cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Value of Intensive Sampling—A Comparison of Fluvial Loads

Most long-term sampling regimes are calendar based, collecting one or two samples per month regardless of the stream conditions. Loads estimated with calendar-based sampling are often used for expensive water quality mitigation measures. In this paper, we have tested the differences between the calendar-based and extensive sampling methods for two watersheds of different sizes, and three parameters—total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total suspended solids. Based on the results obtained and the costs associated with the remediation, a simple decision-making framework is proposed for watershed managers to decide on the applicability of a calendar-based sampling method. Direct loads (DL) were computed using a method based on an intensive sampling of flow and other water quality parameters. Weighted regression loads (WL) were estimated using the WRTDS model designed for modified calendar-based sampling. The results suggest that for trend analysis and planning on a larger scale, long-term loads obtained from a modified calendar-based sampling regime may be used as a reasonable substitute for loads obtained from intensive sampling. However, for purposes where accurate daily loads are needed (e.g., water quality model calibration) WL may not be an effective substitute for DL. Finally, we recommend that the costs of control measures should be assessed when deciding on a sampling regime.
Sensitivity of Wind Turbine Array Downstream Effects to the Parameterization Used in WRF

AbstractThe Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model has been extensively used for wind energy applications, and current releases include a scheme that can be applied to examine the effects of ...
Elementary School Size and Differences in What Principals Emphasize and How They Train Their Teachers: A National Analysis

In this investigation, differences in what principals emphasized, in how they spent their work time, and how they trained their teachers were examined as a function of student enrollment numbers. Data were acquired from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 principal survey. Three school categories were generated with student enrolment data: Small-size schools, Moderate-size schools, and Large-size schools. Inferential statistical analyses revealed the presence of statistically significant differences in the way principals reporting spending their time and the training areas they emphasized. Principals of Large-size schools spent more hours at work, invested more time working with teachers, and emphasized more training their teachers than principals of Small-size schools and Moderate-size schools. Suggestions for future research and implications for policy and practice were made.
Opportunity beckons: a case for community practice within the classroom

ABSTRACTCurrent trends point toward the marginalization of community practice in the field of social work and social work education. Since community practice education is heavily informed by trends...
Ultrastable Carbon Dioxide (CO[sub]2[/sub]) Lasers

This paper reviews the spectral purity, frequency stability and long-term stabilization of CO 2 isotope lasers developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Extremely high spectral purity and short-term stability of less than 1.5 x 10-1' have been achieved and will be discussed. A long-term stabilization technique, which was used to line-center lock any regular or hot-band CO 2 isotope laser transition, is described. A brief description on using CO 2 lasers as secondary frequency standards is also given.
Development: biopsychosocial factors interacting over time

Abstract Understanding human development and functioning requires that the dimension of development, or time, be added to the three biopsychosocial dimensions. It is across time that the biological, psychological, and sociocultural influences on development interact. Therefore, the developmental perspective is essential to the scientific understanding of human psychology and the practice of behavioral health care. This chapter notes the key features of a developmental framework and discusses infant attachment as a prototypical example of a highly important developmental process. Important risk and protective factors are also reviewed. The nature of health, well-being, and flourishing is also examined and research that begins to unravel the nature of human well-being is briefly reviewed.
Chapter 17 – Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions: Analysis and Valuation

Publisher Summary This chapter addresses common motives for international mergers and acquisitions, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of a variety of international market entry strategies. The motives for international corporate expansion include a desire to accelerate growth, achieve geographic diversification, consolidate industries, and exploit natural resources and lower labor costs available elsewhere. Other motives include applying a firm's brand name or intellectual property in new markets, minimizing tax liabilities, following customers into foreign markets, as well as avoiding such entry barriers as tariffs and import barriers. Alternative strategies for entering foreign markets include exporting, licensing, alliances or joint ventures, solo ventures or greenfield operations, and mergers and acquisitions. The focus in this chapter is on M&A as a market entry or expansion mode because cross-border M&As comprise on average one-fourth of all global transactions and more than one-half of direct foreign investment annually. This chapter also addresses the challenges of M&A deal structures, financing, valuation, and execution in both developed and emerging countries. The chapter also summarizes empirical studies investigating the actual benefits to both target and acquiring company shareholders of international diversification.
Exergames and Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults: A Systematic Review

To synthesize and critique studies that examined the impact of exergames on depressive symptoms in older adults. Articles were retrieved from the databases CINAHL, Embase, PsychINFO, and Medline. Studies were included in the review if they involved a physical activity/videogame intervention and measured outcomes of depressive symptoms in older adults. The search generated 957 articles for consideration, which were narrowed to 17 articles after applying exclusion criteria. In studies that required depressive symptoms as an inclusion criterion, there was an improvement in depressive symptoms in older adults following the exergame intervention. In studies that did not require depressive symptoms as an inclusion criterion, researchers found mixed results. Future older adult exergame research should measure depression as a primary outcome, utilize control groups with random sampling, consist of larger sample sizes, and include people with disabilities.
Post-traumatic headache due to mild traumatic brain injury: Current knowledge and future directions:

Background/objectivePost-traumatic headache is one of the most common and persistent symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury. The objective of this narrative review is to provide an update o...
Next generation sequencing of sarcomas: Response to crizotinib in two cases with MET amplification.

11538Background: Sarcoma subtypes are often defined by recurrent molecular alterations. The purpose of this study is to review the utility of next generation sequencing (NGS) in sarcoma patients an...
Yield stress and other flow and wall slip parameters of viscoplastic fluids from steady torsional flow

The ubiquitous wall slip behavior of viscoplastic fluids renders the analysis of their steady torsional flow data to determine their yield stress and other parameters of their shear viscosity material function challenging. Roughened surfaces to prevent wall slip can be used but such methods frequently result in the fracturing of the sample. Instead, it is shown here that the yield stress of a viscoplastic fluid can be determined from the torque versus apparent shear rate data of steady torsional flow using a single gap. The step change in the slope of the torque versus apparent shear rate data of a viscoplastic fluid marks the yield stress of the fluid. For demonstration, the earlier-characterized parameters of the shear viscosity and apparent wall slip behavior of a viscoplastic suspension [He et al., J. Rheology, 63, 19 (2019)] were used for obtaining the shear stress distribution and the torque at each rotational speed. The yield stress, determined from the torque versus apparent shear rate data, could be verified by using a second method relying on the comparison of the wall slip velocities with wall velocities, while at the same time enabling the determination of the other parameters of the shear viscosity material function of the viscoplastic fluid.
Effect of adding modified pea protein as functional extender on the physical and sensory properties of beef patties

Abstract Plant-based ingredients are used as extenders in meat products to enhance nutrition, improve quality, and reduce cost. Pea protein modified via sequential deamidation and conjugation (PGG) exhibited greatly enhanced functionalities compared to the original pea protein (PPI). The objective of this study was to understand the effect of adding 2.5 and 5% PPI or PGG on the cookability, physical and texture properties, and sensory attributes of beef patties in comparison with regular patty. The beef patties containing PGG (especially at 5%) showed significantly decreased cooking loss (20%) and increased moisture and fat retentions compared with the control patty (33% cooking loss). In general, PPI patties exhibited harder texture while PGG patties showed much softer texture than the control. Sensory results indicated that the control patty had higher scores of juiciness and beef flavor intensity and less off flavor than the extended patties, while the PGG patties were tenderer and softer than the control and PPI patties. The patties containing PGG demonstrated some advantageous features in terms of higher fat/water retention, cooking yield, and tender texture, which may be preferred by the elderly or some other consumers. This study presents a novel approach to tailor meat texture using plant proteins.
The Red Herring of Economic Populism

Popular among economists, pundits and policymakers, the theory of economic populism is used to criticize expansionist policies purportedly enacted by fiscally irresponsible populist governments. Introduced by Jeffrey Sachs, Rudiger Dornbusch and Sebastian Edwards in 1989, the theory maintains that such policies put into motion a cycle of economic devastation where populists register initial successes but soon face bottlenecks and other market failures that lead to hyperinflation and balance-of-payments problems, ending with regime change and the restoration of orthodox policies. On their part, political scientists have strongly resisted economically deterministic interpretations of populism, submitting adequate evidence that populist phenomena are not associated with particular economic policies. However, the popularity of economic populism remains intact. This article opens a new and expanded line of criticism by exposing the normative historical foundations of the theory of economic populism, while highlighting an array of conceptual, methodological and empirical flaws that render it unfit for scientific purposes. The insistence on its use despite obvious analytical shortcomings is explained as an artifact of economic populism’s ideologically weaponized nature.
Semiconductors as Laser Material 1: Fundamentals

The descriptive overview provided in this chapter is a prelude to the mathematical modeling of semiconductor and optical properties that follows in later chapters. Here, we discuss the relevant properties of semiconductor quantum wells from the point of view of applications for semiconductor lasers. First, we introduce the general idea that semiconductor lasers are composed of mixtures of semiconductors designed to select the appropriate lattice constant and bandgap. The physical limits of mixing of different semiconductors are covered. Practical factors that influence the use and fabrication of semiconductors for lasers including factors such as direct and indirect bandgaps, and strain and critical thickness, are discussed.
Agricultural Industrialization: Implications for Economic Development and Public Policy

Industrialization is rapidly becoming a topic of great attention. Driven by fundamental economic forces, industrialization seems likely to advance more quickly in the coming decade to more industry segments. By changing the way agriculture does business, industrialization will also bring change to public policy and agricultural institutions. Commodity policy will increasingly be out of step with a product-oriented industry. And as industrialization blurs the lines between producers and processors, land grant universities and the extension service will face challenges assessing who their customers are.
4H-Pyran-2,6-dicarboxylate as a Substitute for Dipicolinate in the Sporulation of Bacillus megaterium

Abstract 4H-Pyran-2,6-dicarboxylic acid, an analogue of dipicolinic acid, has been shown to completely replace dipicolinic acid in restoring normal sporulation to an aspartic semialdehyde pyruvate-condensing enzyme-less (hence dipicolinate-less) mutant of Bacillus megaterium. A large number of other, related, compounds were unable to replace dipicolinic acid. In the case of the pyran compound, the mutant culture invariably produced spores with a higher density and greater heat stability than in the presence of dipicolinic acid. Furthermore, the sporulation rate was increased. Spores of both the wild and mutant types are destabilized by lysozyme without prior treatment.
Successful laser welding: Selecting necessary and sufficient parameters

Laser welding is thought to take place by a photothermal mechanism. The end-point for welding is likely to be protein denaturation. Several protein moieties have been implicated and these each have different denaturation temperatures. Preferred temperatures for laser welding can be predicted based on known denaturation of these proteins. Given this mechanism, the ultimate "tissue parameters" are peak temperature, time at temperature. The area of heating is also relevant. In selecting laser parameters for successful tissue welding, uniform heating of the full thickness of the tissue is desired. Pulse width, interval and spot size can be chosen to prevent thermal buildup and undesired collateral thermal injury. Power density can then be adjusted to allow heating to just the optimum endpoint of protein denaturation. At this point, cells at the target site are likely to be non-viable but no collateral cell death should have occurred. The wavelength selected effects the depth of penetration and therefore the heating profile at different depths in the tissue. >
Wave Field Produced in a Composite Laminate by a Concentrated Surface Force

With the increasing use of advanced composites in a variety of modern applications, it has become necessary to employ reliable and effective nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods to determine the integrity and serviceability of structural composites. The use of ultrasonic techniques involving guided waves and contact type transducers can provide powerful characterization methods for composites. However, the wave phenomena associated with these methods are, in general, far more complex and less well understood than those associated with conventional techniques, based on longitudinal waves. Realization of the full potential of these newer techniques will require a better understanding of the quantitative features of the wave phenomena than is available at present.
Reversible tuning of pore size and CO2 adsorption in azobenzene functionalized porous organic polymers

A series of responsive porous organic polymers (POPs), UCBZ-1, 2, 3 and 4, comprising azobenzene moieties, were synthesized through dynamic imine chemistry and their structure–property relationship was studied. The resulting porous organic polymers showed permanent porosity with BET surface areas of around 1000 m2 g−1. More importantly, these polymers exhibit fully reversible responsive pore size distribution and CO2 uptake triggered by UV irradiation or heat treatment. We observed the transformation of some micropores with pore size around 14 A to larger ones (17 A) upon UV irradiation. Although the BET surface areas remain almost constant during the isomerization process, trans to cis conversion of the azobenzene groups significantly increases CO2 uptake (up to 29% at 273 K and 1 atm) of the frameworks. Our study on the structure–property relationship shows that the bulkiness of the azobenzene moieties reduces the extent of responsiveness of the materials. Such a photoresponsive behavior is largely attributed to the enhanced dipole–quadrupole interaction between CO2 and the frameworks due to the increased dipole moment of cis –NN– groups compared to trans –NN–. Such responsiveness significantly differs from the previously reported responsive MOFs containing azobenzene groups, which release CO2 upon trans to cis isomerization. These polymers thus represent a new class of porous polymers having intriguing stimuli-responsive properties for advanced applications.
Triflimide (HNTf2)-catalyzed aldehyde cross-aldol reaction using "super silyl" enol ethers.

The synthesis of the acetaldehyde-derived tris(trimethylsilyl)silyl (super silyl) enol ether is described, as well as its use in the high-yielding aldehyde cross-aldol reaction. The super silyl enol ether shows unprecedented reactivity in giving the 1:1 adduct in very high yield. This reaction is catalyzed by 0.05 mol% of the Bronsted acid triflimide (HNTf2) and is complete within 15 min, making the protocol very attractive for large-scale synthesis.
Betacellulin-Induced Beta Cell Proliferation and Regeneration Is Mediated by Activation of ErbB-1 and ErbB-2 Receptors

Background Betacellulin (BTC), a member of the epidermal growth factor family, is known to play an important role in regulating growth and differentiation of pancreatic beta cells. Growth-promoting actions of BTC are mediated by epidermal growth factor receptors (ErbBs), namely ErbB-1, ErbB-2, ErbB-3 and ErbB-4; however, the exact mechanism for beta cell proliferation has not been elucidated. Therefore, we investigated which ErbBs are involved and some molecular mechanisms by which BTC regulates beta cell proliferation. Methodology/Principal Findings The expression of ErbB-1, ErbB-2, ErbB-3, and ErbB-4 mRNA was detected by RT-PCR in both a beta cell line (MIN-6 cells) and C57BL/6 mouse islets. Immunoprecipitation and western blotting analysis showed that BTC treatment of MIN-6 cells induced phosphorylation of only ErbB-1 and ErbB-2 among the four EGF receptors. BTC treatment resulted in DNA synthetic activity, cell cycle progression, and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-positive staining. The proliferative effect was blocked by treatment with AG1478 or AG825, specific tyrosine kinase inhibitors of ErbB-1 and ErbB-2, respectively. BTC treatment increased mRNA and protein levels of insulin receptor substrate-2 (IRS-2), and this was blocked by the ErbB-1 and ErbB-2 inhibitors. Inhibition of IRS-2 by siRNA blocked cell cycle progression induced by BTC treatment. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice injected with a recombinant adenovirus expressing BTC and treated with AG1478 or AG825 showed reduced islet size, reduced numbers of BrdU-positive cells in the islets, and did not attain BTC-mediated remission of diabetes. Conclusions/Significance These results suggest that BTC exerts proliferative activity on beta cells through the activation of ErbB-1 and ErbB-2 receptors, which may increase IRS-2 expression, contributing to the regeneration of beta cells.
Los Alamos combustion modeling for nuclear systems

Abstract The occurrence of severe fire accidents in nuclear systems has resulted in research activities to model combustion phenomena in these systems. A combustion analysis of an entire facility is needed to determine the transient pressure and heating loads on the containment or ventilation structures and safety-related equipment, to plan emergency evacuation, to validate existing fire protection programs or suggest changes, and to integrate fire safety with other safety analysis requirements. The first part of this paper reviews traditional fire analysis methods and identifies capabilities that can be retained for modeling nuclear facilities. Additional capabilities are outlined that will be needed to accomodate the unique architecture and design-basis accidents of nuclear facilities. In later sections, the Los Alamos modeling approach for both nonreactor and reactor systems is presented.
Nitinol stone retrieval-assisted ureteroscopic management of lower pole renal calculi

Abstract Objectives. Current ureteroscopic intracorporeal lithotripsy devices and stone retrieval technology allow for the treatment of calculi located throughout the intrarenal collecting system. Difficulty accessing lower pole calculi, especially when the holmium laser fiber is used, is often encountered. We retrospectively reviewed our experience with cases in which lower pole renal calculi were ureteroscopically managed by holmium laser fragmentation, either in situ or by first displacing the stone into a less dependent position with the aid of a nitinol stone retrieval device. Methods. Thirty-four patients (36 renal units) underwent ureteroscopic treatment of lower pole renal calculi between April 1998 and November 1999. Lower pole stones less than 20 mm were primarily treated by ureteroscopic means in patients who were obese, in patients who had a bleeding diathesis, in patients with stones resistant to shock wave lithotripsy, and in patients with complicated intrarenal anatomy, or as a salvage procedure after failed shock wave lithotripsy. Lower pole calculi were fragmented with a 200-μm holmium laser fiber by way of a 7.5F flexible ureteroscope. For those patients in whom the laser fiber reduced the ureteroscopic deflection, precluding re-entry into the lower pole calix, a 3.2F nitinol basket or a 2.6F nitinol grasper was used to displace the lower pole calculus into a more favorable position, allowing easier fragmentation. Results. In 26 renal units, routine in situ holmium laser fragmentation was successfully performed. In the remaining 10 renal units, a nitinol device was passed into the lower pole, through the ureteroscope, for stone displacement. Only a minimal loss of deflection was seen. Irrigation was significantly reduced by the 3.2F nitinol basket, but improved with the use of the 2.6F nitinol grasper. This factor did not impede stone retrieval in any of the patients. At 3 months, 85% of patients were stone free by intravenous urography or computed tomography. Conclusions. Ureteroscopic management of lower pole calculi is a reasonable alternative to shock wave lithotripsy or percutaneous nephrolithotomy in patients with low-volume stone disease. If the stone cannot be fragmented in situ, nitinol basket or grasper retrieval, through a fully deflected ureteroscope, allows one to reposition the stone into a less dependent position, thus facilitating stone fragmentation.
An Alternative Interpretation of “Intensive” PTSD Treatment Failures

An evaluation of program failures in the treatment of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder has led some reviewers to conclude that the focus of treatment should be shifted away from combat trauma and directed toward other problems. A more detailed examination of these programs reveals that they rarely involve the systematic use of the most soundly-validated PTSD treatment, trauma-focused therapy.
Hemodynamics of the penile erection and their clinical applications: Emphasis on medical management for erectile dysfunction

Better understanding of the mechanism of erection based on hemodynamics and the pharmacological action of intracavernosal agents have resulted in more insight into the diagnosis of various erectile disorders. Further experience with other diagnostic tests has led to the treatment of patients with erectile dysfunction by self-injection, venous ligation, arterial revascularization and other non-surgical means such as sexual counselling, oral and injectable medical therapy and external vacuum devices. This paper discusses the efficacy and role of these alternatives to the penile prosthesis.
Structural bioenergetics and energy transduction mechanisms.

Life depends on transduction processes that couple cellular metabolism to environmental energy sources such as light or reduced compounds. These primary energy sources must be efficiently converted into forms that can be utilized by cells for biosynthesis, motility, transport, regulation, and other metabolic functions. In recent years, there has been an explosive increase in the determination of structures for proteins mediating energy transduction processes. These developments provide the opportunity to evaluate the structural basis for the efficient coupling of two energetic processes, which defines the area of structural bioenergetics. Here, we present some general features of energy transduction processes, including arguments that effective coupling of two processes by a transduction protein occurs by way of conformational states that are common to the catalysis of each process. This is illustrated by examples from the nucleotide switch family of proteins, with emphasis on the nitrogenase system where ATP hydrolysis is coupled to an electron transfer reaction.
Early dietary sodium restriction disrupts the peripheral anatomical development of the gustatory system

Dietary sodium restriction has profound effects on the development of peripheral taste function and central taste system anatomy. This study examined whether early dietary sodium restriction also affects innervation of taste buds. The number of geniculate ganglion cells that innervate single fungiform taste buds were quantified for the midregion of the tongue in two groups of rats: those fed either a low-sodium diet and those fed a sodium replete diet (control rats) from early prenatal development through adulthood. The same mean number of ganglion cells in developmentally sodium-restricted and control adult rats innervated taste buds on the midregion of the tongue. However, the characteristic relationship of the larger the taste bud, the more neurons that innervate it did not develop in sodium-restricted rats. The failure to form such a relationship in experimental rats was likely due to a substantially smaller mean taste bud volume than controls and probably not to changes in innervation. Further experiments demonstrated that the altered association between number of innervating neurons and taste bud size in restricted rats was reversible. Feeding developmentally sodium-restricted rats a sodium replete diet at adulthood resulted in an increase in taste bud size. Accordingly, the high correlation between taste bud volume and innervation was established in sodium-replete rats. Findings from the current study reveal that early dietary manipulations influence neuron–target interactions; however, the effects of dietary sodium restriction on peripheral gustatory anatomy can be completely restored, even in adult animals. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Neurobiol 39: 218–226, 1999
Lespedeza Straw for Dairy Cows

Summary Lespedeza straw consisting of the roughage from a crop of lespedeza harvested before maturity and threshed for seed, proved somewhat less palatable and slightly less valuable as a feed for dairy cows in milk than soybean hay harvested in the early stages of pod formation. Twenty-three per cent of the soybean hay fed was refused while only ten per cent of the lespedeza straw was refused.
Syntactic Islands and Learning Biases: Combining Experimental Syntax and Computational Modeling to Investigate the Language Acquisition Problem

The induction problems facing language learners have played a central role in debates about the types of learning biases that exist in the human brain. Many linguists have argued that some of the learning biases necessary to solve these language induction problems must be both innate and language-specific (i.e., the Universal Grammar (UG) hypothesis). Though there have been several recent high-profile investigations of the necessary learning bias types for different linguistic phenomena, the UG hypothesis is still the dominant assumption for a large segment of linguists due to the lack of studies addressing central phenomena in generative linguistics. To address this, we focus on how to learn constraints on long-distance dependencies, also known as syntactic island constraints. We use formal acceptability judgment data to identify the target state of learning for syntactic island constraints and conduct a corpus analysis of child-directed data to affirm that there does appear to be an induction problem wh...
A prospective randomized double-blind trial of bolus urokinase in the treatment of established Hickman catheter sepsis in children.

Abstract Background: The incidence of Hickman catheter sepsis is 10% to 40%, with resultant catheter loss in one third of infections. Urokinase causes dissolution of colonized intra-catheter fibrin thrombi and may improve salvage. Study aims: To evaluate the efficacy of 12-hour-interval slow-push urokinase infusion in addition to standard antibiotic therapy in the treatment of catheter sepsis in a pediatric oncology population. Methods: A two-arm randomized double-blind trial was undertaken, with catheter salvage rate as the end point. Patients with Hickman catheter sepsis were randomized after culture data confirmed the diagnosis. The study drug was administered by a slow intravenous push and given at 12-hour intervals for a total of four doses. The catheters were aspirated after 1 hour. Results and conclusions: The trial was stopped after 41 patients were entered into the study; 18 patients received a placebo, and 23 received the urokinase. In the placebo group, six catheters were lost; in the urokinase group, eight were lost. The rate of bacterial clearance was equivalent for both. After administration of the study drug, each group had three episodes of fever and chills; two of these resulted in hypotension (one in each group). The authors conclude that slow-push urokinase infusion during established Hickman catheter sepsis does not result in improved catheter salvage or bacterial clearance. Slow intravenous push infusions in this setting may provoke hemodynamic instability even after initiation of antibiotics.
Future directions in L ∞ robust control theory

This paper presents a perspective on the L∞/conicsector/singular-value theory for robust control system analysis and design. Included is a brief survey of the state-of-the-art and its shortcomings. The paper discusses some of the ongoing efforts to resolve the shortcomings and expand the scope of applicability of the L∞ theory, including the using of conformal mappinas and diagonal scalinas to reduce the conservativeness of L∞ synthesis, the needs for non-conic robustness analysis/synthesis, robust adaptive control, decentralized robust design and control, etc.
Intracrine Androgens and AKR1C3 Activation Confer Resistance to Enzalutamide in Prostate Cancer

The introduction of enzalutamide and abiraterone has led to improvement in the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). However, acquired resistance to enzalutamide and abiraterone therapies frequently develops within a short period in many patients. In the present study, we developed enzalutamide resistant prostate cancer cells in an effort to understand the mechanisms of resistance. Global gene expression analysis showed that steroid biosynthesis pathway is activated in enzalutamide resistant prostate cancer cells. One of the crucial steroidogenic enzymes, AKR1C3, was significantly elevated in enzalutamide resistant cells. In addition, AKR1C3 is highly expressed in metastatic and recurrent prostate cancer and in enzalutamide resistant prostate xenograft tumors. Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis of the steroid metabolites revealed that androgen precursors such as cholesterol, DHEA and progesterone, as well as androgens are highly up regulated in enzalutamide resistant prostate cancer cells compared to the parental cells. Knock down of AKR1C3 expression by shRNA or inhibition of AKR1C3 enzymatic activity by indomethacin resensitized enzalutamide resistant prostate cancer cells to enzalutamide treatment both in vitro and in vivo. In contrast, overexpression of AKR1C3 confers resistance to enzalutamide. Furthermore, the combination of indomethacin and enzalutamide resulted in significant inhibition of enzalutamide-resistant tumor growth. These results suggest that AKR1C3 activation is a critical resistance mechanism associated with enzalutamide resistance, targeting intracrine androgens and AKR1C3 will overcome enzalutamide resistance and improve survival of advanced prostate cancer patients.
SU-FF-T-186: Commissioning of Tissue Inhomogeneity Correction of Eclipse Radiation Treatment Planning System Using a Lung Phantom

Purpose: It has been noted that dosimetric difference due to tissue inhomogeneity is significant for a lung patient. If there is no tissue inhomogeneity correction (IC) made, the treatment plan could mislead treatment. Commercial radiation treatment planning (RTP) systems have the capability to include tissue IC. To utilize IC, each correction method should be reviewed and verified in advance. This study presents the commissioning of tissue IC in the Eclipse RTP system for three methods; Batho power law (Batho), Modified batho (Mo‐Batho), and Equivalent TAR (E‐TAR). Method and Materials:Treatment plans were mapped onto CTimages of a lung phantom. Dose was calculated once without IC and three times with different correction methods each time. Doses were measured at three different locations, one inside of the lung in the phantom, one in the body in between lungs, and the last one in the bone. Results: The results demonstrate that the calculated without tissue IC could be significantly different from the measureddose in the treatment room. This difference varies depending on the extent to which each radiation field passes through inhomogeneous tissues. This study proves that the currently available correction methods reduce the error made due to tissue inhomogeneity. The calculated dose without IC was 5 – 10 % from the measureddose at the point inside of the lung or in between the lungs. The difference ranges 2 – 3 % using Batho, 1 – 3 % using Mo‐Batho, and 0 – 4% using E‐TAR. However, the calculated dose to the point inside of the bone was about 2 – 5 % different from the measureddose regardless of the use of IC. Conclusion: This study overall favors the use of inhomogeneity correction for treatment plans. Among all correction methods in Eclipse, Modified batho is recommended based on this study.
Oxidation of Plasma Cysteine/Cystine Redox State in Endotoxin-Induced Lung Injury

Several lines of evidence indicate that perturbations in the extracellular thiol/disulfide redox environment correlate with the progression and severity of acute lung injury (ALI). Cysteine (Cys) and its disulfide Cystine (CySS) constitute the most abundant, low-molecular-weight thiol/disulfide redox couple in the plasma, and Cys homeostasis is adversely affected during the inflammatory response to infection and injury. While much emphasis has been placed on glutathione (GSH) and glutathione disulfide (GSSG), little is known about the regulation of the Cys/CySS couple in ALI. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether endotoxin administration causes a decrease in Cys and/or an oxidation of the plasma Cys/CySS redox state (Eh Cys/CySS), and to determine whether these changes were associated with changes in plasma Eh GSH/GSSG. Mice received endotoxin intraperitoneally, and GSH and Cys redox states were measured at time points known to correlate with the progression of endotoxin-induced lung i...
Insight into Clustering in Poly(ethylene oxide) Solutions

The clustering phenomenon has been observed in many macromolecular systems. Poly(ethylene oxide) solutions are characterized by a clustering effect that has been extensively discussed in the literature. Its origin has remained elusive. Using small-angle neutron scattering from PEO solutions in various deuterated solvents, the possible causes of clustering that have been given in the literature are analyzed here. These include impurities in water, possible PEO crystallization, a subtle phase transition whereby a concentrated phase coexists with free polymer coils, hydrogen-bond physical cross-linking, and finally chain ends effect. We have shown that under the experimental conditions considered here (4% PEO weight fraction) the mostly forgotten chain ends effect is at the origin of clustering in poly(ethylene oxide) solutions.
Cardiac Surgery in Bacterial Endocarditis

Open heart surgery has been performed at the Massachusetts General Hospital in 13 patients less than 6 months after the initiation of treatment for acute or subacute bacterial endocarditis. The endocarditis involved the aortic valve in 12 cases and a mitral valve prosthesis in the other. In two patients there was concomitant rupture of chordae tendineae of the mitral valve. One patient received no preoperative antibiotics, and four were still receiving their initial course of therapy at the time of surgery. The primary indication for surgery in all cases was progressive or intractable congestive heart failure. Ten underwent replacement of the aortic valve alone, two had both aortic and mitral valves replaced, and one had a mitral prosthesis replaced. Of the 13 patients, 10 are alive and doing well, although paraprosthetic insufficiency developed in three, two of whom required subsequent surgical repair. Three patients died, two in the early postoperative period, and one, 8 months after surgery from paraprosthetic regurgitation with hemolysis and heart failure. Antibiotics were given during and after surgery for as long as 6 weeks. In no case has recurrent sepsis been a problem. Our experience indicates that open heart surgery, when necessitated by progressive congestive heart failure due to valve destruction, can be safely and effectively performed during or shortly after treatment of bacterial endocarditis.
Regulation of ribosomal protein S25 in HL60 cells isolated for resistance to adriamycin

The ribosomal protein S25 gene is highly overexpressed in HL60 cells isolated for resistance to adriamycin. In contrast there is no overexpression of 3 other ribosomal genes which code for proteins S14, S17 and S24. Studies with an antibody against a synthetic peptide of the S25 protein show that although the S25 gene is overexpressed in resistant cells there is no corresponding increase in the levels of S25 protein. These results suggest that the r-protein levels are highly regulated by translational controls or protein turnover.
Finite element analysis of evaporative cutting with a moving high energy pulsed laser

Abstract A computational model for simulation of pulsed laser-cutting process has been developed using a finite element method. An unsteady heat transfer model is considered that deals with the material-cutting process using a Gaussian wave laser beam in a pulsed mode. An iterative scheme is used to handle the geometric nonlinearity due to the melting region. The convergence study with mesh refinements and time steps first identifies optimal mesh and time step for the present analyses. Numerical analyses are carried out on the amount of material removal and groove smoothness with laser power (LP) and number of pulses (NPS) while other laser cutting parameters are fixed. The results show that there exist threshold values in number of pulses and laser power in order to achieve two predetermined conditions: (1) amount of material removal and (2) smoothness of groove shape. These values form an envelope called threshold curve that separate the acceptable region from unacceptable one for quality pulsed laser cutting. The effect of velocity also leads to another threshold curve which is determined from both number of pulses and velocity. Finally, the convergence of results in error domain is shown oscillating due to geometric nonlinearity.
Self-ligating vs conventional brackets as perceived by orthodontists.

Abstract Objective: To determine if there are significant clinical differences between self-ligating brackets (SLB) and conventional brackets (CB) during orthodontic treatment, as perceived by orthodontists. Materials and Methods: A survey was developed and distributed to evaluate how SLB compare to CB in terms of orthodontists' perceptions (n = 430). Results: SLB were preferred during the initial stage of treatment based on the shorter adjustment appointments and faster initial treatment progress they provided (P < .0001). On the other hand, practitioners preferred CB during the finishing and detailing stages of treatment (P < .0001). CB were also preferred over SLB because they were cheaper and resulted in fewer emergency appointments. Conclusions: The orthodontists' preference was significantly influenced by (1) the proportion of patients treated with SLB (P < .0001), (2) the number of cases it took them to become accustomed to SLB (P < .0001), and (3) the average appointment intervals associated wit...
Approximation of Functions of Many Variables from the Classes B p,θ Ω (ℝ d ) By Entire Functions of Exponential Type

We obtain the decomposition representation of the norm of functions of many variables from the spaces B , (ℝ d ) and establish the exact order estimates for the approximations of functions from the unit balls of these spaces by entire functions of exponential type in the space L q (ℝ d ) .
MTSEA potentiates 5-HT3 receptors containing the nicotinic α4 subunit

Abstract In order to study the subunit composition of 5-HT3 receptors (5-HT3R), we report that (2-aminoethyl)methanethiosulfonate (MTSEA) can enhance the function of both nicotinic ACh receptors (nAChRs) comprised of α4/β2 subunits, and heteromeric channels assembled from serotonin 5-HT3R and α4 nAChR subunits. MTSEA has no effect on homomeric 5-HT3 receptor channels.
GSA: a framework for rapid prototyping of smart alarm systems

We describe the Generic Smart Alarm, an architectural framework for the development of decision support modules for a variety of clinical applications. The need to quickly process patient vital signs and detect patient health events arises in many clinical scenarios, from clinical decision support to tele-health systems to home-care applications. The events detected during monitoring can be used as caregiver alarms, as triggers for further downstream processing or logging, or as discrete inputs to decision support systems or physiological closed-loop applications. We believe that all of these scenarios are similar, and share a common framework of design. In attempting to solve a particular instance of the problem, that of device alarm fatigue due to numerous false alarms, we devised a modular system based around this framework. This modular design allows us to easily customize the framework to address the specific needs of the various applications, and at the same time enables us to perform checking of consistency of the system. In this paper we discuss potential specific clinical applications of a generic smart alarm framework, present the proposed architecture of such a framework, and motivate the benefits of a generic framework for the development of new smart alarm or clinical decision support systems.
Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the intermediate stage between the cognitive changes of normal aging and dementia. MCI is important because it constitutes a high risk group for dementia. Ideally, prevention strategies should target individuals who are not even symptomatic. Indeed, the field is now moving towards identification of asymptomatic individuals who have underlying Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology that can be detected using biomarkers and neuroimaging technologies. To this effect, the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Institute on Aging have developed a new classification scheme that has categorized AD into a preclinical phase (research category), MCI due to AD, and dementia of Alzheimer’s type. However, there are also ongoing research studies to understand high-risk groups for non-Alzheimer’s dementia.
The regulation of non-coding RNA expression in the liver of mice fed DDC

Mallory-Denk bodies (MDBs) are found in the liver of patients with alcoholic and chronic nonalcoholic liver disease, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Diethyl 1,4-dihydro-2,4,6,-trimethyl-3,5-pyridinedicarboxylate (DDC) is used as a model to induce the formation of MDBs in mouse liver. Previous studies in this laboratory showed that DDC induced epigenetic modifications in DNA and histones. The combination of these modifications changes the phenotype of the MDB forming hepatocytes, as indicated by the marker FAT10. These epigenetic modifications are partially prevented by adding to the diet S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) or betaine, both methyl donors. The expression of three imprinted ncRNA genes was found to change in MDB forming hepatocytes, which is the subject of this report. NcRNA expression was quantitated by real-time PCR and RNA FISH in liver sections. Microarray analysis showed that the expression of three ncRNAs was regulated by DDC: up regulation of H19, antisense Igf2r (AIR), and down regulation of GTL2 (also called MEG3). S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) feeding prevented these changes. Betaine, another methyl group donor, prevented only H19 and AIR up regulation induced by DDC, on microarrays. The results of the SAMe and betaine groups were confirmed by real-time PCR, except for AIR expression. After 1 month of drug withdrawal, the expression of the three ncRNAs tended toward control levels of expression. Liver tumors that developed also showed up regulation of H19 and AIR. The RNA FISH approach showed that the MDB forming cells' phenotype changed the level of expression of AIR, H19 and GTL2, compared to the surrounding cells. Furthermore, over expression of H19 and AIR was demonstrated in tumors formed in mice withdrawn for 9 months. The dysregulation of ncRNA in MDB forming liver cells has been observed for the first time in drug-primed mice associated with liver preneoplastic foci and tumors.
A comparison of radome- and astrodome-enclosed large radio telescopes at millimeter wavelengths: The Large Millimeter Telescope

We present a systematic comparison of the main figures of merit for an open-air radio telescope and two different types of enclosed antennas: (1) an ordinary radome, with a metal space frame providing the required mechanical rigidity and a dielectric membrane, and (2) an “astrodome,” i.e., a corotating rigid dome with a large window covered by a tensile membrane structure. The analysis is limited to submillimeter and millimeter wavelengths and large (≳30 m) antenna/enclosure systems, where the window tensile structure is very unlikely to be removable and is supported by either a metal space frame or cable networks. As compared with previous studies of this type, here we concentrate on the specific effects that these large metallic support structures have on sensitive astronomical observations. In particular, we critically discuss how the wind-induced random motions of the metal space frame can limit the sensitivity of continuum observations, as a result of fluctuating shadowing and spillover effects combined with various beam-chopping techniques. Using the Large Millimeter Telescope as a benchmark, we provide baselines for future projects where a similar comparison is needed.