cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cross Section for Compound-Nucleus Formation in Heavy-Ion-Induced Reactions

Compound-nucleus-formation cross sections for various systems of heavy ions and targets have been calculated by using two simple models. The first model, based on a square-well nuclear potential, gives reasonable agreement with experiment if a radius parameter ${r}_{0}\ensuremath{\cong}1.5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}13}$ is used. The second model, based on a diffuse nuclear potential, gives agreement if ${r}_{0}=1.17\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}13}$ cm is used. The cross sections calculated by using the first model are presented for various energies of the systems carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and neon incident on aluminum, potassium, copper, silver, praseodymium, gold, and uranium. Also tabulated are the average values of the orbital angular momentum for each system at each energy.
Selenium regulation of the selenoprotein and nonselenoprotein transcriptomes in rodents

This review discusses progress in understanding the hierarchy of selenoprotein expression at the transcriptome level from selenium (Se) deficiency to Se toxicity. Microarray studies of the full selenoproteome have found that 5 of 24 rodent selenoprotein mRNA decrease to <40% of Se adequate levels in Se deficient liver but that the majority of selenoprotein mRNA are not regulated by Se deficiency. These differences match with the hierarchy of selenoprotein expression, helping to explain these differences and also showing that selenoprotein transcripts can be used as molecular biomarkers for assessing Se status. The similarity of the response curves for regulated selenoproteins suggests one underlying mechanism is responsible for the downregulation of selenoprotein mRNA in Se deficiency, but the heterogeneity of the UGA position in regulated and nonregulated selenoprotein transcripts now indicates that current nonsense mediated decay models cannot explain which transcripts are susceptible to mRNA decay. Microarray studies on the full liver transcriptome in rats found only <10 transcripts/treatment were significantly down- or upregulated by Se deficiency or by supernutritional Se up to 2.0 μg Se/g diet (20× requirement), suggesting that cancer prevention associated with supernutritional Se may not be mediated by transcriptional changes. Toxic dietary Se at 50× requirement (5 μg Se/g diet), however, significantly altered ∼4% of the transcriptome, suggesting number of transcriptional changes itself as a biomarker of Se toxicity. Finally, panels of Se regulated selenoprotein plus nonselenoprotein transcripts predict Se status from deficient to toxic better than conventional biomarkers, illustrating potential roles for molecular biomarkers in nutrition.
Unique Unto Itself: The Records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1908 to 1945.

Abstract This paper addresses several misunderstandings about the nature of the FBI's Central Records System. Although depicted in popular culture and much of FBI historiography as a tool for the Cold War suppression of American radicals, the FBI's records system grew out of Department of Justice systems already in place before J. Edgar Hoover became Director in 1924. The system grew in size and complexity according to the demands placed on it by the changing priorities of the FBI's criminal and intelligence missions, guided by a “progressive” drive for efficiency through centralization.
Flexi-modal and multi-machine user interfaces

We describe our system which facilitates collaboration using multiple modalities, including speech, handwriting, gestures, gaze tracking, direct manipulation, large projected touch-sensitive displays, laser pointer tracking, regular monitors with a mouse and keyboard, and wirelessly-networked handhelds. Our system allows multiple, geographically dispersed participants to simultaneously and flexibly mix different modalities using the right interface at the right time on one or more machines. This paper discusses each of the modalities provided, how they were integrated in the system architecture, and how the user interface enabled one or more people to flexibly use one or more devices.
Inducing Compliance by a Two-Door-in-the-Face Procedure and a Self-Determination Request

Summary The door-in-the-face (“face”) is a procedure for increasing compliance. An individual is first asked to carry out a difficult task, which is almost always refused, and this is followed by a more moderate second request, the one that was actually desired. The current study devised a two-door-in-the-face (“two-face”) procedure, where the moderate request is preceded by both an extremely hard and a hard request, and examined whether this “two-face” procedure increased compliance when compared to the typical “face” procedure. In addition, the study examined whether a “self-determination” request, where the individual decides the level of help to offer, would produce more compliance than a fixed request, which specifies the level of help wanted. The Ss, 192 persons randomly selected from the telephone directory, were called and asked to help a new radio station. The results showed that the “two-face” when compared to the typical “face” procedure, and the self-determination request when compared to the ...
Effects of spike parameters and neuromodulators on action potential waveform-induced calcium entry into pyramidal neurons.

Neocortical pyramidal neurons express several different calcium channel types. Previous studies with square voltage steps have found modest biophysical differences between these calcium channel typ...
Rotational Energy Barrier of 2-(2′,6′-Dihydroxyphenyl)benzoxazole: A Case Study by NMR

2-(2′-Hydroxyphenyl)benzoxazole (HBO) derivatives represent an important class of luminescent materials, as they can undergo excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT). The material’s ESIPT properties are dependent on the ratio of two different rotamers, whose interconversion is poorly understood. By using HBO derivative 4, the rotational energy barrier of 2- (2′,6′-hydroxyphenyl)benzoxazole is determined to be 10.5 kcal/mol by variable-temperature NMR. Although a HBO derivative typically exhibits two rotamers with O···H–O (e.g., 1a) and N···H–O bonding (e.g., 1b), correlation of NMR with fluorescence data reveals that the rotamer with N···H–O bonding is predominant in the solution.
Effect of incubation time on Lactobacillus casei bioassay. Variation with two different commercial assay media.

The effect of incubation time on the Lactobacillus casei bioassay was investigated because of disparate results from two recent studies. Incubation time studies were performed with two commercial assay media. It was found that serum folate values decrease with increasing incubation time in BBL medium, but show very little change with time in Difco medium. This finding that the effect of incubation time on the serum folate value varies markedly with the commercial assay medium used apparently resolves the disparate results of the prior studies.
Forecasting the Impact of Socioeconomic and Demographic Change on Product Demand

The U.S. population is expected to ultdergo significant shifts in its demographic and socioe.o,omic makeup. The authors present a series of methods for estimating the impact of these shifts on product demand. In addition, two new methods for pooling time-series and cross-sectional data are presented. One method combines disaggregate cross sectional data with aggregate time-series data and the second method involves a differential scheme for pooling cross sections for each variable in the model.
Power Spectra of Stationary Signals

The Fourier transform X(f) of the sample paths of a stationary, real-valued random signal X(t) does not exist in the usual sense and analysis of the spectral contents of such signals requires a different, more subtle approach which has to rely on the concept of the mean power of the random signal. Only then we can investigate how it is distributed over different frequencies. The question is, of course, of fundamental importance in practical applications, as real-life signal processing devices such as measuring instruments, amplifiers, antennas, etc. transmit different frequencieswith different attenuation.
Synthesis and localization of C-type natriuretic peptide in mammalian kidney

We have previously demonstrated the synthesis of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) in the distal cortical nephron of the rat kidney. We now report the synthesis of C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) in...
An unusual new asteriid (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from the Cretaceous of California

Pegaster stichos n. gen. and sp., from the Cretaceous Chico Formation of Northern California, is the first-known fossil representative of the hitherto monogeneric Neomorphasterinae (Asteroidea: Asteriidae). Pegaster is morphologically similar to living Neomorphaster , again demonstrating the conservative evolution noted elsewhere among asteroids. Pegaster probably lived in a shallow shelf environment subject to strong storm action whereas Neomorphaster is known only from considerably greater depths; Pegaster provides a new example of an asteroid taxon excluded from shallower habitats through time.
Minimal Surfaces with Finite Total Curvature

In this chapter we will deal exclusively with complete minimal surfaces in R 3 with finite total curvature; for the sake of convenience we will call such a surface an algebraic minimal surface. In earlier papers [Y4, Y5, Y6, Y7] the author began a study of the Puncture Number Problem for algebraic minimal surfaces. Given a compact Riemann surface M g of genus g, a positive integer r is called a puncture number of M g if M g can be conformally immersed in R 3 as an algebraic minimal surface with exactly r punctures. The set of all puncture numbers for M g is denoted by P (M g ).
Spectral behavior of quasi periodic potentials

Spectral properties of Schrodinger operators of the typeHɛ=−Δ+ɛV, where Δ is the Laplacian,V a quasiperiodic potential and ɛ a coupling constant, are developed.V is taken to be finite sum of exponentials with generic frequencies. For small ɛ a strong stability is shown. On the other hand, examples (in the finite diffeence case) are given, for which a transition in the type of spectrum occurs, as ɛ is increased.
Gene-Environment Interactions in Stress Response Contribute Additively to a Genotype-Environment Interaction.

How combinations of gene-environment interactions collectively give rise to genotype-environment interactions is not fully understood. To shed light on this problem, we genetically dissected an environment-specific poor growth phenotype in a cross of two budding yeast strains. This phenotype is detectable when certain segregants are grown on ethanol at 37°C (‘E37’), a condition that differs from the standard culturing environment in both its carbon source (ethanol as opposed to glucose) and temperature (37°C as opposed to 30°C). Using recurrent backcrossing with phenotypic selection, we identified 16 contributing loci. To examine how these loci interact with each other and the environment, we focused on a subset of four loci that together can lead to poor growth in E37. We measured the growth of all 16 haploid combinations of alleles at these loci in all four possible combinations of carbon source (ethanol or glucose) and temperature (30 or 37°C) in a nearly isogenic population. This revealed that the four loci act in an almost entirely additive manner in E37. However, we also found that these loci have weaker effects when only carbon source or temperature is altered, suggesting that their effect magnitudes depend on the severity of environmental perturbation. Consistent with such a possibility, cloning of three causal genes identified factors that have unrelated functions in stress response. Thus, our results indicate that polymorphisms in stress response can show effects that are intensified by environmental stress, thereby resulting in major genotype-environment interactions when multiple of these variants co-occur.
Measuring alcohol and drug use

A subset of patients with chronic pain use alcohol and other non-prescription drugs to cope with pain, and it is worthwhile to screen for this use when evaluating these patients. Two questions have demonstrated validity for this purpose, and an additional four questions can be asked to help evaluate the extent of alcohol use, if indicated.
Recent activities in the United States involving the National Commission on Forensic Science and the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science

AbstractIn 2013, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an interagency initiative to strengthen forensic science: the establishment of a National Commission on Forensic Science (NCFS) and development of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC). The role of NCFS is to advise DOJ on matters of policy. NCFS exists in two-year renewable terms and has held 11 meetings in Washington, DC between February 2014 and September 2016. More than 30 work products have been approved following discussion and development within seven NCFS subcommittees that have been informed by public comment. The role of OSAC is to improve forensic practices by facilitating the development and promulgation of technically sound consensus-based documentary standards that can be used by accrediting bodies in future audits of forensic laboratories. OSAC is a NIST-organised effort and it is intended to be ongoing. Since the first in-person meetin...
Protein activation mapping and exploratory predictive markers for pCR in triple-negative breast cancer patients treated with neratinib in the I-SPY 2 TRIAL.

1085 Background: In the I-SPY 2 trial, the pan-ERBB inhibitor, neratinib (N) arm was open to all HR/HER2 subtypes but graduated in the HR-/HER2+ signature. Exploratory analysis of protein signaling...
Using Redundancy in Serial Planar Mechanisms to Improve Output-Space Tracking Accuracy

Path tracking using planar mechanisms with one degree of redundancy can be enhanced by matching (when possible) or approximating second-order path properties with first-order joint coordination. Second-order tracking can reduce the frequency of feedback for the desired accuracy, and since this paper provides analytical expressions for the joint speed ratios, this advantage comes at no additional computational cost. Examples show that tracking solutions with thismethod are locally more accurate compared to unweighted pseudoinverse solutions. Therefore, the feedback frequency for a desired tracking accuracy can be reduced, potentially resulting in a reduced computational cost of path tracking.
Creeping in the night: What might ecologists be missing?

National Science Foundation as part of the joint NSF-NIH-USDA Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases program [1518663]
Christianity and Language in the Middle Ages

Early Christianity entertained an ambivalent attitude to the classicizingly ‘correct’ language inculcated by the pagan educational system, which finally collapsed in the wake of the Germanic invasions. Such education as continued to be available became henceforth the preserve of the Church. However, the old classical norms were resurrected in a modified form by the Anglo-Irish ecclesiastics, who engineered the Carolingian Renaissance. These linguistic standards were then transmitted to the great monastic and cathedral schools that dominated education throughout the High Middle Ages. Such norms of language were superseded only by the return to an obsessive classicism during the Renaissance.
Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching Inclusive Design

Inclusive design is important in today's software industry, but there is little research about how to teach it. In collaboration with 9 teacher-researchers across 8 U.S. universities and more than 400 computer and information science students, we embarked upon an Action Research investigation to gather insights into the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) that teachers need to teach a particular inclusive design method called GenderMag. Analysis of the teachers' observations and experiences, the materials they used, direct observations of students' behaviors, and multiple data on the students' own reflections on their learning revealed 11 components of inclusive design PCK. These include strategies for anticipating and addressing resistance to the topic of inclusion, strategies for modeling and scaffolding perspective taking, and strategies for tailoring instruction to students' prior beliefs and biases.
Electronic Structures of Active Sites in Copper Proteins: Coupled Binuclear and Trinuclear Cluster Sites

It has now been ten years since a general review of our Group’s research in the field of copper proteins has been prepared.1 Over this period, our understanding of the electronic structure of the active sites in these proteins has strongly evolved, and is providing significant insight into the reactivity of these sites in biology. The first goal of my sabbatical was to generate an overview of our present understanding of this field, which has now appeared in Chemical Reviews 2 and will be summarized in two parts.3 Part I of this summary is being published as our contribution to the Proceedings of the International Conference on the Chemistry of the Copper and Zinc Triads, held in Edinburgh, Scotland July 13–16, 1992. Part II is submitted for the Proceedings of the Symposium on Copper Coordination Chemistry: Bioinorganic Perspectives, August 3–7, 1992.
Incidence of venous thromboembolism in the gynecologic cancer patient population at a single institution after implementation of pre-operative venous thromboembolism prophylaxis.

e17529Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant risk for women with gynecologic cancer. As the risk of VTE is increased along with morbidity and mortality in the gynecologic oncolog...
Microkinetic analysis of acetone hydrogenation over Pt/SiO2

Abstract The kinetics of vapor-phase acetone hydrogenation were investigated over a Pt/SiO2 catalyst through a range of temperatures (303–435 K) and reactant partial pressures (pACE = 0.3–140 Torr, pH2 = 100–930 Torr). We compile macroscopically observable reaction orders, apparent barriers, kinetic isotope effects, and reaction rates; and we present a microkinetic analysis that considers multiple rate control scenarios in two Horuiti-Polanyi-type mechanisms. Overall, our data are best described by a two-site model wherein atomic hydrogen adsorbs at a distinct set of active sites from organic species. We further propose that two surface reactions each exert partial rate control, and we illustrate that degree of rate control is sensitive to reaction conditions. Shifts in rate control are attributed primarily to changing surface coverage regimes, which highlights the significance of both free energies of activation and chemical-potential driving forces in dictating the kinetic significance of elementary steps. Despite our conclusion that surface reactions involving H-X bond formation are likely rate controlling, we observe that H2/D2 switching minimally perturbs acetone hydrogenation rates. We interpret this by considering that observed kinetic isotope effects reflect a convolution of kinetic and thermodynamic impacts, which can obscure the elementary effects of changes in isotopic mass.
A Holistic Approach to Behavior Adaptation for Socially Assistive Robots

Socially assistive robotics aims at providing users with continuous support and personalized assistance, through appropriate social interactions. The design of robots capable of supporting people in heterogeneous tasks, raises several challenges among which the most relevant are the need to realise intelligent and continuous behaviours, robustness and flexibility of services and, furthermore, the ability to adapt to different contexts and needs. Artificial intelligence plays a key role in realizing cognitive capabilities like e.g., learning, context reasoning or planning that are highly needed in socially assistive robots. The integration of several of such capabilities is an open problem. This paper proposes a novel “cognitive approach” integrating ontology-based knowledge reasoning, automated planning and execution technologies. The core idea is to endow assistive robots with intelligent features in order to reason at different levels of abstraction, understand specific health-related needs and decide how to act in order to perform personalized assistive tasks. The paper presents such a cognitive approach pointing out the contribution of different knowledge contexts and perspectives, presents detailed functioning traces to show adaptation and personalization features, and finally discusses an experimental assessment proving the feasibility of the approach.
The relation of geogenic contaminants to groundwater age, aquifer hydrologic position, water type, and redox conditions in Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain aquifers, eastern and south-central USA

Abstract Groundwater age distributions developed from carbon-14 (14C), tritium (3H), and helium-4 (4He) concentrations, along with aquifer hydrologic position, water type, and redox conditions, were compared to geogenic contaminants of concern (GCOC) from 252 public-supply wells in six Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain unconsolidated-sediment aquifers. Concentrations of one or more GCOCs in 168 (67%) wells exceeded MCLs (maximum contaminant levels), SMCLs (secondary MCLs), or HBSLs (health-based screening levels). Human-health benchmark thresholds (MCLs or HBSLs) were exceeded in 31 (12%) wells, and included 0.8% for fluoride (F), 2.4% for arsenic (As), 4% for lead-210 (210Pb), and 6.7% for polonium-210 (210Po). Values of pH increase with age and were outside the SMCL in 31% of wells (23% 8.5, SMCL). Among GCOCs with concentrations that increased significantly with groundwater age, the frequency of sentry threshold exceedances (i.e., one-half of MCL, SMCL, or HBSL) included 40% for dissolved solids (DS), 12% for chloride (Cl), 3.6% for F, 4.4% for As, and 9.5% for 210Po. Iron (Fe) concentrations did not correlate with groundwater age, but exceeded sentry thresholds in 29% of wells. Groundwater age, water types, redox, pH, and GCOCs varied because of unique hydrogeologic features of the aquifers (recharge locations and geometry). As expected, primarily confined aquifers had young, oxic, low to near-neutral pH water near the outcrop (recharge area), and older, reduced, high pH water deeper and farther along flow paths. However, unique aquifer hydrogeologic conditions, such as multiple-recharge zones produced anomalous patterns of young and old groundwater at varying depths and locations along flow paths. Evidence for this variability is seen in disequilibrium patterns in the progression of the chemical evolution of groundwater with hydrologic position. When hydrogeologic differences are considered, groundwater age combined with hydrologic-position data, can provide a strong basis for inferring potential occurrence of GCOCs.
W-boson production in polarized proton-proton collisions at RHIC through next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative QCD

Abstract We perform a study of W-boson production in polarized proton-proton collisions through next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in perturbative QCD. This calculation is required to extend the extraction of polarized parton distribution functions to NNLO accuracy. We present differential distributions at s = 510 GeV, relevant for comparison to measurements from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The NNLO QCD corrections significantly reduce the scale dependence of the cross section. We compare the longitudinal single-spin asymmetries as a function of lepton pseudorapidity to RHIC data. The asymmetries exhibit excellent stability under perturbative QCD corrections.
Effects of a bacteria-produced algicide on non-target marine invertebrate species

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) affect both freshwater and marine systems. Laboratory experiments suggest an exudate produced by the bacterium Shewanella sp. IRI-160 could be used to prevent or mitigate dinoflagellate blooms; however, effects on non-target organisms are unknown. The algicide (IRI-160AA) was tested on various ontogenetic stages of the copepod Acartia tonsa (nauplii and adult copepodites), the blue crab Callinectes sapidus (zoea larvae and megalopa postlarvae), and the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica (pediveliger larvae and adults). Mortality experiments with A. tonsa revealed that the 24-h LC50 was 13.4% v/v algicide for adult females and 5.96% for early-stage nauplii. For C. sapidus, the 24-h LC50 for first-stage zoeae was 16.8%; results were not significant for megalopae or oysters. Respiration rates for copepod nauplii increased in the 11% concentration, and in the 11% and 17% concentrations for crab zoeae; rates of later stages and oysters were unaffected. Activity level was affected for crab zoeae in the 1%, 11%, and 17% treatments, and for oyster pediveliger larvae at the 17% level. Activity of later stages and of adult copepods was unaffected. Smaller, non-target biota with higher surface to volume could be negatively impacted from IRI-160AA dosing, but overall the taxa and stages assayed were tolerant to the algicide at concentrations required for dinoflagellate mortality (EC50 = ~ 1%).
Increased rate of complications in myasthenia gravis patients following hip and knee arthroplasty: a nationwide database study in the PearlDiver Database on 257,707 patients.

Background and purpose — The increasing prevalence of total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) within the growing elderly population is translating into a larger number of pat...
International Financial Flows and Transactions Taxes; Survey and Options

Tobin has suggested that exchange rate volatility be controlled through a tax on international financial transactions. This analysis shows that the Tobin tax as a pure transaction tax is not viable. The tax would impair financial operations and create international liquidity problems. It is also unlikely to deter speculation. However, a possible alternative would be a two-tier rate structure—consisting of a low-rate transaction tax plus an exchange surcharge. The exchange rate could move freely within a “crawling” exchange rate band, but overshooting the band would trigger a tax on an “externality,” which is the discrepancy between the market exchange rate and the closest margin of the band. The scheme is inspired by the European Monetary System. However, exchange rates would be kept within the target range through a tax, not through interest policy or central bank sterilization and, eventually, the depletion of international reserves.
Neonatal calf diarrhea

Due to concerns about the human health impacts of agricultural antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), alternatives to conventional antimicrobials are being sought. As a natural component of colostrum, lactoferrin has antimicrobial and anti-LPS capabilities and may have a role for the treatment of calf diarrhea. Diaque™ (Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., St. Joseph, Missouri) is an oral electrolyte and energy supplement that can be mixed with milk to administer to calves. Diaque may impact the intestinal flora, or may also be a viable option to aid mixture of lactoferrin with milk. This study measured the effects of supplemental lactoferrin and Diaque on concentrations of total and AMR fecal coliforms in two-week-old, Holstein dairy heifers. We hypothesized that supplementation of lactoferrin and/or Diaque would decrease the concentration of total and/or AMR coliforms. Additional objectives of this research included 1) validating a novel technique for measuring AMR coliform concentrations, 2) understanding the dynamics of AMR coliforms early in the calf’s life, and 3) determining the association between passive transfer of IgG on shedding of AMR coliforms.
Mutational Signatures as Sensors of Environmental Exposures: Role of Smoking in COVID-19 Vulnerabilities

Abstract Background Environmental exposures such as smoking are widely recognized risk factors in the emergence of lung diseases including lung cancer and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, the strength of environmental exposures is difficult to measure, making it challenging to understand their impacts. On the other hand, some COVID-19 patients develop ARDS in an unfavorable disease progression and smoking has been suggested as a potential risk factor among others. Yet initial studies on COVID-19 cases reported contradictory results on the effects of smoking on the disease – some suggest that smoking might have a protective effect against it while other studies report an increased risk. A better understanding of how the exposure to smoking and other environmental factors affect biological processes relevant to SARS-CoV-2 infection and unfavorable disease progression is needed. Approach In this study, we utilize mutational signatures associated with environmental factors as sensors of their exposure level. Many environmental factors including smoking are mutagenic and leave characteristic patterns of mutations, called mutational signatures, in affected genomes. We postulated that analyzing mutational signatures, combined with gene expression, can shed light on the impact of the mutagenic environmental factors to the biological processes. In particular, we utilized mutational signatures from lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) data set collected in TCGA to investigate the role of environmental factors in COVID-19 vulnerabilities. Integrating mutational signatures with gene expression in normal tissues and using a pathway level analysis, we examined how the exposure to smoking and other mutagenic environmental factors affects the infectivity of the virus and disease progression. Results By delineating changes associated with smoking in pathway-level gene expression and cell type proportions, our study demonstrates that mutational signatures can be utilized to study the impact of exogenous mutagenic factors on them. Consistent with previous findings, our analysis showed that smoking mutational signature (SBS4) is associated with activation of cytokine-mediated signaling pathways, leading to inflammatory responses. Smoking related changes in cell composition were also observed, including the correlation of SBS4 with the expansion of goblet cells. On the other hand, increased basal cells and decreased ciliated cells in proportion were associated with the strength of a different mutational signature (SBS5), which is present abundantly but not exclusively in smokers. In addition, we found that smoking increases the expression levels of genes that are up-regulated in severe COVID-19 cases. Jointly, these results suggest an unfavorable impact of smoking on the disease progression and also provide novel findings on how smoking impacts biological processes in lung.
Increased Lower Limb Spasticity but Not Strength or Function Following a Single-Dose Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor in Chronic Stroke

Abstract Objective To investigate the effects of single doses of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) on lower limb voluntary and reflex function in individuals with chronic stroke. Design Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial. Setting Outpatient research setting. Participants Individuals (N=10; 7 men; mean age ± SD, 57±10y) with poststroke hemiplegia of >1 year duration who completed all assessments. Interventions Patients were assessed before and 5 hours after single-dose, overencapsulated 10-mg doses of escitalopram (SSRI) or placebo, with 1 week between conditions. Main Outcome Measures Primary assessments included maximal ankle and knee isometric strength, and velocity-dependent (30°/s–120°/s) plantarflexor stretch reflexes under passive conditions, and separately during and after 3 superimposed maximal volitional drive to simulate conditions of increased serotonin release. Secondary measures included clinical measures of lower limb coordination and locomotion. Results SSRI administration significantly increased stretch reflex torques at higher stretch velocities (eg, 90°/s; P =.03), with reflexes at lower velocities enhanced by superimposed voluntary drive ( P =.02). No significant improvements were seen in volitional peak torques or in clinical measures of lower limb function (lowest P =.10). Conclusions Increases in spasticity but not strength or lower limb function were observed with single-dose SSRI administration in individuals with chronic stroke. Further studies should evaluate whether repeated dosing of SSRIs, or as combined with specific interventions, is required to elicit significant benefit of these agents on lower limb function poststroke.
Laparoscopic versus open inguinal hernia repair in octogenarians: a follow-up study.

Aim: The elderly population is the fastest growing demographic in developed countries. It is thus imperative to assess common medical procedures in this age group. Inguinal hernia repair is a commonly carried out operation in the USA with two methods of repair existing – laparoscopic and open. Although the advantages of laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair in the general population have been shown, its role in the elderly has yet to be elucidated. Methods: A retrospective medical record review with prospective follow up of 115 patients aged over 80 years who underwent either open or laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair was carried out. Outcome measures included postoperative pain score, recovery time, chronic pain, wound infection, urinary retention, urinary tract infection, hematoma and recurrence. Patient satisfaction was measured with the Likert score. Results: Of the 115 repairs, 31 repairs were carried out laparoscopically and 84 open. Mean patient age was 83.3 years (range 80–95 years), with no difference in demographics or comorbidities between the two groups. Mean recovery time was significantly shorter in the laparoscopic group (7.5 vs 23.1 days, P = 0.02), as was the mean duration of pain in the laparoscopic group (1.4 vs 9.6 days, P = 0.04). There were no significant differences in other outcomes. There was a trend towards increased patient satisfaction in the laparoscopic group (P = 0.10). Conclusion: In octogenarians, laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair confers a significantly shorter duration of pain and recovery time as compared with open inguinal hernia repair, with no increase in complications. For elderly patients, laparoscopy is a viable alternative to open repair. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2013; 13: 329–333.
Dissipation of the solar-energetic gradient as the origin of binarism in human meaning systems

Purpose – This paper aims to formulate a hypothesis for the origin and position of binarism within human meaning systems. Specifically, binarism exists ineluctably as a living system's impetus toward life over death, and then – at the symbolic level within human meaning systems – as a device by which humans more efficiently dissipate the solar-energetic gradient. Design/methodology/approach – Organisms composing terrestrial ecosystems acquire and degrade solar energy or its derivatives, thereby reducing the thermal gradient impressed on Earth by the Sun. Kay and Schneider call this “the thermodynamic imperative of the restated second law for open systems.” This paper connects the “thermodynamic imperative” to aspects of human meaning systems and pushes Serres' notion regarding homeostasis and the origin of communication one step further to consider such an origin in terms of a binarism born of solar-energetic gradient dissipation. Findings – It is hypothesized that the human homoiotherm extends the ineluc...
Trait Levels of Anxiety and Psychological Responses to Stress in Migraineurs and Normal Controls.

Compared migraine headache sufferers and matched normal controls on the Zung Depression Inventory, Eysenck Personality Inventory, Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory, Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale and the Health Locus of Control. In addition Ss viewed a film of a subincision ceremony and completed a post-film questionnaire. Migraineurs scored significantly higher than the controls on the TMAS, STAI and EPI Lie scale and rated the subincision film as significantly less unpleasant than did the controls. These results confirm earlier reports that migraineurs have higher levels of trait anxiety than normals and support the traditional description of migraineurs as inhibiting the expression of their feelings.
Public Ownership. Firm Governance, and Litigation Risk

Many going-private transactions are motivated?at least ostensibly?by the desire to escape the burdens and costs of public ownership. Although these burdens have many purported manifestations, one commonly cited is the risk of litigation, which may be borne both directly by the firm and/or its fiduciaries, or reflected in director and officer insurance premia funded at company expense. An important issue for the "litigation risk" justification of privatization is whether alternative (and less expensive) steps falling short of going private?such as governance reforms?may augur sufficiently against litigation exposure. In this Article, I consider whether, controlling for other variables related to firm specific attributes, various measurable attributes of governance help to predict subsequent litigation exposure. Although there are some governance features (such as multiple board service, the presence of a staggered/classified board, institutional investing, and the proactive adoption of a governance policy) that predict subsequent liability exposure, most governance indicia appear to be of negligible predictive value, both statistically and economically. In light of these findings, this Article discusses implications for both the private-equity market and for corporate/securities law more generally.
Generalized Clausal Modifiers in Thai Noun Phrases

The Thai particle thii introduces relative clauses and noun-complement clauses but does not introduce clausal complements of verbs. This paper provides a unified analysis for these two noun phrase-internal clauses as modifiers, proposing that thii is a complementizer that is interpreted as a lambda-operator that derives CP-sized properties. This analysis is extended to the use of thii in factive complements of verbs, contrastive clefts, and infinitives. Arguments are presented against the analysis of thii by den Dikken & Singhapreecha (2004) as a linker, a reflex of DP-internal predicate inversion.
Chronic ethanol exposure potentiates the locomotor-activating effects of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in rats

The effects of chronic exposure (21 days) to ethanol vapors on locomotor response to intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) was investigated in male Wistar rats. Responses to CRF were tested during chronic exposure, 1 1/2 hours following removal of ethanol vapors, and two weeks after withdrawal of ethanol. A greater sensitivity to the locomotor-activating effects of CRF was found in ethanol-treated rats as compared to their controls during ethanol exposure (P less than 0.001) and 90 min following removal of ethanol vapors (P less than 0.001) but not two weeks following withdrawal. These results support clinical findings of a reversible activation in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in alcoholism. In addition, it appears that chronic exposure to ethanol can also modify central neuronal systems specifically responsive to the locomotor activating effects of CRF.
Family and synagogue: Partners in a search for the holy.

The search for knowledge often begins with a parable designed to shed some light on the material to follow. Committed to this task, I shall relate the parable of the elderly man seen kneeling on a sidewalk, obviously intent on searching for something that he had lost. A bystander offered to help. "What are you looking for?" he asked. "My key," replied the old man. "Where do you think you dropped it?" asked the bystander. The old man said, "Oh, I lost it in my house." Astonished, the bystander asked, "In your house? Then why are you searching for it here?" "Because," sagely answered the old man, "there is light here, and in my house it is too dark to see very well." Frequently we grope in the dark for answers to questions that in the light of day may be found in obvious places close to home. I hope to provide sufficient light to examine successfully some of the functions and opportunities of contemporary life and thus to expand the possibilities for enlarging religious existence. The business of a synagogue is to be concerned with that rather vague although intensely vital force within the life of man that is known as the religious sentiment. The expression "religious" might be considered in terms of a quality of life that establishes a general normative influence upon behavior. It affects our response to the world around us and confers intelligibility to life as a whole. The religious sentiment in Gordon Allport's terms is "man's audacious bid to bind himself to creation and to the Creator."1 Allport speaks of religion as being the ultimate attempt of man to enlarge and to complete his own personality by finding the supreme context in which he rightfully belongs. It is the portion of personality that arises at the core of life and is directed toward the infinite. Allport believes that this is the region of mental life with the largest range of intentions and therefore the greatest capability of conferring a marked integration upon the personality. This
Multiple reference frame analysis of a multistack: variable-reluctance stepper motor

A multistack variable-reluctance stepper motor is analyzed using the concept of multiple reference frames. The average-value model developed is shown to approximately predict steady-state and dynamic operation of this device. Moreover, the state variables of this model are constant in the steady state. Therefore, the differential equations which describe this model can be linearized whereupon an eigenvalue analysis can be used to investigate dynamic instabilities. It is shown that this approach can be used to approximately predict the occurrence of parametric instability which heretofore has not been achieved using an eigenvalue analysis. The average-value model established in this paper should serve as a unique tool to aid in the design of the machine as well as the controls associated with the electronic drive system. >
SU‐D‐BRC‐06: Multimodality Assessment of Response to Combined Chemoradiation and Anti‐Angiogenic Therapy with CuATSM‐PET, FLT‐PET, and Contrast‐Enhanced CT Imaging

Purpose: The integration of molecular therapies into chemoradiation treatments has motivated improved tools for treatment assessment. We used hypoxia, proliferation, and perfusion imaging techniques for multimodality response assessment in patients receiving combined therapy. Methods: Ten HNSCC patients received anti‐angiogenic therapy (Avastin). After three weeks, patients began chemoradiation and continued Avastin. Patients were imaged at baseline, after Avastin monotherapy, and during combined therapy. Imaging modalities were CuATSM‐PET (tumor hypoxia), FLT‐ PET (proliferation), dynamic FLT‐PET (FLT kinetics) and dynamic contrast‐enhanced CT (perfusion). Mean SUV was calculated from PET data and dynamic FLT data were analyzed for kinetics with a two‐compartment, four‐parameter model. DCE‐CT data were analyzed with GE Advantage software. Paired t‐tests were used to evaluate tumor response and mean imaging values were correlated with Pearson's R.Results: After Avastin monotherapy, significant decreases were measured in CuATSM_SUV (p=0.05), FLT_SUV (p<0.01), FLT_Ki (p<0.01), and CT_Enhancement (p<0.01). During combined therapy, further decreases were measured in CuATSM_SUV and FLT_SUV (p=0.05, p<0.001). Across the study, significant correlations were found between CuATSM_SUV and CT_BloodVolume (R=0.72), CT_BloodFlow (R=0.59), and FLT_K1 (R=0.53). Additionally, FLT_Ki was significantly correlated to FLT_SUV (R=0.80) and CT_Enhancement (R=0.50) Conclusions: Multimodality imaging has been used to identify clinically relevant tumorcharacteristics over the course of therapy. Significant decrease in tumor proliferation suggests effective combination of Avastin and chemoradiotherapy, and FLT imaging endpoints could potentially be used to optimize combined therapy. Decrease in hypoxia was also measured, and given the established prognostic value of hypoxia, mid‐therapy hypoxic status is another potential therapeutic endpoint. Decrease in CT_Enhancement after Avastin may indicate reduction in vascular permeability, and correlation between CuATSM_SUV and perfusion‐related parameters such as FLT_K1, CT_BloodVolume, and CT_BloodFlow suggests further importance of vascular status in effectiveness of combined therapies. As outcome data becomes available, these imaging biomarkers could eventually be used to personalize delivery of combined therapy. Study supported in part by Genentech
Putting fear of crime on the map: investigating perceptions of crime using geographic information systems

An emerging trend in both the fields of crime and health analysis is the move to a finer scale of investigation – looking at micro places – what I call the scale of intervention. Although the justi...
Cornell medical index responses and mortality in a Polynesian population

Abstract The Cornell Medical Index (CMI) is a health questionnaire consisting of a somatic division, divided into 12 sections organized by organ systems, and a psychosocial division. It has been suggested that the CMI taps a dimension of the perception of illness before clinical measurements detect disease. However, this has not been confirmed in nonwestern populations. Our purpose was to determine if the CMI predicted 6-year mortality in a Polynesian population. In 1975, 461 American Samoan men responded to the CMI. Thirty-one died between 1976 and 1981, 13 of cardiovascular disease (CVD). A logistic model was used to predict both total and CVD mortality during the follow-up period. Positive responses to the total, somatic, and psychosocial divisions of the CMI did not significantly improve prediction of mortality compared to models using only age. An analysis using section scores showed that several somatic sections were associated with CVD mortality, but none were associated with total mortality. This study suggests that the CMI is not a strong predictor of mortality and, by extension, of existing health status in American Samoa. Even if the CMI does measure the perception of illness, one cannot assume a priori that it is valid in any given anthropological population. Rather, the instrument must be pretested in each particular cultural setting.
Cyclic voltammetry on recessed nanodisk-array electrodes prepared from track-etched polycarbonate membranes with 10-nm diameter pores

This paper described cyclic voltammograms (CVs) on a recessed nanodisk-array electrode (RNE) prepared from a track-etched polycarbonate membrane (TEPCM) with 10-nm diameter pores. A RNE was prepared via sputtering of a gold thin film onto a TEPCM whose pores were coated with polyvinylpyrrolidone. CVs of such a RNE changed from peak-shaped to sigmoidal with decreasing scan rate due to the transition of diffusion modes of redox-active molecules, as with previous reports. However, faradic currents in these CVs were larger than theoretical currents calculated from the membrane thickness, pore density, and pore diameter. The larger faradic currents may reflect the presence of a surface layer on TEPCM nanopores to which the redox species preferentially distribute as compared with the nanopore cavity. The limiting current of uncharged 1,1′-ferrocenedimethanol was not affected by solution pH or supporting electrolyte concentration. In contrast, those of anionic ferricyanide and cationic ferrocenylmethyltrimethylammonium decreased and increased, respectively, with increasing pH from 4 to 9. These pH-dependent changes in limiting current were larger at lower supporting electrolyte concentration. The dependence of the CVs on solution pH and supporting electrolyte concentrations was attributed to electrostatic interaction between the redox species and the charged TEPCM nanopores.