cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Field-effect transistors with the three-dimensional Dirac semimetal cadmium arsenide

Cadmium arsenide (Cd3As2) is a three-dimensional Dirac semimetal with many unique electronic properties that are of interest for future device applications. Here, we demonstrate field effect transistors using Cd3As2 as the channel material. We show that current densities exceed 5 A/mm and that very low contact resistances can be achieved even in unoptimized device structures. These properties make Cd3As2 of great interest for future high-speed electronics. We report on the current modulation characteristics of field effect transistors as a function of temperature. At low temperatures, the modulation exceeds 70%. We discuss material and device engineering approaches that can improve the device performance at room temperature.
Augmented and Mixed Reality: Technologies for Enhancing the Future of IR

Augmented and mixed reality are emerging interactive and display technologies. These technologies are able to merge virtual objects, in either 2 or 3 dimensions, with the real world. Image guidance is the cornerstone of interventional radiology. With augmented or mixed reality, medical imaging can be more readily accessible or displayed in actual 3-dimensional space during procedures to enhance guidance, at times when this information is most needed. In this review, the current state of these technologies is addressed followed by a fundamental overview of their inner workings and challenges with 3-dimensional visualization. Finally, current and potential future applications in interventional radiology are highlighted.
Natural agents inhibit colon cancer cell proliferation and alter microbial diversity in mice

The current study was undertaken to investigate the effect of differentially formulated polyphenolic compound Essential Turmeric Oil-Curcumin (ETO-Cur), and Tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) of vitamin E isomers on colorectal cancer (CRC) cells that produce aggressive tumors. Combinations of ETO-Cur and TRF were used to determine the combinatorial effects of ETO-Cur and TRF-mediated inhibition of growth of CRC cells in vitro and HCT-116 cells xenograft in SCID mice. 16S rRNA gene sequence profiling was performed to determine the outcome of gut microbial communities in mice feces between control and ETO-Cur-TRF groups. Bacterial identifications were validated by performing SYBR-based Real Time (RT) PCR. For metagenomics analysis to characterize the microbial communities, multiple software/tools were used, including Quantitative Insights into Microbial Ecology (QIIME) processing tool. We found ETO-Cur and TRF to synergize and that the combination of ETO-Cur-TRF significantly inhibited growth of HCT-116 xenografts in SCID mice. This was associated with a marked alteration in microbial communities and increased microbial OTU (operation taxonomic unit) number. The relative abundance of taxa was increased and the level of microbial diversity after 34 days of combinatorial treatment was found to be 44% higher over the control. Shifting of microbial family composition was observed in ETO-Cur-TRF treated mice as evidenced by marked reductions in Bacteroidaceae, Ruminococcaceae, Clostridiales, Firmicutes and Parabacteroids families, compared to controls. Interestingly, during the inhibition of tumor growth in ETO-Cur treated mice, probiotic Lactobacillaceae and Bifidobacteriaceae were increased by 20-fold and 6-fold, respectively. The relative abundance of anti-inflammatory Clostridium XIVa was also increased in ETO-Cur-TRF treated mice when compared with the control. Our data suggest that ETO-Cur-TRF show synergistic effects in inhibiting colorectal cancer cell proliferation in vitro and in mouse xenografts in vivo, and might induce changes in microbial diversity in mice.
Chapter 70 – Lipolysis

: Epinephrine, thyroxine, and cortisol are potent lipolytic hormones in most domestic animals. Interleukin-6 may be an important lipolytic agent released from exercising muscle tissue. Insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 possess antilipolytic activity. Adipocytes contain several gluconeogenic enzymes. Glyceroneogenesis modulates FFA release from adipocytes during starvation. Adipocyte lipolysis and glyceroneogenesis are largely cAMP-dependent processes. Glucocorticoids promote lipolysis through a cAMP-independent pathway. Leptin is a protein hormone produced by adipocytes that promotes satiety. Brown adipose tissue oxidizes FFAs, and is specialized for heat production.
Immediate Voice and Swallowing Complaints Following Revision Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery

ObjectiveTo report on the incidence of dysphagia, dysphonia, and acute vocal fold motion impairment (VFMI) following revision anterior cervical spine surgery, as well as to identify risk factors as...
Emerging Subspecialties in Neurology: Neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Approaching clinical neurology through the lens of child development and behavior is an old and well-established concept. Take for example Sir William Osler's 1894 description of the breadth of symptoms of what is now known as Sydenham chorea extending far beyond hyperkinetic movements: “The entire disposition may be changed, and the child becomes irritable, cross and unmanageable. Emotional disturbances are common, the child crying on the least provocation.”1 He demonstrates that adequate characterization of a child's neurologic status requires a thoughtful review of behavioral functioning compared to age-referenced norms. Through specific and systematic training in the variation of typical child development, neurologists may then begin to diagnose and manage the entire scope of neurologic disease and its impact across the lifespan. Osler drew upon 410 cases of chorea to develop his expertise; in 2001, the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the American Board of Pediatrics created the subspecialty training program in neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) to create the future generation of neurologically trained pediatric specialists to provide comprehensive assessment, personalized treatment, and superior outcomes for children and youth with complex conditions affecting the developing nervous system.
Erratum: Addendum: Shaping the Cortical Landscape: Functions and Mechanisms of Top-Down Cortical Feedback Pathways.

Author(s): Zagha, Edward | Abstract: [This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2020.00033.].
Applying a Process-Oriented Model of Cultural Competence to Behavioral Activation for Depression

Abstract Efforts to integrate cultural competence and evidence-based treatments (EBTs) typically take the form of cultural adaptations of EBTs, characterized by modifications to the existing treatment based on presumed cultural notions of a given race or ethnic group. Much less attention has been given to ways EBTs can integrate a process model of cultural competence, which focuses on what clinicians do in-session to identify and integrate key cultural factors for a given individual in the treatment. Our objective is to consider how a process model of cultural competence (Shifting Cultural Lenses) can be integrated with an EBT (Behavioral Activation). We present a theoretical rationale for integrating the SCL model with BA and illustrate this integration, which provides an additional approach to bringing culture to treatments and shows promise for identifying clinicians’ in-session behaviors that reflect cultural competence.
The chemotherapeutic CX-5461 primarily targets TOP2B and exhibits selective activity in high-risk neuroblastoma.

ABSTRACT Survival in high-risk pediatric neuroblastoma has remained around 50% for the last 20 years, with immunotherapies and targeted therapies having had minimal impact. Here, we identify the small molecule CX-5461 as selectively cytotoxic to high-risk neuroblastoma and synergistic with low picomolar concentrations of topoisomerase I inhibitors improving survival in vivo in orthotopic patient-derived xenograft neuroblastoma mouse models. CX-5461 recently progressed through phase I clinical trial as a first-in-human inhibitor of RNA-POL I. However, we also use a comprehensive panel of in vitro and in vivo assays to demonstrate that CX-5461 has been mischaracterized and that its primary target at pharmacologically relevant concentrations, is in fact topoisomerase II beta (TOP2B), not RNA-POL I. These findings are important because existing clinically approved chemotherapeutics have well-documented off-target interactions with TOP2B, which have previously been shown to cause both therapy-induced leukemia and cardiotoxicity—often-fatal adverse events, which can emerge several years after treatment. Thus, while we show that combination therapies involving CX-5461 have promising anti-tumor activity in vivo in neuroblastoma, our identification of TOP2B as the primary target of CX-5461 indicates unexpected safety concerns that should be examined in ongoing phase II clinical trials in adult patients before pursuing clinical studies in children.
Factors Associated with Torsion in Pediatric Patients with Ovarian Masses.

Abstract Background Management of ovarian torsion has evolved toward ovarian preservation regardless of ovarian appearance during surgery. However, patients with torsion and an ovarian neoplasm undergo a disproportionately high rate of oophorectomy. Our objectives were to identify factors associated with ovarian torsion among females with an ovarian mass and to determine if torsion is associated with malignancy. Methods A retrospective review of females aged 2-21 y who underwent an operation for an ovarian cyst or neoplasm between 2010 and 2016 at 10 children's hospitals was performed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with torsion. Imaging data were assessed for sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value in identifying ovarian torsion. Results Of 814 girls with an ovarian neoplasm, 180 (22%) had torsion. In risk-adjusted analyses, patients with a younger age, mass size >5 cm, abdominal pain, and vomiting had an increased likelihood of torsion (P 5 cm had two times the odds of torsion (odds ratio: 2.1; confidence interval: 1.2, 3.6). Imaging was not reliable at identifying torsion (sensitivity 34%, positive predictive value 49%) or excluding torsion (specificity 72%, negative predictive value 87%). The rates of malignancy were lower in those with an ovarian mass and torsion than those without torsion (10% versus 17%, P = 0.01). Among the 180 girls with torsion and a mass, 48% underwent oophorectomy of which 14% (n = 12) had a malignancy. Conclusions In females with an ovarian neoplasm, torsion is not associated with an increased risk of malignancy and ovarian preservation should be considered.
Evaluation of high-risk human papillomavirus testing and anal cytology to detect high-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia.

Abstract Introduction Optimal screening for detection of anal precancer has not been established, and most studies involve very high-risk populations. We evaluated high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and anal cytology to detect high-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia ( > AIN2) in a cohort with mostly moderate risk factors for AIN. Materials and Methods Patients > 35-years-old undergoing anal biopsy for various lesions received HPV testing by Roche cobas and a subset by Hologic APTIMA HPV assays with concurrent anal ThinPrep cytology. Biopsies were blindly reviewed by 3 authors, and consensus diagnosis was compared with HPV and cytology results. Sensitivity and specificity for > AIN2 detection by HPV testing and cytology ( > ASC-US) were calculated. Results Among 64 patients, 19 (29.7%) showed > AIN2 on biopsy. All patients were tested by cobas, and 35 (54.7%) were positive. A subset of 39 patients were also tested by APTIMA, and 18 (46.2%) were positive. Positive cytology ( > ASC-US) was present in 37 (57.8%) patients, with 27 (73.0%) of these positive by cobas. HPV testing alone yielded 75.0% and 84.2% sensitivity for APTIMA and cobas, respectively; specificity was 66.7% and 57.8%. Sensitivity and specificity of cytology alone was 78.9% and 51.1%. Combined HPV testing and cytology had a sensitivity and specificity of 91.7% and 37.0% for APTIMA and 94.7% and 40.0% for cobas. Conclusions Combined HPV testing and cytology had the highest sensitivity for > AIN2 detection, with a performance comparable to cervical cancer screening tests, suggesting this strategy may represent a viable screening option in a population with moderate risk factors for AIN.
Is Irradiated Homologous Costal Cartilage Reliable? A Meta-Analysis of Complication Rates in Rhinoplasty:

Background:Irradiated homologous costal cartilage (IHCC) may be a convenient, cost-effective and efficient alternative source of graft material in rhinoplasty; however, a systematic review and meta...
Co-presentation of Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome in a patient with Post Dural Puncture Headache.

Introduction Post Dural Puncture Headache (PDPH) is a well-known complication of neuraxial anesthesia, however the occurrence of seizures and vision loss within few days after dural puncture could be alarming. Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES) is associated with reversible edema and leukoencephalopathy in the posterior parieto-occipital cortex. We report the co-presentation of PRES and PDPH after labor epidural analgesia. Case presentation 25-year-old multiparous African-American woman was admitted for evaluation of new onset seizures and headache in the postpartum period. She had a recent history of multiple needle insertion attempts and inadvertent dural puncture during epidural analgesia for delivery. Soon after delivery, she was diagnosed with PDPH and was treated with epidural blood patch, with no relief of symptoms. Six days later, she developed sudden onset transient blindness, seizures and altered sensorium and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed white matter changes suggestive of PRES. Conclusion PRES is an uncommon complication of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak and intracranial hypotension. We report the occurrence of PRES in a patient with no known risk factors, except a traumatic dural tap. Is it important to expand the differentials for headache after dural puncture to encompass PRES as a possibility, especially in patients with a delayed presentation of seizures and cortical blindness.
Positive Relationships with Adults and Resilience to Suicide Attempt among New Mexico Hispanic Adolescents.

Suicide is a leading cause of adolescent death and has increased in recent years. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect that relationships with adults at home and in the community had on the probability of suicide attempts of Hispanic teenagers in New Mexico. Data from the 2019 New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey were analyzed to identify the ways in which relationships with adults influenced suicide attempts among Hispanic adolescent students. The examined factors included: relationships with adults in the home and in the community and with same-age friends, and participation in hobbies or organizations outside of school. The resiliency factors were similar for male and female Hispanic students. As positive relationships with adults at home or in the community increased, the probability of suicide attempts decreased by 37–54%. Positive relationships with same-age friends were also associated with reduced suicide attempts. Community organization involvement and hobbies affected males and females differently. Adults at home and in the community can decrease the risk of suicide for Hispanic teenagers through supportive relationships. Hybrid programs focusing on adolescent health, positive communication, and academic support, which integrate adults from home and community environments, show promise in reducing suicidal thoughts and other risk behaviors.
Transient Photoconductivity in Insulators at Very High Photocarrier Concentrations

Transient photoconductivity has been widely exploited as a tool for determining transport properties of electrons and holes in both insulators and semiconductors.1 The transient excitation allows the experimenter to sort out trapping processes with different rate constants, and from transit times across device structures to determine carrier mobilities. Experiments are usually conducted under conditions where the photocarriers produced by the transient excitation are too few in number to perturb the local electric fields imposed by known applied voltages.
Regulation and Role of Intracellular Ca2+ in Insulin Secretion by the β Cell

An understanding of the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus is hampered by our incomplete knowledge of the mechanisms involved in the normal release of insulin. Glucose is recognized as the principal physiological stimulus for insulin secretion from the β cell. However, the precise cellular mechanisms by which the release of insulin is effected remain unresolved. In general, the over all process by which glucose provokes insulin release involves the following sequence of cellular events: (1) recognition of D-glucose by the β cell; (2) rapid changes in cation fluxes, specifically Ca2+, K+, and Na+; (3)regulation of a Ca2+ extrusion and sequestration system; and (4) a Ca2+-dependent effector mechanism for controlling the translocation of insulin secretory granules to the plasma membrane, fusion of the secretory granules with the plasma membrane, and emiocytosis.
So You Were Awarded Your Grant, Now What?

New investigators are often surprised when they learn that having a research grant involves much more than conducting their proposed research. Receiving research funds, whether the source is taxpayer or private foundation dollars, requires constant monitoring, considerable management responsibility, and fiscal accountability. As Principal Investigator (PI) you are accountable for all of the operations of your project. Unfortunately, few investigators have been adequately prepared for the business side of their grant. Running a research grant is essentially like operating a small business, which means that as the PI you function as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). In addition to being accountable for the conduct of the research and handling of your research participants, you are also responsible for hiring and managing staff, monitoring the cash flow, fiscal accounting, and financial reporting. Although you are responsible for all of the scientific decisions made on your grant, your accountability for fiscal management is shared with several other people at your institution. Therefore, your relationships with the Authorizing Organizational Representative/Signing Official (AOR/SO) and other grants managers in your institutional grants office are pivotal to effectively managing your grant. Although other people have responsibility in the execution of your grant, the success of your research project rests with you.
Design and synthesis of cyclic arodyn analogues by ring-closing metathesis (RCM) for kappa opioid receptor (KOP) antagonists.

Introduction Our laboratory is interested in the design and synthesis of antagonists for kappa opioid receptor (KOP). In addition to their use as pharmacological tools, KOP antagonists have the potential to be used therapeutically in the treatment of cocaine and opioid dependence and also have antidepressant activity. Arodyn (Ac[Phe,Arg,D-Ala]Dyn A(1-11)NH2, Fig. 1) is an acetylated dynorphin A (Dyn A) analogue identified in our laboratory that is a potent and highly selective KOP antagonist. As a linear peptide, arodyn is very flexible and can adopt numerous conformations and is susceptible to metabolic degradation by peptidases. Therefore we are interested in the design and synthesis of cyclic arodyn analogues to restrict its conformation in order to study its possible bioactive conformation at KOP and to enhance the metabolic stability of the peptide. Ring-closing metathesis (RCM) has emerged as a very useful method of making cyclic organic compounds as well as cyclic peptides. Compared with the traditional approach of preparing cyclic peptides by disulfide or amide bond formation between amino acid side chains, cyclization by RCM has some advantages. The carbon-carbon bond is more stable than disulfide or amide bonds, and it is possible to maintain side chain functionalities when using RCM. Here we report the design and synthesis of cyclic arodyn analogues using RCM.
Connexin 43 Antisense Therapy Modulates Connexin Expression and Wound Repair in Nitrogen Mustard Injured Mouse Skin

Connexin 43 (Cx43) antisense treatment accelerates diabetic skin wound repair. Cx43 expression and its phosphorylation (pCx43) alters gap junction communication during skin wound repair. Vesicant induced skin injury results in prolonged wound healing similar to diabetic wounds. We performed a time course study using Cx43 antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (asODN) on nitrogen mustard (NM) injured SKH-1 hairless mouse dorsal skin to evaluate wound progression and Cx expression. Immunofluorescent (IF) analysis of NM injured skin demonstrated increased keratin 17 (K17, skin wound marker), increased expression of Cx26 and pCx43, and minimal expression of Cx43 by day 1. All markers were up-regulated with time as the wounds progressed. Dual-labeling studies indicated strong expression of Cx26 near the leading edge of wounds. In contrast, Cx43 and pCx43 were highly expressed in the hyperplastic epithelium. Cx43asODN treatment improved NM wounded skin as indicated by minimal K17 expression at day 1. Western blotting ...
Use of Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether for the Treatment of Refractory Intrahepatic Biliary Strictures and Bile Casts: A Modern Perspective

Cholelithiasis is a prevalent problem in the United States with 14% or more adults affected. Definitive treatment of cholelithiasis is cholecystectomy. When cholecystectomy yields minimal resolution treatment options include expectant management of asymptomatic gallstones or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram. We present a case of intrahepatic biliary casts where surgical option was not possible, interventional radiology was unsuccessful, and methyl tert-butyl ether was used to dissolve the biliary obstruction. Dissolution therapy of gallstones was first reported in 1722 when Vollisnieri used turpentine in vitro. While diethyl ether has excellent solubilizing capacity, its low boiling point limited its use surgically as it vaporizes immediately. Diethyl ether can expand 120-fold during warming to body temperature after injection into the biliary system making it impractical for routine use. The use of dissolution is out of favor due to the success of laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Epidemiological studies have shown the general population should have minimal concerns from passive exposure. Dissolution using MTBE remains a viable option if surgical or endoscopic options are not available. However, because of risks involved to both the patient and the staff, careful multidisciplinary team approach must be undertaken to minimize the risks and provide the best possible care to the patient.
Consumer Bankruptcies and the Bankruptcy Reform Act: A Time-Series Intervention Analysis, 1960–1997

The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, effective on October 1, 1979, significantly altered the basic rules by which consumers file for bankruptcy. Between 1979 and 1997, the number of nonbusiness bankruptcies filed annually rose from 200,000 to 1.35 million, and the rate of bankruptcies per 100,000 adults increased from 129 to 715. A controversial aspect of bankruptcy is how much of this increase can be attributed to the 1978 act. Early empirical studies provide estimates ranging from a low of 6% to a high of 75% for the immediate post-act period. However, two recent studies using longer data series report that none of the increase was due to the act. Previous studies suffer from several econometric problems, including inadequate attention to stochastic properties and stationarity of the data series, as well as data errors due to reporting changes. This paper uses an ARIMA intervention analysis to estimate the impact of the 1978 act. Using adjusted quarterly data for 1960:3 to 1995:4, the data first are examined for unit roots. The tests reject the presence of seasonal unit roots but confirm the presence of a nonseasonal unit root. The empirical analysis therefore is based on logged first differences of bankruptcy filings and filing rates per capita. An ARIMA model is estimated using the preintervention data for 1960:3 to 1979:3. This model is re-estimated for 1960:3 to 1995:4 with the intervention terms included. The intervention model estimates indicate that the 1978 act increased consumer bankruptcies by 36% in the post-act period relative to the pre-act period, or about 72,400 additional bankruptcies per year. Overall, the net impact of the 1978 act was modest compared to the substantial rise in bankruptcies that has occurred since 1979.
Distribution and correlation of events during thermal inactivation of Bacillus megaterium spores.

Abstract Aqueous suspensions of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 spores were heated at temperatures from 75 to 85 C. The rapid initial viability loss, followed by a more gradual, almost exponential decline, was not due to mixed populations with discrete heat resistances. The slight “tailing” below 0.01% survival was not the result of heat adaptation. Loss of viability was more rapid than loss of dipicolinic acid (DPA) and germinability and, although these events could not be correlated by use of simple kinetic plots, they had similar activation energies (80 to 90 kcal/mole). Probability (probit) plots of per cent survival as a function of logarithmic time yielded not the single line expected, if the heat resistances of individuals in the population were log-normally distributed, but two straight lines intersecting at a survival level of 1 to 6%. Probit-intersects occurred at times ranging from 8 min for spores heated at 85 C, to 310 min at 75 C. Probit-intersects for DPA release and loss in germinability occurred at the same time as for survival, but at much higher levels of retention. There appeared to be two subpopulations, both log-normally distributed but with different mechanisms of kill. Ninety-four to 99% of the spores died via injury to the cell-division process but retained germinability; the remaining smaller subpopulation (1 to 6%) was nonviable because of loss of the ability to germinate.
How Leadership in International Criminal Law is Shifting from the U.S. To Europe and Asia: An Analysis of Spending on and Contributions to International Criminal Courts

This article represents the first comprehensive attempt to understand how much the international community has spent on international criminal courts since 1993. It collects data on costs of and contributions to the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. The results are striking. The international community will have spent nearly $6.3 billion by the time that most of the existing international criminal courts have closed their doors at the end of 2015. Spending on international criminal courts peaked in 2009 at $560 million and will decrease for the foreseeable future. By the end of 2015, yearly spending on international criminal courts will drop to $167 million, a decline of nearly two-thirds. One of the most significant findings is that leadership in funding for international criminal courts – and by extension leadership in international criminal justice – is shifting from the United States to Europe. The United States will have been the largest single contributor to international criminal courts in the period 1993-2015. However, U.S. contributions as a percentage of total contributions have been declining steadily since 2004. By 2015, the United States’ contribution will essentially be zero. The decline in U.S. spending is almost entirely being offset by increased spending by European states who will be contributing more than 60% of total funding for international criminal courts by 2015.
Green chemical processing in the teaching laboratory: a convenient liquid CO2 extraction of natural products

A unique liquid CO2 extraction laboratory developed for a greener organic teaching lab curriculum provides an effective, inexpensive, and convenient procedure for teaching natural products extraction concepts and techniques using modern green extraction technology. The procedure is appropriate for the teaching lab, does not require any special equipment, and allows the students to see the phase change and extraction as they occur. Students learn extraction and spectroscopic analysis skills, are exposed to a dramatic visual example of phase change, and are introduced to commercially successful green chemical processing with CO2.
Changes in the endplate accumulation of acetylcholinesterase during synapse elimination in the mouse

Focal accumulations of acetylcholinesterase (AChE; EC 3.1.1.7), cholinesterase (ChE, EC 3.1.1.8) and total cholinesterase (TChE; AChE + ChE) were examined in developing mouse diaphragm by using a modified Karnovsky/Roots staining method. The lengths of TChE and AChE reaction product accumulations reached significant peaks on postnatal day (PD) 1 (P < 0.05), decreased to a minimum on PD 9 and then increased in proportion to muscle fiber diameter (PD 9 to adult). The normalized area of accumulation (area of accumulation/fiber diameter) for AChE and TChE also decreased by 19% (P < 0.05) between PD 3 and PD 7. In contrast, ChE focal accumulation did not decrease during the period of synapse elimination, but rather increased in proportion to the postnatal growth of the muscle fiber. These results suggest that AChE is more sensitive to neurotrophic influences than ChE; particularly during late embryonic and early postnatal periods of synapse elimination.
Isolation of coconut storage proteins by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis

Abstract By combining sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-gel electrophoresis with a new chilling technique for visualization of protein-SDS complexes in polyacrylamide gels, a process has been developed which will permit the isolation of milligram quantities of pure polypeptides. Using this technique, we have isolated two molecular weight classes of polypeptides from coconut storage globulins and determined the amino acid composition of each. When the two amino acid compositions were summed on a molar basis, the result agreed reasonably well with the amino acid composition of the starting material with the exception of cystine. Apparently, some contaminant from the polyacrylamide caused its destruction to be accelerated during hydrolysis.
Temporally diffeomorphic cardiac motion estimation from three‐dimensional echocardiography by minimization of intensity consistency error

Purpose: Quantitative analysis of cardiac motion is important for evaluation of heart function. Three dimensional (3D) echocardiography is among the most frequently used imaging modalities for motion estimation because it is convenient, real-time, low-cost, and nonionizing. However, motion estimation from 3D echocardiographic sequences is still a challenging problem due to low image quality and image corruption by noise and artifacts. Methods: The authors have developed a temporally diffeomorphic motion estimation approach in which the velocity field instead of the displacement field was optimized. The optimal velocity field optimizes a novel similarity function, which we call the intensity consistency error, defined as multiple consecutive frames evolving to each time point. The optimization problem is solved by using the steepest descent method. Results: Experiments with simulated datasets, images of an ex vivo rabbit phantom, images of in vivo open-chest pig hearts, and healthy human images were used to validate the authors’ method. Simulated and real cardiac sequences tests showed that results in the authors’ method are more accurate than other competing temporal diffeomorphic methods. Tests with sonomicrometry showed that the tracked crystal positions have good agreement with ground truth and the authors’ method has higher accuracy than the temporal diffeomorphic free-form deformation (TDFFD) method. Validation with an open-access human cardiac dataset showed that the authors’ method has smaller feature tracking errors than both TDFFD and frame-to-frame methods. Conclusions: The authors proposed a diffeomorphic motion estimation method with temporal smoothness by constraining the velocity field to have maximum local intensity consistency within multiple consecutive frames. The estimated motion using the authors’ method has good temporal consistency and is more accurate than other temporally diffeomorphic motion estimation methods.
Growth of Ga-doped Ge0.98Si0.02 by vertical Bridgman with a baffle

Abstract A 6 cm in diameter Ga-doped Ge 0.98 Si 0.02 crystal was grown using the vertical Bridgman method with a submerged baffle. After 3 cm of growth, the baffle was removed and the solidification continued in conventional Bridgman configuration. The composition of Si and Ge was measured using electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA). The micro-structure pattern was revealed by etching. The advantages of using the baffle for growth of Si–Ge alloys is discussed.
Quantum computation with trapped ions and the "heating problem"

We present a brief review of the current state of the art of quantum computation with trapped ions, with particular emphasis on the problems caused by `heating' of the ions' motional degrees of freedom.
Hydrolysis of ZrCl4 and HfCl4: The Initial Steps in the High-Temperature Oxidation of Metal Chlorides to Produce ZrO2 and HfO2

The gas-phase hydrolysis of MCl4 (M = Zr, Hf) to produce the initial particles on the way to zirconia and hafnia nanoparticles has been studied with electronic structure theory. The potential energy surfaces, the themochemistry of the reaction species, and the reaction paths for the initial steps of MCl4 reacting with H2O have been calculated. The hydrolysis of MCl4 at higher temperatures begins with the formation of oxychlorohydroxides followed by the elimination of HCl instead of the direct production of MOCl2 and HCl or MO2 and HCl due to the substantial endothermicities associated with the formation of gas-phase MO2. The structural properties and heats of formation of the reactants and products are consistent with the available experimental results. A number of metal oxychlorides (oxychlorohydroxides) intermediate clusters have been studied to assess their role in the production of MO2 nanoparticles. The calculated clustering reaction energies of those intermediates are highly exothermic, so they coul...
Millimeter Wave Monolithic GaAs Power FET Amplifiers

Millimeter-wave monolithic GaAs power FETs with total gate widths of up to 400 pm and output powers up to 200 mW have been developed. These amplifiers were fabricated using sub-half-micrometer gate length FETs on MBE-grown epitaxial layers with n+ contact layers. A source overlay structure with via groundings has been used for the FET design. Power densities of 0.53 W/mm, 0.45 W/mm, and 0.25 W/mm were obtained at 34 GHz, 41 GHz, 54 GHz, respectively. Power-added efficiency of 33% was obtained at 35 GHz with 0.53 W/mm power density.
A case‐control study of lung cancer at a foundry and two engine plants

A nested case-control study of lung cancer was conducted among workers at an iron foundry and two engine manufacturing plants whose lung cancer mortality rates were slightly higher than expected. The study included 231 lung cancer cases and 408 controls for whom complete work histories were obtained. There was no association between usual plant of employment and lung cancer mortality. The odds ratio for persons employed for 20 or more years in the foundry compared with persons employed in the engine plants was 0.90 (95% confidence interval: 0.55, 1.5). Long-term employment as an engine plant worker was associated with odds ratios slightly, but not statistically significantly, below unity. In the foundry, only usual employment in the material handling departmental group and any employment in the quality control departmental group were statistically significantly directly related to lung cancer risk. However, the number of subjects so employed was small and there was no dose-response relation between length of employment in these departmental groups and lung cancer risk. Cases were less frequently employed than were controls in engine plant machining and assembly jobs and departments. It is concluded that employment in this facility was either unrelated, or only weakly related, to lung cancer risk.
Seismic stratigraphy and depositional signatures of the Maldive carbonate system (Indian Ocean)

Abstract As documented by industrial seismic reflection profiles and well data, the Cenozoic stratigraphic evolution of the Maldive carbonate system shows three distinct intervals characterized by their own specific depositional signatures. Late Palaeocene volcanics generated by the Reunion hotspot filled deeper pull-apart structures and created a flat topography that promoted the onset of the Maldive carbonate system in the early Eocene. Some of the initial structural depressions remained as deep internal seaways surrounded by reefal margins until the late Oligocene. The Eocene-Early Oligocene stratigraphic signature is essentially aggradational and corresponds to a transgressive cycle associated with a second-order sea-level rise. In the mid-Oligocene, a major sea-level fall exposed the neritic carbonate system and restricted sedimentation to the former deep internal basins. During the next transgression, a neritic carbonate system re-established itself on the newly flooded platform and was finally drowned near the Oligocene-Miocene boundary. The main effect of this second-order transgressive cycle was the transformation of the central troughs into one single deep basin in the Neogene, the palaeo-Maldive Inner Sea. When a reef framework was established in the early Miocene near the present location of the platform edge, systematic bank margin progradation toward the central Inner Sea basin became enhanced. This Neogene progradational phase is explained as the response to a long-term sea-level fall associated with a second-order regressive cycle. Finally, the late Pliocene-Pleistocene depositional signature is mainly aggradational and corresponds to the regional modification from flat-topped carbonate banks to atoll physiographies. The ‘antecedent karst theory’ suggests that increased karstification was triggered by high-frequency eustatic and climatic changes in the last 3.0 Ma.
Asthma in United States Olympic athletes who participated in the 1996 Summer Games

Abstract Background: Asthma prevalence appears to be increasing in the general population. We sought to determine whether asthma prevalence has also increased in highly competitive athletes. Objective: Our aim was to determine how many United States Olympic athletes who were chosen to participate in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games had a past history of asthma or symptoms that suggested asthma or took asthma medications. Methods: We analyzed responses to questions that asked about allergic and respiratory diseases on the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Medical History Questionnaire that was completed by all athletes who were chosen to represent the US at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. Results: Of the 699 athletes who completed the questionnaire, 107 (15.3%) had a previous diagnosis of asthma, and 97 (13.9%) recorded use of an asthma medication at some time in the past. One hundred seventeen (16.7%) reported use of an asthma medication, a diagnosis of asthma, or both (which was our basis for the diagnosis of asthma). Seventy-three (10.4%) of the athletes were currently taking an asthma medication at the time that they were processed in Atlanta or noted that they took asthma medications on a permanent or semipermanent basis and were considered to have active asthma. Athletes who participated in cycling and mountain biking had the highest prevalence of having been told that they had asthma or had taken an asthma medication in the past (50%). Frequency of active asthma varied from 45% of cyclists and emountain bikers to none of the divers and weight lifters. Only about 11% of the athletes who participated in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games were reported to have had exercise-induced asthma on the basis of other criteria that may have been less restrictive. On the basis of these less restrictive criteria, more than 20% of the athletes who participated in the 1996 Olympic Games might have been considered to have had asthma. Conclusions: Asthma appeared to have been more prevalent in athletes who participated in the 1996 Summer Games than in the general population or in those who participated in the 1984 Summer Games. This study also suggests that asthma may influence the sport that an athlete chooses. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 1998;102:722-6.)
Group combustion of char/carbon particles

Extensive literature exists for the experimental data on coal/char ignition and combustion. While most of the experiments are performed with a cloud or stream of particles, the theoretical modeling used to compare and interpret the experimental data is based on the individual particle combustion (IPC) model. As opposed to individual particle modeling, a group combustion (GC) theory is proposed for the combustion modeling of char/carbon particles. For a cloud of liquid drops, the group behavior implies the formation of a flame (group flame) around a large number of drops rather than a flame around each drop. More generally, the group behavior for a cloud of particles represents the change in the burning characteristics due to collective behavior of particles with or without a group flame. To gain a basic understanding of the group behavior, a model such as the analysis of a spherically symmetric cloud of particles burning in quiescent air is presented here. Each particle within the cloud produces CO, due to both the oxidation of C to CO and the reduction of CO2 to CO which subsequently oxidizes to CO2 in the homogeneous gas phase. Generalized results for the burning rate and the flame structure are given as a function of group combustion number (G). Predicted results show unexpected results including the independence of the burning rate of CO kinetics. Quantitative results for both the cases of frozen and fast CO kinetics are given. There is a group flame for the case of fast CO kinetics. It is shown that the group flame occurs at G > 5 while for a cloud of liquid drops, the group flame occurs at G > 0.1. The higher critical group combustion number is attributed to the lower burning rate of particle inside the cloud compared to the burning rate of liquid drops inside the cloud. The results show that there exists mainly three modes of combustion: (i) Individual Particle Combustion (IPC, low G), (ii) Group Combustion (GC, intermediate G) and (iii) Sheath Combustion (SC, high G). Criteria are given for identifying the mode of combustion from the experimental conditions. The criteria and the establishment of modes of combustion are independent of the extent of CO kinetics. It is found that the experimental data, obtained with a stream of particles and commonly interpreted with the IPC model, indicate the combustion modes to vary from IPC to SC modes. These data are now reinterpreted with the group theory.
Public confessions: Oprah Winfrey's American religious history

Nothing in The Oprah Winfrey show is a surprise. The show's arc is so commonplace, so predictable, that it is the premise of her viewer's rapt attention: they watch to experience the familiar ritual turn of daily confession and rejuvenation. That Winfrey herself is a particular type—a loudly “spiritual”, self-declared “black woman”—only compels viewers further into her corporeal and material utopia. Through her carefully racial self-descriptions, Winfrey transforms her talk show studio into the imagined black church, making a commodity of the very authenticity that propagates her own persistence in the public sphere. This essay deploys two moments in US religious history—the antebellum revivalism of Charles Finney and the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions—to posit particular analogies to Oprah's religious and racial scripts in the televised public sphere. From these moments, we will find that Oprah's codes of conduct are knit into the religious history of her national stage.
Nutrigenomic approaches for obesity research

At the individual level, weight gain is essentially the resultof energy intake exceeding expenditure for signiﬁcant peri-ods of time, but this obvious truth provides no insight intothe strategies needed to deal with the ever-increasing prob-lem of obesity in Western populations. It is equally obvious,however, that certain individuals are more prone to devel-oping obesity than others. This phenomenon invites thenutrition research community to explore the physiologicalbasis for such differences and ultimately to design moretargeted and personalized approaches to the control ofbody weight (1).Novel research strategies are required to understand themolecular mechanisms controlling energy balance. In par-allel with such studies, there is still much to be learnedabout the metabolic consequences that follow when anappropriate energy balance is not maintained, and how thisrelates to risks of diseases such as hypertension, heart dis-ease, stroke, diabetes and certain cancers. The developingﬁelds of nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics, with their accom-panying battery of high-throughput technologies, providean unprecedented opportunity to cope with the complexityof this condition and to develop the knowledge baserequired.
Abstract A9: Pharmacological stimulation of DLL1-Notch signaling as an antitumor immunotherapy

Deficiencies in immune function are one of mechanisms for tumor escape from host immune surveillance, and therapies aimed at overcoming these defects are of major importance in cancer immunotherapy. However, the underlying causes of these defects are multiple and remain not fully understood. We report a previously undescribed mechanism for tumor-associated defects in T cell function mediated by reducing levels of Delta-like (DLL) 1 and DLL4 in the hematopoietic microenvironment, and show that elevated levels of circulating vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) characteristic for cancer patients is one of the mediators of this effect. Remarkably, selective activation of DLL1-Notch signaling alone by over-expression of DLL1 in bone marrow precursors or by soluble multivalent DLL1 treatment significantly enhances tumor-specific immune responses and inhibits tumor growth in multiple tumor models. The data suggest that tumor growth suppresses T cell differentiation and function via inhibition of DLL-mediated Notch signaling in the hematopoietic compartment. Our findings uncover a novel molecular mechanism of immune suppression and suggest a pharmacologic intervention based on activation of DLL1-Notch signaling to reverse this effect, stimulate immune responses and suppress tumor growth. Given that recently DLL1 was also implicated in abnormal tumor vessel formation and growth inhibition [Zhang JP, ea. Cancer Lett. 2011;309:220–227], systemic stimulation of Notch by multivalent DLL1 might represent an efficient therapeutic strategy targeting multiple mechanisms of tumor growth.
Toward a Libertarian Theory of Evictionism

There are not two but rather three views regarding the issue of abortion. The first two, pro life and pro choice, are well known. The present paper is dedicated to an elucidation of the third, evictionism. In this perspective, the pregnant woman is allowed to evict her unwanted fetus, but, if it is viable outside of the womb, she is not legally permitted, also, to put it to death, as would apply to abortion. In other words, abortion combines two very different acts, eviction and murder, and only the former is licit, under libertarian law.