cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Drug repurposing for glioblastoma based on molecular subtypes

A recent multi-platform analysis by The Cancer Genome Atlas identified four distinct molecular subtypes for glioblastoma (GBM) and demonstrated that the subtypes correlate with clinical phenotypes and treatment responses. In this study, we developed a computational drug repurposing approach to predict GBM drugs based on the molecular subtypes. Our approach leverages the genomic signature for each GBM subtype, and integrates the human cancer genomics with mouse phenotype data to identify the opportunity of reusing the FDA-approved agents to treat specific GBM subtypes. Specifically, we first constructed the phenotype profile for each GBM subtype using their genomic signatures. For each approved drug, we also constructed a phenotype profile using the drug target genes. Then we developed an algorithm to match and prioritize drugs based on their phenotypic similarities to the GBM subtypes. Our approach is highly generalizable for other disorders if provided with a list of disorder-specific genes. We first evaluated the approach in predicting drugs for the whole GBM. For a combined set of approved, potential and off-label GBM drugs, we achieved a median rank of 9.3%, which is significantly higher (p<e-7) than 45.7% for a recent approach that also uses the mouse phenotype data. Then we applied the approach on GBM subtypes. Analysis result shows the variations of enriched pathways, associated phenotypes and prioritized drugs across different subtypes. We ranked the first-line chemotherapy for GBM in different positions for each subtypes, and the rank variation was consistent with the previous finding on different drug responses among subtypes. In summary, this study makes an effort towards translating the molecular stratification into better survival for GBM.
Classical Conditioning and the Planarian

In several previous papers (1963, 1965, and 1966), I have compiled and attempted to evaluate the evidence for learning in planarians. During the last few years, several particularly convincing demonstrations have all but laid to rest the notion advocated by at least a few scientists that, because of its simple organization, the planarian must be entirely ineducable. This position, however reasonable on a priori grounds, must eventually yield to empirical evidence. And, as Warren has stated, “Overall, the evidence suggests very strongly that learning occurs in flatworms” (1965, p. 100).
Anxiety and Depression

Increasing evidence suggests that depression and anxiety are important comorbidities in COPD, and are associated with a number of adverse outcomes including worse health-related quality of life, an increased risk of exacerbations, and a higher mortality. The burden of depression in COPD is higher than in the general population, and many patients remain undiagnosed. Although treatment of depression and anxiety may include medications or pharmacotherapy, many patients with depressive symptoms do not receive treatment.
Grindr Killed the Gay Bar, and Other Attempts to Blame Social Technologies for Urban Development: A Democratic Approach to Popular Technologies and Queer Sociality

This article complicates the popular contention that “Grindr is killing the gay bar” by using qualitative interviews with Grindr users and a diverse literature on urban development. To better under...
Long-Term Hearing Outcomes following Total Ossicular Reconstruction with Titanium Prostheses.

Objective(1) Characterize a large cohort of patients undergoing total ossicular chain reconstruction with titanium prosthesis. (2) Analyze long-term hearing outcomes of the same cohort.Study Design...
Generation of human induced pluripotent stem cells from individuals with a homozygous CCR5Δ32 mutation.

Chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) is the primary coreceptor for HIV entry into macrophages. Individuals with a homozygous deletion of 32 bp in the CCR5 gene (CCR5Δ32) are highly resistant to HIV infection (Samson et al., 1996). Allogeneic stem cell transplantation from a healthy donor with the homozygous CCR5Δ32 variant to an HIV positive individual has demonstrated efficient long-term control of HIV. We identified three individuals with this homozygous CCR5Δ32 variant, and successfully generated induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from their dermal fibroblasts. The iPSCs lines carrying homozygous CCR5Δ32 variant displayed phenotypically normal and the potential to differentiation toward the three germ layers.
SIW Microstrip Cavity Resonators with a Sensing Aperture

Microstrip antennas are widely used in various fields such as mobile and satellite communication, global positioning, and navigation systems, as they are low-profile, easy to fabricate, and easy to feed. In an effort to extend the usefulness of microstrip antennas to near-field sensing applications, a substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) microstrip cavity sensor is introduced. It consists of a resonant SIW microstrip cavity with a sensing aperture, which uses the fields leaking out of the resonator from the aperture for sensing. Full-wave simulations are performed and results show that the microstrip-based SIW cavity resonator sensor can be used for detection or imaging. One targeted application is for downhole sensing in well logging applications.
Landscape: Re-assessing the Conservation Paradigm

The chapter builds a case for the novelty and the appropriateness of biodiversity conservation landscape in Central Africa. It departs from the foundational definition of conservation in Central Africa that has been, for years, essentially concentrated on protected areas, which were legally spatial entities locked away from human activities and delineated in a gradient ranging from total exclusion to allowed human activities. These isolated spaces were supposed to preserve wildlife species and their habitats intact by means of strict law enforcement. It argues that one reason, among many others, for minimal successes of conservation had been in this strict fence-and-fine approach. As support to that massive claim, it brings in crucial factors that prevent strict law enforcement to function adequately, including such facts as the existence of long-distance ranging species such as forest elephants that need spaces beyond borders of protected areas, increasing human populations, lack of resources, and advanced human poverty and the superimposition, in some areas, of important resources with high biological diversity that conservation proponents want to protect. The factors lead to clashes between basic human needs, governmental obligation to use those resources to develop regions in which those resources are located and biodiversity conservation. Looking at other tried approaches to bridge the above clash and why they reached only mute results, the chapter argues that this was so because these other approaches failed because either they were neither sufficiently inclusive of major stakeholders nor apt enough to functionally and geographically delineate functions that are, by their very nature, opposed to each other.
Systematic feasibility analysis of performing elastography using reduced dose CT lung image pairs.

Purpose Elastography using computer tomography (CT) is a promising methodology that can provide patient-specific regional distributions of lung biomechanical properties. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of performing elastography using simulated lower dose CT scans. Methods A cohort of eight patient CT image pairs were acquired with a tube current-time product of 40 mAs for estimating baseline lung elastography results. Synthetic low mAs CT scans were generated from the baseline scans to simulate the additional noise that would be present in acquisitions at 30, 25, and 20 mAs, respectively. For the simulated low mAs scans, exhalation and inhalation datasets were registered using an in-house optical flow deformable image registration algorithm. The registered deformation vector fields (DVFs) were taken to be ground truth for the elastography process. A model-based elasticity estimation was performed for each of the reduced mAs datasets, in which the goal was to optimize the elasticity distribution that best represented their respective DVFs. The estimated elasticity and the DVF distributions of the reduced mAs scans were then compared with the baseline elasticity results for quantitative accuracy purposes. Results The DVFs for the low mAs and baseline scans differed from each other by an average of 1.41 mm, which can be attributed to the noise added by the simulated reduction in mAs. However, the elastography results using the DVFs from the reduced mAs scans were similar from the baseline results, with an average elasticity difference of 0.65, 0.71, and 0.76 kPa, respectively. This illustrates that elastography can provide equivalent results using low-dose CT scans. Conclusions Elastography can be performed equivalently using CT image pairs acquired with as low as 20 mAs. This expands the potential applications of CT-based elastography.
Performance of a UV-A LED system for degradation of aflatoxins B 1 and M 1 in pure water : kinetics and cytotoxicity study

The efficacy of a UV-A light emitting diode system (LED) to reduce the concentrations of aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin M1 (AFB1, AFM1) in pure water was studied. This work investigates and reveals the kinetics and main mechanism(s) responsible for the destruction of aflatoxins in pure water and assesses the cytotoxicity in liver hepatocellular cells. Irradiation experiments were conducted using an LED system operating at 365 nm (monochromatic wave-length). Known concentrations of aflatoxins were spiked in water and irradiated at UV-A doses ranging from 0 to 1,200 mJ/cm2. The concentration of AFB1 and AFM1 was determined by HPLC with fluorescence detection. LC–MS/MS product ion scans were used to identify and semi-quantify degraded products of AFB1 and AFM1. It was observed that UV-A irradiation significantly reduced aflatoxins in pure water. In comparison to control, at dose of 1,200 mJ/cm2 UV-A irradiation reduced AFB1 and AFM1 concentrations by 70 ± 0.27 and 84 ± 1.95%, respectively. We hypothesize that the formation of reactive species initiated by UV-A light may have caused photolysis of AFB1 and AFM1 molecules in water. In cell culture studies, our results demonstrated that the increase of UV-A dosage decreased the aflatoxins-induced cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells, and no significant aflatoxin-induced cytotoxicity was observed at UV-A dose of 1,200 mJ/cm2. Further results from this study will be used to compare aflatoxins detoxification kinetics and mechanisms involved in liquid foods such as milk and vegetable oils.
The use of 2,2'-dithiobis(5-nitropyridine) (DTNP) for deprotection and diselenide formation in protected selenocysteine-containing peptides.

In contrast to the large number of sidechain protecting groups available for cysteine derivatives in solid phase peptide synthesis, there is a striking paucity of analogous selenocysteine Se-protecting groups in the literature. However, the growing interest in selenocysteine-containing peptides and proteins requires a corresponding increase in availability of synthetic routes into these target molecules. It therefore becomes important to design new sidechain protection strategies for selenocysteine as well as multiple and novel deprotection chemistry for their removal. In this paper, we outline the synthesis of two new Fmoc selenocysteine derivatives [Fmoc-Sec(Meb) and Fmoc-Sec(Bzl)] to accompany the commercially available Fmoc-Sec(Mob) derivative and incorporate them into two model peptides. Sec-deprotection assays were carried out on these peptides using 2,2′-dithiobis(5-nitropyridine) (DTNP) conditions previously described by our group. The deprotective methodology was further evaluated as to its suitability towards mediating concurrent diselenide formation in oxytocin-templated target peptides. Sec(Mob) and Sec(Meb) were found to be extremely labile to the DTNP conditions whether in the presence or absence of thioanisole, whereas Sec(Bzl) was robust to DTNP in the absence of thioanisole but quite labile in its presence. In multiple Sec-containing model peptides, it was shown that bis-Sec(Mob)-containing systems spontaneously cyclize to the diselenide using 1 eq DTNP, whereas bis-Sec(Meb) and Sec(Bzl) models required additional manipulation to induce cyclization. Copyright © 2012 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Characterization of InP islands on {InGaP}/{GaAs(001) }: effect of deposition temperature

Abstract Atomic force microscopy has been used to investigate the metalorganic chemical vapor deposition of InP on nominally flat InGaP GaAs (001) substrates as a function of deposition temperature. In particular, the deposition time required for island formation as a function of deposition temperature is determined at a constant reactant flux, and the effect of InP deposition temperature on the island shape and size distributions is explored. The qualitative behavior of the growth changes very little with temperature, whereas the size and spatial distributions are significantly affected. In addition, the effect of InGaP surface morphology on the size and density of InP islands is compared at constant deposition times. From a detailed analysis of the islands on the various surfaces, the island density and base area are observed to be strong functions of surface morphology, while the height of the islands remains unchanged. These observations indicate that the size, uniformity, and density of the coherent islands are not dominated by strain energy, and, thus, they can be manipulated by changes in substrate morphology and growth conditions.
Assessing the Rise of Organic Farming in the European Union: Environmental and Socio- economic Consequences

Although organic farming is considered the poster child of rural development in Europe, there is little empirical evidence assessing its success in achieving the ambitious environmental and socio-economic objectives that it is purported to assist. This paper presents empirical evidence from the growth of organic farming in Europe over the past two decades that questions the highly optimistic claims of policy makers. Although policies in support of organic impact have had an overall positive environmental impact, their social impact is ambiguous, as organic farming appears to have grown more in areas with larger average farm sizes. Additionally, contrary to what is often assumed, organic farms in Europe display larger average sizes and lower rates of labor intensity than their conventional counterparts, casting doubts on the efficacy of organic farms to allow family farmers to remain in the countryside as high-value producers. I assert that this development should be viewed as evidence of the "conventionalization" of organic farming, and suggest that policy makers take into account the transformations of the structures of production, which benefit from the support for organic farming. Treating the experience of organic farmers in the EU as a lesson for schemes paying for environmental services, I suggest that the success of organic farming should be evaluated by the numbers of participating farmers, rather than by area covered, as has been the predominant approach so far. Finally, I assert that strong agricultural cooperatives are necessary to secure a long-lasting passage of small farmers to organic methods of production. JEL Categories: Q1, Q58, O52
Aspartate transcarbamylase synthesis ceases prior to inactivation of the enzyme in Bacillus subtilis.

Aspartate transcarbamylase is synthesized during exponential growth of Bacillus subtilis and is inactivated when the cells enter the stationary phase. This work is a study of the regulation of aspartate transcarbamylase synthesis during growth and the stationary phase. Using specific immunoprecipitation of aspartate transcarbamylase from extracts of cells pulse-labeled with tritiated leucine, we showed that the synthesis of the enzyme decreased very rapidly at the end of exponential growth and was barely detectable during inactivation of the enzyme. Synthesis of most cell proteins continued during this time. When the cells ceased growing because of pyrimidine starvation of a uracil auxotroph, however, synthesis and inactivation occurred simultaneously. Measurement of pools of pyrimidine nucleotides and guanosine tetra- and pentaphosphate demonstrated that failure to synthesize aspartate transcarbamylase in the stationary phase was not explained by simple repression by these compounds. The cessation of aspartate transcarbamylase synthesis may reflect the shutting off of a “vegetative gene” as part of the program of differential gene expression during sporulation. However, aspartate transcarbamylase synthesis decreased normally at the end of exponential growth at the nonpermissive temperature in a mutant strain that is temperature-sensitive in sporulation and RNA polymerase function. Cessation of aspartate transcarbamylase synthesis appeared to be normal in three other temperature-sensitive RNA polymerase mutants and in several classes of spo0 mutants.
Review: A Meta-Analysis of Lactation Responses to Supplemental Dietary Niacin in Dairy Cows

A meta-analysis of published data was conducted to examine the response of lactating dairy cows to supplemental dietary nicotinic acid (NA). The data set was developed from 27 studies published between 1980 and 1998 where lactation performance responses to targeted supplementation of 6 and 12 g/d NA were reported. Response variables evaluated were DMI, milk yield and composition, feed efficiency, and plasma beta-hydroxybutyric acid, non-esterified fatty acid, and glucose concentrations. No efficacy of 6 g/d dietary supplemental NA was found. Similarly, dietary supplementation with 12 g/d NA did not affect DMI, milk fat or protein percentages, or measured plasma metabolites. However, responses to dietary supplementation with 12 g/d NA were observed for 3.5% fatcorrected milk (FCM) yield, feed efficiency (when calculated with 3.5% FCM), and milk fat and protein yields. Yields of 3.5% FCM, milk fat, and milk protein were 0.5 kg/d (P=0.06), 25.8 g/d (P=0.01), and 17.4 g/d (P=0.08) higher, respectively, for NA-supplemented cows. Feed efficiency calculated with 3.5% FCM was 0.03 units higher (P=0.09). A Type I/Type II error economic analysis of the 3.5% FCM yield response showed frequencies of the observed response being greater than the break-even responses by 54 and 57% when NA costs were $0.01 and $0.005/g, respectively. Further research on transition cows and incidence of metabolic disorders, higher dosages of NA, and ruminally protected NA appears warranted.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in affective disorders -II. Efficacy and quality of life:

Since their introduction, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have become one of the most widely used classes of medication in psychiatry. Their popularity is based on apparent effi...
DB2 for OS/390 V5 vs. V6 outer join performance

The outer join operation is one of the most frequently used operations in a relational database management system. It becomes even more important in data warehouse and business intelligence applications. The processing of outer join of very large relations is a very costly operation. Therefore, a lot of effort has been expended in the development and implementation of optimization techniques to improve the performance of outer join. In this paper, the outer join optimization techniques implemented in DB2 UDB for OS/390 V6 (further reference as DB2 V6) are described and the efficiency is measured in a real world workload.
The term structure of implied dividend yields and expected returns

Abstract This paper proposes a new dividend-based S&P 500 Index return predictor, the implied dividend yield term structure (IDYTS). We show that the IDYTS is a “cleaner” predictor than its conventional counterpart, the dividend price ratio (DP), in that the expected return is a linear combination of the level and slope of the term structure. Exploiting non-arbitrage relationships and the forward-looking nature of the options market, we estimate the IDYTS and investigate its index return predictability. The IDYTS outperforms the DP in predictive regressions, and the optimal IDYTS portfolio, constructed by using the IDYTS in a predictive regression, stochastically dominates and yields a higher Sharpe ratio than the DP portfolio.
From Obsolescence to Sustainability, Back Again, and Beyond

ABSTRACTThis article traces the idea of architectural obsolescence in twentieth-century architecture and urbanism: where the idea comes from that buildings and cities can suddenly lose their value and utility, and how architects and others around the world responded to the perception that obsolescence characterized modernity. Evolving out of early twentieth-century US income tax policy and capitalist real estate development, the paradigm of obsolescence spread globally in the mid-century urban and social realms before impacting architecture directly. Some designers embraced obsolescence's liberating promise of expendability and short-life buildings. Others were horrified by its implications of ephemerality and waste, leading to preservationism, postmodernism, and ecologism. Obsolescence, as a paradigm for comprehending and managing change in the built environment, thus set the stage for its successor worldview of sustainability, it is argued. Yet obsolescence and sustainability are also intimately linked ...
A test of 12 insecticides for the control of the Sitka Spruce weevil, Pissodes sitchensis Hopkins.

The following 12 insecticides and untreated control are listed in increasing order of effectiveness in controlling the Sitka-spruce weevil, Pissodes sitchensis Hopkins: (1) Untreated control, (2) malathion, (3) carbaryl, (4) Zectran® (4-dimethylamino-3,5-xylyl methylcarbamate), (5) Bidrin® (3-hydroxy- N,N -dimethyl- cis -croton-amide dimethyl phosphate) (6) heptachlor, (7) dimethoate, (8) benzene hexachloride, (9) Meta-Systox-R® ( S -2-(ethylsulfinyl)ethyl O,O -dimethyl phosphorothioate, (10) Guthion® ( O,O -dimethyl S - (4-oxo-1,2,3-benzotriazin-3 (4 H ) -ylmethyl) phosphorodithioate), (11) DDT, (12) endosulfan, (13) dieldrin. Meta-Systox-R showed promise in its ability to penetrate the bark of already infested trees and control the developing larvae.
Determination of residues important in hormone binding to the extracellular domain of the luteinizing hormone/chorionic gonadotropin receptor by site-directed mutagenesis and modeling.

The LH/CG receptor (LH/CG-R) belongs to the family of glycoprotein hormone G protein-coupled receptors. The extracellular domain of LH/CG-R is associated with high ligand-binding affinity and contains leucine-rich repeats (LRRs). With the goal of identifying essential amino acid residues involved in ligand binding, we replaced several conserved ionizable residues in the rat LH/CG-R with ones of opposite charge. The expression of these mutants was assessed by binding studies and Western blots after COS-7 cells were transiently transfected with wild type and mutant receptor cDNAs. The charge inversion of each of Lys40, Lys104, Asp118, Glu132, and Asp135 with Asp or Lys resulted in no detectable human CG binding in intact or solubilized cells; as control, a Lys40-->Arg replacement yielded a mutant with characteristics of the wild type receptor. Western analysis showed that the Lys40-->Arg mutant expressed at a level comparable to that of wild type receptor and, like wild type, exhibited a predominant immunor...
The economics of property taxes and land values: The elasticity of supply of structures

Abstract Land values are explained by diminishing returns to a variable factor, structure, added to fixed land. The total cost minimizing structural density determined by land value, occurs where the marginal cost of increased density equals the average cost of structure plus land. Structural demand prices equal marginal costs in equilibrium determining land demands. A general equilibrium land price establishes the uses, prices and densities of structures. A simple method of calculating structure supply elasticity and the incidence and deadweight loss of property taxes is developed. Differing property tax rates are found to be efficient.
Subfreezing volumetric behavior and stochastic modeling of intracellular ice formation in Drosophila melanogaster embryos.

Abstract Cryomicroscopic observations were made of the volumetric behavior and kinetics of intracellular ice formation (IIF) in Drosophila melanogaster embryos in a modified cell culture medium (BD.20) or BD.20 + 2 M ethylene glycol. After rapid cooling to a given temperature, transient volumetric contraction of the embryos during the isothermal period was quantified by computerized video image analysis. Fitting these data to the numerical solution of the volume flux equation yielded estimates of the hydraulic permeability coefficient ( L p ) for individual embryos at various subfreezing temperatures. L p approximately followed an Arrhenius relation between −2 and −9 °C, with a value of 0.168 μm/(min-atm) extrapolated to 0 °C and an apparent activation energy Δ E of 38.9 kcal/mol. IIF during an isothermal period occurred at random times whose characteristic temperature range and kinetics were affected by the presence of ethylene glycol. A stochastic process model developed to fit these data indicated the influence of both time-dependent and instantaneous components of IIF, presumed to be the result of seeding and heterogeneous nucleation, respectively. The presence of 2 M ethylene glycol depressed the characteristic temperature of instantaneous IIF by about 12 °C and reduced the rate constant for time-dependent IIF. Comparison with observed incidences of IIF yielded an estimate of the supercooling tolerance of 3 to 5°C.
Control design for switched systems using passivity indices

This paper presents a framework for control design of interconnected nonlinear switched systems using passivity and passivity indices. Background material is presented on the concept of passivity indices for continuously-varying systems. The passivity indices are then generalized to apply to switched systems to measure the level of passivity in a system. The main result of the paper shows how the indices can be compared between two systems in feedback to verify stability. It is explained how this theorem can be used as a control design tool for general nonlinear switched systems. An example is provided to demonstrate this design method. The connection between passivity indices and conic systems theory is summarized in the appendix.
The sintering characteristics of MgOCaOAI2O3SiO2 composite powder made by sol-gel method

The sintering sequences and characteristics of glass with composition in the quaternary phase field of the MgOCaOAI2O3SiO2 (MCAS) system, which was prepared by the sol-gel method, were studied with scanning electron micrograph, X-ray diffraction patterns, and other techniques. X-ray diffraction studies of specimens with a sintering temperature higher than 940 °C showed that cordierite and anorthite existed as two different phases. The dielectric characteristics of the sintered MCAS composite glass were a function of sintering temperature and sintering time.
Knowledge acquisition for expert system development

Abstract The recent proliferation of expert system development projects has focused the attention of the AI community on the problem of knowledge acquisition. Traditional programming skills possessed by the majority of knowledge engineers are found to be of little use when faced with the problem of extracting potential knowledge base information from a human expert. This paper deals with those topics and situations which have so often been described as the ‘bottleneck’ of expert system development. The concepts of expert and expertise are explored; the paradox of expertise is examined. Those interviewing methods found to be most effective for knowledge acquisition are discussed. A broad gamut of knowledge acquisition considerations are covered in detail including knowledge base structure, conversion of knowledge into rules, and refinement of the knowledge base.
Linear Copolymers of Ethylene and Polar Vinyl Monomers via Olefin Metathesis−Hydrogenation: Synthesis, Characterization, and Comparison to Branched Analogues

Materials structurally equivalent to copolymers of ethylene and <10 mol % of vinyl alcohol, vinyl acetate, methyl acrylate, tert-butyl acrylate, and acrylic acid were synthesized via ruthenium-catalyzed olefin metathesis copolymerization followed by polymer hydrogenation. These polymers differ from previous metathesis-derived linear polyethylene analogues in that they do not have precise sequence distributions, and therefore, they serve as superior models for chain-addition functional polyethylenes. The ester group-substituted polymers display rapid decreases in melting temperature and heat of fusion with increasing comonomer contents irrespective of the identity of the functional group, consistent with these groups being equally excluded from the crystal lattice. The alcohol-substituted polymers, however, show higher melting temperatures and a weaker property dependence on comonomer content as compared to the other polymers. Thus, the behavior of alkyl branch-free functionalized polyethylenes is consiste...
Metabolic profile of the elderly upon entry to the nursing home

All persons admitted to a medical school affiliated nursing home during a one-year period were evaluated as to their metabolic profile and diagnoses. Of 93 persons studied, 34 (36.6%) were diagnosed as having hypertension and 19 (20.4%) diagnosed as having diabetes mellitus. Ten (10.8%) of the persons admitted to the nursing home had both diseases co-existing. Of note, persons with both diseases had poorer control of their problems than persons with either disease alone. Persons with diabetes had the greatest number of co-existing problems. Diabetes and hypertension are common problems affecting persons admitted into the nursing home, and often occur together.
Oxygen Sensitivity of Algal H2-Production

Photoproduction of H2 by green algae utilizes electrons originating from the photosynthetic oxidation of water and does not require metabolic intermediates. However, algal hydrogenases are extremely sensitive to O2, which limits their usefulness in future commercial H2-production systems. We designed an experimental technique for the selection of O2-tolerant, H2-producing variants of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii based on the ability of wild-type cells to survive a short (20 min) exposure to metronidazole in the presence of controlled concentrations of O2. The number of survivors depends on the metronidazole concentration, light intensity, preinduction of the hydrogenase, and the presence or absence of O2. Finally, we demonstrate that some of the selected survivors in fact exhibit H2-production capacity that is less sensitive to O2 than the original wild-type population.
ISOPERIMETRIC PROFILES ON THE PRE-FRACTAL SIERPINSKI CARPET

We describe the relationships among several notions of isoperimetry on a class of pre-fractal Sierpinski Carpets that satisfy a set of geometric assumptions as well as on the graphs corresponding to these carpets. We compute the L1-isoperimetric profile at scale h, and we use this computation to determine both the classical isoperimetric profile and a profile computed using Jordan curve boundaries.
Insulin-like Growth Factor-I (IGF-I) Regulates IGF-binding Protein-5 Synthesis through Transcriptional Activation of the Gene in Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells

Previous studies have shown that porcine aortic smooth muscle cells (SMCs) secrete two insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins (IGFBP), IGFBP-2 and -4, and that these IGFBPs modulate IGF-I-stimulated SMC proliferation and migration. In this study we demonstrate that porcine SMCs express IGFBP-5 mRNA and synthesize and secrete the protein. In this cell type, the biosynthesis of IGFBP-5 is up-regulated by IGF-I. This increase in IGFBP-5 synthesis is accompanied by an increase in the steady-state mRNA levels. The induction of IGFBP-5 mRNA by IGF-I is time- and dose-dependent and requires de novo protein synthesis. IGF-II and insulin also increase IGFBP-5 mRNA levels at high doses. An IGF-I analog with normal affinity for the IGF-I receptor but reduced affinity for IGFBPs evokes a similar increase. Another analog that binds to IGFBPs but not to the receptor has no effect, indicating that this effect of IGF-I is mediated through the IGF-I receptor. The IGF-I-induced IGFBP-5 gene expression is cell type-specific because IGF-I had no such effect in other cell types examined. Nuclear run-on assays revealed that IGF-I increased transcription rate of the IGFBP-5 gene, while IGF-I did not change the IGFBP-5 mRNA stability. Furthermore, the IGFBP-5 promoter was 3.5-fold more active in directing expression of the luciferase reporter gene in IGF-I-treated aortic SMCs as compared to control cells, whereas the luciferase activity remained the same in control- and IGF-I-treated fibroblasts. These results suggest that IGF-I up-regulates IGFBP-5 synthesis by transcriptionally activating the IGFBP-5 gene in aortic SMCs.
Boron Nutrition, Intracellular Transport, and Knife-Cut Disease in Sunflower

The present study was conducted to investigate in sunflower the processes of boron (B) uptake, intracellular compartmentation, and xylem translocation in response to B supply, ranging from deficiency to incipient toxicity, and to short-term changes in B supply. The experiments were conducted with two sunflower genotypes, selected on the basis of their susceptibility to knife-cut disease. It appears that the roots of the susceptible genotype of sunflower were more sensitive to low B contents in the solution media than the shoots. The decrease in root dry weight in high-B treatments could also indicate it was more sensitive to B toxicity. Though root dry weight decreased, the shoot/root dry-weight ratio was smaller in the resistant genotype, suggesting that this genotype would have a substantially larger root volume, capable of supporting the B demand of its shoots. The B contents in the water-insoluble residue (WIR) of roots were similar for all genotypes and treatments. In contrast, the B concentration in...
Effect of pisatin inducing fungi on pea polyamines

Abstract The spermine and spermidine content of pea pod tissue is not significantly altered by inoculation with the pisatin-inducing fungi, Fusarium solani. Although these polyamines induce pisatin, it appears that they do not accumulate in levels sufficient to serve as internal mediators of pisatin production in infected tissues.
Identifying Risk Factors for Venous Thromboembolism

Our understanding of risk factors associated with the development of venous thromboembolism (VTE) has increased steadily over the past 20 years. In the 1980s, the development of VTE was conceptualized in the context of the factors in Virchow's classic triad that he believed led to venous thrombosis. These factors were injury to the endothelium, alteration in blood flow (particularly stasis/immobility for venous thrombosis), and activation of blood coagulation.1 Patients who had a disease or condition that included one of these factors were considered to have a predisposing condition,2 whereas patients without any of these factors were categorized as having an idiopathic venous thrombosis. In the 1980s, the principal terms used to categorize acute venous thrombotic events were idiopathic and secondary venous thromboembolism. Gradually the term unprovoked, first coined by Kearon,3 began to be used instead of idiopathic, and provoked was used in place of secondary. More recently, provoking risk factors have been divided into temporary provoking risk factors and persisting provoking risk factors, although there is no strict definition of what constitutes a temporary or transient risk factor. Practically speaking, clear examples of transient provoking risk factors include a lower-extremity fracture, major surgery, and long-distance travel. However, the notion that a clinician can easily identify a provoking risk factor becomes less certain as the time between the possible provoking event and onset of acute VTE increases. Is surgery a provoking risk factor when an acute VTE develops 90 or 120 days after an operation? The best examples of a persisting provoking VTE risk factor are an active medical diseases such as cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, or nephrotic syndrome, and a chronic medical condition such as immobility or a prior history of VTE. Article see p 2092 Accurate classification of an acute VTE as either provoked or unprovoked …
The impact of exposure to nontraditional vocational role models on the vocational role preferences of five-year-old children

During a two-week period, 17 kindergarten children in an experimental group were exposed to nontraditional role models and curricular materials and a control group, consisting of 22 kindergarten children, was exposed to a curriculum unrelated to vocational or sex roles. A comparison of the pretest and posttest scores of the two groups, using a t-test for correlated means, indicated that neither group made a significant change in their vocational role preferences. The data indicated that following the treatment, the experimental females were slightly less traditional (p < .24) while the experimental males were more traditional (p < .09). These findings are related to developmental and socialization factors. Implications for further research and for family life education are presented.
Hiding in plain sight: a case of Tarlov perineural cysts

A 52-year-old woman sought help for intractable lumbosacral pain, which began after she lifted a heavy object and fell onto her back more than 2 decades ago. Additional symptoms included burning, numbness, tingling, and pain in her right hip, posterior thigh, leg, and toes, and diminished sensation and sensitivity throughout her right leg and foot. Muscle spasms/ cramps, which often interrupted sleep, were intermittently present in her right buttock and right lower extremity. Right-foot drop impaired her ability to walk, and she used a wheeled walker with a seat because she could not walk more than a few steps without sitting. Other problems included: Severe pressure-type headaches, chronic abdominal and pelvic pain, cervical and thoracic back pain, frequent urinary tract infections, and urinary incontinence. Her pain increased with sitting, standing, and walking, and had been refractory to ibuprofen 800 mg tid, gabapentin 300 mg tid, oxycodone/acetaminophen 5/325 mg q4h PRN, and cyclobenzaprine 10 mg tid. Her medical history was unremarkable and her family history was notable for above-average height; most women in her paternal family are 5’10’’ to 6’ tall, and most men are 6’4’’ and taller. Many died in their 40s, and her brother and sister had been diagnosed with possible multiple sclerosis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of her pelvis revealed sacral nerve root cysts that were more completely imaged by sacral MRI (Fig 2). An MRI of the cervical spine from 2007 showed only mild C4-5 disc protrusion, but a repeat MRI in 2009 noted multilevel mild degenerative changes and small (#.6 cm) perineurial cysts at C4-5, C5-6, C6-7, C7-T1. In 2007, an MRI of the thoracic spine was interpreted as normal. The patient stated, ‘‘Everything in my life has been destroyed by these symptoms. It took over 2 decades
Performance of an Immobilized Trypsin System for Improving Oxidative Stability of Milk

Abstract Cold raw milk with .1 ppm of added copper was pumped at a rate of 2 liters/h through a bed of 20 g of glass-bound trypsin for 5 h daily for 14 days. After each daily run the reactor was back washed with distilled water, flooded with 20% ethanol in phosphate buffer, and refrigerated. Samples were pasteurized, stored 6 days, and tested for oxidation. All copper-containing samples were protected from oxidation by the treatment. The bound enzyme showed no loss of activity over the 14 days as determined by N-benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester hydrolysis. Standard plate counts of ethanol solution after storage, aqueous washing, and the milk before and after the treatment showed that 20% ethanol was effective in limiting microbial growth, that there was no microbial build-up in the reactor during the 5 h of continuous milk passage, and that milk was not substantially contaminated by the treatment. Flow rate decreased with time whether the reactor was used as a packed column or a fluidized bed due to plugging of the column or the retaining screen. No increase in nonprotein nitrogen in the treated samples was detected. However, when casein was used as the substrate, increases in nonprotein nitrogen and free amino groups were appreciable.
Asymptotical distributions, parameters and coverage probabilities of tolerance limits

In industries a tolerance limit of material quality is usually obtained by calculating the lower limit of a confidence interval for a percentile of the quality characteristic population. In this paper a single unified expression is given for tolerance limits from one-population model, one-way ANOVA model and linear regression model. Based on this expression the asymptotical normality and the probabilistic convergence are established, the formulas for the parameters and for the coverage probabilities are derived. A numerical study is then conducted on A-basis and B-basis that are widely used in aircraft composite material industry.
Pedigree Analysis of a Major QTL Conditioning Soybean Resistance to Southern Root-Knot Nematode

The southern root-knot nematode [Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood] (Mi) is a serious pest of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] in the southern USA. Many soybean cultivars with Mi resistance and high productivity have been developed in the USA during the past few decades. DNA markers have been used to identify a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) near the top of Linkage Group O (LG-O) conferring resistance to Mi. The objectives of this study were to determine the frequency of elite Mi-resistant cultivars that inherited the major Mi resistance QTL on LG-O and determine the ancestral source of the Mi-resistance allele at this QTL. Forty-eight soybean lines, including ancestral, Mi-susceptible, and Mi-resistant genotypes were analyzed at six simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci that flank the major Mi QTL on LG-O. Codescent analysis of markers and phenotypes across six cycles of breeding showed that Mi-resistant cultivars inherited a 200-by band at Satt358 and a 238-bp band at Sat―132 from 'Palmetto'. The tight linkage of both Satt358 and Sat―132 to the Mi QTL on LG-O indicates that selection for the Mi-resistant parent's allele at either of these markers should be highly effective in identifying Mi-resistant plants or lines.
Contact Transscleral Continuous Wave Neodymium:YAG Laser Cyclophotocoagulation

Abstract Advanced glaucoma in 140 eyes of 136 patients was treated with contact transscleral continuous wave neodymium:YAG (Nd:YAG) laser cyclophotocoagulation (CYC) with a sapphire-tipped probe. The anterior edge of the probe was placed 0.5 to 1.5 mm posterior to the limbus, using 7 to 9 W of power for 0.7 seconds with 32 to 40 applications, sparing the 3 and 9 o'clock meridians. Patients were studied prospectively. The mean preoperative intraocular pressure (IOP) of 36.7 ± 0.97 mmHg decreased to 21.2 ± 0.99 mmHg (P = 0.004) after treatment (mean follow-up, 3.2 ± 0.35 months) for a mean decrease in IOP of 15.5 ± 1.21 mmHg and a mean percent decrease of 39%. Forty-one eyes were followed 6 or more months (mean, 6.7 ± 0.25 months). The CYC reduced IOP to 25 mmHg or less in 71 % of eyes, to 22 mmHg or less in 62% of eyes, and to 19 mmHg or less in 49% of eyes. Maximum lowering of IOP occurred 1 week to 1 month after treatment and remained at that level through 6 months of follow-up. Retreatment was required in 11% of patients; only one patient was retreated more than once. Four patients treated with 9 W of power developed IOPs below 5 mmHg; two of these patients had an IOP of 0 mmHg. Other complications of therapy were minimal, and patients had little pain. There was no significant change in visual acuity. Early results of this newly available therapy are encouraging.
Reversibility as structuring principle in Hong Sang-soo's Turning Gate

As its title indicates, Hong Sang-soo's film On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate (Saeng-hwal-eui Bal-gyun) (2002) refers to a specific Chinese legend whose conclusion is alluded to at the end of the film. Though there are apparent references to the legend in the film's first half, the allusions there seem to have no immediate purpose. However, in light of the general pattern of reversibility that structures much of the film, those apparent references in conjunction with some dances early in the film suggest that the allusions refer, not to the Chinese legend, but rather to a well-known Japanese Kabuki play, A Maiden at Dōjōji, whose action inverts gendered roles of the Chinese legend.
Decision tree design using information theory

The theoretical models based on rate-distortion theory and prefix-coding analogies explain previously observed experimental phenomena reported in the literature. An application to edge detection is described where we primarily emphasize the inductive methodology rather than the domain application (image processing) per se. We conclude that inductive learning paradigms based on information-theoretic models are both theoretically well-behaved and useful in practical problems. i Rule induction from large data sets is currently receiving attention in the areas of machine learning and expert systems. Classifier design from labelled training l' samples is a problem which shares many characteristics with the rule induction problem. A recent paper by Bundy, Silver & Plummer (1985) provides a useful discussion of how the two problems relate to each other. The basic premise of many rule induction mechanisms, when the data is probabilistic rather than deterministic, is to induce a hierarchy or decision tree as a representation of the relationships between the attributes (evidence) and the classes (hypotheses). Hence general relationships between classes and attributes are induced or learned by the induction mechanism. Note that the terms attributes and classes occur more often in pattern recognition literature than the terms evidence and hypotheses which tend to be used in the artificial intelligence domain. For the purposes of this paper we adopt the former. When the attribute-class relationships are probabilistic rather than deterministic, the induction mechanisms which work best appear to be those based on statistical
Biomarkers of central nervous system inflammation in infantile and juvenile gangliosidoses

The gangliosidoses (Tay-Sachs disease, Sandhoff disease, and GM1-gangliosidosis) are progressive neurodegenerative diseases caused by lysosomal enzyme activity deficiencies and consequent accumulation of gangliosides in the central nervous system (CNS). The infantile forms are distinguished from the juvenile forms by age of onset, rate of disease progression, and age of death. There are no approved treatments for the gangliosidoses. In search of potential biomarkers of disease, we quantified 188 analytes in CSF and serum from living human patients with longitudinal (serial) measurements. Notably, several associated with inflammation were elevated in the CSF of infantile gangliosidosis patients, and less so in more slowly progressing forms of juvenile gangliosidosis, but not in MPS disease. Thirteen CSF and two serum biomarker candidates were identified. Five candidate biomarkers were distinguished by persistent elevation in the CSF of patients with the severe infantile phenotype: ENA-78, MCP-1, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, and TNFR2. Correspondence of abnormal elevation with other variables of disease-i.e., severity of clinical phenotype, differentiation from changes in serum, and lack of abnormality in other neurodegenerative lysosomal diseases-identifies these analytes as biomarkers of neuropathology specific to the gangliosidosis diseases.