cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Parallel Pathway Models for Electric Organ Na+- and Na+/K+-ATPases

The Na+- and Na+/K+-ATPases exhibit a variety of complex kinetic and thermodynamic properties that are incompatible with the Albers-Post mechanism and simple modifications thereof (1–5). Specific examples of this behavior are shown in Fig. 1 which depicts the multiphasic time courses of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation measured in native Electrophorus membranes using the acid quench-flow technique. In the case of the phosphorylation reaction, it is necessary to add Na+ to the enzyme last in order to demonstrate the biphasicity which consists of fast and slow components in a ratio of 2:1 (1). Addition of Na+ prior to ATP and Mg + yields monophasic behavior without the slow phase (1). The biphasicty resulting from late Na+ addition cannot be attributed to an equilibrium mixture of the Ej and E2 conformational states because preincubation with 0.01–0.1 mM ATP, which favors the high-affinity E1 conformer, does not affect the relative amounts of the fast and slow components.
A FIT Solution

The Fusion at Inferred Threshold (FIT) test is a clinically useful procedure for assessing airconduction pure-tone thresholds in any ear that may not be tested by conventional procedures with masking . It has not been widely reported in the literature . This article describes the FIT test procedure and provides four case studies where the FIT was used successfully to determine appropriate management strategies .
Small Animal PET Systems

This chapter describes PET systems for imaging of small animals. It also discusses the opportunities for bringing together high-resolution PET imaging systems with the techniques of modern molecular biology, functional genomics, and drug development. Important factors considered in the design of dedicated small animal PET scanners are identified and the geometry and performance of several first-generation systems are reviewed. This chapter also describes newer small animal PET systems that are under development. Last section illustrates some of the early applications of PET for studying small laboratory animals and identifies the challenges, opportunities, and ultimate limitations in applying PET to small animal imaging. The role of PET in modern biology has yet to be defined, but, if some of the challenges identified in this chapter can be overcome, then it is likely to play a significant role in the study of animal models of disease.
On the PV module characteristics

Photovoltaic (PV) renewable energy resources are of interest for researchers today. An investigation of the PV characteristics is useful to understand its behavior. In this paper, the characteristics of the PV module have been explored and analyzed for different values of temperature at constant insolation (1kW/m2), and with different values of irradiance at constant temperature (25°C). Moreover, the characteristics of the PV module have been compared to an ideal voltage source in many cases by varying the ripple and average value of the PV voltage, current and power. The maximum power point (MPP) of the PV module is found graphically and analytically. Then, the duty ratio at which the PV module operates at maximum power, effect of changing the inductance value and switching frequency are explored for the PV voltage, current and power. The results show that the PV module behaves like an ideal voltage source at the MPP in case of average value comparison. Furthermore, the two sources have approximately the same ripple current. The effects of increasing the inductance value as well as the switching frequency values are investigated. As the inductance value and frequency increase, this will give very low ripple current, voltage and power, and thereby a better approximation for the MPP.
Uncovering Highly-Excited State Mixing in Acetone Using Ultrafast VUV Pulses and Coincidence Imaging Techniques.

Understanding the ultrafast dynamics of highly excited electronic states of small molecules is critical for a better understanding of atmospheric and astrophysical processes, as well as for designing coherent control strategies for manipulating chemical dynamics. In highly excited states, nonadiabatic coupling, electron–electron interactions, and the high density of states govern dynamics. However, these states are computationally and experimentally challenging to access. Fortunately, new sources of ultrafast vacuum ultraviolet pulses, in combination with electron–ion coincidence spectroscopies, provide new tools to unravel the complex electronic landscape. Here we report time-resolved photoelectron-photoion coincidence experiments using 8 eV pump photons to study the highly excited states of acetone. We uncover for the first time direct evidence that the resulting excited state consists of a mixture of both ny → 3p and π → π* character, which decays with a time constant of 330 fs. In the future, this app...
Reintegration of FALINTIL, Timor-Leste’s Ex-Combatants, Then and Now

The role of ex-combatants after the end of an armed conflict is a complex one, as several issues must be addressed before these ex-combatants can be reintegrated peacefully and sustainably back int...
Nurses' Perception of the Impact of Electronic Documentation on the Nurse-Patient Relationship.

Background While there are many benefits of electronic medical record documentation, the presence of a computer may adversely affect provider-patient interaction. Purpose The purpose of this project was to examine staff nurses' perception of the impact of electronic documentation in the presence of the patient on the nurse-patient relationship. Methods A survey was administered to 276 staff nurses, and open-ended interviews were conducted with 11 novice and 20 expert nurses. Results Nurses identified benefits and challenges to electronic medical record documentation as well as strategies used to maintain therapeutic relationships and communication. Numerous nurses commented that documenting with their back to the patient had a negative impact on the nurse-patient relationship and communication. Conclusions Both novice and expert nurses identified strategies that they used to ensure they were "maintaining the connection" to patients during electronic medical record documentation.
Hidden Quantum Non-Locality

Consider an ensemble of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen pairs whose two-particle state could be either pure or, more generally (and less familiarly), mixed. We characterize the pairs by a density matrix W. As usual the two members of each pair fly apart to the left and right from a common source.
Self-Study Through Action Research

This chapter discusses the ways in which action research is and is not related to self-study. The many approaches to action research are outlined through comparing and contrasting the nature of action research with that of self-study of teacher education practices. The authors argue that what distinguishes self-study from action research is its methodology rather than the methods used. They suggest three methodological features that would be present in self-studies: 1) A self-study would bring to the forefront the importance of self; 2) it would make the experience of teacher educators a resource for research; and 3) it would urge those who engage in self-study to be critical of themselves and their roles as researchers and teacher educators. The authors explore these features through an analysis of the stories of their own journey to self-study and an analysis of three self-study reports.
A homogenized primary creep model of nickel-base superalloys and its application to determining micro-mechanistic characteristics

Abstract A primary creep model of nickel-base superalloys is developed for the low-temperature-high-stress regime, which provides insight into the active micro-mechanisms, extracted from features of the experimental creep curves. A two-parameter model is established to account for the accumulated primary creep strain, which contains a “threshold stress” representing the possible shear resistance during primary creep. Consideration of this threshold stress leads to a stress exponent n in the order of 3 ∼ 4 , in sharp contrast to the conventional analysis that gives an ultra high value of n > 10 . A general stress-dependence of dislocation velocity is then proposed based on the framework of thermally-activated deformation, which leads to another two-parameter model for the primary creep rate. Applications to two superalloys demonstrate a good agreement between the model and experimental data. In addition, two micro-mechanistic characteristics of creep, i.e., dislocation drag coefficient and activation volume, can be unambiguously determined from the model parameters. The values of these physical quantities obtained for the two superalloys considered suggest a coupled dislocation motion of glide and climb at the γ/γ' interface as the rate-controlling mechanism during primary creep in superalloys.
Ablation of PDIA3 alleviates pulmonary fibrosis in mice

Protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs) are oxidoreductases that are involved in catalysis of disulfide bonds in various proteins. Previous study from our laboratory reported that PDIA3 catalyzes formation of disulfide bonds in death receptor Fas and regulate allergen induced lung fibrosis via catalyzing the disulfide bonds in pro-fibrotic growth factors and oligomerization of BAK. Since PDIA3 is involved in catalysis of disulfide bonds in key players of lung fibrosis. Our objective in the current study was to elucidate the role of PDIA3 in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) a progressive disease with an estimated median survival time of 5 years following diagnosis. Our analyses showed that an increase in PDIA3 transcripts and protein in lung specimens of IPF as compared to non-IPF subjects. This increase in PDIA3 was also apparent in a bleomycin induced mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis. Next, to evaluate the role of PDIA3 in pulmonary fibrosis we generated a mouse line capable of deleting PDIA3 (DEpi-Pdia3) upon doxycycline (dox) treatment in lung epithelial cells. The DEpi-Pdia3 and their litter mate controls (Ctr that cannot delete PDIA3) were challenged with bleomycin or PBS as reagent control. After 14 days the experimental mice were provided with dox treatment to ablate PDIA3 in lung epithelial cells. This experiment for the first time showed that deletion of PDIA3 attenuated bleomycin induced lung fibrosis in DEpi-Pdia3 mice as compared to Ctr mice. This decrease in lung fibrosis was also marked by decrease in apoptotic markers and other fibrotic markers. Collectively our data indicates that PDIA3 plays an important role in development of pulmonary fibrosis potentially via formation of disulfide bonds in pro-apoptotic Fas and BAK proteins and as well as in pro-fibrotic growth factors. We believe that a future strategy to inhibit PDIA3 in the lung would be potentially beneficial in treating IPF patients.
Accelerating materials science with high-throughput computations and machine learning

Abstract With unprecedented amounts of materials data generated from experiments as well as high-throughput density functional theory calculations, machine learning techniques has the potential to greatly accelerate materials discovery and design. Here, we review our efforts in the Materials Virtual Lab to integrate software automation, data generation and curation and machine learning to (i) design and optimize technological materials for energy storage, energy efficiency and high-temperature alloys; (ii) develop scalable quantum-accurate models, and (iii) enhance the speed and accuracy in interpreting characterization spectra.
Comparing and improving methods for reconstructing peatland water-table depth from testate amoebae

Proxies that use changes in the composition of ecological communities to reconstruct temporal changes in an environmental covariate are commonly used in paleoclimatology and paleolimnology. Existin...
Total folate binding capacity of normal human plasma, and variations in uremia, cirrhosis, and pregnancy

The current study presents evidence that all human serum contains a class of high-affinity folate binders (KA=2.8 X10(10 liters/mole), which migrate as a single peak on gel filtration. Failure of previous studies to detect this characteristic in all but a minority of subjects is attributable to its variable, often total, saturation. Direct measurement of the total folate binding capacity (TFBC) has been made possible by dissociation of endogenous folate-binder complexes at acid pH, removal of free folate by coated charcoal, and radiofolate tagging. This procedure does not appear to significantly denature the binders, which release and rebind similar quantities of 3H-PGA. In 20 normal subjects, TFBC ranged from 100 to 325 pg/ml (mean+/-SE = 174+/-16), and was always at least 33% saturated. In three clinical conditions, all associated with elevated unsaturated folate binding capacity, three different patterns emerged when TFBC was also measured. Uremic subjects had significantly elevated mean TFBC with normal saturation. In cirrhotic subjects, mean TFBC approximated normal, but saturation was significantly decreased. In pregnancy, two groups were seen: one with increased TFBC and the other with a normal TFBC, some of whom had decreased saturation. Lactobacillus casei serum folate level was about 30 times greater than the TFBC; there was no correlation between the two measurements.
Efficacy of native isolates of Metarhizium spp. in the control of the weevil (Metamasius hemipterus) of sugarcane in laboratory conditions

The objective of this work was to evaluate the efficacy of four native isolates of Metarhizium spp., in the control of adults of Metamasius hemipterus in laboratory conditions. A completely randomized design with seven treatments and five repetitions was used. The treatments were the four native isolates (TI6301, TS6304, PS5002, PS5003; at a concentration of 1 x108 conidia.mL-1), Chemical (Engeo at a dose of 1mL.L-1 water), a commercial biological (Micosplag at a dose of 0.5 g.L-1 of water) and a control treatment with sterile distilled water. The treatments were applied by immersion. Mortality assessment was recorded at 5, 10, and 15 days after treatment application. Abbott's formula was used for the correction of mortality. To determine the confirmed mortality, dead adults were conditioned in humid chambers to verify the presence of mycelium on dead insects. The data was processed by ANOVA, the comparison of means was made with the Tukey test (P <0.05). The chemical treatment showed an immediate response in adults of M. hemipterus with a 100% mortality efficiency before the first 24 hours, while the native isolates began to reflect mortalities from the second day. The native isolates of Metarhizium spp. TI6301, TS6304 and PS5002 caused accumulated and corrected mortalities above 70%, and Micosplag treatment reached an efficiency of 4.17%. Confirmed mortalities were between 72.4 and 76% with native isolates TS6304 and TI6301, respectively on adults of M. hemipterus.
Delineating cell behavior and metabolism of non-melanoma skin cancer in vitro

Non-melanoma skin cancers - basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) - are the most frequent forms of malignant neoplasm in humans worldwide. The etiology of these carcinomas is multifactorial. In addition to the harmful effect of UV light, altered cross-talk between neoplastic epithelial cells and the supporting dermal fibroblasts contributes to the regulation of tumor cell behavior, growth and survival. Metabolic cooperation between these cell types allows them to adapt and react to changes in their surrounding microenvironment by modifying their cellular bioenergetics and biosynthesis. We characterized the growth, behavior, and metabolic activity of human BCC cells, E-cadherin-competent SCC cells and E-cadherin-suppressed SCC cells in the presence or absence of dermal fibroblasts. In mono-cultures and co-cultures, BCC and SCC cells demonstrated distinct morphology, growth and organizational patterns. These tumor cells also exhibited unique patterns of consumption and secretion profiles of glucose, lactate, acetate, glutamine, glutamate, and pyruvate. In comparison to mono-cultures, growth of fibroblasts with either BCC cells or SCC cells enriched the cell growth environment, allowed for metabolic cooperation between these two cell types, and resulted in alterations in the metabolic profiles of the co-cultures. These alterations were affected by the cancer cell type, culture confluence and the composition of the growth medium. Characterizing the bioenergetics of BCC and SCC cells in the context of tumor-stromal interactions is not only important for further understanding of tumor pathogenesis, but also can illuminate potential new targets for novel, metabolic-based therapies for non-melanoma skin cancers.
Designing Game-Based Writing Projects to Foster Critical Ethical Reasoning in the English Classroom: A Case Study Using Plague Inc: Evolved:

Background.Over the past two decades, scholars in the field of Critical Game Studies have discussed ethics in relation to the self-reflexive practices that players undertake when navigating in-game...
Low-rank Tensor Completion for PMU Data Recovery

This paper proposes a tensor completion method for the recovery of missing phasor measurement unit (PMU) measurements. Tensor completion as the general case of matrix completion has attracted increasing attention in recent years. The imputation accuracy for the existing matrix completion methods may be significantly reduced when there are consecutive data losses across multiple data channels. To tackle this issue, we explore the multi-way characteristics of PMU measurements by using a tensor model. We leverage the low-rank property of the PMU measurements and formulate the missing PMU data recovery problem as a low-rank tensor completion problem. An efficient algorithm based on alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) is developed to solve the tensor completion problem. The experiments using the real PMU dataset show that the proposed method exhibits better imputation accuracy compared with the conventional data recovery methods.
How COVID-19 is shifting psychological contracts within organizations

The Slippery and Shifting Nature of Psychological Contracts The global pandemic has created massive change in the way people work, study, travel, and live in general Typically these include what employees believe they will receive by way of compensation, benefits, work assignments, organizational support, resources, career development, work–life balance, job security, and interpersonal treatment in return for their talent, effort, performance output and quality, cooperation, loyalty, and commitment to the organization’s objectives Interestingly, research shows that the effect of the objective breach is less significant than that of the employees’ emotional feelings of violation, distrust, and anger toward the other party, for example, the manager or organization (Zhao etal , 2007) [ ]questions could be examined using the lenses of work–life balance, work–family conflict, job-demands resources theory, job-demands control theory, organizational justice, and perceived organizational support [ ]do personality factors (e g , resilience, psychological capital, openness to change, learning mindset) moderate the extent to which people react to psychological contract breaches?
Laser Anemometry for Engine Flow Studies

Interferometric laser anemometry was used to determine cycle-resolved velocity records within the cylinder of a laboratory engine. Direct recording of the signal enables two new types of information to be collected. For single seeds, two-dimensional projections of seed trajectory are measured to yield information about microscale turbulence. For multiple seeds, continuous records of velocity versus time are found to contain velocity fluctuations on a smaller time scale than previously measured in an engine. A discussion of the simple apparatus will be presented, along with some suggestions for noninterferometric flow measurement.
Digicon Applications in Astronomy

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of Digicon applications in astronomy. The Digicon system consists of the Digicon tube itself with its associated electronics, a set of interfacing modules built to CAMAC standards, and a Nova 820 minicomputer with peripherals to control the Digicon and to record and display the data. The new Digicon has an S-20 photocathode with peak quantum efficiency ∼25%. The diode array consists of a line of 200 diodes each 40 μm wide by 300 μm long on a 50 μm pitch with five additional diodes at either end, patterned to aid lining up of the image on the array, and 2 large “background detection” diodes. In D-40, the array is made up of 40 (90 × 90 μm 2 ) diodes on a 100 μm pitch. In general, the D-40 is used as a test bed to demonstrate the concepts for hardware and applications. It is suggested to use the D-40 for direct deep sky observations because the diode geometry is appropriate for this task. The instrument can be applied to quantitative studies where statistical errors must be clearly specified.
Effect of target and non-target transplants on neuronal survival and axonal elongation after injury to the developing spinal cord.

Publisher Summary This chapter determines: (1) whether transplants of fetal spinal cord tissue at the lesion site can prolong the critical period for developmental plasticity of the corticospinal system, and (2) whether the requirements for survival of immature axotomized neurons are target specific, or whether a variety of immature tissues can substitute for the normal target and support these neurons after injury. Target-specific transplants extend the critical period for developmental plasticity of the corticospinal pathway beyond that seen after lesions alone are demonstrated in the chapter. The corticospinal (CS) axons damaged prior to synaptogenesis are found to exhibit a greater degree of growth than those injured after synaptogenesis is completed, suggesting that an interaction of environmental and neuronal factors regulate the capacity of immature corticospinal neurons for growth. Many immature CNS neurons undergo massive retrograde cell loss in response to target removal by axotomy. At acute survival times, both target and non-target transplants are able to support the temporary survival of axotomized red nucleus (RN) neurons, perhaps by providing a diffusable trophic support for the injured neurons. However, their permanent survival is supported only by target-specific transplants, and they may require axonal elongation and synaptogenesis.
Computability and discrete dynamical systems

Church's and Turing's theses dogmatically assert that an informal notion of computability is captured by a particular mathematical concept. I present an analysis of computability that leads to precise concepts, but dispenses with theses.
A Note on Quantum Hamming Bound.

Proving the quantum Hamming bound for degenerate nonbinary stabilizer codes has been an open problem for a decade. In this note, I prove this bound for double error-correcting degenerate stabilizer codes. Also, I compute the maximum length of single and double error-correcting MDS stabilizer codes over finite fields.
Chapter 2 – Actuarial Education

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the International Actuarial Association survey of its members, regarding their educational practices. It identified a number of academic topics as describing the repertoire of scientific knowledge and competency areas of actuaries. The list of topics is, in a sense, more important than the answers to the survey. It summarizes the understanding of leading actuaries of the core tools of their profession. Actuarial education is divided into ten broad areas. These include financial mathematics, probability and mathematical statistics, economics, accounting, modeling, statistical methods, actuarial mathematics, investment, asset management, principles of actuarial management, and professionalism. There are major differences in actuarial education around the world. The Society of Actuaries (SOA) and Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) qualifications are respected and honored around the world. Twice a year, in May and November, students can write SOA and CAS examinations in multiple centers in the United States and most provinces in Canada, as well as in international examination centers. In addition to being able to carry out mathematical and statistical calculations, a candidate must be able to understand the definitions and interrelationships of concepts from economics and finance.
An intelligent deployment and clustering algorithm for a distributed mobile sensor network

Energy in a wireless sensor network (WSN) is a precious resource. Deployment of mobile sensors in a WSN is an energy consuming process and it should be carefully designed. In this paper, we propose an intelligent energy-efficient deployment algorithm for cluster-based WSN by a synergistic combination of cluster structuring and a peer-to-peer deployment scheme. Performance of our algorithm is evaluated in terms of coverage, uniformity, and time and distance traveled till the algorithm converges. Our algorithm is shown to exhibit excellent performance.
BLAMEWORTHINESS WITHOUT WRONGDOING

In this article I argue that it is possible to be blameworthy for doing something that was not objectively morally wrong. If I am right, this would have implications for several debates at the intersection of metaphysics and moral philosophy. I also float a view about which actions can serve as legitimate bases for blame that allows for the possibility of blameworthiness without objective wrongdoing and also suggests an explanation for the appeal of the commonly held view that blameworthiness requires objective wrongdoing.
Cryptosporidium parvum antigens induce mouse and human dendritic cells to generate Th1‐enhancing cytokines

Summary Cryptosporidium parvum is an opportunistic intracellular parasite that causes mild to severe diarrhoea, which can be life-threatening in an immunocompromised host. To increase our understanding of the mechanisms that play a role in host immune responses, we investigated the effects of C. parvum antigens on the phenotype of mouse and human dendritic cells (DCs). Cryptosporidium parvum antigens induced DC activation as indicated by upregulation of the maturation marker CD209, as well as by the production of the cytokines interleukin-12 p70, IL-2, IL-1beta, IL-6. In particular, significant increases in the expression of IL-12 p70 were observed from mouse DCs derived from bone marrow in response to solubilized sporozoite antigen and the recombinant cryptosporidial antigens, Cp40 and Cp23. We observed a small but significant increase in IL-18 expression following the exposure to Cp40. We found that the induction of Th1 cytokines was MyD88 dependent (MyD88 knockout mouse DCs were unresponsive). Additionally, both sporozoite preparations (solubilized and live) significantly induced IL-12 production by human monocytic dendritic cells (MoDCs). This finding indicates that solubilized as well as recombinant antigens can induce the maturation of DCs and subsequently initiate an innate immune response.
The impact of breathing motion versus heterogeneity effects in lung cancer treatment planning.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of tissue heterogeneity and breathing-induced motion/deformation on conformal treatment planning for pulmonary tumors and to compare the magnitude and the clinical importance of changes induced by these effects. Treatment planning scans were acquired at normal exhale/inhale breathing states for fifteen patients. The internal target volume (ITV) was defined as the union of exhale and inhale gross tumor volumes uniformly expanded by 5 mm . Anterior/posterior opposed beams (AP/PA) and three-dimensional (3D)-conformal plans were designed using the unit-density exhale (“static”) dataset. These plans were further used to calculate (a) density-corrected (“heterogeneous”) static dose and (b) heterogeneous cumulative dose, including breathing deformations. The DPM Monte Carlo code was used for dose computations. For larger than coin-sized tumors, relative to unit-density plans, tumor and lungdoses increased in the heterogeneity-corrected plans. In comparing cumulative and static plans, larger normal tissue complication probability changes were observed for tumors with larger motion amplitudes and uncompensated breathing-induced hot/cold spots in lung. Accounting for tissue heterogeneity resulted in average increases of 9% and 7% in mean lungdose (MLD) for the 6 MV and 15 MV photon beams, respectively. Breathing-induced effects resulted in approximately 1% and 2% average decreases in MLD from the static value, for the 6 and 15 MV photon beams, respectively. The magnitude of these effects was not found to correlate with the treatment plan technique, i.e., AP/PA versus 3D-CRT. Given a properly designed ITV, tissue heterogeneity effects are likely to have a larger clinical significance on tumor and normal lungtreatment evaluation metrics than four-dimensional respiratory-induced changes.
Inhibition of neuronal apoptosis by docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3). Role of phosphatidylserine in antiapoptotic effect.

Enrichment of Neuro 2A cells with docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3) decreased apoptotic cell death induced by serum starvation as evidenced by the reduced DNA fragmentation and caspase-3 activity. The protective effect of 22:6n-3 became evident only after at least 24 h of enrichment before serum starvation and was potentiated as a function of the enrichment period. During enrichment 22:6n-3 incorporated into phosphatidylserine (PS) steadily, resulting in a significant increase in the total PS content. Similar treatment with oleic acid (18:1n-9) neither altered PS content nor resulted in protective effect. Hindering PS accumulation by enriching cells in a serine-free medium diminished the protective effect of 22:6n-3. Membrane translocation of Raf-1 was significantly enhanced by 22:6n-3 enrichment in Neuro 2A cells. Consistently, in vitrobiomolecular interaction between PS/phosphatidylethanolamine /phosphatidylcholine liposomes, and Raf-1 increased in a PS concentration-dependent manner. Collectively, enrichment of neuronal cells with 22:6n-3 increases the PS content and Raf-1 translocation, down-regulates caspase-3 activity, and prevents apoptotic cell death. Both the antiapoptotic effect of 22:6n-3 and Raf-1 translocation are sensitive to 22:6n-3 enrichment-induced PS accumulation, strongly suggesting that the protective effect of 22:6n-3 may be mediated at least in part through the promoted accumulation of PS in neuronal membranes.
Process analytical technology (PAT): quantification approaches in terahertz spectroscopy for pharmaceutical application.

Terahertz (THz) spectroscopy and chemometric analysis of resultant absorption spectra in the 30–500 cm−1 range has been applied to perform quantitative determination of both active ingredient and excipient concentrations of tablets. Tests were performed on a series of tablets composed of various concentrations and processes of theophylline formulated with lactose, magnesium stearate, starch or Avicel, and as a function of tablet hardness. Transmission spectra of polyethylene pellets derived from each of the samples were analyzed using three approaches. Spectral superposition method was used as an indirect measure to examine whether and when the interaction among various pharmaceutical components and the tableting history could be considered insignificant for quantification purpose. Spectral characteristic peak method was able to correlate peak maxima with correction for tablets having the same hardness. Multivariate analysis (PCR and PLS 1) was capable of correlating THz spectra with tablet concentrations. The predicted concentrations of independent samples using multivariate models agreed well with nominal concentrations. The best correlations were obtained using multivariate analysis. With these studies, the advantage of using multivariate approach was demonstrated for process analytical technology (PAT) application. Further, the feasibility of integrating THz spectroscopy and chemometrics for the purpose of quantifying pharmaceutical tablet concentrations was demonstrated. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 97:970–984, 2008
RESOLVING STRUGGLING READERS' HOMEWORK DIFFICULTIES: A SOCIAL COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

Struggling readers often fail to complete homework or complete it in a slipshod, haphazard fashion. Often, this adversely affects grades, erodes motivation for academics, and causes conflict between readers, parents, and school personnel. To help teachers and educational consultants (e.g., reading specialists, school psychologists) help struggling readers improve their homework submission rates and improve the quality of their homework, this article discusses reasons for homework problems and suggests how teachers and educational consultants can apply social cognitive theory to resolve homework problems.
Early Detection of Psychosis: Challenges and Opportunities

Early identification of individuals at clinical risk for psychotic illness is critical for early intervention. Current studies apply special assessment measures combined with neurocognitive, neuroimaging, and electrophysiology methodologies that have been discovered largely in schizophrenia research. While still limited in sample size, harmonized measures, and longitudinal data, these studies indicate the presence of abnormalities in the clinical-risk state. Such findings suggest that the onset of the psychotic process precedes late adolescence and clinical detection. Efforts at early identification, therefore, could benefit from large-scale studies. Computerized clinical assessment and neurocognitive testing are available and can move from academic sites to the community. Neuroimaging methods are increasingly available and can add to the prediction of transition. As a field, we need to move vigorously and responsibly toward early interventions that may prevent and ameliorate the developmental trajectory that leads to the emergence of a full psychotic disorder with devastating impact on individuals, families and communities.
PHOSPHOLIPID AND NUCLEIC ACID GRADIENTS IN THE DEVELOPING AMPHIBIAN EMBRYO

Rana pipiens embryos at the end of the blastula stage were dissociated and the cell suspension was separated into presumptive ectoderm, mesoderm, light endoderm, and heavy endoderm cells by a discontinuous density gradient centrifugation technique. The isolated germ layers were analyzed for total lipid, lipid phosphorus, plasmalogen, RNA, and DNA. Per gram dry weight, DNA showed a threefold decrease from ectoderm to heavy endoderm. On the same basis, the RNA content of the mesoderm was 34 per cent higher than that of ectoderm, and 320 and 570 per cent higher than that of light and heavy endoderm, respectively. In addition to the RNA and DNA gradients, there were at least two superimposed lipid gradients: a neutral lipid gradient decreasing from ectoderm to endoderm, and a total phospholipid gradient increasing from ectoderm to endoderm. In contrast to total phospholipid, a specific phospholipid class, ethanolamine plasmalogen, decreased from ectoderm to endoderm. The total lipid content per gram dry weight was the same in all the germ layers. Total phospholipids were analyzed quantitatively by thin layer chromatography. Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, sphingomyelin, and inositol phospholipid constituted 34, 13, 12, and 34 per cent, respectively, of the total lipid phosphorus. The phospholipid composition was different in each germ layer. The possible role of specific lipids in embryonic induction and differentiation is discussed.
Hypothalamic “coding” in the unanesthetized monkey of noradrenergic sites mediating feeding and thermoregulation☆

A total of 179 sites in the hypothalmus of 36 unanesthetized rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were examined for their sensitivity to the local micro-injection of NE with respect to the evocation of spontaneous feeding or a change in body temperature. At 28 of these sites, a significant increase in food intake alone was observed shortly after the NE injection. At 19 other sites, NE evoked only hypothermia, whereas in 5 sites NE caused both feeding and a fall in temperature simultaneously. The feeding responses were associated with sites scattered throughout the hypothalamus from the pre-optic region to the mammillary bodies, but the region possessing the greatest density of NE sensitivity was in a plane which contained the fornix and passed between the ventromedial nucleus and the near lateral hypothalamus. Temperature responses were evoked most strongly by NE micro-injected into loci in the anterior hypothalamus, but the occurrence of feeding and hypothermia simultaneously was associated with the micro-injection of NE at other sites within the same anatomical region. The fact that the catecholamine-sensitive sites at which NE elicited heat loss responses were generally separated anatomically from those at which NE evoked feeding suggests that there is a separate neuroanatomical substrate for the noradrenergic modulation of each function.
High collection efficiency electrostatic precipitator for in vitro cell exposure to concentrated ambient particulate matter (PM)

Abstract A new sampling system, the in vitro electrostatic collector, was developed to collect ambient particles for in vitro studies. The system consists of two units: first, particles are concentrated by means of the versatile aerosol concentration enrichment system (VACES), and subsequently they are drawn through an electrostatic precipitator (ESP). The particle sample is collected on a petri dish that contains cell cultures, or on any other desirable substrate suitable for particle collection and analysis. The VACES makes it possible to sample for short time intervals, which favors cell viability and exposure characterization. The laboratory tests showed that collection efficiency under optimized conditions is higher than 95% across all particle diameters measured (18 nm to 3.0 μ m ), regardless of aerosol type. The field experiments showed that the VACES with a tandem-virtual impactor system is capable of concentrating ambient ultrafine, accumulation and coarse particles by 80–100 times. The in vitro electrostatic collector has the potential to perform hourly direct, solvent-free PM collections for toxicological studies.
Analysis of the performance expected in fluorosphosphate erbium-doped fiber amplifiers with the 800 nm pump band

With the use of a comprehensive spectral and spatial computer model, the authors analyze the performance that can be expected in fluorophosphate (FP) glass erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) with 800 nm band pumping. Due to the smaller excited state absorption, the fluorophosphate host glass shows about a 4 dB advantage in small signal gain (SSG) over alumino-silicate EDFAs with bidirectional pumping, and nearly double the output signal power under similar conditions. >
Bridging Electronic Health Record Access to the Cloud

Healthcare providers are faced with mounting pressure to facilitate pervasive access to their electronic health record systems for their patients; the Meaningful Use incentive programs perhaps the most significant driver. Meanwhile the Cloud has expended immense time and resources on the establishment of proficient, easy-to-use digital identities for individuals, while also allowing those identities to be portable across a myriad of disparate systems. This research proposes the success and proliferation of the Clouds' digital identities to be part of the solution to the healthcare industry's access issue. By analyzing industry standards and other ongoing identity related work in other industries, a trust model was produced to enable the exchange of identity information. As such, this research proposes a comprehensive framework for healthcare providers to follow to integrate their EHRs with the Cloud for provide identity validation, while ensuring compliance guidelines for security and privacy. To demonstrate the viability of this research, a number of pilots and concept projects have been implemented at a large regional hospital that have already produced immediate and tangible improvements.
Abstract 4267: MUC1 increases epidermal growth factor receptor levels and signaling in endometrial cancer cell lines.

Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological cancer, affecting over 600,000 women in the United States. Furthermore, increased incidence of endometrial cancer is observed among obese and premenopausal women. Currently, the standard of care is hysterectomy with the addition of radiation and chemotherapy for late stage cancers. Novel therapies are required to avoid surgical complications associated with obese patients and to preserve the fertility of young patients. MUC1 is a large, heavily glycosylated transmembrane protein that functions to lubricate mucosal surfaces, protect cells from external insult and modulates the embryo implantation process. Recent evidence suggests that the C-terminus of MUC1 is involved in intracellular signaling through interaction with several cancer-associated proteins. One of these proteins is the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a receptor tyrosine kinase that influences cellular proliferation, migration and apoptosis. Elevated MUC1 levels are associated with increased levels and signaling of EGFR in breast cancer; however, this phenomenon has not been described in the context of endometrial cancer and the mechanisms involved are not well understood in any context. To this end, human endometrial cancer cell lines were subjected to siRNA knockdown of MUC1 followed by qRT-PCR, western blotting, EGFR promoter-driven luciferase assays, proliferation and migration assays. These assays demonstrate a correlation of MUC1 levels with EGFR mRNA levels, protein levels, signaling, gene expression and cellular proliferation and migration. These results demonstrate that MUC1 control of EGFR levels and signaling also occurs in endometrial cancer-derived cell lines. Future experiments will elucidate the mechanisms by which MUC1 promotes EGFR gene expression and signaling in endometrial cancer. These insights may provide novel MUC1-based targets for endometrial cancer therapies which when used in conjunction with current non-surgical treatments may provide a therapeutic strategy that avoids surgical complications and preserves fertility. (Work supported by NIH grants RO1 HD 29963 and NCI 2P5098258-06 as well as Rice University funds to DDC). Citation Format: Brian J. Engel, Daniel D. Carson. MUC1 increases epidermal growth factor receptor levels and signaling in endometrial cancer cell lines. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4267. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-4267
Optimization of finite element codes

A general algorithm for constructing finite element matrices within a multiple input, multiple data stream (MIMD) vector-processing environment is presented. Efficiency of the vectorized code is determined by the number of elements which differs from the more intuitive algorithms based on the number of quadrature points or shape functions. Performance is evaluated analytically and then verified by timings obtained by a series of experimental runs on a Cray Y-MP. A speedup factor of 25 is observed.
On the mechanism of drag reduction

Recent studies indicate that growing streamwise perturbations driven by streamwise vortices and the resulting Reynolds stresses play a significant role in both the transition to turbulence and the near-wall turbulent flow. In this note, we show that viscoelasticity introduces a negative feedback, so that the streamwise flow driven by a streamwise vortex would have the effect of diminishing the vortex. The terms responsible for this effect are the same as these that lead to a second normal stress difference.
A Poisson random walk is Bernoulli

Particles distributed on the integers in Poisson distribution, each independently taking a random walk, form a stationary Markov chain. The canonical shift in this space is Bernoulli.
Evidence for the involvement of acid/base chemistry in the reaction catalyzed by the type II isopentenyl diphosphate/dimethylallyl diphosphate isomerase from Staphylococcus aureus.

The type II isopentenyl diphosphate/dimethylallyl diphosphate isomerase (IDI-2) is a flavin mononucleotide (FMN)-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the reversible isomerization of isopentenyl pyrophos...
Spatial autocorrelation and mean intercept length analysis of trabecular bone anisotropy applied to in vivo magnetic resonance imaging

Osteoporosis is characterized by bone loss and deterioration of the trabecular bone (TB) architecture that leads to impaired overall mechanical strength of the bone. Bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry is currently the standard clinical metric assessing bone integrity but it fails to capture the structural changes in the TB. Recent research suggests that structure contributes to bone strength in a manner complementary to BMD. Besides parameters of scale such as the mean TB thickness and mean bone volume fraction, parameters describing the anisotropy of the trabecular architecture play an important role in the characterization of TB since trabeculae are preferentially oriented along the direction of local loading. Therefore, the degree of structural anisotropy is of pivotal importance to the bone’s mechanical competence. The most common method for measuring structural anisotropy of TB is the mean-intercept length (MIL). In this work we present a method, based on the three-dimensional spatial autocorrelation function (ACF), for mapping of the full structural anisotropy ellipsoid of both TB thickness and spacing and we examine its performance as compared to that of MIL. Not only is the ACF method faster by several orders of magnitude, it is also considerably more robust to noise. Further, it is applicable at lower spatial resolution and is relatively insensitive to image shading. The chief reason for ACF’s superior performance is that it does not require binarization, which is difficult to achieve in the limited spatial regime of in vivomagnetic resonance imaging. MIL and ACF have been applied to high-resolution magnetic resonances images of the tibia in a group of ten healthy postmenopausal women by comparing the structural anisotropy and principal direction of the computed fabric tensor for each method. While there is fair agreement between the two methods, ACF analysis yielded greater anisotropy than MIL for both TB thickness and spacing. There was good agreement between the two techniques as far as the eigenvectors of the fabric ellipsoids were concerned, which parallel the bone’s macroscopic axis.
Emotional Support During Separation

Abstract Analyzing data from the National Survey of Families and Households, this study examines the extent to which men and women rely on informal and formal sources for emotional support during separation and the determining factors of relying on these sources. Both men and women rely on their friends for emotional support more than on any other sources, and friends are followed by parents. Initiator status, and education affect the likelihood of relying on formal support sources; compared to men, women obtain more support from informal as well as from formal sources. Effects of age, education, having children, initiator status, and involvement with someone else prior to the separation on obtaining emotional support from several informal and formal sources are analyzed. Implications of these and other findings and suggestions for further research are discussed.