cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Associations of amygdala volume and shape with transactive response DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) pathology in a community cohort of older adults.

Abstract Transactive response DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) pathology is common in old age and is strongly associated with cognitive decline and dementia above and beyond contributions from other neuropathologies. TDP-43 pathology in aging typically originates in the amygdala, a brain region also affected by other age-related neuropathologies such as Alzheimer's pathology. The purpose of this study was two-fold: to determine the independent effects of TDP-43 pathology on the volume, as well as shape, of the amygdala in a community cohort of older adults, and to determine the contribution of amygdala volume to the variance of the rate of cognitive decline after accounting for the contributions of neuropathologies and demographics. Cerebral hemispheres from 198 participants of the Rush Memory and Aging Project and the Religious Orders Study were imaged with MRI ex vivo and underwent neuropathologic examination. Measures of amygdala volume and shape were extracted for all participants. Regression models controlling for neuropathologies and demographics showed an independent negative association of TDP-43 with the volume of the amygdala. Shape analysis revealed a unique pattern of amygdala deformation associated with TDP-43 pathology. Finally, mixed-effects models showed that amygdala volume explained an additional portion of the variance of the rate of decline in global cognition, episodic memory, semantic memory, and perceptual speed, above and beyond what was explained by demographics and neuropathologies.
Increasing the detection sensitivity of the Radionuclide Aerosol Sampler/Analyzer using a cosmic veto system

Abstract Different configurations of a cosmic veto system have been evaluated for the Radionuclide Aerosol Sampler/Analyzer (RASA). The upgrade has the potential to resolve the issue that U.S. International Monitoring System (IMS) radionuclide stations have difficulty meeting the 140Ba Minimum Detectable Concentration (MDC) certification requirement when the natural background radioactivity is high. It also aims to improve the detection sensitivity of the RASA system for other fission and activation products indicative of a nuclear explosion. This proof of principal utilizes a prototype RASA system located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and has demonstrated background reductions by up to 11.3% and improvements in the average MDC by up to 7.7%. Recommendations are made for either a 1 or 3 plate configuration, which improves the 140Ba MDC by 5.6% and 7.2% for a blank filter. Whilst elevated 212Pb activity remains problematic, the cosmic veto system provides a practical solution for sensitivity improvement with little design modification of the RASA. It also has value in improving sensitivity and preventing false-positives at remote U.S. IMS station locations where sample transfer for laboratory analysis is logistically difficult.
Plating and Stripping of Calcium in an Alkyl Carbonate Electrolyte at Room Temperature

We report the plating and stripping of calcium metal at room temperature in a mixture of ethylene carbonate (EC) and propylene carbonate (PC) solvents using calcium tetrafluoroborate (Ca(BF4)2) as ...
POLICIES AND PREVENTION OF U.S. WOMEN’S VIOLENT DEATH ACROSS AGES

U.S. violent death rates (homicide and suicide) are the highest in the developed world. Of all female murders (femicide), the majority are male perpetrated, intimate partner violence (IPV- 55-63%). Men are more often killed and by other male acquaintances, with only 2.8% IPV. Proportionally, older women (50+) have the top homicide victim rate (26%) among women. The baby boom cohort has been suicidal and aging has exacerbated the problem. Women are less likely to kill themselves, and the methods differ. We ask are mid and later life women’s lethal victimization similar to younger women? What are policy implications for prevention? Our research uses national level data from news surveillance of 728 intimate partner homicide suicide (IPHS) events and the State Firearm Law Database (SFLD) to improve our understanding of violent cause mortality by sex, age, method and location. IPHS patterns show 90% of events used firearm and 90% were male perpetrated. Results of multivariate analyses show young women had greater awareness and fear before IPHS. Evidence finds older men sometimes decided to kill their IP as part of their own suicide, without a history of known domestic violence. Older women have disproportionately low use of shelters, police and protective orders. SFLD shows population adjusted states with more DV firearms laws have significantly fewer IPHS events. Firearm culture has restricted research, blocked law enforcement and has done little to reduce gun access in households with vulnerable populations (e.g., suicidal husbands). Lethality Assessment Protocols could be modified for elder women’s unique situation.
Unpredictability stresses out sea bass

![Graphic][1] Most mammals, including humans, get stressed when something unpredictable happens. A lack of control or certainty sets off a cascade of reactions throughout our bodies known as the ‘stress response’. This can include not only changes in our behaviours but also fluctuations
A Computational Lemma in the Module Theory of Linear Systems

If R is a ring and X is an R-module, then denote ΛX as the R-module of truncated formal Laurent series in s -1 with coefficients in the module X. The truncation operator on ΛX is the operator which sets the polynomial part of an element in ΛX to zero. It is well known that ΛX is endowed with the structure of a R[s]-module by using the shift left operator as multiplication by s. This paper establishes a lemma which limits the size of the commutator of the truncation operator on ΛX and the system operator (sI - A)-1, defined on ΛX. A corollary to this lemma is the well known fact that the transmission blocking space, Z signal’ is a submodule of ΓU. This Lemma can also be used to show that the gamma zero module, Z Γ’ and Z signal are equal for reachable systems.
Contralateral Transmaxillary Approach for Resection of Chondrosarcoma of the Petrous Apex: A Case Report.

Background:Deep location and neurovascular structures make access to lesions of the petrous apex a significant challenge. A novel approach for these tumors is the contralateral transmaxillary appro...
Equine Discomfort Ethogram.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in and need for a comprehensive ethogram of discomfort behavior of horses, particularly for use in recognizing physical discomfort in domestically managed horses. A clear understanding of the physical discomfort behavior of horses among caretakers, trainers, and professional health care personnel is important to animal welfare and caretaker safety. This is particularly relevant to pain management for hospitalized equine patients. Various pain scale rubrics have been published, typically incorporating only a few classically cited pain behaviors that, in many cases, are specific to a particular body system, anatomic location, or disease condition. A consistent challenge in using these rubrics in practice, and especially in research, is difficulty interpreting behaviors listed in various rubrics. The objective of this equine discomfort ethogram is to describe a relatively comprehensive catalog of behaviors associated with discomfort of various degrees and sources, with the goal of improving understanding and clarity of communication regarding equine discomfort and pain. An inventory of discomfort-related behaviors observed in horses has been compiled over 35 years of equine behavior research and clinical consulting to medical and surgical services at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s equine hospital. This research and clinical work included systematic evaluation of thousands of hours of video-recordings, including many hundreds of normal, healthy horses, as well as hospitalized patients with various complaints and/or known medical, neurologic, or orthopedic conditions. Each of 73 ethogram entries is named, defined, and accompanied by a line drawing illustration. Links to online video recorded examples are provided, illustrating each behavior in one or more hospitalized equine patients. This ethogram, unambiguously describing equine discomfort behaviors, should advance welfare of horses by improving recognition of physical discomfort, whether for pain management of hospitalized horses or in routine husbandry.
Prolonged survival after laser interstitial thermal therapy in glioblastoma

Background Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults. Management includes surgical resection followed by chemoradiation, and prognosis remains poor. Surgical resection is not possible for some deep-seated or eloquent tumors. Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) has emerged as a new, minimally invasive surgical option for deep-seated GBM. Case description We report a case of newly diagnosed thalamic GBM managed with LITT followed by radiation and chemotherapy. Conclusion The patient remains well at 50-month post-LITT, indicating a potentially unique durability of LITT treatment in GBM.
Phenotypic Trait Variation in Populations of a Global Invader Mayweed Chamomile (Anthemis cotula): Implications for Weed Management

Mayweed chamomile (Anthemis cotula L.) is an annual crop weed that has become a substantial impediment to diversify traditional wheat-based cropping systems such as in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), USA. Some of the broadleaf rotational crops are vulnerable to the weed as they are less competitive or lack compatible herbicides for A. cotula management. Although A. cotula has been present in the PNW for more than a century, traits that contribute to invasiveness and how these vary among the weed populations have not been investigated. We assessed trait variation with a common garden greenhouse experiment by comparing 19 A. cotula populations from the PNW and Kashmir Valley, India. Seeds from individual plants from each population were used to grow plants through their senescence. We measured phenological (e.g., flowering duration), morphological (e.g., plant biomass), reproductive fitness (e.g., number of flower heads), and physiological (floral scent VOCs: volatile organic compounds) traits on individual plants and analyzed the data using mixed-effects models. We found high inter-population variation in most of the traits measured, but the variation was not associated with the geographical distance. Seedling emergence within 30 days of planting ranged from 2 to 49 % for PNW populations to 55 to 72 % for Indian populations. Flowering duration ranged from 2 to 3 months among populations. Other traits such as initial and final flowering dates, the total number of flower heads, and floral scent VOCs also differed among populations. These trait patterns may indicate a localized adaptation of A. cotula populations to environmental or management regimes, variation arising from anthropogenic or natural dispersal, multiple introductions, genetic drift, or combinations of these. Regardless of the processes, the trait variation suggests that weed management plan for A. cotula may need to be tailored to specific locations instead of a uniformly adopted plan across the region.
A Cantor Trio: Denumerability, the Reals, and the Real Algebraic Numbers

We present a formalization in ACL2(r) of three proofs originally done by Cantor. The first two are different proofs of the non-denumerability of the reals. The first, which was described by Cantor in 1874, relies on the completeness of the real numbers, in the form that any infinite chain of closed, bounded intervals has a non-empty intersection. The second proof uses Cantor’s celebrated diagonalization argument, which did not appear until 1891. The third proof is of the existence of real transcendental (i.e., non-algebraic) numbers. It also appeared in Cantor’s 1874 paper, as a corollary to the non-denumerability of the reals. What Cantor ingeniously showed is that the algebraic numbers are denumerable, so every open interval must contain at least one transcendental number.
cDNA sequence and bacterial expression of mouse liver sterol carrier protein-2.

Sterol carrier protein-2 (SCP-2) is an intracellular protein of Mr 13,096. In vitro studies have shown that it is involved in the transport and metabolism of cholesterol. This protein is believed to participate in these activities by forming a stoichiometric complex with the sterol. Because these activities occur in different intracellular locations, i.e. mitochondria, peroxisomes, and cytosol, it can be predicted that SCP-2 targets to these sites. In this report we show that a mouse cDNA (785 base pairs) encodes a precursor form of SCP-2 containing a N-terminal presequence and an additional C-terminal residue. These additional amino acid residues are found in proteins targeted to the mitochondria and peroxisomes, respectively. These signals are not found in SCP-2 purified from rat liver cytosol which is believed to be a cytosolic form. Northern analysis shows that there are four species of mRNA which hybridize to a SCP-2-specific probe at 1.0, 1.7, 2.2, and 2.9 kilobases. Southern analysis shows that the gene is distributed over a large amount of DNA or that there are multiple genes. We have cloned the cytosolic/peroxisomal form of mouse SCP-2 into the Escherichia coli expression vector pKK233-2 and have expressed and purified recombinant mouse SCP-2, Mr 13,034. The purified recombinant SCP-2 is immunoreactive to rabbit anti-rat SCP-2 antibody. It also has biological activity equivalent to homogeneous rat liver SCP-2 in stimulating the microsomal conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol to cholesterol and in the esterification of cholesterol by acyl-CoA cholesterol acyltransferase by rat liver microsomes.
Wise-integrator: an automatic integrator of web search interfaces for E-commerce

More and more databases are becoming Web accessible through form-based search interfaces, and many of these sources are E-commerce sites. Providing a unified access to multiple E-commerce search engines selling similar products is of great importance in allowing users to search and compare products from multiple sites with ease. One key task for providing such a capability is to integrate the Web interfaces of these E-commerce search engines so that user queries can be submitted against the integrated interface. Currently, integrating such search interfaces is carried out either manually or semi-automatically, which is inefficient and difficult to maintain. In this paper, we present WISE-Integrator - a tool that performs automatic integration of Web Interfaces of Search Engines. WISE-Integrator employs sophisticated techniques to identify matching attributes from different search interfaces for integration. It also resolves domain differences of matching attributes. Our experimental results based on 20 and 50 interfaces in two different domains indicate that WISE-Integrator can achieve high attribute matching accuracy and can produce high-quality integrated search interfaces without human interactions.
Enablement and Constraint

A general issue for understanding development concerns the interplay between enablement and constraint, gains and losses. Notions of expertise provide one framework commonly used to consider such questions. For example, notions of expertise often underpin Baltes’s lifespan metatheory with its emphasis on gains and losses and on the tradeoffs between selection and optimization. Three features often come to the foreground, if one thinks of cognitive development in terms of acquiring expertise: (1) the domain-general character of initial learning processes, (2) a presumed developmental shift from an amassed set of facts and experiences to a derived set of abstract principles, and (3) the expectation that more practice and more experience lead to more knowledge and that more knowledge leads to more powerful learning. All of these expectations are challenged by features of early cognitive development. While early cognitive development does encompass the accumulation of knowledge and skill in ways that meet these expectations, it also profoundly manifests (1) domain-specific inital learning states and mechanisms, (2) abstract frameworks of understanding that precede and shape the accumulation of bodies of more specific knowledge rather than being derived from them, and (3) learning mechanisms and trajectories where less is more. In this chapter, I discuss these features of early development as a way to contribute to a lifespan metatheory that comprehensively encompasses the full scope of cognitive development. I argue, among other things, that a comprehensive understanding of cognitive development may need to be especially informed by developments at both extremes of the life courseearly childhood and late life.
An Autopsy Study of the Peritoneal Cavity From Patients on Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis

Sixteen autopsies were performed on patients aged 56 ± 15 (SD) years who were on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) for 834 ± 766 (SD) days. Lactate-buffered dialysate and povidone-iodine antiseptic were used in all cases. Multiple peritoneal sections were taken to evaluate peritoneal membrane thickening, inflammation, neovascularization, fibrosis, and adhesions. Peritoneal thickening, inflammation, or adhesions were not related to sex, race, or etiology of renal failure. Time on dialysis was also not a direct determinant of peritoneal adhesions or neovascularization. Peritonitis episodes correlated with chronic peritoneal serosal changes. This study supports the hypothesis that peritoneal alterations in patients on CAPD are related to episodes of peritonitis.
A River Runs Through It: Mapping The Sources And New Directions Of Ecotheology

This brief essay offers an analysis of the history, current status and possible future directions of the emerging field of ecotheology based on an ecotheology colloquium meeting in San Francisco in November 2011. The essay ends with the hope that Christian animism – the vision of a shared and verdant Earth saturated with divine presence – can religiously charge transformative responses to the crisis of unsustainable living today.
Effect of dietary copper deficiency on the distribution of dopamine and norepinephrine in mice and rats

Dietary copper deficiency was produced in Swiss albino mice and Sprague Dawley rats to determine the organ specificity of alterations in norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) concentrations and the relationship with organ copper levels. A 5-week dietary treatment was used, which started 1 week after birth for mice, initially via dams, and 3 weeks after birth for rats. Mice offspring (6 weeks of age) and rats (8 weeks of age) maintained on a copper-deficient (-Cu) treatment were compared with copper-adequate (+Cu) controls. Compared with +Cu animals, -Cu mice and rats were anemic and had low (<1% of +Cu) ceruloplasmin activities but normal body weights. The -Cu mice had organ copper concentrations ranging between 30% and 65% of +Cu values for eight organs studied, with the thymus being the least depleted. For -Cu rats, the range was 15% to 65%. Significant reductions in NE concentration were observed in the heart, pancreas, and spleen of -Cu mice. Elevated DA levels were observed in all organs except the brain. For -Cu rats, the NE level was lower in the heart and the DA level was higher in both the heart and spleen compared with +Cu rats. Dopamine elevation in the heart and spleen for both -Cu mice and rats was four- and fivefold higher, respectively. Adrenal catecholamine levels were only slightly changed by copper deficiency in mice or rats. Urinary levels of both NE and DA were higher in -Cu rats and mice. Plasma and heart tyrosine levels were not altered in -Cu mice. Elevated DA in -Cu rodents may be due to limiting dopamine-beta-monooxygenase. Higher urinary NE and lower organ NE may be due to a combination of decreased synthesis and enhanced turnover. The magnitude of decreased organ copper was not predictive of altered catecholamine pool size.
Endothelial integrity after venous cryopreservation.

Abstract Veins treated with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) prior to freezing were compared with fresh veins with respect to fibrinolytic activity, morphologic changes, and endothelial viability. After storage for 3 to 8 weeks frozen veins retained their basic morphologic structure and fibrinolytic activity, but cell viability was lost. When such veins were placed in the canine femoral venous circulation, a high rate of thrombosis was noted. This could be prevented by treatment of the graft recipient with aspirin and dipyridamole. Frozen veins removed 5 days after grafting showed loss of endothelium and fibrinolytic activity. Implications of these findings with reference to “vein banking” are discussed.
Managing procurement auctions

Three mechanisms are considered that extend the standard fixed quantity auction: (I) sole sourcing with output chosen in advance by a buyer with downward-sloping demand; (II) sole sourcing with an output schedule based on revelation of cost parameters; and (III) multiple sourcing with output allocation across suppliers based on revelation of cost parameters. Procedures are characterized for the sole sourcing and multiple sourcing problems that implement the buyer's optimal mechanism.
Reinforcement history: a concept underutilized in behavior analysts.

Some years ago Underwood (1964) grappled with the problem of explaining his finding that rate of forgetting was not a function of the rate of learning but rather seemed to reflect the level of learning achieved. He likened different rates of learning to filling an Erlenmeyer flask of water at different rates and the process of forgetting to the rate of evaporation, which in turn is a function of the exposed surface area. Since an Erlenmeyer flask is cone-shaped, the surface area becomes smaller as the flask is filled, thus the greater the amount of learning achieved, or water added, the less the rate of evaporation independent of how quickly or slowly the flask was filled. I give this example because it is such a clear description of history kept simple, in the psychological process of learning and forgetting. Indeed it is as simple as Charles Dickens' description of how students are to be taught, that is, by considering them to be "little vessels...ready to have imperial gallons of facts poured into them until they were full to the brim" (Dickens, 1961, p. 12). The object of this paper is to show how our neglect in specifying the history of reinforcement and other behavior analytic concepts has resulted in our ceding much of our field to cognitive psychologists even though our knowledge of conditioning enables us to study it more thoroughly than they can.
High dose extended-release lansoprazole (dexlansoprazole) and amoxicillin dual therapy for Helicobacter pylori infections

Background Helicobacter pylori infections have become increasingly difficult to treat. Aim To examine whether amoxicillin and high-dose dexlansoprazole would reliably achieve an H. pylori eradication rate of ≥90%. Methods An open-label prospective pilot study of H. pylori eradication in treatment-naive subjects with active H. pylori infection (positive by two tests). Therapy: amoxicillin 1 g and dexlansoprazole 120 mg each twice a day at approximately 12-hour intervals for 14 days. Success was accessed by urea breath test. An effective therapy was defined as a per-protocol treatment success of 90% or greater; treatment success of 80% or less was prespecified as an unacceptable result. Results After 13 subjects were entered (12 men, one woman; average age of 54 years), the prespecified stopping rule of six treatment failures was achieved (i.e., the 95% confidence interval excluded achieving the required 90% success rate even if the proposed study of 50 completed patients were entered) and enrollment was stopped. Per-protocol and intention-to-treat treatment success were both 53.8%; (7/13); 95% CI = 25–80%. Compliance was 100%. Three patients (23%) reported side effects, all of which were mild and none interrupted therapy. Conclusion Theoretically, dual PPI plus amoxicillin should reliably eradicate H. pylori provided nearly neutral intragastric pH can be maintained. Clearly, dexlansoprazole, despite being administered at high dose and twice a day (i.e., total daily dose 240 mg), failed to achieve an intragastric milieu consistent with dual PPI plus amoxicillin therapy being an effective anti-H. pylori regimen.
University of the Pacific's Bookend Seminars on a Good Society.

University of the Pacific is a private, comprehensive university with a College of Arts and Sciences and six professional schools, and with a population of more than four thousand students on its main campus in the ethnically diverse central valley city of Stockton, California. The signature component of Pacific's general education program is the required three Pacific Seminars (PACS) that focus on the question “What is a Good Society?” PACS 1 and 2 are writing-intensive, discussion-oriented seminars taken in sequence in the first year, and each course consists of some forty sections of about twenty students per section. PACS 3 is a culminating educational experience taken in the senior year and consists of thirty-one sections of twenty-five students per section spread throughout the entire year.
The RFP in the automation procurement process

Five prominent consultants—Susan Baerg Epstein, James Rush, Jose‐Marie Griffiths, Rob McGee, and Wilson Stahl—address the development and use of the request for proposals (RFPs) in the library automation procurement process. Most consultants agree that the RFP is an effective means of selecting a system, if used properly. But it can be misused, is frequently substituted for sound judgment and intelligent decision making on the part of library staff, and is expensive. Librarians often focus so much on preparing the RFP that the goals of the planning process are lost. The preparation of the RFP is only one step in the procurement and installation process. It should be viewed as one intermediate objective, which must be coordinated with others to achieve successful results.
Intoxication with Veratrum viride.

Summary A case of accidental poisoning with veratrum viride is reported. Atropine provided rapid relief of the symptoms in this patient. A brief discussion of the pharmacologic action of veratrum is included.
Ribonucleic acid base composition in the developing amphibian optic cup-lens system☆

Abstract The RNA base composition of the developing optic cup-lens system of Rana pipiens embryos was determined. The total RNA was extracted and hydrolyzed to obtain its mononucleotide constituents. After the nucleotides had been separated by means of high voltage paper electrophoresis, they were measured spectrophotometrically and the RNA base composition was calculated. Determinations were carried out on the embryonic parts at stages before and during induction and differentiation. At stages before and during induction (Shumway stages 13, 15, and 16) the presumptive optic cup regions were dissected out for one series of determinations and the presumptive lens regions for a second series. At later stages (stages 18, 20, and 25), the presumptive optic cup and lens were not separated from one another and were analyzed together. The base compositions of the dissected parts were of the ribosomal type at stages 13, 15, 16, and 18; G + C values varied between 59% and 66%. At these stages no significant differences either between stages or between parts were detected with the method used. The base composition and base ratios of the optic cup plus lens at stage 20 are significantly different from those of the same parts at stage 25. There is also a significant difference between the base composition and ratios of the optic cup plus lens and those of the whole embryo at stages 20 and 25. The RNA per milligram dry weight increases in the optic cup plus lens from stage 15 to 20. The possibility is discussed that the observed increase in RNA and the change in RNA base composition may be due to synthesis of specific ribosomes.
The effects of modeling cues, reward, and attentional set on the production of grammatical and ungrammatical syntactic constructions☆

Abstract Two experiments examined the effects of reward, modeling, and attentional set on the acquisition of novel syntactic responses by second-grade children. In Exp. I the experimental S s were exposed to and rewarded for the production of grammatical prepositional phrases of the form “preposition-article-noun” or ungrammatical phrases of the form “article-noun-preposition.” Both groups demonstrated an increase in the frequency of “preposition-article-noun” (grammatical) phrases relative to the performance of a control group. Experiment II revealed that S s of this age could repeat modeled ungrammatical phrases of the type “article-noun-preposition,” but, even with repetition, they did not generate new ones. These findings are discussed in relationship to the hypothesis that children of this age adopt an active problem-solving strategy, modifying ungrammatical utterances to make them grammatically correct.
13C NMR spectroscopic study of epoxidized 1,4‐polyisoprene and 1,4‐polybutadiene

Partly epoxidized cis- and trans-1,4-polyisoprenes and cis-and trans-1,4-polybutadienes were prepared, and their 13C NMR spectra examined. All the prominent resonances in the spectra of the epoxidized polymers were assigned by using lanthanide shift reagent and off-resonance decoupling experiments. A 13C NMR method of quantitative assessment of the epoxide content was developed following determination of relative spin-lattice relaxation time (T1) and nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) parameters of the various carbons in the epoxidized polyisoprenes and polybutadienes.
Fluorescent nanoparticles: Sensing pathogens and toxins in foods and crops

Emerging tools in molecular nanotechnology will be useful to monitor and quantify pathogen levels and toxin production inter-and intra-cellularly and on the surface of foods. Recent developments in the manufacture and modification of fluorescent nanoparticles, quantum dots (QD), in conjunction with established molecular beacon (MB) technology, have demonstrated potential for on-the-food detection and quantification of pathogens and toxins harmful to human health. Recent research has demonstrated QDs effective use for in vivo cellular imaging, demonstrating its potential use in detecting live bacterial contamination in foods and crops. We envisage food protection systems using automated sampling of food products with near instantaneous detection and reporting of food contaminants using molecular nanotechnologies. We also address the potential limitations of these emerging technologies and how shortcomings can be addressed.
Intensive culture of European black alder in central Indiana, U.S.A.: biomass yield and potential returns to farmers

Abstract Growing interest in woody biomass for energy in the midwestern U.S. will require information on species and site productivities. We investigated 3, 6 and 14 year yields of the nitrogen-fixing tree species. European black alder, at three spacings on a marginally productive soil in central Indiana, U.S.A. The highest yield was 10 Mg ha −1 yr −1 at age three at the closest spacing of 0.5 × 1 m. Other spacings and ages provided smaller yields. Fertilization with phosphorus and potassium only provided a response in the initial 3 year rotation. Whole-tree and stem-only harvests removed varying levels of nutrients from the site. However, on these marginally productive sites where N and sometimes P are limiting, sustainable harvesting could be maintained due to the nitrogen-fixing capability of this species and the effects of N fixation on P availability. Preliminary economic analyses indicated that growing biomass on farms could be profitable, but only with farm or forestry program cost-sharing assistance. Where establishment expenses could be reduced by wider spacings, the use of seed rather than seedlings, or farmer-substituted labor, returns to the farmer were competitive with row-crop and timber production.
Organic reactions at high pressure. Asymmetric induction in the diels-alder reaction of p-benzoquinone with chiral 2,4-pentadienoic acid derivatives

Abstract Asymmetric induction in the high pressure (15 kbar, 1.5 GPa) Diels-Alder reaction of p -benzoquinone with chiral 2,4-pentadienoic acid derivatives is evaluated. The reactions afford 4a,5,8,8a-tetrahydro-1,4-naphthalenediones in up to 50% enantiomeric excess.
Case Reports: Pediatric PCL Insufficiency from Tibial Insertion Osteochondral Avulsions

Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) insertion-site osteochondral avulsions in children, particularly from the tibia, are not commonly seen by orthopaedic surgeons. Because of the rarity of these injuries, careful attention to the specific physical examination and imaging findings seen with these injuries is necessary so that the proper diagnosis can be made. Osteochondral avulsions of the PCL can be missed on plain radiographs in skeletally immature patients, and therefore magnetic resonance imaging is necessary for proper diagnosis. With this knowledge, clinicians can formulate treatment plans which can return their patients to activities while avoiding potential morbidity resulting from missed diagnoses or improper treatment. We report two rare cases of PCL insufficiency stemming from tibial insertion osteochondral avulsions. Both patients underwent subsequent open reduction and internal fixation of the avulsion using two different fixation methods (bioabsorbable anchors versus cannulated screw and washer) and have returned to full sporting activities.
The Victorian conflict between science and religion: a professional dimension.

Was there a conflict between science and religion in late Victorian England? T. H. Huxley, Bishop Wilberforce, John Tyndall, Francis Galton, W. K. Clifford, and William Gladstone certainly thought so. Other contemporaries, such as Lord Tennyson, E. B. Pusey, Frederick Temple, Frederic Harrison, and Herbert Spencer feared so but hoped not. Sermons criticizing the arrogance of scientists and articles decrying the ignorance of clergy, as well as books such as John Draper's History of the conflict between religion and science (1874) and that of his fellow American Andrew White, The warfare of science (1876), with a preface by British physicist John Tyndall, suggested a bitter controversy between spokesmen for religion and science. Early twentieth-century writers including J. M. Robertson, J. B. Bury, Bertrand Russell, and Arthur Balfour assumed that a conflict had raged over the subject a generation or so earlier. Later commentators were less certain about the existence of the struggle, its dimensions, and even its issues. Robert Ensor regarded it parenthetically as ‘(real enough at the time)’. Charles Raven contended the debate over science and religion amounted to little more than ‘a storm in a Victorian tea-cup’. R. K. Webb explained that the number of people whose religious faith was shaken by scientific discoveries was ‘probably fairly small’ but consisted of ‘people whose opinions counted for much’. Owen Chadwick drew the important distinction ‘between science when it was against religion and the scientists when they were against religion’.
Unit roots and the real exchange rate before World War I: the case of Britain and the USA

Abstract Unit root and cointegration tests indicate that the dollar/pound real exchange rate was stationary during the US greenback and gold-standard periods. Purchasing powwer parity (PPP) performed about equally well in the two periods and better than in recent years. Deviations from PPP were corrected by changes in British prices and US gold-dollar prices; greenback prices did not adjust. The similarity of the adjustment parameters in the two periods suggests that expectations of a return to gold were embedded in the greenback price of gold.
Acidified Bulk Storage of Snap Beans and Peas

Peas and snap beans that were stored by acidified storage at a pH of 1.2—1.6 with hydrochloric acid for 4 mo had good quality. Blanched peas and snap beans had better quality than unblanced products. Blanching prevented the leaching of starch in the case of peas and pectin in the case of snap beans. The cultivar “Sugar Grey Sugar’after acidification changed color from green to red due to the presence of leucoanthocyanins. Therefore “Sugar Grey Sugar’would not be suitable for this kind of storage. Acidified storage does not employ a heat treatment to kill microorganisms or inactivate enzymes. Acidified storage is one possible intermediate storage technique to delay final processing of snap beans and peas.
Lester Reed: A “complex” man who loved science

Lester J. Reed, a pioneer in the field of biochemistry, died peacefully in Austin, Texas on January 14, 2015 at the age of 90. Lester Reed was born in New Orleans on January 3, 1925. He showed an early interest in chemistry, having his own laboratory in a shed under his boyhood home. He received his Bachelors of Science from Tulane in 1943, where he worked with William Shive, and earned his doctorate from the University of Illinois in 1946, where he worked with Reynold Fuson. Lester was 21 when he earned his doctorate. He then moved to Cornell University Medical School for a two-year postdoctorate in the laboratory of Vincent du Vigneaud. Two momentous events occurred during this short period: Lester was introduced to the field of biochemistry, and he met and married the love of his life, Janet Gruschow. In 1948, at age 23, Lester was recruited to the Chemistry Department at the University of Texas at Austin by Shive, who had moved there from Tulane. He joined a team led by Roger Williams studying vitamins. Lester isolated and identified the “acetate-replacing factor,” first observed by Esmond Snell, as lipoic acid. Later, working in collaboration with Eli Lilly and Co., they were able to purify about 30 mg of lipoic acid from over 10 tons of liver tissue!
Myocardial oxygenation in isolated hearts predicted by an anatomically realistic microvascular transport model.

An anatomically realistic model for oxygen transport in cardiac tissue is introduced for analyzing data measured from isolated perfused guinea pig hearts. The model is constructed to match the micr...
Patterning electrode for cholesteric liquid crystal display by pulsed laser ablation

Abstract An ultraviolet wavelength laser is used to manufacture the metal electrode of a cholesteric liquid crystal display (Ch-LCD) without a shadow mask. The proposed method effectively ablates the metal layer without damaging the liquid crystal layer and underlying indium tin oxide electrode. The width and morphology of the laser ablated sections were investigated as a function of laser power as well as scan speed. The minimum ablated line is around 43 μm and the laser system operates at 1.5 W at a scan speed of 200 mm/s. The characteristics of a Ch-LCD prepared using laser patterning under the optimum ablation process conditions are similar to those of a Ch-LCD prepared using the screen printing method.
Oestrogen receptors and antagonism of steroid hormone action.

NON-STEROIDAL anti-oestrogens antagonise the effects of oestrogen on uterine growth, vaginal cornification and ovulation1, and their mechanism of action has been suggested to reside in their ability to compete for cytoplasmic oestrogen binding sites, or receptors, thereby reducing the formation of receptor oestrogen complexes2–4. Since the formation of these complexes in oestrogen target tissues, with subsequent translocation to nuclear sites, is considered the primary event in oestrogen action5,6, the reduction in their number would lead to decreased physiological responses to oestrogen. This implies that the receptor antagonist complex should have a lower intrinsic biological activity than that of the receptor oestradiol complex; that is, the ability of the receptor antagonist complex to stimulate oestrogenic responses would be less than that of the receptor oestradiol complex. Based on these assumptions, oestrogen antagonism should be observed after a single injection of oestrogen and antagonists; we have now found that this is not the case. Thus, non-steroidal anti-oestrogens could not be acting as antagonists by competing initially for oestrogen receptors.
Single-cell, locus-specific bisulfite sequencing (SLBS) for direct detection of epimutations in DNA methylation patterns

Stochastic epigenetic changes drive biological processes, such as development, aging and disease. Yet, epigenetic information is typically collected from millions of cells, thereby precluding a more precise understanding of cell-to-cell variability and the pathogenic history of epimutations. Here we present a novel procedure for directly detecting epimutations in DNA methylation patterns using single-cell, locus-specific bisulfite sequencing (SLBS). We show that within gene promoter regions of mouse hepatocytes the epimutation rate is two orders of magnitude higher than the mutation rate.
Signal-to-noise ratio, contrast-to-noise ratio and pharmacokinetic modeling considerations in dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging

With advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology, dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI is approaching the capability to simultaneously deliver both high spatial and high temporal resolutions for clinical applications. However, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) considerations and their impacts regarding pharmacokinetic modeling of the time-course data continue to represent challenges in the design of DCE-MRI acquisitions. Given that many acquisition parameters can affect the nature of DCE-MRI data, minimizing tissue-specific data acquisition discrepancy (among sites and scanner models) is as important as synchronizing pharmacokinetic modeling approaches. For cancer-related DCE-MRI studies where rapid contrast reagent (CR) extravasation is expected, current DCE-MRI protocols often adopt a three-dimensional fast low-angle shot (FLASH) sequence to achieve spatial-temporal resolution requirements. Based on breast and prostate DCE-MRI data acquired with different FLASH sequence parameters, this paper elucidates a number of SNR and CNR considerations for acquisition optimization and pharmacokinetic modeling implications therein. Simulations based on region of interest data further indicate that the effects of intercompartmental water exchange often play an important role in DCE time-course data modeling, especially for protocols optimized for post-CR SNR.
A Brief Description of the Moldovan Trademark Law

The different republics that have emerged from the breakup of the Soviet Union have embarked on the adventure of self-government. There is a noticeable dearth of commentary concerning newly enacted laws. This article addresses key issues raised by one statute affecting business in one country. On 22 September 1995, the Republic of Moldova adopted a new trademark statute. This article examines that statute and offers comments, occasionally comparing provisions of the United States’ Lanham Act or American practice with those of the Moldovan Law.
Estimating the genetic variance of group characters: social behaviour of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.).

A new approach is presented to estimate the genetic variance of social behaviour of groups. Honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) are used as an example for highly social organisms. Most characters of economic importance strongly rely on collective group characters of honeybee colonies. The average relatedness between small groups of workers of one honeybee colony can be estimated using a discrete multinomial distribution. The genetic variance of a social behaviour (alarm behaviour) of groups of honeybee workers is estimated with the intraclass correlation between groups within a colony. In two populations tested, the coefficient of genetic determination was high (0.96–0.98) indicating that the metabolic bio-assay used was only weakly affected by environmental effects.
The molecular basis for carcinogenesis in metaplastic columnar-lined esophagus

A wide variety of biologic events and mechanisms appear to have roles in the development and progression of Barrett's esophagus-associated neoplastic lesions. Figure 5 is a schematic depiction of these events. This is known as an infernogram (named after Dante's Inferno) (S. Kern, unpublished presentations, 1996). Events at the bottom rings of the inferno are high-frequency mutations; nearer to the top of the inferno are the less common events. The next several years promise many further discoveries of not only high-frequency and low-frequency events, but also their application. Some of the molecular alterations already studied show promise as markers for early cancer detection or prognostication. Eventually, applications of these discoveries should yield new and more effective means of preventing and treating the deadly complications of this troublesome premalignant condition.
Food poisoning: Causes, remedies, and prevention

Food producers and consumers must continue to take precautions against foodborne diseases, and early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of these illnesses are essential. Food products and water can become contaminated with microorganisms and toxins that make people ill, and the very young, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals are especially susceptible. Education of healthcare providers, food handlers, and the public is critical in reducing the incidence and spread of foodborne illness. Changes in eating habits and lifestyle and increased availability of both domestic and imported foods have made food hazards a more complex public health issue. Although most foodborne illnesses can be avoided by safe food handling procedures (see box on page 134), risk reduction is very important at every step from source to table. A concerted effort is needed to ensure continuing safety of the food supply in the United States while also assuring access to a wide variety of healthful foods. Time will tell whether consumers will accept irradiation of meats. If accepted, irradiation could rank in importance with pasteurization of milk and chlorination of water as a public health measure.
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due: Designing Open Badges for a Technology Integration Course

This paper describes the design, development, and implementation of Open Badges into a secondary education preservice course on instructional technology. Open Badges provide a new way of issuing credentials to individuals who demonstrate knowledge, skill, or ability in a particular domain. Badges provide a simple system for communicating a skill along with specific information about the evidence connected with earning the badge. In this paper, we describe the course in detail along with the several iterations of design that resulted in the development of the badge system, along with the challenges faced and lessons learned for future design and use of Open Badges.