cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nonhematopoietic tumor cell lines express stem cell factor and display c-kit receptors.

Human stem cell factor (SCF) acts in the presence of other growth factors to stimulate the growth of primitive hematopoietic progenitor cells. These effects are performed by activation of the SCF receptor, c- kit. Because of the potential use of SCF in patients undergoing chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation, the effect of SCF on nonhematopoietic tumors requires investigation. To determine whether human tumor cell lines display c-kit receptors, we performed binding experiments with 125I-SCF on a breast carcinoma cell line (Du4475), a gastric carcinoma cell line (KATO III), a melanoma cell line (HTT144), as well as two small cell lung carcinoma cell lines (H69 and H128). The biologic effect of SCF on tumor cell lines was assessed by its ability to stimulate tritiated thymidine uptake and to enhance colony growth in methylcellulose. The breast carcinoma cell line, Du4475, as well as two small cell lung carcinoma cell lines, H69 and H128, exhibit high- affinity c-kit receptors with approximate binding affinities of 40, 100, and 90 pmol/L, respectively. The number of high-affinity receptors per cell ranged from 700 to 9,500. The gastric carcinoma cell line, as well as the melanoma cell line, showed trace binding of 125I-SCF. In the presence of SCF alone, or in combination with granulocyte- macrophage colony-stimulating factor or interleukin-3, there was less than a 17% increase in the colony growth of Du4475, H69, or H128 cell lines. Postulating that the lack of growth response could be secondary to endogenous SCF production by the tumor cell lines, we used an RNAse protection assay to determine whether the tumor cell lines contain SCF messenger RNA (mRNA). In addition, we tested tumor cell line supernatants for the presence of secreted SCF protein by enzyme immunoassay, and analyzed the tumor cell lines for membrane-bound SCF by indirect immunofluorescence. Our results show that the Du4475, H69, and H128 cell lines, as well as a melanoma cell line (HTT144), have multiple copies of SCF mRNA. Soluble SCF protein was detected in the cell supernatants in the Du4475 and H69 cell lines and SCF was found on the surface of all four cell lines. These data show that some human solid tumor cell lines display high-affinity c-kit receptors and produce SCF, which can be detected on the cell surface. These results suggest the possibility that autocrine production of SCF by c-kit receptor-bearing tumor cells may enhance cell growth in tumor cell lines.
Zur Geschichte des Pins

Anfangs (1927) nahm der Frakturchirurg eine Stellung ein, die der eines Klinikshandwerkers glich. Selten erfreute er sich des Vorrechtes, im sterilen Operationssaal zu arbeiten.
Trust Online: From E-Commerce to Recipe Sharing

This chapter focuses on trust online. The first section briefly considers some of the earliest examples of unfair online community reviewing, especially ones that appear on the site of the online retailer Amazon. The bulk of the chapter is focused on the trustworthiness of recipes that are posted and shared online, presenting six models used to make readers trust recipes they find online: the community review model as represented by Allrecipes; the laboratory testing model as represented by Cook’s Illustrated; the scientific model as represented by Nathan Myrhvold, the Modernist Cuisine movement, and Alton Brown; the expert model as represented by the websites and blogs of ten professional chefs with well-trafficked websites; the corporate publishing model as represented by Epicurious, which reprints recipes formerly published in Gourmet or Bon Appetit magazines; and the corporate food products model as represented by the Betty Crocker brand of General Mills. The final section of the chapter looks at the information studies literature on trust, and how that literature addresses issues of trust in both restaurant reviewing and recipe sharing.
The Impact of Step 1 Scores on Medical Students’ Residency Specialty Choice

Various factors have been found to affect medical students’ choice of residency specialty, but there is little quantitative evidence describing students’ perception of the impact of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 score. We sought to assess whether students at our institution self-reported changes in their specialty choices based on Step 1 score, and to investigate the relationship between students’ scores and their ultimate match fields. Medical students taking the USMLE Step 1 exam in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015 were surveyed after they received their scores regarding whether their residency specialty choices had changed. National Residency Match Program (NRMP) data was paired to these students’ Step 1 scores to stratify the students by their eventual matched specialty. A total of 472 students responded to the survey (60% response rate), of which 376 (80% of respondents) had matched NRMP data, between 2011 and 2015. 27.5% of respondents reported that their Step 1 scores influenced a change in residency specialty choice. Students in the upper and lower third of Step 1 scores were more likely to change their choice than those in the middle third (p = 0.03). The majority of students report that Step 1 scores do not affect their specialty choices at the time they receive their scores. However, students in the upper and lower third of Step 1 scores are more likely to change their residency choice.
Evolving Aging Service Networks: Meeting the Demands for Inclusive and Comprehensive Older Transgender Adult Services

This chapter explores how the aging services network in the United States functions in meeting the needs of transgender older adults by providing inclusive and comprehensive services. There are limited research and related literature that addresses the needs of the older adult LGB population and their access to older adult services, and further, there is even less research that specifically addresses older transgender or queer-identified adults’ needs and access to aging services. From the lack of population-level data to limited understanding among service providers, it is clear the current national aging services network is unprepared to provide quality programs and services for transgender older adults. In order to provide competent and responsive care and services to older transgender adults, the Older Americans Act (OAA) and the Administration on Aging will need to mandate the explicit inclusion of sexual and gender minorities into service surveys, staff training, and OAA programs and services. The chapter ends with policy and service recommendations to ensure that transgender older adults are able to access welcoming and affirming aging-specific services.
Glutamine Metabolism Regulates Proliferation and Lineage Allocation in Skeletal Stem Cells

Summary Skeletal stem cells (SSCs) are postulated to provide a continuous supply of osteoblasts throughout life. However, under certain conditions, the SSC population can become incorrectly specified or is not maintained, resulting in reduced osteoblast formation, decreased bone mass, and in severe cases, osteoporosis. Glutamine metabolism has emerged as a critical regulator of many cellular processes in diverse pathologies. The enzyme glutaminase (GLS) deaminates glutamine to form glutamate—the rate-limiting first step in glutamine metabolism. Using genetic and metabolic approaches, we demonstrate GLS and glutamine metabolism are required in SSCs to regulate osteoblast and adipocyte specification and bone formation. Mechanistically, transaminase-dependent α-ketoglutarate production is critical for the proliferation, specification, and differentiation of SSCs. Collectively, these data suggest stimulating GLS activity may provide a therapeutic approach to expand SSCs in aged individuals and enhance osteoblast differentiation and activity to increase bone mass.
Studies of polar stratospheric cloud formation.

Stratospheric ozone depletion was first reported in 1985. Early on, researchers identified polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) as being important in chemistry related to ozone depletion. PSCs exist as crystalline water−ice particles (type II), and as crystalline (type Ia) or liquid (type Ib) particles stable above the water−ice frost point. Uncertainty remains concerning the composition and formation mechanism of the most common PSC, type Ia. Here, we consider likely formation mechanisms for type Ia PSCs.
RE: Antibiotic Prescribing During Pediatric Direct-to-Consumer Telemedicine Visits.

We read with great interest the excellent study by Ray and colleagues1 and insightful accompanying editorial by Gerber2 addressing the topic of antibiotic use during telemedicine visits. As noted, this is a rapidly growing sector of health care delivery for not only children but for patients of all ages. This was a study of antibiotic prescribing practices for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in a large population of commercially insured children encompassing telemedicine, urgent care, and PCP encounters. The authors found that children were more likely to receive antibiotics and when prescribed, less likely to receive guideline-recommended antibiotics in telemedicine visits compared with the other settings. This suggests that antibiotic overuse may be greater in this setting than in the others, supporting concerns about lower quality of care raised by the AAP. We share concerns with these authors and the AAP … E-mail: adam.hersh{at}hsc.utah.edu
Evolution of the Cell Wall Gene Families of Grasses

Grasses and related commelinid monocot species synthesize cell walls distinct in composition from other angiosperm species. With few exceptions, the genomes of all angiosperms contain the genes that encode the enzymes of substrate generation for their polysaccharide, phenylpropanoid and protein constituents. RNAseq analysis of transcripts expressed during development of the upper and lower internodes of maize (Zea mays) stem captured the expression of cell wall-related genes associated with primary or secondary wall formation. High levels of transcript abundances were not confined to genes associated with the distinct walls of grasses, but also of those associated with xyloglucan and pectin synthesis. Combined with proteomics data to confirm that expressed genes are translated, we propose that the distinctive cell wall composition of grasses results from sorting downstream from their sites of synthesis in the Golgi apparatus and hydrolysis of the uncharacteristic polysaccharides, and not from differential expression of synthases of grass-specific polysaccharides.
Definition, Conceptual Analysis, and History

This chapter provides a conceptual analysis of the key concepts involved in and related to Global Governance for Health Research, including Governance, Global Governance, Global Health Governance, and other key concepts such as institution, organization, and state. These key related concepts are involved in shaping the main conceptual framework that encompasses all the discussion and arguments. This chapter breaks down these ideas and discusses how they contribute to Global Governance for Health Research. The first chapter also depicts a brief history of the main ethical and theoretical development in the health research enterprise, especially after the 1940s when the modern health research enterprise, adopting double-blind, randomized clinical trials as the gold standard, experienced exponential growth and created numerous ethical concerns that necessitate ethical frameworks to deal with.
Virtual Energy Storage from Air Conditioning Loads

It is often said that energy storage holds the key to the power grid of the future due to the highs and lows of uncontrollable generation caused by intermittent renewable sources such as solar and wind. We argue that many loads can offer the same service as batteries. With appropriate intelligence, loads can manipulate demand around a nominal baseline consumption so that the increase and decrease of demand around that baseline appears like charging and discharging of a battery. Loads thereby can act as virtual energy storage (VES) systems. A frequency domain approach is useful to describing the tradeoffs between VES capacity and consumers’ quality of service (QoS). We describe a way to characterize the VES capacity of loads in terms of its power spectral density and analyze the case for air conditioning loads in particular.
Newton, Burns, and a Poetics of Figure: Toward a Prehistory of Consilience

Consilience designates attempts to find points of convergence between the humanities and the sciences. It is alternately embraced and criticized, for scholars of the humanities and sciences often approach their objects of engagement from opposite, and complementary, directions, preferring either “hard” or “soft” (or “exact” or “ambiguous”) knowledges, or imagining themselves primarily occupied either by the production of knowledge or the critical examination of governing assumptions. This chapter examines Newton’s fluxional calculus as a chapter in the pre-history of consilience. I approach Newton’s calculus both in itself, exploring paradoxes Newton encountered and addressed, and also by way of a famous poem by Robert Burns that situates similar paradoxes on alternative grounds. Together, Newton and Burns present a compelling logic of geometric and rhetorical figure.
ISOKINETIC STRENGTH IS COMPARABLE AMONG ADOLESCENT PATIENTS WHO HAD EITHER A SINGLE INJECTION FEMORAL NERVE BLOCK OR CONTINUOUS FEMORAL NERVE CATHETER DURING ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RECONSTRUCTION

Background:Single injection femoral nerve blocks or continuous femoral nerve catheters are commonly used during anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). However, both single injection and ...
Resolving the hydride transfer pathway in oxidative conversion of proline to pyrrole

Thiotemplated pyrrole is a prevailing intermediate in the synthesis of numerous natural products where the pyrrole is tethered to a carrier protein (CP). Biosynthesis of the pyrrole requires oxidation of an L-proline side chain. Herein, we investigated the biocatalytic mechanism of proline-to-pyrrole synthesis using the recently reported (Thapa et al., Biochemistry, 2019, 58, 918) structure of a Type II non-ribosomal protein synthetase (NRPS) Bmp3-Bmp1 (Oxidase-CP) complex. The substrate (L-proline side chain) is attached to the Bmp1(CP) and the catalytic site is located inside the flavin-dependent oxidase (Bmp3). Interestingly, the FAD molecule is free (unbound) within the Bmp3 catalytic site. We show that the FAD isoalloxazine ring is stabilized in the catalytic site of Bmp3 by strong hydrogen bonding with Asn123, Ile125, Ser126, and Thr158. The stability of the dimeric Bmp3 system including one FAD molecule in our simulation suggests that the tetrameric Bmp3 assembly, as found in the crystal structure, is not functionally important. After the initial deprotonation followed by an enamine-imine tautomerization, oxidation of either the C2-C3 bond or the C2-N1 bond, through a hydride transfer (either from C3 or N1), is required for the pyrrole synthesis. Using molecular dynamics simulations, quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulations, and electronic structure calculations, we conclude that the hydride transfer is more likely to occur from C3 than N1. Additionally, we demonstrated the elasticity in the oxidase active site through enzymatic synthesis of proline derivatives.
Pyramidal Digest: An Efficient Model for Abstracting Text Databases

We present a novel model of automated composite text digest, the Pyramidal Digest. The model integrates traditional text summarization and text classification in that the digest not only serves as a "summary" but is also able to classify text segments of any given size, and answer queries relative to a context. "Pyramidal" refers to the fact that the digest is created in at least three dimensions: scope, granularity, and scale. The Pyramidal Digest is defined recursively as a structure of extracted and abstracted features that are obtained gradually -- from specific to general, and from large to small text segment size -- through a combination of shallow parsing and machine learning algorithms. There are three noticeable threads of learning taking place: learning of characteristic relations, rhetorical relations, and lexical relations. Our model provides a principle for efficiently digesting large quantities of text: progressive learning can digest text by abstracting its significant features. This approach scales, with complexity bounded by O(n log n), where n is the size of the text. It offers a standard and systematic way of collecting as many semantic features as possible that are reachable by shallow parsing. It enables readers to query beyond keyword matches.
Evidence for fibromuscular pulleys of the recti extraocular muscles.

Purpose Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows that the paths of recti extraocular muscle (EOM) bellies remain fixed in the orbit during large ocular rotations and across large surgical transpositions of their insertions. These findings imply that recti EOMs pass through pulleys coupled to the orbit and anterior to the muscle bellies, because the insertions must move with the globe. The present study was conducted to locate anatomically and to characterize histologically the pulley tissues. Methods High-resolution MRI images were collected from volunteers, using multiple gaze directions to infer the locations of, and occasionally to visualize, recti EOM pulleys. Fresh cadaver orbits were exenterated and dissected to evaluate mechanical and structural properties of the orbital connective tissues. Lipid was cleared from whole specimens to reveal tissue relationships. Other specimens were selectively step- and serial-sectioned for histochemical and immunohistochemical staining. Results Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated dense connective tissue structures within posterior Tenon's fascia near the equator of the globe adjacent to the recti EOMs. Histochemistry showed these structures to be pulleys--fibroelastic EOM sleeves consisting of dense bands of collagen and elastin, suspended from the orbit and adjacent EOM sleeves by bands of similar composition. A monoclonal antibody to human smooth muscle alpha-actin demonstrated substantial smooth muscle in the pulley suspensions and in posterior Tenon's fascia. Tenon's fascia itself was seen to be suspended at its periphery from the orbital walls like a drumhead. Conclusions The human orbit contains specialized musculofibroelastic tissues in and just posterior to Tenon's fascia that serve as compliant pulleys and determine the pulling directions of recti EOMs. In this sense, the pulleys are the functional origins of the recti EOMs and are determinants of ocular motility.
On the problem of degeneration of linear systems by high gain

The authors construct two examples to show that when the gain goes to infinity as a point on the Grassmannian, A specified closed loop system can degenerate, under different conditions, to: (1) a singular system with a unique solution or (2) a singular system with no unique solution. They observe that in case (1) the degeneration into the reduced system is robust whereas in case (2) it is not robust. >
Ratio of coccolith CaCO3 to foraminifera CaCO3 in late Holocene deep sea sediments

[1] On the basis of measurements of the relative amounts of CaCO3 in the less than 20-μm and the greater than 20-μm size fractions in open ocean core tops, we find that the coccoliths contribute about half the calcite present in late Holocene deep sea sediments which have experienced little or no dissolution. Although this ratio is of importance to the understanding of the ocean's CaCO3 cycle, we can find only a few quantitative estimates of their relative contribution to currently forming marine sediments. As dissolution of foraminifera calcite takes place more rapidly than that of coccolith calcite, coccoliths dominate the CaCO3 in sediments which have experienced sizable dissolution. Although coccoliths contribute 40–60 of the CaCO3 in tropical sediments, higher-latitude sediments and those adjacent to continental margins often have larger proportions of coccolith CaCO3.
Neuron-specific Alternative Splicing of Nonmuscle Myosin II Heavy Chain-B Pre-mRNA Requires a Cis-acting Intron Sequence

In addition to the ubiquitously expressed form of nonmuscle myosin II heavy chain-B (MHC-B), the existence of a neuron-specific MHC-B isoform, which contains a 30-nucleotide inserted sequence near the ATP binding region, has been reported (Takahashi, M., Kawamoto, S., and Adelstein, R. S. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 17864-17871). In this study, the genomic location of the neuron-specific inserted 30-nucleotide sequence found in the cDNA is determined to be a single cassette type exon, N30, in the human nonmuscle MHC-B gene. Inclusion or exclusion of exon N30 is cell type-specific, with inclusion being restricted to neuronal cells and being regulated during cell differentiation. Expression of a minigene construct that contains the alternative exon N30 along with the flanking introns and exons was studied in human neuronal retinoblastoma Y79 cells. Inclusion of the N30 exon in the mRNA from the transfected minigene occurs in differentiated Y79 cells that have been treated with butyrate but not in the undifferentiated Y79 cells and non-neuronal cell lines. Systematic deletion and mutation analysis of the minigene construct established that neuron-specific N30 exon recognition requires a cis-acting RNA sequence located ∼1.5 kilobases downstream of the N30 exon.
SCALING AND MULTISCALING (FRACTALS AND MULTIFRACTALS)

Many different physical situations can be described by multifractal distributions. A general framework is presented. Several specific examples are discussed.
Innovative Analysis for Reducing Data Using a Tracking Methodology

Every year the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) publishes its finding of crash statistics and, in the latest data from 2010, speeding was a factor in 31% of the traffic fatalities in 2010(NHTSA Speeding, 2010). As a surrogate for speed safety, reductions in speeds statistics are used to determine whether treatments are effective at improving safety. The issue with this type of analysis is that the treatments are directed toward a specific user and by using all vehicles data, some vehicles not affected by the treatment are included in the analysis. To mitigate these vehicles, tracking may be used to reduce the data collected to only the affected vehicles. This provides more accurate and precise data when evaluating the effectiveness of the treatment. Limited research has been completed for tracking, because of this it is unknown whether reducing the data will provide any statistical difference as well as indicators for when tracking should be used. The objective of this thesis is to determine difference using a standard method and tracking method as well as provide indicators of when tracking should be used. In addition, a speed reduction method will be analyzed as well to determine a separate safety surrogate measure. Using two current research projects for the analysis, traffic calming and curve safety, the standard method and tracking method were compared. The results showed that the standard method both underand over-estimated the effectiveness of the treatments depending on the site location. After reviewing the data the access points around the treatment provided an indicator for when the speed statistics were statistically different using the tracking method. This was expected because of turning movements created by such points that affect the vehicles speeds. Upstream speeds were the other indicator found that
Distribution of the sample magnitude-squared coherence obtained using overlapped Fourier transforms

An approximate expression is derived for the probability density of the sample magnitude-squared coherence function obtained using overlapped Fourier transforms. For this approximation it is shown that the expression obtained with overlap is identical to the expression obtained without overlap but with a reduced number of degrees of freedom. In addition, it is shown that, regardless of the amount of overlap, the bias and variance of the sample statistic cannot be reduced to less than 2/3 of their no-overlap values. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the accuracy of the approximate expression.
Intermediate data record support for the Viking prime mission

The more significant problems encountered in intermediate data records production during the mission are discussed and a definitive statement of the production levels accomplished is given.
Estimación del impacto económico de los Juegos Panamericanos Guadalajara 2011: análisis de insumo-producto

Empleando un analisis de insumo-producto, el estudio estima el impacto economico de corto plazo que los Juegos Panamericanos produciran en la economia del estado de Jalisco en 2011. El estudio utiliza el metodo RAS para actualizar y estimar la matriz de insumo-producto del estado a partir de la matriz de insumo-producto nacional. Los resultados muestran que el impacto acumulado de la inversion en los Juegos en el PIB del estado desde 2007 es de cerca del 5 por ciento, mientras que el numero total de empleos generados en el 2011 ascendera a cerca de 50,000. La estimacion tambien muestra que las industrias de la construccion y el comercio experimentaran beneficios substanciales. Se concluye que la inversion realizada para el evento ha contribuido a suavizar los efectos de la recesion mundial y ha contribuido a la recuperacion economica de Jalisco.
Geochemistry and petrology of dredged basalts from the Bouvet triple junction, South Atlantic

Basalts dredged from the Bouvet triple junction (South Atlantic), from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near the triple junction, and from a spreading center east of Bouvet Island differ from normal mid-ocean ridge tholeiites by having higher concentrations of K and other large-ion-lithophile elements, higher 87Sr:86Sr ratios, and rare earth element distributions which show relative enrichment in the lighter rare earths. The basalts are more fractionated than typical oceanic tholeiites, however, fractional crystallization does not fully account for their chemical characteristics, and it appears that they were derived from special source materials, contaminated perhaps by a mantle plume rising beneath Bouvet Island.
Visual memory, verbal encoding and hemispheric localization.

Summary A number of investigators have investigated the hemispheric localization of tasks of visual memory. These studies have given apparently contradictory results and have been interpreted in a variety of ways. The present paper relates these clinical studies to recent experimental work on the verbal encoding of nonlinguistic stimuli in memory tasks. The argument is presented that many ostensibly nonverbal tasks are verbally encoded by the subject and that the particular encoding strategy selected by the subject is determined by the demands of the tasks he is asked to perform. These hypotheses are used to reinterpret the findings of a number of clinical studies on visual memory and to suggest directions for future research. Finally the verbal-encoding hypothesis is used to argue that all psychological deficits currently localized in the left hemisphere may be due to some form of language deficit.
Women in Fascist Biopolitics: The Case of Olive Hawks

The misogyny of inter-war British fascism is unmistakable. Oswald Mosley, the founder and leader of the British Union of Fascists (BUF) expressly stated in The Greater Britain (1934) that the fasci...
Possible in vitro test for screening drugs for activity against Babesia and other blood protozoa.

THE normal method of screening compounds for activity against Babesia infections of animals is based in the first instance on testing the compound in laboratory rats or mice infected with B. rodhaini using a regimen similar to that described for the testing of anti-malarial compounds1. Most compounds screened against B. rodhaini in this way show no activity at all, therefore there would be justification for developing an in vitro test which would greatly reduce the time, cost and numbers of animals involved. We describe here such a test which is applicable to all species of Babesia and which exploits the finding that Babesia parasites readily incorporate hypoxanthine in an in vitro culture system2.
Edible lipid nanoparticles: Digestion, absorption, and potential toxicity

Food-grade nanoemulsions are being increasingly used in the food and beverage industry to encapsulate, protect, and deliver hydrophobic functional components, such as oil-soluble flavors, colors, preservatives, vitamins, and nutraceuticals. These nanoemulsions contain lipid nanoparticles (radius <100 nm) whose physicochemical characteristics (e.g., composition, dimensions, structure, charge, and physical state) can be controlled by selection of appropriate ingredients and fabrication techniques. Nanoemulsions have a number of potential advantages over conventional emulsions for applications within the food industry: higher stability to particle aggregation and gravitational separation; higher optical transparency; and, increased bioavailability of encapsulated components. On the other hand, there are also some risks associated with consumption of lipid nanoparticles that should be considered before they are widely utilized, such as their ability to alter the fate of bioactive components within the gastrointestinal tract and the potential toxicity of some of the components used in their fabrication (e.g., surfactants and organic solvents). This article provides an overview of the current status of the biological fate and potential toxicity of food-grade lipid nanoparticles suitable for utilization within the food and beverage industry.
Lead-free (Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 )TiO 3 -based thin films by the pulsed laser deposition process

We have studied the effect of deposition parameters on the microstructure, crystallinity, and ferroelectric properties of 0.88(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-0.08(Bi0.5K0.5)TiO3-0.04BaTiO3 thin films grown on SrRuO3-coated SrTiO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The parameters studied were the repetition rates, substrate temperatures, oxygen pressures, and laser energies. It was realized that the films prepared at 800°C, 10 Hz, 400 mtorr, and 1.2 J·cm-2 exhibited the highest ferroelectric properties. The measured remanent polarization, dielectric constant at 1 kHz, and coercive field for this film were about 30 μC·cm-2, 645, and 85 kV·cm-1, respectively. Increasing the oxygen pressure during deposition from 200 to 400 mtorr improved the crystallinity, microstructure, dielectric constant, and polarization of the films. The leakage current and dielectric loss were suppressed at 400 mtorr because of the lower concentration of oxygen vacancies and disappearing pinholes and surface undulations in the film deposited at this pressure.
A prospective study of the determinants of physical activity in rural fifth-grade children

Background.Understanding the factors that influence physical activity behavior is important in the design of intervention programs targeted at youth. Methods.A prospective study design was used to identify the predictors of vigorous physical activity (VPA) (≥6 METs) and moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (≥3 METs) among 202 rural, predominantly African-American children. Selected social–cognitive determinants of physical activity were assessed via questionnaire in the fifth grade. Participation in VPA and MVPA was assessed via the previous day physical activity recall 1 year later in the sixth grade. Results.For girls, participation in community sports, self-efficacy in overcoming barriers, enjoyment of school physical education, race (white > black), and perception of mother's activity level (active vs inactive) were significant predictors of VPA. For MVPA, participation in community sports and self-efficacy in overcoming barriers were significant predictors. For boys, self-efficacy in overcoming barriers was the only significant predictor of VPA, while beliefs regarding activity outcomes and participation in community sports were significant predictors of MVPA. Conclusion.Social–cognitive constructs such as physical activity self-efficacy, access to community physical activity outlets, and positive beliefs regarding physical activity outcomes are important predictors of future physical activity behavior among rural, predominantly African-American children.
Weight Drives Caspofungin Pharmacokinetic Variability in Overweight and Obese People: Fractal Power Signatures beyond Two-Thirds or Three-Fourths

Echinocandins, such as caspofungin, are commonly used to treat candidemia and aspergillosis. Success rates for candidemia treatment are approximately 70%. Dose optimization may further help improve these success rates, given that the microbial effect of these agents is concentration dependent. There are conflicting data as regards the effect of weight and/or obesity on caspofungin drug concentrations. We designed a prospective study to evaluate the population pharmacokinetics of caspofungin in adults with a weight difference range of 100 kg. Caspofungin pharmacokinetics were best described using a two-compartment pharmacokinetic model. There were 18 subjects studied, of whom half were women. The central volume was typically 4.2 liters but increased by a factor of (weight/53.6)(3/4). The peripheral compartment volume was typically 2.53 liters but increased by a factor of (weight/53.6)(3/2), an unusual power law signature. Similarly, the 3/4 power law best described the relationship between weight and systemic clearance for persons weighing >66.3 kg, whereas intercompartmental clearance was best described by the 3/2 power signature. There are two implications of our findings. First, lower caspofungin area-under-the-concentration-time curves are achieved in obese persons than thinner ones. This suggests that dose optimization in heavier patients may improve clinical success rates. Second, the 3/2 exponent is unusual in fractal geometry-based scaling and warrants further study. Moreover, this suggests that use of a "floating" instead of a fixed exponent may be more useful in studies where weight is under investigation as a potential cause of pharmacokinetic variability within adult patients. (This study protocol was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov under registration number NCT01062165.).
Environmental influence on T cell receptor α gene rearrangement and expression in vitro

Experiments were designed to test whether T cell progenitors are committed to particular T cell receptor (TcR) gene rearrangement and expression patterns (prior to rearrangement) or whether such patients are molded by the thymic microenvironment in which T cells develop. To this end, day 14 fetal thymocytes were removed from their normal environment and grown in organ culture (FTOC) for 5 to 12 days. RNA was extracted from organ-cultured cells, processed to cDNA, and TcR alpha sequences were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction for cloning and sequencing. By the examination of N-region additions and V-gene usage, and by the comparison of resultant patterns with those of early vs. adult stages of T cell differentiation in vivo, it was demonstrated that thymocytes in FTOC did not maintain early patterns of gene rearrangement. The thymocyte patterns were most dissimilar from those of normal, early ontogeny when interleukin-4 was added to FTOC. Taken together, results demonstrated the flexibility of T cell progenitors and that environment plays a critical role in the molding of TcR alpha rearrangement and expression patterns.
DNA-based nanostructures for molecular sensing

Nanotechnology has opened up new avenues towards ultra-sensitive, highly selective detection of biological molecules and toxic agents, as well as for therapeutic targeting and screening. Though the goals may seem singular, there is no universal method to identify or detect a molecular target. Each system is application-specific and must not only identify the target, but also transduce this interaction into a meaningful signal rapidly, reliably, and inexpensively. This review focuses on the current capabilities and future directions of DNA-based nanostructures in sensing and detection.
Distinctive patterns of Her-2/neu, c-myc, and cyclin D1 gene amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridization in primary human breast cancers.

Background: Human solid tumors undergo clonal evolution as they progress, but evidence for specific sequences of genetic changes that occur in individual tumors and are recapitulated in other tumors is difficult to obtain. Methods: Patterns of amplification of Her-2/neu, c-myc, and cyclin D1 were determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in relation to the presence of p53 dysfunction and ploidy in 60 primary human breast cancers. Results: We show that there are clusters of genophenotypic abnormalities that distinguish lobular breast cancers from nonlobular tumors; that cyclin D1 amplification occurs prior to the divergence of lobular breast cancers from nonlobular cancers; that p53 dysfunction, Her-2/neu amplification, and c-myc amplification are characteristic features of nonlobular breast cancers, but not of lobular breast cancers; and that the frequencies of amplification of all three oncogenes examined increase progressively with increasing aneuploidy, but that each gene exhibits a different profile of increasing amplification in relation to tumor progression. Early amplification of c-myc appears to be an especially prominent feature of hypertetraploid/hypertetrasomic tumors. Conclusions: The data suggest that in tumors containing multiple abnormalities, these abnormalities often accumulate in the same cells within each tumor. Furthermore, the same patterns of accumulation of multiple genophenotypic abnormalities are recapitulated in different tumors. Cytometry (Comm. Clin. Cytometry) 46:136–149, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Membrane fouling reduction by backpulsing and surface modification

Abstract A combined method of backpulsing and membrane surface modification was employed for the reduction of membrane fouling. A novel photoinduced grafting method was used to render polypropylene (PP) membranes hydrophilic with neutral or positively or negatively charged surfaces by grafting monomers of poly(ethylene glycol 200) monomethacrylate (PEG200MA), dimethyl aminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA), or acrylic acid (AA), respectively. Both unmodified and modified PP membranes, as well as commercial cellulose acetate (CA) membranes, were evaluated in a crossflow microfiltration system with and without backpulsing in the presence of Escherichia coli bacterial suspensions. Without backpulsing, the resulting permeate volume is nearly the same for the different membranes. With backpulsing, however, considerable improvement was obtained by surface modification, especially for low feed concentrations and for short filtration times. For example, the permeate volume for backpulsed filtration of 0.14 g/l E. coli for 1 h using the unmodified PP membrane is 1.7 times that without backpulsing, and it is even higher for the other membranes. The permeate volume with backpulsing is highest for the neutral, hydrophilically modified PP membrane and for the commercial CA membrane, approximately 2.6 times that of the unmodified PP membrane without backpulsing. Moreover, the recovered pure buffer flux after backwashing the fouled membranes for an extended period is approximately twice as high for these neutral hydrophilic membranes as it is for the unmodified hydrophobic PP membrane. However, the recovered flux after a long backwash of the membranes fouled with backpulsing is 20–40% lower than that of the membrane fouled without backpulsing, apparently due to greater adhesive internal fouling when the membrane surface is frequently exposed by rapid backpulsing.
Improving the learning speed of 2-layer neural networks by choosing initial values of the adaptive weights

The authors describe how a two-layer neural network can approximate any nonlinear function by forming a union of piecewise linear segments. A method is given for picking initial weights for the network to decrease training time. The authors have used the method to initialize adaptive weights over a large number of different training problems and have achieved major improvements in learning speed in every case. The improvement is best when a large number of hidden units is used with a complicated desired response. The authors have used the method to train the truck-backer-upper and were able to decrease the training time from about two days to four hours
A theory of the bureaucratic value of Federal Reserve operating procedures

Beginning in the mid-1960s and continuing since there has raged a prolonged argument over the proper method, or operating strategy, for carrying out open market operations. This argument has led the Federal Reserve to experiment with and abandon a number of strategies. However, until the most recent experiment, which began in October 1979, all these strategies had one common component: all utilized some money market interest rate as the immediate target of OMO. Undoubtedly the Federal Reserve's reluctance to give up its money market target was founded on economic theoretic grounds. The Keynesian model, which was dominant throughout the 1950s and 1960s and into the 1970s, concentrated on interest rates, not monetary aggregates. Economists trained in this tradition naturally would be slow to discard the received knowledge of the era. This paper sets out another reason for the Fed's tenacity in holding to the money market mode of operation. It analyzes the Federal Reserve System as a bureau, run by individuals who seek to maintain the autonomy of their organization. From this perspective the choice of an operating strategy will be made not only on economic grounds but also on political. Since the political attractiveness of various strategies may differ considerably, the Fed may be substantially influenced by non-economic factors in its choice of methods. Section 1 sets out the theory of bureaucracy used to analyze Federal Reserve behavior. Section 2 describes a model of Federal Reserve information provision developed by B.M. Friedman (1978). The third section briefly reviews the history of Federal Reserve open market operations since the 1950s, paying special attention to the Fed's choice of operating strategies and the criticisms of those strategies by insiders and outsiders. Section 4 presents evidence that the policy followed by the Fed during the 1970s did indeed provide considerable information about future plans, enabling the
Nanoscale resistive switches: devices, fabrication and integration

With CMOS scaling approaching its limits, there is a great need for advancements in novel devices, disruptive fabrication technologies, advanced materials and alternative computer architectures for future nanoelectronic systems. The emergence of memristive devices is one of promising solutions for the post-CMOS era. In this paper, we first introduce the fabrication of transition metal oxide based memristor cross-bars using nanoimprint lithography (NIL). The fabrication technique is further improved by using only one NIL step, reducing the fabrication efforts and improving the device performance. With shadow evaporation, a host of devices such as 2-terminal lateral memristors and 3-terminal memristive devices (memistors) are also demonstrated. By building memristor cross-bar arrays on foundry-made CMOS substrates using NIL, we have implemented hybrid nano/CMOS architecture. This hybrid chip provides an FPGA-like functionality with reconfigurable memristors defining data paths to wire logic gates into digital circuits. Future trends and issues with fabrication of memristive devices are also briefly discussed.
A nonlocal relativistic quantum field theory of extended objects

A model of interacting bosons is proposed which describes extended objects by means of thermal states with resulting asymptotically free confined constituents. The confinement is a result of the dynamics and follows by a sort of dimensional compactification.
Streptococcus anginosus adheres to vascular endothelium basement membrane and purified extracellular matrix proteins.

The mechanisms of bacterial adherence in the initial stages of native valve endocarditis are unclear, especially in patients without valve disease or the presence of a platelet-fibrin thrombus. Extracellular matrix may act as a ligand in areas of exposed basement membrane on the endothelial monolayer. In this study, adherence of 55 clinical blood and 21 oral viridans streptococcal isolates was examined using purified extracellular matrix compounds. The majority of blood and oral isolates exhibited adherence to purified laminin, fibronectin, and fibrinogen, with lesser adherence to type I and IV collagens. Adherence to laminin and fibronectin was concentration dependent, saturable, and competitively inhibited with soluble ligand. A Streptococcus anginosus isolate and other viridans strains exhibiting a strong laminin adherence phenotype bound extensively to the endothelial aspect of human and porcine valve tissue sections and were inhibited by soluble laminin and anti-laminin antibody fragments. Using a novel native porcine valve explant adherence model, we localized binding to areas of exposed basement membrane by confocal and scanning electron microscopy. These studies support the hypothesis that bacterial adherence to exposed basement membrane plays a role in the initial phase of native valve endocarditis.
Trends in adverse events from iodinated contrast media.

Documentation of adverse events associated with contrast material administration began in the Genitourinary (GU) Section in 1985 and included all computed tomography (CT) scanners by 1988. Only ionic contrast material was used in 1985 and 1986. From 1987 through 1990, both ionic and nonionic agents were being administered by selective use. As of 1991, all intravenous (IV) contrast media administration was nonionic. Adverse events were reported on a standardized form requesting information about the nature of the event and treatment given, the name and amount of contrast material administered, and patient identification. Data collection regarding extravasation of contrast material was added starting in 1993. Data collection regarding gadolinium-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents also began in 1993. Adverse reactions that were categorized as allergylike include sneezing/nasal congestion, hives/itching/rash/ swelling, laryngeal edema, bronchospasm, pulmonary edema, and anaphylaxis. Other reactions included shaking/chills/fever, seizure, numbness, and malaise/achiness. With the administration of ionic contrast media, nausea/ vomiting and arm pain were also reported. Reactions were graded as mild when no therapy was required, as moderate when therapy was given and the patient was sent home from the radiology department, and as severe when urgent therapy was required and the patient was subsequently followed in the emergency room or admitted to the hospital.