cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sociological viewpoint on the race-crime relationship

The relationship between race and crime is on the one hand very strong, at least when considered from the vantage point of official crime statistics. There is a consistency in the data in that minorities—primarily African Americans—are overrepresented in both (serious) offending and correctional statistics. The reason(s) underlying this overrepresentation, however, are neither well documented nor fully understood. The lack of a consensus has led some commentators to view the disparity as a function of (a) differential involvement in serious offending by minorities that brings them to the attention of formal criminal justice authorities, (b) differential enforcement by criminal justice personnel (including discriminatory practices and decisions), or some combination of the two (see review in Piquero, 2008). On the other hand, and regar5dless of which explanation is most consistent with the data, the study of race and crime has been and continues to be both con­tentious and controversial (Kennedy, 1997; Sampson & Wilson, 1995; Walker, Spohn, & DeLone, 2011; Wilbanks, 1987). This chapter focuses on the main sociological explanations of the race-crime relationship. In so doing, it neither discounts the relevance of nonsociological viewpoints - because these are covered elsewhere in this book - nor does it review and policy proscriptions associated with the race-crime relationship - also discussed in the book. Instead, two prominent sociological perspectives are considered along with how they attempt to understand and explain race differences in offending. Accordingly, this chapter focuses on social structures, social areas, and social contingencies including: (a) disadvantaged neighborhood environments (which are also characterised by disadvantaged family, school and health systems, and differential employment structures) and (b) differential cultural adaptations in urban communities. A few prominent empirical examples are highlighted that assess key aspects of the theories reviewed. Finally, the chapter concludes with an identification of three important directions for future research centered on: (1) the reason(s) underlying the overrepresentation of minorities in criminal justice statistics, (2) the development and empirical research needed on recent theoretical frameworks, and (3) data collection and ensuring research on the ethnicity-crime relationship, especially concerning Hispanics/Latinos and immigrants.
Global Energetics Analysis by Expansion into Three-Dimensional Normal Mode Functions during the FGGE Winter

Developpement d'un schema diagnostique de l'energetique, pour etudier comment est reparti le flux d'energie suivant les modes libres 3D (modes de Hough suivant l'horizontale) dans l'atmosphere. Ce schema est applique a la version GFDL des donnees du PEMG (FGGE) niveau 3b (decembre 1978-fevrier 1979)
Suggestions for Further Research

How much have we accomplished in the preceding chapters in terms of the integration of the available literature on individual economic behaviour under uncertainty with the main corpus of the theory of international trade? Not much by some standards and barely enough by others. For the theory of international trade is a vast subject, its applications are immense, and what has been achieved so far is a bare skeleton in comparison with its enormous potential as a subject for future development.
Recent trends in the probability of high out-of-pocket medical expenses in the United States

Objective:This article measures the probability that out-of-pocket expenses in the United States exceed a threshold share of income. It calculates this probability separately by individuals’ health condition, income, and elderly status and estimates changes occurring in these probabilities between 2010 and 2013.Data and Method:This article uses nationally representative household survey data on 344,000 individuals. Logistic regressions estimate the probabilities that out-of-pocket expenses exceed 5% and alternatively 10% of income in the two study years. These probabilities are calculated for individuals based on their income, health status, and elderly status.Results:Despite favorable changes in both health policy and the economy, large numbers of Americans continue to be exposed to high out-of-pocket expenditures. For instance, the results indicate that in 2013 over a quarter of nonelderly low-income citizens in poor health spent 10% or more of their income on out-of-pocket expenses, and over 40% of thi...
Evaluation of Demand Response Resource Aggregation System Capacity Under Uncertainty

Demand response resources (DRRs) are usually aggregated in order to participate in wholesale electricity markets (e.g., capacity, energy, and ancillary service markets). In such DRR aggregation systems , uncertainty arising from, e.g., random failures, is unavoidable; this paper focuses on assessing the impact of such uncertain phenomena on the reliability of DRR aggregation systems. To this end, we first develop a stochastic hybrid system (SHS) model to capture DRR continuous dynamics, as well as discrete events that arise from failures and repairs. The statistics of the DRR aggregation system state variables can be obtained by using the extended generator of the SHS. Then, we can use these statistics to estimate the value of the probability that the DRR aggregation system can successfully provide a certain amount of power for a period of time. Subsequently, by varying the values of the power to be provided and period duration, we can construct a probability–capacity–duration contour. Capacity–duration curves can be then obtained by setting the probability to desired confidence levels. The proposed method is illustrated through several examples and case studies.
The Unusual Presentation of a Myxoma Within the Sphenoid Sinus: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Background We describe a rare case of a sphenoid sinus myxoma that was resected via an endoscopic endonasal skull base approach. We review the literature regarding these rare tumors of the paranasal sinuses. Case Description A 72-year-old woman was diagnosed with an incidental sphenoid sinus tumor and left sphenoid wing meningioma during a workup for left-sided proptosis and diplopia. Biopsies of the sphenoid wing and sphenoid sinus tumors were obtained. After undergoing surgical resection of the meningioma, the patient then underwent definitive resection of the sphenoid sinus myxoma via endoscopic endonasal skull base approach. Postoperative imaging demonstrated a gross total resection. The patient suffered postoperative thromboembolic complications due to underlying hypercoagulable state but made a complete recovery and returned to her neurologic baseline. There has been no evidence of recurrent myxoma in the sphenoid sinus 24 months after surgery. Discussion Myxomas are benign tumors derived from primitive mesenchyme. Myxomas very rarely present in the paranasal or skull base location. Complete surgical resection is the primary treatment for these tumors. The endoscopic endonasal approach is an effective technique for resecting various benign and more aggressive extradural skull base tumors. Conclusions Myxomas of the sphenoid sinus are rare. The endoscopic endonasal skull base approach is an effective and minimal access technique for resection of this rare tumor of the sphenoid sinus.
Inclusive pion electroproduction at large p/sub T/

We report measurements of the inclusive electroproduction reaction ep..-->..e..pi../sup +/X for pions produced at 90degree in the virtual-photon-proton center-of-mass system. Data are presented at the (W,Q/sup 2/) points (2.2 GeV, 1.2 GeV/sup 2/), (2.2, 3.6), (2.65, 1.2), (2.65, 2.0), (2.65, 2.8), (2.65, 3.6), (3.1, 1.2), and (3.1, 2.0). The invariant structure function is studied as a function of W, Q/sup 2/, x/sub T/, p/sub T//sup 2/, and the square of the invariant undetected mass. (AIP)
The Backdoor that Leads to the Trap Door: The Unusual Effects of 18 U.S.C § 2703 (D) and Stingrays

“Sometimes I feel like somebody’s watching me!” Today, we’re all being watched, most times incidentally. Take for instance traffic cameras. They’re meant to keep us safe, right? Wrong. Although traffic cameras take photos of license plates, the photos do not prevent the accidents that occur from running red lights. Traffic lights are one new means of governmental surveillance. Although, not as invasive as Stingrays. The license plate of each commuter is captured and the face of every pedestrian who passes the block is recorded and saved in a database run by the local government. The author illustrates how the Fourth Amendment has eroded because of back-door requests that grant use of International Mobile Subscriber Identity devices (Stingrays). The use of Stingrays is at an all-time high. A Stingray operates as a fictitious “cell phone tower” and forces cell phones in about a 200-yard radius to send it private information. If not properly regulated on a state or federal level, illegal searches and seizures of cell-phone data will become a norm. Law-abiding citizens’ cell phone metadata, phone calls, and digital footprints are caught in the cross-fire of seeking out crime. The second part of this note draws parallels between the California ECPA statute and Louisiana’s Stingray statute.
Harnessing the Power of Proteomics to Assess Drug Safety and Guide Clinical Trials

Article, see p 999 Assessing drug safety and efficacy is costly, and many promising candidates can present unwanted side effects. Can new developments in proteomic biomarkers help provide timely monitoring of efficacy and protect participant safety? In this issue of Circulation , Williams et al1 tackled this question with a retrospective study on whether patients treated with torcetrapib in the ILLUMINATE trial (Investigation of Lipid Level Management to Understand its Impact in Atherosclerotic Events) showed signs of increased cardiovascular risks early on. The ILLUMINATE trial enrolled >15 000 patients at high coronary heart disease risk between August 2004 and December 2005. The patients were randomized into 2 groups receiving treatment with torcetrapib plus atorvastatin versus treatment with atorvastatin alone. Torcetrapib is a small-molecule inhibitor of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), a plasma enzyme that transfers lipids between low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). CETP inhibition is known mechanistically to increase plasma good cholesterol HDL and decrease bad cholesterol low-density lipoprotein, 2 factors known to be correlated with a lower and higher incidence of coronary heart diseases in humans, respectively. Hence, torcetrapib looked like a poster child of rational drug design and a blockbuster in the making. Yet the ILLUMINATE trial was terminated abruptly in December 2006 after a median follow-up of 550 days because of unwanted side effects and an increase in cardiovascular events in torcetrapib-treated individuals. With the benefit of hindsight, it seems credible now that although HDL is associated with lower coronary heart disease risk, it may not causally reduce it. Since ILLUMINATE, Mendelian randomization analyses have noted that single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with higher HDLs do not necessarily reduce myocardial infarction risks.2 Moreover, individuals with certain rare mutations …
Erratum: Inter-comparison of multiple statistically downscaled climate datasets for the Pacific Northwest, USA.

Statistically downscaled climate data have been widely used to explore possible impacts of climate change in various fields of study. Although many studies have focused on characterizing differences in the downscaling methods, few studies have evaluated actual downscaled datasets being distributed publicly. Spatially focusing on the Pacific Northwest, we compare five statistically downscaled climate datasets distributed publicly in the US: ClimateNA, NASA NEX-DCP30, MACAv2-METDATA, MACAv2-LIVNEH and WorldClim. We compare the downscaled projections of climate change, and the associated observational data used as training data for downscaling. We map and quantify the variability among the datasets and characterize the spatio-temporal patterns of agreement and disagreement among the datasets. Pair-wise comparisons of datasets identify the coast and high-elevation areas as areas of disagreement for temperature. For precipitation, high-elevation areas, rainshadows and the dry, eastern portion of the study area have high dissimilarity among the datasets. By spatially aggregating the variability measures into watersheds, we develop guidance for selecting datasets within the Pacific Northwest climate change impact studies.
Oncogenes in Development: C- FOS and EGR-1 Studies in Embryonal Carcinoma Cells

Protooncogenes are the cellular counterparts of viral transforming genes and play a wide range of roles in cellular growth and differentiation. One group of protooncogenes code for nuclear proteins and some of these, such as c-fos, and c-jun are known to be transcription factors. Transcription factors are proteins that bind to specific nucleotide sequences usually in 5’ portions of genes and bring about the alteration of transcription rates from target genes. Factors that bind at enhancer elements can either induce or repress transcription initiated from the promoter of a target gene and they can cooperate or compete with each other to effect modulation of responses in complex patterns (Schonthal, 1990 [1]; Diamond et al, 1990 [2]).
What Are Biologics, Biological Products and Biological Drugs?

Following the deaths of 14 children from contaminated antitoxins and smallpox vaccines, Congress in 1902 passed the Biologics Control Act, which is also known as The Virus-Toxin Law. This act required manufacturers to be licensed for safety and was a precursor and model for the Food Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1938 which also emphasized safety. Most biologics or biological products fit the FDA definition of a drug and may be called biological drugs. They are medical products made from living organisms or derived from natural sources which may be animal, human or micro organismal. They can be composed of sugars, proteins or nucleic acids, or a combination of these substances. Biologicals may also be living entities, such as cells and tissues for use as cell or tissue therapy. They are often produced by biotechnology methods.
Blood Vessel Branching: Beyond the Standard Calculus Problem

SummaryCalculating the optimal angle for blood vessel branching is a standard calculus problem. However, optimality in that setting is judged by a cost functional that turns out not to give realist...
TREATMENTS (NON-ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS) | Gene Therapy in Epilepsy

Gene therapy has shown promising antiepileptic effect in different experimental models of epilepsy. The transfer of candidate genes, such as for neuropeptide Y and galanin, into the brain of epileptic rats induces a long-lasting suppressive effect on epileptic seizures. Two main approaches allow gene transfer to the brain: ex vivo gene transfer involving transplantation of transduced cells, and in vivo gene transfer by viral vectors. Viral vectors offer a good level of gene expression, stability of the transgene, and a restricted area of transduction. For these reasons, viral vectors appear to be the vectors of choice for gene transfer. Recent clinical results in Parkinson's disease have shown a good safety profile for this approach. Along with the experimental results, these recent clinical studies suggest that gene therapy is now ready for translation to the clinic.
Squeezing Parakeets into Pigeon Holes: The Effects of Globalization and State Legal Reform in Niger on Indigenous Zarma Law

Rural Zarma people in the West African Republic of Niger live on the distant fringe of the globalized world. This article describes the law that they live by, and argues that Western-oriented national legal reforms under way in Niger, reforms intended to modernize the country and make it more compatible with the global politico-economic system, will cause significant social disruption among them. It concludes that policy makers in Niger, along with their Western advisers and sponsors, should more carefully weigh the short and long term benefits of Western-oriented legal reforms against the significant social disruption such reforms will cause.
Pre-existing antiacetylcholine receptor autoantibodies and B cell lymphopaenia are associated with the development of myositis in patients with thymoma treated with avelumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor targeting programmed death-ligand 1.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors enhance the immune response against tumours but may also trigger immune-related adverse events (IRAEs). Myositis is a rare IRAE. For example, creatine kinase (CK) elevations occurred in just 0.3% of those treated with avelumab, an antiprogrammed death-ligand 1 antibody.1 Thymomas are the most common anterior mediastinal masses in adults. Since effective systemic therapies for thymic epithelial tumours are lacking, we included seven patients with recurrent thymoma and one patient with recurrent thymic carcinoma in a phase I trial of avelumab (NCT01772004). Details regarding this trial have been published separately.2 Myasthenia gravis and myositis occur in up to 30% and 5% of patients with thymoma, respectively.3 Although no patient had a history of autoimmunity or weakness and each had normal baseline CK levels, four patients developed weakness and elevated CK levels, ranging from 762 IU/L to 16 037 IU/L, within 5 weeks of avelumab administration (see online supplementary text and table 1). CK levels normalised in patients within weeks of stopping avelumab and starting immunosuppressive therapy. Of note, …
The relationship between the Young’s modulus and dry etching rate of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has been the pivotal materials for microfluidic technologies with tremendous amount of lab-on-a-chip devices made of PDMS microchannels. While molding-based soft-lithography approach has been extremely successful in preparing various PDMS constructs, some complex features have to been achieved through more complicated microfabrication techniques that involve dry etching of PDMS. Several recipes have been reported for reactive ion etching (RIE) of PDMS; however, the etch rates present large variations, even for the same etching recipe, which poses challenges in adopting this process for device fabrication. Through systematic characterization of the Young's modulus of PDMS films and RIE etch rate, we show that the etch rate is closely related to the polymer cross-link density in the PDMS with a higher etch rate for a lower PDMS Young's modulus. Our results could provide guidance to the fabrication of microfluidic devices involving dry etching of PDMS.
Hahn’s Proof of the Hahn Decomposition Theorem, and Related Matters

The easiest proof of the Hahn decomposition theorem for signed measure spaces is Hahn’s own proof, yet it has been forgotten. This note aims to redress that and also aims to draw attention to some ...
Predicting outcomes of total joint arthroplasty using the distress and risk assessment method.

Background:Psychological distress is presumed to be an important factor that can adversely impact the outcome of orthopaedic procedures. The Distress and Risk Assessment Method (DRAM) is an evaluat...
Cryptography Considerations for Distributed Energy Resource Systems

Distributed energy resource (DER) systems are rapidly being adopted and integrated within the electric power grid. Developments in smart grid devices and communication protocols are advancing the power system domain but are also introducing new cyber attack vectors. In particular, the ability to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data is of increasing concern. Cryptography is a powerful tool that can be leveraged to protect DER systems and their critical information. This paper discusses prominent methods of cryptographic authentication and encryption that can be used to secure DER communications. Specific considerations and recommendations for applying cryptography to DER systems are provided, including system design constraints and system impact. These will be demonstrated with two case studies that assess cryptography hardware requirements and communications latency in DERs.
Double-Device Closure of a Large Left Atrial Appendage.

A 75-year-old man with hypertension, nonischemic cardiomyopathy (ejection fraction = 30%), and persistent atrial fibrillation presented with acute ischemic stroke (CHA₂DS₂-VASc = 6). His hospitalization was complicated with transfusion-requiring gastrointestinal bleeding due to arteriovenous
Macrocyclic N-Heterocyclic Carbenes: Synthesis and Catalytic Applications

A synthesis of two macrocyclic N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) is reported. An advanced intermediate could be differentiated to access either imidazolium or dihydroimidazolium salts. Deprotonation g...
Effect of Surface Digestion and Metabolic Inhibitors on Appearance of Ferritin in Guinea Pig Erythroblasts In Vitro: Evidences for the Production of Apoferritin on the Erythroblast Cell Membrane

Short-term cultures of guinea pig erythroblasts permitted observation on the micropinocytosis (rhopheocytosis) of ferritin. In the presence of enzymes that attack the cell surface (neuraminidase and trypsin) or of an inhibitor of RNA synthesis (puromycin), accumulation of ferritin in the micropinocytotic vesicle was reduced. No change was seen in presence of lead nitrate, which inhibits transport of iron into hemoglobin-synthesizing cells only slightly. In the presence of potassium cyanide, which inhibits iron transport markedly, ferritin increased two-seven times over controls. The data are compatible with the notion that apoferritin is made on or near the cell surface in response to an excess of iron which accumulates on the cell surface due to failure or overloading of the normal transport mechanism.
In situ synthesis of Fe3O4-reinforced carbon fiber composites as anodes in lithium-ion batteries

α-Fe2O3 hollow nanofibers with wall thicknesses of 45 ± 16 nm were fabricated via centrifugal spinning of a solution containing Fe(NO3)3·9H2O and polyvinylpyrrolidone. These fibers were subjected to mechanical milling and mixed in ethanol. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber mats were also fabricated by centrifugal spinning from dimethylformamide-based solutions. The as-prepared PAN fibrous mats were dipped in the iron-oxide suspension. The coated PAN membranes were then subjected to a heat treatment which yielded carbon fibers coated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Both pure carbon fibers (carbonized PAN fibers) and Fe3O4/C composite fibers were used as anode materials in Li-ion batteries. The Fe3O4/C composite anode exhibited high specific capacity and good cycle stability when compared to that of the carbon-fiber electrode. An initial discharge capacity (Li insertion) of 882 mAh g−1 was obtained for the Fe3O4/C composite fibers with promising cycle performance and rate capability. These composite fibers show promising applications as electrode materials in high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
Addition formulas for the $_{p}F_{p}$ and $_{p+1}F_{p}$ generalized hypergeometric functions with arbitrary parameters and their Kummer- and Euler-type transformations

We obtain addition formulas for $_{p}F_{p}$ and $_{p+1}F_{p}$ generalized hypergeometric functions with general parameters. These are utilized in conjunction with integral representations of these functions to derive Kummer- and Euler-type transformations that express $_{p}F_{p}\left(x\right)$ and $_{p+1}F_p\left(x\right)$ in the form of sums of $_{p}F_{p}\left(-x\right)$ and $_{p+1}F_p\left(-x\right)$ functions, respectively.
Enabling Real-Time Monitoring of Intrabody Networks Through the Acoustic Discovery Architecture

This article proposes the first acoustic discovery architecture (ADA) for intrabody networks (INs). The main objective of ADA is to discover and interrogate, in real-time (RT), all the implanted medical devices (IMDs) that are part of an IN. This permits noninvasive RT diagnosis for patients with multiple IMDs. ADA will allow medical doctors to have vital information, on-the-go, for treating patients and to constantly monitor them. The architecture was implemented in a network simulator emulating a real-life IN, based on preliminary experimental results. ADA is in charge of scanning the body volume, by exploiting the beam-forming and beam-steering capability of piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (pMUTs) arrays, and efficiently interrogating all the reached devices for their status. As a result, a full IN map can be reconstructed together with all the vital signs of a patient. ADA shows very good RT capabilities, with a full scanning time from 1500 down to 100 ms and energy consumption from 2.6 down to 0.2 mJ, depending on the scanning accuracy, for a body torso volume of ${60}\times {30}\times {20}\,\,\text {cm}^{{3}}$ .
Topic Modeling of Constructed-Response Answers on Social Study Assessments

Topic models were used to detect the latent thematic structure of examinees’ answers to constructed-response items. Results for two different topic models, latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) and supervised LDA, were compared for their utility in detecting different latent thematic patterns in examinees’ responses on US History and Economics tests. LDA and sLDA results suggested both a four-topic model for the US History item and a three-topic model for the Economics item. For the US History item, Topic 1 consisted of use of everyday language and was negatively correlated with the rubric-based score. Topic 4, use of academic language focusing on government and politics, was positively correlated with the score. For the Economics test, Topic 3 consisted of use of technical vocabulary and had a positive correlation with item score. Complete results are discussed in the paper.
Threading the Needle of Violence: Pursuing Overlapping Dynamics to Support Urban Peace

In 2015, 193 United Nations member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Goals (SDGs). The Agenda, although imperfect, opens important space to discuss, analyze and invest in the ways in which different aspects of social, political and economic life influence one another. The Agenda takes specific challenges—organized crime, climate change, gender inequality, etc.—and provides an integrated framework that is both universal (applicable to all countries) and inclusive (applicable to all people). Those working on organized crime would do well to better use the power of Agenda 2030 and the SDGs to advance balanced approaches that can both reduce violence associated with crime in the near term and the dynamics enabling organized criminal behavior in the long term.
Semi-Supervised Classification of Noisy, Gigapixel Histology Images

One of the greatest obstacles in the adoption of deep neural networks for new medical applications is that training these models typically require a large amount of manually labeled training samples. In this body of work, we investigate the semi-supervised scenario where one has access to large amounts of unlabeled data and only a few labeled samples. We study the performance of MixMatch and FixMatch-two popular semi-supervised learning methods-on a histology dataset. More specifically, we study these models’ impact under a highly noisy and imbalanced setting. The findings here motivate the development of semi-supervised methods to ameliorate problems commonly encountered in medical data applications.
An empirical nonlinear dynamics approach to analyzing emergent behavior of agent-based models

Agent-based models (ABMs) simulate the behavior of complex systems from bottom to top so that macro-scale patterns emerge from randomized micro-scale interactions among autonomous agents and their environment. However, our ability to construct complex ABMs currently exceeds our capacity to evaluate their emergent dynamics, contributing to an explainability problem in convincing policymakers that in silico experimentation with ABMs can be trusted to correspond to the real world they are charged with regulating. While there is no universally agreed-upon approach for analyzing or benchmarking ABM dynamics, past work has emphasized statistical and probabilistic analyses. Consistent with a key feature of ABMs—the macro-level order emerges from micro-level randomness—we propose a deterministic analytical framework built from nonlinear time series methods to reveal an emergent low-dimensional dynamical structure concealed in complex ABM output. In particular, embedding ABM dynamics (time series) in a nonlinear state space enables diagnosis of a low-dimensional structure, inference of causal interaction regimes among macro-level variables, extraction of a phenomenological meta-model consisting of a system of ordinary differential equations, and benchmarking of ABMs against real-world systems, to establish credibility in the eyes of policymakers and stakeholders. We demonstrate the deterministic approach with a canonical model for virus outbreaks.
MiR-140 suppresses airway inflammation and inhibits bronchial epithelial cell apoptosis in asthma by targeting GSK3β.

Abstract Aim of the study Asthma is a common and complex chronic inflammatory disease induced by genetic and environmental factors that affects the airways of the lungs. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of various cellular processes and have been shown to be critically involved in asthma progression. The objective of our study was to clarify the function and molecular mechanism of miR-140 in the progression of asthma. Materials and methods MiR-140 expression was evaluated using RT-qPCR. Pathological changes in the lung tissue were confirmed using HE and PAS staining. The levels of IL-5, TGF-β1, and IL-13 in the serum or bronchioalveolar lavage fluid were detected with an ELISA. Cellular apoptosis was measured using a TUNEL assay. The levels of Bax, Bcl-2, Cleaved caspase-3, and glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) were verified with a western blot. GSK3β expression was also confirmed by immunohistochemistry. The binding ability between miR-140 and GSK3β was confirmed using a luciferase reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay and Pull-down assay. Results MiR-140 was markedly downregulated in asthmatic mice. Additionally, miR-140 weakened airway inflammation and bronchial epithelial cell apoptosis in asthmatic mice. Further experiments revealed that miR-140 negatively regulated GSK3β expression and could bind to GSK3β in asthma. Finally, rescue assays demonstrated that GSK3β overexpression rescued the effects of miR-140 on asthma progression. Conclusion MiR-140 targeted GSK3β to suppress airway inflammation and inhibit bronchial epithelial cell apoptosis in asthma.
The relevancy of drug control in the United States during the seventies.

With the spread of drug use and abuse in this country, events relating to drugs have become increasingly prominent in the news. It is anticipated that throughout the seventies this problem will continue to be one of the major social problems in the United States. If an answer to curbing the drug problem is to be found in the next decade, the activities of the Federal government in the past must be examined with a view towards correcting prior mistakes and reducing or eliminating them in the future.
Mortality factors in experimental hemorrhagic pancreatitis.

Summary Factors influencing mortality in experimental hemorrhagic pancreatitis were investigated. A control series showed that hemorrhagic pancreatitis produced by the bile injection technique gave 100 per cent mortality. Antibiotic therapy prevented mortality in such animals. Reduction of pancreatic enzymes by pretreatment of the animals with ethionine did not significantly reduce mortality, but did alter the course of the disease. The pancreas, removed imediately after bile injection and injected intraperitoneally, did not contain materials toxic to a normal animal. An experiment in which a section of the pancreas was placed extraperitoneally and then challenged by the bile injection technique demonstrated the importance of hypovolemic shock in the disease.
Does It Hurt a State To Introduce an Income Tax

This Response or Comment is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Pennsylvania Law School at NELLCO Legal ScholarshipRepository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Scholarship at Penn Law by an authorized administrator of NELLCO Legal Scholarship Repository.For more information, please contact tracy.thompson@nellco.org.
Reducing obesity will require involvement of all sectors of society

We need all sectors of society involved in reducing obesity. The food industry's effort to reduce energy intake as part of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation is a significant step in the right direction and should be recognized as such by the public health community. We also need to get organizations that promote physical inactivity, such as computer, automobile, and entertainment industries, to become engaged in efforts to reduce obesity.
Typecasting: On the Arts & Sciences of Human Inequality, A History of Dominant Ideas

The book Typecasting: On the Arts and Sciences of Human Inequality, A History of Dominant Ideas tracks the history of the practice of stereotyping groups of people that are deemed different from so...
Dose Responsiveness and Variation Among Inbred Strains of Mice in Production of Interferon After Treatment with Poly (I)· Poly (C) [Poly-d-Lysine] Complexes

Poly-d-lysine forms a stochiometric complex with poly(I) · poly(C) which has a higher Tm (83 C in 0.15 m NaCl) than the uncomplexed double-stranded polyribo-nucleotide (63 C). The complex was superior to poly(I) · poly(C) alone as an interferon inducer in vivo. Significant serum interferon titers were attained in Swiss mice during a 24-hr period after intraperitoneal injection of 10 to 300 μg of poly(I) · poly(C) [1.0 poly-d-lysine] complex, at concentrations of 100 to 1,000 μg/ml. The serum interferon responses (average and maximum titers) of a series of inbred strains of mice to a single intraperitoneal injection of 100 μg of complex decreased in the order: Swiss > DBA/2 > C3H > BALB/c > CF-1 > AKR, C57Bl/6, NZB > SJL > NZW and varied by a factor of approximately 100 from the most to the least responsive.
Use of ionic dialysance to calculate Kt/V in pediatric hemodialysis

Online clearance (OLC) monitor measures conductivity difference between dialysate entering and leaving the dialyser. Derived ionic dialysance (ID) represents effective urea clearance from which Kt/V is calculated, allowing Kt/V monitoring at every treatment without blood sampling. We tested ID accuracy in children and provide recommendations for its use. Using Fresenius machines 2008 K with built-in OLC monitors, we studied 45 hemodialysis (HD) sessions and 168 calculated Kt/V results in 11 patients. Urea distribution volume (V), needed to calculate Kt/V from ID, was estimated using three methods: Mellits and Cheek (MC), KDOQI recommended total body water nomograms (TBWN) and OLC-derived independent from tested HD sessions. Reference spKt/V from pre- and post-HD BUN (Daugirdas) was compared with Kt/V calculated from ID using three different estimated V's. ID was accurate in calculating Kt/V in children when V derived from OLC was used (P = 0.42), with absolute error 0.14 ± 0.12. If TBWN-derived V was used, Kt/V was consistently underestimated by 0.32 ± 0.22. TBWN-derived V can still be recommended for use with OLC for monitoring trend in Kt/V, if underestimation of spKt/V of average 0.3 is accounted for. MC-derived V results in even greater underestimation of spKt/V and therefore cannot be recommended for use with OLC.
Lipoprotein lipase. A multifunctional enzyme relevant to common metabolic diseases.

Abstract Lipoprotein lipase is an important regulator of lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. It also contributes to the lipid and energy metabolism of different tissues in varying ways. Although the synthesis, manner of secretion, and mechanism of endothelial binding of lipoprotein lipase appear similar in all tissues, the factors that control gene expression and posttranslational events related to processing vary from tissue to tissue. The actual molecular events that determine this tissue specificity are not yet understood. In the future, however, it may be possible to stimulate or inhibit the activity of lipoprotein lipase in specific tissues and to alter metabolic processes so as to improve the quality and length of life in patients with metabolic diseases such as hypertriglyceridemia, HDL2 deficiency, and obesity.
Stimulated Wood's anomalies on laser-illuminated surfaces

Spontaneous, highly periodic, often permanent surface gratings or "ripples" can develop on the surface of almost any solid or liquid material illuminated by a single laser beam of sufficient intensity, under either pulsed or CW conditions. The grating periods are such that the incident laser beam is diffracted into a tangential wave which skims just along or under the illuminated surface. These spontaneously appearing surface ripples are generated by a runaway growth process analogous to stimulated Brillouin or Raman scattering or small-scale self focusing, but having many of the same properties as Wood's anomalies in diffraction gratings. Hence, it seems appropriate to refer to these spontaneous surface structures as "stimulated Wood's anomalies."
Analysis of flapping mechanism for acoustically actuated microrobotics

The field of microrobotics has vast applications including non-invasive surgery, targeted drug delivery, and telemetry. Many groups are developing or have developed magnetically based actuation methods for microrobotics. These magnetically based systems can potentially lead to undesirable effects on the human body. Acoustic control provides an interesting alternative to existing magnetic or electrostatic actuation in that acoustic signals include few harmful effects on the human subject. Furthermore, the use of acoustic signals allow for the possibility to leverage existing medical imaging technology. This paper describes an alternative method of actuation which utilizes double-jointed, flagella-like, flappers designed for whip-like, non-reciprocal motion. The flapper mechanism was investigated using COMSOL Multiphysics finite element software to determine eigenfrequencies. Flappers were then constructed from laser cut acrylic and styrene and joined with plastic cement. The flappers were excited to resonance and displayed behavior that was consistent with simulation. A 130 mm × 50 mm × 0.2 mm robot with the flapper tail was then constructed and tested in a tank containing water and an underwater speaker. The robot exhibited forward velocities as high as 2.5 mm/s as well as frequency selectivity, which could be exploited to achieve steering in the future by using multiple flappers with different resonance frequencies. This project lays the foundation for the development of an acoustically actuated microscale robot.
Replies to Critics of ‘How Harmful are the Average American's Greenhouse Gas Emissions?’

I am grateful to all the respondents to ‘How harmful are the average American's greenhouse gas emissions?’ (Nolt, 2011b). Their comments were individually and collectively very rich. Since there is...
Cellular interactions between axon terminals containing endogenous opioid peptides or corticotropin-releasing factor in the rat locus coeruleus and surrounding dorsal pontine tegmentum.

Recent evidence suggests that certain stressors release both endogenous opioids and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) to modulate activity of the locus coeruleus (LC)-norepinephrine (NE) system. In ultrastructural studies, axon terminals containing methionine(5)-enkephalin (ENK) or CRF have been shown to target LC dendrites. These findings suggested the hypothesis that both neuropeptides may coexist in common axon terminals that are positioned to have an impact on the LC. This possibility was examined by using immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopic analysis of the rat LC and neighboring dorsal pontine tegmentum. Ultrastructural analysis indicated that CRF- and ENK-containing axon terminals were abundant in similar portions of the neuropil and that approximately 16% of the axon terminals containing ENK were also immunoreactive for CRF. Dually labeled terminals were more frequently encountered in the "core" of the LC vs. its extranuclear dendritic zone, which included the medial parabrachial nucleus (mPB). Triple labeling for ENK, CRF, and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) showed convergence of opioid and CRF axon terminals with noradrenergic dendrites as well as evidence for inputs to TH-labeled dendrites from dually labeled opioid/CRF axon terminals. One potential source of ENK and CRF in the dorsal pons is the central nucleus of the amygdala (CNA). To determine the relative contribution of ENK and CRF terminals from the CNA, the CNA was electrolytically lesioned. Light-level densitometry revealed robust decreases in CRF immunoreactivity in the LC and mPB on the side ipsilateral to the lesion but little or no change in ENK immunoreactivity, confirming previous studies of the mPB. Degenerating terminals from the CNA in lesioned rats were found to be in direct contact with TH-labeled dendrites. Together, these data indicate that ENK and CRF may be colocalized to a subset of individual axon terminals in the LC "core." The finding that the CNA provides, to dendrites in the area examined, a robust CRF innervation, but little or no opioid innervation, suggests that ENK and CRF axon terminals impacting LC neurons originate from distinct sources and that terminals that colocalize ENK and CRF are not from the CNA.
Antiphospholipid antibodies-associated diffuse alveolar hemorrhage

Abstract Objectives To describe the clinical features and outcomes of 17 patients with primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) or antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH). Methods We reviewed the medical records of all patients diagnosed with PAPS-associated DAH and aPL-associated DAH between January 1, 1997, and December 31, 2013, for clinical features, laboratory and radiographic findings, management, and outcomes. Results A total of 17 patients met the criteria for DAH and had aPL and 10 patients met the criteria for PAPS. The mean age at DAH diagnosis was 57.6 years. Secondary causes of DAH were ruled out. Surgical lung biopsy was performed in 6 cases, 5 of whom had bland hemorrhage. Pulmonary capillaritis was present in only 1 case. Four patients (3 with aPLs and 1 with PAPS) achieved complete remission despite receiving no treatment. The majority of patients treated received initial corticosteroids. Additionally, cyclophosphamide (2 cases), rituximab (1 case), plasma exchange (2 cases), methotrexate (1 case), azathioprine (1 case), and hydroxychloroquine (2 cases) were used. In total, 10 patients (59%) achieved complete and sustained remission with a median length of follow-up of 48 months. Four patients (23%) died (2 with PAPS and 2 with aPLs), all from uncontrolled DAH. Three patients (18%) relapsed after achieving complete remission. Conclusions DAH is a rare complication of PAPS that can also arise de novo in aPL-positive individuals. Lung pathology shows either bland hemorrhage or capillaritis. Recognition of this unusual but known complication is important, since early diagnosis and therapy could potentially affect outcomes.
Depth profiling of ultrashallow implanted P using NRA

Abstract Depth profiles of ultrashallow implanted P in Si at a dose of 3 × 10 14 cm −2 in the energy range of 5–80 keV were investigated by nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) using a 31 P(α,p) 34 S reaction. Both projected ranges ( R p ) and range straggling (Δ R p ) are in good agreement with those calculated by TRIM. The accuracy of the dose measurement including reproducibility of this method is better than ±5%. This method is very useful to improve the quantitative accuracy in ultrashallow depth profiling of P in combination with SIMS.
Feedback control methods for task regulation by electrical stimulation of muscles

Three feedback control algorithms of varying complexity were compared for controlling three different tasks during electrical stimulation of muscles. Two controllers use stimulus pulse width (PW) (or recruitment) modulation to grade muscle force (the fixed-parameter, first-order PW controller and the adaptive controller). The third controller varies both stimulus pulse (SP) width and period simultaneously for muscle force modulation (the PW/SP controller). The three tasks tested were isometric torque control, unloaded position tracking, and control of transitions between isometric and unloaded conditions. The comparative evaluation was carried out in an intact cat ankle joint with stimulation of tibialis anterior and medial gastrocnemius muscles. The simplest PW controller demonstrated robust control for all tasks. The PW/SP controller improved the performance of the PW controller significantly for control of isometric torque and load transition, but only slightly for control of unloaded joint position. However, the adaptive controller did not consistently achieve a significant improvement in performance compared with the PW controller for any task. >
Terrestrial analogs, planetary geology, and the nature of geological reasoning

Abstract Analogical reasoning is critical to planetary geology, but its role can be misconstrued by those unfamiliar with the practice of that science. The methodological importance of analogy to geology lies in the formulation of genetic hypotheses, an absolutely essential component of geological reasoning that was either ignored or denigrated by most 20th century philosophers of science, who took the theoretical/ experimental methodology of physics to be the sole model for all of scientific inquiry. Following the seminal 19th century work of Grove Karl Gilbert, an early pioneer of planetary geology, it has long been recognized that broad experience with and understanding of terrestrial geological phenomena provide geologists with their most effective resource for the invention of potentially fruitful, working hypotheses. The actions of (1) forming such hypotheses, (2) following their consequences, and (3) testing those consequences comprise integral parts of effective geological practice in regard to the understanding of planetary surfaces. Nevertheless, the logical terminology and philosophical bases for such practice will be unfamiliar to most planetary scientists, both geologists and nongeologists. The invention of geological hypotheses involves both inductive inferences of the type Gilbert termed “empiric classification” and abductive inferences of a logical form made famous by the 19th century American logician Charles Sanders Peirce. The testing and corroboration of geological hypotheses relies less on the correspondence logic of theoretical/ experimental sciences, like physics, and more on the logic of consistency, coherence, and consilience that characterizes the investigative and historical sciences of interpretation exemplified by geology.
Improved Analysis Methods for Radioactive Tracer Injection Logging

Radioactive tracer logging has been used for many years to measure injection profiles. In this study, we analyzed the tracer loss and velocity shot methods of radioactive tracer logging to develop guidelines for improved interpretation of these logs. In addition, tracer logging was simulated experimentally in a test pipeline to check assumptions made in the theoretical analysis. Among the conclusions drawn were that the tracer loss method is imprecise because of poor depth resolution and nonuniform mixing of tracer and that the velocity shot method is subject to significant error when fluid is exiting between detector locations. Finally, a new radioactive tracer logging method is proposed that may offer some advantages over current practices.