cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Adult Respiratory Failure: 2017 Update.

The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for respiratory failure in adults is growing rapidly, driven in large part by advances in technology, which have made ECMO devices easier to implement and safer and more efficient. Accompanying this increase in use is a nearly exponential increase in ECMO-related literature. However, the great majority of the literature is composed of retrospective observational data, often in the form of single-center studies with relatively small numbers of subjects. The overall lack of high-quality data, including prospective randomized trials, makes it difficult to justify the rate at which ECMO use is increasing and calls attention to the need for more rigorously designed studies. Nonetheless, given its ability to support patients with severe gas exchange impairment and the potential for it to minimize the deleterious effects of invasive mechanical ventilation, there appears to be a legitimate role for ECMO in severe respiratory failure in adults.
Social impact without social justice: Film and politics in the neoliberal landscape

Many filmmakers and producers hope to create some kind of social or political impact with their films. This is the case with a Los Angeles–based production company that seeks to bring about social change through its films and related “social action” campaigns. Despite its good intentions, however, its efforts often fail. In this respect, the company resembles other kinds of entities that seek to “do good,” such as development NGOs, humanitarian organizations, and philanthropic foundations, which anthropologists have critiqued. The problem of social enterprises like this one is exacerbated under various conditions of the world reordered under neoliberalism. [social impact, social justice, social enterprise, film, politics, neoliberalism, United States]
Make—Collection Enhancements

This chapter translated the Make processes and metrics of the Supply Chain Operations Reference Model (SCOR) into those of the collection enhancement activities of libraries. Collection enhancements include cataloging, metadata, digitization, conservation, and preservation work. The chapter explains the importance of matching technical support capacity with the collection volumes and recommends “time” as a critical metric to gauge Make performances. The purpose of this chapter is to form a framework for library professionals to reevaluate their current resource planning and allocation for any collection enhance work, and thus improve or adopt supply chain make processes and metrics into their unique environments.
Affect Labeling to Facilitate Inhibitory Learning: Clinical Considerations

Abstract Exposure-based treatments known to be effective for a wide range of psychopathology are thought to work via inhibitory learning, where new learning acquired during exposure exercises inhibits previously learned fear and avoidance responses. One way in which this inhibitory learning may be enhanced is through affect labeling, during which clients verbalize their internal emotional experiences. Theoretically, affect labeling may be a subtle, implicit form of emotion regulation and may facilitate more explicit forms of extinction learning. Experimental research suggests that affect labeling may lead to attenuated fear responses to emotionally evocative stimuli in healthy samples and may be a helpful strategy in reducing physiological arousal experienced during exposure tasks, particularly for clients with inhibitory deficits. Research with clinical samples is limited and mixed, at best. Case examples illustrate how affective labeling may help get a client “unstuck” from unproductive processing loops, can contribute to shifts in perspective and meaning making, and may modulate distress and promote distress tolerance. We argue that routine use of affect labeling in clinical care is premature. When used, it should be employed strategically within a broader case conceptualization and may be of a limited benefit beyond what is already employed in quality exposure therapy.
Planning for Change: Incorporating Contextual Implementation Design into Strategic Planning

Many governments have adopted strategic plans to improve outcomes, but these efforts often fail because they do not take implementation into consideration as they plan. Past research indicates that...
Radiotherapy-Induced Urethral Strictures

The overall incidence of bulbomembranous urethral stricture or bladder neck contracture after radiation therapy is roughly 3–16 %. Time to stricture presentation is usually delayed (24 months) and insidious. Radiation urethral strictures typically have an unhealthy or pale appearance on cystoscopy, with varying degrees of local tissue induration or dense fibrotic scarring. Radiation-induced urethral strictures are often refractory to urethrotomy or dilation and merely palliative and require successive treatments. Management methods include intermittent self-catheterization, off-label use of an endourethral prosthesis, excision and primary urethral anastomosis urethroplasty, onlay flap and graft urethroplasty, salvage prostatectomy with anastomotic urethrovesical urethroplasty, combined abdominoperineal urethroplasty, onlay flap urethroplasty, and supravesical urinary diversion surgery. Urethroplasty seems to be feasible and reasonably successful for RT strictures in the short term, with the best results with anastomotic urethroplasty.
Intersection-Number Operators for Curves on Discs II

Let the braid group Bn act as (isotopy classes of) diffeomorphisms of an n-punctured disc Dn. Then there is an associated action of Bn on a polynomial algebra R = ℂ[a1,..., aN] and a way of representing simple closed curves on Dn as elements of R. Fix k ∈ 2ℕ. Using this approach we show that the image in Aut(R) of each Dehn twist τ about a simple closed γ in Dn satisfies a kind of characteristic equation when its action is restricted to the image in R of the set of curves γ having geometric intersection number k with γ.
A Stationary Rho-Mixing Markov Chain Which Is Not “Interlaced” Rho-Mixing

A strictly stationary, countable-state Markov chain is constructed which is ρ-mixing (with arbitrarily fast mixing rate) but fails to be ρ*-mixing (“interlacedρ-mixing”).
Airport Privatization: False Panacea?

This paper describes the recent history of airport privatization, presents the arguments for and against airport privatization, and assesses the prospects for airport privatization in the United States. The traditional role of government in aviation was challenged during the 1970s with passage of the Airline Deregulation Act, which terminated 40 years of federal economic regulation of commercial airlines. Many economists and policy analysts have argued that airline deregulation did not go far enough, and that the federal government should have also introduced competition into the airport industry. Calls for greater reliance on the private sector in aviation infrastructure development gained momentum in the 1980s that has continued into the 1990s. The authors conclude that, given the complex goals that public administrators must balance, coupled with the risks involved in total privatization, the prudent course of action is to seek less extreme solutions for the problems facing airports today. In this regard, privatization models that have combined elements of the market approach with a public administration approach would seem to represent the models worth replicating.
Image Based Detection of Craniofacial Abnormalities using Feature Extraction by Classical Convolutional Neural Network

The ubiquitous approach of transfer learning for feature extraction is harnessed for image based detection of two types of craniofacial abnormalities: pediatric cleft and craniosynostosis. In the current study, using features extracted from pre-trained AlexNet activations, we train a multi class support vector machine (SVM) for cleft lip abnormality and developed a multi-view classifier using max voting for craniosynostosis anomaly detection. We achieved Area under the ROC curve (AUC) value of 0.95 for cleft abnormality and 0.84 for craniosynostosis.
Alcohol Expectancy and Cerebral Responses to Cue-Elicited Craving in Adult Nondependent Drinkers

Abstract Background Positive alcohol expectancy (AE) contributes to excessive drinking. Many imaging studies have examined cerebral responses to alcohol cues and how these regional processes related to problem drinking. However, it remains unclear how AE relates to cue response and whether AE mediates the relationship between cue response and problem drinking. Methods A total of 61 nondependent drinkers were assessed with the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test and underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while exposed to alcohol and neutral cues. Imaging data were processed and analyzed with published routines, and mediation analyses were conducted to examine the interrelationships among global positive score of the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire, Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test score, and regional responses to alcohol versus neutral cues. Results Alcohol as compared with neutral cues engaged the occipital, retrosplenial, and medial orbitofrontal cortex as well as the left caudate head and red nucleus. The bilateral thalamus showed a significant correlation in cue response and in left superior frontal cortical connectivity with global positive score in a linear regression. Mediation analyses showed that global positive score completely mediated the relationship between thalamic cue activity as well as superior frontal cortical connectivity and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test score. The alternative models that AE contributed to problem drinking and, in turn, thalamic cue activity and connectivity were not supported. Conclusions The findings suggest an important role of the thalamic responses to alcohol cues in contributing to AE and at-risk drinking in nondependent drinkers. AEs may reflect a top-down modulation of the thalamic processing of alcohol cues, influencing the pattern of alcohol use.
Cutting antigenic peptides down to size

A critical step in antigen presentation is the degradative processing of peptides by aminopeptidases in the endoplasmic reticulum. It is unclear whether these enzymes act only on free peptides or on those bound to their major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-I–presenting molecules. A recent study examined the structure and biophysics of N-terminally extended peptides in complex with MHC-I, revealing the conformational adjustment of MHC to permit both binding of the peptide core and exposure of the peptide N terminus. These data suggest a mechanism by which aminopeptidase access is determined and offer an explanation for how longer peptides may be displayed at the cell surface.
Local and landscape drivers of bird abundance, species richness, and trait composition in urban agroecosystems

Urban gardens, or spaces that include vegetables, fruit trees, and ornamental plants, can support bird species and communities by providing food and nesting habitat within urban landscapes. Yet, variation in management of gardens (e.g., garden size, number of tree and shrub species, ground cover) and the landscape (e.g., urban cover, landscape diversity) that surrounds them may alter communities within gardens. We examined how garden management and landscape features influence bird abundance, richness, species composition, and traits in 19 urban community gardens in the central coast of California. We found that bird abundance was higher in larger gardens and in gardens with more grass, and species richness was higher in larger gardens. Bird abundance also differed with garden ecoregion. Urban cover influenced bird species composition while bird trait distributions were influenced by urban cover, ecoregion, and grass cover. Gardens with more urban cover supported fewer insectivores, ground-nesters, and forest-associated birds, higher nesting height and more urban-associated bird species. Gardens in the ecoregion closer to the coast had more cliff nesters and more marsh-associated birds. Although urban cover and ecoregion were important for the composition and trait distribution of birds, manipulation of garden management and size may promote bird species richness, or abundance of functionally important birds in gardens.
Determinants of Adherence in Time-Restricted Feeding in Older Adults: Lessons from a Pilot Study

Time-restricted feeding (TRF) is a type of intermittent fasting in which no calories are commonly consumed for approximately 12-18 hours on a daily basis. The health benefits of this eating pattern have been shown in overweight adults, with improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors as well as the preservation of lean mass during weight loss. Although TRF has been well studied in younger and middle-aged adults, few studies have evaluated the effects of TRF in older adults. Thus, the goal of this study was to evaluate older-adult perspectives regarding the real-world advantages, disadvantages, and challenges to adopting a TRF eating pattern among participants aged 65 and over. A four-week single-arm pre- and post-test design was used for this clinical pilot trial TRF intervention study. Participants were instructed to fast for approximately 16 h per day with the daily target range between 14 and 18 h. Participants were provided with the TRF protocol at a baseline visit, along with a pictorial guide that depicted food items and beverages that were allowed and not allowed during fasting windows to reinforce that calorie-containing items were to be avoided. The trial interventionist called each participant weekly to promote adherence, review the protocol, monitor for adverse events, and provide support and guidance for any challenges faced during the intervention. Participants were instructed to complete daily eating time logs by recording the times at which they first consumed calories and when they stopped consuming calories. At the end of the intervention, participants completed an exit interview and a study-specific Diet Satisfaction Survey (Table 1) to assess their satisfaction, feasibility, and overall experience with the study intervention. Of the 10 participants who commenced the study (mean age = 77.1 y; 6 women, 4 men), nine completed the entire protocol. Seven of the ten participants reported easy adjustment to a 16-hour fast and rated the difference from normal eating patterns as minimal. Eight participants reported no decrease in energy during fasting periods, with greater self-reported activity levels in yardwork and light exercise. Adverse events were rare, and included transient headaches, which dissipated with increased water intake, and dizziness in one participant, which subsided with a small snack. The findings of the current trial suggest that TRF is an eating approach that is well tolerated by most older adults. Six participants, however, did not fully understand the requirements of the fasting regimen, despite being provided with specific instructions and a pictorial guide at a baseline visit. This suggests that more instruction and/or participant contact is needed in the early stages of a TRF intervention to promote adherence.
Chapter 292 – Histone Ubiquitination

Publisher Summary Ubiquitination of target proteins involves a three-step enzymatic process. Ubiquitination functions as a versatile signaling mark because substrates can be modified either by the addition of a single ubiquitin molecule (mono-ubiquitination), or by the conjugation of ubiquitin to preceding ubiquitin moieties (poly-ubiquitination). Whereas poly-ubiquitination through linkage of ubiquitin at Lys-48 regulates protein stability and targets substrate proteins for degradation via the 26S proteasome, mono-ubiquitination tends to act as a signaling mark and controls processes ranging from membrane transport to transcription. Consistent with its role in signaling processes, mono-ubiquitination is reversible and the removal of ubiquitin from target proteins is catalyzed by ubiquitin specific proteases (UBPs in yeast; USPs in mammals) Ubiquitination of histone H2A and H2B has significantly different downstream effects, indicating that substrate targeting and recognition are regulated differentially within the context of the nucleosome. Furthermore, the enzymes mediating both the addition and removal of ubiquitin from histones H2A and H2B tend to reside within large multi-subunit complexes that often contain additional catalytic activities. Histone ubiquitination provides an example of the versatility of this modification in signaling within the cell, and it is likely that many of the observations made with regard to mono-ubiquitination of histones hold true for other pathways regulated by this modification.
Expanding Our Reach: Cross-Institutional Collaborations and Teacher Preparation in Hispanic Serving Institutions

This paper addresses the role of cross-institutional collaborations among Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI). Specifically, we focus on the Ensenamos en el Valle Central Initiative—a five-year, Title V, Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions (DHSI) grant for recruiting and preparing bilingual, Latinx teachers with a strong sense of self and service to their communities. While California four-year state institutions have historically been at the helm of preparing bilingual Kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) teachers, this has not been the case for community colleges, which continue to be the first entry point into higher education for many Latinx communities. We discuss how the process of a two-week summer institute among two- and four-year faculty at two community colleges and one university expands conventional notions of teacher preparation, and how these non-normative approaches can lend to stronger pathways into the profession. Moreover, we share how our faculty development approaches disrupt the status quo in teacher preparation and how non-tenured Faculty of Color navigate the politics of disruption and how these race-gendered experiences hold relevance for how we understand teacher preparation and expanding access to underrepresented Teachers of Color into the teaching profession.
HIV-1: To Splice or Not to Splice, That Is the Question

The transcription of the HIV-1 provirus results in only one type of transcript—full length genomic RNA. To make the mRNA transcripts for the accessory proteins Tat and Rev, the genomic RNA must completely splice. The mRNA transcripts for Vif, Vpr, and Env must undergo splicing but not completely. Genomic RNA (which also functions as mRNA for the Gag and Gag/Pro/Pol precursor polyproteins) must not splice at all. HIV-1 can tolerate a surprising range in the relative abundance of individual transcript types, and a surprising amount of aberrant and even odd splicing; however, it must not over-splice, which results in the loss of full-length genomic RNA and has a dramatic fitness cost. Cells typically do not tolerate unspliced/incompletely spliced transcripts, so HIV-1 must circumvent this cell policing mechanism to allow some splicing while suppressing most. Splicing is controlled by RNA secondary structure, cis-acting regulatory sequences which bind splicing factors, and the viral protein Rev. There is still much work to be done to clarify the combinatorial effects of these splicing regulators. These control mechanisms represent attractive targets to induce over-splicing as an antiviral strategy. Finally, splicing has been implicated in latency, but to date there is little supporting evidence for such a mechanism. In this review we apply what is known of cellular splicing to understand splicing in HIV-1, and present data from our newer and more sensitive deep sequencing assays quantifying the different HIV-1 transcript types.
Integrated Treatments: The Role of Surgery

Surgery is the cornerstone of a multidisciplinary approach to treating patients with cancer. Inappropriate surgical procedures or the lack of a multidisciplinary approach can permanently compromise patient care, and affect the sustainability of the health care system.
Sex Hormones and Immune Function

Publisher Summary The entire area of steroid biochemistry and metabolism remains one of the most controversial in both endocrinology and immunology. The convergence of these two disciplines can be difficult because there is little known about the effects that phenomena in one specialized area have on the other. In this chapter the metabolic changes found in a variety of autoimmune diseases are described. The full importance of these changes, where they occur, and their effects on the immune system are not fully known. Various changes of cytokines in response to shifting levels of sex steroids are known to occur, but at the level of a particular organ like the ovary or the liver such responses may only be apparent over long periods of time. Such changes at the “local” level have effects on the host, but the complexity of these effects and careful study of the initial stimulus is the material of future research and presently only speculation. Sex steroids are important to the development of various organs, and a major one is the brain. Recent attention is directed to cerebral development, cerebral dominance, and the incidence of autoimmune disease. Some studies say that patients with autoimmune disease are predominantly left-handed, indicating dominance of the right cerebral hemisphere. This variation is reported in patients with SLE and other diseases of the immune system. Neuronal migration is under the influence of steroids like testosterone, and new data suggest that SLE mice have aberrant neuronal migration patterns consistent with those observed in humans with learning disabilities like dyslexia.
Recent Progress in Cyclic Nucleotide Research

Publisher Summary Adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) is formed from ATP through the action of adenylyl cyclase, which seems to be an integral component of the cell membrane in most cells. Hormones appear to stimulate the enzyme by interacting with specific receptors on the external surface of the membrane. Calcium is involved in several ways; it is required for cyclase activation by at least one hormone (ACTH), and there is evidence that some hormones can influence calcium transport independently of their effect on cyclise. Fluoride stimulates adenylyl cyclise activity in broken cell preparations of most eukaryotic cells, but so far, this has not led to any important insights into the mechanism of hormonal stimulation. Cyclic AMP is metabolized to 5'-AMP under the catalytic influence of one or more phosphodiesterases. Phosphohpids, ions, and one or more endogenous proteins are involved in regulating phosphodiesterase activity, and cyclic AMP itself appears capable of inducing the formation of at least one isozyme. Most of the physiologically important effects of cyclic AMP in higher forms are the result of protein kinase activation. Cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinases are composed of catalytic and regulatory subunits.
Sequence-Based Identification and Characterization of Mycobacteria

Perhaps no other technique has revolutionized the identification and characterization of a single clinically relevant genus as much as the use of sequencing for mycobacterial diagnostics. This chapter provides a comprehensive account of the current use of DNA sequencing for the identification and characterization of mycobacteria in the clinical microbiology laboratory. The problems associated with phenotypic identification of mycobacteria were highlighted in 1996, when Springer and colleagues compared 34 isolates identified by both biochemical testing and 16S rRNA sequencing. There are no FDA-approved platforms at this time designed specifically for the sequence-based identification of microorganisms. However, there are a number of commercially available sequencing platforms, and laboratories are free to establish their own laboratory-developed (home brew) system for mycobacterial sequencing. Molecular determination of drug resistance by sequence analysis has been successfully used for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and, in a limited way, for other mycobacteria. Drug resistance in M. tuberculosis is moderated by mutations in a handful of genes. Direct sequencing remains a challenge due to the paucity of mycobacteria in many specimen types especially in comparison with the amount of other bacteria present in complex matrices like sputum.
Addition compounds of alkali metal hydrides : XVII. An unusual reaction of trialkylboranes with lithium tri-t-butoxyaluminohydride in tetrahydrofuran

Abstract Addition of equimolar or catalytic quantities of trialkylboranes to a tetrahydrofuran solution of lithium tri-t-butoxyaluminohydride results in rapid loss of active hydride with the concurrent formation of 1-butanol (from the reductive cleavage of tetrahydrofuran). The rate of reductive cleavage decreases with increasing steric requirements of the trialkylborane. In contrast to the tetrahydrofuran, tetrahydropyran is cleaved sluggishly. Consequently, this solvent can be utilized to follow the course of the reaction of lithium tri-t-butoxyaluminohydride with representative trialkylboranes by 11 B NMR. Chemical and spectral evidence suggest the intermediacy of lithium trialkylborohydrides and aluminum-t-butoxide in these reactions.
Inhibition of herpes simplex virus type 1 and adenovirus type 5 by heterocyclic Schiff bases of aminohydroxyguanidine tosylate.

Eleven heterocyclic Schiff bases of aminohydroxyguanidine tosylate (SB-AHGs), compounds I-XI, were tested for antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and adenovirus type 5 (Ad 5) via plaque reduction and virus yield reduction assays. This work was undertaken to test the hypothesis that low molecular weight SB-AHGs (MW 300). The plaque reduction assay method demonstrated that three compounds, I, VII and IX, had moderate activity against HSV-1, with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 38.0, 23.5 and 52.1 microM, respectively. Against Ad 5, compounds I, VIII and XI exhibited moderate activity, with IC50 values of 52.7, 19.3 and 5.1 microM, respectively. Among the compounds screened, compound I (1-[(3'-hydroxy-6'-methyl-2'-pyridyl)methylene]amino-3-hydroxyguanidi ne tosylate) was the most promising antiviral candidate, with selectivity indices (SI) of 10.2 (HSV-1) and 7.6 (Ad 5), respectively. Virus yield reduction assays indicated that compound I had less antiviral potency against HSV-1 than against Ad 5. The antiviral effects of compound I at a high input virus multiplicity of infection (MOI > 5) indicated that compound I had effective anti-adenoviral activity at 24 h post infection. This work demonstrated that some of SB-AHGs only have moderate antiviral activities against Ad 5 and HSV-1 viruses. In general, low MW SB-AHGs have low cytotoxicities to the host cells.
Linguistics: The write stuff

Steven Pinker's provocative treatise on language use and abuse would benefit from more data, finds Paul Raeburn.
Time-Optimal Paths Covering a Surface

A new point of view is presented for tool path generation for freeform surfaces. The task of tool path generation is treated as a time-optimization problem. We seek the path that covers an entire surface as quickly as possible while respecting both geometric tolerance requirements and the kinematic limits of the machine tool. This is an important consideration in high speed machining of dies and molds. We first frame the optimization problem mathematically. The problem turns out to be difficult to solve, and a closed form solution does not exist. We instead describe approaches towards for finding numerical solutions. We present preliminary results of our algorithms. The resulting tool paths tend to take 10-30% less time.
25-Hydroxyvitamin D and ankle-brachial blood pressure index in adults without peripheral artery disease.

Background Inverse association between lower level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and higher prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) among individuals with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is known. Less is known about the relationship between 25(OH)D and ankle-brachial blood pressure index (ABPI) in asymptomatic adults. We hypothesized a nonlinear relationship between 25(OH)D and ABPI in asymptomatic adults without PAD. Methods Data from the continuous NHANES (2001–2004) was used. Minimum of the two reported ABPI value was chosen for each individual (>18 years). Linear regression models with spline adjusted for demographic and traditional risk factors for CVD were used to examine nonlinear relationship between 25(OH)D and ABPI. Mean changes in ABPI per 10 ng/mL change in 25(OH)D were reported. Results Mean (SD) age and 25(OH)D levels of 4979 participants (48% females) were 60.4 (13.22) years and 22.1 (8.68) ng/mL, respectively, while mean (SD) ABPI was 1.07 (0.15). We observed positive association between 25(OH)D and ABPI both in the univariable and multivariable regression models (all p < 0.05). In univariable regression with spline, a significant increase in ABPI (s = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.02–0.04) was observed until 25(OH)D reached but not above 27 ng/mL. Similarly, in multivariable spline models, 25(OH)D was positively associated with ABPI (s = 0.02, 95% CI: 0.01–0.03) only up to 27 ng/mL. Conclusions In asymptomatic adults without PAD, rising serum 25(OH)D concentration but not above 27 ng/mL was associated with statistically significant increase in ABPI.
Impact of a Yoga Intervention on Physical Activity, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation in Women with PTSD Symptoms

Abstract Background: Studies using yoga have demonstrated initial efficacy for treating symptoms across anxiety disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder. Objective: Understanding how interventions influence participants' physical activity and what determinants affect continued physical activity behavior change is important because maintenance of the behavior may be critical to continued mental health gains and symptom reduction. Methods: This study investigated change in physical activity and possible psychological mechanisms of physical activity behavior change, including self-efficacy and regulatory motivation, in a randomized controlled trial of yoga for women with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms (n=38). Results: Growth curve modeling results showed no significant changes in physical activity or self-efficacy for either group, whereas external motivation decreased significantly in the yoga group but not in the control group. Conclusions: Investigators of future yoga interventions may ...
Cost-Efficient Risk Management with Reserve Repair Crew Planning in CLOUD Computing

This article addresses a discrete event CLOUD simulator, namely CLOURAM (CLOUD Risk Assessor and Manager) to estimate the risk indices in large CLOUD computing environments, comparing favorably with the intractably theoretical Markov solutions or hand calculations that are limited in scope. The goal is to optimize the quality of a CLOUD operation and what countermeasures to take to minimize threats to the service quality by reserve planning of reserve crew members. Cost and benefit analysis is examined after the solutions.
Alteration of renal function of rats following spaceflight

Following spaceflight, changes in renal function of humans have been suggested. To assess the effects of readaptation on renal function, urine was collected from male rats (∼245 g) over a 2-wk peri...
Phenotypic variability of familial adenomatous polyposis in 11 unrelated families with identical APC gene mutation

Abstract Background/Aims: Familial adenomatous polyposis is caused by germline mutation of the adenomatous polyposis coli ( APC ) gene. Affected individuals develop hundreds of colorectal adenomas at young age and can have extracolonic lesions. Methods: This study evaluated the phenotype of 74 patients with familial adenomatous polyposis from 11 unrelated families with an identical 5-base pair deletion at codon 1309 of the APC gene. Results: Polyp density in the sigmoid colon of 16 patients from 9 families varied from 3.8 to 13.1/ cm 2 , and mean polyp diameter ranged from 1.4 ± 0.1 to 2.7 ± 0.1 mm. The distribution of colonic adenomas also varied, with diffuse polyposis in 6 patients but relative polyp sparing in the more proximal colon in 6 others. Age at diagnosis of colorectal cancer ranged from 19 to 62 years, but the mean age did not differ among the 4 families with multiple cases. Colorectal cancers occurred predominantly in the rectosigmoid (80%) but also in the more proximal colon. The percentage of patients affected by various extracolonic lesions differed widely among and within the 11 families (range, 0%-100%). Conclusions: APC gene mutation at codon 1309 results in intrafamily and interfamily phenotypic variation in familial adenomatous polyposis. Environmental and/or other genetic factors must play roles in the expression of germline APC gene mutations.
AS PRINCIPAIS CONTRIBUIÇÕES SOCIAIS DA SICREDI ALTO URUGUAI RS/SC

Este artigo visa promover acoes em favor do desenvolvimento social para consolidar o conceito e a pratica da responsabilidade social. Atualmente as empresas vem usando suas capacidades de planejamento e organizacao para gerar recursos. E nesse sentido, que o presente estudo objetiva analisar e identificar as principais acoes sociais desenvolvidas pela Sicredi Alto Uruguai RS/SC, na qual se observa a evolucao dos indicadores no periodo de 2006 a 2008. Portanto, trata-se de um estudo de caso singular, exploratorio e bibliografico, realizado atraves de analise horizontal, em que foram analisados os indicadores dos anos de 2006 a 2008 do Balanco Social da Sicredi Alto Uruguai RS/SC. Com base nos dados analisados evidenciou-se que nos indicadores sociais internos, a cooperativa aumentou seus investimentos no decorrer dos anos analisados, aplicando seus recursos principalmente na alimentacao, saude e seguranca de seus colaboradores, buscando incentiva-los. Em relacao aos indicadores sociais externos houve aumento nas suas aplicacoes em propaganda e publicidade e nas representacoes sociais, ja nos tributos houve reducao. Dessa forma, este estudo demonstra que a Sicredi Alto Uruguai RS/SC esta desenvolvendo um importante trabalho de gestao frente a sociedade, e mantem um crescimento de valores em seus indicadores sociais internos e reducao de valores nos indicadores externos, mesmo assim continua realizando acoes em prol dos seus colaboradores e da sociedade.
Thiostrepton interacts covalently with Rpt subunits of the 19S proteasome and proteasome substrates

Here, we report a novel mechanism of proteasome inhibition mediated by Thiostrepton (Thsp), which interacts covalently with Rpt subunits of the 19S proteasome and proteasome substrates. We identified Thsp in a cell-based high-throughput screen using a fluorescent reporter sensitive to degradation by the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway. Thiostrepton behaves as a proteasome inhibitor in several paradigms, including cell-based reporters, detection of global ubiquitination status, and proteasome-mediated labile protein degradation. In vitro, Thsp does not block the chymotrypsin activity of the 26S proteasome. In a cell-based IκBα degradation assay, Thsp is a slow inhibitor and 4 hrs of treatment achieves the same effects as MG-132 at 30 min. We show that Thsp forms covalent adducts with proteins in human cells and demonstrate their nature by mass spectrometry. Furthermore, the ability of Thsp to interact covalently with the cysteine residues is essential for its proteasome inhibitory function. We further show that a Thsp modified peptide cannot be degraded by proteasomes in vitro. Importantly, we demonstrate that Thsp binds covalently to Rpt subunits of the 19S regulatory particle and forms bridges with a proteasome substrate. Taken together, our results uncover an important role of Thsp in 19S proteasome inhibition.
Simulating Boundary Layer Transition With Low-Reynolds-Number k–ε Turbulence Models: Part 1—An Evaluation of Prediction Characteristics

An analysis and evaluation of the capability of k –e low-Reynolds-number turbulence models to predict transition in external boundary-layer flows subject to free-stream turbulence is presented. The similarities between the near-wall cross-stream regions in a fully turbulent boundary layer and the progressive stages through which developing boundary layers pass in the streamwise direction are used to describe the mechanisms by which the models simulate the transition process. Two representative models (Jones and Launder, 1972; Lam and Bremhorst, 1981) are employed in a series of computational tests designed to answer some specific practical questions about the ability of these models to yield accurate, reliable answers over a range of free-stream turbulence conditions.
The inferior longitudinal fasciculus: A reexamination in humans and monkeys

The inferior longitudinal fasciculus is commonly considered to be a long association fiber bundle interconnecting the occipital and temporal lobes. Based on blunt dissections of human and monkey brains, we have found that the only long fiber bundle common to both the occipital and temporal lobes is the geniculostriate pathway (i.e., optic radiations), located within the external sagittal stratum. In addition, our autoradiographic experiments indicate that the pathway from the occipital to the temporal cortex in monkeys consists of a series of U fibers that course beneath the cortical mantle to connect adjacent regions in striate, prestriate, and inferior temporal cortex. We suggest that the occipital and temporal lobes in human beings are similarly connected by a series of U fibers and that the term inferior longitudinal fasciculus be replaced with the term occipitotemporal projection system. Different clinical syndromes attributed to lesions of the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, including visual agnosia, prosopagnosia, and impaired visual recent memory, are probably due to interruption of fibers at different points along this projection system.
Tracking cell motion using GM-PHD

We present a method for tracking the movement of multiple cells and their lineage. We use the Gaussian Mixture Probability Hypothesis Density (GM-PHD) filter, a multi-target tracking algorithm, to track the motion of multiple cells over time and to keep track of the lineage of cells as they spawn. We describe a spawning model for the GM-PHD filter as well as modifications to the original GM-PHD algorithm to track lineage. Experimental results are provided illustrating the approach for dense cell colonies.
Mispronunciation detection via dynamic time warping on deep belief network-based posteriorgrams

In this paper, we explore the use of deep belief network (DBN) posteriorgrams as input to our previously proposed comparison-based system for detecting word-level mispronunciation. The system works by aligning a nonnative utterance with at least one native utterance and extracting features that describe the degree of mis-alignment from the aligned path and the distance matrix. We report system performance under different DBN training scenarios: pre-training and fine-tuning with either native data only or both native and nonnative data. Experimental results have shown that by substituting the system input from MFCC or Gaussian posteriorgrams obtained in a fully unsupervised manner to DBN posteriorgrams, the system performance can be improved by at least 10.4% relatively. Moreover, the system performance remains steady when only 30% of the annotations being used.
Flavin-containing monooxygenases: Catalytic mechanism and substrate specificities

(1988). Flavin-containing monooxygenases: Catalytic mechanism and substrate specificities. Drug Metabolism Reviews: Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 1-32.
Dissolved hydrocarbon metabolism: the concentration-dependent kinetics of toluene oxidation in some North American estuaries

The metabolism of toluene by natural populations of marine bacteria, stored to enhance their activity, gave hyperbolic kinetics with saturation at only K/sub t/ = 0.6 to 3.4 ..mu..g liter/sup -1/. Similarly K/sub t/ in fresh seawater was 0.26 ..mu..g toluene liter/sup -1/. Freshly collected populations could be moderately active toward toluene. These moderate affinities taken together with the small K/sub t/ values give an explanation for the failure of most marine bacteria to grow at the expense of a single hydrocarbon. In two experiments there was a significant first-order region in toluene in the 10-50 ..mu..g liter/sup -1/ range. A large widespread population of bacteria with inducible capacity to metabolize hydrocarbons is indicated. Observed turnover times for toluene were 0.2-40 years with growth rates of 10/sup -6/h/sup -1/ from toluene at 1 ..mu..g liter/sup -1/.
Boar sperm plasma membrane protein profile: Correlation with the zona-free hamster ova bioassay

Abstract This study was designed to compare differences among porcine sperm plasma membrane proteins with the ability of spermatozoa to interact with zona-free hamster ova. Sperm plasma membrane vesicles were recovered from 24 ejaculates from 10 fertile boars, and from cauda epididymal spermatozoa from 3 fertile and 1 very subfertile boar. Solubilized sperm plasma membrane proteins were run on 1D SDS-PAGE gels, transferred to western blots, stained, and analyzed for quantity of protein per band by scanning laser densitometry. Variation in the quantities of individual sperm plasma membrane proteins in the 20 identified bands were statistically compared with the ability of spermatozoa from the same ejaculate to penetrate zona-free hamster ova. The percentages of plasma membrane protein present in 3 bands (90, 84 and 60 kD) were positively correlated with the ability of spermatozoa from the same ejaculate to fuse with zona-free hamster ova (P = 0.002, 0.01, 0.04; R = 0.53, 0.40, 0.38, respectively). The quantities of protein in 2 other bands (69 and 35 kD) were significantly but negatively correlated with the results of the zona-free hamster ova bioassay (P = 0.02, 0.01; R = −0.42, −0.37, respectively). The sperm plasma membrane profiles were quantitatively similar between the ejaculated samples and the fertile epididymal samples. Six epididymal sperm plasma membrane proteins were present in statistically different quantities in the subfertile boar sample and the 3 fertile controls. The 90 kD band positively correlated with the hamster ova bioassay in the ejaculated samples was not detected in the subfertile epididymal sperm plasma membrane sample. These results suggest that protein(s) in one or more of the 3 positively correlated ejaculated sperm plasma membrane protein bands may be involved in sperm-oocyte interaction.
My Friend Morgan: An Exercise in Ethics

My Friend Morgan is an exercise to stimulate classroom discussions on ethical reasoning and decision making and to make students aware of their judgments of ethical behavior. The exercise includes a survey of students’ ethical behavior, a case scenario developed from the survey, and discussion questions. The exercise is adaptable to many classroom situations and can be modified to reflect course content. Use of this exercise is reviewed, and current theories of ethical reasoning that can be used with the exercise are covered. The distinguishing feature of the exercise is its ability to be personalized to students.
Radiotherapy: encouraging early data for SBRT in prostate cancer.

There has been little published on the treatment of prostate cancer with external beam radiotherapy doses greater than 5 Gy per fraction.1 New data from King and colleagues'2 series of 41 patients treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy in 5 fractions of 7.25 Gy make an important contribution to our understanding of the radiobiology of prostate cancer and the tolerance of surrounding normal tissues.
Temperature separation of acquisition and retention in protozoan habituation.

Abstract The rate of acquisition in habituation of a contractile response to mechanical and electrical stimuli in the protozoan Spirostomum is independent of temperature over the range 5–32°C. However, retention of the habituation is very much temperature dependent over this range. Differences in sensitivity to the stimuli brought about by temperature differences were also noted.
Blk, a BH3-containing Mouse Protein That Interacts with Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, Is a Potent Death Agonist

We identified and cloned a novel murine member of the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family. This protein, designated Blk, is structurally and functionally related to human Bik and localized to the mitochondrial membrane. Blk contains a conserved BH3 domain and can interact with the anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. Ectopic expression of Blk in mammalian cells induces apoptosis, which can be inhibited by mutations in the BH3 domain and by overexpression of Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL but not by CrmA. The apoptotic activity of Blk is also inhibited by a dominant negative caspase-9, suggesting that Blk induces apoptosis through activation of the cytochrome c-Apaf-1-caspase-9 pathway.
DEADLY RADON IN MONTANA

In his letter, Puskin (2011) criticizes ecological measurements for radon concentration that were used in my analyses (Hart, 2011a, b) but then cites a study (Turner et al, 2011) to support his view that also used ecological measurements for radon estimates. In the other study that Puskin cites, namely Darby et al, 2005, it is unclear how the radon measurements were obtained. Indeed one peculiar statement is found in this latter citation: “For homes where radon measurements were unobtainable, we estimated the concentration from measurements in the homes of controls” [emphasis added] (Darby, 2005). Case control and ecological studies on radon share a common weakness. Rather than determining actual individual absorptions, both designs provide estimates of population exposures, though case control estimates are purportedly more individualized (e.g., measurements taken from individual homes). On the other hand, direct evidence, in the form of actual individual absorptions, along with corresponding clinical findings, is available for those who are interested. Radium, which decays by alpha emission to radon (U.S. EPA, 2011a), has been found to have a relatively large margin of safety. This margin of safety was found in a study of approximately 500 persons who had skeletal mean doses of < 1000 cumulative rads, yet they had “no signs or symptoms of clinically significant radiogenic effects” (Evans, 1974). Puskin also notes the confounding effect that smoking can have on data analysis. However, my comments (Hart, 2011a, b) were made in regard to “deadly radon” (Schontzler, 2010) rather than “deadly radon when confounded by smoking.” Indeed, the U.S. EPA states, without qualifying the confounding effect of smoking in the statement, that “overall, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer” (U.S. EPA, 2011b).
Fractional cumulative yield of 2·6 min 99mNb from low energy neutron fission of 233U, 235U, 238U and spontaneous fission of 252Cf☆

Abstract Rapid chemical separations of niobium and zirconium from molybdenum have been used to measure the fractional cumulative yields of 2·6 min 99mNb from thermal-neutron fission of 233U and 235U, the epithermal-neutron fission of 238U and the spontaneous fission of 252Cf. The yields are 0·29 ± 0·02, 0·31 ± 0·02, 0·30 ± 0·03 and 0·29 ± 0·03, respectively. The half-life of the long-lived isomer of 99Nb was remeasured and found to be 2·6 ± 0·2 min. The fraction of 99Zr decaying of 2·6 min 99minNb was found to be 0·30 ± 0·04. The measured yields are consistent with the expected charge distribution for each fission process if it is assumed that most of the independently produced 99Nb is formed as the short-lived high-spin ground state.