cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Network analysis of intra-hospital transfers and hospital onset clostridium difficile infection.

Objectives To explore how social network analysis (SNA) can be used to analyse intra-hospital patient networks of individuals with a hospital acquired infection (HAI) for further analysis in a geographical information systems (GIS) environment. Methods A case and control study design was used to select 2008 patients. We retrieved locational data for the patients, which was then translated into a network with the SNA software and then GIS software. Overall metrics were calculated for the SNA based on three datasets and further analysed with a GIS. Results The SNA analysis compared cases to control indicating significant differences in the overall structure of the networks. A GIS visual representation of these metrics was developed, showing spatial variation across the example hospital floor. Discussion This study confirmed the importance that intra-hospital patient networks play in the transmission of HAIs, highlighting opportunities for interventions utilising these data. Due to spatial variation differences, further research is necessary to confirm this is not a localised phenomenon, but instead a common situation occurring within many hospitals. Conclusion Utilising SNA and GIS analysis in conjunction with one another provided a data-rich environment in which the risk inherent in intra-hospital transfer networks was quantified, visualised and interpreted for potential interventions.
Fundamentals of heredity

Abstract The general framework of genetic inheritance as described by Gregor Mendel forms the backbone for the Mendelian inheritance patterns we utilize today. These patterns allow patients and providers to understand and predict the risk of inheriting a genetic disorder or trait. This chapter explains the inheritance patterns of autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, X-linked inheritance, Y-linked inheritance, and inheritance of mitochondrial disorders. The concepts of penetrance and variable expressivity are introduced to further explain that genetic disorders are rarely single-gene:single-disorder and that there are many factors that contribute to genetic disease.
In celebration of p(P)artnership(s)

For ten years Partnerships has provided peer-reviewed and invited articles to challenge the building and deepening of partnerships supporting higher education community engagement. A board member reflects on its contributions.
Parental perceptions and patterns of cannabis use during pregnancy and breastfeeding at a Canadian tertiary obstetrics centre

Objectives On October 17th, 2018, recreational cannabis use became legalized in Canada. Our objective was to investigate parental perceptions and patterns of cannabis use during the pre- and post-natal periods. Methods Participants were recruited from the women's health unit at a tertiary care centre; 102 patients or partners of patients who were currently pregnant or less than 6 months post-partum were enrolled in the study. Participants consented to complete an anonymous, online questionnaire including previously validated demographic questions and newly developed questions on cannabis use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Chi-square tests were used for data analysis. Results Overall, 5.0% of pregnant women and 6.3% of breastfeeding women used cannabis daily or weekly. Among the women who used cannabis during pregnancy, anxiety was the most common reason (33.3%), followed by nausea/vomiting (22.2%), and sleep (22.2%). Among all participants, 22.6% and 30.4% indicated that they believed there was no harm or were unsure of the harm associated with cannabis use during pregnancy and breastfeeding, respectively. The majority of participants gained their information on cannabis use during pregnancy from the internet (36.1%); while only 3.6% reported receiving information from their OBGYN. Legalization of cannabis had no reported effect on cannabis use during pregnancy and breastfeeding for the majority of participants. Conclusions SOGC guidelines recommend that women who are thinking about becoming pregnant, pregnant, or breastfeeding abstain from using cannabis. Antenatal counselling should include a discussion of alternative treatment options for anxiety, nausea and sleep disorders during pregnancy and provide education on the risks associated with cannabis use.
Ubiquitination of Histone H2B by Proteasome Subunit RPT6 Controls Histone Methylation Chromatin Dynamics During Memory Formation

Abstract Background Posttranslational histone modifications play a critical role in the regulation of gene transcription underlying synaptic plasticity and memory formation. One such epigenetic change is histone ubiquitination, a process that is mediated by the ubiquitin–proteasome system in a manner similar to that by which proteins are normally targeted for degradation. However, histone ubiquitination mechanisms are poorly understood in the brain and in learning. In this article, we describe a new role for the ubiquitin–proteasome system in histone crosstalk, showing that learning-induced monoubiquitination of histone H2B (H2Bubi) is required for increases in the transcriptionally active H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) mark at learning-related genes in the hippocampus. Methods Using a series of molecular, biochemical, electrophysiological, and behavioral experiments, we interrogated the effects of short interfering RNA–mediated knockdown and CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-mediated upregulation of ubiquitin ligases, deubiquitinating enzymes and histone methyltransferases in the rat dorsal hippocampus during memory consolidation. Results We show that H2Bubi recruits H3K4me3 through a process that is dependent on the 19S proteasome subunit RPT6 and that a loss of H2Bubi in the hippocampus prevents learning-induced increases in H3K4me3, gene transcription, synaptic plasticity, and memory formation. Furthermore, we show that CRISPR–dCas9-mediated increases in H2Bubi promote H3K4me3 and memory formation under weak training conditions and that promoting histone methylation does not rescue memory impairments resulting from loss of H2Bubi. Conclusions These results suggest that H2B ubiquitination regulates histone crosstalk in learning by way of nonproteolytic proteasome function, demonstrating a novel mechanism by which histone modifications are coordinated in response to learning.
Learning young children’s civic action and thought through themselves, others, and issues

Perhaps more than ever, youth civic engagement has become increasingly visible throughout the world. Some prominent examples include the 2016 student movement in Taiwan, the 2019 students movement ...
Hybrid Anterior Column Realignment-Pedicle Subtraction Osteotomy for Severe Rigid Sagittal Deformity.

Objective Recently, a hybrid anterior column realignment−pedicle subtraction osteotomy (ACR-PSO) approach has been conceived for patients with severe rigid sagittal deformity, the clinical and radiographic outcomes of which require further investigation compared with ACR only. Methods A single-center, retrospective chart review identified patients undergoing a combination of hyperlordotic lateral lumbar interbody grafting (ACR) and concurrent Schwab grade 3 three-column osteotomy and propensity-matched patients undergoing ACR only in the same time frame. Anterior longitudinal ligament was directly released or partially sectioned in all patients. Chart data included demographics, Oswestry Disability Index scores, ACR and osteotomy locations, cage dimensions, fusion length, and complications. Radiographic measurements included lumbar lordosis, sagittal vertical axis, pelvic tilt (PT), and proximal junctional kyphosis. Results Fourteen patients were enrolled in the ACR + PSO group and 36 in the ACR-only group. Mean ages were 68.5 and 63.9 years, 64% and 67% were female, average body mass index was 27.9 and 29.2, and cardiopulmonary comorbidities were 21% and 17%, respectively. There was no difference in complications (P = 0.347). The average follow-up for the ACR + PSO and ACR-only groups were 22 and 18 months, respectively. Excluding 2 mortalities, fusion occurred in all patients. Average change in lumbar lordosis measured −40.8 ± 9.2 degrees and −19.1 ± 15.7 degrees (P = 0.0006), and PT correction measured 10.5 ± 3.4 degrees and 27.3 ± 1.6 degrees (P Conclusions For patients with severe rigid sagittal deformity, the hybrid ACR-PSO approach offers significant restoration of lumbar lordosis compared with ACR only, with similar complications but reduced PT correction.
Similarity quantification of 3D surface topography measurements

Abstract 3D surface topography provides critical information about surface textures and has begun to be used in additive manufacturing applications such as in-situ 3D monitoring and sample porosity comparisons, etc. In this research, we establish a thorough framework to quantify the similarity of 3D surface topography measurements and determine whether they are from the same surface or not based on the frequency domain representations after 2D Fourier transformation. Two measurements portraying the same surface are defined as a matched pair while the others are unmatched. This framework quantifies the similarity effectively, provides a new perspective for surface topography similarity evaluation, and serves as a benchmark work in 3D surface topography feature extraction in the frequency domain. Our work has a great potential to benefit not only the quality assurance of AM but also many other communities where surface topography data is useful.
Adaptive antenna nulling for a phased array monopulse radar

In monopulse tracking systems using adaptive arrays, two adaptive receiving beams are formed: a sum beam, Sigma , and a difference beam, Delta . It is desired that adaptation in both beams allows the nulling of external interference sources, a low loss for the desired signal in the Sigma beam and the derivation of a monopulse error signal which indicates the angle of arrival of the desired signal. The author presents an approach to derive adapted Sigma and Delta beams. The Frost (1972) power minimization criterion is selected as the adaptive nulling technique along with appropriate main-beam constraints for the Sigma and Delta beams. This combination is shown to result in the required nulling of the interferers, a low signal loss and a monopulse error characteristic free of any boresight bias. A variation of this technique is shown to yield the desired quiescent patterns. >
Embedded Sensor Networks

Embedded sensor networks are distributed systems for sensing and in situ processing of spatially and temporally dense data from resource-limited and harsh environments such as seismic zones, ecological contamination sites are battle fields. From an application point of view, many interesting questions arise from sensor network technology that go far beyond the networking/computing aspects of the embedded system. This talk presents an overview of various open problems that are both of mathematical and engineering interests. These problems include sensor-centric quality of routing/energy optimization among other graph theoretic problems.
The role of programming language in estimating software development costs

Abstract:It is commonly thought that the choice of programming language has an effect on the amount of effort involved in writing a program to solve a particular problem. However, relatively little work has been done previously in attempting to quantify this specific effect. This study analyzed 279 Department of Defense software projects which used assembly language, COBOL, FORTRAN, or pl/1. Our findings suggest that any of the high-level languages reduces the amount of effort required to develop a given-sized project when compared to assembly language.
Unsupervised Bump Hunting Using Principal Components

Principal Components Analysis is a widely used technique for dimension reduction and characterization of variability in multivariate populations. Our interest lies in studying when and why the rotation to principal components can be used effectively within a response-predictor set relationship in the context of mode hunting. Specifically focusing on the Patient Rule Induction Method (PRIM), we first develop a fast version of this algorithm (fastPRIM) under normality which facilitates the theoretical studies to follow. Using basic geometrical arguments, we then demonstrate how the Principal Components rotation of the predictor space alone can in fact generate improved mode estimators. Simulation results are used to illustrate our findings.
Characterizing particle‐scale equilibrium adsorption and kinetics of uranium(VI) desorption from U‐contaminated sediments

[1] Rates of U(VI) release from individual dry-sieved size fractions of a field-aggregated, field-contaminated composite sediment from the seasonally saturated lower vadose zone of the Hanford 300-Area were examined in flow-through reactors to maintain quasi-constant chemical conditions. The principal source of variability in equilibrium U(VI) adsorption properties of the various size fractions was the impact of variable chemistry on adsorption. This source of variability was represented using surface complexation models (SCMs) with different stoichiometric coefficients with respect to hydrogen ion and carbonate concentrations for the different size fractions. A reactive transport model incorporating equilibrium expressions for cation exchange and calcite dissolution, along with rate expressions for aerobic respiration and silica dissolution, described the temporal evolution of solute concentrations observed during the flow-through reactor experiments. Kinetic U(VI) desorption was well described using a multirate SCM with an assumed lognormal distribution for the mass-transfer rate coefficients. The estimated mean and standard deviation of the rate coefficients were the same for all <2 mm size fractions but differed for the 2–8 mm size fraction. Micropore volumes, assessed using t-plots to analyze N2 desorption data, were also the same for all dry-sieved <2 mm size fractions, indicating a link between micropore volumes and mass-transfer rate properties. Pore volumes for dry-sieved size fractions exceeded values for the corresponding wet-sieved fractions. We hypothesize that repeated field wetting and drying cycles lead to the formation of aggregates and/or coatings containing (micro)pore networks which provided an additional mass-transfer resistance over that associated with individual particles. The 2–8 mm fraction exhibited a larger average and standard deviation in the distribution of mass-transfer rate coefficients, possibly caused by the abundance of microporous basaltic rock fragments.
Pakistan: A Preliminary Assessment of the Federal Tax System

Pakistan’s tax system has undergone significant reforms over the last two decades, leading to the modernization of direct and indirect taxes. More recent times have seen the rationalization of income tax rates, the introduction of self-assessment for filing income taxes, some expansion of consumption taxes, and the rationalization of the customs tariff structure with a reduction of tariff bands and maximum rates. Currently, the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) is engaged in a comprehensive plan to re-structure and modernize the entire tax administration and customs operations. In addition, the CBR has taken a number of steps in the recent past to increase the number of taxpayers and broaden tax bases. From a macroeconomic perspective, fiscal performance has improved as measured by the reduction in the federal budget deficit and the overall level of debt in terms of GDP.
Bioethics, Religion, and Public Policy: Intersections, Interactions, and Solutions

Bioethics in America positions itself as a totalizing discipline, capable of providing guidance to any individual within the boundaries of a health or medical setting. Yet the religiously observant or those driven by spiritual values have not universally accepted decisions made by "secular" bioethics, and as a result, religious bioethical thinkers and adherents have developed frameworks and rich counter-narratives used to fend off encroachment by policies perceived as threatening. This article uses brain death in Jewish law, the case of Jahi McMath, and vaccination refusal to observe how the religious system of ethics is presently excluded from bioethics and its implications.
The Effect of Sulfur Dioxide and Suspended Sulfates on Acute Respiratory Disease

Studies carried out in four distinct geographic areas of the United States involving 20,472 children and adults clearly linked excessive, acute respiratory disease with communities heavily polluted with sulfur dioxide and suspended sulfates. Pollution exposure of three years or longer was an important component in increased risk for acute respiratory disease. Laryngo- tracheobronchitis was the major condition productive of excess, acute, lower-respiratory disease in children in heavily polluted communities in the Salt Lake Basin and Rocky Mountain communities. The effect of pollution on excess, acute respiratory disease was found to be independent of socioeconomic status and cigarette smoking.
The discovery of mean square error consistency of a ridge estimator

Abstract A ridge estimator has been known for its superiority over the least squares estimator. In classical asymptotic theory dealing with the number of variables p fixed and the sample size n → ∞ , the ridge estimator is a biased estimator. Recently, high dimensional data, such as microarray, exhibits a very high dimension p and a much smaller sample size n . There are discussions about the behavior of the ridge estimator when both p and n tend to ∞ , but very few dealing with n fixed and p → ∞ . The latter situation seems more relevant to microarray data in practice. Here we outline and describe the asymptotic properties of the ridge estimator when the sample size n is fixed and the dimension p → ∞ . Under certain regularity conditions, mean square error (MSE) consistency of the ridge estimator is established. We also propose a variable screening method to eliminate variables which are unrelated to the outcome and prove the consistency of the screening procedure.
Measurements of linear diattenuation and linear retardance spectra with a rotating sample spectropolarimeter.

A technique to measure linear diattenuation and retardance spectra of infrared materials in transmission is described. A sample is rotated between two stationary linear polarizers in the sample compartment of a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The intensity modulation that results from the rotation of the sample is Fourier analyzed, and the linear diattenuation and linear retardance of the sample are calculated from the Fourier series coefficients for each wavelength. The advantages of this technique include immunity of the measurement to instrumental polarization, to circular diattenuation, and to circular retardance. The rotating sample polarimeter does not require retarders. Compensation for systematic errors from polarizers with diattenuation less than one is included in the data reduction. This technique is useful for the calibration of retarders and polarizers and hence for the bootstrap calibration of more elaborate polarimeters such as Mueller matrix polarimeters. We present as an example of the technique the caliration spectra 3–14 μm of an infrared quasi-achromatic retarder whose fast axis orientation oscillates with wavelength.
Plastic Analysis of Complex Microstructure Composites Using the Generalized Method of Cells

A recently developed computationally efe cient implementation of the Generalized Method of Cells is extended here to deal with plasticity problems. The new formulation can be used to perform linear elastic and plastic micromechanical analysis of composites with complex microstructures. It makes use of a tangent plasticity matrix approach as opposed to an initial stiffness matrix approach employed in the original Generalized Method of Cells. This tangent stiffness matrix approach makes it possible to perform plastic analyses of composites with microstructures that require a high-resolution, cell ‐subcell model. To demonstrate the capabilities of the new formulation, it is applied to the problem of determining the ine uence of e ber shape and e ber architecture on the plastic behavior of two-phase unidirectional composites. Some results from previous studies on this subject are cone rmed. New results that could not be obtained with previous implementations are also reported. Problems modeled with up to 10,000 subcells are presented.
Using Anchoring Vignettes to Assess Group Differences in General Self-Rated Health

This article addresses a potentially serious problem with the widely used self-rated health (SRH) survey item: that different groups have systematically different ways of using the item’s response categories. Analyses based on unadjusted SRH may thus yield misleading results. The authors evaluate anchoring vignettes as a possible solution to this problem. Using vignettes specifically designed to calibrate the SRH item and data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS; N = 2,625), the authors show how demographic and health-related factors, including sex and education, predict differences in rating styles. Such differences, when not adjusted for statistically, may be sufficiently large to lead to mistakes in rank orderings of groups. In the present sample, unadjusted models show that women have better SRH than men, but this difference disappears in models adjusting for women’s greater health-optimism. Anchoring vignettes appear a promising tool for improving intergroup comparability of SRH.
Cloning and initial characterization of the metJ and metB genes from Salmonella typhimurium LT2

Abstract The metJ and metB genes of Salmonella typhimurium have been cloned into Escherichia coli K-12 on a 19-kb EcoRI fragment in the plasmid vector pACYC184. The presence of a functional metB+ gene on this plasmid, designated pGS89, was demonstrated by its ability to complement a metB− E. coli mutant. The presence of a functional metJ+ gene on this plasmid was demonstrated by its ability to repress metC+ gene expression in a metJ− mutant transformed with this plasmid. The metJ gene product was identified in a minicell system as a polypeptide of Mr 12000. This polypeptide was not produced when the metJ gene was inactivated by insertion of a TnJ element. Transformation of an E. coli metB− mutant with plasmid pGS89 (metB+, metJ+) results in transformants that grow slowly on glucose-minimal medium or glucose-minimal medium supplemented with homocysteine. Methionine addition, however, restores normal growth. This phenotype requires the relA− mutation in the host strain and at least two other plasmid loci, one of which is the metJ+ gene. Transformation of an E. coli metJ− mutant with metJ− derivatives of plasmid pGS89 results in transformants that are unable to grow on either glucose-minimal medium or glucose-minimal medium supplemented with methionine. This phenotype requires the presence of a functional metB+ gene on the plasmid, and is unrelated to the status of the relA gene.
From Molecular Cell Engineering to Biologically Inspired Engineering

The field of Molecular Cell Engineering melds techniques from molecular cell biology, engineering and the physical sciences to quantitatively define mechanisms that govern the shape and function of living cells. This discipline offers a new and powerful approach to confront fundamental questions in the life sciences, such as how cells self organize through collective interactions among thousands of individual molecular components, and function physically as part of larger tissues and organs in our bodies. This approach has led to deeper understanding of the fundamental design principles that govern the mechanical behavior of living cells, and greater insight into mechanotransduction—how cells sense physical forces and convert them into changes in biochemistry. This article briefly describes the history and current status of this field in context of the larger discipline of Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, and discusses how new advances in this area can be leveraged to develop new ‘biologically inspired’ engineering approaches for cell and developmental control, as well as non-medical applications, in the future.
Improving health care usage in a very low birth weight population.

Background Prematurity is the biggest contributor to admissions in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The period following hospital discharge is a vital continuum for the very low birth weight (VLBW) infant. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of a unique discharge and follow-up process on the outcomes of VLBW infants leaving the NICU.
On folivory, competition, and intelligence: generalisms, overgeneralizations, and models of primate evolution

Considerations of primate behavioral evolution often proceed by assuming the ecological and competitive milieus of particular taxa via their relative exploitation of gross food types, such as fruits versus leaves. Although this "fruit/leaf dichotomy" has been repeatedly criticized, it continues to be implicitly invoked in discussions of primate socioecology and female social relationships and is explicitly invoked in models of brain evolution. An expanding literature suggests that such views have severely limited our knowledge of the social and ecological complexities of primate folivory. This paper examines the behavior of primate folivore-frugivores, with particular emphasis on gray langurs (traditionally, Semnopithecus entellus) within the broader context of evolutionary ecology. Although possessing morphological characteristics that have been associated with folivory and constrained activity patterns, gray langurs are known for remarkable plasticity in ecology and behavior. Their diets are generally quite broad and can be discussed in relation to Liem's Paradox, the odd coupling of anatomical feeding specializations with a generalist foraging strategy. Gray langurs, not coincidentally, inhabit arguably the widest range of habitats for a nonhuman primate, including high elevations in the Himalayas. They provide an excellent focal point for examining the assumptions and predictions of behavioral, socioecological, and cognitive evolutionary models. Contrary to the classical descriptions of the primate folivore, Himalayan and other gray langurs-and, in actuality, many leaf-eating primates-range widely, engage in resource competition (both of which have previously been noted for primate folivores), and solve ecological problems rivaling those of more frugivorous primates (which has rarely been argued for primate folivores). It is maintained that questions of primate folivore adaptation, temperate primate adaptation, and primate evolution more generally cannot be answered by the frequent approach of broad characterizations, categorization models, crude variables, weakly correlative evidence, and subjective definitions. As a corollary, many current avenues of study are inadequate for explaining primate adaptation. A true understanding of primate ecology can only be achieved through the use of mainstream evolutionary ecology and thorough linkage of both proximate and ultimate mechanisms.
Interferometric Measurements of Rapid Phase Changes in the Visible and Near Infrared Using a Laser Light Source

The use of a He–Ne laser as a light source for a Michelson interferometer in connection with plasma measurements is studied. Two different methods of recording are employed and their accuracy is determined. Results indicate that the interferometer, particularly in the infrared, will provide a powerful instrument for determination of plasma properties.
The formation, isolation and characterization of DNA adducts produced by anticancer platinum complexes.

Since the serendipitous discovery of the biological action of platinum coordination complexes in 1965 (Rosenberg et al., 1965), cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (cis-DDP) has developed from an agent that caused filamentous growth of bacteria to the largest-selling cancer chemotherapeutic drug. Today, cis-DDP is firmly established as a drug of high potency in the treatment of testicular, ovarian, bladder and head and neck carcinoma and is gaining popularity in the treatment of a variety of other tumors as a result of the development of new therapeutic regimes. cis-DDP is a neutral square-planar coordination compound (Fig. 1). The two chloride ligands are stable at the chloride concentration of the extracellular matrix but after diffusion into a cell, the lower chloride concentration permits loss of chloride from the drug. The drug becomes an aquated, charged electrophile which reacts with nucleophilic sites on cellular macromolecules. Extensive evidence has implicated DNA as the critical target (Roberts and Thomson, 1979). Lesions in DNA include interstrand cross-links, intrastrand cross-links and DNA-protein crosslinks. These bifunctional reactions are critical to the toxic action of the drug because monofunctional analogues show no therapeutic activity. In addition, the trans isomer (trans-DDP) which also reacts bifunctionally with DNA, is therapeutically inactive, trans-DDP produces both DNA-interstrand cross-links and DNA-protein cross-links but is sterically restricted in the type of intrastrand cross-links it could feasibly produce. This has implicated intrastrand cross-links as important to the activity of cis-DDP. In early studies, cis-DDP-induced DNA interstrand cross-links and DNA-protein cross-links were extensively studied, not because they represented the major lesions in DNA but rather that techniques were available for their measurement. Accordingly, in many experiments, the production of DNA-interstrand cross-links was correlated with cell toxicity (Zwelling et al., 1979; Erickson et al., 1981) even though other experiments suggested that more significant lesions existed (Filipski et al., 1980; Strandberg et al., 1982). Analysis of the relative frequency of interstrand cross-links led to the conclusion that they represented less than 1% of the platination of DNA (Roberts and Friedlos, 1981; Pera et al., 1981; Eastman, 1982a). This, therefore, set the stage for a complete characterization of all the lesions in DNA induced by cis-DDP. This has now been accomplished. This paper will describe how this was achieved and what conclusions have resulted. However, it still remains to determine the relative significance of each lesion to the therapeutic activity of the drug.
Excretion of Radioactive 17-Ketosteroid Conjugates Following Intravenous Administration of 7α-H3-dehydroisoandrosterone

Tritiated dehydroisoandrosterone was administered to a normal male subject and urine was collected for 7 days. The specific activities of urinary dehydroisoandrosterone sulfate, etiocholanolone sulfate and androsterone sulfate as well as of androsterone glucuronoside and etiocholanolone glucuronoside were determined in each 24-hr collection. Marked differences in the rates of appearance in the urine of metabolites of radioactive dehydroisoandrosterone were observed. The excretion of etiocholanolone sulfate, etiocholanolone glucuronoside and androsterone glucuronoside was virtually complete within 1 day. Within 3 days the excretion of radioactive dehydroisoandrosterone sulfate was 93% complete and that of androsterone sulfate was 82% complete.
Suppression of cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin occurs in vivo, but not in vitro, and is independent of corticosterone elevation

Abstract Previous studies have shown that 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin (TCDD) is a potent immunosuppressive compound. In our laboratory, TCDD and structurally related polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been shown to suppress alloantigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity in C57B1/6 mice. PCB-induced CTL suppression occurs coincident with significant elevation of plasma glucocorticoid (GC) levels (> 500 ng/ml). Since GC elevation can cause immune suppression, this study was conducted to determine if TCDD-induced CTL suppression is correlated with elevation of plasma corticosterone (CS), the major GC in mice. Single oral doses of TCDD (2.5–40 μg/kg) induced a dose-dependent suppression of CTL activity with a calculated 50% immunosuppressive dose (ID 50 ) occurring at 7.2 μg/kg. When total lytic units (LU)/spleen were calculated, the ID 50 was 2.8 μg/kg. In contrast, plasma CS levels were not significantly altered at doses below 40 μg/kg. These data suggest that TCDD-induced CTL suppression is not dependent on CS elevation. The direct effect of TCDD on CTL generation was tested by adding TCDD at 10 −13 -10 −9 M to in vitro mixed lymphocyte-tumor cell (MLTC) cultures. No alteration of CTL activity was observed after 5 days of culture at any TCDD concentration. In contrast, CS alone significantly suppressed CTL activity in vitro. CSinduced CTL suppression in vitro was neither enhanced nor inhibited by the presence of TCDD. These results suggest that TCDD causes CTL suppression in vivo by a mechanism that does not involve CS.
Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis: recent advances.

Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis (PAP) is characterized by the accumulation of surfactant phospholipids and proteins within the alveoli of lungs. Currently, no specific therapy exists for PAP, and sequential whole lung lavage is standard treatment. Over the past 5 years, important advances have been made in our understanding of alveolar proteinosis, offering new directions for research as well as patient management. First, genetically altered mice that are homozygous for a disrupted granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) gene developed a lung lesion with histologic resemblance to PAP, along with normal hematopoiesis. The biochemical properties of the material filling the airspaces in these mutant mice are similar to those of patients with PAP. Surfactant is thought to be cleared or catabolized mostly by alveolar macrophages, a process dependent on GM-CSF. Second, a neutralizing autoantibody against GM-CSF was found in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and serum of patients with idiopathic PAP, but not healthy controls. These observations raise the previously unsuspected notion that human alveolar proteinosis may be an autoimmune disease, and suggest that GM-CSF antibody has a potential role as a diagnostic test. The relationship between the antibody and disease pathogenesis remains unknown. Additional data suggest that exogenous therapy with GM-CSF may improve the lung disease in some patients with PAP. Intervention directed at treating a relative GM-CSF deficiency or lowering the antibody (i.e., by plasmapheresis or immunosuppression) may have promise in the therapy of this disease. Alveolar proteinosis may be the first human disease wherein a circulating antibody against a growth factor is linked to disease pathogenesis. Over a relatively short time, studies from ;;knock-out'' mice have been translated to human studies for a new approach to diagnosis and therapy for this disease.
Another look at the core density deficit of Earth’s outer core

Abstract A constraint adopted in several geochemical studies of core composition is that the core density deficit (cdd) is 10%, with the implication that this number is based on robust geophysical evidence. The cdd is the perceived difference between the density of pure iron at core conditions and the seismically-determined density of the outer core. The importance of the cdd is that it limits the concentration of allowable light elements, such as sulfur and silicon, which, when mixed with Fe, or an Fe–Ni alloy, comprise the geochemical model of the inner core. We present evidence that the value of 10% for the cdd of the outer core is too high. Using a thermal-pressure equation-of-state, we find that for assumed melting temperatures of pure iron at the inner–outer core (ICB) pressure of 330 GPa ranging from 7500 to 4800 K, the cdd ranges from 2.9 to 7%, respectively. Reports that the cdd value of the outer core is less than 10% are found in a number of shock-wave studies, but the values reported here are apparently the lowest. Our cdd value for an assumed melting temperature of 6000 K for iron at 330 GPa is 5.4% and is compatible with proposed concentrations of Si and S impurities found from solubility studies at high P and T .
Closed asymptotic couples

The derivation of a Hardy field induces on its value group a certain function Ψ If a Hardy field extends the real field and is closed under powers, then its value group is also a vector space over ℝ. Such “ordered vector spaces with Ψ-function” are called H-couples. We define closed H-couples and show that every H-couple can be embedded into a closed one. The key fact is that closed H-couples have an elimination theory: solvability of an arbitrary system of equations and inequalities (built up from vector space operations, the function Ψ, parameters, and the unknowns to be solved for) is equivalent to an effective condition on the parameters of the system. The H-couple of a maximal Hardy field is closed, and this is also the case for the H-couple of the field of logarithmic-exponential series over ℝ. We analyze in detail finitely generated extensions of a given H-couple.
Influence of sodium environment on the uniaxial tensile behavior of titanium modified type 316 stainless steel

Abstract True stress-true strain tensile data have been obtained for titanium modified type 316 stainless steel in the solution annealed condition and after exposure to a flowing sodium environment at temperature of 700, 650, 600 and 550°C. The specimens were exposed to sodium for times between 120 and 5012 h to produce carbon penetration depths in the range 0.05–0.30 mm. The Voce equation was used to describe tensile flow curves for plastic strains above 0.005. The results showed that, when compared with solution annealed specimens, the tensile flow behavior of the sodium exposed specimens is characterized by a higher strain hardening rate, which decreases rapidly as the flow stress increases. The loss in tensile ductility of the material due to carburization in sodium environment was found to be minimal.
7.3.2 Monte‐Carlo Simulation Approach for System Readiness Level Estimation

A system-focused prescriptive metric, called System Readiness Level (SRL), which incorporates both the current Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale and the concept of an Integration Readiness Level (IRL) has recently been established to measure current and future readiness status of a system under development. In previous research, deterministic values for components' TRLs and IRLs estimation were assumed, which involves much human subjectivity. Moreover, only point estimation from calculation was proposed in previous research. In order to reduce the subjective influence, we propose a probabilistic method here to combine all evaluators' estimation towards a system's components and integration points. Based on the probabilistic form of TRLs and IRLs, a Monte-Carlo simulation methodology is followed herein to assess the maturity status (SRL) of a system. An illustrative example is examined to show how to employ the proposed methodology. The paper concludes with the discussion of the gained value of the new methodology as well as its limitation.
Two Stage Cadherin Kinetics Require Multiple Extracellular Domains but Not the Cytoplasmic Region

Micropipette manipulation measurements quantified the pre-steady state binding kinetics between cell pairs mediated by Xenopus cleavage stage cadherin. The time-dependence of the intercellular binding probability exhibits a fast forming, low probability binding state, which transitions to a slower forming, high probability state. The biphasic kinetics are independent of the cytoplasmic region, but the transition to the high probability state requires the third extracellular domain EC3. Deleting either EC3 or EC3–5, or substituting Trp2 for Ala reduces the binding curves to a simple, monophasic rise in binding probability to a limiting plateau, as predicted for a single site binding mechanism. The two stage cadherin binding process reported here directly parallels previous biophysical studies, and confirms that the cadherin ectodomain governs the initial intercellular adhesion dynamics.
The trophic role of glycolic acid in coastal seawater. II. Seasonal changes in concentration and heterotrophic use in Ipswich Bay, Massachusetts, USA

Glycolic acid is a known algal excretory product which is found in marine waters and is readily metabolized by marine bacteria. The following parameters were measured over the course of a year in Ipswich Bay: chlorophyll a, temperature, viable bacteria, heterotrophic uptake of glycolate, and glycolate concentrations. The latter two were combined to give estimates of the flux of glycolate for a station 3 km out in the bay and for an inshore station. Pronounced seasonal changes were found for all parameters. Statistically significant correlations between heterotrophic V max and glycolic acid concentrations and temperature were found, but not between planktonic chlorophyll a and any of the other parameters. Measurements of glycolic acid flux yielded an annual flux of 2.84 g m-2 for the bay station, which is about 0.5% of the bay phytoplankton production. Glycolic acid turns over roughly 12 times per year in the bay. It contributes perhaps as much to bacterial metabolism as any other single substrate, but is apparently not of dominating importance.
Comparison of Splicing Factor 3b Inhibitors in Human Cells

Name your splice: FR901464 analogues and herboxidiene inhibit constitutive splicing, most likely by inhibiting spliceosomal subunit SF3b. A parallel comparison of these compounds in a cell-based assay system showed meayamycin B as the most potent splicing inhibitor among these small molecules.
A Multi-Modality Dataset for the Development of a Small Female Full Body Finite Element Model

Motor vehicle fatalities and injuries remain a leading public health problem worldwide. In 2009, the World Health Organization reported more than 1.2 million people die each year worldwide as a result of motor vehicle crash [1]. Researchers are using a wide array of tools to mitigate the societal tool of this epidemic, and finite element (FE) computer models are one method gaining interest in the biomechanics field. Full body FE models are used to examine the potential for occupant injury in vehicle crash. Such models are often built to represent an average (50th percentile) male occupant [2]. However computational models can be made to represent essentially any driving cohort.© 2013 ASME
Impaired generation of prostaglandins from isolated gastric surface epithelial cells in portal hypertensive rats.

Abstract We studied generation of prostaglandins E2 and 6-keto F1a by surface epithelial cells isolated from the gastric mucosa of portal hypertensive and sham-operated rats. Oxygenated cell suspensions containing 80 ± 3% of surface epithelial cells were incubated for 30 min at 37°C and the concentration of prostaglandin E2 and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1a in medium was measured by radioimmunoassay. Viability of the cells was assessed with Fact green exclusion at baseline and after 30-min and 60-min incubation. Within 30 minutes the surface epithelial cells obtained from portal hypertensive rats generated 22.0 ± 1.6 (mean ± SE) pg prostaglandin E2 and 40.7 ± 4.7 pg 6-keto prostaglandin F1a, per 106 cells. These were significantly less than prostaglandin generation by cells obtained from sham-operated rats. The viability of the surface epithelial cells from portal hypertensive rats was also significantly reduced compared with sham-operated rats after 60 minutes incubation. Reduced abilityof the surface epithelial cells to generate prostaglandins may be one mechanism for increased susceptibility of portal hypertensive gastric mucosa to injury by noxious agents.
The thyroid endocrine disruptor perchlorate affects reproduction, growth, and survival of mosquitofish

The perchlorate anion--an oxidizer found in rockets, missiles, some ammunition, flares, airbags, and fireworks--occurs as a contaminant in ground and surface water in many parts of the United States. Its toxic effects include inhibition of thyroid hormone synthesis. To investigate its chronic toxicity, mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) adults and fry were exposed to aqueous sodium perchlorate at 1, 10, and 100mg/L, and growth and reproductive performance (fecundity, eggs/embryos mass, and gonadosomatic index [GSI]) were determined. Five-day acute toxicity tests were also performed. Perchlorate had a stimulatory effect on fecundity, GSI, and egg/embryo mass, at least for some treatments. The LC50 of sodium perchlorate was 404 mg/L. Growth was enhanced at 1mg/L but inhibited at 10mg/L. These results suggest that, at environmentally relevant concentrations, perchlorate does not induce acutely toxic effects but may have mild stimulatory or hormetic effects on fitness parameters in this species.
Prostaglandin E2 and programmed cell death 1 signaling coordinately impair CTL function and survival during chronic viral infection

More than 10% of the world's population is chronically infected with HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV) or hepatitis B virus (HBV), all of which can cause severe disease and death. These viruses persist in part because continuous antigenic stimulation causes the deterioration of virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) function and survival. Additionally, antiviral CTLs autonomously suppress their responses to limit immunopathology by upregulating inhibitory receptors such as programmed cell death 1 (PD-1). Identification and blockade of the pathways that induce CTL dysfunction may facilitate the clearance of chronic viral infections. We found that the prostaglandin E2 (PGE₂) receptors EP2 and EP4 were upregulated on virus-specific CTLs during chronic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection and suppressed CTL survival and function. We show that the combined blockade of PGE₂ and PD-1 signaling was therapeutic in terms of improving viral control and augmenting the numbers of functional virus-specific CTLs. Thus, PGE₂ inhibition is both an independent candidate therapeutic target and a promising adjunct therapy to PD-1 blockade for the treatment of HIV and other chronic viral infections.
Histamine receptor control of gastric microvasculature in shock.

Abstract Control of gastric mucosal blood flow in hemorrhagic shock was investigated, in an anesthetized miniature swine model, using H1-receptor (diphenhydramine) and H2-receptor (cimetidine) antagonisms. The animals were divided into two experimental groups: (i) diphenhydramine treatment; and (ii) diphenhydramine plus cimetidine treatment. Results were compared to previously reported untreated controls and animals who received cimetidine alone. Conclusions reached were: (1) Histamine receptors in the gastric microvasculature do play a role in the control of mucosal blood flow during shock. (2) H2-Receptor antagonism, whether alone or in conjunction with H1-receptor antagonism, results in significant protection against a shock-related decrease in gastric mucosal blood flow. (3) H1-Receptor antagonism does not affect gastric mucosal blood flow in shock.
Premarital Sex, Premarital Cohabitation, and the Risk of Subsequent Marital Dissolution Among Women

Using nationally representative data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth, I estimate the association between intimate premarital relationships (premarital sex and premarital cohabitation) and subsequent marital dissolution. I extend previous research by considering relationship histories pertaining to both premarital sex and premarital cohabitation. I find that premarital sex or premarital cohabitation that is limited to a woman's husband is not associated with an elevated risk of marital disruption. However, women who have more than one intimate premarital relationship have an increased risk of marital dissolution. These results suggest that neither premarital sex nor premarital cohabitation by itself indicate either preexisting characteristics or subsequent relationship environments that weaken marriages. Indeed, the findings are consistent with the notion that premarital sex and cohabitation limited to one's future spouse has become part of the normal courtship process for marriage.