cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 4755: Calpastatin phosphorylation regulates radiation response in glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most prevalent and aggressive primary malignant brain tumor in adults. Patients diagnosed with GBM have a very poor prognosis and quality of life, with a median survival time of 12-15 months despite receiving the standard of care treatment. GBMs are highly heterogeneous, invasive, and resistant to both chemo- and radio-therapy. The overall goal of this study is to identify novel mechanisms of radioresistance in GBM, so that more effective therapies can be developed in the future. We performed quantitative mass spectrometry-based phosphoproteomic profiling of GBM cell lines before and after radiation treatment, and determined post-radiation fold-changes in phosphorylation for each phosphopeptide. Results show calpastatin as one of the statistically significant differentially regulated phosphopeptides following radiation treatment. Calpastatin is an endogenous inhibitor of calpains, which are calcium-dependent cysteine proteases that control a wide range of cellular processes including cell survival and apoptosis. We hypothesized that phosphorylation inactivates calpastatin resulting in increased calpain activity. Western blot analyses with phospho-specific calpastatin antibodies validated the mass spectrometry results. In order to test the functional significance of phosphorylated calpastatin, we utilized site-directed mutagenesis to generate non-phosphorylatable and phospho-mimetic calpastatin proteins. Western blot analyses of U87 cells stably expressing CAST-S633A or -S633E supported the hypothesis that calpastatin phosphorylation leads to increased calpain activity. In conclusion, we identified increased levels of calpastatin phosphorylation in multiple GBM cell lines following radiation treatment, and shown that this correlates with increased calpain activity. Modulation of calpastatin activity is a potential strategy to increase radiosensitivity of glioblastomas. Targeting calpastatin is advantageous over targeting calpain itself, since many calpain inhibitors exhibit limited selectivity. Results of this study will contribute to our understanding of how GBM tumors become resistant to radiation therapy. Funding: R01CA108633, R01CA169368, RC2CA148190, U10CA180850-01 (NCI), Brain Tumor Funders Collaborative Grant, and The Ohio State University CCC (all to AC). Citation Format: Emily A. Bassett, Mitchell Pearson, Kamalakannan Palanichamy, Saikh J. Haque, Arnab Chakravarti. Calpastatin phosphorylation regulates radiation response in glioblastoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4755. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4755
A Simple Metric for Predicting Revenue from Electric Peak‐Shaving and Optimal Battery Sizing

A major use case for behind-the-meter (BTM) electricity storage is peak-shaving for commercial and industrial customers who must pay peak-demand charges. Quantifying the value proposition for individual customers currently requires an optimization model, the development of which can be costly in human and computing resources. We disclose here a simple econometric model to predict revenue from retail peak-shaving. Geared toward electric utilities, third-party storage providers and consumers, this model eliminates the need to formulate a model in specialized optimization software. The model is based on a novel predictive metric that is derived from the building's load profile. During model fitting, we discovered that the revenue estimates generated are independent of the power capacity of the battery if the maximum power-to-energy ratio of the storage is held constant. This effect can be used to calculate the profit-maximizing storage size, which we explore in a case study.
Relationship of Biodiversity with Heavy Metal Tolerance and Sorption Capacity: A Meta-Analysis Approach

Microbial remediation of metals can alleviate the concerns of metal pollution in the environment. The microbial remediation, however, can be a complex process since microbial metal resistance and biodiversity can play a direct role in the bioremediation process. This study aims to understand the relationships among microbial metal resistance, biodiversity, and metal sorption capacity. Meta-analyses based on 735 literature data points of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of Plantae, Bacteria, and Fungi exposed to As, Cd, Cr Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn showed that metal resistance depends on the microbial Kingdom and the type of heavy metal and that consortia are significantly more resistant to heavy metals than pure cultures. A similar meta-analysis comparing 517 MIC values from different bacterial genera (Bacillus, Cupriavidus, Klebsiella, Ochrobactrum, Paenibacillus, Pseudomonas, and Ralstonia) confirmed that metal tolerance depends on the type of genus. Another meta-analysis with 195 studies showed that th...
The Utility of [18F]DASA-23 for Molecular Imaging of Prostate Cancer with Positron Emission Tomography.

There is a strong, unmet need for superior positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agents that are able to measure biochemical processes specific to prostate cancer. Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) catalyzes the concluding step in glycolysis and is a key regulator of tumor growth and metabolism. Elevation of PKM2 expression was detected in Gleason 8–10 tumors compared to Gleason 6–7 carcinomas, indicating that PKM2 may potentially be a marker of aggressive prostate cancer. We have recently reported the development of a PKM2-specific radiopharmaceutical [18F]DASA-23 and herein describe its evaluation in cell culture and preclinical models of prostate cancer. The cellular uptake of [18F]DASA-23 was evaluated in a panel of prostate cancer cell lines and compared to that of [18F]FDG. The specificity of [18F]DASA-23 to measure PKM2 levels in cell culture was additionally confirmed through the use of PKM2-specific siRNA. PET imaging studies were then completed utilizing subcutaneous prostate cancer xenografts using either PC3 or DU145 cells in mice. [18F]DASA-23 uptake values over 60-min incubation period in PC3, LnCAP, and DU145 respectively were 23.4 ± 4.5, 18.0 ± 2.1, and 53.1 ± 4.6 % tracer/mg protein. Transient reduction in PKM2 protein expression with siRNA resulted in a 50.1 % reduction in radiotracer uptake in DU145 cells. Small animal PET imaging revealed 0.86 ± 0.13 and 1.6 ± 0.2 % ID/g at 30 min post injection of radioactivity in DU145 and PC3 subcutaneous tumor bearing mice respectively. Herein, we evaluated a F-18-labeled PKM2-specific radiotracer, [18F]DASA-23, for the molecular imaging of prostate cancer with PET. [18F]DASA-23 revealed rapid and extensive uptake levels in cellular uptake studies of prostate cancer cells; however, there was only modest tumor uptake when evaluated in mouse subcutaneous tumor models.
A semi-quantitative technique to assess excursion of the flexor hallucis longus.

Abstract Background Recent research indicates that restriction in excursion of flexor hallucis longus (FHL) contributes to hallux rigidus development. As described in the literature, clinical evaluation of FHL excursion has poor interobserver reliability. A simple, inexpensive, easily used FHL relative excursion measurement device was developed and tested. Methods 64 subjects were enrolled with shoe size, height, weight, BMI, and age compared. Using a footplate and series of mechanical wedges, maximum ankle dorsiflexion was measured with the great toe in 15°, 30°, and 45° of dorsiflexion. Results Ankle dorsiflexion decrease with progressive hallux dorsiflexion increase was statistically significant with a linear correlation (r 2 =.814 p Conclusions This technique provides consistent assessment of the limitation to ankle dorsiflexion incurred by decreased FHL excursion, establishing groundwork for future studies to assess the relationship between diminished FHL excursion and FHL pathology.
DESIGN AND CONCEPTS OF COMPOSITE STRUCTURES

ABSTRACT Advanced composite concepts and designs are presented for aerospace and commercial structural elements and components. Structures designed for low weight, low cost and a balance of weight/cost are reviewed along with service experiences. Design configurations of early composite structures are described and compared to current components. Specialty composite structures utilized for spacecraft and sports equipment are discussed highlighting the concepts possible with composite materials. Finally, trends for future composite designs and concepts are summarized.
Propaganda, Crypsis, and Slave-making

In complex ecological communities, the ability to survive and reproduce is often tenuous at best. Many organisms do so by simply “bullying” their way through life, but for many others a more furtive approach is necessary. These latter animals resort to either blending into their environment, or to mimicking specific species-characteristic cues of other, usually dominant, members of their community. Sometimes, rather than taking such a defensive approach, they resort instead to an offensive approach, using what have been called propaganda substances. They may even combine both approaches as has been found for some slave-making ants. Although a variety of cues may be used to produce these various strategies, by far the most commonly used cues are chemical, and they will be the only ones considered in this chapter.
The Geological Evolution of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico—Some Critical Problems and Areas

The fascinating and complex area of Middle America—roughly the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and adjacent land areas—has always attracted the attention of geologists. Geographically and politically fragmented, this dominantly oceanic area displays a rich panoply of geologic phenomena: earthquakes, volcanoes, defoimed and metamorphosed sedimentary rocks of various ages, and a wide spectrum of igneous rock types. Because of the wide variety of phenomena displayed and because of the limited area of outcropping rock, geological interpretations of this region have largely been framed to fit prevailing contemporary geological fancies and to reflect one side or another of a geological debate centering around more distant areas. Thus, the Caribbean has figured prominently in debates such as “where do the Appalachians go?”. In some cases the disputants have not been Caribbean geologists ; in fact, the earliest summarizer of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico—the estimable C. Schuchert (1935)—did not even visit the area and based his conclusions solely on his admirable summary of the existing literature.
KINETIC THEORY OF GRANULAR MIXTURES

This chapter discusses the kinetic theory of granular mixtures. The kinetic theory of granular flow allows the computation of the rheology of the mixture. This theory requires empirical input. It consists of the normal and the tangential restitution coefficients. The latter arise when one considers rotation of rough particles. In the kinetic theory of gases, the equipartition of energy permits the use of a single temperature for a mixture. In pneumatic conveying of a binary mixture, particle-to-particle drag has long been recognized as a momentum source that needs to be included in the separate phase momentum balances to properly describe the observed segregation. This particle drag is because of the head-on collision of particles. The friction coefficient in the theoretical expression is in terms of the granular temperature Θ i . To make it determinate, one needs a kinetic energy equation for Θ i . The kinematic viscosity of the particulate phase can be computed as a product of the mean free path, which is the particle diameter divided by the volume fraction of the particulate phase times the random velocity of the particles. This random velocity is computed by means of a fluctuating kinetic energy equation, which in the kinetic theory of gases corresponds to the thermal energy equation.
Bitter Fruit: Inverse Associations Between PTC and Antidesma bunius Perception

Ability to perceive the bitter compound phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) is inherited via a dominant "taster" allele of the TAS2R38 gene, whereas inability is inherited via a recessive "non-taster" allele. This raises a question: Is the non-taster allele functionless, or does it mediate perception of compounds other than PTC? New evidence supports speculation that it is indeed functional. Associations between TAS2R38 mutations and bitter sensitivity to the tropical berry Antidesma bunius are the inverse of those PTC, suggesting that the non-taster allele enables perception to compounds in the fruit.
Expanding pentafluorouranates: hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of β-NaUF5 and β-NaUF5·H2O

Two new sodium uranium(IV) pentafluorides were synthesized from uranium dioxide, HF, and NaF using mild hydrothermal conditions. β-NaUF5·H2O has greater lattice energy than previously-known α-NaUF5·H2O and possesses lower symmetry with the latter compound being orthorhombic, whereas β-NaUF5·H2O is monoclinic. Trigonal β-NaUF5 also possesses different connectivity between the [UFn] building units than the α-phase, with higher symmetry and greater lattice energy than orthorhombic α-NaUF5. The single crystal absorption spectra of these compounds are also reported and compared.
Molecular biology in nutrition research: modeling of folate metabolism.

This chapter discusses the application of molecular biological techniques for the study of nutrient control of metabolism. Tissue folates are metabolized to poly-γ-glutamyl coenzymes that function in metabolic cycles involved in amino acid and DNA precursor synthesis. Model Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells obtained by transfecting CHO mutants with the E. coli and human folylpolyglutamate synthetase genes are useful for assessing the role of folylpolyglutamates in one carbon metabolism, and the regulation for delineating folate intracellular stores. Cells expressing enzymes in specific subcellular compartments, expressing enzymes with different substrate specificity, and expressing enzyme activity at different levels, all in a common background, allows the development of kinetic models for assessing the role of folylpolyglutamate synthetase in folate retention and in the cytotoxicity of antifolates.
Calbindin-D28k expression in spinal electromotoneurons of the weakly electric fish Apteronotus leptorhynchus during adult development and regeneration.

Additive neurogenesis, the net increase in neuronal numbers by addition of new nerve cells to existing tissue, forms the basis for indeterminate spinal cord growth in brown ghost knifefish (Apteronotus leptorhynchus). Among the cells generated through the activity of adult neural stem cells are electromotoneurons, whose axons constitute the electric organ of this weakly electric fish. Electromotoneuron development is organized along a caudo-rostral gradient, with the youngest and smallest of these cells located near the caudal end of the spinal cord. Electromotoneurons start expressing calbindin-D28k when their somata have reached diameters of approximately 10 μm, and they continue expression after they have grown to a final size of about 50 μm. Calbindin-D28k expression is significantly increased in young neurons generated in response to injury. Immunohistochemical staining against caspase-3 revealed that electromotoneurons in both intact and regenerating spinal cord are significantly less likely to undergo apoptosis than the average spinal cord cell. We hypothesize that expression of calbindin-D28k protects electromotoneurons from cell death; and that the evolutionary development of such a neuroprotective mechanism has been driven by the indispensability of electromotoneurons in the fish’s electric behavior, and by the high size-dependent costs associated with their production or removal upon cell death.
Oxidative-substitution reactions of electron-rich aromatic compounds with BF3-activated iodonium ylides

Abstract The treatment of electron-rich aromatic substrates with phenyliodonium bis(carbonyl)methylides in the presence of Et2O·BF3 leads to bis(carbonyl)alkylation of the aromatic nucleus.
Treatment of patients (pts) with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and imatinib failure after developing BCR-ABL kinase mutations with allogeneic stem cell transplantation (ASCT)

6545 Background: ASCT is curative for many pts with CML, and may be effective after imatinib failure. Resistance to imatinib is most often associated with point mutations in the Bcr-Abl kinase doma...
Synthetic peptide of tumour–associated antigen L6 formulated with polymer-based adjuvant enhances anti-tumour effects in mice

Abstract Background Tumour associated antigen L6 (TAL6) is a cell surface protein of the transmembrane-4 superfamily (TM4SF) also known as TM4SF1. TAL6 is over-expressed in more than 80 % of human lung, breast, colon and ovarian tumours but not normal tissues. Synthetic peptides are attractive for cancer immunotherapy because of their safety and flexibility. We have identified an B cell epitope of TAL6 using monoclonal antibodies. The synthetic peptide epitope formulated with adjuvants can induce anti-tumour immunity. Methods The linear B cell epitope was identified by anti-TAL6 monoclonal antibody using overlapping peptides cover the extracellular domain of TAL6. The synthetic peptide containing B cell epitope was formulated with different adjuvants to immunize mice to determine their immunogenecity. Furthermore, the sera of immunized mice were used to examine the antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) against human cancer. Moreover, the anti-tumor effects were evaluated in mouse model. Results The anti-TAL6 recognized a minimal linear region at amino acid 121-129. We formulated synthetic peptide (a.a.114-133) and a pan-DR peptide with different adjuvants to immunize mouse and evaluate their immunogenicity. The peptides formulated with an emulsion type nanoparticle (PELC) adjuvant and a toll-like receptor 9 agonist (CpG ODN) (PELC/CpG) induced the greatest ADCC responses in TAL6-expresssed cell lines. The induced anti-tumor immunity inhibited the growth of TAL6-positive cancer cells in mouse. Conclusions These data suggested that a peptide containing B cell epitopes of TAL6 formulated with PELC/CpG adjuvant is feasible for cancer immunotherapy. Legal entity responsible for the study The authors. Funding Ministry of Science Technology, Taiwan. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
LINKS BETWEEN NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT AND ACCESS TO SOCIAL CAPITAL IN LATER LIFE

Social capital is essential for healthy living in later life, and evidence indicates the importance of neighborhood context in facilitating access to this resource. However, additional research is needed to compare how objective and subjective indicators of context shape this association. We examine links between objective (census tract-level population density and composition) and subjective (perceived safety and quiet) indicators of neighborhoods and social capital (contact frequency, network size, trust others in neighborhood). Data include participants age 65+ (N=259) from Wave 3 (2015) of the longitudinal Social Relations Study based in Detroit, Michigan. Multivariate analyses indicate respondents living in more densely populated neighborhoods reported more frequent contact with network members. Those perceiving their neighborhood as safe reported larger networks, more trust in and greater support exchanged among neighbors. Findings suggest both objective and subjective indicators of neighborhood context shape access to social capital, but perceptions play a larger role.
Aging Dampens the Intestinal Innate Immune Response during Severe Clostridioides difficile Infection and Is Associated with Altered Cytokine Levels and Granulocyte Mobilization

ABSTRACT Clostridioides (formerly Clostridium) difficile is the most common cause of hospital-acquired infection, and advanced age is a risk factor for C. difficile infection. Disruption of the intestinal microbiota and immune responses contribute to host susceptibility and severity of C. difficile infection. However, the specific impact of aging on immune responses during C. difficile infection remains to be well described. This study explores the effect of age on cellular and cytokine immune responses during C. difficile infection. Young mice (2 to 3 months old) and aged mice (22 to 28 months old) were rendered susceptible to C. difficile infection with the antibiotic cefoperazone and then infected with C. difficile strains with varied disease-causing potentials. We observe that the host age and the infecting C. difficile strain influenced the severity of disease associated with infection. Tissue-specific CD45+ immune cell responses occurred at the time of peak disease severity in the ceca and colons of all mice infected with a high-virulence strain of C. difficile; however, significant deficits in intestinal neutrophils and eosinophils were detected in aged mice, with a corresponding decrease in circulating CXCL1, an important neutrophil recruiter and activator. Interestingly, this lack of intestinal granulocyte response in aged mice during severe C. difficile infection was accompanied by a simultaneous increase in circulating white blood cells, granulocytes, and interleukin 17A (IL-17A). These findings demonstrate that age-related alterations in neutrophils and eosinophils and systemic cytokine and chemokine responses are associated with severe C. difficile infection and support a key role for intestinal eosinophils in mitigating C. difficile-mediated disease severity.
G-Protein biased opioid agonists: 3-hydroxy-N-phenethyl-5-phenylmorphans with three-carbon chain substituents at C9.

A series of compounds have been synthesized with a variety of substituents based on a three-carbon chain at the C9-position of 3-hydroxy-N-phenethyl-5-phenylmorphan (3-(2-phenethyl-2-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-5-yl)phenol). Three of these were found to be μ-opioid receptor agonists in the inhibition of forskolin-induced cAMP accumulation assay and they did not recruit β-arrestin at all in the PathHunter assay and in the Tango assay. Compound 12 (3-((1S,5R,9R)-2-phenethyl-9-propyl-2-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-5-yl)phenol), 13 (3-((1S,5R,9R)-9-((E)-3-hydroxyprop-1-en-1-yl)-2-phenethyl-2-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-5-yl)phenol), and 15a (3-((1S,5R,9R)-9-(2-hydroxypropyl)-2-phenethyl-2-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-5-yl)phenol) were partial μ-agonists. Two of them had moderate efficacies (EMAXca. 65%) and one had lower efficacy, and they were ca. 5, 3, and 4 times more potent, respectively, than morphine in vitro. Computer simulations were carried out to provide a molecular basis for the high bias ratios of the C9-substituted 5-phenylmorphans toward G-protein activation.
If I Quit in the Clinic and Do Nothing but Teach, I'm Going to Be Looking for a New Job: An Exploration of Uncertainty Management in Medical Education

Academic medicine in the United States is a complex field, changing regularly in response to new healthcare knowledge, emerging technologies, and evolving funding models. Uncertainty management the...
Misconduct and Reputation under Imperfect Information

Misconduct – market actions that are unethical and indicative of fraud or wrongdoing – is a significant yet poorly understood issue that underlies many economic and financial transactions. Does misconduct in markets matter? When and how does reputation act as a discipline against seller misconduct? We design a field experiment to study the impact of two-sided anti-misconduct information programs on markets, which we deploy on the local markets for mobile money (Human ATMs) in Ghana. We show that, at baseline, these markets are characterized by substantial imperfect information, consumer mistrust, and vendor misconduct. The information programs lead to a large reduction in misconduct (-21 pp = -72%) and as a result, an increase in overall market activity, firm sales revenue, and consumer welfare. We develop a simple sanctioning and moral hazard framework between vendors and consumers that shows the treatment effect is due to a combination of more accurate consumer’ beliefs about misconduct and increased reputation concerns for vendors. Together, our results indicate a potentially significant source of local financial market frictions, where market activities are underprovided due to misconduct and difficulty in building reputation. Social sanctions through reputational impacts can promote formal local markets when formal sanctions are weak.
Molecular mechanisms of osteoblastic differentiation induced by PSA in SaOS-2 osteosarcoma cells

1152 The high prevalence of osteoblastic bone metastases in prostate cancer involves the production of osteoblast-stimulating factors by prostate cancer cells. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a serine protease uniquely produced by prostate cancer cells and is an important serological marker for prostate cancer. In this study, we examined the role of PSA in the induction of osteoblast differentiation. Human cDNA containing the full coding region of PSA was stably transfected into human osteosarcoma SaOS-2 cells. SaOS-2 cells were also treated with exogenously added enzymatically active PSA. We evaluated changes in global gene expression using cDNA microarrays and northern blot analysis resulting from expression of PSA in human osteosarcoma SaOS-2 cells. The molecular mechanisms involved in mediating the effect of PSA on bone cells were examined. SaOS-2 cells expressing PSA had markedly upregulated expression of genes associated with osteoblast differentiation including runx-2 and osteocalcin compared to the controls. Consistent with these results, the stable clones expressing PSA showed increased mineralization and increased activity of alkaline phosphatase in vitro compared to controls, suggesting that these cells undergo osteoblastic differentiation. We also found that osteoprotegerin (OPG) expression was downregulated and RANKL expression upregulated in the cells expressing PSA compared to controls. Treatment of SaOS cells with exogenous enzymatically active PSA also produced similar results, suggesting that osteoblastic differentiation may be regulated by PSA. PSA-overexpressing as well as PSA-treated cells showed elevated levels of reporter activity with TGFβ-responsive luciferase, indicating that PSA may exert its effects through the activation of the TGFβ pathway. The PSA-expressing clones, which possess high levels of Wif-1, showed a reduction in TGFβ-responsive reporter activity with siRNA against Wif-1, indicating that the TGFβ and the Wnt-β-catenin pathways might participate in a cross talk and regulate the process of osteoblastic differentiation of these cells. Modulation of the expression of osteogenic genes and alteration of the balance between OPG-RANKL by PSA suggests that PSA produced by metastatic prostate cancer cells may participate in bone remodeling in favor of development of osteoblastic metastases in the heterogeneous mixture of osteolytic and osteoblastic lesions. These findings provide a molecular basis for understanding the high prevalence of osteoblastic bone metastases in prostate cancer.
Accelerated Prediction of Atomically Precise Cluster Structures Using On-the-fly Machine Learning

The chemical and structural properties of atomically precise nanoclusters are of great interest in numerous applications, but predicting the stable structures of clusters can be computationally expensive. In this work, we present a procedure for rapidly predicting low-energy structures of nanoclusters by combining a genetic algorithm with interatomic potentials actively learned on-the-fly. Applying this approach to aluminum clusters with 21 to 55 atoms, we have identified structures with lower energy than any reported in the literature for 25 out of the 35 sizes. Our benchmarks indicate that the active learning procedure accelerated the average search speed by more than an order of magnitude relative to genetic algorithm searches using only density functional calculations. This work demonstrates a feasible way to systematically discover stable structures for large nanoclusters and provides insights into the transferability of machine-learned interatomic potentials for nanoclusters.
Pregnancy and offspring sex ratio following insemination with SexedULTRA and conventional semen in cows in a commercial beef operation.

Pregnancy rate per AI (PR/AI) and breeding season pregnancy rates between insemination with sexed semen (SS; at 18 hr after the onset of oestrus) and conventional semen (CS; at 12 hr after the onset of oestrus,) and offspring gender ratio between two groups were compared. Angus cross cows (n = 686, during 2019 and 2020 breeding seasons) were oestrus-synchronized using Select-Synch + CIDR protocol and were observed thrice daily for oestrus until 72 hr after PGF2α administration. Cows expressed oestrus (n = 513) were inseminated with either SS (n = 246; SexedULTRA 4M™; y chromosome-bearing sperm) or CS (n = 267). Cows (n = 173) that failed to express oestrus at 72 hr after PGF2α received 100 μg of GnRH and CS insemination concomitantly. Two weeks later, cows were penned with natural service sires (bull:cow ratio 1:25) for 45 days. Pregnancy was diagnosed 30 days after bull removal. Calves' gender was determined at birth. For cows that expressed oestrus, PR/AI did not differ (p > .1) between SS (65.0%) and CS (66.7%) groups. The overall PR/AI differed (p .05) did not differ between SS vs. CS groups. Bull:heifer gender ratio following AI was 88:12 and 52:48 for SS and CS groups, respectively, with an overall 66:34 ratio. Bull:heifer gender ratio for the two breeding seasons was 79:21 and 52:48 for SS and CS groups, respectively, with an overall 62:38 ratio. In conclusion, the fertility of SS insemination at 18 hr after onset of oestrus was 97% of CS insemination at 12 hr after onset of oestrus. Though breeding season pregnancy did not differ between SS and groups, preferred calf gender was 25 percentage points greater for SS over CS application. The gender accuracy was 88%.
Writing about peoples: an American’s reflections on 30 years of Central Asian studies

Recalling knowledge and instruction about Central Asia toward the end of the Cold War (1945–91) in the United States, this article provides a retrospective on an anthropologist’s coming of age and ...
The Impact of Human Factors on Software Sustainability

Software engineering is a constantly evolving subject area that faces new challenges every day as it tries to automate newer business processes. One of the key challenges to the success of a software solution is attaining sustainability. The inability of numerous software to sustain for the desired time length is caused by limited consideration given to sustainability during the stages of software development. This chapter presents a detailed and inclusive study covering human factor-related challenges of and approaches to software sustainability. Sustainability can be achieved by conducting specific activities at the human, environmental, and economic level. Human factors include critical social activities such as leadership and communication. This chapter groups the existing research efforts based on the above aspects. Next, how those aspects affect software sustainability is studied via a survey of software practitioners. Based on the findings, it was observed that human sustainability aspects are important, and that taking one into consideration and ignoring the other factors will threaten the sustainability of software products. Despite the noteworthy advantages of making a software sustainable, the research community has presented only a limited number of approaches that contribute to improving the human factors to achieve sustainability. To the best of our knowledge, these representations require further research. In this regard, an organized, structured, and detailed study is required on existing human factor-related sustainability approaches which will serve as a one-stop-service for researchers and software engineers who are willing to learn about these.
Hybrid Machine Learning and Estimation-Based Flight Trajectory Prediction in Terminal Airspace

For air traffic management, trajectory prediction plays an important role as the predicted trajectory information is used in crucial tasks for the safety and efficiency of air traffic operations, such as conflict detection and resolution, scheduling, and sequencing. In this paper, we propose a framework for trajectory prediction in terminal airspace by combining a machine learning-based method and a physics-based estimation method. A trajectory prediction model based on machine learning is trained from historical surveillance data to represent the collective behavior of a set of flight trajectories, from which the data-driven prediction can be obtained as the expected future behavior of an incoming flight. A physics-based estimation algorithm called Residual-Mean Interacting Multiple Models (RM-IMM) then incorporates the machine learning prediction as a pseudo-measurement to account for the current motion of the aircraft. The proposed framework is tested, with real air traffic surveillance data, by predicting the future state information of the flights for real-time air traffic control applications. The results show that the proposed framework produces a greatly improved prediction accuracy compared to the two existing machine learning-based algorithms.
Jewish Martyrs in the Pagan and Christian Worlds

This book presents a linear history of Jewish martyrdom, from the Hellenistic period to the high Middle Ages. Following the chronology of sources, the study challenges the general consensus that martyrdom was an original Hellenistic Jewish idea. Instead, Jews like Philo and Josephus internalised the idealised Roman concept of voluntary death and presented it as an old Jewish practice. The centrality of self-sacrifice in Christianity further stimulated the development of rabbinic martyrology and the talmudic guidelines for passive martyrdom. However, when forced to choose between death and conversion in medieval Christendom, European Jews went beyond these guidelines, sacrificing themselves and loved ones. Through death not only did they attempt to prove their religiosity, but also to disprove the religious legitimacy of their Christian persecutors. While martyrs and martyrologies intended to show how Judaism differed from Christianity, they, in fact, reveal a common mindset.
National Strategies to Decrease the Burden of Diabetes and Its Complications

Comparative results from national strategies for diabetes care and prevention are needed to understand the impact and barriers encountered during the implementation process. Long-term outcomes are limited, but results on intermediate outcomes and processes of diabetes care measures are available from translational research studies. In this narrative review, we highlight programs with nationwide reach, targeting various ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic populations with diabetes. We describe the implementation strategies, the impact on clinical outcomes, specific barriers, and cost-effectiveness results of national efforts aimed at improving diabetes care and prevention in the USA.
Computers play the Beer Game: can artifical agents manage supply chains

In this study, we model an electronic supply chain that is managed by artificial agents. We investigate whether artificial agents do better than humans when playing the MIT Beer Game. Can the artificial agents mitigate the Bullwhip effect or discover good and effective business strategies? In particular, we study the following questions: can agents learn reasonably good policies in the face of deterministic demand with fixed lead-time? Can agents cope reasonably well in the face of stochastic demand with stochastic lead-time? Can agents learn and adapt in various contexts to play the game? Can agents cooperate across the supply chain?.
A Unique Methodology For Implementing High School Capstone Experiences Through Teacher Professional Development

Innovators and abstract thinkers - students who question why are going to be the future of engineering, of science and cures for diseases. Rarely do students ask where and how innovation is created. Students, particularly post-secondary students have lost their curiosity and they have lost their ability to question. Why? Because the relationship between theory and application has been removed from our high schools. Al though the term “STEM” is generally used, students do not appear to understand the importance of core STEM principles such as Newton’s 2 nd law and therefore do not understand the influence these basic algorithms have in daily life. In recent decades, high school education has focused on quizzes and exams, state and national standardize testing and SATs. More emphasis is placed on performing well on these exams, focusing on memorization and test taking rather than on thorough comprehension. The question i s, “how do you translate theory to application in the high school classroom?” Students’ knowledge and engagement are only as good as their teachers. Educators need to be given the proper tools, resources, and knowledge. CAPSULE, a capstone-based experience provides tools, resources, and knowledge to enhance the teaching and learning involvement. CAPSULE teaches and promotes inquiry, exploration and application rather than just theory. The methodology engages and educates hands-on learning, teamwork and multiple solutions through the engineering design process (EDP). The theory behind innovation is the motivation for CAPSULE – to teach and engage teachers using 3D modeling, EDP, and project-based learning to create a high school capstone experience. This paper presents a new approach of teaching STEM related courses to high school students. The methodology presented is on “training the trainer” to enable and empower teachers to master and utilize this new approach.
A Band of Noble Women: Racial Politics in the Women’s Peace Movement by Melinda Plastas

In the summer of 1918, Addie Hunton and Kathryn Johnson traveled to war-ridden France on behalf of the YMCA. As the first African American females to represent the organization internationally, Hun...
Platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase increases during macrophage differentiation. A novel mechanism that regulates accumulation of platelet-activating factor

Monocytes and macrophages produce bioactive lipids, such as platelet-activating factor (1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, PAF), that mediate inflammation. These cells synthesize PAF following their activation, but not constitutively. Previous studies have demonstrated that PAF accumulation is regulated by the activity of the synthetic enzymes. We observed that the accumulation of PAF in stimulated human monocytes decreased by 90% as they differentiated into macrophages. There was no decrease in the activities of the synthetic enzymes; however, the activity of the degradative enzyme, PAF acetylhydrolase, increased 260-fold. The increase in PAF acetylhydrolase activity appeared to result from a net increase in the synthesis of a new enzyme. These studies demonstrate a novel mechanism in which an increase of the degradative enzyme regulates the accumulation of PAF. This may be an important mechanism by which macrophages modulate inflammatory responses.
Hyperimposed convolutional codes

New error control codes using superimposed convolutional codes and suboptimal multistage decoding algorithms are proposed. The coding gains of these codes are shown by simulation to be much higher than those of conventional convolutional codes with comparable decoding complexity. The performances of these codes are in fact comparable to turbo codes with soft-output Viterbi decoding but the complexity required is lower.
Experimental study of direct adaptive SPSA control system with diagonal recurrent neural network controller

A direct adaptive simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation (SPSA) control system with a diagonal recurrent neural network (DRNN) as controller was examined by simulation. Different hidden number DRNNs were used in the SPSA system to study the relationship between the performance and neural network architecture and parameters. Results were compared with those of a SPSA using a forward neural network (FNN) controller. Study shows that a direct adaptive SPSA control system with DRNN has a simpler architecture, a smaller size of parameter vector and a faster convergence rate. The system has a steady-state error and is sensitive to SPSA coefficients and termination condition. For real-time trajectory control purposes, further improvement of direct adaptive SPSA approach is required.
Computed tomography pulmonary findings in healthy older adult aspirators versus nonaspirators

Objectives/Hypothesis In previous studies, we consistently found that approximately 30% of asymptomatic healthy older adults silently aspirated liquids during a flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) and that their aspiration status was stable for the following year. However, no studies have systematically evaluated effects of silent aspiration on lung parenchyma and airways. We used computed tomography (CT) to compare lungs of healthy older adult aspirators versus nonaspirators. We hypothesized that CT images would show pulmonary differences in healthy older adult aspirators versus nonaspirators. Study Design Prospective study. Methods Fifty healthy older adults (25 aspirators and 25 nonaspirators) who participated in a previous FEES were randomly selected. CT scans were performed; on inspiration, lung views were taken at 1.25 mm and 2.5 mm windows, and on expiration, lung views were taken at 2.5 mm. CT scans were reviewed by radiologists blinded to group assignment. Outcomes included bronchiectasis, bronchiolectasis, bronchial wall thickening, parenchymal band, fibrosis, air trapping, intraluminal airway debris, and tree-in-bud pattern. Results χ2 analyses between aspirators and nonaspirators found no statistically significant differences between aspirators and nonaspirators for any outcomes (P > .05). Logistic regression analyses adjusted for smoking did not change the results. Conclusions There were no differences in pulmonary CT findings between healthy older adult aspirators and nonaspirators. This study adds to the evidence that some aspiration may be within the range of normal for older adults, or at least does not contribute to a change in pulmonary appearance on CT images. Level of Evidence 3b Laryngoscope, 124:494–497, 2014
Racial contrasts of blood pressure levels in two southern, rural communities.

Abstract Blood pressure and anthropometric measurements were obtained according to a standardized protocol in two biracial, rural, southern communities. Essentially, the same examination team and protocol were used in Franklinton and Bogalusa. No differences between the communities in mean height or weight (except for white boys) were observed. Blood pressure levels were 2–5 mm Hg higher in Franklinton, particularly in blacks ages 8–13 years. These differences could not be explained by differences in anthropometric measurements or observers. The difference may be due partly to the fact that larger numbers of students each morning were examined in Franklinton than Bogalusa in perhaps a more hurried environment. Most of the staff members, being from Bogalusa, were not familiar to the children in Franklinton (as they are in Bogalusa), and this may have created anxiety. The differences were small, however, when compared with differences observed among several populations using varying methods. Confirmation is given to the finding that height and weight, not age, are the strongest determinants of blood pressure level in growing children, giving a further clue toward development of an appropriate definition of hypertension in children.
Reaction of HCl with the GaAs(100) surface

Abstract We have studied the interaction of HCl with Ga-rich and As-rich GaAs(100) surfaces, using AES, TPD, HREELS, and MQS. HREELS data show that when the surface is dosed with H atoms they bond to both As and Ga, but when HCl reacts with the surface the H atoms bond only to As, on both the Ga-rich and As-rich surfaces. Therefore, HCl does not add across Ga dimer bonds on the Ga-rich surface, as is found with Cl 2 . A reaction model is proposed in which HCl adds across Ga-As backbonds at Ga dimer vacancies, with H bonding to As and Cl bonding to Ga. When the sample temperature is raised after reacting HCl with GaAs at 85 K, the only etch products desorbed are GaCl and As 2 . H 2 and HCl are also desorbed due to combination of surface H and Cl atoms. The TPD data for the etch products from reaction of HCl versus Cl 2 agree with the observations that Cl 2 etches GaAs at temperatures as low as 320 K, whereas etching by HCl requires temperatures above 600 K.
Analysis of Repeat Nephron Sparing Surgery as a Treatment Option in Patients With a Solid Mass in a Renal Remnant

Purpose: We evaluated the safety and oncological efficacy of repeat nephron sparing surgery in a renal remnant.Materials and Methods: We identified 18 patients who underwent 22 repeat nephron sparing surgeries at our institution between 1970 and 2003. Data regarding clinical characteristics, pathological characteristics and perioperative complication rates were collected. Using patients as their own controls, data from the initial nephron sparing surgery on a surgically naive kidney (group 1) were compared with data from the repeat nephron sparing surgery (group 2).Results: A solitary remnant and von Hippel-Lindau disease at the time of repeat nephron sparing surgery were present in 12 (67%) and 7 (39%) patients, respectively. Median preoperative creatinine was 1.2 and 1.4 mg/dl, and median tumor size was 2.0 and 1.9 cm in groups 1 and 2, respectively. The 2002 primary tumor classification was similar between the 2 groups. There were no perioperative deaths in either group. There was at least 1 perioperat...
ORTHOGONALITY OF CASE'S EIGENFUNCTIONS IN ONE-SPEED TRANSPORT THEORY

The eigenfunctions of the one-speed transport equation, as introduced by Case, are shown to have more general orthogonality properties than previously known. In particular, for isotropic scattering, partial range and “two-media” orthogonality relations are derived. An extension to linearly anisotropic scattering is indicated. These results facilitate the application of Case’s method to one-speed transport problems in plane geometry.
Approaching climate adjusted environmental due diligence for multilateral financial institutions

Purpose – This paper seeks to review literature on environmental safeguards for five selected multilateral financial institutions (MFIs) with the objective of verifying whether their environmental safeguards have been updated with climate change elements, and whether they have adopted specific climate change strategies for their investment portfolios.Design/methodology/approach – The methodology set for this review was based on a set of descriptive criteria. These included content reviews on MFIs existing safeguards or formal environmental guidelines, the extent of incorporation of climate change to guidelines text, and overarching strategies adopted to address climate change.Findings – Generally, the environmental safeguards reviewed have minimally discussed formal considerations of climate change issues. Although environmental safeguards continue to play vital roles in bank operations, it generally remains traditional with minimal adjustments to formally include climate change. Nevertheless, all the ban...