cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
“The Early Modern Political Context to Spinoza’s Bible Criticism.”

The early modern political philosopher Benedict de Spinoza is often viewed as the father of the historical critical method for studying the Bible. Building upon the work of contemporaries, Spinoza constructed the methodological foundation upon which later historical criticism would build. This paper examines the political background of Spinoza’s biblical criticism, thereby placing Spinoza’s work in its sociohistorical context. The Thirty Years’ War and the political turmoil in the Dutch Republic provide the proximate backdrop for Spinoza’s political theory, and upon his biblical criticism.
Current Status and Future Prospects of Gene Therapy

Since the discovery of DNA and the subsequent recognition that genetic defects (either inherited or acquired) can be responsible for various disease states, the concept of gene therapy has been extremely appealing. However, despite intensive work in this field of medicine, gene therapy has yet to make a major impact on the treatment of patients. Many technical challenges exist that must be overcome before gene therapy can be put into widespread practice. The gene delivery system (vector) encounters extracellular and intracellular barriers, must be nontoxic and nonimmunogenic, and must allow sufficient expression of the gene of interest. Many vectors have been created in attempts to overcome these problems; however, the ideal expression vector for use in humans has yet to be identified. Both inherited and acquired diseases may potentially benefit from gene therapy. X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency-X1 is an inherited disease in which gene therapy is not only being actively pursued as a potentially curative treatment, but some exciting progress has been made in recent years. In addition, acquired diseases, such as cancer, often have defined genetic alterations and, thus, are potential candidates for treatment with gene therapy. For example, malignant melanoma, a tumor that is notoriously chemoresistant, may avoid immune recognition by progressive loss of cell surface MHC class I molecules. Allovectin-7® is a DNA plasmid containing the gene encoding human MHC class I HLA-B7. Early phase I/II studies of Allovectin-7® in patients with metastatic melanoma have shown some encouraging results. It is one of many examples of how gene therapy may affect cancer treatment in the near future.
Overcoming Obstacles to Palliative Care: Lessons to Learn from Our Physician Counterparts.

In the past 40 years, the field of palliative care for people faced many of the same obstacles in development and expansion that veterinary palliative care now confronts. A series of interviews with pioneers in human palliative care revealed what those early obstacles were professionally, personally, and institutionally. Many of the hurdles are strikingly similar to what veterinary professionals are currently facing in their attempts to grow palliative care as both an independent subspecialty and an integrated part of general practice. We can translate their experiences and successes to help veterinary palliative care flourish.
Evaluating connected and autonomous vehicles using a hardware-in-the-loop testbed and a living lab

Abstract Connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) applications focusing on energy optimization have attracted a lot of attention recently. However, it is challenging to evaluate various optimizations and controls in real-world traffic scenarios due to safety and technical concerns. In light of this, our previous work has developed a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testbed with a laboratory powertrain research platform to evaluate CAV applications. An actual engine is loaded by a hydrostatic dynamometer whose loading torque is controlled in real-time by the simulated vehicle dynamics. The HIL testbed mimics the performance of a target vehicle and the dynamometer generates the same load as the target vehicle. In this work, the HIL testbed is further enhanced to match the performance of actual testing vehicles at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and a living lab is developed to incorporate real traffic information. The same engine as the actual testing vehicles at the FHWA was installed and the vehicle models were calibrated using testing data from actual vehicles. The same roadway conditions (speed limit, the degree of road slope, etc.) were input into the testbed and the dynamometer generates the same load as an actual vehicle’s engine is getting. The HIL testbed emulates the performance of an actual vehicle and both fuel consumption and emissions are measured by precise instruments in the lab. In eight testing scenarios, the results have shown that the performance of the HIL testbed matches very well with the actual testing vehicles with about 1% error. In addition, the living lab has enabled the HIL testbed to interact with real traffic and extended the testing capabilities of the HIL testbed. Two new testing capabilities have been demonstrated through two CAV applications. This is an exciting result since the HIL testbed could provide an effective and economical way for the testing of fuel consumption and emissions on various roadway conditions for CAVs and other types of vehicles.
Possession: Sacred Crusading Treasure in the Material Vernacular

In the year 1176 a dispute erupted over possession of a sacred object known as the Holy Cross of Antioch. Two claimants, the abbey of St. Peter of Brogne and the family of the crusader Manasses of ...
AESTHETICS OF ALTERNATIVES TO PASSIVE AND LOW-ENERGY FACILITIES

ABSTRACT This paper documents aesthetic aspects of fossil fuel and high technology energy sources. Physical requirements and consequent aesthetic considerations are described for coal, oil, gas, uranium and solar satellites.
Successful treatment of an exudative choroidal hemangioma with oral propranolol in a 10-year-old boy.

A 10-year-old boy was referred for a circumscribed choroidal hemangioma with underlying exudative detachment of the left eye. To avoid general anesthetics required for laser-based therapy in a child, we began a trial of oral propranolol. The patient's exudative detachment resolved, with resulting improvement in visual acuity, and remained quiescent for 3 years.
Technologies of Peasant Production and Reproduction: The Post-Colonial State and Cold War Empire in Comilla, East Pakistan, 1960–70

In December 1959, the newly-constituted Pakistan Academy of Rural Development received permission to create a ‘laboratory’, that is, to conduct experiments in rural development upon peasants in Com...
How to disguise evolutionary traps created by solar panels

Photovoltaic panels are the most rapidly growing source of sustainable energy, but are also sources of polarized light pollution that can mislead aquatic insects into thinking they represent natural waterbodies. Aquatic insects are commonly attracted away from natural water bodies to lay their eggs upon solar panels where they fail to hatch, a phenomenon called an evolutionary trap. Previous work demonstrates that the addition of white, non-polarizing gridding with 2–20 mm line width to solar panels can effectively ‘disarm’ this type of evolutionary trap, rendering it less attractive to three families of aquatic insects. However, the geographic and taxonomic breadth of the efficacy may be limited, and the economic cost associated with reducing the black solar-active area of solar panels has not yet been quantified. We designed a field experiment to test whether line width or density is more important in reducing the maladaptive attraction of aquatic insects to simulated solar panels, and expanded the geographic and taxonomic breadth of testing this approach to disarming evolutionary traps. We found that line width could be manipulated to strongly reduce attraction by all taxa. The effective line width was between 1 and 5 mm, indicating that solar panel-induced evolutionary traps can be disarmed with a more modest reduction in solar-active area than was previously assumed. Interruption of attraction through the addition of non-polarizing surface patterns appears to be a fundamental aspect of aquatic insect interpretation of environmental polarized light signals that can be used to disguise evolutionary traps.
3 – Linear Functions

Publisher Summary This chapter describes linear functions. A function is a rule associating to each object from a certain set of objects called the domain of the function. Functions from R1 to R1 are functions that associate to each real number another real number. Functions from R2 to R1 are the functions of two variables: such a function associates to every pair of real numbers [x, y] a real number f ([x, y]). Functions from Rn to R1 are just functions of n real variables with real functional values. A function from Rn to Rm is a function whose domain is Rn and whose functional values are also vectors but in Rm. A linear function is a function f that associates to each vector in a vector in Rn a vector in Rm in such a way that for every two vectors v and w in Rn and every number a, f (v + w) = f (v) + f (w) and f(av) = af(v).
Dialogic Analysis of a Lesson on the Educational Controversies of Religious Holidays in a Dialogic Multi-regime College Classroom

In this chapter, I continue developing the concept of “dialogic analysis” in social sciences aimed at studying authorial subjectivity rather than studying objective subjectivity as the positivist analysis does. Based on Bakhtin’s insights about the necessity to account voices in social sciences, a case is made for dialogic analysis of dialogic pedagogy, in which researchers’ mind and heart involved in producing authorial judgments about observed, experienced, and interviewed educational practice of dialogic pedagogy. I applied dialogic analysis for a turning event of my own teaching to analyze why it felt “turning” for its participants. The issue of the teacher’s prioritization of students’ themes emerging in classroom dialogue is discussed.
“I Still Love My Hood”: Passive and Strategic Aspects of Role Residual Among Former Gang Members:

One important aspect of gang disengagement that has been largely overlooked is the role of identity in the time following membership. Research has shown that former gang members often retain social...
The Relationship of Institutional Characteristics, State Support, and Alternative Revenue

Amid declining state funding, are public universities seeking alternative revenue streams to try and keep tuition and fees down? Is diversification just a public university phenomenon? If both private and public schools are seeking new sources of revenue, then state appropriations may not be the impetus. Instead, institutional characteristics may have a greater influence. This study examines higher education institutions (HEIs) by sector using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from fiscal years 2003-2004 through 2016-2017. Previous research has found each state to be different in their policies, politics, and fiscal health. Controlling for these variables, my study finds that institutional characteristics influence which HEIs seek alternative revenue streams and that these characteristics often strengthen the relationship between state appropriations and alternative revenue sources.
Low damping insertion elements for the exchange coupled hard/soft composite structure

Abstract We have experimentally investigated the effect of V and Zr insertion thickness on perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in [Co/Pt multilayers]/[Zr, V]/CoFeB (Hard/Soft) composite structures. Micromagnetic simulations have been performed to study the effect of the Gilbert damping constant on the switching characteristics in a hard/soft composite structure for weak and strong interlayer exchange coupling. The V and Zr insertions are studied due to their low Gilbert damping constant with the CoFeB interface. For both insertions, the interlayer exchange coupling remained ferromagnetic in nature for all the thicknesses studied. We observed an increase in PMA with increasing V and Zr insertion thicknesses. The composite layer with V insertion provides thermal stability comparable to the previously reported Ta insertion. From micromagnetic simulations, we observed that the effect of the Gilbert damping constant on switching characteristics is largest for thinner insertions (strong ferromagnetic coupling) and the effect diminishes with increasing insertion thickness (weak ferromagnetic coupling).
Efficacy of a Behavioral Intervention for Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Across Income

Introduction Youth with Type 1 diabetes and lower family income typically have poorer glycemic control. This post hoc analysis examines whether a family-oriented behavioral intervention for this population is differentially effective across income levels. Methods Families of youth aged 9–15 years with Type 1 diabetes (N=390; 49.2% female; age, 12.4 [1.7] years; hemoglobin A1c [HbA1c], 8.4 [1.2]; pump, 33.8%) at four U.S. pediatric endocrinology clinics participated in a 2-year RCT (data collected 2006–2011) of a clinic-integrated behavioral intervention designed to improve diabetes management by facilitating problem-solving skills, communication skills, and responsibility sharing. HbA1c was analyzed centrally. Family income was categorized as Results Baseline HbA1c was significantly poorer ( p =0.004) in the low-income group. There was a significant overall effect of treatment group on change in HbA1c from baseline to follow-up ( p =0.04). The interaction term for treatment by income group was not significant ( p =0.44). Within each income category, a smaller deterioration in glycemic control was observed for the treatment group relative to controls. Conclusions This clinic-integrated behavioral intervention was similarly effective in improving glycemic control among youth with Type 1 diabetes across income levels. This family-oriented problem-solving approach offers flexibility in addressing families' needs and may optimize impact on health outcomes across income groups.
TU-EF-304-11: Therapeutic Benefits of Collimation in Spot Scanning Proton Therapy in the Treatment of Brain Cancer

Purpose: A dynamic collimation system (DCS) based on two orthogonal pairs of mobile trimmer blades has recently been proposed to reduce the lateral penumbra in spot scanning proton therapy (SSPT). The purpose of this work is to quantify the therapeutic benefit of using the DCS for SSPT of brain cancer by comparing un-collimated and collimated treatment plans. Methods: Un-collimated and collimated brain treatment plans were created for five patients, previously treated with SSPT, using an in-house treatment planning system capable of modeling collimated and un-collimated beamlets. Un-collimated plans reproduced the clinically delivered plans in terms of target coverage and organ-at-risk (OAR) sparing, whereas collimated plans were re-optimized to improve the organ-at-risk sparing while maintaining target coverage. Physical and biological comparison metrics such as dose distribution conformity, mean and maximum doses, normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) and risk of secondary brain cancer were used to evaluate the plans. Results: The DCS systematically improved the dose distribution conformity while preserving the target coverage. The average reduction of the mean dose to the 10-mm ring surrounding the target and the healthy brain were 7.1% (95% CI: 4.2%–9.9%; p<0.01) and 14.3% (95% CI: 7.8%–20.8%; p<0.01), respectively. This yielded an average reduction of 12.0% (95% CI: 8.2%–15.7%; p<0.01) for the brain necrosis NTCP using the Flickinger model, and 14.2% (95% CI: 7.7%–20.8%; p<0.01) for the risk of secondary brain cancer. The average maximum dose reductions for the brainstem, chiasm, optic nerves, cochleae and pituitary gland when comparing un-collimated and collimated plans were 14.3%, 10.4%, 11.2%, 13.0%, 12.9% and 3.4%, respectively. Evaluating individual plans using the Lyman-Kutcher-Burman NTCP model also yielded improvements. Conclusion: The lateral penumbra reduction performed by the DCS increases the normal tissue sparing capabilities of SSPT for brain tumor treatment while preserving the target coverage. This research was financially supported by Ion Beam Applications S.A. (IBA, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium).
Chap. 30 Antiradiation Agents

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses new developments made in antiradiation agents where chemical interactions have been shown to take place. The medicinal chemistry of antiradiation agents is concerned primarily with the development of new radioprotective agents and their activity. The subject of chemical radioprotection and radiosensitization of tumor-bearing systems has been touched only briefly. A new direction for the syntheses of potential radiation protectors appears to be among heterocyclic systems, where protective activity is being found apart from any sulfur content of the molecules. Several non-basic thiols have also been reported active and sulfur-containing analogs of the amino acids have shown some radioprotective effects. Protection by metal chelating agents, metal chelates, and metal ions themselves has pointed to the importance of the role of metal Ions in cellular radiation effects. The various mechanisms proposed for chemical radioprotection have been recently evaluated. A convincing argument in favor of anoxia has been made for the radioprotective action of histamine, acetylcholine, and catecholmines, but it was believed that thiols and disulfides protect by interactions with free radicals and oxygen. Arguments in favor of radical interaction and transfer of energy to sulfur, in combination with mixed disulfide formation, have been advanced recently in regard to protection by thiols. None of the complexities of this problem of explaining radioprotection have been removed by recent results, but it appears pertinent nevertheless to cite evidence supporting some of the current concepts.
MUSE-a systolic array for adaptive nulling with 64 degrees of freedom, using Givens transformations and wafer scale integration

This paper describes a highly parallel system of computational processors specialized for real-time adaptive antenna nulling computations with many degrees of freedom, which the author calls MUSE, and a specific realization of MUSE for 64 degrees of freedom. Each processor uses the CORDIC algorithm and has been designed as a single integrated circuit. Ninety-six such processors working together can update the 64-element nulling weights based on 300 new observations in only 6.7 milliseconds. This is equivalent to 2.88 Giga-ops for a conventional processor. The computations are accurate enough to support 50 dB of S/N improvement in a sidelobe canceller. The connectivity between processors is quite simple and permits MUSE to be realized on a single large wafer, using restructurable VLSI. The complete design of such a wafer is described. >
Genetic algorithms: hints from biological science

C.T. Walbridge (Technology Review, vol.92, p.46-53, (1989)) discussed how ideas from evolution theory can be used to help in solving problems often addressed by the traditional symbolic methods of artificial intelligence. Choosing VLSI design as an example, he suggested that a chip chromosome would evolve just as genes evolve and the surviving organisms would mate to produce offspring having the chromosomes for the most efficient chips. These result from a combining of different parts of different chromosomes in the offspring to preserve characteristics derived from their parents. The example of a basic square root computation serves to illustrate how the ideas from evolution theory and biological science can be used in the design of globally more efficient genetic algorithms. >
A Petri net simulation of software development lifecycle towards green IT

In this work, we present a novel simulation approach using Petri nets to study optimal policies for software development while reducing carbon footprint. We use CPN Tools as our Petri net framework to develop the simulation model of a software development lifecycle. The motivation behind the work is to apply simulation techniques to obtain the optimal resource configuration for a software development project and reduce its carbon footprint. We show a subset of our experiments conducted using the Petri net simulation to illustrate its capabilities. We model the different resources using colored tokens in a timed hierarchical Petri net and monitor the carbon footprint of the software as it goes through its lifecycle. Our simulation experiments show that allocating developers with medium skills is the preferred suboptimal policy, as it has both relatively low carbon footprint and lower cost of software development compared to allocating the extremely skilled developers.
Demographic, Lifestyle, and Health Characteristics and Serum B Vitamin Status Are Determinants of Plasma Total Homocysteine Concentration in the Post-Folic Acid Fortification Period, 1999–2004

Elevated circulating total homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations are related to increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Folic acid fortification resulted in a significant decrease in circulating tHcy in the United States. In the post-folic acid fortification period, associations between plasma tHcy and demographic, health, and lifestyle factors and B vitamin status were investigated. Data from the 3 recent NHANES cycles (1999-2004) were used to study the associations among plasma tHcy and sex, race/ethnicity, age, BMI, blood pressure (BP), serum creatinine, serum cotinine, vitamin/mineral supplement use, and folate and cobalamin status in 16,254 persons (8329 men, 7925 women). Multivariate-adjusted plasma tHcy was ~9.7% higher in men than in women (P < 0.0001), ~5.3% higher in non-Hispanic whites than in non-Hispanic blacks (P < 0.0001), ~64.5% higher in individuals aged greater-than-or-equal60 y than in individuals aged <20 y (P < 0.0001), and ~5% higher in supplement nonusers than in supplement users (P < 0.0001). Persons in the 4th quartile for serum creatinine, serum cotinine, systolic BP, and serum methylmalonic acid (MMA) had ~36.1, ~13.4, ~5.6, and ~16.2%, respectively, higher tHcy than those in the 1st quartile (P < 0.0001). Plasma tHcy was inversely associated with serum folate (P < 0.0001), RBC folate (P < 0.0001), and serum cobalamin (P < 0.0001). In the post-folic acid fortification period, sex, race/ethnicity, age, systolic BP, supplement use, RBC folate, and serum creatinine, cotinine, folate, and cobalamin are significant determinants of plasma tHcy. Serum MMA was strongly associated with plasma tHcy.
Opportunistic Disclosures of Earnings Forecasts and Non-GAAP Earnings Measures

The Securities and Exchange Commission requires publicly held US corporations to disclose all information, whether it is positive or negative, that might be relevant to an investor’s decision to buy, sell, or hold a company’s securities. The decisions made by corporate managers to disclose such information can significantly affect the judgments and decisions of investors. This paper examines academic accounting research on corporate managers’ voluntary disclosures of earnings forecasts and non-GAAP earnings measures. Much of the evidence from this research indicates that some managers engage in opportunistic disclosure behavior that often benefits one group (managers and shareholders) at the expense of other groups (often other investors). The paper concludes by discussing the ethical implications of this behavior.
Immunoregulatory profiles in liver transplant recipients on different immunosuppressive agents.

Abstract We compared peripheral blood immunophenotyping in 31 adult liver transplant recipients on differing long-term immunosuppressive (IS) monotherapy with and without peri-transplantation alemtuzumab (AL) induction. All patients had been stable on monotherapy with either sirolimus (SRL) ( n = 10) or without SRL (tacrolimus (TAC) ( n = 10), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) ( n = 11)) for more than 6 months. Five-color flow cytometry for putative “regulatory” T and dendritic cells as well as serum assays for soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) were performed. The SRL monotherapy group had significantly higher percentages of CD4+CD25 high+ Foxp3+ T cells (1.3 ± 1.0) compared with the non-SRL group (0.7 ± 0.6) ( p = 0.04). The SRL effect was even higher in a subset with prior AL induction and no prior hepatitis C or rejection (1.7 ± 0.2) compared with all other subgroups (0.7 ± 0.6) ( p = 0.02). TAC patients showed significantly higher “regulatory” DC2:DC1 ratios (10 ± 7.6) compared with non-TAC patients (4.1 ± 2.3) ( p = 0.04). Although sHLA-G levels appeared higher in TAC patients, the differences were not statistically significant. In conclusion, IS monotherapy provides an opportunity to investigate regulatory roles of individual agents. SRL maintenance and prior AL induction in subsets of patients appeared to show a regulatory T cell immunophenotype. However, TAC patients may have other regulatory characteristics, supporting the need for larger, prospective studies to clarify differences.
Immunotherapy of primary moloney sarcoma‐virus‐induced tumors

Adult mice inoculated with MSV develop tumors, 90% of which undergo immunologically-mediated regression. Sublethal cyclophosphamide (CY) administered to such tumor-bearing mice prevented regression, so that 58/60 mice died with tumors. As hosts for immunotherapy, adult BALB/c mice bearing primary tumors and given CY were injected with BALB/c spleen cells. Cumulatively, 80/85 tumors treated with cells from mice immunized with MSV completely regressed, whereas only 6/92 tumors regressed after treatment with normal or non-specifically immunized cells, or with non-viable immune cells. The anti-tumor effect of CY was not essential for the immunotherapeutic effect of cells. Similar experiments were performed with allogeneic spleen cells. DBA cells were effective only if specifically pre-immunized with MSV or BALB/c Moloney sarcoma cells. Mice treated with cells from C57BI/6 donors immunized with MSV died tumor-free with graft-versus-host disease, whereas mice given non-immunized cells died of graft-versus-host disease with tumor. Studies with gamma-globulin allotype as a marker for donor cells suggested that immune cells may have to persist in the host for some time in order to be effective against the tumor. Finally, specific serotherapy was only moderately effective as compared to cellular therapy.
Determinants of variation in calculating a discount rate

Abstract This paper deals with discount-rate calculations from data for the period 1957–1982. The analysis is focused on methods used in calculating discount rates for project analysis. The approach involved 864 calculations of the real discount rate by varying four factors: the interest rate series, the length of the calculation period, the ending year of the calculation period, and the method of adjusting for inflation. Then a statistical analysis of variance was utilized to determine the relative contributions of variance from the four factors under consideration. The results indicate that the discount rates calculated from data within this period were not particularly stable and that periods of 5–15 yr may be too short for the purposes of calculating a long-term real discount rate.
Effect of Perturbing a Simulated Motion on Knee and Anterior Cruciate Ligament Kinetics

Current surgical treatments for common knee injuries do not restore the normal biomechanics. Among other factors, the abnormal biomechanics increases the susceptibility to the early onset of osteoarthritis. In pursuit of improving long term outcome, investigators must understand normal knee kinematics and corresponding joint and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) kinetics during the activities of daily living. Our long term research goal is to measure in vivo joint motions for the ovine stifle model and later simulate these motions with a 6 degree of freedom (DOF) robot to measure the corresponding 3D kinetics of the knee and ACL-only joint. Unfortunately, the motion measurement and motion simulation technologies used for our project have associated errors. The objective of this study was to determine how motion measurement and motion recreation error affect knee and ACL-only joint kinetics by perturbing a simulated in vivo motion in each DOF and measuring the corresponding intact knee and ACL-only joint forces and moments. The normal starting position for the motion was perturbed in each degree of freedom by four levels (-0.50, -0.25, 0.25, and 0.50 mm or degrees). Only translational perturbations significantly affected the intact knee and ACL-only joint kinetics. The compression-distraction perturbation had the largest effect on intact knee forces and the anterior-posterior perturbation had the largest effect on the ACL forces. Small translational perturbations can significantly alter intact knee and ACL-only joint forces. Thus, translational motion measurement errors must be reduced to provide a more accurate representation of the intact knee and ACL kinetics. To account for the remaining motion measurement and recreation errors, an envelope of forces and moments should be reported. These force and moment ranges will provide valuable functional tissue engineering parameters (FTEPs) that can be used to design more effective ACL treatments.
Efficient One-Step Syntheses of Isoprenoid Conjugates of Nucleoside 5‘-Diphosphates

[reaction: see text] Isoprenoid conjugates of nucleoside 5'-diphosphates were efficiently synthesized by one-step nucleophilic displacement reactions of either isoprenyl chlorides or isopentenyl tosylate with nucleoside 5'-diphosphates.
Killing for Coal: America's Deadliest Labor War, by Thomas G. Andrews

Killing for Coal: America's Deadliest Labor War, by Thomas G. Andrews, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 2008, 1+370 pp., $18.95 (paper), ISBN: 9780674046917 In Killing for Coal: ...
Sustained glucagon-like peptide 1 expression from encapsulated transduced cells to treat obese diabetic rats

Obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are two prevalent chronic diseases that have become a major public health concern in industrialized countries. T2D is characterized by hyperglycemia and islet beta cell dysfunction. Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) promotes β cell proliferation and neogenesis and has a potent insulinotropic effect. Leptin receptor deficient male rats are obese and diabetic and provide a model of T2D. We hypothesized that their treatment by sustained expression of GLP-1 using encapsulated cells may prevent or delay diabetes onset. Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) retrovirally transduced to secrete GLP-1 were seeded into TheraCyte(TM) encapsulation devices, implanted subcutaneously and rats were monitored for diabetes. Rats that received cell implants showed mean plasma GLP-1 level of 119.3 ± 10.2pM that was significantly elevated over control values of 32.4 ± 2.9pM (P<0.001). GLP-1 treated rats had mean insulin levels of 45.9 ± 2.3ng/ml that were significantly increased over control levels of 7.3±1.5ng/ml (P<0.001). In rats treated before diabetes onset elevations in blood glucose were delayed and rats treated after onset became normoglycemic and showed improved glucose tolerance tests. Untreated diabetic rats possess abnormal islet structures characterized by enlarged islets with α-cell infiltration and multifocal vacuolization. GLP-1 treatment induced normalization of islet structures including a mantle of α-cells and increased islet mass. These data suggest that encapsulated transduced cells may offer a potential long term treatment of patients.
Linkage relationships and chromosomal locations of enzyme-coding genes in pepper, Capsicum annuum

The linkage relationships and chromosomal locations of 14 enzyme-coding genes were investigated in Capsicum annuum L. (garden pepper) by monitoring segregations in backcross and F2 progeny of an interspecific cross between C. annuum cv. NM6-4 and C. chinense CA4 and by studying allele dosage effects in five hybrid primary trisomics. These conclusions can be reached: 6Pgdh-i is on the metacentric chromosome corresponding to the noir trisomie; Idh-1 and Est-3 are on chromosome 12; an aerocentric chromosome which corresponds to the pourple trisomie; Idh-1 is near the centromere and Est-3 is distal on the long arm of that chromosome. The other loci can be arranged in the following linkage groups and are apparently not located on the trisome corresponding to any of the trisomics tested: Est-4-18cM-(Pgi-1-3cM-Pgm-1); Prx-7-2cM-Tk-1; Pgm-2-2cM-Skdh-1; Est-1-OcM-Est-7. Linkage and dosage data combined with karyotype and meiotic analyses of the two species and F1 hybrids suggest that Idh-1 and Skdh-1/Pgm-2 are near the breakpoints on the two chromosomes involved in a reciprocal translocation for which the two species differ. One locus, Pgm-3, was detected only in C. annuum cultivars and is apparently the result of a duplication of Pgm-2 which codes for cytosolic phosphoglucomutase activity. Pgm-2 and Pgm-3 are not tightly linked (approximately 20% recombination) which supports the proposal that Pgm-3 originated from a mechanism other than unequal crossing over. A comparison of the linkage relationships of enzyme-coding genes in pepper with those of putative orthologous loci in tomato reveals that two linkage blocks, Est-1-Est-7 and Pgi-1-Est-4, may have remained intact since the divergence of Capsicum and Lycopersicon.
Isolation, Identification, and Determination of Virulence of a Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus from the Beet Armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

A multinucleocapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus (MNPV) was isolated during an epizootic in California's Merced County from a single larva of the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hubner). Occlusion bodies produced by this virus isolate, designated Se MNPV-608, measured 1.52 ± 0.11 µm ($\bar x$ ± SD) in diameter and most contained virion; with two to four nucleocapsids per envelope. Restriction enzyme profiles of viral DNA indicate that this virus is markedly different from the Autographa californica (Speyer) MNPV ( Ac MNPV) and from Se MNPVs isolated from Egypt and the Netherlands, but is; similar to other previously described Se MNPV isolates from California. Synchronous per o5 bioassays of the virus against neonate beet armyworm larvae demonstrated that Se MNPV 608 was highly virulent, with an ST50 of 57.39 ± 1.59 h ($\bar x$ ± SD), and more virulent for larvae of S. exigua than Ac MNPV (ST50 = 70.06 ± 2.66 h). Additionally, limited host range studies indicated that this isolate is specific for S. exigua no activity was apparent against larvae of the noctuids Heliothis virescens (F.), Trichoplusia ni (Hubner), or Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith).
Evaluation of apheresis platelet concentrates collected with a reduced (30-ml) collection chamber with resuspension and storage in a synthetic medium.

Recently, the CS-3000® Plus Blood Cell Separator with the TNX-6 platelet separation chamber insert has been furnished with a small-volume (30-ml) collection chamber. In this study, a platelet synthetic medium containing glucose and bicarbonate (PSM) was used for resuspension and storage of this highly concentrated platelet product. Eighteen donors participated in a paired study design where each participant donated platelets on two occasions, once following collection in a standard chamber with resuspension and storage in plasma and once following collection in the new chamber with resuspension and storage in PSM. Substantially higher total platelet counts were obtained using platelets collected in the small chamber and stored in PSM as compared to control (4.4±0.9times1011 vs. 3.5±0.9times1011 platelets, p<0.01 by paired t test). After 5 days of storage, PSM-stored platelets demonstrated higher ATP levels, less lactate dehydrogenase in the supernatant and increased lactate production with resulting lower pH at day 5 of storage (6.94±0.15 vs. 7.08±0.09, p<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences of the survival by multiple-hit estimation of PSM-stored as compared to plasma-stored platelets as determined by 111In labeling and infusion. A slight decrease in the initial percent recovery with the additive-suspended as compared to suspended plasma cells was noted: 50±8 versus 54±9%, respectively (p<0.05). In conclusion, the CS-3000 Plus/TNX-6 apheresis system with a new reduced-volume collection chamber and an additive solution provides a plasma-poor and highly concentrated platelet product with satisfactory in vivo viability and in vitro functional characteristics after 5 days of storage.
Controlling assembly of helical polypeptides via PEGylation strategies.

Recent studies in our laboratories have demonstrated that a helical polypeptide (17H6), equipped with a histidine tag and a helical alanine-rich, glutamic-acid-containing domain, exhibits pH-responsive assembly behavior useful in the production of polymorphological nanostructures. In this study, the histidine tag in these polypeptides was replaced by polyethylene glycol (PEG) with different molecular masses (5 kDa, or 10 kDa), and the self-association behavior of 17H6 and the PEGylated conjugates was characterized viadynamic light scattering (DLS), small angle neutron scattering (SANS), and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM). DLS experiments illustrated that the polypeptide and its PEG-conjugates undergo reversible assembly under acidic conditions, suggesting that the aggregation state of the polypeptide and the conjugates is controlled by the charged state of the glutamic acid residues. Nanoscale aggregates were detected at polypeptide/conjugate concentrations as low as 20 μM (∼0.3–0.5 mg ml−1) at physiological and ambient temperatures. Scattering and microscopy results showed that the size, the aggregation number, and the morphology of the aggregates can be tuned by the size and the nature of the hydrophilic tag. This tunable nature of the morphology of the aggregates, along with their low critical aggregation concentration, suggests that PEG-alanine-rich polypeptide conjugates may be useful as drug delivery vehicles in which the alanine-rich block serves as a drug attachment domain.
Transmastoid Approach to Spontaneous Temporal Bone Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks: Hearing Improvement and Success of Repair

ObjectiveTo determine whether the transmastoid approach to repair of spontaneous temporal bone cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak is safe and effective and if improvement in conductive hearing loss is ...
THE PERSONAL SPHERE MODEL: PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES AND CONCURRENT VALIDITY IN A COLLEGE POPULATION

Stimmary.-The Personal Sphere Model, .a projective instrument developed to elicit a representation of the object-relation world of an individual and previously used with clinical populations, was administered to 310 college students. Norms were developed and component factors extracted. Seven major factors-productivity, number of family, number of ideas, number of things, number of interruptions in relationships, size of objects, and number of bonds-accounted for 8G% of the variance. Criterion validity was established as the representation of interruptions was significantly correlated with scores on the Beck Depression Scale and the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale. One area of emergent activity in projective tests is the adaptation of extant tests to study and assess object relations as well as the development of new tests for this purpose. Mayman and Krohn (1975) have concluded that a major challenge for projective tests is to document the formulations about a person's inner object world which are derived from recent developments in object relations theory. Scoring systems to assess the nature of object ties based on the TAT2 and the Rorschach (Mayman, 1967) have been developed. In addition, systems for assessing the nature of self- and object representation in early memoriesY and dreams (Krohn, 1972) have been reported. A new projective test, the Personal Sphere Model (Schrniedeck, 1974; Kohlmann & Schmiedeck, 1975; Schmiedeck & Kohlmann, 1975) has been developed for the purpose of assessing object relations. The Personal Sphere Model is specifically designed to elicit a comprehensive representation of the subject's objectrelational world and also provides information about the nature of specific object relations including [he intensity of these ties and the perception of disruption. According to the original formulation by Schrniedeck ( 1974), each individual starts in the center of a sphere formed by the people, ideas, and things which have influenced him throughout his life. -A person can be imagined reaching out toward all these objects and, in turn, being dependent
Finding Collective Events Sources, Searches, Timing

Researchers collecting data on collective events have often relied on ad hoc procedures and untested assumptions. A detailed comparison of different sources and data-gathering strategies for one month of events in one city challenges several assumptions made in prior studies. Police agencies and news sources have their own logics of jurisdiction, producing both incomplete and selective records of collective events. Different strategies for searching newspapers for stories about events yield very different results. News items about events do not occur at the same time as the events but are dispersed around them. All three of these patterns vary greatly from source to source and locale to locale. Comparisons of research findings between localities must more explicitly consider these selection issues. All data collection projects need to include methodological analyses of selection structures in their particular cases so that there can be some basis for comparison between studies.
Nerve stimulator-guided supplemental popliteal sciatic nerve block after a failed sciatic block does not increase the incidence of transient postoperative neurologic sequelae

Background Supplemental peripheral nerve blocks are not commonly performed in adults because of concerns of cumulative exposure of the nerve to the local anesthetic as well as increased ischemia from epinephrine. The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of postoperative neurologic symptoms after a failed subgluteal sciatic nerve block and a supplemental popliteal sciatic nerve block. Methods Five hundred twelve adult patients undergoing ambulatory surgery were prospectively studied (1 yr). Sciatic nerve blocks were performed using levobupivacaine 0.625% with epinephrine 1:200,000 (0.5 ml/kg). Patients who failed to achieve sensory and motor anesthesia at 30-60 min were given a popliteal sciatic nerve block (lidocaine 2% 10 ml + levobupivacaine 0.5% 10 ml). Subjects were contacted at 24 h to 48 h, 2 weeks, and 1 month. Symptomatic patients were contacted biweekly and reevaluated during follow-up surgeon visits until symptom resolution. Results Four hundred thirty-nine subjects were analyzed. Fifty-six received a popliteal sciatic nerve block. Four subjects (0.9%) had self-reported neurologic symptoms in the distribution of the sciatic nerve. Investigator-initiated follow-up revealed 33 subjects (8.7%) who received a single subgluteal sciatic block and 4 subjects (7.1%) after a supplemental sciatic nerve block with neurologic symptoms (P = 0.80). The median duration of symptoms was 4 weeks (95% CI 3-5) in the subgluteal and 4 weeks (95% CI 3-5) weeks in the popliteal group (P = 0.98). All symptoms resolved by 14 weeks postprocedure. Conclusion Blocking the sciatic nerve at a more distal site after a failed subgluteal sciatic nerve block does not appear to influence the incidence or duration of neurologic sequelae.
Imaging of traumatic adrenal injury

Traumatic adrenal injury is a relatively rare event, reported in 0.15 to 4 % of blunt abdominal trauma cases. The location of the adrenal glands, protected deeply within the retroperitoneum, accounts for the rarity of adrenal trauma. These injuries are unilateral in 75 to 90 % of cases and most commonly afflict the right adrenal gland. While no specific clinical symptoms or signs point directly to adrenal injury, and isolated adrenal injury is rare, the presence of adrenal injury can be an indicator of severe trauma. In fact, mortality rates in series of adrenal injuries range from 7 to 32 %. The most common associated injuries affect the liver, ribs, kidney, or spleen. Three theories of adrenal injury from blunt trauma have been proposed: (1) acute rise in intra-adrenal venous pressure due to compression of the IVC during impact, (2) crushing between the spine and surrounding organs, and (3) deceleration forces shearing the small adrenal arterioles. The most common imaging features include a 2-3-cm oval hematoma, irregular hemorrhage obliterating the adrenal gland, periadrenal hemorrhage or fat stranding, and uniform adrenal swelling with increased attenuation. The differential diagnosis of adrenal abnormalities on trauma CT includes adenoma, carcinoma, myelolipoma, metastases, pheochromocytoma, and tuberculosis. Preexisting adrenal disorders can predispose the adrenal to injury with minor trauma. Most adrenal traumatic injuries are managed conservatively.
Use of Enhanced Natural Gestures to Foster Interactions Between Children With Angelman Syndrome and Their Parents

The acceptability and feasibility of a home-based gestural training program for nine children with Angelman syndrome (AS), deletion positive, and their parents were examined. Children with AS have been found to exhibit a variety of challenges, including severe communication disabilities for which different Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems have been of limited use (Alvares & Downing, 1998). Parents in this study were taught to recognize and then enhance their children's use of natural gestures as enhanced natural gestures (ENGs). ENGs are intentional behaviors that are present in a child's motor repertoire or can be easily taught based on a child's extant motor skills. Unlike contact gestures, such as grabbing objects from partners or pulling partners toward preferred activities, ENGs do not require physical contact with entities or interactants and are readily understood by others in context. Parents were taught to use four primary teaching techniques: environmental sabotage, mand-...
Electrical Contact Resistance Considering Multi-Scale Roughness

Surface roughness has many effects in contacting engineering surfaces and electrical connectors are no exception. In connectors, the roughness on the surfaces causes added electrical resistance (known as electrical contact resistance (ECR)). This work presents a new method for modeling ECR while considering the multi-scale nature of surfaces in the contact mechanics and electrical resistivity theory. Based on Archard's "protuberance upon protuberance" theory, this method employs sinusoids stacked into layers to represent the rough surface. However, many models already exist ranging from statistical to other forms of multi-scale methods. There is considerable debate in the field of contact mechanics as to which method is the "best". Since all methods have various advantages and disadvantages, this work makes a comparison between several different models. In particular, results from the sinusoidal multi-scale model are evaluated alongside results from statistical methods for both perfectly elastic and elastic-plastic deformation. This effort has shown qualitative similarities despite quantitative discrepancies.