cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of specific activity on meta-[131I]iodobenzylguanidine kinetics in isolated rat heart☆

Abstract The effects of specific activity of meta -[ 131 I]iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) were studied in uptake-2 blocked isolated perfused rat heart. [ 131 I]MIBG was administered in the perfusate as an 8-min pulse, followed by an 80-min washout period. Kinetic analysis of the externally monitored time-activity curves gave estimates of uptake rate and multiexponential clearance. Uptake rate showed an MIBG concentration dependence that is sigmoidal, yielding Michaelis-Menten constants K M = 52 nM and V max = 0.23 nmol/min/g. Clearance rate was also dependent on loading MIBG concentrations; the primary effect of increasing loading concentration was an increase in the rate of the slowest clearance component, possibly reflecting nonspecific turnover. No effect of specific activity was observed on tissue uptake and retention of [ 131 I]MIBG for loading concentrations of MIBG in the heart tissue under 0.5 nmol/g-. Extrapolation of these results to human studies indicates that isotope-exchange-labeled [ 123 I]MIBG has a specific activity sufficiently high to avoid mass effects on its heart retention.
A spinning disk test stand for two-color, tungsten oxide based optical memory system

We have constructed and tested a spin stand based demonstration system for a new form of optical memory. Based on a new two color storage process which utilizes a form of tungsten oxide as the physical medium, this system offers potential advantages in storage density, write speed, signal to noise, processing flexibility, data robustness, and overall cost. In this paper we describe the system and its performance on prototype disks. Issues regarding choices of wavelengths, write power and speed are discussed.
National Debates, Local Responses: The Origins of Local Concern about Immigration in Britain and the United States

Theories of inter-group threat hold that local concentrations of immigrants produce resource competition and anti-immigrant attitudes. Variants of these theories are commonly applied to Britain and the United States. Yet the empirical tests have been inconsistent. This paper analyses geo-coded surveys from both countries to identify when residents’ attitudes are influenced by living near immigrant communities. Pew surveys from the United States and the 2005 British Election Study illustrate how local contextual effects hinge on national politics. Contextual effects appear primarily when immigration is a nationally salient issue, which explains why past research has not always found a threat. Seemingly local disputes have national catalysts. The paper also demonstrates how panel data can reduce selection biases that plague research on local contextual effects. In the 1970s, a native-born British woman complained about her West Indian neighbours, telling an interviewer: ‘There’s too much noise with the foreigners y We just can’t go where we want any more. Why should they get National Health Service benefits?’ 1 For this London resident, immigrants provoked both local concerns about neighbourhood life and national concerns about the distribution of benefits. Similar anti-immigrant sentiments were common in many parts of Britain during the 1970s, when immigration and integration were salient issues. 2 In recent years, these questions have reappeared on the British political agenda periodically, brought to the fore by riots, terrorist attacks, international events, migration within Europe and the political parties. 3
Consistency of Male Courtship Behavior in a Plethodontid Salamander

Abstract Flexibility can be important in male–female behavioral interactions, particularly during courtship when a male typically adjusts his behavior in response to the female. Red-legged Salamanders (Plethodon shermani) have highly stereotyped courtship behaviors but show flexibility in the repetition of particular behaviors. We tested one measure of flexibility in a specific male courtship behavior: pheromone delivery. We compared the number of male pheromone delivery attempts that occurred when a male “slapped” his pheromone-producing mental gland on the female's nares. We compiled a multiyear data set from earlier experiments on salamander behavior to test the consistency in the number of slaps each male delivered in two different courtships. The consistency level was 26% (26% of the total deviance in slapping behavior could be explained by previous slapping behavior), a value within the range of measures for other vertebrate behavioral traits. We interpret this consistency as a possible advantage to...
Evaluating the dynamics and electrostatic interactions of folded proteins in implicit solvents

Three implicit solvent models, namely GBMVII, FACTS, and SCPISM, were evaluated for their abilities to emulate an explicit solvent environment by comparing the simulated conformational ensembles, dynamics, and electrostatic interactions of the Src SH2 domain and the Lyn kinase domain. This assessment in terms of structural features in folded proteins expands upon the use of hydration energy as a metric for comparison. All-against-all rms coordinate deviation, average positional fluctuations, and ion-pair distance distribution were used to compare the implicit solvent models with the TIP3P explicit solvent model. Our study shows that the Src SH2 domains solvated with TIP3P, GBMVII, and FACTS sample similar global conformations. Additionally, the Src SH2 ion-pair distance distributions of solvent-exposed side chains corresponding to TIP3P, GBMVII, and FACTS do not differ substantially, indicating that GBMVII and FACTS are capable of modeling these electrostatic interactions. The ion-pair distance distributions of SCPISM are distinct from others, demonstrating that these electrostatic interactions are not adequately reproduced with the SCPISM model. On the other hand, for the Lyn kinase domain, a non-globular protein with bilobal structure and a large concavity on the surface, implicit solvent does not accurately model solvation to faithfully reproduce partially buried electrostatic interactions and lobe-lobe conformations. Our work reveals that local structure and dynamics of small, globular proteins are modeled well using FACTS and GBMVII. Nonetheless, global conformations and electrostatic interactions in concavities of multi-lobal proteins resulting from simulations with implicit solvent models do not match those obtained from explicit water simulations.
The Molecular Diagnosis of Parechovirus Infection: Has the Time Come?

properties and disease manifestations with enteroviruses, differences were recognized from the beginning. When molecular methods were developed for the diagnosis of enterovirus infection in the 1990s, it became clear that echovirus types 22 and 23 were not detected using pan-enterovirus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers [3]. Thus, in 1999, HPeVs were designated as a separate genus of the Picornaviridae family [4]. Since then, the number of HPeV types has increased from 2 to 14, and many more are likely awaiting discovery (http://www .picornastudygroup.com/types/parechovirus/ hpev.htm). HPeVs are difficult to culture, and Vero cells, the optimal cell line, are not commonly used in clinical laboratories in the United States. Thus, HPeV infections have long been underdiagnosed. Ironically, as more sensitive methods have been developed to detect HPeV in research studies, diagnosis in clinical laboratories in the United States has decreased because of the change from conventional cell cultures to enterovirus molecular amplification tests. In short, diagnosis of HPeV infection has gone from bad to worse. Few clinical laboratories and perhaps only 1 commercial laboratory in the United States offer Parechovirus PCR. Typing of HPeV-positive isolates is confined to research laboratories. Therefore, it is not surprising that HPeV3 and HPeV6 infections have not previously been reported in the United States.
The Effects of Group Training Activities on Students' Initiation of Creative Investigations

This study examined the effects of group training and several environmental and personal factors on 515 students' decisions to initiate creative investigations in new gifted education programs. Forty-eight groups of above average ability students in grades 3-8 were randomly , assigned to either control or experimental groups. Students in the treatment group received seven lessons in organizing a creative investigation. Initiation of a creative investigation was the dependent variable. Parsonal variables and group membership were entered into a hierarchical discriminant function analysis in an effort to identify the strength of the treatment beyond the personal variables of grade, sex, self-efficacy, learning style preferences, achievement, and academic aptitude. All eight predictor variables proved significant and accounted for 22% of the variance between groups.
Degeneration of human oncogenes and mitochondrial genes occurs in cells that exhibit age-related pathology

The development of a new class of assays to determine in vivo mutation frequencies has provided new perspectives on the timing, location, and distribution of somatic mutagenesis in mitochondrial genes and in oncogenes of the aging human body. This descriptive information has led to the inference of new models for age-related pathophysiology and oncogenesis. Mutations of mitochondrial genes rise rapidly with age to frequencies a thousand-fold higher than those of nuclear genes. Genotypic selection analysis has revealed that mitochondrial mutations accumulate predominantly in nonmitotic cells whose age-dependent loss is associated with pathology. Random mitochondrial mutation is most likely to inactivate Complex I, deficiency of which induces mitochondrial superoxide formation and cell death. Genotypic selection of oncogenic mutations at the BCL2 and p53 loci has revealed that the cell specificity of oncogenic mutations in persons without cancer correlates well with sites of tumor origin, indicating that cells bearing such mutations are the likely precursors of future tumors. Quantitative variation in human BCL2 mutation frequency is extensive, and BCL2 mutation frequency rises with age, concordant with increased risk for lymphoma. The clonality and persistence of BCL2 mutations suggests two specific testable mechanisms of lymphomagenesis. BCL2 mutation frequency rises in persons exposed to cigarette smoke, and more p53 mutations occur in skin exposed to sunlight than in unexposed skin. Thus, in addition to their likely relevance to future cancer risk, the dose-response relationship between exposure and oncogenic mutations indicates promise for their future use as in vivo biodosimeters of human exposure to carcinogens.
Enthalpies of formation and lattice parameters of B2 phases in Al-Ni-X systems

Enthalpies of formation of Al-Ni-X (X: Fe, Ru, Pd, Pt, and Cu) alloys were meas- ured by high-temperature calorimeter and compared with the calculated value from Miedema's model and interpolation models. The interpolation models generally provide bet- ter prediction than Miedama's model. No one interpolation model generated superior predic- tions. Lattice parameters of B2 phase compounds were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The atomic volumes in the Al-Ni-Fe system were calculated and show that Fe sub- stitutes preferentially on the Al sublattice. The heat content of Al 0.5 Ni 0.2 Ru 0.3 and Al 0.5 Ni 0.35 Cu 0.15 at high temperature was obtained, and the results are in good agreement with those heat capacities estimated by the Neumann-Kopp rule.
Legume sanctions and the evolution of symbiotic cooperation by rhizobia

abstract: The legume‐rhizobium symbiosis is an ideal model for studying the factors that limit the evolution of microbial mutualists into parasites. Legumes are unable to consistently recognize parasitic rhizobia that, once established inside plant cells, use plant resources for their own reproduction rather than for N2 fixation. Evolution of parasitism in rhizobia, driven partly by competition among multiple rhizobial strains infecting the same plant, may be countered by postinfection legume sanctions. Both the biochemical options for rhizobial cheating and the evolutionary effect of legume sanctions depend on differences in rhizobial life history associated with nodule type. In legumes with determinate nodule growth, rhizobia typically retain the ability to reproduce after differentiating into N2‐fixing bacteroids. Sanctions against individual bacteroids (e.g., acid hydrolases) would therefore select for cooperative rhizobia. In nodules with indeterminate growth, bacteroids generally lose the ability to...
Human Prostate Cancer and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Molecular Dissection by Gene Expression Profiling

Critical aspects of the biology and molecular basis for prostate malignancy remain poorly understood. To reveal fundamental differences between benign and malignant growth of prostate cells, we performed gene expression profiling of primary human prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) using cDNA microarrays consisting of 6500 human genes. Frozen prostate specimens were processed to facilitate extraction of RNA from regions of tissue enriched in either benign or malignant epithelial cell growth within a given specimen. Gene expression in each of the 16 prostate cancer and nine BPH specimens was compared with a common reference to generate normalized measures for each gene across all of the samples. Using an analysis of complete pairwise comparisons of expression profiles among all of the samples, we observed clearly discernable patterns of overall gene expression that differentiated prostate cancer from BPH. Further analysis of the data identified 210 genes with statistically significant differences in expression between prostate cancer and BPH. These genes include many not recognized previously as differentially expressed in prostate cancer and BPH, including hepsin, which codes for a transmembrane serine protease. This study reveals for the first time that significant and widespread differences in gene expression patterns exist between benign and malignant growth of the prostate gland. Gene expression analysis of prostate tissues should help to disclose the molecular mechanisms underlying prostate malignant growth and identify molecular markers for diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic use.
Discussion of “A method for approximating the water content of soils”

Part of the paper, concerned with calibration, installation, and use of the Colman fiberglas units, gives the impression that in following the described procedure the obtained values for moisture content are sufficiently accurate for the purposes of hydrological studies. The question remains whether the value fur moisture percentage indicated by an element at given depth is a dependable estimate of the moisture content there, as averaged over the horizontal area that one wishes to characterize. How well can one replicate measurements with Colman units at the same depth and site? Our experiences with similar installations have been rather disappointing with respect to the variation between replicate installations. Probably, this is to be explained by the small “action radius” of Colman units and by the incidence of lag. This objection seems to apply equally to all types of resistance units that have been or are being used in the measurement of soil moisture.
The Effect of Wake Distortion on Rotor Inflow Gradients and Off-Axis Coupling

For many years, analysts have been puzzled by the fact that the off-axis coupling of a helicopter exhibits the opposite sign in flight tests as compared to simulations. Recently, researchers have shown that the effect may be attributable to the bending of the wake during a pitching maneuver, which introduces a fore-toaft gradient in induced flow that can reverse the predicted sign of the roll coupling. Other research has shown that this result can also be obtained with momentum and vortex theory. In the present work, the vortex lattice is used to compute the inflow that is responsible for off-axis coupling. The results are then compared with momentum theory, vortex tube theory, and potential flow theory.
Purification of Dehydrogenases and Kinases by Affinity Chromatography

The concept of using adenine nucleotide derivatives as general ligands in affinity chromatography was first proposed by Mosbach and his coworkers (1-3). Various immobilized adenine nucleotide derivatives have been prepared and used in the selective purification of enzymes by means of general ligand affinity chromatography (11, 17–21). From the efforts of many workers it is apparent that further development of this methodology would greatly accelerate our understanding of enzymes and their utilization in biochemical research, clinical chemistry and industrial production. Selective purification of enzymes by general ligand affinity chromatography is based on the principle that a single immobilized general ligand has the capacity to adsorb a large number of enzymes, or a given family of enzymes, which either require the same cofactor or have a common inhibitor or activator.
Parallelized model predictive control

Model predictive control (MPC) has been used in many industrial applications because of its ability to produce optimal performance while accommodating constraints. However, its application on plants with fast time constants is difficult because of its computationally expensive algorithm. In this research, we propose a parallelized MPC that makes use of the structure of the computations and the matrices in the MPC. We show that the computational time of MPC with prediction horizon N can be reduced to O(log(N)) using parallel computing, which is significantly less than that with other available algorithms.
International survey of clinical chemistry procedures.

Abstract The analytical procedures used for the determination of 14 blood constitutuents by selected clinical laboratories throughout the world have been tabulated. Preferences for methods often vary from country to country. The most significant impression obtained from the survey is that the most popular methods in current use appear to be old “time-honored” procedures. Certain aspects of this situation are discussed and a representative list of improved methods is proposed.
Philosophy of Science, 1950–2000: The Parting of the Ways

The past century has assuredly been a turbulent time in the philosophy of science. The discipline itself has, of course, an ancient history, stretching back to Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics. But as the sciences themselves have grown so rapidly in power and complexity over the last century, so has second-order reflection on these sciences, what we call philosophy of science, itself become a great deal more luxuriant — as well as more disputatious! The history of the philosophy of science has, in fact, emerged as a third-order discipline in its own right.1 The task of our symposium is primarily a historical one; we are asked to look at developments in the philosophy of science in the century just past and identify some of the milestones. Obviously, we have to be very selective.
Sustainability and Justice

This chapter addresses the intertwined problems of global environmental degradation and extreme inequality and injustice. It examines two narratives within American environmentalism that unwittingly exacerbate unequal access to environmental privilege and perpetuate unsustainable patterns of resource consumption. These are the narratives of pristine places and environmental sacrifice zones. In Aspen and the roaring fork valley, the drive to preserve pristine places has imposed costs on low-income communities and immigrants while also disserving aspects of environmental protection. On the high altitude mesas of the four corners region, the designation of sacrifice zones has relegated thousands of Navajo and Hopi people to substandard living conditions to further the growth of far-away cities and the protection of off-reservation sites.The chapter proposes that as we move forward, post climate change, with only a murky comprehension of how best to preserve remnants of the faultless non-human world, we should also recommit to weaving human communities and their just demands for equitable treatment into the picture. Otherwise, we risk defaulting to compartmentalized approaches to environmental protection, which will benefit only certain classes and strata of humanity. Instead of arriving at an equitable version of sustainability, we may find ourselves in a very hierarchical and rigid system of doling out environmental privileges and harms.
FIBER FRACTURE: AN OVERVIEW

Abstract Fracture of fibers during processing or in service is generally an undesirable feature. Fracture in fibers, as in bulk materials, initiates at some flaw(s), internal or on the surface. In general, because of the high surface to volume ratio of fibers, the incidence of a surface flaw leading to fracture is greater in fibers than in bulk materials. Very frequently, a near-surface flaw such as a microvoid or an inclusion is responsible for the initiation of fracture of fiber. In polymeric fibers, the fundamental processes leading to failure are chain scission and/or chain sliding or a combination thereof. Service environment can be a major determining factor in the failure process of fibers. A striking example of this was in the failure of aramid fiber used in the tether rope in space. Metallic fibers represent a relatively mature technology. The surface condition and segregation of inclusions are the two factors that limit the strength of metallic filaments. Ceramic and silica-based fibers (including optical glass fiber) also have the same crack-initiating flaws as in polymeric and metallic fibers. One major problem in glass fibers is that of failure due to static fatigue. In this paper, examples of fracture in different types of fibers are provided. Some of the possible ways to prevent catastrophic failure in different fibers are pointed out. A considerable amount of progress has been made in the last quarter of the twentieth century.
A Study of Word-Classing for MT Reordering

MT systems typically use parsers to help reorder constituents. However most languages do not have adequate treebank data to learn good parsers, and such training data is extremely time-consuming to annotate. Our earlier work has shown that a reordering model learned from word-alignments using POS tags as features can improve MT performance (Visweswariah et al., 2011). In this paper, we investigate the effect of word-classing on reordering performance using this model. We show that unsupervised word clusters perform somewhat worse but still reasonably well, compared to a part-of-speech (POS) tagger built with a small amount of annotated data; while a richer tag set including case and gender-number-person further improves reordering performance by around 1.2 monolingual BLEU points. While annotating this richer tagset is more complicated than annotating the base tagset, it is much easier than annotating treebank data.
2013 HIPAA Changes Provide Opportunities and Challenges for Researchers: Perspectives from a Cancer Center

In 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services modified the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule to "strengthen privacy and security protections" while "improving workability and effectiveness to increase flexibility for and decrease burden on regulated entities." In this article, we attempt to translate these generalized goals into the real-world implications of these changes. Under the new rules, researchers can obtain participants' permission to use their protected health information for more research activities with a single, upfront authorization (thereby reducing paperwork for participants, researchers, and institutional review boards) while providing potential participants with more information upon which to base their decisions about participation. The combined authorizations can be used in clinical trials and their optional substudies and in stand-alone biospecimen-banking research that includes authorization to permit future research use. We also suggest best practices for taking advantage of the flexibility offered by the new rules while maintaining strong privacy protections for human subjects.
Commentary on: Treatment of Prominent Ears with an Implantable Clip System: A Pilot Study.

Kang and Kerstein have reported on 39 otoplasty patients treated with an ear clip device (earFold implants; earFold, London, United Kingdom) that sets the upper portion of the ear back, creating a more prominent antihelical fold.1 The advantage of utilizing these implants is how quickly they can be inserted. In addition, the implants, being metallic, are presumably stronger than sutures and the recurrence of upper ear prominence, if the implants are left in place permanently, is likely very low. This article raises a number of important questions about the earFold implants, specifically, and about otoplasty, procedures in general. The authors present these implants as a new treatment for prominent ears. More accurately, the devices are a replacement for one component of an otoplasty procedure, the setback of the upper third of the auricle. The earFold implants do not address the middle or lower third of the ear. I surmise that only a minority of patients could be treated with …
Mitosis and DNA Synthesis in Mouse Kidney: Sources of Error in Evaluating Cell Proliferation

SummaryApproximately 48 hr after removal of one mouse kidney, the specific activity of DNA increased about 2-fold and was confirmed by autoradiographic studies and mitotic counts. A similar increase in DNA specific activity was produced by touching a normal kidney with forceps imperceptibly wet with isopropanol-hexachlorophene, but autoradiography showed proliferative activity confined to the subcapsular region rather than throughout the proximal tubules.
Hydrothermally grown TiO2 nanotubes on multi-layered Ti mesh electrodes for enhanced photoelectrochemical reaction

We report here a successful fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) photoelectrodes fully coated with hydrothermally formed TiO2 nanotubes on multi-layered Ti mesh with significantly increased surface area. A near-vertical array of ~8 nm diameter nanotubes of TiO2 was also produced on the metallic surface of folded Ti mesh electrode. The multi-layered mesh was used as a 3D highly conductive electrode, as this architecture intuitively allows for light passage, reflections, and smooth water flow for possible continuous operation of water splitting reaction. By virtue of substantially increased surface area and more efficient light usage, significantly increased photocurrent densities were obtained.
Development and applications of simulation software for integrated inductance

Based on equivalent circuit of pot core and inductance calculation formula and magnetic field distribution of ring inductor, equivalent circuit and inductance calculation formula were given for integrated inductor. Simulation software for structure design of integrated inductor was compiled using Visual BASIC 6.0. Structure, characteristic and using method of the software were discussed. Using the software simulation for several integrated inductors was performed and on this basis inductors were prepared. It shows that deviation between the simulation and experimental results is within 10%. Use of the software can shorten the design cycle, improve the efficiency of inductor, and also can calculate the DC resistance of integrated inductor, offering a prediction for device temperature rise.
Surveillance for dengue and its mosquito vector in Fuzhou during 2004～2008

Objective: To provide scientific base to predict the Dengue epidemic and make effective control measures by analyzing the data of Dengue surveillance of Fuzhou in the latest five years.Methods:Make comprehensive analysis of Breteau index,container index,house index from 2004 to 2008,detect the DF-IgG level of common people and test serum specimen of febrile patient for DF-IgG and DF-IgM.Results:In 2004,Dengue fever epidemic hit Fuzhou and the positive rates of DF-IgG and DF-IgM were 28.49%(94/330) for serum specimen from febrile patient.From 2005 to 2008,the serum specimens of common people were negative for DF-IgG,the serum specimens of febrile patients were negative for DF-IgG and DF-IgM and there were DF patients annually who were proved to be infected in foreign countries.All the annual average Breteau indexes were over 10.Conclusion:With the relatively high Breteau index,precaution must be taken to guard against the possible outbreak of DF epidemic.
Burgeoning disciplines in biomedicine and their application to modernization of Chinese materia medica——studies on novel multicomponent drugs

Chinese materia medica (CMM) defines health as the balance of whole body system and medications are designed to restore this balance. Unlike western medicine that generally uses a single chemical entity and sets a single physiological target, the efficacy herbal formulations in CMM results from complex mixtures of numerous chemical components which simultaneously interact with multiple molecular targets. CMM clinically shows the advantages over western medicine in the treatment of some multi-gene and multifactor diseases, yet the adoption of CMM stemmed from natural animals and plants in modern society is impeded by lack of quality control and absence of scientific proof of their effectiveness. Currently, the development of combinatorial medicines and system biology provide new opportunities to modernize the CMM. Thus, this review focuses on the modernization of CMM by employing the concept of combination therapy and cutting-edge biomedical technologies such as proteomics, biochip, and chemical biology. Moreover, the author puts forward the new ideas and methodologies for the discovery of modern multicomponent drugs from CMM.
Trinitarian Inseparable Operations and the Incarnation

The present article argues that the doctrine of the inseparable external operations ( opera ad extra , hereafter OAE) of the Trinity is consistent with the doctrine of the incarnation of the Son alone. To demonstrate this, it will be shown, first, that the assumption of human nature can be ascribed to the Son alone when taken as a state, as opposed to an action. Secondly, I will defend John Owen’s claim that the Son is not the “immediate” agent of Christ’s actions. Finally, an appeal is made to Trinitarian “missions” to show the coherence of OAE with our having communion with distinct divine persons.
Patterns of Neurogenic Bladder Dysfunction in Sacral Agenesis

Patterns of neurogenic bladder disease were defined in 13 patients with sacral agenesis. Each patient demonstrated an individualized mixture of upper and/or lower motor neuronal deficits. The paucity of clinical parameters capable of identifying and assessing bladder dysfunction in these patients mandates complete neurourological evaluation and careful followup.
On the Very-High-Energy Gamma Ray Spectra from Typical Supernovae Remnants

Recently measured VHE gamma ray spectra from supernovae remnants (SNRs) are best fit by power laws with an exponential cutoff. But this feature does not occur at the ‘knee-equivalent’ energy at which VHE gamma ray spectra are expected to reflect the ‘knee’ in the otherwise featureless cosmic ray spectrum. In this article, the VHE gamma ray feature is explained as a consequence of a recently deduced quantum effect. The effect distinguishes ‘trajectory energy’ from ‘particle state energy’ and requires that the particle state energy depends strongly on gravitational potential at very high energies. Based on this effect and the observed CR spectrum, a tight two-parameter fit is obtained to the combined VHE gamma ray spectra of SNRs RX J1713.7-3946 and RX J0852.0-4622 and the Galactic Center ridge.
Conformational Polymorphism in Conditionally Disordered Nucleophosmin: From Single-Molecules to Liquid Droplets

The order-disorder transitions of many intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are fundamental in their biological functions, and post-translational modifications (PTMs) and partner binding have been proposed to act as molecular switches to regulate these transitions. The N-terminal oligomerization domain of the multi-functional nucleolar protein, nucleophosmin (NPM1; Npm-N), belongs to this emerging class of “conditionally” disordered proteins. Npm-N can interconvert between a globally disordered monomer and a β-sheet enriched pentamer forms which are differentially populated in different cellular functional and localization states of the protein, and can be tuned by phosphorylation and binding partners. However, the mechanism of this modulation remains poorly understood. Here, using a combination of single-molecule and ensemble experiments, we analyzed the disorder-order transition pathways of Npm-N and investigated how phospho-modifications and partner binding alter its folding landscape. Strikingly, we observed here that under conditions that favored forward (pentamer formation) vs. reverse (dissociation to monomers) reactions, order-disorder transitions in this single system can occur via either folding-induced-assembly or assembly-induced-folding, the two broad mechanistic classes for IDP coupled folding and binding. Furthermore, phosphorylation in Npm-N caused pathway dependent asymmetric effects in temporally decoupling the folding and assembly, thereby increasing the life-times of the intermediate states in these multi-step reaction pathways. Conversely, binding to arginine-rich motifs of the Arf tumor suppressor locked Npm-N in the ordered pentameric state, and could counteract the effects of phosphorylation. Finally, single-molecule along with ensemble experiments directly revealed substantial conformational alterations in Npm-N upon transition to liquid-droplets mediated by partner binding, a phenomenon with relevance to structure and function of the nucleolus. Our findings provide novel mechanistic insights into the complex interplay of the conformational biophysics and different cellular states, functions and regulation of this multi-functional protein.
Elements of the Finnish Process of Colonizing

First of the modern populating currents in Lapland was the colonizing. Initiated by necessities imposed by the treaties, it was continued into the 1960s by various governmental supports. Within Lapland Province alone 61 major colonies were formed to include more than 1500 families. By this action Finland became one of the world’s more experienced nations in the recent planning and executing of new rural settling. The analyses of the forces exerted in administering, selecting settlers, determining the form of a colony, timing the various actions, and financing provide, therefore, one of the few records available that may be used elsewhere in a growing ecumene. It was, in fact, this potential use for planning in other parts of the world which prompted the start of this study in 1955 for it was clear by then that new rural settling is a normal and continuing action in the world but one which has been too little studied for development of international guides. Much more data remain to be obtained for analysis beyond this start.
Mitigation of AO spurious modes in AlN MEMS resonators with SiO 2 addendums

This paper presents an AO spurious mode mitigation technique for Aluminum Nitride (AlN) laterally vibrating resonators (LVRs). The technique attaches two identical SiO 2 addendums to the lateral edges of the suspended AlN resonator body to shift the asymmetrical (AO) spurious modes away from the intended SO mode vibration. The AlN resonators with SiO 2 addendums have been investigated theoretically with finite element analyses (FEAs) and validated experimentally. The measured response of the fabricated devices has shown successful mitigation of AO spurious mode without the compromise of electromechanical coupling, kt2, and quality factor Q.
What is in a cough

Abstract Objective/background The aims of this talk are to: (a) provide an overview of our method of collecting, quantifying, and sizing infectious aerosols of Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; and (b) to review data indicating that cough aerosol cultures of M. tuberculosis are the best predictors of infection and incident disease among household contacts of persons with active tuberculosis (TB). New infection was defined as tuberculin skin test conversion. Methods We developed a cough aerosol sampling system by placing two Andersen cascade impactor viability samplers inside a cylinder into which patients cough via connector tubing. We recruited sputum acid fast bacilli (AFB) smear-positive patients from the tuberculosis clinic and wards at Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. Patients were asked to cough as strongly and frequently as they comfortably could for two 5-min sessions of coughing. Results In a cohort of 96 sputum culture positive index TB cases, 43 (45%) produced culture-positive cough aerosols. Household contacts of TB patients who produced high aerosols (⩾10 colony forming units (CFU)) were more likely to have a new infection compared with contacts with low aerosol CFU (1–9 CFU) and aerosol-negative cases (69%, 25%, and 30%, respectively, p = 0.009). In adjusted multivariate analyses, high cough aerosols were the only predictor of new TB infection (odds ratio [OR] 4.81; 1.20–19.23). In a follow-up (median 3.9 years) of this cohort, 369 (84%) of the contacts could be traced; eight (2%) had developed TB disease. Incident TB disease was associated with larger bacillary load in sputum measured by days to positive in liquid culture (OR 7.9; 0.7–70.5), exposure to a high-aerosol TB case patient (OR 6.0, 1.4–25.2) and marginally to HIV infection in the contact (OR 7.2; 0.7–70.5). Cough aerosol studies of TB patients in Brazil and South Africa are ongoing and appear to be finding similar proportions of cough aerosol cultures among TB patients (personal communication). Conclusion Cough aerosol cultures of M. tuberculosis are the best predictors of infectiousness and predict incident TB disease among sputum smear-positive patients in Uganda. We propose that cough aerosol cultures are a better surrogate of inhaled dose than sputum smear.
Radiation-Sterilization of Food: Treating Scanty Data from Inoculated Packs1

This paper is about the mathematical methods used in calculating the 12D radiation-dose for a food which has been subjected to an inoculated pack. It concerns the case in which only one partial-spoilage data point is obtained from the experiment. A simple, partly graphical procedure is described. This method is based on binomial confidence limits and furnishes an estimate that lies above the (unknown) true 12D value with probability greater than 90%. The method is applied to an inoculated pack for low-level nitrite/nitrate ham described by Anellis et al. (2).
Effects of Pup Separation on Stress Response in Postpartum Female Rats

There is a complex collection of neuroendocrine function during the postpartum period. Prolactin (PRL) released by suckling stimulus and its PRL receptors (PRL-R) in the central nervous system (CNS) are involved in hyporesponsiveness of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in lactating mammals including rodents and humans. It is not clear how long it takes to reestablish the attenuated HPA axis activity of lactating rats to a pre-pregnancy state after pup separation. We first tested the hypothesis that HPA axis activity in response to an acute stress in postpartum rats would return to a pre-pregnancy state after pup separation. Restraint stress for 30 min was performed at the end of pup separation as an acute stressor. Plasma levels of corticosterone (CORT) were measured following restraint stress or no-stress (control) in virgin rats and postpartum rats housed with their pups or with pup removal for different periods of time of one hour, 24 h, or eight days. We then tested the hypothesis that circulating PRL level and CNS PRL-R gene expression were involved in mediating the acute stress response in postpartum rats. Plasma levels of PRL and PRL-R mRNA levels in the choroid plexus of the CNS were determined in both no-stress and stress, virgin rats, and postpartum rats housed with their pups or with pup removal for various periods, and their correlation with plasma CORT levels was assessed. The results demonstrated that PRL levels declined to virgin state in all postpartum rats separated from their pups, including the dams with one-hour pup separation. Stress-induced HPA activity dampened in lactating rats housed with pups, and returned to the pre-pregnancy state after 24 h of pup separation when both circulating PRL level and CNS PRL-R expression were restored to a pre-pregnancy state. Additionally, basal plasma CORT and CNS PRL-R expression were significantly correlated in rats with various pup status. This study suggested that stress-induced HPA activation occurred when PRL-R expression was similar to the level of virgin females, indicating that PRL-R upregulation contributes to an attenuated HPA response to acute stress. Understanding neuroendocrine responses to stress during the postpartum period is critical to understand postpartum-related neuropsychiatric illnesses and to maintain mental health in postpartum women.
Arteriographically Determined Occlusive Disease within the Hypogastric-Cavernous Bed in Impotent Patients Following Blunt Perineal and Pelvic Trauma

AbstractTo determine the presence, location and pattern of arterial occlusive disease within the hypogastric-cavernous arterial bed in impotent men following blunt perineal and pelvic trauma, we reviewed the selective internal pudendal arteriograms of 20 patients with a history of blunt perineal and 7 with blunt pelvic trauma who had immediate development of impotence. Arteriographic studies of 104 other impotent patients also were reviewed and compared.Patients with persistent impotence immediately after blunt pelvic and perineal trauma had significantly different patterns of arteriographically demonstrated occlusive disease within the distal hypogastric-cavernous arterial bed consistent with the site of the traumatic injury. Those who sustained blunt pelvic trauma and complained of immediate impotence revealed arterial occlusive lesions mainly in the internal pudendal, common penile, cavernous and dorsal arteries. The incidence of arterial lesions in the distal internal pudendal or common penile artery ...
Laparoscopic ligation of cisterna chyli for refractory chylothorax: A case series and review of the literature.

Abstract Objectives We describe an alternative surgical technique for the treatment of chylothorax in patients who have had failure of or are not candidates for transthoracic ligation or embolization by interventional radiology. Methods We describe our experience with laparoscopic ligation of the cisterna chyli in 3 such patients and compare our results with published literature. We used a 5-port approach as for foregut surgery. We retracted the liver, transected the gastrohepatic ligament, and retracted the stomach to the left. We exposed the right lateral aspect of the aorta at the level of the celiac trunk and clipped fatty tissue between the aorta and the right crus. We skeletonized the right crus and dissected from the right crus to the inferior vena cava. We then retracted the inferior vena cava laterally, exposed all soft tissue posteriorly, and identified the cisterna chyli posteromedially to the inferior vena cava. Finally, we ligated and clipped all fatty tissue between the right crus and the inferior vena cava. Results Success rate was 67%; 1 patient with idiopathic chylothorax did not have resolution and eventually died of multisystem organ failure. There were no procedure-related complications. Conclusions Laparoscopic ligation of cisterna chyli is an available therapeutic option for patients with chylothorax unresponsive to medical management, embolization, and transthoracic ligation of the thoracic duct. Our series is comparable with other reports of transabdominal approach to chylothorax.
Pharmacologic and Perioperative Considerations for Antihypertensive Medications

Background As the prevalence of hypertension continues to increase, physicians routinely encounter patients preoperatively receiving one or more cardiovascular medications to manage hypertension. Thus, the physician's knowledge of perioperative antihypertensive medication management is crucial to ensure patient safety. Objective We discuss the decisions to continue or stop antihypertensive medications to reduce the risk of perioperative complications. Method We conducted a review of the original research studies, review articles, and editorials present on PubMed within the past 60 years. The authors included peer-reviewed articles that they deemed relevant to current practice. Search terms of perioperative surgical home, preoperative medication instruction, surgery, and perioperative management were used in combination with the key words α-agonist, antihypertensive, β-blocker, calcium-channel blocker, diuretic, hypertension, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor, and vasodilator. The reference lists of each selected article were also reviewed for additional sources of information. Results The number of articles about perioperative management of antihypertension medications increased in more recent years. Evidence showed clear support of the continuation or withholding of most medications. However, no clear recommendation was found on the continuation of reninangiotensin- aldosterone system inhibitors in the perioperative period. Conclusion Current evidence supports the perioperative continuation of β-blockers, calciumchannel blockers, and α-2 agonists. However, diuretics should be discontinued on the day of the surgery and resumed in the postoperative period. Debates persist about the continuation of reninangiotensin- aldosterone system inhibitors.
Long-term ethanol exposure: Temporal pattern of microRNA expression and associated mRNA gene networks in mouse brain

Long-term alcohol use can result in lasting changes in brain function, ultimately leading to alcohol dependence. These functional alterations arise from dysregulation of complex gene networks, and growing evidence implicates microRNAs as key regulators of these networks. We examined time- and brain region-dependent changes in microRNA expression after chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure in C57BL/6J mice. Animals were sacrificed at 0, 8, and 120h following the last exposure to four weekly cycles of CIE vapor and we measured microRNA expression in prefrontal cortex (PFC), nucleus accumbens (NAC), and amygdala (AMY). The number of detected (395–419) and differentially expressed (DE, 42–47) microRNAs was similar within each brain region. However, the DE microRNAs were distinct among brain regions and across time within each brain region. DE microRNAs were linked with their DE mRNA targets across each brain region. In all brain regions, the greatest number of DE mRNA targets occurred at the 0 or 8h time points and these changes were associated with microRNAs DE at 0 or 8h. Two separate approaches (discrete temporal association and hierarchical clustering) were combined with pathway analysis to further characterize the temporal relationships between DE microRNAs and their 120h DE targets. We focused on targets dysregulated at 120h as this time point represents a state of protracted withdrawal known to promote an increase in subsequent ethanol consumption. Discrete temporal association analysis identified networks with highly connected genes including ERK1/2 (mouse equivalent Mapk3, Mapk1), Bcl2 (in AMY networks) and Srf (in PFC networks). Similarly, the cluster-based analysis identified hub genes that include Bcl2 (in AMY networks) and Srf in PFC networks, demonstrating robust microRNA-mRNA network alterations in response to CIE exposure. In contrast, datasets utilizing targets from 0 and 8h microRNAs identified NF-kB-centered networks (in NAC and PFC), and Smad3-centered networks (in AMY). These results demonstrate that CIE exposure results in dynamic and complex temporal changes in microRNA-mRNA gene network structure.