cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chapter 23 – Biodegradable Polymers

The design and development of tissue-engineered products has benefited from many years of clinical utilization of a wide range of biodegradable polymers. Newly developed biodegradable polymers and modifications of previously developed biodegradable polymers have enhanced the tools available for creating clinically important tissue-engineering applications. Insights gained from studies of cell-matrix interactions, cell-cell signaling, and organization of cellular components, are placing increased demands on medical implants to interact with the patient’s tissue in a more biologically appropriate fashion. Whereas in the twentieth century biocompatibility was largely equated with eliciting no harmful response, the biomaterials of the twenty first century will have to elicit tissue responses that support healing or regeneration of the patient’s own tissue. This chapter surveys the universe of those biodegradable polymers that may be useful in the development of medical implants and tissue-engineered products. Here, we distinguish between biologically derived polymers and synthetic polymers. The materials are described in terms of their chemical composition, breakdown products, mechanism of breakdown, mechanical properties, and clinical limitations. Also discussed are product design considerations in processing of biomaterials into a final form (e.g., gel, membrane, matrix) that will effect the desired tissue response.
Who Produces Online Hate?: An Examination of the Effects of Self-Control, Social Structure, & Social Learning

The growing prevalence of hate material on the Internet has led to mounting concerns from scholars and policymakers alike. While recent scholarship has explored predictors of exposure, perception, and participation in online hate, few studies have empirically examined the social factors that lead individuals to produce cyberhate. Therefore, this work examines the production of online hate using online survey data (N = 520) of youth and young adults collected in December 2017. We draw on two commonly-cited criminological theories, the General Theory of Crime (GTC) and Social Structure-Social Learning Theory (SSSL), to understand social factors that contribute to producing cyberhate. In addition, we consider whether a broader relationship exists between the production of online hate and support for President Trump, whose rhetoric has gained traction among far-right and alt-right communities that traffic in hate. Logistic regression results show limited support for GTC, as low self-control is not a significant correlate of producing cyberhate after other relevant variables are considered. We find more robust support for SSSL, as the production of cyberhate is associated with an individual’s social location, online associations, and differential reinforcement. Moreover, we find evidence that individuals who approve of President Trump’s job performance are more likely to produce online hate.
Validation methods of LAI products on the basis of scaling effect

Validation is one of the most important processes used to evaluate whether remotely sensed products can accurately reflect land surface configuration. Leaf Area Index( LAI) is a key parameter that represents vegetation canopy structures and growth conditions. Accurate evaluation of LAI products is the basis for applying them to land surface models. In this study,validation methods of coarse resolution MODIS and GLASS LAI products for heterogeneous pixels are established on the basis of the scaling effect and the scaling transformation. Considering spatial heterogeneity and growth difference,we transformed LAI from field measurements into a 1 km resolution scale with the aid of middle resolution images. We used average LAI and apparent LAI separately to validate the algorithms and products of MODIS and GLASS LAI. Two study areas,Hebi City and the Yingke Oasis,were selected for validation. Both MODIS and GLASS LAI products underestimate the true LAI in crop area. However,this result cannot be completely attributed to their algorithms. Instead,the primary reason is the heterogeneity and nonuniformity of the coarse pixels.Underestimation is evident in the Yingke Oasis,where heterogeneity is significant. Given that GLASS LAI product is the fusion of multiple LAI products,the mean value of this product is closer to the real situation,but the dynamic range is narrower than that of MODIS LAI product.
Considerations for Designing Next-Generation Composite Dental Materials

Tooth-colored dental restorations, especially the ones produced chairside, have relatively short durability, leading to additional tooth loss and high costs. This chapter reviews previous research and highlights future considerations for designing new dental composite restorative materials. Materials that address failure due to the interactions with oral biofilms are explored, since secondary caries is a leading cause for restoration replacement. The process of dental caries is briefly reviewed, emphasizing the surface interactions between biofilms and materials, and the tooth structure. Current research into materials design solutions is described, and future perspectives are discussed. Importantly, a novel method for studying ion release from new dental materials and their interaction with the oral biofilm is presented.
Combining Lower Extremity Radiographic Markers Begets More Accurate Predictions of Remaining Skeletal Growth

Background Radiographic markers of skeletal maturity are vital to the prediction and interpretation of skeletal growth patterns. Accurate predictions of skeletal maturity factor into the management of common musculoskeletal disorders. Bone age is conventionally measured using hand and wrist radiographs. The primary study objective was to optimize skeletal maturity estimates based on the morphology of markers at the hip, knee, and foot rather than conventional upper extremity radiographs. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of children from the Bolton-Brush collection with anteroposterior radiographs of the hip and anteroposterior and lateral radiographs of the knee and foot, and heights recorded at the time of each radiograph. The percent growth achieved (%GA) was calculated as a function of final patient height. Poor quality radiographs were excluded, leaving 50 patients-32 females and 18 males-and 1068 radiographs for analysis. Skeletal maturity was evaluated using the Oxford bone, O'Connor knee, and calcaneal apophyseal scores. Interrater and intrarater reliability analyses were performed for hip and knee scores. Multiple linear regressions were conducted on these scores and chronologic age as predictors of %GA. Mean differences were calculated between actual and estimated %GAs. All analyses were performed in Prism 8.0. Results Each lower extremity skeletal maturity score served as statistically significant, independent predictors of %GA, the accuracy and strength of which increased with the addition of chronologic age. The integration of all 3 systems and chronologic age yielded the most predictive, accurate model predictive of %GA, which can be used to determine percent growth remaining. However, this fully integrated system was not statistically superior to the combination of knee and foot scores and knee score and chronologic age, which yield similarly accurate %GA predictions. The hip and knee systems demonstrated good to excellent interrater and intrarater reliability. Conclusions Integration of bone age scores across different regions of the lower extremity has the potential to facilitate orthopaedic decision-making using radiographs already obtained in the treatment of pediatric musculoskeletal conditions. Level of evidence Level IV.
Quality can improve as productivity increases: Machining as proof

Increasing productivity is a crucial task, especially during a crisis when a shortage of products occurs. In addition, a major concern related to higher productivity is the loss of quality that may result in an even worse situation than when there is no product. However, this general common sense is not always true. Beyond their roles during a crisis, quality and productivity are key players after the crisis for competitive advantages and economic recovery. It was initially thought that quality and productivity are opposite to each other and need to be compromised. Once an economic crisis occurred in the 1970s, a novel perspective on the quality-productivity relationship was proposed and played a prominent role in the recovery from that crisis. Researchers such as Deming proposed that productivity can in fact increase as quality increases. This perspective helped people in that crisis and has so far been continually explored in industry and academia. Now, herein, we propose a new perspective that is the reverse of the aforementioned perspective and has its own benefits. We examine it in machining that is a process used in almost all industrial activities. We consider the cutting speed as a productivity (and throughput) measure and the workpiece temperature as a quality metric. We show that why the workpiece temperature may decrease at higher cutting speeds. From various experimental data in the literature, we also realize that the behavior of the workpiece temperature versus the cutting speed is steeper before the peak than that after the peak. We analytically try to explain this observation as well. Then, we analyze our general perspective from three aspects. First, we propose and implement a volume partition analysis. Second, we introduce a new dimension in Taguchi's view of quality. Third, we introduce the circuit model in the realm of quality and productivity, based on which we develop the mutual interactions between quality and productivity. The proposed perspective in this study is expected to be a helpful mindset change in manufacturing both during and after the COVID-19 crisis. © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
CHAPTER 10 – Inductors

This chapter discusses electromagnets and generators and explains their working principles. The chapter also discusses transformers and the difference between autotransformers and inductors. It presents an inductive kick experiment with a few new items and discusses snubbers. The chapter also explains the relationship between voltage and current and current and time in different types of inductors. Finally, the chapter discusses saturable cores and magnetic amplifiers.
Build and Test Your Own Network Configuration

Access control policies play a critical role in the security of enterprise networks deployed with variety of policy-based devices (e.g., routers, firewalls, and IPSec). Usually, the security policies are configured in the network devices in a distributed fashion through sets of access control lists (ACL). However, the increasing complexity of access control configurations due to larger networks and longer policies makes configuration errors inevitable. Incorrect policy configuration makes the network vulnerable to different attacks and security breaches. In this paper, we present an imperative framework, namely, ConfigLEGO, that provides an open programming platform for building the network security configuration globally and analyzing it systematically. The ConfigLEGO engine uses Binary Decision Diagram (BDD) to build a Boolean model that represents the global system behaviors including all possible interaction between various components in extensible and scalable manner. Our tool also provides a C/C++ API as a software wrapper on top of the BDD engine to allow users in defining topology, configurations, and reachability, and then analyzing in various abstraction levels, without requiring knowledge of BDD representation or operations.
Preliminary results of a Monte Carlo simulation of burst detections by BATSE

We have investigated numerically the effect of varying BATSE trigger parameters on the modeled BATSE detection rate. We have quantified the systematic effects generated by the complex interplay of the trigger times, variations in the signal‐to‐noise ratio for burst detection as well as the time scale over which backgrounds are determined, and the number of required detections above threshold. Our study employed measured background rates in large area detectors (LAD) for the day July 4, 1991. Earth blockage has been included. To model burst temporal profiles we used a sample of digitized Konus1 profiles for the 50 most intense bursts detected by Venera 11 and 12. Our present, somewhat preliminary study demonstrates that, first, employing a third detection, at a reduced signal‐to‐noise ratio, to resolve a burst does not increase the detection rate, and second, the BATSE detection rate is quite insensitive to variations in the time scale over which the background is determined.
Organization and evolution of the actin gene family in sea urchins.

Abstract Genomic libraries of the sea urchins Strongylocentrotus franciscanus and Lytechinus pictus were screened with an actin cDNA clone from Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Four nonoverlapping clones were isolated and characterized from the S. franciscanus library; three were isolated and characterized from the L. pictus library. Linked genes having the same transcriptional orientation were found on all S. franciscanus clones. Three clones contained two actin genes each; the other clone contained three. In contrast, the L. pictus clones contained only one actin gene. Comparison of actin genomic clones from these three species indicated a difference in the genomic organization of sea urchin actin genes in that the genes appear to be more highly clustered in S. franciscanus than in S. purpuratus and L. pictus. Genomic dot blots and reassociation kinetics demonstrated that the copy number of actin genes in all three species is 15 to 20. Nucleotide sequence homology of actin genes within and among the species was measured by thermal elution. These experiments indicated that there is a high degree of interspecies actin gene sequence homology but that, within each species, actin gene sequences may differ by as much as 30%. Sequencing of two S. franciscanus actin genes revealed introns at the same amino acid positions, 121 and 204, reported for S. purpuratus actin genes. These data demonstrated that the genomic copy number, the transcriptional orientation of linked genes, and, to the extent studied, the intron position of actin genes have evolved similarly in these three species. In contrast, significant change has occurred in the chromosomal arrangement of sea urchin actin genes.
Experience-Dependent Plasticity of Binocular Responses in the Primary Visual Cortex of the Mouse

An activity-dependent form of synaptic plasticity underlies the fine tuning of connections in the developing primary visual cortex of mammals such as the cat and monkey. Studies of the effects of manipulations of visual experience during a critical period have demonstrated that a correlation-based competitive process governs this plasticity. The cellular mechanisms underlying this competition, however, are poorly understood. Transgenic and gene-targeting technologies have led to the development of a new category of reagents that have the potential to help answer questions of cellular mechanism, provided that the questions can be studied in a mouse model. The current study attempts to characterize a developmental plasticity in the mouse primary visual cortex and to demonstrate its relevance to that found in higher mammals. We found that 4 d of monocular lid suture at postnatal day 28 (P28) induced a maximal loss of responsiveness of cortical neurons to the deprived eye. These ocular dominance shifts occurred during a well-defined critical period, between P19 and P32. Furthermore, binocular deprivation during this critical period did not decrease visual cortical responses, and alternating monocular deprivation resulted in a decrease in the number of binocularly responsive neurons. Finally, a laminar analysis demonstrated plasticity of both geniculocortical and intracortical connections. These results demonstrate that an activity-dependent, competitive form of synaptic plasticity that obeys correlation-based rules operates in the developing primary visual cortex of the mouse.
Acculturation and Self-Rated Health among Latino and Asian Immigrants to the United States

The ways in which immigrant health profiles change with shifts in acculturation is of increasing interest to scholars and policy makers in the United States, but little is known about the mechanisms that may link acculturation and self-rated health, particularly for Asians. Utilizing the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) and its data on foreign-born Latinos ( N = 1,199) and Asians ( N = 1,323) (Pennell et al. 2004), we investigate and compare the associations between acculturation and self-rated health for immigrants to the United States from six major ethnic subgroups (Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican). Using comprehensive measures of acculturation, we demonstrate that across ethnic groups, and despite the widely varying contexts of the sending countries and receiving communities, native-language dominance is associated with worse self-rated health relative to bilingualism, and measures of lower acculturation—coethnic ties and remittances—are associated with better self-rated health; and moreover, these associations are only partially mediated by socioeconomic status, and not mediated by acculturative stress, discrimination, social support, or health behaviors. We speculate that immigrants who maintain a native language while also acquiring English, as has been shown for other immigrant outcomes, attain a bicultural fluency, which also enables good health. Surprisingly, we do not find strong associations between duration of time in the United States or age at migration—measures frequently used to proxy acculturation—with self-rated health. Our findings illustrate the complexity of measuring acculturation and its influence on health for immigrants.
Two-photon-induced hot-electron transfer to a single molecule in a scanning tunneling microscope

The junction of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) operating in the tunneling regime was irradiated with femtosecond laser pulses. A photoexcited hot electron in the STM tip resonantly tunnels into an excited state of a single molecule on the surface, converting it from the neutral to the anion. The electron-transfer rate depends quadratically on the incident laser power, suggesting a two-photon excitation process. This nonlinear optical process is further confirmed by the polarization measurement. Spatial dependence of the electron-transfer rate exhibits atomic-scale variations. A two-pulse correlation experiment reveals the ultrafast dynamic nature of photoinduced charging process in the STM junction. Results from these experiments are important for understanding photoinduced interfacial charge transfer in many nanoscale inorganic-organic structures.
A large sample volume magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance probe for in situ investigations with constant flow of reactants

A large-sample-volume constant-flow magic angle sample spinning (CF-MAS) NMR probe is reported for in situ studies of the reaction dynamics, stable intermediates/transition states, and mechanisms of catalytic reactions. In our approach, the reactants are introduced into the catalyst bed using a fixed tube at one end of the MAS rotor while a second fixed tube, linked to a vacuum pump, is attached at the other end of the rotor. The pressure difference between both ends of the catalyst bed inside the sample cell space forces the reactants flowing through the catalyst bed, which improves the diffusion of the reactants and products. This design allows the use of a large sample volume for enhanced sensitivity and thus permitting in situ13C CF-MAS studies at natural abundance. As an example of application, we show that reactants, products and reaction transition states associated with the 2-butanol dehydration reaction over a mesoporous silicalite supported heteropoly acid catalyst (HPA/meso-silicalite-1) can all be detected in a single 13C CF-MAS NMR spectrum at natural abundance. Coke products can also be detected at natural 13C abundance and under the stopped flow condition. Furthermore, 1H CF-MAS NMR is used to identify the surface functional groups of HPA/meso-silicalite-1 under the condition of in situ drying. We also show that the reaction dynamics of 2-butanol dehydration using HPA/meso-silicalite-1 as a catalyst can be explored using 1H CF-MAS NMR.
The effect of drop vehicle on the efficacy and side effects of topical glaucoma therapy: a review.

Purpose of reviewTopically applied medications are frequently used in ophthalmology to treat acute and chronic conditions, and are considered to be safer than their systemically applied counterparts, due to the reduced rate of systemic side effects.Recent findingsMany experimental and clinical studi
Deficiency of coenzyme Q9 in mice having hereditary muscular dystrophy.

The specific activities of the succinate dehydrogenase-coenzyme Q9 reductase of hearts and hind leg muscles were determined for three groups of mice: Swiss mice; non-dystrophic littermates of dystrophic mice; dystrophic mice. The specific activities with exogenous CoQ3 revealed a deficiency of CoQ9 in the hearts and hind leg muscles of the dystrophic mice. The average increase for hind leg muscle was 46 ± 17 for Swiss mice and 102 ± 21 for 2+ dystrophic mice with p≦ 0.01 for the difference. The deficiency of coenzyme Q9 correlates with therapy with hexahydrocoenzyme Q4 and coenzyme Q7 which improved the physical performance and survival of the dystrophic mice.
Estimation of the radiation source term with a conjugate-gradient method of inverse analysis

Abstract The conjugate-gradient method of inverse analysis using an adjoint function approach is presented for the solution of an inverse radiation problem for estimating the source term from measured exit radiation intensities in a plane-parallel slab. The advantage of the method is that the inverse problem is solved as an optimization problem in function space with no prior information on the functional form of the unknown source term.
Hilbert-Huang transform analysis of dynamic and earthquake motion recordings

This study examines the rationale of Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) for analyzing dynamic and earthquake motion recordings in studies of seismology and engineering. In particular, this paper first p...
Multistate assessment of wetland restoration on CO2 and N2O emissions and soil bacterial communities

Over the last 200 years, wetlands have been converted to other land uses leading to the loss of approximately 53% of wetlands in the continental United States. In the late 1980's, policies were instated to mitigate further wetland loss through wetland creation and restoration. Restored wetlands provide important ecosystem services, such as filtration of nutrients and wildlife habitat. However, these benefits could be offset by increased greenhouse gas production. We assessed the impact of wetland conversion to agriculture and restoration on CO2 and N2O emissions and microbial communities in three land use types: wetlands with native vegetation (natural); wetlands converted to agricultural management (converted); and restored wetlands (restored). Soil properties varied among land use types. Most notably, soils from restored and converted sites had the lowest C and N, and higher pH. Multivariate analysis of soil properties showed the pocosin wetlands in North Carolina separating from all other locations, regardless of land use. Soil bacterial communities showed a similar trend with communities from North Carolina soils separating from the others with no significant effect of land use or season. Furthermore, land use did not have a significant effect on CO2 or N2O emissions, although there was significant temporal variation in CO2 emissions. These findings indicate that while wetland conversion and restoration may alter some soil properties, these alterations do not appear to be great enough to override the underlying geographic and edaphic influences on soil bacterial communities. Furthermore, wetland restoration did not lead to increased N2O emission at the dates sampled.
Effect of Organic Cosolvents on Enantio-Enrichments via Cyclodextrin-Based Precipitations: An Examination of Production Efficiency

Crystallization or precipitation of cyclodextrins in the presence of racemates has proven to be a useful method to enrich enantiomers. The technique is commonly performed in neat aqueous solutions which limits its utility in resolving many hydrophobic compounds with poor water solubility. In this work we demonstrate that it is possible to enhance the enantiomeric enrichment of (±)-3-dimethyl-aminopropiophenone using organic cosolvents via β-cyclodextrin precipitation. In addition, an equation that allows the calculation of the production efficiency of an enantiomeric enrichment is proposed and utilized. Water plus various organic solvents, including methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, 1-propanol, tert-butanol, and acetonitrile, are studied as cosolvents. Several factors are investigated in terms of their effect on the enantiomeric enrichment including a) molar ratio of β-cyclodextrin to analyte, b) solubility of the analyte, c) solubility of β-cyclodextrin, d) solution pH, and e) amount of analyte co...
Comparison of risks from outdoor and indoor exposure to toxic chemicals.

Environmental Protection Agency TEAM (Total Exposure Assessment Measurement) Studies have measured exposures of about 800 persons to 25 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and exposures of about 300 ...
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) hydrological modeling in archaeology: an example from the origins of irrigation in Southwest Arabia (Yemen)

Abstract From small bands of foragers, pastoralists, and village agriculturists, to states and civilizations water accessibility and management played a crucial role in sustenance and social life throughout the ancient world. Recent advances in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and related remote sensing technologies offer powerful means of analyzing water flow that are well-suited to clarify design and operational requirements of different irrigation and water management systems. Ancient Southwest Arabian irrigation technologies developed over thousands of years culminating in some the ancient world's most advanced flashflood water systems. This paper describes satellite imagery Digital Elevation Model (DEM) extraction and GIS hydrological modeling procedures conducted for the Wadi Sana watershed of Hadramawt Governate, Yemen. Results help illustrate one of the local contexts in which small-scale irrigation originated in Southwest Arabia and additionally serve as an example for those interested in applying similar methods in other regions.
Regulation of immune responses by T suppressor cells and by serum in chronic paracoccidioidomycosis.

Abstract Regulation of cellular responses was studied during the course of chronic murine disseminated paracoccidioidomycosis. Regulation of peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) proliferative responses to concanavalin A (Con A) was studied in vitro by mixing PBL from infected and noninfected mice. PBL from mice infected for 18 weeks had depressed responses to Con A and they depressed the Con A responses of PBL from noninfected mice by 95% when they were mixed in a 1:1 ratio. After treatment of PBL from infected mice with anti-Lyt-2.2 antibody plus complement, the responses to Con A were increased to normal values. The percentage of T-cell subpopulations in PBL from infected mice did not differ significantly from those of normal mice. Immunoregulation of delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses to antigen by serum from infected animals was studied in mice 1 week after intranasal (i.n.) infection, a time when DTH responses were maximal. DTH responses to antigen 7 days after i.n. infection (10 7 CFU Paracoccidioides brasiliensis ) were significantly reduced when 0.5 ml of immune mouse serum (ELISA antibody titer to P. brasiliensis antigens 1:10,240) was given i.v. 1 day before infection ( P P
Evaluation of urine biomarkers of kidney injury in polycystic kidney disease

Progressive disruption of renal tubular integrity in the setting of increased cellular proliferation and apoptosis is a feature of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Here we evaluated the effect of these processes on the expression of Lcn2 (NGAL) and interleukin (IL)-18, markers of tubular injury, in rodent models and in the cyst fluid and urine of patients with ADPKD. Two mouse models where Pkd2 was inactivated, which resulted in early- or adult-onset cysts, were used to evaluate NGAL levels. Further, the Han:SPRD rat model of polycystic disease was used to study IL-18 levels. In four annual serial urine samples collected from 107 patients with ADPKD in the Consortium for Radiologic Imaging for the Study of Polycystic Kidney Disease (CRISP) study, NGAL and IL-18 excretion rates were determined in conjunction with measures of total kidney volume and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) by the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation. Kidneys from affected mice and rats showed prominent expression of NGAL and IL-18/IL-18R, respectively, in epithelial cells lining kidney cysts. In human ADPKD cyst fluid, both NGAL and IL-18 were elevated. In CRISP patients, the mean percentage increase in total kidney volume was 5.4/year and the mean decline in eGFR 2.4ml/min/year. The trend of increased mean urine NGAL and IL-18 over 3 years was statistically significant; however, there was no association between tertiles of IL-18 or quartiles of NGAL and change in total kidney volume or eGFR over this period. Thus, urinary NGAL and IL-18 excretion is mildly and stably elevated in ADPKD, but does not correlate with changes in total kidney volume or kidney function. This may be due, in part, to the lack of communication between individual cysts and the urinary collecting system in this disorder.
Epstein-Barr Virus LMP1 Activates EGFR, STAT3, and ERK through Effects on PKCδ

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous herpesvirus that infects more than 90% of the world's adult population and is linked to multiple malignancies, including Burkitt lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The EBV oncoprotein LMP1 induces transcription of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which is expressed at high levels in NPC. EGFR transcription is induced by LMP1 through a p50 NFκB1-Bcl-3 complex, and Bcl-3 is induced by LMP1-mediated activation of STAT3. This study reveals that LMP1, through its carboxyl-terminal activation domain 1 (LMP1-CTAR1), activates both STAT3 and EGFR in a serum-independent manner with constitutive serine phosphorylation of STAT3. Upon treatment with EGF, the LMP1-CTAR1-induced EGFR was additionally phosphorylated and STAT3 became phosphorylated on tyrosine, concomitant with upregulation of a subset of STAT3 target genes. The kinase responsible for LMP1-CTAR1-mediated serine phosphorylation of STAT3 was identified to be PKCδ using specific RNAi, a dominant negative PKCδ, and the PKCδ inhibitor rottlerin. Interestingly, inhibition of PKCδ also inhibited constitutive phosphorylation of EGFR and LMP1-CTAR1-induced phosphorylation of ERK. Inhibition of PKCδ blocked LMP1-CTAR1-mediated transformation of Rat-1 cells, likely through the inhibition of ERK activation. These findings indicate that LMP1 activates multiple distinct signaling pathways and suggest that PKCδ functions as a master regulator of EGFR, STAT3, and ERK activation by LMP1-CTAR1.
The LysR Transcription Factor, HexS, Is Required for Glucose Inhibition of Prodigiosin Production by Serratia marcescens.

Generation of many useful microbe-derived secondary metabolites, including the red pigment prodigiosin of the bacterium Serratia marcescens, is inhibited by glucose. In a previous report, a genetic approach was used to determine that glucose dehydrogenase activity (GDH) is required for inhibiting prodigiosin production and transcription of the prodigiosin biosynthetic operon (pigA-N). However, the transcription factor(s) that regulate this process were not characterized. Here we tested the hypothesis that HexS, a LysR-family transcription factor similar to LrhA of Escherichia coli, is required for inhibition of prodigiosin by growth in glucose. We observed that mutation of the hexS gene in S. marcescens allowed the precocious production of prodigiosin in glucose-rich medium conditions that completely inhibited prodigiosin production by the wild type. Unlike previously described mutants able to generate prodigiosin in glucoserich medium, hexS mutants exhibited GDH activity and medium acidification similar to the wild type. Glucose inhibittion of pigA expression was shown to be dependent upon HexS, suggesting that HexS is a key transcription factor in secondary metabolite regulation in response to medium pH. These data give insight into the prodigiosin regulatory pathway and could be used to enhance the production of secondary metabolites.
Challenging stereotypes about academic writing: Complexity, elaboration, explicitness

Abstract The stereotypical view of professional academic writing is that it is grammatically complex, with elaborated structures, and with meaning relations expressed explicitly. In contrast, spoken registers, especially conversation, are believed to have the opposite characteristics. Our goal in the present paper is to challenge these stereotypes, based on results from large-scale corpus investigations. Our findings strongly support the view that academic writing and conversation have dramatically different linguistic characteristics. However, the specific differences are quite surprising. First, we show that academic writing is not structurally ‘elaborated’ (in the traditional sense of this term). In fact, subordinate clauses – especially finite dependent clauses – are much more common in conversation than academic writing. Instead, academic writing is structurally ‘compressed’, with phrasal (non-clausal) modifiers embedded in noun phrases. Additionally, we challenge the stereotype that academic writing is explicit in meaning. Rather, we argue that the ‘compressed’ discourse style of academic writing is much less explicit in meaning than alternative styles employing elaborated structures. These styles are efficient for expert readers, who can quickly extract large amounts of information from relatively short, condensed texts. However, they pose difficulties for novice readers, who must learn to infer unspecified meaning relations among grammatical constituents.
Investigation of the Unusual Electronic Structure of Pyrococcus furiosus 4Fe Ferredoxin by EPR Spectroscopy of Protein Reduced at Ambient and Cryogenic Temperatures.

The hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus contains a novel ferredoxin (Pf-Fd) in which, in the native 4Fe form, three of the Fe ions are coordinated to the protein by cysteinyl thiolato ligands, but the fourth Fe is coordinated by an aspartyl carboxylato ligand ([Fe4S4(cys)3(asp)]2-,3-). Chemical reduction at ambient temperature of the oxidized 4Fe form (Pf-Fd 4Fe-ox, S = 0 ground state, with the cluster core indicated by [Fe4S4]2+ox) produces a reduced 4Fe form (Pf-Fd 4Fe-red, with the cluster core indicated by [Fe4S4]+red). Pf-Fd 4Fe-red, [Fe4S4]+red core, in frozen solution exhibits S = 1/2 and 3/2 electronic states that are not in thermal equilibrium. The two spin states thus represent alternate ground states of the reduced cluster (cluster cores indicated by [Fe4S4]+red1 and [Fe4S4]+red2, respectively), rather than a ground and excited spin state. Low-temperature (77 K) reduction of 4Fe-ox in frozen solution by γ-irradiation produces in high yield the reduced state of the cluster that is tra...
The influence of genetic background on the susceptibility of mice to diabetes induced by alloxan and on recovery from alloxan diabetes.

Alloxan was administered at dosages of 25 to 100 mg/kg to C57BL/6J (6J) and C57BL/KsJ (KsJ) mice to determine the dose dependence of alloxan-induced diabetes in these strains. KsJ mice were more susceptible to alloxan: the effective dose (ED) with respect to the likelihood of 50% of the treated mice becoming hyperglycaemic by 2 days was 42 mg/ kg for KsJ mice, compared with 59 mg/kg for 6J mice (P<0.001). The dose response curves for the two strains were parallel, and mice receiving equieffective alloxan dosages studied, which were approximately the ED1, ED20, ED80, and ED99, blood glucose levels at 2 days did not differ significantly between KsJ and 6J mice. Although the initial severity of hyperglycaemia and polydipsia was indistinguishable in KsJ and 6J mice administered the ED80 alloxan dosages, there were two major differences in the long term course of their diabetes. First, only 13 of 23 diabetic KsJ mice survived for three months following alloxan administration compared with all 23 diabetic 6J mice (P<0.001). Second, 9 of 23 diabetic 6J mice gradually became normoglycaemic, compared with none of the diabetic KsJ mice (P<0.001). These observations support an earlier hypothesis that these two strains of mice differ in their capacity to adapt to diabetogenic stimuli.
Field emission enhancement of diamond tips utilizing boron doping and surface treatment

Abstract A practical field emission enhancement technique for diamond tips with sp 2 content utilizing boron doping and surface treatment, achieving a very low turn-on electric field of 1 V/μm, has been developed. The effects of surface treatment and boron doping on electron field emission from an array of micropatterned polycrystalline diamond microtips with sp 2 content have been systematically investigated. Regardless of doping, the field emission characteristics of diamond tips are significantly enhanced and the turn-on electric field is reduced more than 60% after surface treatment. Likewise, regardless of surface treatment, the turn-on electric field of the diamond tips with sp 2 content decreases substantially with boron doping. Possible mechanisms responsible for the field emission enhancement are an increase in the field enhancement factor due to hole accumulation via the formation of cascaded sp 2 –diamond–sp 2 embedded microstructures and field forming process with enhanced hole accumulation after surface treatment.
Aggressive pancreatic resection for primary pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor: is it justifiable?

Abstract Background Benign and malignant pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) are rare, and long-term outcome is generally poor without surgical intervention. The aim of the study was to assess whether aggressive pancreatic resection is justifiable for patients with PNET. Methods All consecutive patients who had undergone major pancreatic resection from January 1997 through January 2005 were reviewed and analyzed. Results There were 33 patients (16 male and 17 female) with a mean age of 53 years. Five patients had multiple endocrine neoplasms syndrome, and 1 patient had von Hippel-Lindau syndrome. There were 20 benign (9 functional) and 13 malignant (6 functional) neoplasms. Mean tumor size was 4.2 cm, and multiple tumors were noted in 10 patients. Eight patients (25%) underwent pancreticoduedenectomy, and 25 patients (76%) underwent distal pancreatectomy (extended distal pancreatectomy in 4 and splenectomy in 20 patients). Regional lymph node involvement was present in 10 patients (30%), and 6 patients (18%) had liver metastasis. Four patients (12%) underwent concurrent resection of other organs because of disease extension. Median intraoperative blood loss was 500 mL. Perioperative morbidity was 36%, and mortality was 3%. Symptomatic palliation was complete in 93% (14.15 patients) and partial in 1 patient because of nonresectable hepatic disease. Median hospital stay was 11.5 days. After median follow-up of 36 months, there were no local recurrences. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates for patients with benign versus malignant neoplasms were 100% vs. 92%, 89% vs. 64%, and 89% vs 36% ( P = .01), respectively. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year disease progression rates for patients with malignant neoplasms were 13%, 63%, and 100%, respectively ( P Conclusions Aggressive pancreatic resection for PNET can be performed with low perioperative mortality and morbidity. Unlike available nonoperative therapy, this approach offers an excellent means of symptomatic palliation and local disease control. In patients with malignant PNET, metastatic recurrence is not uncommon and will usually require additional multimodality therapy. When possible, an aggressive approach to PNET is justified to optimize palliation and survival.
First operational experience with the positive-ion injector of ATLAS

Abstract A Positive-Ion Injector (PII) designed to enable ATLAS to accelerate all stable nuclei has been completed and successfully tested. This new injector system consists of an ECR source on a 350-kV platform coupled to a 12-MV superconducting injector linac formed with four different types of independently-phased 4-gap accelerating structures. The injector linac is configured to be optimum for the acceleration of uranium ions from 0.029 to ≈ 1.1 MeV/u. When ions with q/A > 0.1 are accelerated by PII and injected into the main ATLAS linac, CW beams with energies over 6 MeV/u can be delivered to the experimental areas. Since its completion in March 1992, PII has been tested by accelerating 30 Si 7+ , 40 Ar 11+ , 132 Xe 13+ , and 208 Pb 24+ . For all of these, transmission through the injector linac was ∼100% of the pre-bunched beam, which corresponds to ∼60% of the DC beam from the source. The accelerating fields of the superconducting resonators were somewhat greater than the design goals, and the whole system ran stably for long periods of time.
Atomic Force Microscopy and Electron Microscopy Analysis of Retrovirus Gag Proteins Assembled in Vitro on Lipid Bilayers

We have used an in vitro system that mimics the assembly of immature Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) particles to examine how viral structural (Gag) proteins oligomerize at membrane interfaces. Ordered arrays of histidine-tagged Moloney capsid protein (his-MoCA) were obtained on membrane bilayers composed of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and the nickel-chelating lipid 1, 2-di-O-hexadecyl-sn-glycero-3-(1'-2"-R-hydroxy-3'N-(5-amino-1-carboxy pentyl)iminodiacetic acid)propyl ether (DHGN). The membrane-bound arrays were analyzed by electron microscopy (EM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Two-dimensional projection images obtained by EM showed that bilayer-bound his-MoCA proteins formed cages surrounding different types of protein-free cage holes with similar cage holes spaced at 81.5-A distances and distances between dissimilar cage holes of 45.5 A. AFM images, showing topological features viewed near the membrane-proximal domain of the his-MoCA protein, revealed a cage network of only symmetrical hexamers spaced at 79-A distances. These results are consistent with a model in which dimers constitute structural building blocks and where membrane-proximal and distal his-MoCA regions interact with different partners in membrane-bound arrays.
Crystal structure of the heterodimeric bZIP transcription factor c-Fos–c-Jun bound to DNA

THE Fos and Jun families of eukaryotic transcription factors heterodimerize to form complexes capable of binding 5'-TGAGTCA-3' DNA elements. We have determined the X-ray crystal structure of a heterodimer of the bZIP regions of c-Fos and c-Jun bound to DNA. Both subunits form continuous α-helices. The carboxy-terminal regions form an asymmetric coiled-coil, and the amino-terminal regions make base-specific contacts with DNA in the major groove. Comparison of the two crystallographically distinct protein-DNA complexes show that the coiled-coil is flexibly joined to the basic regions and that the Fos-Jun heterodimer does not recognize the asymmetric 5'-TGAGTCA-3' recognition element in a unique orientation. There is an extensive network of electrostatic interactions between subunits within the coiled-coil, consistent with proposals that these interactions determine preferential formation of the heterodimer over either of the homodimers.
A framework for developing reliable corporate services in an agile environment

The new operational environment is exemplified by continuously shifting mission requirements that challenges our Information Systems to dynamically add functionality, increase throughput and overcome threats to deliver new capabilities, quicker, with less cost, and more accuracy. It is essemntial that we engineer a flexibile design and follow an agile development process to keep up with these rapid changes. Security considerations should continue to be architected in the initial system capability and implemented in an agile environment to ensure security of the environment, protection of contenets, control resources and authentication of users are accomplished in the new Information Technology systems. Today's systems are being tasked to ingest process and analyze dramatically different, high volume data sets than they were originally designed to handle while they have to interact with multiple new systems that were unaccounted for at design time. Agile development of modular systems based on commercial standards has proven to be the best way to achieve these dynamic requirements and continuously meet the everchaning security threats and providing the required service levels.
Review of Jeremy Sugarman and Daniel P. Sulmasy, eds., Methods in Medical Ethics (2nd ed.)

The second edition of Methods in Medical Ethics, edited by Jeremy Sugarman and Daniel P. Sulmasy, is remarkably well written and serves as a comprehensive overview of research methods in the field ...
New model of the average neutron and proton pairing gaps

Abstract By use of the BCS approximation applied to a distribution of dense, equally spaced levels, we derive new expressions for the average neutron pairing gap \ gDn and average proton pairing gap \ gDp. These expressions, which contain exponential terms, take into account the dependencies of \ gDn and \ gDp upon both the relative neutron excess and shape of the nucleus. The three constants that appear are determined by a least-squares adjustment to experimental pairing gaps obtained by use of fourth-order differences of measured masses. For this purpose we use the 1986 Audi-Wapstra mid-stream mass evaluation and take into account experimental uncertainties. Our new model explains not only the dependencies of \ gDn and \ gDp upon relative neutron excess and nuclear shape, but also the experimental result that for medium and heavy nuclei \ gDn is generally smaller than \ gDp. We also introduce a new expression for the average residual neutron-proton interaction energy \ gd that appears in the masses of odd-odd nuclei, and determine the constant that appears by an analogous least-squares adjustment to experimental mass differences. Our new expressions for \ gDn, \ gDp and \ gd should permit extrapolation of these quantities to heavier nuclei and to nuclei farther removed from the valley of β stability than do previous parameterizations.
Strong solutions to a nonlinear fluid structure interaction system

Abstract In this paper, we prove the existence of local-in-time smooth solutions to the nonlinear fluid structure interaction model first introduced in [J.-L. Lions, Quelques methodes de resolution des problemes aux limites non lineaires, Dunod, 1969] and considered in [V. Barbu, Z. Grujic, I. Lasiecka, A. Tuffaha, Existence of the energy-level weak solutions for a nonlinear fluid–structure interaction model, in: Fluids and Waves, in: Contemp. Math., vol. 440, Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, RI, 2007, pp. 55–82; V. Barbu, Z. Grujic, I. Lasiecka, A. Tuffaha, Smoothness of weak solutions to a nonlinear fluid–structure interaction model, Indiana Univ. Math. J. 57 (3) (2008) 1173–1207]. In particular, the strong solutions here are obtained given initial datum for the Navier–Stokes equation in the space H 1 , and initial data for the wave equation w 0 and w 1 in the spaces H 2 ( Ω e ) and H 1 ( Ω e ) respectively.