structure to examine the notion of shielding effectiveness issues in a reverberating environment. Simulated mechanical stirring is used to obtain the appropriate statistical field distribution. The shielding effectiveness in a simulated reverberating environment is compared to the results of a plane wave simulation and measurements in a reverberation chamber. The work is intended to provide further refinement in the consideration of shielding effectiveness in a complex electromagnetic environment.
Current stage-specific chemotherapeutic options in colon cancer

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Until recently, chemotherapeutic treatment options were limited to various 5-fluorouracil-leucovorin combinations. However, the last 10 years have seen rapid developments in the treatment of colon cancer. These include the introduction of two additional chemotherapeutic agents, irinotecan and oxaliplatin. Additional agents have been developed, namely the targeted therapies in the form of the monoclonal antibodies bevacizumab and cetuximab. The oral forms of chemotherapy (i.e., capecitabine and uracil-tegafur) have been demonstrated to be as efficacious as traditional intravenously administered 5-fluorouracil. As a result, the number of possible treatment options available to patients has increased dramatically. The aim of this review is to report the currently accepted stage-specific chemotherapeutic treatment options for colon cancer, the evidence for these regimens and future developments.
The Handling of the Dead in a Disaster

In recent years, the topic of death and dying has become the subject of much social and behavioral science research and study. But one area which has not been as intensively studied as others is ho...
Integrating a host-resistance factor into the FAST system to forecast early blight of potato

A host resistance factor was integrated into the FAST (Forecaster ofAlternariasolani onTomatoes) system to initiate and to schedule fungicide applications for three levels of potato cultivar susceptibility while maintaining disease control and yield. Four cultivars ranging from susceptible to moderately resistant were each treated with the fungicide chlorothalonil during two field seasons. The five fungicide treatments were a 7-day schedule initiated after 50% flowering; a non-sprayed control; and three FAST application schedules based on combinations of critical levels of cumulative severity (CS, the disease severity values as a function of leaf wetness and temperature) and cumulative rating (CR, the disease rating values as a function of average temperature and hours of relative humidity greater than 90%) values. The FAST system predicted the onset of early blight and subsequent periods conducive for disease development in 1993 and 1994. There were cultivar-by-spray-schedule interactions for both disease severity and yield, suggesting that differences in early blight sus-ceptibility exist between cultivars. Use of the recommended schedules for the cultivar’s targeted level of susceptibility reduced early blight severity and minimized fungicide use while maintaining yield. These results indicate that a host-resistance factor can be incorporated into the FAST system.
Sensitivity of nuclear transition frequencies to temporal variation of the fine structure constant or the strong interaction

Abstract There exist in nature a few nuclear isomers with very low (eV) excitation energies, and the combination of low energy and narrow width makes them possible candidates for laser-based investigations. The best candidate is the lowest-energy excited state known in nuclear physics, the 7.6(5) eV isomer of 229 Th. A recent study suggests that a measurement of the temporal variation of the excitation energy of this isomer would have 5–6 orders of magnitude enhanced sensitivity to a variation of the fine structure constant ( α ≅ 1 / 137.036 ) or of a strong interaction parameter ( m q / Λ QCD ). We reexamine the physics involved in these arguments. By invoking the Feynman–Hellmann Theorem we argue that there is no expectation of significantly enhanced sensitivity to a variation in the fine structure constant (beyond that obtained from experimental considerations such as the low energy and narrow width of the isomer). A similar argument applies for the strong interaction, but evaluating the shift due to temporal variations of the underlying parameters of the strong interaction may be beyond current nuclear structure techniques.
Wet-season Food Habits and Intersexual Dietary Overlap of Florida Box Turtles (Terrapene Carolina Bauri) on National Key Deer Wildlife Refuge, Florida

We studied the wet-season food habits of adult Terrapene carolina bauri (Florida Box Turtles) on National Key Deer Wildlife Refuge, Big Pine Key, FL. Feces were collected from 112 Box Turtles (64 females, 48 males) and analyzed to determine diet. Based on percent occurrence (number of samples in which a particu- lar dietary item occurs divided by the sample size), terrestrial gastropods and fl eshy fruits were the principal foods consumed. Lesser amounts of leafy vegetation were recovered, whereas insects and other invertebrates, vertebrates (most likely con- sumed as carrion), and fungi composed a minor portion of the diet. The occurrence of deer feces in a single scat constitutes the fi rst report of coprophagy by box turtles. Our fecal analysis provided little evidence of dietary specialization by either sex, which is consistent with earlier descriptions of box turtles as generalist omnivores. Male Florida Box Turtles were signifi cantly larger than females, but there was no indication that larger body size in males provides access to an expanded resource base; the near-complete dietary overlap between the sexes suggests they consume the same foods.
Trigeminal sensitivity to contact chemical stimulation: a new method and some results.

Acquisition of knowledge about the chemical senses might be hastened if chemicals or techniques that permitted stimulation of either the common chemical sense, mediated by the trigeminal nerve, or the sense of smell, mediated by the olfactory nerve without concomitant stimulation of the other sense, were used. Flowing the nonodorized output of an olfactometer into one naris of subjects while velopharyngeal closure was maintained produced effluent flow from the contralateral naris. To prevent odorous molecules from reaching the olfactory epithelium, the contralateral naris was stimulated by applying diluted and undiluted chemical solutions directly to the septal squamous epithelium downstream from the olfactory mucosa. A series of five geometric dilutions of three chemicals and one saturated solution of a fourth were used. The weakest dilution of each chemical was an adequate olfactory stimulus. Two were known trigeminal stimulants (acetic acid and butanol), and two were rated low in trigeminal stimulatory capacity (phenethyl alcohol and vanillin). The results showed that this method was useful in determining the trigeminal threshold for some chemicals. When this method was used, saturated aqueous solutions of vanillin and phenethyl alcohol were clearly not detectable by the trigeminal receptors. The application of the undiluted vanillin and phenethyl alcohol yielded a clear sensation. This result may imply that there are no pure olfactory stimuli.
Nuclear data sheets for A = 167

Abstract The literature on all nuclei with mass number A = 167 has been reviewed, and the nuclear structure information is summarized here. The level properties obtained from various reaction and decay experiments are shown in the drawings, and Nilsson-state assignments are given.
Design of a Nondirectional Wideband Waveguide Coupler

Wideband waveguide-based couplers have many utilities in microwave and particularly millimeter wave frequency ranges. This paper presents the design for a versatile full waveguide band nondirectional coupler used in conjunction with noncoherent single-port reflectometers, and for other pertinent applications. The design offers several parameters that once simultaneously optimized can provide a constant coupling level throughout the desired frequency band. The design procedure and simulation results for a Ka-band (26.5-40 GHz) coupler are presented. Such a coupler was then designed and constructed to operate in X-band (8.2-12.4 GHz) and the measured and simulated coupling levels show good agreement.
A Clower constraint model of unbacked money

Abstract The stylized monetary facts — (1) money growth causes inflation, (2) inflation is bad, (3) money demand depends upon the nominal interest rate, (4) the real interest rate equals a parametrically fixed rate of time preference, and (5) investment depends upon the real interest rate — are produced in a Grandmont-Younes modified Clower constraint model of money. Inflation is distorting, but is no one's intertemporal rate of substitution. Inflation discourages trade, but not investment. As a by-product the Friedman hypothesis, that the optimal deflation equals the rate of time preference, is confirmed in the model.
HOLOGRAPHIC GRATING FORMATION IN PHOTOPOLYMERS

We introduce a model describing real-time grating formation in holographic photopolymers, under the assumption that the diffusion of free monomers is much faster than the grating formation. This model, which combines polymerization kinetics with results from coupled-wave theory, indicates that the grating formation time depends sublinearly on the average holographic recording intensity, and the beam intensity ratio controls the grating index modulation at saturation. We validate the model by comparing its predictions with the results of experiments in which DuPont HRF-150X001 photopolymer was used.
The ‘‘Ahmadinejad effect’’ and ‘‘pre-emptive’’ duties and rights

Globalization has made possible the Ahmadinejad effect, where minor actors on the world stage can rise to prominence and solidify their power base at home by posing realistic threats to the security of even distant lands. The case of Ahmadinejad, as with Saddam Hussein before, raises the issue of pre-emptive duties (and rights), what is owed to others toward upholding rights that could be threatened sometime in the future. Pre-emptive duties and rights are given importance based on psychological assumptions about how people would behave if certain conditions were to come about. For example, checks and balances in the United States constitution are intended to prevent the concentration of power, on the assumption, supported by recent psychological research, that ‘‘power corrupts.’’ The concentration of power in the United States at the global level, and in the executive branch of the American government during the presidency of George W. Bush, seems to reflect this demonstrated tendency.
Enhancing piezoelectricity through polarization-strain coupling in ferroelectric superlattices

Short period ferroelectric/ferroelectric BaTiO3 (BTO)/PbTiO3 (PTO) superlattices are studied using density functional theory. Contrary to the trends in paraelectric/ferroelectric superlattices the polarization remains nearly constant for PTO concentrations below 50%. In addition, a significant decrease in the c/a ratio below the PTO values were observed. Using a superlattice effective Hamiltonian we predict an enhancement in the d33 piezoelectric coefficient peaking at ~75% PTO concentration due to the different polarization-strain coupling in PTO and BTO layers. Further analysis reveals that these trends are bulk properties which are a consequence of the reduced P brought about by the polarization saturation in the BTO layers.
Human Motion Modeling With a Robotics Method: Analysis of a Person Riding a Bus

Deriving models of human body motion is important for prosthetics, rehabilitation and development of humanoids. We present a method that simplifies the derivation of equations of motion of human movements. We illustrate our approach by deriving motion models of a person riding in a moving bus. Our approach simplifies the derivation of dynamics as only open chain dynamics are to be derived. The kinematic constraints are then introduced to represent a complete system model in which the contact forces appear explicitly. We then constrain the contact forces based on the performance requirements to determine the feasibility of motions, which is difficult to determine with the traditional methods. Our model allows for the design and control analysis, specifically, the derivation of the relationship between the change in rider’s posture and the feasibility of motions.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Computer-Assisted Diabetes Nutrition Education Increases Knowledge and Self-Efficacy of Medical Students:

Medical students and physicians need to improve their understanding of the role of nutrition and the multidisciplinary team in diabetes care. To assist in this learning, an interactive computer program was developed that focused on prescribing diets for patients with diabetes. Parallel 10-item knowledge tests and an 8-item self-efficacy scale were used to evaluate the efficacy of the computer program among 41 third-year medical students. Mean knowledge scores increased significantly after using the computer program. Posttest knowledge scores for the medical students approached the level achieved by general practice dietitians with no diabetes specialty training. Mean self-efficacy scores increased significantly. The mean time spent on the educational component of the program was under 30 minutes. Computer-assisted diabetes nutrition education proved to be an efficient and effective method for teaching basic nutrition competencies to medical students. This program is available on the World Wide Web (http:/(/)medicine.aecom.yu.edu/diabetes/DEC.htm ) and may be a useful means for providing basic diabetes nutrition education to primary healthcare providers from a variety of disciplines as well as for medical students.
Thrombopoietic activity of recombinant human interleukin 11 in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Interleukin 11 (IL-11) is a newly identified hematopoietic growth factor that exerts its primary effect on megakaryocyte maturation and platelet production. It has a unique receptor, signaling by which is mediated by the glycoprotein (GP) 130 pathway. IL-11 is synergistic with stem-cell factor (c-kit ligand) in vitro, enhancing proliferation of primitive hematopoietic stem cells, and has been shown to be critical to the process of polyploidization and maturation. In preclinical models, IL-11 was shown to enhance platelet recovery following intensive chemotherapy, and in murine bone-marrow transplant models it accelerates the recovery of all hematopoietic lineages. Nonhuman primate studies have demonstrated a dose-related thrombopoietic effect; however, no myeloid effect has been observed. In clinical phase I trials, subcutaneous IL-11 was well tolerated and induced a dose-related thrombopoietic effect in women with breast cancer. IL-11 at doses of >25 μg/kg per day appeared to reduce the severity of chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia. In a randomized phase II trial, IL-11 at 50 μg/kg reduced the requirement for platelet transfusions as compared with that in placebo-treated controls. IL-11 is an interesting factor; however, further studies are needed to confirm its activity and are in progress.
Tetracycline-containing Chitosan Microspheres for Local Treatment of Helicobacter pylori Infection

Helicobacter pylori infection is currently known to be the cause of at least 75% of all peptic ulcers. Although triple therapy protocols used at present in the clinics have resulted in significant benefits to the patients, the ultimate 100% eradication efficiency has never been achieved. In addition, the development of multidrug resistance to standard anti-microbial therapy can seriously hinder effective management of the disease. A rational approach to treat H. pylori, which localizes predominantly in the antral region of the stomach, is necessary for complete eradication of the infection. In this article, I review the summary of our work over the last several years on development of stomach-specific anti-H. pylori therapy using bioadhesive chitosan microspheres. To determine the gastric residence and local tetracycline concentrations as a function of time, tetracycline-containing chitosan microspheres were formulated and evaluated using the fasted Mongolian gerbil model. The H. pylori-infected gerbil model was used to evaluate the efficacy of the tetracycline-containing chitosan microsphere formulation. These preliminary results show great promise for this delivery strategy in the treatment of localized gastro-intestinal tract infections. Drug carrier systems can be engineered with the appropriate therapeutic agent(s) for efficient delivery to the target site and provide better control over localized infectious diseases. This strategy will ultimately lead to favorable clinical outcomes with less potential for resistance development.
Brain connectivity and the self: The case of cerebral disconnection

Over the past several years, the study of self-related cognition has garnered increasing interest amongst psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists. Concomitantly, lesion and neuroimaging studies have demonstrated the importance of intact cortico-cortical and cortico-subcortical connections for supporting high-level cognitive functions. Commissurotomy or "split-brain" patients provide unique insights into the role of the cerebral commissures in maintaining an individual's sense of self, as well as into the unique self-representation capabilities of each cerebral hemisphere. Here we review empirical work examining the integrity of self-related processes in patients with various disconnection syndromes, focusing on studies of self-recognition, ownership, and agency. Taken together, this body of work suggests that an intact corpus callosum enabling interhemispheric transfer is necessary for some, but not all types of self-representations.
Clinical perspectives on the use of composite endpoints

Although mortality is the most important endpoint in evaluating new regimens, insistence on its use as the only endpoint in clinical trials can require that thousands of patients be studied. Accordingly, composite endpoints have been increasingly used to increase the overall event rate and thereby reduce the number of patients needed for the trial. For use as part of composite endpoint, nonfatal endpoints should be clinically meaningful, i.e., related to an adverse subsequent prognosis. In acute myocardial infarction (MI), several intermediate endpoints in the well-described pathophysiology of acute MI have been correlated with an adverse long-term outcome: recurrent MI, new onset congestive heart failure or cardiogenic shock, left ventricular dysfunction, large infarct size, and failure to achieve early patency of the infarct-related artery. Furthermore, in acute MI, new therapies that improve these nonfatal endpoints also improve mortality, thereby validating this approach. Once this link is established, such nonfatal endpoints can be validly used in evaluating new therapies. Note, however, if this link has not been made (that mortality is reduced when there is a reduction in the nonfatal endpoint), as in the case of suppression of ventricular premature complexes with antiarrhythmic therapy, the nonfatal endpoint cannot be used validly. Thus, appropriately designed and validated composite endpoints can provide a valid means of testing new treatments in a smaller trial than one using mortality alone. Their use should allow testing of a greater number of new regimens, thereby allowing more rapid progress toward improving the clinical outcome of patients.