cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fibrates and cholestasis

Cholestasis, including primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), results from an impairment or disruption of bile production and causes intracellular retention of toxic bile constituents, including bile salts. If left untreated, cholestasis leads to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, which eventually results in liver failure and the need for liver transplantation. Currently, the only therapeutic option available for these patients is ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), which slows the progression of PBC, particularly in stage I and II of the disease. However, some patients have an incomplete response to UDCA therapy, whereas other, more advanced cases often remain unresponsive. For PSC, UDCA therapy does not improve survival, and recommendations for its use remain controversial. These considerations emphasize the need for alternative therapies. Hepatic transporters, located along basolateral (sinusoidal) and apical (canalicular) membranes of hepatocytes, are integral determinants of bile formation and secretion. Nuclear receptors (NRs) are critically involved in the regulation of these hepatic transporters and are natural targets for therapy of cholestatic liver diseases. One of these NRs is peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα), which plays a central role in maintaining cholesterol, lipid, and bile acid homeostasis by regulating genes responsible for bile acid synthesis and transport in humans, including cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoform 7A1 (CYP7A1), CYP27A1, CYP8B1, uridine 5'-diphospho-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1, 1A3, 1A4, 1A6, hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase enzyme 2A1, multidrug resistance protein 3, and apical sodium-dependent bile salt transporter. Expression of many of these genes is altered in cholestatic liver diseases, but few have been extensively studied or had the mechanism of PPARα effect identified. In this review, we examine what is known about these mechanisms and consider the rationale for the use of PPARα ligand therapy, such as fenofibrate, in various cholestatic liver disorders.
Mind, Culture, and Activity: Seminal Papers from the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition.; Handbook of Human Symbolic Evolution

Mind, Culture, and Activity: Seminal Papers from the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition. Michael Cole. Yrjo Engestrom. and Olga Vasquez. eds. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997.502 pp. Handbook of Human Symbolic Evolution. Andrew Lock and Charles R. Peters. eds. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.906 pp.
On estimation of the domain of attraction for sliding mode control of underactuated nonlinear systems

SUMMARY A system is considered underactuated if the number of the actuator inputs is less than the number of degrees of freedom for the system. Sliding mode control for underactuated systems has been shown to be an effective way to achieve system stabilization. It involves exponentially stable sliding surfaces so that when the closed-loop system trajectory reaches the surface, it moves along the surface while converging to the origin. In this paper, a general framework that provides sufficient conditions for asymptotic stabilization of underactuated nonlinear systems using sliding mode control in the presence of system uncertainties is presented. Specifically, it is shown that the closed-loop system trajectories reach the sliding surface in finite time, and a constructive methodology to determine exponential stability of the closed-loop system on the sliding surface is developed, which ensures asymptotic stability of the overall closed-loop system. Furthermore, the aforementioned framework provides the basis to determine an estimate of the domain of attraction for the closed-loop system with uncertainties. Finally, the results developed in the paper are experimentally validated using a linear inverted pendulum testbed to show a good match between the actual domain of attraction of the upward equilibrium state of the pendulum and its analytical estimate.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Ligand binding properties and structural studies of recombinant and chemically modified hemoglobins altered at beta 93 cysteine.

To investigate the roles of beta93 cysteine in human normal adult hemoglobin (Hb A), we have constructed four recombinant mutant hemoglobins (rHbs), rHb (betaC93G), rHb (betaC93A), rHb (betaC93M), and rHb (betaC93L), and have prepared two chemically modified Hb As, Hb A-IAA and Hb A-NEM, in which the sulfhydryl group at beta93Cys is modified by sulfhydryl reagents, iodoacetamide (IAA) and N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), respectively. These variants at the beta93 position show higher oxygen affinity, lower cooperativity, and reduced Bohr effect relative to Hb A. The response of some of these Hb variants to allosteric effectors, 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate (2,3-BPG) and inositol hexaphosphate (IHP), is decreased relative to that of Hb A. The proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of these Hb variants show that there is a marked influence on the proximal heme pocket of the beta-chain, whereas the environment of the proximal heme pocket of the alpha-chain remains unchanged as compared to Hb A, suggesting that higher oxygen affinity is likely to be determined by the heme pocket of the beta-chain rather than by that of the alpha-chain. This is further supported by NO titration of these Hbs in the deoxy form. For Hb A, NO binds preferentially to the heme of the alpha-chain relative to that of the beta-chain. In contrast, the feature of preferential binding to the heme of the alpha-chain becomes weaker and even disappears for Hb variants with modifications at beta93Cys. The effects of IHP on these Hbs in the NO form are different from those on HbNO A, as characterized by (1)H NMR spectra of the T-state markers, the exchangeable resonances at 14 and 11 ppm, reflecting that these Hb variants have more stability in the R-state relative to Hb A, especially rHb (betaC93L) and Hb A-NEM in the NO form. The changes of the C2 proton resonances of the surface histidyl residues in these Hb variants in both the deoxy and CO forms, compared with those of Hb A, indicate that a mutation or chemical modification at beta93Cys can result in conformational changes involving several surface histidyl residues, e.g., beta146His and beta2His. The results obtained here offer strong evidence to show that the salt bridge between beta146His and beta94Asp and the binding pocket of allosteric effectors can be affected as the result of modifications at beta93Cys, which result in the destabilization of the T-state and a reduced response of these Hbs to allosteric effectors. We further propose that the impaired alkaline Bohr effect can be attributed to the effect on the contributions of several surface histidyl residues which are altered because of the environmental changes caused by mutations and chemical modifications at beta93Cys.
SU-E-T-524: Intrafraction Motion and Dosimetric Evaluation of Margin Reduction during Fractionated Rapid Arc Treatment of Prostate Cancer

Purpose: To assess intrafraction prostate motion using the Calypso system and determine the related dosimetric consequences of this motion during the short treatment times utilized in fractionated RapidArc(RA)/SmartArc (SA) treatment of prostate cancerMethods: Thirty patients previously treated with fractionated IMRT and Calypso were available for analysis. Calypso tracking data was acquired and was limited to 30 seconds prior to beam on time and 90 seconds of beam on time. Patients were then re‐planned utilizing SA IMRT in Pinnacle v9.0 with PTV margins of 0, 2, or 6mm to a dose of 7920 cGy in 44 fractions. Probability density functions(PDFs) for motion in all directions were generated for each tracking session to represent the probability of displacement of the prostate in all directions. The planned static 3D dose distribution was then convolved with the PDFs to ascertain the true delivered dose. Dose metrics for the CTV, PTV, bladder and rectum were then acquired utilizing this dose convolution method, and the planned and delivered doses to these specific volumes were calculated and compared for each margin size.Results: The prescription dose coverage of the CTV volume was not significantly altered from planning to delivery for PTV margins of 0mm, 2mm, or 6mm and remained >99% even for 0 mm margins. Mean dose to the CTV, PTV, rectum, and bladder was significantly greater as margins were increased without a significant change in either PTV or CTV coverage. Conclusions: This study confirms that the dosimetric impact of intrafraction motion of the prostate when assessed with Calypso in patients treated with fractionated SA is not clinically significant over the course of 44 fractions. Due to the short treatment times, reduction of PTV margins is feasible without compromising CTV coverage even when intrafraction motion monitoring is not utilized.
Monte Carlo study of the quasi two-dimensional electron gas in the high electron mobility transistor

Abstract The quasi two-dimensional electron gas in the conduction channel of a High Electron Mobility Transistor (H.E.M.T.) has been investigated using an Ensemble Monte Carlo (E.M.C.) method. Acoustic and polar optical scatterings are considered in the channel and quantization effects are included using a two subband triangular well approximation. Self-scattering is introduced using a technique which allows to account for the non-uniformity of the channel. The subband populations are evaluated at different drain voltages, showing that, due to the highly non-uniform occupation along the channel, the two- and three-dimensional features of the electrons need to be fully included.
Projection and prospects for cottonseed in the 1970’s

Oilseeds and their products, vegetable oils and oilcakes, are primary agricultural commodities on the world market. The current annual volume is ca. $3000 million and, with increasing world population and income, their production is expected to expand. Improved technology, which allows for substitution of oils from various sources in many products, has narrowed the price spread between different oils. If production increases as predicted, the price of vegetable oils may decline in the future. Oilcakes are used primarily for animal feed at present. Forecasts predict that consumption of oilcake should increase and prices remain stable. Since cottonseed is a byproduct of cotton fiber production, it does not readily respond to fluctuations in supply and demand. Two factors may significantly affect utilization patterns of cottonseed protein in the future. First is development of the liquid cyclone process for production of food-grade protein flour from conventional cottonseed. Second is development of commercially acceptable varieties of glandless cotton, the seed of which can be processed into food without special procedures. Exploitation of these developments could move significant amounts of cottonseed protein into food channels in both developed and lesser developed countries and alter use patterns for cottonseed.
Immunological Goings-on in Visceral Adipose Tissue

Chronic, low-grade inflammation of visceral adipose tissue, and systemically, is a critical link between recent strikingly parallel rises in the incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Macrophages have been recognized for some time to be critical participants in obesity-induced inflammation of adipose tissue. Of late, a score of other cell types of the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system have been suggested to play a positive or negative role in adipose tissue infiltrates. This piece reviews the existing data on these new participants; discusses experimental uncertainties, inconsistencies, and complexities; and puts forward a minimalist synthetic scheme.
A multivector data structure for differential forms and equations

We propose a combinatorial data structure for representing multivectors [2, 3] in an n-dimensional space. The data structure is organized around a collection of abstract K-dimensional cells, k = 0,1,...,n that are assembled into an oriented cellular structure called a starplex and shown in Figure 11.1. The starplex structure represents the combinatorial neighborhood (a star) of a 0-cell in any n-dimensional cell complex representing a typical coordinate control element (usually cubical or simplicial). The combinatorics of the starplex matches exactly the combinatorial structure of the multivector: every oriented k-cell in the starplex corresponds to some basis K-vector.
The inheritance of a urease-null trait in soybeans

Four soybean seed urease nulls (lacking both the activity and antigen of the embryo-specific urease) were intermated and the F1 and F2 seed examined for urease activity. Both generations were without urease activity, and the nulls were therefore considered noncomplementing. In crosses of each null line to cultivars homozygous for the allelic, codominantly inherited urease slow or fast isozyme, the F1 seed expressed the embryo-specific urease isozyme of the urease-expressing parent. A 3 ∶ 1 segregation for presence and absence of urease was observed in progeny from F1 and heterozygous F2 plants. The F2 and F3 from fastXnull combinations revealed that urease-positive seed were all phenotypically urease fast, while the same seed from slowXnull combinations showed a segregation of one seed containing a fast urease, either exclusively or in a heterozygous state with the slow isozyme, for every 69 phenotypic slows. Data pooled from F2 plants which segregate for both the presence (Sun) and absence (Sun) of urease and for the fast (Eu1-b) or slow (Eu1-a) urease allele indicate that the null lesion (Sun) is linked to Eu1 by approximately one map unit. The evidence is consistent with two models: (1) sun is an allele at the embryo-specific urease isozyme locus (Eu1) and that a high degree of exchange (and/or conversion) within the locus results in a 1% recombination frequency between the null trait and urease allozyme; (2) sun is at a distinct locus which is separated by one map unit from the embryo-specific urease isozyme locus (Eu1) upon which it acts in the cis position. Polyadenylated embryo RNA from one of the null lines, PI 229324, exhibited no urease template activity in vitro. Thus, the lack of urease antigen is due to lack of accumulation of translatable urease mRNA. The availability of soybeans lacking seed urease should be extremely useful to breeders as a trait for linkage studies and to geneticists as a transformation marker.
Examples of Molecular Self‐Assembly at Surfaces

The self-assembly of molecules at surfaces can be caused by a range of physical mechanisms. Assembly can be driven by intermolecular forces, or molecule-surface forces, or both; it can result in structures that are in equilibrium or that are kinetically trapped. Here we review examples of self-assembly at surfaces focusing on a physical understanding of what causes patterns seen in experiment. Some apparently disparate systems can be described in similar physical terms, indicating that simple factors - such as the geometry and energy scale of intermolecular binding - are key to understanding the self-assembly of those systems.
Short-wave cone signal in the red-green detection mechanism

Previous work shows that the red-green (RG) detection mechanism is highly sensitive, responding to equal and opposite long-wave (L) and middle-wave (M) cone contrast signals. This mechanism mediates red-green hue judgements under many conditions. We show that the RG detection mechanism also receives a weak input from the short-wave (S) cones that supports the L signal and equally opposes M. This was demonstrated with a pedestal paradigm, in which weak S cone flicker facilitates discrimination and detection of red-green flicker. Also, a near-threshold +S cone flash facilitates detection of red flashes and inhibits green flashes, and a near-threshold -S cone flash facilitates detection of green flashes and inhibits red flashes. The S contrast weight in RG is small relative to the L and M contrast weights. However, a comparison of our results with other studies suggests that the strength of the absolute S cone contrast contribution to the RG detection mechanism is 1/4 to 1/3 the strength of the S contribution to the blue-yellow (BY) detection mechanism. Thus, the S weight in RG is a significant fraction of the S weight in BY. This has important implications for the 'cardinal' color mechanisms, for it predicts that for detection or discrimination, the mechanisms limiting performance do not lie on orthogonal M-L and S axes within the equiluminant color plane.
Autohomeomorphisms of compact groups

Abstract Every infinite compact group is shown to have autohomeomorphisms 1 which do not preserve its Haar measure.
Hypoxia Targeted Carbon Nanotubes as a Sensitive Contrast Agent for Photoacoustic Imaging of Tumors

Development of new and efficient contrast agents is of fundamental importance to improve detection sensitivity of smaller lesions. Within the family of nanomaterials, carbon nanotubes (CNT) not only have emerged as a new alternative and efficient transporter and translocater of therapeutic molecules but also as a photoacoustic molecular imaging agent owing to its strong optical absorption in the near-infrared region. Drugs, Antibodies and nucleic acids could functionalize the CNT and prepare an appropriate system for delivering the cargos to cells and organs. In this work, we present a novel photoacoustic contrast agent which is based on a unique hypoxic marker in the near infrared region, 2-nitroimidazole -bis carboxylic acid derivative of Indocyanine Green conjugated to single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT-2nitroimidazole-ICG). The 2-nitroimidazole-ICG has an absorption peak at 755 nm and an extinction coefficient of 20,5222 M -1 cm -1 . The conjugation of this marker with SWCNT shows more than 25 times enhancement of optical absorption of carbon nanotubes in the near infrared region. This new conjugate has been optically evaluated and shows promising results for high contrast photoacoustic imaging of deeply located tumors. The conjugate specifically targets tumor hypoxia, an important indicator of tumor metabolism and tumor therapeutic response. The detection sensitivity of the new contrast agent has been evaluated in-vitro cell lines and with in-vivo tumors in mice.
The Relationship between Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone-Stimulated Luteinizing Hormone Release and Inositol Phosphate Production: Studies with Calcium Antagonists and Protein Kinase C Activators*

The coupling between GnRH-stimulated phosphoinositide (PI) turnover and LH release has been investigated in rat pituitary cell cultures. Accumulation of [3H] inositol phosphates ([3H]JPs) formed by hydrolysis of Pis was measured in cells that had been preloaded with [3H]myo-inositol. GnRH stimulated both LH release and incorporation of [3H]inositol into total [3H]IPS with similar dose and time dependencies. [3H] IP production in response to GnRH could be blocked by a GnRH antagonist, but was stimulated by a compound that provokes receptor microaggregation. GnRH-stimulated IP production persisted in the presence of either the Ca2+ channel blocker D600 or the calmodulin antagonist pimozide at concentrations that reduced LH release to 60% and 20% of control, respectively. Stimulated [3H]IP production was inhibited at higher concentrations of D600. In 1-h incubations, GnRH-stimulated [3H]IP production, but not LH release, was markedly inhibited by the protein kinase C activators phorbol myristate acetate and ...
Student evaluations of teaching: perceptions of faculty based on gender, position, and rank

The current study explores the feelings and thoughts that faculty have about their student evaluations of teaching (SET). To assess the perceptions of SETs, all teaching faculty in one college at a western Land Grant University were asked to complete an anonymous online survey. The survey included demographic questions (i.e. gender; rank such as assistant, associate, and full professor; and positions like non-tenure track, tenure track, and tenured) as well as questions related to faculty's feelings while reading their SETs. While minimal differences were found in responses based on rank or position, several differences were found based on faculty gender. Overall, female faculty appear to be more negatively impacted by student evaluations than male faculty. These gender differences support previous research that suggests males and females receive and react differently to personal evaluation. Resultant suggestions include modifying surveys from anonymous to confidential and offering professional developmen...
Factors influencing pregnancy outcome in twin gestations

Abstract Objective: To identify the influence of parity and previous preterm delivery (PPTD) on pregnancy outcome in twin gestations. Methods: A cohort of women with twin gestations completing an outpatient preterm labor surveillance program between April 1995 and February 2000 was identified. Included were those enrolled at Results: Data were analyzed for 1268 twin pregnancies. All P ∗ . Nulliparas n = 635 Multiparas n = 418 PPTD n = 215 BMI 23.4 ± 4.7 24.5 ± 5.9 24.6 ± 6.0 Cerclage 19.2% 9.8% 28.8% GA delivery 34.4 ± 3.2 35.3 ± 2.7 34.0 ± 3.1 46.8% 31.1% 50.2% 18.7% 11.5% 25.1% Indicated delivery ∗ 36.5% 38.0% 30.7% ∗ P = 0.178 Conclusion: In twin gestations, multiparas without history of PPTD have significantly greater GA at delivery, lower incidence of cerclage, and higher incidence of indicated delivery than nulliparas or those with a history of PPTD.
Efficiently decodable non-adaptive group testing

We consider the following "efficiently decodable" non-adaptive group testing problem. There is an unknown string x ∈ {0, 1}n with at most d ones in it. We are allowed to test any subset S ⊆ [n] of the indices. The answer to the test tells whether xi = 0 for all i ∈ S or not. The objective is to design as few tests as possible (say, t tests) such that x can be identified as fast as possible (say, poly(t)-time). Efficiently decodable non-adaptive group testing has applications in many areas, including data stream algorithms and data forensics.A non-adaptive group testing strategy can be represented by a t x n matrix, which is the stacking of all the characteristic vectors of the tests. It is well-known that if this matrix is d-disjunct, then any test outcome corresponds uniquely to an unknown input string. Furthermore, we know how to construct d-disjunct matrices with t = O(d2 log n) efficiently. However, these matrices so far only allow for a "decoding" time of O(nt), which can be exponentially larger than poly(t) for relatively small values of d.This paper presents a randomness efficient construction of d-disjunct matrices with t = O(d2 log n) that can be decoded in time poly(d) · t log2t + O(t2). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first result that achieves an efficient decoding time and matches the best known O(d2 log n) bound on the number of tests. We also derandomize the construction, which results in a polynomial time deterministic construction of such matrices when d = O(log n / log log n).A crucial building block in our construction is the notion of (d, l)-list disjunct matrices, which represent the more general "list group testing" problem whose goal is to output less than d + l positions in x, including all the (at most d) positions that have a one in them. List disjunct matrices turn out to be interesting objects in their own right and were also considered independently by [Cheraghchi, FCT 2009]. We present connections between list disjunct matrices, expanders, dispersers and disjunct matrices. List disjunct matrices have applications in constructing (d, l)-sparsity separator structures [Ganguly, ISAAC 2008] and in constructing tolerant testers for Reed-Solomon codes in the data stream model.
Work in progress — An agile embedded systems design capstone course

Embedded systems design has been characterized by the combination of two basic design methodologies: Hardware and Software. In this work in progress we incorporated Agile Project Management methodologies to a Computer Engineering Technology senior capstone course on product ideation, prototyping, demonstration and final presentation. As students were going through the course, they were; imprinting their stories on a wiki; creating, self assigning, working and closing tasks; following an Agile like methodology; and behaving like an entrepreneurial start-up company that wants to launch an innovative product.
Dark survival of autotrophic, planktonic marine diatoms

A general ecological problem is considered: how long can a photoautotrophic microalga, incapable of producing a resting spore (stage), retain its viability in the dark following removal from the euphotic zone? Nine coastal diatoms, including some capable of producing resting spores, were kept in the dark for 90 days at 15°C, and their growth (viability) checked at periodic intervals upon reillumination. Seven of the 9 diatoms retained their viability for 90 days; generation time of illuminated cells then ranged from 2.5 to 10 days. Skeletonema costatum survived only 7 weeks of darkness. Based on the present and published observations, dark survival of this species is inversely related to temperature; it survives at least 24 weeks at 2°C, and from 1 to 4 weeks at 20°C. None of the species was observed to grow in the dark. The effects of temperature and light on dark survival, and of darkness on the chemical composition and photosynthesis following reillumination as reported in the scattered literature are evaluated. Together with the present observations, it is suggested that dark survival of photoautotrophic microalgae: (1) varies between species; (2) may be temperature dependent in some species, as in S. costatum; (3) may be prolonged by periodic illumination at subcompensation intensities for photosynthesis, as shown in Dunaliella tertiolecta. The potential ecological significance of these findings is also considered, should these in vitro results apply to natural populations.
Inner Core Anisotropy Due to the Magnetic Field—induced Preferred Orientation of Iron

Anisotropy of the inner core of the Earth is proposed to result from the lattice preferred orientation of anisotropic iron crystals during their solidification in the presence of a magnetic field. The resultant seismic anisotropy is related to the geometry of the magnetic field in the core. This hypothesis implies that the observed anisotropy (fast velocity along the rotation axis) indicates a strong toroidal field in the core, which supports a strong field model for the geodynamo if the inner core is made of hexagonal close-packed iron.
Retinoids for the future: Oncology

A major incentive for the development of the synthetic retinoids has been their potential for the treatment and prevention of cancer. Early studies demonstrated that treatment with isotretinoin or etretinate alone could result in the regression of some existing skin cancers. However, even at high doses the response rates were poor. Greater efficacy has been observed with retinoids used in the prevention of cancer of the skin and oral cavity in high-risk patients. The potential for retinoids as chemopreventive agents is being further explored as selected retinoids are being targeted to specific malignancies, such as fenretinide for breast cancer chemoprevention. The effectiveness of tretinoin as a treatment for promyelocytic leukemia has raised enthusiasm for retinoids as cancer therapeutic agents. Furthermore, evidence of synergy between the retinoids and a variety of cytokines as enhancers of differentiation chart a bright future for retinoids in oncology.
Efficient Zero-Copy Noncontiguous I/O for Globus on InfiniBand

Noncontiguous I/O access is one of the main access patterns in parallel and distributed applications. An I/O architecture EXIO enables Globus, a popular run-time environment for distributed computing, on RDMA networks such as InfiniBand. In this paper, we investigate the benefits of InfiniBand zero-copy RDMA to noncontiguous I/O on Globus. Our experimental results demonstrate that, by enabling zero-copy RDMA on InfiniBand, EXIO significantly improves the performance of Globus noncontiguous I/O. Compared to the packing and unpacking, zero-copy RDMA improve the bandwidth by up to 2.7 times. Compared to both IPoIB and 10GigE, it increases the bandwidth by more than three times. While achieving efficient noncontiguous I/O, RDMA-based noncontiguous I/O on InfiniBand also leads to dramatical reduction of CPU utilization on Globus clients and servers.
Supervisory Control of Uncertain Linear Time-Varying Systems

We consider the problem of adaptively stabilizing linear plants with unknown time-varying parameters in the presence of noise, disturbances, and unmodeled dynamics using the supervisory control framework, which employs multiple candidate controllers and an estimator based switching logic to select the active controller at every instant of time. Time-varying uncertain linear plants can be stabilized by supervisory control, provided that the plant's parameter varies slowly enough in terms of mixed dwell-time switching and average dwell-time switching, the noise and disturbances are bounded and small enough in terms of L-infinity norms, and the unmodeled dynamics are small enough in the input-to-state stability sense. This work extends previously reported works on supervisory control of linear time-invariant systems with constant unknown parameters to the case of linear time-varying uncertain systems. A numerical example is included, and limitations of the approach are discussed.
The complexity of cardiolipin in health and disease

Cardiolipin, the signature phospholipid of mitochondria, is a lipid dimer that is important for a diverse range of mitochondrial activities beyond the process of ATP production. Thus not surprisingly, derangements in cardiolipin metabolism are now appreciated to contribute to an assortment of pathological conditions. A comprehensive inventory of enzymes involved in cardiolipin biosynthesis and remodeling was just recently obtained. Post-biosynthesis, the acyl chain composition of cardiolipin is modified by up to three distinct remodeling enzymes that produce either a homogeneous tissue-specific mature form of cardiolipin or alternatively ‘bad’ cardiolipin that has been linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. In this review, we initially focus on the newly identified players in cardiolipin metabolism and then shift our attention to how changes in cardiolipin metabolism contribute to human disease.
Phase‐Sensitive Detection. Part II: Quadrature Phase Detection

The problems associated with the use of a single phase-sensitive detector (PSD) in an NMR receiver are reviewed. These problems can be eliminated by the use of two PSDs, arranged in parallel. The references to the PSDs are derived from a single source, but one is phase-shifted by 90° with respect to the other. This arrangement is called quadrature phase detection (QPD). The free-induction decays (FIDs) obtained as outputs from the two PSDs are phase-shifted by 90° with respect to one another, and are referred to as a “real” and an “imaginary” FID. The PSDs and the electronic components associated with them, including amplifiers and filters, are called the “real” and the “imaginary” channels. The FIDs from these channels can be processed so that the problems associated with the use of a single PSD are eliminated. In practice, however, a different set of problems emerges with the use of a QPD system because it is not possible to balance the two channels exactly. A procedure called CYCLOPS, which phase-cycles both the transmitter and the receiver portion of the computer, can be used to overcome these difficulties.
‘He Likes Women More Than He Likes Drink and That Is Quite Unusual’: Working‐Class Social Clubs, Male Culture, and Heterosocial Relations in the United States, 1920s–1930s

Throughout the early twentieth century working-class men spent much of their leisure time in their basement hangouts, known as social clubs. Social clubs usually formed out of the associational life of young working-class men and remained attached to a larger male culture. But they were also used for dances and other heterosocial interaction. This essay examines the organisation of these clubs and how members used them to negotiate homosocial and heterosocial leisure. In particular, it explores the struggles between men and women over the use of club space and how those struggles affected their relationships and male culture.
Kinetic isotope effects on the 1,3-intramolecular insertion reaction of t-butylchlorocarbene

The primary kinetic isotope effect for the 1,3-CH(D) insertion reaction of t-butylchlorocarbene-d6 ranges from 3.25 at −12 °C to 2.14 at 118 °C; tunneling is not apparent in this temperature interval.
Global food safety product management: a holistic, integrated, strategic approach (proposed)

The safety of millions of the world’s population is at significant risk. Unsafe food products and foodborne diseases cause the preventable deaths of over two million people annually globally. This situation represents a global sense of urgency in which nations and food product safety-oriented organizations seek to develop and implement actionable strategies to address unsafe food products and foodborne diseases. Food product safety management is critical to enabling safe food products throughout the food product lifecycle. The food product lifecycle represents the activities involved with food products from origin to consumption and/or ultimate disposition. Effective management of food product lifecycle activities is critical to enable safe food product consumption globally. However, virtually every nation, from the least to the most advanced, and every food product safety-oriented organization, lacks a holistic, integrated, strategic approach to enable effective food product safety management. The authors propose that nations and food product safety-oriented organizations adopt the Food Product Safety Management Integrated Framework (Proposed). This proposed framework prescribes a holistic, integrated, strategic approach to enabling global food product safety management that includes effective food product safety management governance, a food product safety management strategy, a food product safety management enterprise architecture, a food product safety management portfolio management capability, and a food product safety management capital planning and investment management capability. Adopting the proposed framework would enable nations to achieve effective food product safety management by leveraging a holistic, integrated, and strategic approach.
Ecological outcomes and evaluation of success in passively restored Southeastern depressional wetlands

Depressional wetlands may be restored passively by disrupting prior drainage to recover original hydrology and relying on natural revegetation. Restored hydrology selects for wetland vegetation; however, depression geomorphology constrains the achievable hydroperiod, and plant communities are influenced by hydroperiod and available species pools. Such constraints can complicate assessments of restoration success. Sixteen drained depressions in South Carolina, USA, were restored experimentally by forest clearing and ditch plugging for potential crediting to a mitigation bank. Depressions were assigned to alternate revegetation methods representing desired targets of herbaceous and wet-forest communities. After five years, restoration progress and revegetation methods were evaluated. Restored hydroperiods differed among wetlands, but all sites developed diverse vegetation of native wetland species. Vegetation traits were influenced by hydroperiod and the effects of early drought, rather than by revegetation method. For mitigation banking, individual wetlands were assessed for improvement from pre-restoration condition and similarity to assigned reference type. Most wetlands met goals to increase hydroperiod, herb-species dominance, and wetland-plant composition. Fewer wetlands achieved equivalence to reference types because some vegetation targets were incompatible with depression hydroperiods and improbable without intensive management. The results illustrated a paradox in judging success when vegetation goals may be unsuited to system constraints.
Effect of influenza vaccine upon susceptibility to the induction of bronchospasm by exercise

Abstract To determine the effect of influenza vaccine upon the susceptibility of asthmatic children to the induction of bronchospasm by exercise, responses to exercise were measured before and 24 and 48 hours after the subcutaneous injection of bivalent influenza vaccine or saline, given in double-blind manner. Measurement of peak expiratory flow rates immediately before exercise, after 2 minutes of exercise, and 10 minutes after the completion of exercise failed to reveal significant changes from pretreatment responses. The disparity between these observations and the effect of influenza vaccine upon methacholine responses in asthmatic subjects is consistent with mediation of the two responses by different pathways. The injection of influenza vaccine may not afford a suitable model for the investigation of the effects of infection upon this population.
A Comparison of Intracavitary versus Interstitial Irradiation in the Treatment of Cervical Cancer

Abstract Objective. Management of locally advanced cervical cancer consists primarily of combination external and internal radiation. In order to investigate the impact of intracavitary brachytherapy versus interstitial brachytherapy on local tumor control, survival, and complications, we retrospectively reviewed the concomitant experience of two institutions, each of which practice exclusively one of these radiotherapeutic techniques. Methods. Between 1979 and 1989, 61 patients with bulky stage II, III, or IVA cervical cancer were treated using a combination of teletherapy and intracavitary brachytherapy at one institution, while 70 similar patients were treated with teletherapy and interstitial brachytherapy at another institution. Patients in both groups were similar with respect to age, FIGO stage, tumor size, surgical stage, and histologic subtype. Patients treated with intracavitary therapy received a mean cumulative dose of 7706 cGy to point A and 5523 cGy to point B using standard Fletcher–Suit techniques. Those who received interstitial irradiation were treated with a mean external dose of 5050 cGy and 2 interstitial implants using a transperineal Syed–Neblett template with a mean tumor dose of 2239 and 1,942 cGy with each application, respectively. Patients treated with chemoradiation were excluded from this review. Results. Although initial rates of local control were not different, prolonged 5-year disease-free survival (50% vs 21%, P = 0.01) and improved 5-year local control (61% vs 32%, P =0.01) were observed among patients with stage II disease treated with intracavitary irradiation. No statistical differences in survival could be detected among stage III and IVA patients. Women treated with intracavitary irradiation received a larger dose of brachytherapy than those treated with interstitial therapy (4608 vs 3504 radium milligram hours equivalent, P Conclusion. When a tandem is infrequently used during interstitial brachytherapy, the toxicity is similar to that of intracavitary techniques. However, more relapses are observed among patients with stage II lesions treated with interstitial irradiation.
Health Disparities of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: What Do We Know? What Do We Do?.

Background Recent attention to health of people with intellectual disabilities has used a health disparities framework. Building on historical context, the paper summarizes what is known about health disparities from reports and research and provide direction on what to do to reduce these disparities among adults with intellectual disabilities. Methods The present authors examined literature from 2002 to 2011 on health disparities and people with disabilities looking for broad themes on documenting disparities and on research approaches and methods. Results Multiple countries published reports on health of people with intellectual disabilities. Researchers summarized existing research within a health disparities framework. A number of promising methodologies are identified such as health services research, health indicators, enhanced surveillance and mixed-methods. Conclusions Strategies to reduce health disparities include use of data to educate decision makers, attention to social determinants and a life-course model and emphasis on leveraging inclusion in mainstream services where possible.
A study using 13C CP/MAS NMR of microstructural changes in acrylate copolymers due to photolytic/SO2 degradation

Photolytic degradation (350 nm) of acrylate-type copolymer films in the presence of SO2 and H2O has been examined using 13C CP/MAS NMR. Copolymers in this study are used as binders in the paint and adhesives industry. The compositions contain butyl acrylate, vinyl acetate, vinyl chloride, and methyl methacrylate units in various combinations. Elemental analyses of the samples allow comparisons and confirmations of structural changes observed in the NMR spectra. A significant result is identification of pendant sulfate group incorporation in UV/SO2/or UV/SO2/H2O-exposed VAc/BA-type copolymers which has been attributed to a co-unit interaction between BA and VAc units. It is suggested that effects on Tg, the glass transition temperature, may account in part for this co-unit effect on photodegradation.
Building Power: Italy's Colonial Architecture and Urbanism, 1923–1940

It has become part of the anthropological repertoire to address the interpretation and articulation of cultural experience, although its historical unfolding is still often ignored. In this article I treat a particular experience and its articulation over almost two decades. That experience is colonialism in general, but specifically it is the spatial organization of bodies and built forms in two of Italy's colonies, Libya and Ethiopia, during the Fascist era (1922-43). This project can be categorized as an interpretive one, since its principal concern is with the usage of certain terms vis-h-vis certain practices, and its main thrust is to observe a change over time in the way this relationship was articulated. Also it is essentially comparative, not only in its diachronic comparison across historical moments but also in that it spans across colonies. It is not a direct comparison of the two colonies as places in their own right, but as constituted and mediated by the Italian colonialist discourse. And colonialist discourse, above all, is the subject of this article. In the 1920s and 1930s in Libya, and in Ethiopia in the late 1930s, Italian architects had the opportunity to conduct experiments in colonial architecture and urban planning on a vast scale. In the process of developing these colonial laboratories, they fumbled with and partially resolved several issues of colonial ideology concerning the significance of colonial architecture and the negotiation of a colonial identity with respect to Europe and the local populations. In the Libyan context the architects confronted problems stemming from the distinction between "Italian" and "primitive" architecture, and they were preoccupied with architectural form. Modernitd ("modernity") was an overriding concern in this moment of Italian architectural discourse, as it implied the presentation of Italy's character to the rest of Europe. The crucial function of architecture was to gain status vis-a-vis other European nations. This status was to be regained, for Italy had been a great power (even if in antiquity), and was currently existing in a fallen state. The setting of Ethiopia generated a different set of concerns, and the entire discourse of colonial architecture and urbanism changed as of 1936, the year of the proclamation of the Italian Fascist Empire. Here whole cities were being de-
Lost and found: lessons learned from a design retrospective

Reflection is critical for understanding how designs evolve and the factors that impact that evolution. This is especially meaningful for projects that have taken place over a long period of time and with consistent overall direction. In this case study, we reflect back over the design of an information gathering and management system built for students in higher education. We demonstrate how users can be involved in various ways over a development period that spans many years; we show that designs of different fidelities can effectively garner user feedback; and we illustrate the impact of multiple influences, including users, research team members, and resource limitations on the overall transformation of the system. We conclude with a series of lessons learned that we hope will help future researchers plan and execute their own design-implement-evaluate lifecycles.
Lessons from our students: Unsung heroes in a time of global relational warming

This article offers a discussion of a collaborative international learning experience with a social work student in an MSW program in the United States. It tells the story of a particular student from Western Africa who has worked for political and civil rights as well as economic and social rights, and delineates lessoned learned by both the student and the professor through their collaboration.
Physical activity, global physical self-concept, and adolescent smoking

Background: Previous research supports a possible protective effect for physical activity against adolescent smoking. However, it is not clear whether the effect of physical activity on smoking is direct (e.g., time spent in physical activity) or indirect through another variable. One such variable is global physical self-concept (GPSC). Briefly, GPSC is a general perception of one’s physical self, including appearance and physical activity competence.Purpose: This study tested a structural equation model of the relationship between physical activity and smoking, with direct effects from physical activity to smoking and an indirect effect through GPSC.Methods: Participants were 983 12th graders taking part in a study of the biobehavioral predictors of adolescent smoking adoption.Results: Controlling for covariates of adolescent smoking (e.g., peer smoking, alcohol use) and GPSC (e.g., body mass index, perceived physical appearance), physical activity had an indirect effect on smoking through its effects on GPSC, suggesting that the potential beneficial effects of physical activity on adolescent smoking may depend, in part, on GPSC.Conclusions: These results suggest that an adolescent’s perception of the physical self may be one important factor to consider in youth smoking interventions. Further research is necessary to evaluate the longitudinal relationship between physical activity, GPSC, and smoking.