cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Flexible strain sensors based on pentacene-carbon nanotube composite thin films

In this study, we present the first flexible strain sensors based on pentacene-carbon nanotubes (CNTs) composite thin Alms employing a Wheatstone bridge configuration. The sensors were characterized with bending at 0, 45, and 90 degrees with respect to the bridge bias direction, applying strains of 1, 1.25, 1.67, and 2.5 0/00, respectively. It was noted that the output signal of the sensors is substantially enhanced with the addition of CNTs, resulting from the improvement in conductivity of the sensing active layer. This strain sensor using the CNTs-organic semiconductor matrix composite thin films as the active layer fabricated on flexible substrates is expected to possess better reliability as compared with conventional metallic foils and inorganic semiconductor strain sensors because of their low Young's modulus (~5 GPa).
Model Developments for the Brush Seal Numerical Simulation

A general review of the experimental, numerical/analytical, and industrial state of the art in the development of brush seals is presented. The authors formulate a numerical model as it relates to the physics of the flow, as understood from the numerous experiments done in the hydraulic tunnel at the University of Akron. Based further on their own experimental and numerical work, the authors propose a new approach to the numerical flow simulation of full brushes. This approach involves the segmentation of the brush in repetitive core segments, bound by an inlet and an exit segment. A numerical experiment is performed to prove the validity of the concept. d h P = = PTDRT = p = Red = SL = ST = T = T0 = t = U = U0 =
Health Communication Instruction: Toward Identifying Common Learning Goals, Course Content, and Pedagogical Strategies to Guide Curricular Development

Health communication is a vibrant and growing area of the communication discipline, with an abundance of theoretically grounded scholarship and practical application at many levels. Despite this growth, there has yet to be a published description of health communication pedagogy that could identify common conceptual approaches and teaching practices. To help address this gap, an online survey of health communication instructors at 77 colleges and universities throughout the United States was conducted. The questionnaire elicited information about the general characteristics of the institutions and the courses, learning goals, content areas, teaching strategies, and pedagogical practices. Key limitations are highlighted and some recent systematic curricular programs are then presented.
Can we improve trauma mortality in a state with a voluntary trauma system

Abstract Background: Arizona has no organized statewide trauma system. We looked at the1997 and the 1998 Uniform Hospital Discharge Data Set (UHDDS) for the State of Arizona, and examined the trauma mortality data at both trauma hospitals and nontrauma hospitals. Methods: All qualifying mortalities based on hospital data from 1997 through 1998 were reviewed for the State of Arizona. Trauma deaths from 32 nontrauma hospitals were examined and compared with that of 7 level 1 trauma centers within the state. Results: In this time period, there were 375 qualified mortalities from nontrauma centers and 761 qualified mortalities from level 1 trauma facilities. Only 29 (8%) of nontrauma hospital deaths were found to be due to motor vehicle accidents. Only 8 (4%) mortalities at nontrauma centers were due to firearms. Conclusion: The data suggest that patients are arriving at the appropriate facility for definitive care despite the absence of a formal statewide trauma system.
What do tests of “formal” reasoning actually measure?

Tests of formal operational reasoning derived from Piagetian theory have been found to be effective predictors of academic achievement. Yet Piaget's theory regarding the underlying nature of formal operations and their employment in specific contexts has run into considerable empirical difficulty. The primary purpose of this study was to present the core of an alternative theory of the nature of advanced scientific reasoning. That theory, referred to as the multiple-hypothesis theory, argues that tests of formal operational reasoning actually measure the extent to which persons have acquired the ability to initiate reasoning with more than one specific antecedent condition, or if they are unable to imagine more than one antecedent condition, they are aware that more than one is possible; therefore conclusions that are drawn are tempered by this possibility. As a test of this multiple-hypothesis theory of advanced reasoning and the contrasting Piagetian theory of formal operations, a sample of 922 college students were first classified as concrete operational, transitional, or formal operational, based upon responses to standard Piagetian measures of formal operational reasoning. They were then administered seven logic tasks. Actual response patterns to the tasks were analyzed and found to be similar to predicted response patterns derived from the multiple-hypothesis theory and were different from those predicted by Piagetian theory. Therefore, support was obtained for the multiple-hypothesis theory. The terms intuitive and reflective were suggested to replace the terms concrete operational and formal operational to refer to persons at varying levels of intellectual development.
Reconstructing republican freedom A critique of the neo-republican concept of freedom as non-domination

This article presents a critique of Philip Pettit’s concept of ‘freedom as non-domination’ and provides an alternative theory of both domination and republican political freedom. I argue that Pettit’s neo-republican concept of domination is insufficient to confront modern forms of domination and that this hampers his concept of republican freedom and its political relevance under the conditions of modernity. Whereas the neo-republican account of domination is defined by ‘arbitrary interference’, modern forms of domination, I argue, are characterized by routinization and systemic forms of control and subordination. In the end, the neo-republican account of domination is more appropriate for 17th- and 18th-century social institutions rather than those that persist under modernity. In its place, I propose a more dynamic concept of domination and rework the concept of freedom in order to place the republican tradition within the context of modernity itself. I argue that the core insight of republicanism is it...
Killing of human myelomonocytic leukemia and lymphocytic cell lines by Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans leukotoxin.

Abstract The purified leukotoxin of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans kills human leukemic cell lines (e.g., HL-60, U937, and KG-1) and human T- and B-cell lines (e.g., JURKAT, MOLT-4, Daudi, and Raji) in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The 50% effective doses for these cell lines are similar to those established for human polymorphonuclear leukocytes and monocytes. In contrast, other human and nonhuman tumor cell lines are not susceptible to the leukotoxin. These human leukemia and lymphoid cell lines will serve as useful model systems with which to study the molecular specificity and mechanism(s) of action of the actinobacillus leukotoxin.
A control and management network for wireless ATM systems

This work provides the results of the on-going design and implementation of a control and management network (an orderwire) for a mobile wireless ATM system. There are novel uses for an orderwire which receives time and position information from the Global Positioning System (GPS). Position information is used for such things as beam steering and determination of switch to host associations. The accurate time provided by the GPS is used by the network configuration system for a proposed rapid configuration algorithm.
Verification games: making verification fun

Program verification is the only way to be certain that a given piece of software is free of (certain types of) errors --- errors that could otherwise disrupt operations in the field. To date, formal verification has been done by specially-trained engineers. Labor costs have heretofore made formal verification too costly to apply beyond small, critical software components.Our goal is to make verification more cost-effective by reducing the skill set required for program verification and increasing the pool of people capable of performing program verification. Our approach is to transform the verification task (a program and a goal property) into a visual puzzle task --- a game --- that gets solved by people. The solution of the puzzle is then translated back into a proof of correctness. The puzzle is engaging and intuitive enough that ordinary people can through game-play become experts.This paper presents a status report on the Verification Games project and our Pipe Jam prototype game.
Simulating multiple scattering in hair using a photon mapping approach

Simulating multiple scattering correctly is important for accurate rendering of hair. However, a volume of hair is a difficult scene to simulate because scattering from an individual fiber is very structured and forward directed, and because the radiance distributions that arise from many such scattering events remain quite directional. For these reasons, previous methods cannot compute accurate images substantially faster than Monte Carlo path tracing.This paper proposes a new physically accurate method for rendering hair that is based on previous volumetric photon mapping methods. The first pass generates a photon map by tracing particles through the hair geometry, depositing them along paths rather than at scattering events. The second pass ray traces the hair, computing direct illumination and looking up indirect radiance in the photon map. Photons are stored and looked up in 5D position-direction space to allow for the very directional radiance distributions that occur in hair. Together with a new radiance caching method for fibers, our method simulates difficult scattering problems in hair efficiently and with low noise.The new algorithm is validated against path tracing and also compared with a photograph of light scattering in real hair.
Adolescent Children of Alcoholics: Vulnerable or Resilient?:

BACKGROUND: Children of alcoholics (COAs) have been described as both vulnerable and resilient. Although identified as at-risk for mental and physical health problems, chemical dependency, and child abuse and neglect, many go on to lead successful lives.OBJECTIVE: The relationship between COA status and various adolescent risk behaviors, such as drug and alcohol abuse and sexual precocity, was assessed by addressing the following research question: Could parental alcoholism be a risk factor for teens engaging in problem behaviors?STUDY DESIGN: A secondary analysis of a Wyoming high-risk youth data set was conducted (N = 1632). Werner’s (1992) core resiliency factors provided the conceptual frame for the study.RESULTS: Adolescent COAs scored significantly (p < .000) lower on all psychosocial factors of family/personal strengths and school bonding and significantly higher on all factors of at-risk temperament, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors than non-COAs.CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent COAs are at risk for depre...
Concanavalin A: the sequence of the C-terminal nonapeptide and of a heptapeptide.

Tryptic digestion of concanavalin A has given rise to two important fragments: a nonapeptide, Leu-Leu-Gly-Leu-Phe-Pro-Asp-Ala-Asn, corresponding to the C-terminal sequence of the protein and a heptapeptide, Trp-Asn-Met-Gln-Asn-Gly-Lys.
Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction with allograft: is it a home run?

Since its original description by Jobe et al. in 19861, ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction has become the standard treatment for ulnar collateral ligament deficiency in throwing athletes. There have been several modifications of the original procedure that aimed to maintain the integrity of the flexor pronator mass insertion on the medial humeral epicondyle and to improve the biomechanical strength of graft fixation2,3. Regardless of surgical technique, reported clinical outcomes have shown a rate of return to competition of 80% to 90% for throwing athletes4,5. One common thread in studies evaluating outcomes of ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction is the use of autograft for the reconstruction. Until now, there have been no reports of outcomes using allograft for ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction. In this issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Savoie et al. report the first case series, to my knowledge, on the use of allograft for ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction. In their study, …
Immunochemical Studies of Aα Chain Crosslinking

Nearly two decades ago our colleague, the late Dr. Hymie Nossel, considered the possibility that radioimmunoassays might have as much application in the field of coagulation as they had been shown to have in the field of endocrinology. He selected fibrinopeptide A as a likely candidate for measurement (1) and initiated a new era in the quantitation of peptides or proteins that are biochemical markers for various aspects of the coagulation process.
Glutamine-glutamate exchange between placenta and fetal liver

The hypothesis that glutamine shuttles nitrogen between placenta and fetal liver via interconversion with glutamate was explored by infusing L-[1,2-13C2]glutamine in six fetal sheep chronically catheterized for sampling of the umbilical and hepatic circulations. Fetal plasma glutamine disposal rate was 19.9 +/- 1.3 mumol.min-1.kg fetus-1. Entry of glutamine from the placenta accounted for approximately 60% of the total glutamine entry rate in fetal plasma. Glutamine was taken up by fetal liver, and 45.3 +/- 7.9% of the glutamine taken up was released as glutamate. The fetal liver released large quantities of glutamate, as evidenced by a sixfold increase in plasma glutamate concentration in the blood flowing through the left hepatic lobe and a hepatic glutamate output-to-O2 uptake molar ratio of 0.149 +/- 0.013. In conjunction with a previous study of fetal glutamate metabolism, these data demonstrate that glutamine entering the fetal circulation is converted to glutamate by the fetal liver at a rate of approximately 3-4 mumol.min-1.kg fetus-1.
Epilogue: Synthesis and Prospects for the Future

Our goal in compiling this volume, as expressed in the title, was to make it as comprehensive a handbook as possible. In the pursuit of that goal, the volume has grown far beyond our original plans. Upon discussing our ideas with colleagues around the United States and in Europe, we added chapters that highlighted the application of Cognitive Therapy to new populations with clinical problems that previously had not been systematically treated within a cognitive behavioral mode. Having assumed a basic model, the various contributors have stretched the limits of that model beyond the treatment of depression or anxiety. The ingenuity and creativity of these new applications are noteworthy in that they expand Beck’s model of Cognitive Therapy greatly while staying within the overiding theoretical framework. There is a “parochial eclecticism” that does not merely offer the reader an addition to his or her therapeutic bag of techniques, but rather encourages the mastery of a basic model, and then offers ways of expanding and modifying that model to best fit the needs of particular patients or patient types.
Discordance of receptor status in breast cancer throughout tumor progression and the associated prognostic implications: A case report and review of the literature

The receptor status of a breast cancer, including estrogen receptor (ER) status, progesterone receptor (PR) status, and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2), play a critical role in the development of a treatment plan. Typically, the primary receptor status has been used to make treatment decisions at the time of relapse, which occurs in approximately 20% of early-stage breast cancers [1]. However, multiple studies, including both prospective and retrospective, have shown that receptor status is dynamic and is unstable throughout tumor progression and during advanced stage disease [1,2,7]. National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines recommend that breast cancer patients with relapsed disease be re-biopsied secondary to the possibility of change in receptor status. Change in receptor status not only has clinical relevance when deciding on a treatment plan, it also has an impact on survival [1,2,4,7]. Of the 20% of patients that will relapse, up to one-third will have discordance between their original ER/PR receptor status and relapsed status, and up to 15% have discordance with regard to HER2 status [1]. Loss of receptor status is associated with a decrease in overall survival [1,2]. We present a case in which receptor status changed 3 times
Subdural abscess associated with halo-pin traction.

Osteomyelitis and intracranial abscess are among the most serious complications that have been reported in association with the use of the halo device. The cases of five patients who had formation of an intracranial abscess related to the use of a halo cervical immobilizer are described. All of the infections resolved after drainage of the abscess, debridement, and parenteral administration of antibiotics. Meticulous care of the pin sites is essential to avoid this serious complication. Additionally, since all of the infections were associated with prolonged halo-skeletal traction, this technique should be used with caution and with an awareness of the possible increased risks of pin-site infection and of formation of a subdural abscess.
Human Error in the Transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel

This paper summarizes work completed on human factors contributions to risks from spent nuclear fuel transportation. Human participation may have significant effects on the levels and types of risks from transportation of spent nuclear fuel by enabling or initiating incidents and exacerbating adverse consequences. Human errors are defined as the result of mismatches between perceived system state and actual system state. In complex transportation systems such mismatches may be distributed in time (e.g., during different stages of design, implementation, operation, maintenance) and location (e.g., human error, its identification, and its recovery may be geographically and institutionally separate). Risk management programs may decrease the probability of undesirable events or attenuate the consequences of mismatches. To be successful, they must be based in part on the analysis of human reliability data. This paper presents an overview of the availability and quality of human reliability data for spent fuel transportation risk assessments. In addition, we identify example prior occurrences of “human errors” during different stages and activities of spent nuclear fuel transportation. We have used such data, in conjunction with human error models, to develop a framework for the identification and management of potential mismatches.
Bidirectional neural interface: Closed-loop feedback control for hybrid neural systems

Closed-loop neural prostheses enable bidirectional communication between the biological and artificial components of a hybrid system. However, a major challenge in this field is the limited understanding of how these components, the two separate neural networks, interact with each other. In this paper, we propose an in vitro model of a closed-loop system that allows for easy experimental testing and modification of both biological and artificial network parameters. The interface closes the system loop in real time by stimulating each network based on recorded activity of the other network, within preset parameters. As a proof of concept we demonstrate that the bidirectional interface is able to establish and control network properties, such as synchrony, in a hybrid system of two neural networks more significantly more effectively than the same system without the interface or with unidirectional alternatives. This success holds promise for the application of closed-loop systems in neural prostheses, brain-machine interfaces, and drug testing.
Osteosarcoma of the spermatic cord.

AbstractMalignant tumors of the spermatic cord are rare but the vast majority of these tumors are sarcomas. We report on a patient with osteosarcoma arising in the spermatic cord. Left radical orchiectomy with high dissection of the spermatic cord was performed, and the patient remains free of recurrence 2 years postoperatively. We could find no previous discussion or report of this tumor.
Broadband in America: A Policy of Neglect is Not Benign

i I. A PERMANENT DIGITAL DIVIDE OR ANOTHER “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED?” 1 From Digital Divide to Falling Behind on Broadband Purpose and Outline of the Paper II. THE GOAL OF UBIQUITOUS, AFFORDABLE ADEQUATE COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE 6 The Legal Framework The Social and Economic Framework IV. THE ENDURING DIGITAL DIVIDE 10 Internet Penetration Has Stalled Empirical Evidence on the Importance of Connectedness IV. FALLING BEHIND ON BROADBAND 19 Falling Off the Cutting Edge Efforts to Explain Away an Inconvenient Truth V. THE POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF FALLING BEHIND ... 27 A Policy of Neglect is Not Benign The Importance of Price The Broad Policy Palate The Bush Administration The Clinton Administration VI. CONCLUSION 33
Conclusion: Giving the Lie

On December 2, 1911 a small notice appeared in Le Rappel de Toulouse, the Radical-Socialist paper, for which Ly’s adversary Prudent Massat had held the editorship for less than a year. The staff tersely alerted the public to Massat’s hasty resignation from the direction of Le Rappel. For the paper’s readers, and indeed any locals who had followed the amusing succession of heavily publicized affaires d’honneur in which Massat had become entangled over the previous few months, this news could have come as no surprise. Immediately after he had been persuaded by members of the Toulouse press to resolve the Ly-Massat conflict to the feminist’s advantage, Massat found himself confronted by a number of public challenges to his masculine and professional reputation. One of these perceived insults issued from the pen of his socialist adversary and editor-in-chief of Le Midi socialiste, Vincent Auriol, on the day following the September 2 meeting. In addition to publishing a merciless account of Ly’s public humiliation of Massat, Auriol accused his political rival of running a smear campaign against the Toulousain socialists that dishonored the journalistic profession.2 This was at best a questionable pretext for a duel, considering that the staff of both papers had long made mutual character-assassination their principal stock-in-trade. The local press immediately saw through Massat’s pretense, interpreting his impulsive provocation of Auriol as an attempt to rehabilitate his reputation following Ly’s branding of him as a coward.3 As all parties involved seemed to understand, Massat’s masculine credentials had been severely undermined by his unprecedented granting of “satisfaction” to a woman in the extralegal system of honor.
Complement and SLE

Abstract The complement system has been intimately linked to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Until recently, this association was viewed as inexplicably paradoxical. On the one hand, complement activation is thought to mediate tissue inflammation and contribute significantly to organ damage in patients with SLE. On the other hand, hereditary deficiencies of early components of the complement classical pathway impose a strikingly high risk for developing SLE. With an accelerated pace of advances over the past decade, the perplexing relationship of complement with SLE is being unraveled. This chapter will review the biology of the complement system in relation to SLE, focusing on the novel findings made in the past decade, revisit the utility of complement as biomarkers for SLE, and consider the potential of anticomplement therapeutics in SLE.
Rethinking Technological Resources in Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices: The Case of Taking and Teaching Online Courses

This chapter examines my efforts as a teacher educator teaching online courses to understand the ways in which I used technological resources in order to develop and maintain relational online course curriculum. My work draws conceptually on ideas from John Dewey who articulated that experience was the primary way to think about classroom life and learning. The narratives I share address the challenges both students and educators face while trying to implement technologies when neither are experts in using these tools, the importance of constructing relationships through heavy use of technologically-supported interactions that do not take place in person or even in “real” time, and privacy issues that arise in collecting assessment artifacts posted to the Internet, that are not necessarily intended by students to be public. The findings of this study suggest ways that teacher educators might look at technology and online learning as a means for building and extending relational spaces outside of the traditional educational setting. In addition, this study presents self-study researchers with new ways to think about teacher preparation, relationships in teaching, and online learning as a viable means to prepare educators at all levels for their professional responsibilities.
The Influence of Reviewer Demographic Information Provision on Trust and Purchase Intent for Users of Online Websites

ABSTRACTE-commerce websites are increasingly interested in how to effectively utilize online reviews to positively influence consumer decisions. One potential mechanism is providing socio-demographic information about reviewers along with the reviews. This study investigates how consumer decision outcome variables (e.g., perceived usefulness, trust and purchase intent) change when reviewers’ age and gender are provided and when a consumer’s and reviewer’s age/gender are same or similar. The hotel industry was utilized as the context. The results from the experiment showed that, regardless of the compatibility of the provided demographic information (reviewers’ vs. consumers’), providing reviewers’ age and gender positively impacted consumers’ perceived online trust, and about half of the participants processed and remembered the demographic information. It was additionally noted that people who could remember reviewers’ demographic information had not only more trust in the reviewer, the specific company’...
Teaching creativity in art and design studio classes: A systematic literature review

Abstract It is increasingly important for educators to help students develop as creative individuals, and to prepare graduates to think creatively at work, in personal life, and in society. Many countries are working to transform schooling to lead to creative learning outcomes. And yet, very little is known about how to teach for creativity. This review was motivated by the belief that effective models of creative teaching and learning would be found in art and design educational practice. The goal of this systematic review is to synthesize empirical studies of the pedagogy used in art and design studio classes, from early years to university. A keyword search, followed by a filter using inclusion criteria, identified 65 peer-reviewed journal articles. A grounded theory analysis of these 65 articles identified eleven themes characterizing art and design pedagogy, grouped in three clusters: Pedagogical practices (5 themes), learning outcomes (4 themes), and assessment (2 themes).
Parrondo's paradox or chaos control in discrete two-dimensional dynamic systems

Abstract In ecological modeling, seasonality can be represented as an alternation between environmental conditions. This concept of alternation holds common ground between ecologists and chemists, who design time-dependent settings for chemical reactors to influence the yield of a desired product. In this study and for a variety of maps, we consider a switching strategy that alternates between two undesirable dynamics that yields a stable desirable dynamic behavior. By comparing bifurcation diagrams of a map and its alternate version, we can easily find parameter values, which, on their own, yield chaotic orbits. When alternated, however, the parameter values yield a stable periodic orbit. Our analysis of the two-dimensional (2-D) maps is an extension of our previous work with one-dimensional (1-D) maps. In the case of 2-D maps, we consider the Beddington, Free, and Lawton and Udwadia and Raju maps. For these 2-D maps, we not only show that we can find “chaotic” parameters for the so-called “chaos” + “chaos” = “periodic” case, but we find two new “desirable” dynamic situations: “quasiperiodic” + “quasiperiodic” = “periodic” and “chaos” + “chaos” = “periodic coexistence.” In the former case, the alternation of chaotic dynamics yield two different periodic stable orbits implying the coexistence of attractors.
Soil surface roughness observed during SMAPVEX16-IA and its potential consequences for SMOS and SMAP

The European Space Agency's SMOS and NASA's SMAP soil moisture remote sensing satellite missions do not perform well in several agricultural regions. For example, we have found that SMOS and SMAP soil moisture retrievals are 0.09 to 0.07 m3 m−3 lower, respectively, than an in-situ soil moisture network in one such agricultural region in Central Iowa, USA. We hypothesize that this dry bias is in part caused by an incorrect parameterization of the effect of soil surface roughness, the mm-scale variations in the height of the soil surface. A large field campaign called SMAPVEX16-IA was held in this region in 2016. As part of the campaign, we measured soil surface roughness at nearly 20 sites within the domain of a SMOS/SMAP satellite pixel. We found that our observed soil surface roughness was higher than what is used by the SMOS soil moisture retrieval algorithm. If the SMOS and SMAP retrieval algorithms were adjusted to account for a higher soil surface roughness, this would increase retrieved soil moisture and decrease the soil moisture bias. We also found that our measurements of soil surface roughness are consistent with changes in the τ parameter, which is sensitive to soil surface roughness, retrieved by both the SMOS and SMAP missions.
A Revision of Capraria (Scrophulariaceae)

Herbarium and field studies of the chiefly neotropical genus Capraria have led to the recognition of four species. Capraria frutescens and C. mexicana are essentially endemic to Mexico. Capraria biflora is a widespread species that occurs throughout Mexico, Central and South America, the West Indies, and southern Florida. Capraria peruviana grows in northwestern South America and the Galapagos Islands. A complete account of synonymy and typification is provided, along with a key to species, scanning electron micrographs of pollen, stigmas and seeds, photographs, illustrations, and distribution maps.
The Radiolytic Gas Production Rate in Boiling Water Reactors

The radiolytic gas production rate in boiling water reactors has been reevaluated. The results of recent measurements of the dissolved gases in the main steam samples agree very well with the avera...
A Requirement for K+-Channel Activity in Growth Factor–Mediated Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase Activation in Human Myeloblastic Leukemia ML-1 Cells

Voltage-gated K+ channels have been shown to be required for proliferation of various types of cells. Much evidence indicates that K+-channel activity is required for G1 progression of the cell cycle in different cell backgrounds, suggesting that K+-channel activity is required for early-stage cell proliferation in these cells. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that underlie this phenomenon. We have shown in human myeloblastic leukemia ML-1 cells that K+ channels are activated by epidermal growth factor (EGF), whereas serum starvation deprivation suppressed their activity. In addition, voltage-gated K+ channels are required for G1/S-phase transition of the cell cycle. We report here that suppression of K+ channels prevented the activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 2 (ERK-2) in response to EGF and serum. However, blockade of K+ channels did not prevent ERK-2 activation induced by 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol 13-acetate (TPA). Elimination of extracellular Ca2+ did not alter either ERK-2 activation or the effect of K+-channel blockade on ERK-2 activation. Our data demonstrate that the K+ channel is a part of the EGF-mediated mitogenic signal-transduction process and is required for initiation of the EGF-mediated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. Our findings may thus explain why an increase in K+-channel activity is associated with cell proliferation in many types of cells, including ML-1 cells.
24 – Impact of Gender on the Response to Cardioactive Drugs

The influence of a patient's sex on presentation of various cardiac arrhythmias and of the impact of gender on clinical management is increasingly being appreciated. Repolarization of the heart, as reflected in the QT interval of the electrocardiogram (ECG), is one of the most dramatic and potentially lethal gender differences for women. A wide spectrum of drugs that prolong ventricular repolarization and QT interval, including certain antiarrhythmics, antihistamines, and antipsychotics, induce torsades de pointes (TdP) more frequently in women than men. Similarly, the female gender is an independent risk factor for syncope and sudden death in the autosomal dominant congenital long QT syndrome. Although the higher propensity toward ventricular arrhythmia in females is associated with fundamental differences in repolarization in the normal heart, the mechanisms underlying these differences are incompletely defined, but believed to involve gonadal steroids. This chapter discusses advances providing insights into the cellular mechanisms underlying the impact of gender on the heart's electrophysiology and its response to cardioactive drugs.
Particle-in-cell simulations of ion acceleration in high contrast and high intensity laser-solid target interactions at intensities above 10 20 Wcm -2*

Experiments conducted on the Trident laser facility show strongly ionized, directional and monoenergetic heavy ion bunches generated from ultrathin (60-140 nm) solid Titanium targets shined by high contrast short laser pulses $( \sim 650$ fs) with intensities above $10 ^{20}\mathrm {W}/$cm2. Here we performed 2-Dimensional PIC simulations with EPOCH code to study the effect of target thickness on the ion acceleration physics. The simulation with 100nmthick target shows that during laser-solid target interaction, the dominant Ti $^{+20}$ ions are accelerated through mixed mechanisms of target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) and acceleration caused by relativistic transparency effect. Along the target normal direction (on-axis), we observed quasi mono-energetic Ti $^{+20}$ beams with energy spike of about 160 MeV at the end of the simulation at 3ps. Mono-energetic spike is also observed at about 200 MeV between $\pm 10 \sim 20$ degrees off-axis at 2ps before the energetic Ti $^{+20}$ ions on the spike leave the simulation box. Both mono-energetic spikes are in good agreement with the experimental measurements in angle and energy. As the laser goes through the target, the longitudinal and transverse electric fields are formed during the propagation of Ti $^{+20}$ and electron filaments. These fluctuating fields stay until the end of the simulation, and may affect the propagation of Ti $^{+20}$ ions after the end of the laser pulse at 1.3ps. Detailed simulation results will be presented at the meeting. Simulations for this work were performed using HPC resources provided by the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas.
Comedic Cognition: The Impact of Elaboration on Political Comedy Effects

Political comedy has become an integral component of the political information environment. Though a great deal has been learned about the informative and persuasive effects of political comedy, th...
Theoretical investigation of alteration and radiation of large-scale structures due to jet impingement:

Jet flows impinge on launch pad structures and aircraft carrier deck blast deflectors. Turbulent structures are deformed and acoustic radiation is reflected by the deflector. The coupling of reflec...
A population-based study of maternal and infant factors influencing influenza vaccination among young children born in Colorado from 2008 to 2016.

INTRODUCTION Influenza causes significant morbidity among young children, and vaccination remains the best strategy to prevent disease. Understanding factors influencing early influenza vaccination uptake are important to identify strategies to increase vaccination rates. OBJECTIVE To assess maternal and neonatal factors associated with influenza vaccination among first-born children within the first two years of life. METHODS We conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study linking Colorado Birth Registry data and state immunization data of all live births between 2008 and 2016. The cohort was limited to singleton, first births. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess associations between maternal and neonatal factors and influenza vaccination. RESULTS Among 126,763 births meeting criteria for inclusion, 50.2% were vaccinated against influenza by two years of age. Mothers of unvaccinated children were older (27 vs 26 years, p < 0.0001), married (67.8% vs 66.8%, p < 0.0001), with a college education (38.8% vs 37.2%, p < 0.0001). Influenza vaccination rates declined over time by birth year (30.5% in 2009 vs 6.8% in 2013, p < 0.0001). Children admitted to the NICU receiving oxygen with 72 h of birth were 20% less likely to be vaccinated (RR = 0.8, 95% CI: 0.67-0.96) after adjusting for maternal age, race/ethnicity, education and preterm birth. Conversely, premature births were associated with an increase in influenza vaccination by age two years (RR = 1.1, 95%CI: 1.05, 1.15). CONCLUSIONS Among a large population-based cohort of mother-infant pairs in Colorado using birth and immunization registry data, there were statistically significant differences in maternal factors between unvaccinated and vaccinated children with influenza in the first 2 years of life, but the differences were too small to be clinically significant. Children admitted to the NICU were 20% less likely to be vaccinated, highlighting the need to target influenza vaccination in this population once eligible. Ongoing studies are needed to explore factors associated with early influenza vaccination.
Quantification of motor speech impairment and its anatomic basis in primary progressive aphasia

Objective To evaluate whether a quantitative speech measure is effective in identifying and monitoring motor speech impairment (MSI) in patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and to investigate the neuroanatomical basis of MSI in PPA. Methods Sixty-four patients with PPA were evaluated at baseline, with a subset (n = 39) evaluated longitudinally. Articulation rate (AR), a quantitative measure derived from spontaneous speech, was measured at each time point. MRI was collected at baseline. Differences in baseline AR were assessed across PPA subtypes, separated by severity level. Linear mixed-effects models were conducted to assess groups differences across PPA subtypes in rate of decline in AR over a 1-year period. Cortical thickness measured from baseline MRIs was used to test hypotheses about the relationship between cortical atrophy and MSI. Results Baseline AR was reduced for patients with nonfluent variant PPA (nfvPPA) compared to other PPA subtypes and controls, even in mild stages of disease. Longitudinal results showed a greater rate of decline in AR for the nfvPPA group over 1 year compared to the logopenic and semantic variant subgroups. Reduced baseline AR was associated with cortical atrophy in left-hemisphere premotor and supplementary motor cortices. Conclusions The AR measure is an effective quantitative index of MSI that detects MSI in mild disease stages and tracks decline in MSI longitudinally. The AR measure also demonstrates anatomic localization to motor speech–specific cortical regions. Our findings suggest that this quantitative measure of MSI might have utility in diagnostic evaluation and monitoring of MSI in PPA.
The relationship between suspended solids and nutrients with variable hydrologic flow regimes

Abstract The hypothesis that “freshwater inflow variability over space and time can drive suspended solids and nutrient concentrations” was tested by comparing three micro-tidal estuaries (Guadalupe, Lavaca-Colorado, and Nueces) in Texas with different hydrologic flow regimes over three years with wet and dry conditions. In all three estuaries, Total suspended solids (TSS) was less than 50 mg/L most of the time. In the Nueces Estuary, TSS of higher than 100 mg/L occurred during frontal events. Dissolved inorganic nitrogen (ammonia+nitrite+nitrate) concentrations were most of the time lowest in the Nueces Estuary (i.e. ≤ 0 . 5 μ mol/L), with low inflow rates and high average salinity of 37.6. Salinity was highest in the river-estuary mouth (average salinity 38.3) of the Nueces Estuary relative to the other oceanic-side stations (average salinity 37), indicating that the system was a “reverse estuary” where evaporation exceeds freshwater inflow, resulting in net inflow of marine water into the estuary. The inverse correlation between ammonium and salinity in all three estuaries and the corresponding negative correlation between nitrite+nitrate concentrations and salinity in the Guadalupe Estuary indicate that the quantity of inflow controls nitrogen concentrations and transformations in the three estuaries. Drought conditions limited riverine transport of nitrogen and sediment to the three estuaries, demonstrating the importance of freshwater inflow to maintaining these constituents. Average silica and orthophosphate concentrations correlated positively with chlorophyll-a in combined data from all three estuaries. Silica and orthophosphate concentrations remained constant over the study period, but correlated with chlorophyll-a when suspended solid was low. Therefore, inflow dynamics drive changes in the salinity regime, suspended solids, and act to maintain nutrient concentrations.
Selection and optimization of enzyme reporters for chemical cytometry.

Abstract Chemical cytometry, sensitive analytical measurements of single cells, reveals inherent heterogeneity of cells within a population which is masked or averaged out when using bulk analysis techniques. A particular challenge of chemical cytometry is the development of a suitable reporter or probe for the desired measurement. These reporters must be sufficiently specific for measuring the desired process; possess a lifetime long enough to accomplish the measurement; and have the ability to be loaded into single cells. This chapter details our approach to rationally design and improve peptide substrates as reporters of enzyme activity utilizing chemical cytometry. This method details the iterative approach used to design, characterize, and identify a peptidase-resistant peptide reporter which acts as a kinase substrate within intact cells. Small-scale, rationally designed peptide libraries are generated to rapidly and economically screen candidate reporter peptides for substrate suitability and peptidase resistance. Also detailed are strategies to characterize and validate the designed reporters by determining kinetic parameters, intracellular substrate specificity, resistance to degradation by intracellular peptidases, and behavior within lysates and intact cells.
A Dynamic Theory of Learning and Relationship Lending

We introduce private learning into a banking model to study the dynamics of relationship lending. In our model, an entrepreneur chooses between bank and market financing. Bank lending facilitates learning over time, but it subjects the borrower to the downside of an information monopoly. We construct an equilibrium in which the entrepreneur starts with bank financing and subsequently refinances with the market, and we find conditions under which this equilibrium is unique. Our model generates several novel results. First, both information asymmetry and the entrepreneur's reputation are accumulated over time. As a result, the bank will roll over bad loans for entrepreneurs who have accumulated enough reputation for the prospect of future loan sales. Second, this incentive to extend and pretend gets mitigated when the entrepreneur faces financial constraints. We further endogenize learning as the bank's costly decision and show how asymmetric information and financial constraints affect it.
Addressing the Contamination Issue in Fashion Sharing: Does Ownership Type of Shared Goods Matter?

Since the early 2000s, there has been a growing trend in the sharing of commodities by renting or purchasing secondhand goods through online platforms—a phenomenon known as collaborative consumption (CC). One of the major concerns among CC users is the issue of contamination (i.e., feeling ‘grossed out’ when sharing items with anonymous others). Still, very little is known about how CC companies can handle this issue. The purpose of this research is to examine the issue of contamination through exploring the effect on consumers’ CC intentions by ownership type of the shared goods.
Exposure biomarkers in a pig model of chlorine inhalation injury

Chlorine (Cl2) gas has been used as a chemical weapon since World War I and most recently in the Syrian conflict. Cl2 exposures cause severe pulmonary injury. However, biomarkers for validation of Cl2 exposure remain to be identified. Rodent studies demonstrated that inhaled Cl2 reacts with plasmalogens to form chlorinated fatty acids in plasma and lung tissue. It is unknown whether these biomarkers are also formed in Cl2-exposed large animals and humans. Here, we examined whether chlorinated fatty acids can be detected in Cl2-exposed pigs. Yorkshire pigs were exposed to Cl2 gas (≤ 240 ppm for 1h). 2-chlorofatty acids were measured by LC/MS. Extractions were performed using plasma fortified with 2-chloro-[d4-7,7,8,8]-palmitic acid (2-[d4]-ClPA) as internal standard. Lung tissue was pulverized and lipids extracted using the Bligh-Dyer method in the presence of 2-[d4]-ClPA. Exposure to Cl2 gas resulted in severe hypoxemia, increased airway resistance and peak inspiratory pressure, lung neutrophil infiltration, pro-inflammatory cytokines and decreased dynamic lung compliance. Free- and esterified 2-chloropalmitic acid (2-Cl-PA) and 2-chlorostearic acid (2-Cl-SA) were detected in the lungs and plasma of Cl2-exposed pigs, but not in clean air-breathing controls. Levels of Cl-lipids in plasma were highest immediately after Cl2 exposure, and then declined. These observations validate chlorinated fatty acids as biomarkers of Cl2 exposure across species, with potential utility as forensic biomarkers to validate human exposures.