cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Regulation of cellular immortalization and steady-state levels of the telomerase reverse transcriptase through its carboxy-terminal domain

Telomerase maintains cell viability and chromosomal stability through the addition of telomere repeats to chromosome ends. The reactivation of telomerase through the upregulation of TERT, the telomerase protein subunit, is an important step during cancer development, yet TERT protein function and regulation remain incompletely understood. Despite its close sequence similarity to human TERT (hTERT), we find that mouse TERT (mTERT) does not immortalize primary human fibroblasts. Here we exploit these differences in activity to understand TERT protein function by creating chimeric mouse-human TERT proteins. Through the analysis of these chimeric TERT proteins, we find that sequences in the human carboxy-terminal domain are critical for telomere maintenance in human fibroblasts. The substitution of the human carboxy-terminal sequences into the mouse TERT protein is sufficient to confer immortalization and maintenance of telomere length and function. Strikingly, we find that hTERT protein accumulates to markedly higher levels than does mTERT protein and that the sequences governing this difference in protein regulation also reside in the carboxy-terminal domain. These elevated protein levels, which are characteristic of hTERT, are necessary but not sufficient for telomere maintenance because stabilized mTERT mutants cannot immortalize human cells. Thus, the TERT carboxy terminus contains sequences that regulate TERT protein levels and determinants that are required for productive action on telomere ends.
The Antigrowth Entrepreneur: Challenging the "Equilibrium" of the Growth Machine

Our present understanding of the antigrowth movement in local government is limited. In this article we argue that while the importance of progrowth entrepreneurs has been discussed in the analysis of the growth machine, present studies of the antigrowth movement fail to identify the critical role of antigrowth entrepreneurs. Fundamentally, it is not enough that the objective conditions in a given community may support an antigrowth movement--an antigrowth entrepreneur may be a necessary catalyst for change. Our empirical results show that the incentives and obstacles inherent in the local political structure are more important than economic and demographic factors in explaining the emergence of entrepreneurial leaders who launch challenges to progrowth policies.
Effect of an entomopathogen on adaptation of Heliothis virescens populations to transgenic host plants

The role of an entomopathogen in evolution of herbivore adaptation to partially resistant host plants was examined using a tritrophic system in the laboratory. We hypothesized that a pathogen should interact with herbivore behavior to accelerate herbivore adaptation to toxic plants: individuals not adapted to toxin tend to move more on toxic plants, and therefore are more likely to encounter a lethal dose of pathogen, further increasing the probability that they will be eliminated by selection. Heliothis virescens (F.) (Noctuidae) was selected for adaptation to transgenic tobacco containing a sublethal concentration of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner toxin under two treatment regimes: larvae placed on plants treated with infective conidia of the entomopathogenic fungus, Nomuraea rileyi (Farlow) Samson, and larvae placed on plants without fungus. Selection was initiated with a genetically heterogeneous strain created by crossing two laboratory strains of H. virescens, one not adapted to B. thuringiensis toxin, and one highly adapted (>1000-fold) to toxin. This cross was performed four times to create four independent populations. Selection was initiated with F2 offspring from each cross and continued for 8–10 consecutive generations. Adaptation to toxin within each treatment population was quantified every generation by measuring survival and growth of larvae on artificial diet containing a low concentration of B. thuringiensis toxin. In three of four replicates, H. virescens populations exposed to N. rileyi adapted to B. thuringiensis toxin more quickly than populations not exposed. These results supported our hypothesis that the pathogen should accelerate adaptation to toxic plants. However, this hypothesis was contradicted by the result in one replicate, in which the population not exposed to fungus adapted to toxic plants faster. This opposite result could not be explained, but it suggests that there may be substantial variation in herbivore evolution in tritrophic systems. H. virescens populations selected in the presence of fungus and in the absence of fungus did not differ in feeding or in mortality when placed on leaf disks treated with conidia. Thus, populations exposed to N. rileyi on plants for 7–8 generations displayed neither physiological nor behavioral adaptation to N. rileyi.
Photoelectrochemical characterization of Si microwire array solar cells

Many proposed next-generation photovoltaic devices have complicated nano- and micro-structured architectures that are designed to simultaneously optimize carrier collection and light absorption. Characterization of the electrical properties of these highly structured materials can be challenging due to the difficulty of creating electrical contacts, as well as the need to decouple the properties of the contact from that of the semiconductor. Regenerative photoelectrochemistry is a powerful technique to characterize the electrical properties of such systems, providing a conformal liquid contact that can be ohmic or rectifying, depending on the system used. We demonstrate the use of the methyl viologen regenerative electrochemical system to characterize different stages of the fabrication of radial junction Si microwire (SiMW) solar cells. Photoelectrochemical characterization, combined with other more traditional measurements allows evaluation of how the different processing steps affect the device performance, without having to construct a fully integrated device. We describe the operating principle of this technique, and demonstrate that it can be applied to semiconductor materials with complex architectures.
Phenotypic similarities between Stargardt's flavimaculatus and pattern dystrophies

Some heredomacular diseases share ophthalmoscopic and morphologic similarities despite being nosologically distinct. In part, this may arise from pathologic reaction patterns such as lipopigment accumulation and drusen deposition which are common to a variety of disorders of the photoreceptor--retinal pigment epithelium--Bruch's membrane complex. Two of these disorders, Stargardt's flavimaculatus and the pattern dystrophies of the retinal pigment epithelium may be especially difficult to differentiate clinically since they are characterised by both a similar ophthalmoscopic appearance and considerable inter and intrafamilial variation in their expression. Stargardt's flavimaculatus may, however, be distinguished from the retinal pigment epithelial pattern dystrophies by certain clinical and morphological features that are outlined below.
Applied molecular evolution of O6-benzylguanine-resistant DNA alkyltransferases in human hematopoietic cells

Next Section Abstract Applied molecular evolution is a rapidly developing technology that can be used to create and identify novel enzymes that nature has not selected. An important application of this technology is the creation of highly drug-resistant enzymes for cancer gene therapy. Seventeen O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (AGT) mutants highly resistant to O6-benzylguanine (BG) were identified previously by screening 8 million variants, using genetic complementation in Escherichia coli. To examine the potential of these mutants for use in humans, the sublibrary of AGT clones was introduced to human hematopoietic cells and stringently selected for resistance to killing by the combination of BG and 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea. This competitive analysis between the mutants in human cells revealed three AGT mutants that conferred remarkable resistance to the combination of BG and 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea. Of these, one was recovered significantly more frequently than the others. Upon further analysis, this mutant displayed a level of BG resistance in human hematopoietic cells greater than that of any previously reported mutant.
The Role of Psychosocial Processes in Explaining the Gradient Between Socioeconomic Status and Health

The gradient between socioeconomic status (SES) and health is well established: Many measures of health show that health increases as SES increases. However, the mechanisms underlying this association are not well understood. Behavioral, cognitive, and affective tendencies that develop in response to the greater psychosocial stress encountered in low-SES environments may partially mediate the impact of SES on health. Although these tendencies might be helpful for coping in the short term, over time they may contribute to the development of allostatic load, which increases vulnerability to disease. Debate remains regarding the direction of causation between SES and health, the impact of income inequality, the interaction of SES with race-ethnicity and gender, and the effects of SES over the life course.
A method for estimating specimen tangent stiffness for hybrid simulation

Researchers have long recognized the importance and potential benefits of utilizing the tangent stiffness matrix of a test specimen in hybrid simulations employing implicit and mixed-integration schemes. However, the computation of the tangent stiffness matrix during testing has proved to be challenging, particularly for test specimens with more than one degree of freedom (dof). This paper presents a new methodology that is more straightforward and simpler than existing techniques for computing the tangent stiffness matrix of a multi-dof test specimen. The proposed method is combined with the operator-splitting method (OSM), and the capabilities, advantages and limitations of the new formulation are demonstrated through several examples. The accuracy, stability, and error propagation characteristics of the modified OSM are also studied theoretically as well as numerically. The research results show that the proposed algorithm provides results that are better than those produced via the regular OSM alone, especially for damped structures undergoing highly inelastic behavior during testing.
The optimum orbitals for the H2 + D⇌H + HD exchange reaction

An initio calculations of the optimum generalized self-consistent field orbitals of H2D have been carried out at various points along the reaction path for the three-center exchange reaction, H2 + D⇋H + HD. The emphasis here is on a qualitative interpretation of the changes in these orbitals during the reaction.
How the landscape of random job shop scheduling instances depends on the ratio of jobs to machines

We characterize the search landscape of random instances of the job shop scheduling problem (JSP). Specifically, we investigate how the expected values of (1) backbone size, (2) distance between near-optimal schedules, and (3) makespan of random schedules vary as a function of the job to machine ratio (N/M). For the limiting cases N/M → 0 and N/M → ∞ we provide analytical results, while for intermediate values of N/M we perform experiments. We prove that as N/M → 0, backbone size approaches 100%, while as N/M → ∞ the backbone vanishes. In the process we show that as N/M → 0 (resp. N/M → ∞), simple priority rules almost surely generate an optimal schedule, providing theoretical evidence of an "easy-hard-easy" pattern of typical-case instance difficulty in job shop scheduling. We also draw connections between our theoretical results and the "big valley" picture of JSP landscapes.
Neurotoxicity of MDMA and Related Compounds: Anatomic Studies

The cytotoxic effects of amphetamine derivatives were studied by immunocytochemistry to identify the cellular compartments affected by these drugs, to obtain morphologic evidence of neuronal degeneration, and to assess the potential for regeneration. The substituted amphetamines, MDA, MDMA, PCA, and fenfluramine, all release serotonin and cause acute depletion of 5-HT from most axon terminals in forebrain. (1) Unequivocal signs of axon degeneration were seen at 36-48 hour survivals: 5-HT axons exhibited increased caliber, huge, swollen varicosities, fragmentation, and dilated proximal axon stumps. (2) Fine 5-HT axon terminals were persistently lost after drug administration, while beaded axons and raphe cell bodies were spared. These two types of 5-HT axons, which arise from separate raphe nuclei and form distinct ascending projections, are differentially vulnerable to psychotropic drugs. (3) From 2-8 months after treatment, there was progressive serotonergic re-innervation of neocortex along a fronto-occipital gradient. Longitudinal 5-HT axons grew into layers I and VI from rostral to caudal, before sprouting into middle cortical layers; this bilaminar pattern of growth simulates perinatal development of 5-HT innervation. This study demonstrates differential vulnerability of 5-HT projections, evidence for axonal degeneration, and sprouting of 5-HT axons leading to re-innervation of forebrain. While the sprouting axons are anatomically similar to the type that was damaged, it is not known whether a normal pattern of innervation is re-established.
Sensitivity of molecular marker-based CMB models to biomass burning source profiles

Abstract To assess the contribution of sources to fine particulate organic carbon (OC) at four sites in North Carolina, USA, a molecular marker chemical mass balance model (MM-CMB) was used to quantify seasonal contributions for 2 years. The biomass burning contribution at these sites was found to be 30–50% of the annual OC concentration. In order to provide a better understanding of the uncertainty in MM-CMB model results, a biomass burning profile sensitivity test was performed on the 18 seasonal composites. The results using reconstructed emission profiles based on published profiles compared well, while model results using a single source test profile resulted in biomass burning contributions that were more variable. The biomass burning contribution calculated using an average regional profile of fireplace emissions from five southeastern tree species also compared well with an average profile of open burning of pine-dominated forest from Georgia. The standard deviation of the results using different source profiles was a little over 30% of the annual average biomass contributions. Because the biomass burning contribution accounted for 30–50% of the OC at these sites, the choice of profile also impacted the motor vehicle source attribution due to the common emission of elemental carbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The total mobile organic carbon contribution was less effected by the biomass burning profile than the relative contributions from gasoline and diesel engines.
Ethanolamine Sclerotherapy of a Renal Cyst

We report the effective use of 5% ethanolamine oleate to sclerose a large simple renal cyst. The comparative advantages of ethanolamine versus other sclerosants are discussed in terms of adverse effects, availability and convenience. Guidelines to optimize sclerotherapy with ethanolamine are provided.
Multilayer perceptron with sparse hidden outputs for phoneme recognition

This paper introduces the sparse multilayer perceptron (SMLP) which learns the transformation from the inputs to the targets as in multilayer perceptron (MLP) while the outputs of one of the internal hidden layers is forced to be sparse. This is achieved by adding a sparse regularization term to the cross-entropy cost and learning the parameters of the network to minimize the joint cost. On the TIMIT phoneme recognition task, the SMLP based system trained using perceptual linear prediction (PLP) features performs better than the conventional MLP based system. Furthermore, their combination yields a phoneme error rate of 21.2%, a relative improvement of 6.2% over the baseline.
The neuropsychological profiles of mild Alzheimer's disease and questionable dementia as compared to age-related cognitive decline

Test scores from a comprehensive neuropsychological battery administered to 1602 subjects consisting of 1347 subjects with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD), 100 subjects with questionable dementia (QD) and 155 non-demented elderly control subjects were cross-sectionally analyzed. Subjects with probable AD were categorized as mild (n = 244), moderate (n = 480), severe (n = 376), and very severe (n = 247) according to modified mini mental status exam (mMMSE) scores. Mean scores on individual neuropsychological tests are provided for each group of subjects. Stratified random sampling was performed to select a sample of mild AD subjects who were matched in age and education to non-demented elderly controls, and analyses focused on the performance of QD subjects and mild AD subjects, whose scores were compared to those of the elderly control subjects. Selected scores were organized by cognitive domain and logistic regressions were used to determine the domains and individual tests within each that were most predictive of group status. Results suggested a profile of scores associated with QD and mild AD including impaired recall of verbal information for both groups. Areas of lower functioning in QD subjects as compared to elderly controls included category fluency and visuospatial ability. (JINS, 2003, 9, 720–732.)
Occurrence of DNET and other brain tumors in Noonan syndrome warrants caution with growth hormone therapy

Noonan syndrome (NS) is an autosomal dominant developmental disorder caused by mutations in the RAS-MAPK signaling pathway that is well known for its relationship with oncogenesis. An 8.1-fold increased risk of cancer in Noonan syndrome has been reported, including childhood leukemia and solid tumors. The same study found a patient with a dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor (DNET) and suggested that DNET tumors are associated with NS. Herein we report an 8-year-old boy with genetically confirmed NS and a DNET. Literature review identified eight other reports, supporting the association between NS and DNETs. The review also ascertained 13 non-DNET brain tumors in individuals with NS, bringing to 22 the total number of NS patients with brain tumors. Tumor growth while receiving growth hormone (GH) occurred in our patient and one other patient. It is unknown whether the development or progression of tumors is augmented by GH therapy, however there is concern based on epidemiological, animal and in vitro studies. This issue was addressed in a 2015 Pediatric Endocrine Society report noting there is not enough data available to assess the safety of GH therapy in children with neoplasia-predisposition syndromes. The authors recommend that GH use in children with such disorders, including NS, be undertaken with appropriate surveillance for malignancies. Our case report and literature review underscore the association of NS with CNS tumors, particularly DNET, and call attention to the recommendation that clinicians treating NS patients with GH do so with awareness of the possibility of increased neoplasia risk.
DaTscan (Ioflupane I 123 Injection) is making headway in the differential diagnosis of Parkinson disease and essential tremors

2709 Objectives To demonstrate how DaTscan (Ioflupane I 123 Injection) SPECT imaging is used to differentiate Parkinson’s disease from essential tremors and aid physicians in making a more confident diagnosis. A clearer analysis of patient’s disease state will assist physicians in selecting the correct avenue for the clinical management of the disease. Methods Examined the results of a survey completed at Boca Raton Regional Hospital showing how DaTscan shows positive influence in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with suspected Parkinson’s disease verses essential tremors. Between July 2011 and May 2012, 112 patients were evaluated using DaTscan imaging, due to their diagnosis being delayed after a neurological exam resulted in unclear clinical presentation. All ordering physicians were contacted and asked to complete a survey focusing on their diagnosis, percentage of their confidence in the diagnosis, and clinical management of the patient relating to their condition before and after the DaTscan. Results The increase in the confidence of diagnosis by the referring physician after obtaining the results of patient’s DaTscans as compared to other subjective examinations, was >75%. The change in clinical diagnosis being 72% and change in clinical management of the patient being 58% by differentiating between Parkinson’s disease and essential tremors. Conclusions DaTscan has proven beneficial in the physician’s capability to confidently diagnose their patient with suspected Parkinson’s disease verses essential tremors, as well as clinical management of the patient’s disease being more specific following a neurological examination with unclear clinical presentation of symptoms.
Bottoms up: How subnational elections predict parties’ decisions to run in presidential elections in Europe and Latin America:

Do parties’ experiences in subnational elections predict when parties enter national competition and compete for the presidency? Building upon the party nationalization literature, we argue that a party’s presence in elections across subnational units and its subsequent performance in these elections are determining factors for whether it enters the presidential race. To conduct our analysis, we have assembled an original dataset on parties’ presence and performance in subnational elections and presidential entry in 17 countries in Europe and Latin America from 1990 to 2013. We find that a party’s presence and performance in subnational elections are significant predictors of its decision to run for president, even when the party ran in the previous election and when the elections are concurrent. These findings have important implications for understanding how subnational elections relate to national party systems and democratic representation, more generally.
Fast generation of digitally reconstructed radiograph through an efficient preprocessing of ray attenuation values

Digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRR) are a simulation of radiographic images produced through a perspective projection of the three-dimensional (3D) image (volume) onto a two-dimensional (2D) image plane. The traditional method for the generation of DRRs, namely ray-casting, is a computationally intensive process and accounts for most of solution time in 3D/2D medical image registration frameworks, where a large number of DRRs is required. A few alternate methods for a faster DRR generation have been proposed, the most successful of which are based on the idea of pre-calculating the attenuation value of possible rays. Despite achieving good quality, these methods support a limited range of motion for the volume and entail long pre-calculation time. In this paper, we propose a new preprocessing procedure and data structure for the calculation of the ray attenuation values. This method supports all possible volume positions with practically small memory requirements in addition to reducing the complexity of the problem from O(n3) to O(n2). In our experiments, we generated DRRs of high quality in 63 milliseconds with a preprocessing time of 99.48 seconds and a memory size of 7.45 megabytes.
Nonparaxial Polarization Vortex Illumination Described Using a 2x2 Correlation Matrix

Vector fields in three dimensions generally require a 3x3 correlation matrix to describe (second-order) statistics of the field. We describe a class of nonparaxial fields that can be described using a two-dimensional correlation matrix.
Co-Flowing Ammonia Desorption in a Fractal-Like Branching Heat Exchanger

Heat activated cooling provides an opportunity to recover and utilize wasted heat. In terms of thermal management of electronics, a heat-activated cooling cycle could be used to thermally manage a space such as a central computing facility. A microscale, fractal-like branching flow heat exchanger was designed and used to desorb ammonia from an aqueous ammonia solution. The fractal-like pattern employed in the present study was previously studied for high heat flux single-phase and two-phase boiling flow heat sink applications. For compatibility, the desorber was fabricated in 316 stainless steel. The desorber is compact, approximately 38 mm in diameter and 6.4 mm thick, and lightweight, weighing 20 grams. Heating was accomplished using Paratherm NF oil between 350 and 400 K. The mass fraction of ammonia in the strong solution inlet stream was 0.30 and the temperature was 300 K. Given a range of inlet solution mass flow rates between 0.42 and 0.92 g/s and oil flow rates between 1.67 and 10 g/s, the mass flow rate of vapor generated varied from 0.02 to 0.13 g/s. The mass fraction of ammonia in the exiting vapor stream varied between 0.8 and 0.96 while circulation ratios varied between 3.5 and 20. Heat exchanger performance is presented using LMTD and e-NTU analyses. Overall heat transfer coefficients ranged from 7500 to 15,000 for the flow rates and driving temperature differences investigated. The configuration of the desorbers is such that the oil stream can be introduced to flow parallel or counter to the ammonia solution stream. The nature of the microchannels is such that desorption occurs in a co-flowing manner, limiting the vapor mass fraction. However, the advantages of the present design are lightweight, compact, modularity and orientation independence.© 2007 ASME
A characterization of cirrus OD retrievals from active and passive A-Train measurements

We compare retrievals of cirrus cloud optical depth from active (CALIOP) and passive (MODIS) measurements. Systematic differences are found and investigated using TOA radiative closure.
Modulating Supramolecular Reactivity Using Covalent “Switches” on a Pyrazole Platform

Systematic co-crystallizations of halogen- methyl- and nitro-substituted pyrazoles with a library of 20 aromatic carboxylic acids have been carried out using melt and solution-based experiments. The solids resulting from all reactions were screened using infrared spectroscopy in order to determine if a reaction (co-crystal or salt) had taken place. The halogenated pyrazoles, including their dimethyl analogues, gave a supramolecular yield of 55–70%. Replacing a halogen atom (R-X, X = Cl, Br, I) with a nitro (R-NO2) group drops the success rate significantly to 10% due to the reduced charge on the basic nitrogen atom of the pyrazole. Eleven crystal structures were obtained: six were co-crystals and five were salts (including one hydrate). In all six co-crystals, dimeric pyrazole···acid assemblies were constructed via a combination of O–H---N(pyz) and N–H---O hydrogen bonds corresponding to a 100% supramolecular yield. A variety of weaker halogen-bonds CN---I, I---I and X---O– connect dimers into infinite on...
Numerical simulation of multicomponent shock accelerated flows and mixing using localized artificial diffusivity method

Simulations of the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI), including inviscid and viscous effects are conducted using an improved localized artificial fluid diffusivity method which is used to treat discontinuities in the form of shocks and material interfaces in the flowfield. On the 2-D inviscid shock-cylinder interaction problem the scheme captures unsteady shocks and material discontinuities without spurious oscillations and shows good agreement with experimental data and previous numerical calculations when initial start-up errors are avoided. Comparison to previous numerical investigation done using high-order WENO schemes shows that the present scheme has lesser numerical dissipation, indicating the suitability of the method for resolving a broad range of scales of turbulence. The scheme is used to simulate the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability in a viscous cylindrical (2D) and planar (3-D) geometry. Simulations are designed to match initial conditions from previous experiments and good agreement is found between the experimental data and the numerical results. The study of the mixing mechanism shows that a large amount of mixing is associated with the primary instability through the large gradient intensification in particular regions of the flow (‘bridge’) though secondary instabilities which occur at intermediate times are efficient in mixing the multi-component flow. On the 3-D planar RMI problem results of the mixing zone growth rate shows good agreement between the present numerical study and the available experimental data.
Patient Safety Information System Theoretical Design

Due to the complexity of the risks involved in patient safety, artificial management is not only heavily burdened but also difficult to timely warn, prevent and control potential medical accidents. It is an innovative exploration to improve patients' safety situation by using information technology to enhance patient safety management performance. Based on the practical needs of patient safety management in China, this study taps into mathematical modeling from three dimensions and two warning points to comprehensively, dynamically collect, analyze and evaluate hospital patients' safety information. And upon this basis, real-time monitoring and early warning of the status of patient safety are achieved, reducing health risks, accidents and protecting patients to the maximum extent.
Influence of Mn Ion Doping Concentration on Electronic Structure and Optical Properties of Mn:MgAl_2O_4

The lattice and electronic structure as well as optical properties of Mg1-xMnxAl2O4(x=0,0.125,0.5) are investigated using the pseudo-potential plane-waves approach based on density functional theory,coupled with the generalized gradient approximation.The microscopic mechanism is attempted for changes in the lattice constants due to the doping concentration of Mn ion.The effects of doping concentration on the electronic structure along with optical properties are analyzed.The results show that the band gaps decrease,the valence band becomes narrow,and the doped impurity energy level widens as the Mn ion doping concentration increases.The Mn ion doping concentration exerts a significant effect on the conductive band width.The absorption intensity in the visible range increases,and the absorptional edge shifts to the long wavelength side,(i.e.,red shift),as the Mn ion doping concentration increases.
Displacement chromatography on cyclodextrin-silicas. III. Enantiomer separations.

Abstract The feasibility of preparative enantiomer separations by displacement chromatography on analytical-scale β-cyclodextrin—silica columns, operated in the reversed-phase mode, was demonstrated using the enantiomers of mephobarbital, hexobarbital, dansylleucine, dansylvaline and dansylphenylalanine as model solutes. The method development scheme (which relies on the determination of the elution-mode retention behavior and the adsorption isotherms of the solutes and the candidate displacers) described in Parts I and II can be used to select the appropriate displacers and the conditions leading to a successful displacement chromatographic separation. The importance of the displacer (both type and concentration) to the success of the displacement chromatographic separation is demonstrated.
Management of Alzheimer's disease. A family affair.

PreviewThe diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease has devastating implications—most assuredly for the patient but also for his or her family. As discussed by Dr Smith, the physician can, by undertaking an organized yet compassionate approach to treatment that involves open communication with the family, help make a seemingly unbearable situation more tolerable.
The Healing Companion: Stories for Courage, Comfort, and Strength—By The Healing Project, LaChance Publishing, 2009

This is a collection of about 45 stories on 250 pages, each by a person describing how alcohol abuse has affected their lives. They are from a variety of perspectives: drinkers, spouses, parents, and children of drinkers; while most contributors are white, some of them belong to minority groups, although none of them gay or lesbian. Some declare religious faith, while others do not. The majority are sympathetic to the idea that alcoholism is a disease and that Alcoholics Anonymous is a good approach to dealing with alcohol problems, but not all of them are. The goal of the book is to provide stories that will help others with similar problems.
Relatedness Among Retroviruses: Recombinant Viruses

The general statement has been made that RNA tumor viruses from different species are related to one another and are interrelated in the same way their natural hosts are related (Benveniste and Todaro, 1973; Miller et al., 1974; Okabe, Gilden and Hatanaka, 1973; Haapala and Fischinger, 1973; East et al., 1975). The validity of this statement might be expected, considering the evidence that type-C RNA viruses originated from cell genes. On the other hand, several facts complicate the homology pattern considerably, including the production of several, unrelated viruses by one animal, transmission of viruses between animal species and recombination among viruses.
PROPERTIES OF SILICON-DOPED GDP SHELLS USED FOR CRYOGENIC IMPLOSIONS AT OMEGA

One suggested approach to decreasing preheat of Laboratory for Laser Energetics cryotargets is to add a silicon dopant ∼4 to 6 at. % to normal plasma polymer. As in the case ofpure CH and CD shells used previously, the physical properties of these shells are of utmost importance to allow proper fielding for cryogenic shots. We have fabricated and characterized two types of Si-doped glow discharge polymer (GDP) capsules: single-layer Si-doped GDP shells (SiGDP) and double-layer Si-doped GDP/SCD shells (SiGDP/SCD). The Si-doped GDP shells with an ∼870-μm diameter and 5-μm-thick walls were fabricated to meet the cryogenic direct laser fusion experiment requirements. Si-doped GDP shells with <0.25-μm wall variation and 5% silicon dopant level were delivered. These cryogenic shells can survive a 1000-atm D 2 or deuterium-tritium fill and cryogenic cooling without bursting or buckling. With an average buckle strength of 70 psi, a half-life of 12 s, and a D 2 permeability at 20°C of 2.4 × 10 ―14 (mol × m/m 2 × Pa × s), Si-doped GDP shells meet the criteria for cryogenic experiments. A possible drawback of the SiGDP layer is its rapid OH pickup due to exposure to air, which can increase the amount of infrared light absorbed in the shell wall as compared to D 2 ice and possibly result in a poor ice uniformity during the cryogenic layering process. The absorption coefficient of the SiGDP at 3160 cm ―1 measured by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is ∼48 cm ―1 at 0.1 h to ∼130 cm ―1 at 167 h of air exposure.
Climate change and the Madden-Julian Oscillation: A vertically resolved weak temperature gradient analysis

WTG balance is used to examine how changes in the moist thermodynamic structure of the tropics affect the MJO in two simulations of the Superparameterized Community Earth System Model (SP-CESM), one at preindustrial (PI) levels of CO2 and one where CO2 levels have been quadrupled (4×CO2). While MJO convective variability increases considerably in the 4×CO2 simulation, the dynamical response to this convective variability decreases. Increased MJO convective variability is shown to be a robust response to the steepening vertical moisture gradient, consistent with the findings of previous studies. The steepened vertical moisture gradient allows MJO convective heating to drive stronger variations in large-scale vertical moisture advection, supporting destabilization of the MJO. The decreased dynamical response to MJO convective variability is shown to be a consequence of increased static stability, which allows weaker variations in large-scale vertical velocity to produce sufficient adiabatic cooling to balance variations in MJO convective heating. This weakened dynamical response results in a considerable reduction of the MJO's ability to influence the extratropics, which is closely tied to the strength of its associated divergence. A composite lifecycle of the MJO was used to show that northern hemisphere extratropical 525 hPa geopotential height anomalies decreased by 27% in the 4×CO2 simulation, despite a 22% increase in tropical convective heating associated with the MJO. Results of this study suggest that while MJO convective variability may increase in a warming climate, the MJO's role in “bridging weather and climate” in the extratropics may not.
Risk-Aware Planning: Methods and Case Study for Safer Driving Routes.

Vehicle crashes account for over one million fatalities and many more millions of injuries annually worldwide. Some roads are safer than others, so driving routes optimized for safety may reduce the number of crashes. We have developed a method to estimate the probability of a crash on any road as a function of the traffic volume, road characteristics, and environmental conditions. We trained a regression model to estimate traffic volume and a binary classifier to estimate crash probability on road segments. Modeling a route’s crash probability as a series of Bernoulli trials, we employ the Dijkstra routing algorithm to compute the safest route between two locations. We find that, compared to the fastest route, the safest route is approximately 1.7 times as long in duration and about half as dangerous. We also show how to smoothly trade off safety for travel time, and demonstrate how drivers could be offered several route options, each with different crash probabilities and durations.
Perceptions of Selected Urban Business Education Students Toward Work and Career-Related Issues

Many urban school districts are disadvantaged in terms of resources and facilities, and may serve students who are at-risk economically, socially, and academically. Demographics trends suggest that in the next 20 years employers will depend on a workforce drawn from urban communities (Lytle, 1992). This suggests a need to understand and provide for educational, work, and career-related needs of urban youth. Perceptions of urban secondary students enrolled in business education courses toward work and career-related issues were examined. Findings suggest students are positive about work and career-related issues and may form perceptions toward work and career-related issues based on three factors, school awareness and work expectations, work awareness and supports, and career choice and work preparation. Grades earned in school, current employment, educational level of mother, and post-graduation plans were significant variables in explaining students' perceptions toward work and career-related issues.
Urodynamics of men with urinary retention.

OBJECTIVES To describe the urodynamic characteristics of men with urinary retention, and to show the diverse treatment plans based on urodynamic findings. METHODS We carried out a 3-year retrospective review of men with urinary retention who were referred to our clinic for urodynamic evaluation. Men with a history of neurogenic voiding dysfunction or major pelvic surgery were excluded. Multichannel videourodynamic studies were carried out, and the subsequent treatment modality offered was recorded. RESULTS A total of 67 men with urinary retention and a median age of 68 years underwent urodynamic evaluation. The median maximum flow rate was 3 mL/s, and the median detrusor pressure at maximum flow was 54 cm H2 O. Bladder outlet obstruction was diagnosed in 60%. Detrusor underactivity was present in 73% according to the bladder contractility index; however, just 29% were classified as having detrusor underactivity according to isometric detrusor pressure, an alternative measure of contractility. A total of 76% of patients had low detrusor reserve (<20 cm H2 O). Based on urodynamic findings, just 57% of patients were offered de-obstructive surgery. CONCLUSIONS In the present cohort, just 60% of men with urinary retention showed urodynamic evidence of bladder outlet obstruction. Depending on how contractility is measured (bladder contractility index vs isometric detrusor pressure), the rate of detrusor underactivity varies. The majority of men with retention had a low detrusor reserve. Given the wide spectrum of urodynamic findings in men with retention, surgical intervention might not be necessary for all. Furthermore, a careful consideration of urodynamics can assist in the selection of optimal treatment.
A Role for the Left Angular Gyrus in Episodic Simulation and Memory

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies indicate that episodic simulation (i.e., imagining specific future experiences) and episodic memory (i.e., remembering specific past experiences) are associated with enhanced activity in a common set of neural regions referred to as the core network. This network comprises the hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex, and left angular gyrus, among other regions. Because fMRI data are correlational, it is unknown whether activity increases in core network regions are critical for episodic simulation and episodic memory. In the current study, we used MRI-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to assess whether temporary disruption of the left angular gyrus would impair both episodic simulation and memory (16 participants, 10 females). Relative to TMS to a control site (vertex), disruption of the left angular gyrus significantly reduced the number of internal (i.e., episodic) details produced during the simulation and memory tasks, with a concomitant increase in external detail production (i.e., semantic, repetitive, or off-topic information), reflected by a significant detail by TMS site interaction. Difficulty in the simulation and memory tasks also increased after TMS to the left angular gyrus relative to the vertex. In contrast, performance in a nonepisodic control task did not differ statistically as a function of TMS site (i.e., number of free associates produced or difficulty in performing the free associate task). Together, these results are the first to demonstrate that the left angular gyrus is critical for both episodic simulation and episodic memory.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Humans have the ability to imagine future episodes (i.e., episodic simulation) and remember episodes from the past (i.e., episodic memory). A wealth of neuroimaging studies have revealed that these abilities are associated with enhanced activity in a core network of neural regions, including the hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex, and left angular gyrus. However, neuroimaging data are correlational and do not tell us whether core regions support critical processes for simulation and memory. In the current study, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation and demonstrated that temporary disruption of the left angular gyrus leads to impairments in simulation and memory. The present study provides the first causal evidence to indicate that this region is critical for these fundamental abilities.
Comparison of laparoendoscopic single-site (LESS) and multiport laparoscopic radical nephrectomy for clinical T1b and T2a renal masses.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to compare outcomes of laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) and multiport laparoscopic (MPL) radical nephrectomy (RN) for clinical T1b/T2a renal masses, as concerns continue regarding suitability and benefit of LESS for larger renal masses. METHODS Retrospective single-surgeon comparison of LESS- and MPL-RN between 7/2005 and 11/2014. Sixty-three patients underwent LESS-RN (44 cT1b/19 cT2a); 133 underwent MPL (83 cT1b/50 cT2a). All patients were managed with a standardized care pathway. Primary outcome was length of hospital stay (LOS). Secondary outcomes included operative time, estimated blood loss (EBL), complications, discharge pain score (visual analog pain, VAP), narcotic requirement (morphine equivalents, MSO4eq). RESULTS 130/133 MPL and 62/63 LESS were successfully performed. For MPL and LESS groups: mean tumor diameter (cm) for cT1b was 5.3 vs. 5.4 (P=0.689); and for cT2a was 8.2 vs. 8.3 (P=0.728); mean OR time (min) was 126.3 vs. 132.7 (P=0.314); mean EBL (mL) was 139.5 vs.127.8 (P=0.49). No significant differences in complications were noted (P=0.781). LESS was associated with significant reductions in LOS (2.14 vs. 2.45 days, P=0.043), discharge VAP (1.3 vs. 2.2, P<0.001), and narcotic use (5.9 vs. 10.7 MSO4eq, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS LESS is comparable to MPL-RN for cT1b and T2a renal tumors in terms of perioperative parameters and may confer benefit with respect to LOS and analgesic requirement.
A Generalization of Simultaneous Long–Short Stock Trading to PI Controllers

The main objective of this paper is to provide a generalization of the so-called Simultaneous Long–Short (SLS) stock-trading result in the feedback control literature. The significance of the SLS strategy is that it guarantees a “win” in expected value of profits. Whereas previous work involves use of static linear feedback to establish this robust positive expectation property of the gain–loss function, here we obtain the same result for the more general case of PI control. In this SLS setting, robustness is assured with respect to stock prices governed by a Geometric Brownian Motion whose drift and volatility parameters are unknown to the trader. This technical note also includes numerical simulations.
Palliative care needs are everywhere: Where do we begin?

The concept of palliative care in neurology continues to evolve; yet, the stigma about palliative care remains. Some may view offering palliative care to patients with serious neurologic conditions as a medical failure. Until recently, most clinicians have associated palliative care with end-of-life care for patients with malignancy. Fortunately, many have increasingly recognized that end-of-life care is an important aspect of care for patients with neurologic conditions. In recent years, the concept of palliative care has expanded further to include care that focuses on physical, psychosocial, intellectual, and spiritual needs, with the goal of improving quality of life for all patients with serious illness. Thus, palliative care may be appropriate during any phase of serious illness.1 Many neurologic disorders (e.g., multiple sclerosis, stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Parkinson disease) fall within this framework. Neuropalliative care has begun to emerge as a specialty to address these important needs of our patients and their families.
The influence of type of incision on the success rate of implant integration at stage II uncovering surgery

In 1991, the Dental Implant Clinical Research Group comprising 30 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers and two dental schools initiated a long-term clinical study to investigate the clinical performance of implants within the Spectra-System (Core-Vent Corporation, Las Vegas, NV). This article focuses on a portion of the study database related to incision type, implant success rates, and response of crestal bone up to the time of surgical uncovering. The crestal incision was used for 1,705 implants (381 patients) and the remote incision for 593 implants (141 patients). No statistically significant difference (P = .092 chi-square statistic) was found in implant integration or the response of crestal bone.