cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chapter 1 – Cell Biology

The goal of this chapter is to present the reader with a working knowledge of cell types and distinctions, compositional make up of cells, and descriptions of activities that cells perform. The rationale for understanding cell anatomy and physiology is due to the fact that disease can arise from cell dysfunction, and any synthetic intervention leads to cells that ultimately encounter these synthetic, hybrid, and transplanted materials. It is important to create relevant classifications of specialized cell types and to distinguish between functional physiology and pathology or disease. Ultimately bioengineered solutions using materials require some haptic interface with biological tissue and by colocation, cells as well. There are multiple complete books that are dedicated to this one topic. Those are terrific references for this chapter. There are great image resources on the web that can supplement the bulk of the text. The presentation of this chapter coupled with Chapter 2, Cell Expression: Proteins and Their Characterization, tied to proteins and amino acids should help engineers reading this book appreciate the more detailed nuances of normal cell physiology, and allow readers to possess a deeper language linked with cell biology in the context of biomaterials used to replace tissue and organ function, and to seamlessly interface with viable tissues.
Stormwater-related transport of the insecticides bifenthrin, fipronil, imidacloprid, and chlorpyrifos into a tidal wetland, San Francisco Bay, California.

Abstract Suisun Marsh, in northern San Francisco Bay, is the largest brackish marsh in California, and provides critical habitat for many fish species. Storm runoff enters the marsh through many creeks that drain agricultural uplands and the urban areas of Fairfield and Suisun City. Five creeks were sampled throughout a major storm event in February 2014, and analyzed for representatives of several major insecticide classes. Concentrations were greatest in creeks with urban influence, though sampling was done outside of the primary season for agricultural pesticide use. Urban creek waters reached maximum concentrations of 9.9 ng/l bifenthrin, 27.4 ng/l fipronil, 11.9 ng/l fipronil sulfone, 1462 ng/l imidacloprid, and 4.0 ng/l chlorpyrifos. Water samples were tested for toxicity to Hyalella azteca and Chironomus dilutus , and while few samples caused mortality, 70% of the urban creek samples caused paralysis of either or both species. Toxic unit analysis indicated that bifenthrin was likely responsible for effects to H . azteca , and fipronil and its sulfone degradate were responsible for effects to C . dilutus . These results demonstrate the potential for co-occurrence of multiple insecticides in urban runoff, each with the potential for toxicity to particular species, and the value of toxicity monitoring using multiple species. In the channels of Suisun Marsh farther downstream, insecticide concentrations and toxicity diminished as creek waters mixed with brackish waters entering from San Francisco Bay. Only fipronil and its degradates remained measurable at 1–10 ng/l. These concentrations are not known to present a risk based on existing data, but toxicity data for estuarine and marine invertebrates, particularly for fipronil's degradates, are extremely limited.
Concurrence of Porin Loss and Modular Amplification of β-Lactamase Encoding Genes Drives Carbapenem Resistance in a Cohort of Recurrent Enterobacterales Bacteremia

Background: Carbapenem resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) remain urgent antimicrobial resistance threats. Approximately half of CRE clinical isolates lack carbapenem hydrolyzing enzymes and develop carbapenem resistance through alternative mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the development of carbapenem resistance mechanisms from clonal, recurrent extended-spectrum β-lactamase positive Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) bacteremia isolates in a vulnerable patient population. Methods: This study investigated a historical, retrospective cohort of ESBL-E bacteremia cases in the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) from January 2015 to July 2016. Phylogenetic and comparative genomic analyses were performed to identify clonal, recurrent ESBL-E isolates developing carbapenem resistance. Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) long-read and Illumina short-read sequencing data were used to generate consensus assemblies and to identify signatures of mobile genetic element mediated amplification and transposition of antimicrobial resistance genes. Serial passaging experiments were performed on a set of clinical ST131 ESBL-E isolates to recapitulate in vivo observations. qPCR and qRT-PCR were used to determine respective copy number and transcript levels of β-lactamase genes. Results: 116 ESBL-E bacteremia cases were identified, 16 of which had documented recurrent infections. Four serial, recurrent isolates displayed a carbapenem resistant phenotype, three without the acquisition of a known carbapenemase. These three isolates had non-carbapenemase-producing CRE (non-CP-CRE) mechanisms driven by IS26- and ISEcp1-mediated amplification of respective translocatable units (TU) and transposition units (TPU) harboring both blaOXA-1 and blaCTX-M variants with concomitant outer membrane porin disruption. The TU and TPU structures inserted into the open reading frames of outer membrane porin genes in a subset of non-CP-CRE isolates. Serial passage of an index ST131 ESBL-E isolate under selective carbapenem exposure resulted in chromosomal amplification of modular, TUs harboring β-lactamase genes with concomitant porin inactivation, recapitulating the in vivo carbapenem resistance progression. Long-read sequencing of two additional MDACC bacteremia strains identified similar non-CP-CRE mechanisms observed in the serial isolates. Conclusions: Non-CP-CRE de novo mechanisms were the primary driver of CRE development in recurrent bacteremia cases within this vulnerable patient population. The incorporation of long-read ONT data into AMR surveillance platforms is critical to identify high-risk CRE isolates that are difficult to identify with low-resolution phenotypic and molecular characterization methods.
Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI Evaluation of Pathologic Complete Response in Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2)-Positive Breast Cancer After HER2-Targeted Therapy

Rationale and Objectives Pathologic complete response (pCR) in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer after HER2-targeted therapy correlates increased disease-free survival and decreased mastectomy rates. The aim of this study was to explore tumor shrinkage patterns and initial tumor enhancement with pCR in HER2-positive breast cancer. Materials and Methods This was an institutional review board-approved retrospective analysis of 51 HER2 positive breast cancer patients with breast MRI both pre- and post-HER2-targeted therapy. Initial enhancement ratio (IER, initial enhancement percentage over baseline at first postcontrast imaging), pattern of tumor shrinkage, and Dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE)-MRI imaging features were assessed. Wilcoxon rank, Spearman correlation, Fisher's exact, and Mann-Whitney tests were used to correlate MRI imaging features with pCR. IER reader agreement was evaluated by intraclass correlation. Binary logistic regression was used to evaluate multivariate associations with pCR. Results 56.9% (29/51) of patients had pCR at surgery. Concentric tumor shrinkage pattern was associated with pCR (p = 0.001, Area under the curve (AUC) 0.778): accuracy 80.4%, specificity 96.6%, and sensitivity of 59.1%. There was no association with pCR and imaging response as defined by RECIST criteria (p = 0.169), pretreatment IER (Reader 1 (R1) p = 0.665, Reader 2 (R2) p = 0.766), or lesion size (p = 0.69). IER was associated with axillary metastases (R1 p = 0.016, R2 Conclusion The shrinkage pattern of HER2-positive tumors after targeted therapy may be associated with pCR. There was no association between IER and pCR. Future studies evaluating the correlation of shrinkage patterns to texture radiomics are of interest.
Professional Development on Data-Based Individualization: A Mixed Research Study:

Data-based individualization (DBI) is a process of collecting and analyzing data on students’ response to intervention and then making intervention adaptations accordingly. Although this process ca...
What is the fractional Laplacian? A comparative review with new results

Abstract The fractional Laplacian in R d , which we write as ( − Δ ) α / 2 with α ∈ ( 0 , 2 ) , has multiple equivalent characterizations. Moreover, in bounded domains, boundary conditions must be incorporated in these characterizations in mathematically distinct ways, and there is currently no consensus in the literature as to which definition of the fractional Laplacian in bounded domains is most appropriate for a given application. The Riesz (or integral) definition, for example, admits a nonlocal boundary condition, where the value of a function must be prescribed on the entire exterior of the domain in order to compute its fractional Laplacian. In contrast, the spectral definition requires only the standard local boundary condition. These differences, among others, lead us to ask the question: “What is the fractional Laplacian?” Beginning from first principles, we compare several commonly used definitions of the fractional Laplacian theoretically, through their stochastic interpretations as well as their analytical properties. Then, we present quantitative comparisons using a sample of state-of-the-art methods. We discuss recent advances on nonzero boundary conditions and present new methods to discretize such boundary value problems: radial basis function collocation (for the Riesz fractional Laplacian) and nonharmonic lifting (for the spectral fractional Laplacian). In our numerical studies, we aim to compare different definitions on bounded domains using a collection of benchmark problems. We consider the fractional Poisson equation with both zero and nonzero boundary conditions, where the fractional Laplacian is defined according to the Riesz definition, the spectral definition, the directional definition, and the horizon-based nonlocal definition. We verify the accuracy of the numerical methods used in the approximations for each operator, and we focus on identifying differences in the boundary behaviors of solutions to equations posed with these different definitions. Through our efforts, we aim to further engage the research community in open problems and assist practitioners in identifying the most appropriate definition and computational approach to use for their mathematical models in addressing anomalous transport in diverse applications.
State, market, and family: housing inequality among the young generation in urban China

Housing is critical to people's prosperity and wellbeing. In particular, housing status is closely linked to young people's life opportunities in many domains. With skyrocketing housing prices in many cities, housing outcomes of the current young generation in China are receiving increased attention. In this study, we examine the recent pattern of housing inequality among the young generation in urban China based on a large-scale national representative survey conducted in 2015, and we explore the importance of different types of factors. From an intragenerational perspective, we investigate the relative strengths between socialist institutions and market mechanisms. We also take into account the intergenerational channel by studying the impact of family background variables. We find substantial inequality in terms of home ownership, living space, and housing wealth among young people. While market ability variables, such as income and education, significantly affect housing consumption, institutional factors, such as the household registration (hukou) system, work units, and administrative rank, still play important roles in contemporary China. Furthermore, the impact of parental socioeconomic and political status is also nontrivial. In particular, the hukou status of young people and their parents has a sizable impact on housing consumption. China’s policymakers should pay more attention to the housing needs of young people and take concrete measures to expand the equality of opportunities.
Density and Distancing in the COVID-19 Pandemic

We study the evolution of social distancing behaviors across the U.S. on the number and density of individuals in public places and businesses, and show that the latter has decreased significantly less than overall foot traffic. Breaking this effect down by category of place, we find a significantly large gap caused by sustained higher relative density in visits to religious places, and in particular due to differential drop-off in visits by destination size: physically larger religious places experienced a much larger drop-off in visits than smaller, leading to a comparatively higher density of people relative to the overall visits change. Inspecting this effect across regions, we find that this phenomenon is present to some degree in almost all states, but appears to be much smaller in Sun Belt states, such as Florida.
Levels, centers, and peripheries: the spatio-political structure of political systems

This article develops a ‘spatio-political’ structural typology of (national and international) political systems, based on the arrangement of homogeneous or heterogeneous political centers and peripheries in layered political spaces. I then apply this typology to Eurocentric political systems from the high middle ages to today. Rather than see no fundamental change across nearly a millennium (the system remained anarchic) or a singular modern transition (with several centuries of fundamental structural continuity on either side), I depict a series of partial structural transformations on time scales of a century or two. I also recurrently step back to consider the nature and significance of such structural models; why and how they explain. International systems, I try to show, do not have just one or even only a few simple structures; their parts are arranged (structured) in varied and often complex ways. Structural change therefore is common and typically arises through the interaction and accumulation of changes in intertwined elements of interconnected systems (not from radical innovations or dramatic changes in core principles). And structural models, I argue, explain both continuity and change not by identifying causes (or mechanisms) but through configurations; the organization of the parts of a system into a complex whole.
Weakly-Supervised Defect Segmentation Within Visual Inspection Images of Liquid Crystal Displays in Array Process

This paper proposes a novel weakly-supervised defect segmentation approach for the visual inspection of LCD array images by a joint application of known weakly-supervised segmentation and unsupervised anomaly segmentation technique. Potential defect regions are firstly identified via active heatmap and masked out. Generative CAE trained via a GAN framework is further applied to create defect-free contents within the masked regions. A comparison between the generated image and the original image leads to precise defect segmentation. Our experiment over LCD inspection images showed that the proposed approach achieved comparable segmentation performance to the fully supervised FCN model, justifying its applicability for serious industry scenarios. Although the approach was motivated by and validated for the visual inspection in the LCD panel industry, it is conceptually a general method and has the potential to be applied in wide areas.
Strokes occurring in the hospital: Symptom recognition and eligibility for treatment in the intensive care units versus hospital wards.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that 4%–17% of acute ischemic strokes (AISs) occur in patients hospitalized for another reason; scanty data are available about the care delivery and outcome of this patient population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All consecutive inhospital AISs over a 10-year period at our comprehensive stroke center were included in the study. We compared the meantime from last known neurologically intact to symptom detection and also eligibility for acute treatment of patients based on their physical location in the hospital with respect to the level of care when they were found to have the stroke symptoms. RESULTS: Fifty-three patients suffered inhospital AIS during this period (28 in intensive care units/emergency department [ICUs/ED] vs. 25 in regular floors). Only in four patients (7.5%), initial brain imaging was done within 25 min from symptom recognition (as recommended by the American Heart Association/American Society of Anesthesiologists guidelines). Forty-two (79%) underwent brain imaging within 6 h of symptom recognition; of them, 11 (26%) received intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) within the first 4.5 h of symptom onset and 7 (17%) underwent endovascular treatment (EVT). The mean (±standard deviation) time in minutes from last known neurologically intact to symptom detection for floor patients was significantly longer compared to the ICU/ED patients (194 [±149] vs. 74 [±45], P = 0.0003). Patients admitted to the ICU/ED had more chance of being recognized earlier and being eligible for IVT or/and EVT compared to the patients admitted to the regular floors (44% vs. 25%, P = 0.14); however, the difference did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: ICU/ED patients had a significantly shorter time to stroke symptom detection from last known neurologically intact when compared to the regular floor patients. Furthermore, they had a trend toward a higher likelihood of being eligible for acute treatment compared to the regular floors, although the result did not reach statistical significance.
Prognostics and health management to improve resilient manufacturing

Manufacturers need to be resilient to effectively mitigate substantial disruptions to manufacturing operations so they may remain competitive Disruptions resulting from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic have caused manufacturers to experience new challenges, including (1) working with reduced in-person operations, (2) retasking workers into new roles, and (3) reconfiguring their equipment and processes to yield completely new product lines Improved monitoring, diagnostic, and prognostic technologies and methods (collectively known as prognostics and health management [PHM]) can help address these challenges and potential future disruptions © 2020 American Institute of Physics Inc All rights reserved
Feasibility of Group Visits for Advance Care Planning Among Patients with Heart Failure and Their Caregivers.

Background: Group visits have the potential to help patients identify their health care values and engage in the emotionally and cognitively challenging task of advance care planning (ACP) in a resource-efficient manner by providing a forum for social learning and social support. Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of disease-specific group visits for patients with heart failure and their caregivers. Design: Feasibility trial of a 90-minute group visit held for 10 separate groups and led by a trained facilitator using the video-based PREPARE for Your Care ACP tool. Setting:/Subjects: Older adults with recent hospitalization for heart failure (n = 36; median age, 74 years) and their caregivers (n = 21). Measurements: Pre- and post-visit surveys and a postvisit telephone interview assessing perceived value and acceptability; structured nonparticipant observations to assess process and feasibility. Results: Mean scores from the postgroup visit evaluation showed that participants reported that they felt comfortable discussing ACP in a group (4.59), understood the information covered (4.70), and were able to identify and clarify their health care values (4.43). Interview and observation data demonstrated that participants were able to identify and clarify their preferences by listening and learning from a diverse range of perspectives in the group and that the disease-focused nature of the group visit created a supportive space for participants to share their experiences. Conclusions: Disease-focused ACP group visits were feasible to conduct and acceptable to participants, underscoring their value as an efficient intervention to engage patients and caregivers in the otherwise time- and resource-intensive task of ACP.
Arthritis and Diagnostics in Lyme Disease

The diagnosis of Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, is clinical but frequently supported by laboratory tests. Lyme arthritis is now less frequently seen than at the time of its discovery. However, it still occurs, and it is important to recognize this, the differential diagnoses, and how laboratory tests can be useful and their limitations. The most frequently used diagnostic tests are antibody based. However, antibody testing still suffers from many drawbacks and is only an indirect measure of exposure. In contrast, evolving direct diagnostic methods can indicate active infection.
Deep learning-based self-high-resolution for 3D ultrasound imaging

For 3D ultrasound (US) images with large slice thickness, high frequency information in the slice direction is missing and cannot be resolved through interpolation. As an ill-posed problem, current high-resolution methods rely on the presence of external/training atlases to learn the transform from low resolution images to high resolution images. In this study, we aim to propose a self-supervised learning method, which does not use any external atlas images, yet can still resolve high resolution images only reliant on the acquired image with a large slice thickness. To circumvent the lack of training data, the simulated training data were obtained from the input image. To do this, each 2D sagittal slice is regarded as a high-resolution image, while each coronal and axial slice is regarded as low-resolution images. By training a deep learning-based model on sagittal slices and using this model to infer high-resolution coronal and axial slices, we can apply the mapping to low-resolution images with large slice thickness to estimate the high-resolution images with thin slice thickness. The proposed algorithm was evaluated using 30 sets of US breast data. The US image downsampled in z-axis was used as low-resolution image, the original US image was used as ground truth. The normalized mean absolute error (NMAE), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and normalized cross-correlation (NCC) indices were used to quantify the accuracy of the proposed algorithm. The NMAE, PSNR and NCC were 0.011±0.02, 34.6±2.14 dB and 0.98±0.01. The proposed method showed similar image quality as compared to ground truth.
How Jerome Dealt with Glosses

Schwierige oder ungewohnliche Worter werden gerne in sogenannten Glossen (knappe kommentierte Beschreibungen) erklarend ausgelegt. Diese Methode ist ein besonders haufiges Element der hebraischen Gelehrsamkeit des Hieronymus, basierenden auf der grammatischen Tradition der Klassik. In diesen recht zahlreichen Kommentaren fallt auf, dass er regelmassig id est, quae est und weitere Entsprechungen in der Vulgata einsetzt. Besonders deutlich erscheint Hieronymus als Grammatiker im Buch Exodus, z.B. Ex 16,15 und Ex 15,23.
The Role of PPARγ in Stroke

Over the last decade, the transcription factor PPARγ, previously known for its essential role in regulation of metabolic processes in adipose tissue, emerged as highly promising new target for the treatment of many neurological conditions, including ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. Based on many cell culture and animal studies, activation of PPARγ was demonstrated to be associated with a broad range of biological effects (via genomic and non-genomic mode of action in virtually all brain cell types) which could effectively ameliorate pathogenic processes triggered by stroke, including inflammation, oxidative damage, edema, BBB preservation, and excitotoxicity, as well as help in the post-stroke recovery process by modulating the macrophage-mediated brain cleanup process. Some key aspects of PPARγ as target for stroke treatment are reviewed in this chapter.
Introduction: Chemistry of the Troposphere — Some Problems and Their Temporal Frameworks

Attention of scientists from many scientific disciplines has been focusing more and more sharply on the chemistry of the lower atmosphere. The lower atmosphere is in contact with plants and animals, with forests, crops, and soils, with the ocean and its biota, as well as with the stratosphere above Major environmental problems, such as carbon dioxide increase, acidic rain, smog, and radioactive gases and particles, involve the troposphere. Understanding these problems, as well as the broader one of the evolution of atmospheric composition through geologic time, requires knowledge of the time scales at which materials circulate through the troposphere into and out of the lithosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and stratosphere, as well as detailed understanding of the complex chemical reactions involving these materials.
Women Versus Men Regarding Outcome of CABG or PTCA

To the Editor: It is very gratifying to read from the report from the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation (BARI)1 that women who undergo coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) fare as well as men. However, this conclusion seems to be at odds with another report2 published at about the same time and based on a much larger number of patients (344 913 compared with 1829 in BARI). The registry from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons2 reported that women clearly have a higher mortality rate within 30 days of a procedure (4.52% in women versus 2.61% in men; P <0.001). The report, after adjusting the data for more than 50 potential risk factors, still found a statistically significant higher death …
Transport in Polymer-Electrolyte Membranes : III. Model Validation in a Simple Fuel-Cell Model

The previously developed mathematical model, based on our physical model, is validated by comparing simulations to experiments. The mathematical model is placed within a simple pseudo-two-dimensional fuel-cell (FC) model. The comparisons mainly involve the net flux of water per proton in the membrane. In the complete FC model, there is only one fitting parameter, the transport coefficient (effective permeability) of the diffusion media, and it is fit at only one simulation condition for each FC setup. The simulations agree very well with both values and trends taken from various literature sources under many different operating conditions, including pressure, temperature, current density, and inlet humidification and stoichiometry. Furthermore, the model allows for an explanation of those trends. The sensitivity and the details of the mathematical model are also examined. Overall, the mathematical model and the physical model are validated and shown to be generally applicable for describing water transport in a polymer-electrolyte membrane.
Refrigeration Nation: A History of Ice, Appliances, and Enterprise in America

Refrigeration Nation: A History of Ice, Appliances, and Enterprise in America is an examination of the history of ice, refrigeration, and the process of creating and maintaining the business and te...
Computers and Pedagogy

Computers and Pedagogy: New Ways of Using Computers in Language Teaching.: Tim Boswood (Ed.). Alexandria, VA: TESOL, 1997. Pp. xii + 309. Computers and Pedagogy: CALL: Media, Design and Applications.: Keith Cameron (Ed.). Lisse, Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger, 1999. Pp. 321. Computers and Pedagogy: WorldCALL: Global Perspectives on Computer-Assisted Language Learning.: Robert Debski and Mike Levy (Eds.). Lisse, Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger, 1999. Pp. 363. Computers and Pedagogy: CALL Environments: Research, Practice, and Critical Issues.: Joy Egbert and Elizabeth Hanson-Smith (Eds.). Alexandria, VA: TESOL, 1999. Pp. xi + 523. Computers and Pedagogy: Computer-Assisted Language Learning: Context and Conceptualization.: Mike Levy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. Pp. xv + 298. Computers and Pedagogy: Network-Based Language Teaching: Concepts and Practice.: Mark Warschauer and Richard Kern (Eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Pp. 256. Computers and Pedagogy: Computers and Talk in the Primary Classroom.: Rupert Wegerif and Peter Scrimshaw (Eds.). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters, 1997. Pp. xi + 252.
Monitoring wireless sensor networks by heterogeneous collaborative groupware

This paper presents a pioneer work on using heterogeneous collaborative groupware to monitor wireless sensor networks. The prototype implementation illustrates that wireless sensor networks can be integrated into a larger scale, heterogeneous, collaborative groupware to enable complicated and/or geographically unbounded applications that require inputs from sensors, intelligent agents, and human participants.
Of scapegoats, strawmen, and scarecrows

The thesis of this paper is that much pathology derives from our inability to deal with our feelings of hurt. The inability to deal with hurt results in the externalization of responsibility which in turn creates victims and dysfunctional behavior. The drama of the externalization of responsibility involves the same individual, the victim, or “identified patient,” playing three successive dysfunctional roles: the scapegoat, the strawman, and the scarecrow. This view of pathology is basically transactional because the process occurs in a familial context where all the parts of the system are intrinsically related in producing a victim.
The (d, 6Li) reaction on 24Mg, 26Mg and 28Si at 35 MeV

Abstract Data for the (d, 6Li) reaction on targets of 24Mg, 26Mg and 28Si have been obtained at 35 MeV bombarding energy. Angular distributions were measured for low-lying states in the residual nuclei. Zero-range distorted-wave Born approximation (DWBA) calculations have been used to analyze the data. The DWBA calculations account for the shapes of the experimental distributions reasonably well. The observation of significant population of unnatural parity states implies, however, that other transfer mechanisms may be important. The experimental spectroscopic factors are in qualitative agreement with those obtained from SU(3) theory.
Cell proliferation kinetics of epidermis in the essential fatty acid deficient rat.

Rats fed diets deficient in essential fatty acids (EFA) develop severe scaling in the skin, histologically characterized by acanthosis of the epidermis and hyperkeratosis. Epidermal cell proliferation kinetics in the EFA- deficient rat were studied as a potential animal model for human diseases of epidermal hyperplasia. EFA deficient rats were injected IP with tritiated thymidine ( 3 H-TdR). Serial punch biopsies from dorsal skin were obtained 1-30hr after 3 H-TdR administration and processed by standard autoradiographic techniques. A composite percent labeled mitoses (PLM) curve was obtained by plotting the mean ratio of labeled mitoses/total mitoses at each time interval. The mitotic index was 1.0%. The labeling index determined 1hr after 3 H-TdR injection was 11.2%. From these data the total germinative cell cycle was calculated to be 67hr with the duration of the cell cycle phases: S, 7.5 hr; G 2 , 4.5 hr; M, 0.7 hr; and G 1 , 54.3hr. The transit time for labeled basal cells to proceed from the basal layer to the uppermost stratum granulosum was 2 days. In normal control rats the labeling index was 2.2% and the transit time 6 days, reflecting much slower epidermal proliferation than in the EFA deficient rat. The similar kinetic characteristics of enhanced epidermal proliferative activity, rapid cell cycle and transit time, suggest that the EFA-deficient rat model may be suitable for examination of various problems relating to the chemotherapy of psoriasis and other hyperproliferative skin conditions.
Resection and radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: a single-center experience.

We have been utilizing both resection and laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study is to describe patient characteristics and outcome for each treatment modality from a single institution. Medical records of HCC patients who underwent resection (n = 92) or laparoscopic (RFA) (n = 92) between 1997 and 2010 were reviewed. Univariate Kaplan–Meier and multivariate Cox proportional-hazards model were used to analyze survival. Patients with normal liver function and larger tumors were resected, and those with liver dysfunction, portal hypertension, and multiple tumors were ablated. Tumor size was larger in the Resection group, whereas number of tumors was higher in the RFA group. Child class and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging were more advanced in the RFA group. Hospital stay was longer, and morbidity and mortality higher in the Resection versus the RFA group. There was no difference in disease-free survival, but the 5-year actual survival was significantly higher (40% versus 21%) in the Resection group. On univariate analysis, number of tumors, tumor size, platelet count, BCLC stage, Child class, and type of surgery were predictors of overall survival. On multivariate analysis, Child class and number of tumors were independent predictors of overall survival. To our knowledge, this is the largest North American series reporting on RFA and resection for HCC from a single institution. Herein, we describe the perioperative and oncologic outcomes to be expected when these modalities are used in a certain treatment algorithm.
Shedding (UV) Light on Multiple Sclerosis

Around the globe, the incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS)—a neurological autoimmune disease—is higher in colder latitudes than in warmer ones. In fact, the farther one lives from the equator, the higher the prevalence of MS, prompting speculation about possible roles for sunlight and vitamin D in MS pathogenesis. In a new study, Breuer and colleagues shed new light on the possible mechanism underlying this phenomenon by revealing that ultraviolet (UV) light suppresses neuroinflammation and disease progression in a mouse model of MS and induces an anti-inflammatory response in humans. MS is characterized by autoimmune activation of inflammatory T cells, which drive inflammation and autoimmune destruction of the protective myelin sheaths that insulate neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Using a common MS mouse model, Breuer and coworkers showed that narrow-band UVB (nbUVB) light treatment significantly suppressed the inflammatory response and prevented demyelination in the spinal cord. The protective effects of nbUVB were dependent on the activation of Langerhans cells in the skin, leading to an increase in the number of tolerogenic (antigen-specific unresponsive) dendritic cells and a marked rise in regulatory T cells (Treg cells), which attenuate overall T cell activation and suppress inflammation. The authors also performed a proof-of-concept clinical study in which 11 MS patients were treated with nbUVB for 6 weeks. Although no clinical changes were observed, increased numbers of tolerogenic dendritic cells and Treg cells were observed only in skin biopsies from treated patients, suggesting that nbUVB might exert similar effects in people as it does in mice. A precedent for the use of UV light as a therapy for inflammatory diseases already exists: nbUVB is commonly used to treat psoriasis and is easily administered, inexpensive, and well tolerated. However, large clinical studies are now needed to determine whether specific nbUVB regimens have an impact on disease progression in MS patients. In the meantime, this study justifies the need to spend a few more summer days at the beach. J. Breuer et al ., Ultraviolet B light attenuates the systemic immune response in central nervous system autoimmunity. Ann. Neurol . 75 , 739–758 (2014). [[PubMed]][1] [1]: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24771567
Finding Multi-Constrained Multiple Shortest Paths

Numerous algorithms have been proposed for the well-known multi-constrained shortest path (MCSP) problem, but very few have good practical performance in case of two or more constraints. In this paper, we propose a new Lagrangian relaxation algorithm to solve a generalized version of the MCSP problem where we search for multiple shortest paths subject to multiple constraints. As in some related work, our algorithm first identifies the lower and upper bounds, and then tries to close the gap with a path enumeration procedure. However, our algorithm is based on the recognition that the Lagrange multipliers found by existing methods usually do not give the best search direction for minimizing path enumerations even though they can provide near-optimized lower bounds. We provide a solution to meet both of these goals, and incorporate feasibility checks into a state-of-the-art K-shortest paths algorithm to further reduce path enumerations. Through experiments on various networks including the most challenging benchmark instances, we show that our algorithm can solve a significantly larger number of instances to optimality with less computational cost, often by one or two orders of magnitude, when compared with the best known algorithm in the literature.
Poster: Randomized algorithms for planted Motif Search

Planted (l, d) Motif Search is one of the well studied problems in computational biology. Two kinds of algorithms for solving this problem can be found in the literature, namely, exact and approximate. We introduce a third kind, namely, randomized algorithms with an estimate on the probability of identifying the planted motif. We present one such algorithm. An experimental study of this algorithm has yielded promising results.
Schistosomiasis Mansoni: Novel Chemotherapy Using a Cysteine Protease Inhibitor

Background Schistosomiasis is a chronic, debilitating parasitic disease infecting more than 200 million people and is second only to malaria in terms of public health importance. Due to the lack of a vaccine, patient therapy is heavily reliant on chemotherapy with praziquantel as the World Health Organization–recommended drug, but concerns over drug resistance encourage the search for new drug leads.
A stacked patch antenna design with strict bandpass filter characteristics [radiometer applications]

This paper presents a novel design concept for a compact antenna which exhibits improved passband characteristics resembling those of an RF filter. The steep rise in reflection coefficient at the band edges of a properly designed antenna may eliminate the need for an RF filter to reject out-of-band signals which are close to the frequency band of interest. The stacked 4-patch implementation was designed as a receiving antenna for an L-band radiometer; however, antennas based on this concept could be designed for other applications, either receiving or transmitting.
Chemotherapy-induced hypocalcemia.

Objective: To present a unique case of transient, asymptomatic chemotherapy-induced hypocalcemia not attributable to hypomagnesemia or tumor lysis syndrome and review causes of hypocalcemia related to cancer with and without use of chemotherapy. Methods: We present a case detailing the clinical and laboratory findings of a patient who had severe hypocalcemia during chemotherapy and discuss causes of hypocalcemia with an extensive literature review of chemotherapeutic agents associated with this biochemical abnormality. Results: In a 90-year-old man, hypocalcemia developed during 2 courses of chemotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma, with partial recovery between courses and normal serum calcium 10 months after completion of treatment. Magnesium, vitamin D, and parathyroid hormone levels were low normal. There was no evidence of tumor lysis syndrome. Of the various agents administered, vinca alkaloids seemed the most likely cause. Serial testing suggested that the underlying mechanism may have been acquired, reversible hypoparathyroidism. No other similar case was found in the published literature. Conclusion: The severe hypocalcemia in our patient could not be attributed to hypomagnesemia or tumor lysis syndrome, and it was clearly associated with the timing of his chemotherapeutic regimen. Possibilities include direct parathyroid hormone suppression or alteration of calcium sensing by the chemotherapeutic drugs. Serum calcium surveillance before and during chemotherapeutic management of cancer patients may reveal more instances and provide insight into the exact mechanism of this lesser known yet striking complication.
Velocity distributions in glottal models

Summary Velocity distributions within three models of the human larynx, namely, a rigid plexiglas model, an excised canine larynx, and a computational model are investigated with experimental and theoretical analyses. A plexiglas wind tunnel with interchangeable glottal constrictions was used as a two-dimensional steady-flow model to measure velocity and pressure for various glottal shapes. A canine excised larynx was used as a prototype pulsatile flow model to study pressure and velocity variations during phonation. Results of the plexiglas modelling indicated a parabolic laminar velocity profile upstream of the glottal constriction and turbulent and asymmetric velocity profiles downstream of the glottal constriction. The time-averaged velocities of the excised larynx had similarities with the plexiglas model results, and instabilities and asymmetries were also demonstrated by the computational method.
An experimental study of stability of oil-water emulsion

Abstract There has been much interest in alternative fuels made from coal which is much more abundant than oil. The coal–oil–water slurry is a new type of oil-based synfuel composed of finely pulverized coal, oil and water. It has lower viscosity, lower ignition point and higher heating value than coal–water slurry. The preparation of stable water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion is critical for the success of production of stable coal–oil–water slurry. The present study was undertaken to experimentally investigate the effects of different process variables on emulsion stability. The emulsion was prepared using 100 ml colloid mill with sorbitan monooleate (SM) as emulsifier. The variables studied include emulsifier dosage, ratio of oil to water, stirring intensity, emulsifying temperature and mixing time. The results showed that the optimum process conditions are: emulsifier dosage, 0.5%; oil to water ratio, 1:1; stirring intensity, 2500 rpm; and mixing temperature, 30 °C.
Switching between herbivory and carnivory by the planktonic marine copepod Calanus pacificus

Adult females of the omnivorous copepod Calanus pacificus, collected from the plankton off La Jolla, California, USA (June, 1978), fed disproportionately on the prey in greatest relative abundance when given mixtures of diatoms (Thalassiosira fluviatilis) and copepod (C. pacificus) nauplii as food. This switch from herbivorous to carnivorous behavior may be significant in nature during the decline of phytoplankton blooms. More generally, the widespread omnivorous habit among pelagic animals suggests a responsive and flexible trophic organization which contributes to the resiliency of planktonic communities in a dynamic physical environment.
Pharmacologic adjuvants to epoetin in the treatment of anemia in patients on hemodialysis.

Anemia is a common complication of chronic kidney disease, particularly in patients who are on dialysis. The use of recombinant human erythropoietin has led to the eradication of severe anemia in the dialysis population. Correction of anemia in these patients has been associated with better quality of life and clinical outcomes. Some hemodialysis patients have anemia that either is relatively refractory to epoetin therapy or requires very high doses of epoetin (i.e., hyporesponsiveness), despite having adequate iron stores, and are thus unable to achieve or maintain target hemoglobin levels. Several pharmacologic agents have been studied for effects on improving response to epoetin, either to counter hyporesponsiveness or simply to reduce epoetin use for purely economic reasons. This review examines the available literature regarding the efficacy of these potential pharmacologic adjuvants to epoetin in the treatment of anemia in patients on maintenance hemodialysis, with special emphasis on androgens, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), and l-carnitine. A review of published guidelines and recommendations for use of these agents in hemodialysis patients is provided.
The L7Ae protein binds to two kink-turns in the Pyrococcus furiosus RNase P RNA

The RNA-binding protein L7Ae, known for its role in translation (as part of ribosomes) and RNA modification (as part of sn/oRNPs), has also been identified as a subunit of archaeal RNase P, a ribonucleoprotein complex that employs an RNA catalyst for the Mg(2+)-dependent 5' maturation of tRNAs. To better understand the assembly and catalysis of archaeal RNase P, we used a site-specific hydroxyl radical-mediated footprinting strategy to pinpoint the binding sites of Pyrococcus furiosus (Pfu) L7Ae on its cognate RNase P RNA (RPR). L7Ae derivatives with single-Cys substitutions at residues in the predicted RNA-binding interface (K42C/C71V, R46C/C71V, V95C/C71V) were modified with an iron complex of EDTA-2-aminoethyl 2-pyridyl disulfide. Upon addition of hydrogen peroxide and ascorbate, these L7Ae-tethered nucleases were expected to cleave the RPR at nucleotides proximal to the EDTA-Fe-modified residues. Indeed, footprinting experiments with an enzyme assembled with the Pfu RPR and five protein cofactors (POP5, RPP21, RPP29, RPP30 and L7Ae-EDTA-Fe) revealed specific RNA cleavages, localizing the binding sites of L7Ae to the RPR's catalytic and specificity domains. These results support the presence of two kink-turns, the structural motifs recognized by L7Ae, in distinct functional domains of the RPR and suggest testable mechanisms by which L7Ae contributes to RNase P catalysis.
A survey of nurses who practice in infertility settings.

Design A nonrandom convenience sample was used to obtain information about the educational level, clinical activities, knowledge base, and skills of nurses involved with in vitro fertilization. Participants Three hundred thirty-six returned surveys. Results The Wilcox rank sum test compared nurses in the private practice setting with those in hospital-based services. No differences were found with regard to educational level or perceived level of proficiency with regard to the practice setting or geographic location in the United States. Seventy-three percent of the respondents indicated their primary role was in direct patient care; 31% stated they had been active in artificial reproductive nursing less than 5 years. Graduate level education was not correlated with perceived level of expertise but did correlate with length of clinical experience in assisted reproductive nursing and with certification. Conclusion Assisted reproductive nursing currently does not meet the standards for classification as an advanced practice nursing group. Action to further the area of reproductive nursing to a specialty in nursing or an advanced practice level is worth consideration for this highly specialized and unique group of nurses