cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Relation of the Neuroendocrine System to Development of Prolactin-Secreting Pituitary Tumors

Prolactin (PRL)-secreting tumors are the most common pituitary tumor type seen in rats, mice, and man (Ito et al., 1972; Post et al.,1980; Schechter et al.,1981; Meites, 1981). Pituitary tumors that secrete growth hormone (GH), adrenocorticotropic hormones (ACTH), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) also occur in animals and man, and some pituitary tumors secrete several of these hormones simultaneously. In rodents, the incidence of the tumors increases with advancing age, but in human subjects, PRL-secreting pituitary microadenomas occur in young, as well as older individuals, and may increase with aging (Post et al., 1980). Whereas macroscopic pituitary tumors appear most frequently in aging rats and mice, such tumors are much less common in human subjects.
Cellular differentiation in root caps of Zea mays that do not secrete mucilage

We quantified the structural changes accompanying cellular differentiation in root caps of Zea mays cv. Ageotropic to determine the developmental basis for the nongraviresponsiveness of their primary roots. Cells of the calyptrogen and columella of primary roots of the ageotropic mutant have structures indistinguishable from those of caps of primary roots of Z. mays cv. Kys the graviresponsive, wild-type parent of Z. mays cv. Ageotropic. However, the relative volumes of dictyosomes, dictyosome-derived vesicles and starch in the outermost peripheral cells of wild-type roots were significantly lower than were those in peripheral cells of mutant roots. This corresponds to a dramatic accumulation of starch and mucilage-filled vesicles in peripheral cells of mutant roots. Cellular differentiation in root caps of graviresponsive seminal roots of the Ageotropic mutant resembled that of primary and seminal roots of the wild-type cultivar, and differed significantly from that of primary roots of the mutant. We conclude that the mutation that blocks secretion of mucilage from peripheral cells of Ageotropic roots: (1) expresses itself late in cellular differentiation in root caps; (2) is expressed only in primary (but not seminal) roots of the Ageotropic mutant; and (3) is consistent with malfunctioning dictyosomes and dictyosome-derived vesicles being the cellular basis for agravitropism of primary roots of this mutant.
Semismooth hybrid automata

The determination of the optimal mode sequence for hybrid systems with autonomous transitions is examined. A class of hybrid systems that exhibit a locally Lipschitz mapping between their parameters and their continuous states is introduced. Lipschitzian optimization methods such as bundle methods are explored for the solution of parametric optimization problems that have this class of hybrid systems embedded.
Isolation, characterization and cross-species amplification of microsatellite loci in the cycad genus Dioon (Zamiaceae). Potential utilization in population genetics studies of Dioon edule

Dioon edule (Zamiaceae) is an endemic Mexican cycad. Nineteen microsatellite loci were isolated from three enriched genomic libraries of D. edule var. angustifolium, D. tomasellii, and D. caputoi. Seven of these loci showed polymorphisms in D. edule. Levels of polymorphism were assessed using 16 individuals from each of seven populations throughout the range of this species. The number of alleles per locus ranged from two to five and the observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.0 to 0.9821 and from 0.0088 to 0.6318, respectively. All loci show significant linkage disequilibrium. Three loci depart significantly from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium.
Calculation of the Orbit Length Change of the Recycler due to Main Injector Ramp

Orbit length of a beam in the Recycler changes during the Main Injector ramps. Unknown kicks from the effects generated by a stray field distribute around the ring. Particularly we observed additional effects from the MI lambertsons and the C-magnets during their ramps for a beam transfer. To estimate the changes, simulated virtual kicks are created in the Recycler lattice. The difference of the orbit lengths is calculated by comparing the horizontal closed orbit of the beam with a reference orbit. Calculation results show that strong effect came from the buses. In this report, we describe the calculation methods. Also presented are the analysis including the calculation of the orbit length changes and the strength of the simulated kicks before and after we shield the buses.
New paradigm for imaging systems

We describe a new paradigm for designing hybrid imaging systems. These imaging systems use optics with a special aspheric surface to code the image so that the point-spread function or the modulation transfer function has specified characteristics. Signal processing then decodes the detected image. The coding can be done so that the depth of focus can be extended. This allows the manufacturing tolerance to be reduced, focus-related aberrations to be controlled, and imaging systems to be constructed with only one optical element plus some signal processing. OCIS codes: 080.3620, 110.0110, 110.2990, 110.0180, 110.4850, 180.0180. 1. Introduction and Background The new paradigm that we describe for the design of imaging systems has been termed wave-front coding. These coded optical systems are arrived at by means of designing the coding optics and the signal processing as an integrated imaging system. The results are imaging systems with previously unobtainable imaging modalities and require a modification of the optics for coding the wave in the aperture stop or an image of the aperture stop. This coding produces an intermediate image formed by the optical portion of the system that gathers the image. Signal processing is then required for decoding the intermediate image to produce a final image. The coding can be designed to make the imaging system invariant to certain parameters or to optimize the imaging system’s sensitivity to those parameters. One example is the use of image coding to preserve misfocus and hence, range or distance information. Another example is the use of different types of codes to make the image invariant to misfocus. These new focusinvariant imaging systems can have more than an order of magnitude increase in the depth of field. Our emphasis in this paper is on the use of the increased depth of focus to design new types of imaging systems. An example of the new imaging systems that can be constructed is a single-element lens that has a small F#, wide field of view, and diffractionlimited imaging. It also can have greatly relaxed assembly tolerances, because of its invariance to focus-related aberrations. Coding of signals for optimally conveying particular information is not new. In radar the transmitted pulses are coded for optimally providing information concerning a target’s range, for example. The appropriate signal processing to extract the range information is designed in conjunction with the transmitted signal. The integrated design of the optical image-gathering portion along with the signal processing normally is not done in the design of imaging systems. There are exceptions such as tomography, coded aperture imaging, and sometimes, interferometric imaging. In 1984 a group that was investigating the limits of resolution pointed out the potential of increasing the performance of imaging systems by jointly designing the optics and the signal processing. 1
Perinatal safety: From concept to nursing practice

Communication and teamwork problems are leading causes of documented preventable adverse outcomes in perinatal care. An essential component of perinatal safety is the organizational culture in which clinicians work. Clinicians' individual and collective authority to question the plan of care and take action to change the direction of a clinical situation in the patient's best interest can be viewed as their "agency for safety." However, collective agency for safety and commitment to support nurses in their role of advocacy is missing in many perinatal care settings. This article draws from Organizational Accident Theory, High Reliability Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism to describe the nurse's role in maintaining safety during labor and birth in acute care settings and suggests actions for supporting the perinatal nurse at individual, group, and systems levels to achieve maximum safety in perinatal care.
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and dermatomyositis: an analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample survey.

Introduction Increased rates of cardiovascular disease are implicated in several rheumatologic diseases. Our aim was to characterize dermatomyositis hospitalizations and evaluate cardiovascular-associated mortality in this patient population.
Comparison of vegetation index compositing scenarios: BRDF versus maximum VI approaches

Satellite sensors, such as the AVHRR, SPOT and soon to be launched MODIS, MISR, VEGETATION and GLI acquire bidirectional reflectance data under different solar illumination angles. These systems will capture the strong anisotropic properties that vary with relative amounts and types of vegetation and soil within each pixel. Therefore, some knowledge of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) is a requirement for successful interpretation of directional reflectance data and vegetation indices, and derivation of land-cover-specific biophysical parameters. The objectives of this research were: (a) to parameterize empirical and semi-empirical BRDF models for different land cover types and MODIS spectral bands, (b) utilize the BRDF models to correct off-nadir measurements to nadir-equivalent values for vegetation index (VI) compositing and biophysical interpretation and (c) compare different vegetation index compositing scenarios. High spectral and spatial resolution bidirectional reflectance factor (BRF) measurements from the ASAS flown on the NASA C-130B aircraft were used for the analysis. Leaf area index (LAI) measurements were made concurrently at most of the study sites which included deciduous and coniferous forest, grassland and shrub savanna land covers. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and modified VI (MVI) were selected as classifiers in five different vegetation index composite scenarios: a maximum VI based on apparent reflectance data, a maximum VI based on at-surface reflectance data, a BRDF standardized VI, based on at-surface reflectances at nadir view angle, a BRDF normalized VI, based on at-surface reflectances at nadir view and nadir sun angles, a normalized bidirectional VI distribution function (BVIF). Nadir-equivalent VI accuracy and predictability were evaluated for all compositing scenarios using the measured nadir observations as a reference. The results of the analysis emphasize the importance of standardizing BRF for vegetation index compositing schemes and retrieval of biophysical parameters.
Simplified Method for Calculating Elastic Moduli of Ceramic Powder from Compressibility and Debye Temperature Data

A method is presented for calculating the isotropic elastic moduli of ceramic powder from the compressibility and the Debye temperature. Young's and shear moduli of polycrystalline MgO, Al2O3, BeO, and TiO2 were computed from compressibility and Debye temperature data by the present method and compared with values determined by the standard resonance method; values agreed within a few percent. An advantage of the present method is its applicability to specimens too small for the resonance method, because both compressibility and Debye temperature can be determined on powder or thin-film forms.
Regulation of azole drug susceptibility by Candida albicans protein kinase CK2

Fluconazole resistance of the fungal pathogen Candida albicans can arise through several mechanisms, but the responsible genes and pathways are poorly understood. We report here that mutations in CKA2, identified through an insertional mutagenesis screen, confer fluconazole resistance. CKA2 and its homologue CKA1 specify catalytic subunits of protein kinase CK2. Although cka1 mutations have little effect on fluconazole resistance, CKA1 overexpression suppresses the fluconazole resistance of a cka2 mutant. This observation, along with synthetic cka1-cka2 interactions, argues that Cka1p and Cka2p carry out similar functions. cka2 mutants overexpress CDR1 and CDR2, two fluconazole efflux transporter genes, and a cdr1 mutation decreases resistance of a cka2 mutant, as expected if CDR1 and CDR2 overexpression is responsible for fluconazole resistance of the cka2 mutant. The protein phosphatase calcineurin is required for azole tolerance, and we find that the calcineurin inhibitor cyclosporin reverses fluconazole resistance of cka2 mutants. In addition, a mutation in CRZ1, which specifies a homologue of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcription factor that is a major target of calcineurin, suppresses fluconazole resistance of cka2 mutants. Expression analysis of Cka2p-responsive genes argues that Cka2p and Crz1p act through distinct mechanisms. Several clinical fluconazole-resistant isolates overexpress some Cka2p-responsive genes. We suggest that a Cka2p-dependent regulatory pathway is altered by clinically derived azole resistance mutations.
A comparison of the inhibitory actions of glycine and GABA on acetylcholine release from the rabbit retina.

The inhibition of [ 3 H]acetylcholine (ACh) release from cholinergic amacrine cells by glycine and GABA was studied using an in vivo eyecup preparation in anesthetized rabbits. Glycine (1 mM) had no effect on basal ACh release, but completely blocked the light-evoked release of ACh. Glycine also blocked the strong potentiating effects of picrotoxin (20 μM) normally observed on basal and light-evoked release. Strychnine (20 μM) increased basal release, albeit less than picrotoxin, but partially inhibited and altered the shape of light-evoked responses. Co-perfusion of picrotoxin and strychnine after strychnine application resulted in a larger additional basal increase. However, light-evoked responses were not restored to a control shape and magnitude, or to potentiated levels as with picrotoxin alone, but remained altered and partially inhibited. These results support the concept of a sustained GABA-mediated inhibition of the cholinergic pathway in the intact retina. In contrast, glycine-mediated inhibition of the cholinergic pathway differs, with the present results indicating a significantly smaller sustained inhibition of basal release and a temporal inhibition of light-evoked release. The lack of effect of any of these compounds on kainate-evoked responses indicates that these effects are predominately indirect, possibly on the presynaptic bipolar cell.
The coupling of an N-well CMOS fabrication laboratory course with the SEMATECH Center of Excellence in Multilevel Metallization at Rensselaer

The Center for Integrated Electronics (CIE) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is utilizing front-end processing, developed for, and performed in, a CMOS fabrication laboratory course as a foundry service for back-end of the line search. The goal of the fabrication laboratory course is to expose students to the fabrication of 2-micron CMOS integrated circuits through first level metallization and electrical testing. The SEMATECH Center of Excellence (SCOE) on Multilevel Metallization at Rensselaer is primarily focused on back-end of the line unit process research and has added an important task on process integration. The mask design and process steps used for both the course and SCOE research are outlined. >
Teachers’ selection and enactment of mathematical problems from textbooks

In order to investigate how teachers’ use of textbooks creates different kinds of opportunities for student learning, this study focused on teachers’ selection and enactment of problems and tasks from the textbooks and their influence on the cognitive demand placed on students. By drawing on data from three elementary teachers in the USA, two of which used a reform-oriented textbook—Math Trailblazers and one a commercially developed textbook—this study examined kinds of problems the teachers chose and ways in which they enacted those problems in relation to the cognitive demand of the problems. In particular, we attended to the kinds of questions the teachers asked in enacting the problems and ways in which those questions influenced the cognitive demand of the textbook problems. This study also identified critical issues involved in teacher decision-making on task selection and enactment, such as the match between teachers’ goals and those of the textbooks, and teachers’ perception of textbook problems. Based on the results of the study, we discuss implications for teacher education and professional development.
Success rates for product development strategies in new drug development.

Summary What is known and objective While research has examined the likelihood that drugs progress across phases of clinical trials, no research to date has examined the types of product development strategies that are the most likely to be successful in clinical trials. This research seeks to identify the strategies that are most likely to reach the market—those generated using a novel product development strategy or strategies that combine a company's expertise with both drugs and indications, which we call combined experience strategies. Methods We evaluate the success of product development strategies in the drug development process for a sample of 2562 clinical trials completed by 406 US pharmaceutical companies. To identify product development strategies, we coded each clinical trial according to whether it consisted of an indication or a drug that was new to the firm. Accordingly, a clinical trial that consists of both an indication and a drug that were both new to the firm represents a novel product development strategy; indication experience is a product development strategy that consists of an indication that a firm had tested previously in a clinical trial, but with a drug that was new to the firm; drug experience is a product development strategy that consists of a drug that the firm had prior experience testing in clinical trials, but with an indication that was new to the firm; combined experience consists of both a drug and an indication that the firm had experience testing in clinical trials. Success rates for product development strategies across clinical phases were calculated for the clinical trials in our sample. Results and discussion Combined experience strategies had the highest success rate. More than three and a half percent (0·036) of the trials that combined experience with drugs and indications eventually reached the market. The next most successful strategy is drug experience (0·025) with novel strategies trailing closely (0·024). Indication experience strategies are the least successful (0·008). These differences are statistically significant. What is new and conclusion The primary contribution of this study is that product development strategies combining experience with drugs and indications strategies are the most likely to reach the market, even though they are least common strategy. Therefore, combined experience strategies remain underutilized. The findings also suggest a promising path for pursuing combined experience strategies: gaining expertise with drugs is likely to be a more effective path to gaining the expertise necessary for developing subsequent recombination strategies.
Potential of Heliothis spp. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)-Resistant Cottons in Limited-Irrigation Situations

Cotton cultivars with Heliothis spp.-resistant characters (glabrous, nectariless, and high gossypol) were grown under Rolling Plains conditions of limited irrigation and low nitrogen inputs. To assess resistance, data were taken on oviposition rate, numbers of larvae, and damage to squares and soft bolls. In the initial screening studies conducted from 1976 to 1978, larval numbers and damage to squares were lower in the resistant cultivars ‘HG-BR-8-N,’ ‘HG-6-1-N,’ ‘La 17801,’ and ‘HG-P-9-13’ than in the nonresistant cultivar ‘Lankart Sel. 611.’ However, yields were generally the same in all cultivars. These results prompted irrigation management studies in 1979 and 1980. When multiple irrigations were not managed to avoid Heliothis zea (Boddie) oviposition peaks, resistant cultivars did suppress damage in relation to nonresistant cultivars. However, when cotton was grown dryland, or when irrigations were managed to avoid oviposition peaks, damage to squares and soft bolls sustained by resistant and nonresistant cultivars was the same. The resistant cultivars rarely produced higher yields than the nonresistant cultivars in any of the irrigation management schemes.
The Thermocouple Method of Determining Temperatures.

The thermocouple is used in many different fields for the determination of temperatures. Physicists first employed this method in 1812, but at that time the process was a slow and tedious one. With improved apparatus the method became more practicable, and during recent years it has come into wide use both in the exact sciences and in the industries.
The Role of the Marketing System in Aztec Society and Economy: Reply to Evans

The major disagreements between Evans and me stem from our very different characterizations of the nature of the Aztec socioeconomic system. Against her picture of a politically controlled, uncommercialized, and fragmented economy I argue for a complex, open, highly commercialized, and integrated economic system. Markets and marketplace trade played a larger role in this system than Evans would allow. From this perspective the central place analysis is elaborated and defended.
Human Dignity and the Psychology of Interrogation in Miranda v. Arizona.

Miranda v. Arizona , holding confessions obtained during police interrogation inadmissable unless preceded by a full and specific disclosure of a suspect's rights, is perhaps the best known U.S. Supreme Court decision on due process. The decision was built on the twin pillars of human dignity and free will. The Court determined that the intent of the Fifth Amendment is to protect human dignity, and argued that dignity is jeopardized by state actions whose effect is to diminish free will. Consequently, the Court extended the restrictions on police investigators it had been developing since Bram v. United States . In that decision, the Court ruled that confessions could not “be extracted by any sort of threats or violence, nor obtained by any direct or implied promises, however slight, nor by the exertion of any improper influence.” In Miranda , the Court attached the widest possible meaning to “improper influence,” ruling that interrogation is, in itself, an influence against which suspects must be protected by procedural safeguards. It is instructive to reflect on these issues at a time when similar questions are being raised in Canadian courts under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms .
The Objectivity of Thought

How can thought be objective? The answer to this question depends as much upon the nature of thought as upon the nature of objectivity.
Calculation of Probabilistic Optimal Power Flow Considering Wind Speed Correlation of Wind Farm

Lots of uncertainties have been brought into power system by the connection of large-scale wind farm.The problem of probabilistic optimal power flow with large-scale wind farm is studied,and the probabilistic optimal power flow model is established,which considers the wind speed correlation of wind farm.Orthogonal transformation technique is applied to deal with the correlated random variables,and point estimation method based on orthogonal transformation technique is proposed.Point estimation method is applied to transform the probabilistic optimal power flow problem to the deterministic optimal problem which is solved by the interior point method.The calculation results of the IEEE-118 bus system show that the proposed method,comparing with the Monte Carlo method,keeps higher calculation accuracy and at the same time needs less calculation time,which has better application prospect.
Establishment of Regeneration System in vitro Culture of Amorphophphallus Konjac

Taking Amorphophphallus konjac as material, the effects of different sterilizing methods on the regeneration capacity of different explants were compared, the influences of different hormone levels on callus and adventitious buds induction were studied, and the effects of solid culture and liquid culture on subculture were also discussed. The results showed that corm and rhizome are the optimum explants for callus induction. The optimum hormone combination for konjac callus induction is MS 1.0 mg / L 6-BA+1.0 mg / L NAA, and the optimum media for adventitious buds induction is MS+2.0~2.5 mg / L 6-BA+0.5mg / L NAA or MS+0.5 mg / L TDZ+0.1 mg / L NAA, and liquid culture would be suitable for subculture of konjac callus, the reproduction rate of adventitious buds can be up to 4.69.
The induction of TNF-α and TNFR1 in acute hepatic failure mice hepatocyte

Objective To study the roles of TNF-α and TNFR1 in the induction and development of acute hepatic failure.Method Seventy-two male mice were divided into three groups randomly,the model group were induced by TNF-α and D-Ga1N.The levels of ALT、AST and TNF-α were measured by biochemical assay and ELISA kit,respectively.The histopathological change was observed by HE and TUNEL.Results It was found that the serum levels of ALT,AST and TNF-α in the model were apparently increased compared with those in control group(P0.05),and profuse apoptosis and necrosis were emerged in hepatocytes when tested by TUNEL and HE method.However,in the treatment group,the serum levels of TNF-α were decreased and the liver injury was remarkably ameliorated based on the serum transaminase levels(P0.05) and histological change.Conclusions TNF-α is an important role in acute hepatic failere,anti-TNFR1-Ab treatment can partially block the liver injury induced by TNF-α and D-Ga1N and ameliorate the hepatic histopathological change,so anti-TNFR1-Ab treatment provides the basis for a novel therapeutic modality in which an unfavorable apoptotic process can be inhibited in acute hepatic failure mice.
Comparative Study of Military Science of Sun Tzu and On War

This article emphasizes the comparative study of Military Science of Sun Tzu and On War,the most famous military works in the world.The similarities and differences between them are profoundly analyzed through the tradition of culture,way of thinking and theory of war.The essence and features of them are pointed out in this article so that readers can concurrently absorb the good qualities of them and grasp different pulse of military and cultural tradition between the East and the West.
New and Emerging Technologies that are Influencing Industry and Society

This paper attempts to predict the technologies that will be most influential over industry and society in the next decade. It covers in succession: mathematical technology, physics technology, chemical technology, materials technology, biotechnology, and information technology.
Hadwiger’s conjecture

This is a survey of Hadwiger’s conjecture from 1943, that for all t ≥ 0, every graph either can be t-coloured, or has a subgraph that can be contracted to the complete graph on t + 1 vertices. This is a tremendous strengthening of the four-colour theorem, and is probably the most famous open problem in graph theory.
Predicting clinical outcomes in chordoma patients receiving immunotherapy: a comparison between volumetric segmentation and RECIST

The Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) are the current standard for evaluating disease progression or therapy response in patients with solid tumors. RECIST 1.1 calls for axial, longest-diameter (or perpendicular short axis of lymph nodes) measurements of a maximum of five tumors, which limits clinicians’ ability to adequately measure disease burden, especially in patients with irregularly shaped tumors. This is especially problematic in chordoma, a disease for which RECIST does not always adequately capture disease burden because chordoma tumors are typically irregularly shaped and slow-growing. Furthermore, primary chordoma tumors tend to be adjacent to vital structures in the skull or sacrum that, when compressed, lead to significant clinical consequences. Volumetric segmentation is a newer technology that allows tumor burden to be measured in three dimensions on either MR or CT. Here, we compared the ability of RECIST measurements and tumor volumes to predict clinical outcomes in a cohort of 21 chordoma patients receiving immunotherapy. There was a significant difference in radiologic time to progression Kaplan-Meier curves between clinical outcome groups using volumetric segmentation (P = 0.012) but not RECIST (P = 0.38). In several cases, changes in volume were earlier and more sensitive reflections of clinical status. RECIST is a useful evaluation method when obvious changes are occurring in patients with chordoma. However, in many cases, RECIST does not detect small changes, and volumetric assessment was capable of detecting changes and predicting clinical outcome earlier than RECIST. Although this study was small and retrospective, we believe our results warrant further research in this area.
Diagnostic value of blood tests for occult causes of initially idiopathic small-fiber polyneuropathy

Small-fiber polyneuropathy (SFPN) causes non-specific symptoms including chronic pain, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and sweating complaints. Diagnosis is made from history and exam in patients with known risk factors such as diabetes, but objective test confirmation is recommended for patients without known risks. If tests confirm SFPN, and it is “initially idiopathic” (iiSFPN), screening for occult causes is indicated. This study’s aim was to evaluate the 21 widely available, recommended blood tests to identify the most cost-effective ones and to learn about occult causes of iiSFPN. Records were reviewed from all 213 patients with SFPN confirmed by distal-leg skin biopsy, nerve biopsy, or autonomic-function testing in our academic center during 2013. We determined the prevalence of each abnormal blood-test result (ABTR) in the iiSFPN cohort, compared this to population averages, and measured the costs of screening subjects to obtain one ABTR. Participants were 70 % female and aged 43.0 ± 18.6 years. High erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and antinuclear antibody (ANA; ≥1:160 titer) were most common, each present in 28 % of subjects. The ABTR ≥3 × more prevalent in iiSFPN than in the total population were high ESR, high ANA, low C3, and Sjogren’s and celiac autoantibodies. Together, these suggest the possibility of a specific association between iiSFPN and dysimmunity. ABTR identifying diabetes, prediabetes, and hypertriglyceridemia were less common in iiSFPN than in the population and thus were not associated with iiSFPN here. The six most cost-effective iiSFPN-associated blood tests—ESR, ANA, C3, autoantibodies for Sjogren’s and celiac, plus thyroid-stimulating hormone—had estimated cost of $99.57/person and 45.6 % probability of obtaining one abnormal result. Angiotensin-converting enzyme was elevated in 45 %, but no patients had sarcoidosis, so this test was futile here.
Thioredoxin-2 Inhibits Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Generation and Apoptosis Stress Kinase-1 Activity to Maintain Cardiac Function

Background Thioredoxin 2 (Trx2) is a key mitochondrial protein that regulates cellular redox and survival by suppressing mitochondrial reactive oxygen species generation and by inhibiting apoptosis stress kinase-1 (ASK1)-dependent apoptotic signaling. To date, the role of the mitochondrial Trx2 system in heart failure pathogenesis has not been investigated. Methods and results Western blot and histological analysis revealed that Trx2 protein expression levels were reduced in hearts from patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, with a concomitant increase in ASK1 phosphorylation/activity. Cardiac-specific Trx2 knockout mice develop spontaneous dilated cardiomyopathy at 1 month of age with increased heart size, reduced ventricular wall thickness, and a progressive decline in left ventricular contractile function, resulting in mortality due to heart failure by ≈4 months of age. The progressive decline in cardiac function observed in cardiac-specific Trx2 knockout mice was accompanied by the disruption of mitochondrial ultrastructure, mitochondrial membrane depolarization, increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species generation, and reduced ATP production, correlating with increased ASK1 signaling and increased cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Chronic administration of a highly selective ASK1 inhibitor improved cardiac phenotype and reduced maladaptive left ventricular remodeling with significant reductions in oxidative stress, apoptosis, fibrosis, and cardiac failure. Cellular data from Trx2-deficient cardiomyocytes demonstrated that ASK1 inhibition reduced apoptosis and reduced mitochondrial reactive oxygen species generation. Conclusions Our data support an essential role for mitochondrial Trx2 in preserving cardiac function by suppressing mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production and ASK1-dependent apoptosis. Inhibition of ASK1 represents a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure.
Die Bedeutung intrazellulärer Signalwege in gynäkologischen Tumoren — Von der Grundlagenforschung zur Therapie

Proteinkinasen sind Bestandteile vieler Signaltransduktionswege, die Signale von der Zellmembran in das Zellinnere ubertragen und spielen eine wichtige Rolle fur die Transformation und Krebsentstehung. Sie sind molekulare Schalter, die den Transfer der γ-Phosphatgruppe von ATP auf die Hydroxylgruppe von Serin, Threonin oder Tyrosin katalysieren. Entsprechend unterscheidet man Serin/Threonin- und Tyrosinkinasen. Unter 30 bekannten Tumorsuppressorgenen und mehr als 100 Onkogenen sind Proteinkinasen am haufigsten vertreten, was ihre zentrale Bedeutung fur die Tumorentstehung unterstreicht. Kinasen werden proximal und/oder distal aller wichtigen Onkogene gefunden, oder sind selbst Onkogene [2].
A Primer on the Evolution and Complexity of Bank Regulatory Capital Standards

Bank regulators consider minimum capital standards essential for promoting well-functioning banking systems. Despite their existence, however, such standards have been insufficient to prevent periodic disruptions in the banking sectors of various countries. The most recent disruption was the global banking crisis of 2007–2009. After the crisis, bank capital requirements have increased and become more complex. Clearly, capital requirements are important as a first line of defense in ensuring safer and sounder banking industries. Given the importance of capital requirements, this paper explains and documents: (1) the extent to which capital requirements have evolved, becoming higher and more complex, and (2) how all the regulatory capital ratios that now exist to account for differences among banks, such as asset size and business model, do not provide equally valuable information about whether a bank is adequately capitalized. A simple minimum regulatory capital ratio will likely promote a more stable banking system.
Radiochronometry in the CMX-4 Exercise-Draft

In a recent international exercise, 10 international nuclear forensics laboratories successfully performed radiochronometry on 3 low-enriched uranium oxide samples, providing 12 analytical results using 3 different parent-daughter pairs serving as independent chronometers. The vast majority of the results were consistent with one another and consistent with the known processing history of the materials. In general, for these particular samples, mass spectrometry gave more accurate and more precise analytical results than decay counting measurements. In addition, the concordance of the 235U-231Pa and 234U-230Th chronometers confirmed the validity of the age dating assumption, increasing our confidence in the resulting conclusions.
A comprehensive investigation of comorbidities, mechanisms, injury patterns, and outcomes in geriatric blunt trauma patients

The geriatric population is growing and trauma providers are often tasked with caring for injuries in the elderly. There is limited information regarding injury patterns in geriatric trauma patients stratified by mechanism of injury. This study intends to investigate the comorbidities, mechanisms, injury patterns, and outcomes in geriatric blunt trauma patients. A retrospective study of the 2012 National Trauma Databank was performed. Adult blunt trauma patients were identified; geriatric (>/=65) patients were compared with younger ( /=16 (18 vs 20%, P /=3 (24 vs 18%, P /=3 (24% vs 8%, P < 0.0001). After logistic regression older age was an independent risk factor for mortality for the overall population and across all mechanisms. Falls are the most common mechanism for geriatric trauma patients. Geriatric patients overall present with a lower Injury Severity Score, but more often sustain severe injuries to the head and lower extremities. Injury patterns vary significantly between older and younger patients when stratified by mechanism. Mortality is significantly higher for geriatric trauma patients and older age is independently associated with mortality across all mechanisms.
Black-white Biracial Students’ Evaluations of Blackness: The Role of College in Shaping Racial Regard:

This study explores biracial students’ racial regard, an evaluative component of racial identity that captures positive and negative feelings about the racial groups to which one belongs. Drawing o...
Strain and Function Stability in Gnotobiotic Reactors

The ability of the community level physiological profiling approach to analyzing microbial community structure was examined in a constructed community. Four bacterial strains, characterized by BIOLOG®-GN profiles, were combined into 2 communities which were maintained for 7 weeks on 2% wheat residue in distilled water with 10% daily removal and replenishment of medium, after 3 weeks incubation, aeration was stopped for 5 days. Although the abundance of all the isolates decreased during the perturbation, all the strains persisted throughout the experiments. Only 80% of functions lost during perturbation were recovered afterward. Persistence of strains in a community did not guarantee persistence of metabolic functions which those strains could perform.
Labor Supply Model Over Time: The Life Cycle Diagram

An employee’s earnings potential, or human capital “stock”, is partially determined by the choices that he makes such as schooling and work decisions, and partially determined by external factors such as technological change or occupational injuries. Wages are the flow of investment returns when human capital stock1 is applied to work. Wages, the rate of return to the human capital stock, are determined by market forces. In terms of the irrigation dam analogy in the last chapter, market forces determine the value of a cubic foot of water. The size of the dam (the stock of human capital) determines how much water flows out per second. Observed wages are the product of the total flow, and the value of that flow (per cubic foot of water). Another analogy may be an apartment building. Market forces determine the value of an apartment in the building. Total monthly rental income is determined by the size of the building (its capital stock, measured in terms of number of apartments) multiplied by the rental income received for each apartment. We consider those supply and demand forces in this chapter that determine the human capital equivalent of an apartment’s rent, or the value of a cubic foot of water. We call this value the (implicit) wages of workers. We call wages, viewed this way, as the rate of return on human capital.
Ch. R-12 Effects of High Pressure and High-Pressure Gases on Microorganisms

Abstract A general review of the interactions of pressure and temperature on microbial growth and survival is presented. In general, the pressures in petroleum reservoirs are not so extreme as to preclude microbial functions. It appears that adaptation for growth at either higher or lower temperatures is largely independent of pressure adaptation.
Environmental Impact of Magnetic Fields Generated by A Large Superconductive Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) System

Consideration of the environmental impact of SMES systems includes possible biological effects on humans as well as on other vertebrates, plants and bacteria; effects on the operation of essential life support systems such as cardiac pace makers; and effects on such equipment as watches, microprocessors, automobile and aircraft ignition systems and magnetic credit cards. Present knowledge of the biological effects of steady (DC) high and low intensity magnetic fields is reviewed, including synergetic effects of such fields in the presence of 60 Hz electric and magnetic fields; effects on cell growth, DNA synthesis, endocrine system rhythms, Ca++ efflux, bacterial motion and bird migration are considered briefly. If the environment outside the fenced-in SMES area is to be accessible to persons with cardiac pace makers the safe field level will have to be below 1.7 mT. Selecting an arbitrary safety factor of 1.7 giving a field of 1.0 mT one obtains an exclusion radius of 2.0 km for a presently considered 5500 MWh solenoidal storage system and 255 m for a proposed 20 MWh device.
Inverse Scattering with Rational Scattering Coefficients and Wave Propagation in Nonhomogeneous Media

The inverse scattering problem for the one-dimensional Schrodinger equation is considered when the potential is real valued and integrable and has a finite first-moment and no bound states. Corresponding to such potentials, for rational reflection coefficients with only simple poles in the upper half complex plane, a method is presented to recover the potential and the scattering solutions explicitly. A numerical implementation of the method is developed. For such rational reflection coefficients, the scattering wave solutions to the plasma-wave equation are constructed explicitly. The discontinuities in these wave solutions and in their spatial derivatives are expressed explicitly in terms of the potential.
Correlation of monocular grating acuity at age 12 months with recognition acuity at age 4.5 years: findings from the Infant Aphakia Treatment Study.

Purpose To determine whether grating acuity at age 12 months can be used to predict recognition acuity at age 4.5 years in children treated for unilateral congenital cataract enrolled in the Infant Aphakia Treatment Study (IATS). Methods Traveling testers assessed monocular grating acuity at 12 months of age (Teller Acuity Card Test [TACT]) and recognition acuity at 4.5 years of age (Amblyopia Treatment Study Electronic Visual Acuity Testing, HOTV) in children treated for visually significant monocular cataract in the IATS. Spearman rank correlation was used to evaluate the relationship between visual acuities at the two ages in the treated eyes. Results Visual acuity data at both ages were available for 109 of 114 children (96%). Grating acuity at 12 months of age and recognition acuity at 4.5 years of age were significantly correlated for the treated eyes (rspearman = 0.45; P = 0.001). At age 4.5 years, 67% of the subjects who had grating acuity at 12 months of age within the 95% predictive limits in their treated eye demonstrated recognition acuity better than 20/200. Similarly, at age 4.5 years 67% of the subjects who had grating acuity at age 12 months below the 95% predictive limits in their treated eye demonstrated recognition acuity of 20/200 or worse. Conclusions A single grating acuity assessment at age 12 months predicts recognition acuity in a child treated for unilateral congenital cataract in only two-thirds of cases. Clinicians should consider other factors, such as patching compliance and age at surgery, when using an early grating acuity assessment to modify treatment.
Fee-for-Service Medicare-Enrolled Elderly Veterans Are Increasingly Voting with Their Feet to Use More VA and Less Medicare, 2003-2014.

Objective To examine the long-term reliance on outpatient care at the population (i.e., system) level among fee-for-service Medicare-enrolled elderly veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system and Medicare from 2003 to 2014. Data sources/study setting We analyzed a 5 percent random sample, stratified by facility, age, gender, and race, of Medicare-enrolled veterans enrolled in a VA primary care panel using VA administrative data and Medicare claims. Study design We performed a repeated cross-sectional analysis over 48 quarters. VA reliance was defined at the system level as the proportion of total visits (VA + Medicare) that occurred in VA. We examined four visit types and seven high-volume medical subspecialties. We applied direct standardization adjusting for age, gender, and race using the 2010 population distribution of Medicare-enrolled veterans. Principal findings Over the 12-year period, VA provided the vast majority of mental health care. Conversely, veterans received slightly more than half of their primary care and most of their specialty care, surgical care, and seven high-volume medical subspecialties through Medicare. However, reliance on VA outpatient care steadily increased over time for all categories of care. Conclusions Despite the controversies about VA access to care, Medicare-enrolled veterans, who have a choice of using VA or Medicare providers, appear to increase their use of VA care prior to the Choice Act.
Challenges and opportunities for natural product discovery, production, and engineering in native producers versus heterologous hosts

Recent advances and emerging technologies for metabolic pathway engineering and synthetic biology have transformed the field of natural product discovery, production, and engineering. Despite these advancements, there remain many challenges in understanding how biosynthetic gene clusters are silenced or activated, including changes in the transcription of key biosynthetic and regulatory genes. This knowledge gap is highlighted by the success and failed attempts of manipulating regulatory genes within biosynthetic gene clusters in both native producers and heterologous hosts. These complexities make the choice of native producers versus heterologous hosts, fermentation medium, and supply of precursors crucial factors in achieving the production of the target natural products and engineering designer analogs. Nature continues to serve as inspiration for filling the knowledge gaps and developing new research strategies. By exploiting the evolutionary power of nature, alternative producers, with the desired genetic amenability and higher titers of the target natural products, and new strains, harboring gene clusters that encode evolutionary optimized congeners of the targeted natural product scaffolds, can be discovered. These newly identified strains can serve as an outstanding biotechnology platform for the engineered production of sufficient quantities of the target natural products and their analogs, enabling biosynthetic studies and potential therapeutic applications. These challenges and opportunities are showcased herein using fredericamycin, iso-migrastatin, platencin and platensimycin, the enediynes of C-1027, tiancimycin, and yangpumicin, and the leinamycin family of natural products.