cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Control of ion energy distributions using a pulsed plasma with synchronous bias on a boundary electrode

Ion energy distributions (IEDs) on a grounded substrate in a Faraday-shielded argon inductively coupled plasma were measured with a retarding field energy analyzer. A Langmuir probe was also used to measure space- and time-resolved plasma parameters. IEDs and plasma parameters were studied with continuous or pulsed positive dc bias voltage on a ‘boundary electrode’ in contact with the plasma. For continuous wave plasmas without applied bias, the IED exhibited a single broad peak at the plasma potential. Applying a continuous positive dc bias on the boundary electrode shifted the peak of the IED to higher energy. Application of a synchronous dc bias on the boundary electrode during the afterglow of a pulsed plasma resulted in a double-peaked IED. The mean energies of the two peaks, as well as the peak separation, were controlled by adjusting the applied dc bias and the discharge pressure. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the peak corresponding to the synchronous dc bias diminished with decreasing electron temperature. The FWHM was controlled by varying the time window in the afterglow during which dc bias was applied. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)
Coordination and Coarticulation in Speech Production

In this article, we consider the concepts of coordination and coarticulation in speech production in the context of a task-dynamic model. Coordination reflects the transient establishment of constrained relationships among articulators that jointly produce linguistically significant actions of the vocal tract – that is phonetic gestures – in a flexible, context-sensitive manner. We ascribe the need for these constraints in part to the requirement of coarticulatory overlap in speech production. Coarticulation reflects temporally staggered activation of coordinative constraints for different phonetic gestures. We suggest that the anticipatory coarticulatory field for a gesture is more limited than look-ahead models have suggested, consistent with the idea that anticipatory coarticulation is the onset of activation of coordinative constraints for a forthcoming gesture. Finally, we ascribe much of the context-sensitivity in the anticipatory or carryover fields of a gesture (variation due to “coarticulation re...
On achieving fairness and efficiency in high-speed shared medium access

Channel access has been an active research area for the past two decades. Several protocols have been proposed in literature to efficiently utilize the channel bandwidth. Some of the recently proposed protocols achieve a near-ideal channel utilization. However, the efficiency in utilization comes at the expense of certain unfairness in delay characteristics. In this paper, a new channel-access protocol, called access mechanism for efficient sharing in broadcast medium networks (AMES-BM), is developed based on a deterministic binary tree-splitting technique to achieve efficient sharing of bandwidth. In AMES-BM, the stations are dynamically mapped to leaf nodes of a binary tree. The stations are then divided into smaller groups that mimic the behavior of an ideal transmission queue. Collisions are allowed to occur within these groups and are resolved using a variation of the conventional binary tree-splitting technique.The performance of AMES-BM is similar to that of a collisionbased protocol under low loads and to that of a collision-free protocol under high loads. Besides achieving a near-optimal channel utilization, the proposed protocol also guarantees fairness with respect to delay for messages of varying lengths. The deterministic nature of the protocol makes it more attractive for real-time applications.
A mutation in the latency-related gene of bovine herpesvirus 1 disrupts the latency reactivation cycle in calves

Bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1) is an important pathogen of cattle, and infection is usually initiated via the ocular or nasal cavity. Following acute infection, the primary site for BHV-1 latency is the sensory neuron. Reactivation from latency occurs sporadically, resulting in virus shedding and transmission to uninfected cattle. The only abundant viral transcript expressed during latency is the latency-related (LR) RNA, suggesting that it mediates some aspect of latency. An LR mutant was constructed by inserting three stop codons near the beginning of the LR-RNA, suggesting that expression of LR proteins would be altered. The LR mutant grew with wild-type (wt) efficiency in bovine kidney cells (MDBK). When calves were infected with the LR mutant, a dramatic decrease (3 to 4 logs) in ocular, but not nasal, viral shedding occurred during acute infection relative to the wt or the LR-rescued virus (M. Inman, L. Lovato, A. Doster, and C. Jones, J. Virol. 75: 8507-8515, 2001). In this study, we examined the latency reactivation cycle in calves infected with the LR mutant and compared these results to those from calves infected with wt BHV-1 or the LR-rescued virus. During acute infection, lower levels of infectious virus were detected in trigeminal ganglion homogenates from calves infected with the LR mutant. As judged by in situ hybridization, BHV-1-positive neurons were detected in trigeminal ganglia of calves infected with the wt but not the LR mutant. Although LR-RNA was detected by reverse transcription-PCR in calves latently infected with the LR mutant, a semiquantitative PCR analysis revealed that lower levels of viral DNA were present in trigeminal ganglia of calves infected with the LR mutant. Dexamethasone treatment of calves latently infected with wt BHV-1 or the LR-rescued virus, but not the LR mutant, consistently induced reactivation from latency, as judged by shedding of infectious virus from the nose or eyes and increases in BHV-1-specific antibodies. In summary, this study demonstrates that wt expression of LR gene products plays an important role in the latency reactivation cycle of BHV-1 in cattle.
ASIS&T history fund research: Documenting education in the Los Angeles Chapter

This poster will review a topic studied within the history of information science and technology and present findings from the second annual award given by the ASIS&T History Fund. The 2010 Research Paper Award discusses the documentation of the Los Angeles Chapter of ASIS&T upon the occasion of its semicentennial year of activities. The Chapter's founding in 1961 reflected the aim of information scientists to share developments and research across the region for the purposes of continuing education. Mirroring trends across the professional landscape nationally, this Chapter's and others' programs have made unique contributions and fostered local understanding of both practical and strategic issues arising from advancements in information access and technology. These Awards are organized by the ASIS&T Special Interest Group on History & Foundations of Information Science (SIG HFIS).
Cohesion and Collocation: Using Context Vectors in Text Segmentation

Collocational word similarity is considered a source of text cohesion that is hard to measure and quantify. The work presented here explores the use of information from a training corpus in measuring word similarity and evaluates the method in the text segmentation task. An implementation, the VecTile system, produces similarity curves over texts using pre-compiled vector representations of the contextual behavior of words. The performance of this system is shown to improve over that of the purely string-based TextTiling algorithm (Hearst, 1997).
Intuitive evaluation of likelihood judgment producers: evidence for a confidence heuristic

This research tests the hypothesis of Yates et al. (1996) that people prefer judgment producers who make extreme confidence judgments. In each of three experiments, college students evaluated two fictional financial advisors who judged the likelihood that each of several stocks would increase in value. One of the advisors (the moderate advisor) was reasonably well calibrated and the other (the extreme advisor) was overconfident. In all three experiments, participants tended to prefer the extreme advisor. Experiments 2 and 3 showed that the advisors' confidence influenced participants' perception of their knowledge, and Experiment 3 showed that it influenced their perception of the number of categorically correct judgments they made. Both of these variables were, in turn, related to participants' preferences. Experiment 3 also suggested that need for cognition and right-wing authoritarianism are positively related to preference for the extreme advisor. A quantitative model is presented, which captures the basic pattern of results. This model includes the assumption that people use a confidence heuristic; they assume that a more confident advisor makes more categorically correct judgments and is more knowledgeable. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Inhibition of Cyclooxygenase Activity Reduces Rotavirus Infection at a Postbinding Step

Elevated levels of prostaglandins (PGs), products of cyclooxygenases (COXs), are found in the plasma and stool of rotavirus-infected children. We sought to determine the role of COXs, PGs, and the signal transduction pathways involved in rotavirus infection to elucidate possible new targets for antiviral therapy. Human intestinal Caco-2 cells were infected with human rotavirus Wa or simian rotavirus SA-11. COX-2 mRNA expression and secreted PGE2 levels were determined at different time points postinfection, and the effect of COX inhibitors on rotavirus infection was studied by an immunofluorescence assay (IFA). To reveal the signal transduction pathways involved, the effect of MEK, protein kinase A (PKA), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and NF-kappaB inhibitors on rotavirus infection was analyzed. In infected Caco-2 cells, increased COX-2 mRNA expression and secreted PGE2 levels were detected. Indomethacin (inhibiting both COX-1 and COX-2) and specific COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitors reduced rotavirus infection by 85 and 50%, respectively, as measured by an IFA. Indomethacin reduced virus infection at a postbinding step early in the infection cycle, inhibiting virus protein synthesis. Indomethacin did not seem to affect viral RNA synthesis. Inhibitors of MEK, PKA, p38 MAPK, and NF-kappaB decreased rotavirus infection by at least 40%. PGE2 counteracted the effect of the COX and PKA inhibitors but not of the MEK, p38 MAPK, and NF-kappaB inhibitors. Conclusively, COXs and PGE2 are important mediators of rotavirus infection at a postbinding step. The ERK1/2 pathway mediated by PKA is involved in COX induction by rotavirus infection. MAPK and NF-kappaB pathways are involved in rotavirus infection but in a PGE2-independent manner. This report offers new perspectives in the search for therapeutic agents in treatment of severe rotavirus-mediated diarrhea in children.
Maximizing the Spread of Positive Influence in Online Social Networks

Online social networks (OSNs) provide a new platform for product promotion and advertisement. Influence maximization problem arisen in viral marketing has received a lot of attentions recently. Most of the existing diffusion models rely on one fundamental assumption that an influenced user necessarily adopts the product and encourages his/her friends to further adopt it. However, an influenced user may be just aware of the product. Due to personal preference, neutral or negative opinion can be generated so that product adoption is uncertain. Maximizing the total number of influenced users is not the uppermost concern, instead, letting more activated users hold positive opinions is of first importance. Motivated by above phenomenon, we proposed a model, called Opinion-based Cascading (OC) model. We formulate an opinion maximization problem on the new model to take individual opinion into consideration as well as capture the change of opinions at the same time. We show that under the OC model, opinion maximization is NP-hard and the objective function is no longer submodular. We further prove that there does not exist any approximation algorithm with finite ratio unless P=NP. We have designed an efficient algorithm to compute the total positive influence based on this new model. Comprehensive experiments on real social networks are conducted, and results show that previous methods overestimate the overall positive influence, while our model is able to distinguish between negative opinions and positive opinions, and estimate the overall influence more accurately.
Substrate heterogeneity of component a of the human erythrocyte membrane.

Component a of the erythrocyte membrane is a specific substrate for endogenous protein kinase activity and its phosphorylation is significantly decreased under assay conditions in myotonic muscular dystrophy (Roses, A.D., and Appel, S.H.J. Membr. Biol 20:51-58 (1975)). We have demonstrated substrate heterogeneity of two fractions of component a separated by concanavalin A (Con-A) sepharose chromatography. The fraction of component a that is retarded by Con A and eluted with alpha-methyl-D-glucoside does not accept the transfer of phosphate from [gamma-32 P] ATP as a substrate for endogenous protein kinase activity. The nonretarded fraction contains greater than 90% of the radioactive label. These experiments also confirm the carbohydrate heterogeneity of component a (Findley, J.B.C., J. Biol. Chem. 249:4398 (1974).
Giant right coronary artery aneurysm- case report and literature review

Although the coronary artery aneurysms are not uncommon, giant aneurysms are rare. Clinical presentation, prognosis and management of giant coronary artery aneurysms are not well defined due to limited experience. Most of the aneurysms are secondary to atherosclerosis however, various other causes have been described. Recently, there are increasing reports describing occurrence of such aneurysms as a complication of drug eluting stent implantation and angioplasty. Therefore, there is a need to report similar cases and review the available literature to remind, update and discuss this anomaly for better understanding and management especially in view of the expected increase in their incidence.
Probabilistic Mitigation of Control Channel Jamming via Random Key Distribution

The use of distinct, dedicated communication channels to transmit data and control traffic introduces a single point of failure for a denial of service attack, in that an adversary may be able to jam control channel traffic and prevent relevant data traffic. Hence, it is of interest to design control channel access schemes which are resilient to jamming. We map the problem of providing resilient control channel access under jamming to that of secure communication channel establishment. We propose the use of random key distribution to hide the location of control channels in time and/or frequency. We evaluate performance metrics of resilience to control channel jamming, identification of compromised users, and delay due to jamming as a function of the number of compromised users.
Multilinear transformation on matrices

For each of several invariants P defined on Mn, the vector space of n-square matrices over a field, we determine the set of m-linear transformations φ: ×1mMn→Mn which satisfy P(φ(X1,…,Xm))=P(X1⋯Xm) for all X1,…,Xm∈Mn. Example: every multilinear determinant preserver is a product of linear determinant preservers.
Towards the Automated Map Factory: Early Automation at the U.S. Geological Survey

This paper is concerned with changes in map work at the U.S Geological Survey during the period from 1950 to 1974. At the start of this period, mapmaking at USGS was dominated by manual techniques organized to conform to twentieth-century advances in photogrammetry, drafting techniques, materials, and industrial organization. During the 1950s and 1960s, technologies that had been developed in other sectors of American science and industry were inserted into mapping processes with hopes of huge productivity gains and added efficiencies. The development paths of two in-house devices, Autoplot and Autoline, illustrate the ways in which cartographic automation became an agency policy as well as a powerful ideology.
Two-photon 3D microfabrication with polymer, metal nanocomposite and hybrid materials

The development of two-photon materials that can undergo efficient photochemical processes, radical or acid generation and metal reduction, and their use in 3D microfabrication of polymeric, metallic, and titania-organic hybrid materials will be discussed.
A Novel Shear Reduction Insole Effect on the Thermal Response to Walking Stress, Balance, and Gait

Shear stresses have been implicated in the formation of diabetes-related foot ulcers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a novel shear-reducing insole on the thermal response to walking, balance, and gait. Twenty-seven diabetes peripheral neuropathy patients were enrolled and asked to take 200 steps in both intervention and standard insoles. Thermal foot images of the feet were taken at baseline (1) following a 5-minute temperature acclimatization and (2) after walking. Testing order was randomized, and a 5-minute washout period was used between testing each insole condition. Sudomotor function was also assessed. Gait and balance were measured under single and dual task conditions using a validated body worn sensor system. The mean age was 65.1 years, height was 67.3 inches, weight was 218 pounds, and body mass index was 33.9, 48% were female, and 82% had type 2 diabetes. After walking in both insole conditions, foot temperatures increased significantly in standard insoles. The intervention insole significantly reduced forefoot and midfoot temperature increases (64.1%, P = .008; 48%, P = .046) compared to standard insoles. There were significant negative correlations with sudomotor function and baseline temperatures (r = .53-.57). The intervention demonstrated 10.4% less gait initiation double support time compared to standard insoles (P = .05). There were no differences in static balance measures. We found significantly lower forefoot and midfoot temperature increases following walking with shear-reducing insoles compared to standard insoles. We also found improvements in gait. These findings merit future study for the prevention of foot ulcer.
Immediate Effects of the Toe Spreader on the Tonic Toe Flexion Reflex

Background and Purpose. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the use of a toe spreader to inhibit the tonic toe flexion reflex (TTFR) immediately alters temporal-distance gait characteristics, plantar surface contact, or muscle activity in the limb exhibiting the TTFR of subjects with hemiparesis secondary to supraspinal lesion. Subjects. Eighteen adults with hemiparesis secondary to supraspinal lesions served as subjects for the standing portion of the study. Sixteen of the subjects participated in the gait portion of the study. Methods. The study was a randomized, within-subject, between-conditions comparison consisting of standing and gait phases, with four conditions for each phase (shoe off, toe spreader off/on, shoe on, toe spreader off/on). Measures performed were ink footprint gait analysis and integrated electromyography from the limb exhibiting the TTFR. Results. Presence of the TTFR was reduced significantly with the use of the toe spreader. Velocity and cadence were increased significantly by use of the toe spreader. Conclusion and Discussion. The toe spreader may be a useful treatment option for improving gait. The clinical significance of these findings, however, will depend on the functional context of toe-spreader use.
Priming effect of bamboo (Phyllostanchys edulis Carrière) biochar application in a soil amended with legume

AbstractBiochar application to soils can mitigate carbon dioxide (CO2) by increasing soil carbon (C) sink, but also causes increased CO2 released from soils through priming effects of soil organic carbon (SOC). However, priming effects of biochar application on SOC are complex, showing inconsistent results, and further complicated when applied with other substrates such as organic amendment (OA). Incubation experiments were conducted using Typic Durudand with bamboo (Phyllostanchys edulis Carriere) biochar (400°C) and OA (crotalaria) applied individually, simultaneously or with biochar applied 5 weeks prior to OA application. After 56 d of incubation, cumulative CO2 released from soils with no amendments (control), biochar only (BC), OA only (OA), simultaneous (BC+OA), and differently timed (BCP+OA) applications reached 313, 326, 1270, 1535 and 1311 mg CO2 kg−1, respectively. The OA application distinctly increased CO2 released from the soils due to its decomposition. The OA decomposition rates were compa...
Role of Clinical Education Experiences on Athletic Training Students' Development of Professional Commitment.

Context: Limited evidence exists on the role clinical education can play in the development of athletic training student commitment for the profession. Objective: Investigating the role clinical ed...
Effect of Turf Bermudagrass Meal on Egg Production, Feed Utilization, Yolk Color, and Egg Weight

Abstract The effect of diets containing various levels of dehydrated turf bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) on egg production, feed utilization, yolk color, and egg weight was studied. Milo-soybean meal diets were formulated into four treatments containing 0, 3, 6, and 9% dried turf bermudagrass. Each treatment was fed to 15 laying hens with 4 replications for a total of 240 birds. Yolk color was measured weekly with a 1984 Roche color fan. After 4 wk, average Roche color scores were 1.3, 4.9, 7.0, and 8.7 for Treatments 1 to 4, respectively. The maximum egg production and minimum feed consumption were observed in diets containing 3% turf bermudagrass meal. There was no significant difference between egg weights of birds in control and grass-fed treatments.
Application of the Quantified and Classified Management in Centralized Water-supply Enterprises

Objective In order to strengthen management of supervision and surveillance of centralized water-supply enterprises so as to ensure safety of drinking water.Methods Quantified and classified management was used for evaluation of water-supply enterprises.Results Among the 37 centralized water-supply enterprises, water-supply enterprises at prefecture level were all evaluated as "good" grade (21.62%). The enterprises at county level were evaluated as "ordinary" grade (8.10%). The enterprises at village and town were evaluated as "poor" grade (70.27%).Conclusion The new supervision patterns are segular and practicable and will produce great promoting function in the aspect of personal resource distribution, enterprise self-control and social supervision.
Security: Why Germany Built and Led Europe’s Export Control Regime

The export of sensitive technology exposes the age-old national policy conflict between the pursuit of security and the pursuit of wealth. The production of ‘dual-use’ technologies — civilian technologies that also have military significance — continues to rise dramatically. Private corporations are the developers of high technologies, and innovation carries with it proprietary rights. Even when firms develop new products and processes under defense contracts, they produce with an eye to commercial markets. Strict government technology controls obstruct diffusion of the latest techniques and products and thus frustrate corporate efforts to successfully compete for markets and thus inhibit national competitiveness in the global economy. The logic of political judgments with regard to export control often contradicts the steady dynamic of market expansion on which the competitiveness of high-technology firms depend (Crawford, 1993).
A very special centenary

Every physics teacher recognizes the look of astonishment that appears on a student's face when they are taught special relativity. The first tenet on which the theory is built goes along with common sense: the laws of physics are the same in all inertial or non-accelerating frames. Billiards, for example, can be played on a steady cruise ship just as well as it can be played on solid land.
SafeTalk: Training Peers to Deliver a Motivational Interviewing HIV Prevention Program:

As multiple effective interventions emerge to reduce the spread of HIV, there is a need to implement and disseminate such programs cost-effectively, such as by expanding service delivery through integration of peer supporters. The benefits of peer support are well established. However, knowledge about peer counseling initiatives remain limited. This pilot study tested the feasibility, fidelity, and acceptability of a motivational interviewing (MI) counseling training with individuals living with HIV to serve as peer counselors in order to address medication adherence and safer sex. We adapted, SafeTalk, an evidence-based intervention previously delivered by health professionals to reduce risky sexual behaviors among people living with HIV. We trained six peers in a 5-day program (24 hours total) over a 2-month period. We used a combination of training observation, pre-and posttests, debriefing, and the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity (MITI 3.1) scale 3.1 to assess implementation of the training. Results suggest the program was feasible, and there was positive acceptability. However, fidelity to MI was poor. While participants were dedicated and enthusiastic about the training and able to learn some skills and demonstrate the "spirit of MI," they had difficulty with reflecting and moving away from giving direct advice. Training challenges and successes are discussed.
Gene Signatures Predictive of Outcome in Higher Risk Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

The use of risk adapted therapy has improved outcome for children with ALL and assessment of early response (ER) has been used to identify a subset of patients who benefit from augmented treatment. In spite of these advances, the majority of treatment failures occur in a “good risk” subset indicating the critical need for better predictors of outcome. We performed oligonucleotide microarrays on 99 B-precursor patients treated on CCG 1961 for high risk ALL to identify: 1) genetic pathways that play a role in early response to therapy (42 day 7 rapid (R)ER, 40 slow (S)ER) and 2) a signature that would predict event free survival (28 pts > 4 yr CCR, 31 relapses < 3 yrs). RNA was extracted and amplified before hybridization to Affymetrix U133 Plus 2.0 microarrays representing over 47,000 transcripts. Data were normalized, filtered and then analyzed by both unsupervised and supervised methods. We identified a robust signature that predicted SER at day 7 (79% of cases in a test set) but not RER thus limiting its utility in risk stratification. Furthermore, we also identified a highly significant set of genes that correlated with SER (M2/M3) at day 14. Importantly, expression of 47 probe sets were significantly different in patients who were in CCR for more than 4 years compared to cases that experienced a relapse within the first 3 years (FDR ≤0.05%). Logistic regression indicated that each of the 47 probe sets has significant prognostic value beyond that contained in the clinical covariates (including gender, age and WBC count). A major subset of these genes were involved in signal transduction ( MAP3K3, YWHAZ, PCTK2, TGFBR1, PTPRE, IFNGR2, HSPA8 ). In a separate validation analysis, subsets of genes were selected using logistic regression with backward, forward and stepwise variable selection and the models proved to be significantly predictive of response in the independent expression data set of 220 patients generated previously using a smaller probe set with U95Av2 microarrays (Mosquera-Caro et al, Blood 2003, 102(11)). Interestingly, the genetic models superseded clinical co-variates such as age, WBC and gender. Finally, to assess further the predictive accuracy of these gene signatures, we randomly divided the data set into a training set (2/3 cases) that was used to develop a signature predictive of relapse that was tested for accuracy in the remaining cases (1/3 cases). This was repeated three times. On average, 77% of patients in CCR and 73% of patients who relapsed were accurately classified in the test set. With further validation these signatures of outcome (not early response) will allow for more precise identification of patients who are at very high risk for relapse and may provide a mechanistic understanding of why patients fail therapy.
Improving advanced inverter control convergence in distribution power flow

Simulation of modern distribution system powerflow increasingly requires capturing the impact of advanced PV inverter voltage regulation on powerflow. With Volt/var control, the inverter adjusts its reactive power flow as a function of the point of common coupling (PCC) voltage. Similarly, Volt/watt control curtails active power production as a function of PCC voltage. However, with larger systems and higher penetrations of PV, this active/reactive power flow itself can cause significant changes to the PCC voltage potentially introducing oscillations that slow the convergence of system simulations. Improper treatment of these advanced inverter functions could potentially lead to incorrect results. This paper explores a simple approach to speed such convergence by blending in the previous iteration's reactive power estimate to dampen these oscillations. Results with a single large (5MW) PV system and with multiple 500kW advanced inverters show dramatic improvements using this approach.
TRANSCATHETER AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT PATIENTS WITH ATRIAL FIBRILLATION ARE AT HIGH RISK FOR STROKE AND BLEEDING: A RATIONALE FOR CONSIDERATION OF TRANSCATHETER AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT AND LEFT ATRIAL APPENDAGE CLOSURE AS COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES

Background: Patients who undergo transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and have atrial fibrillation (AF) are at high risk of stroke, major bleeding and death due to their age and comorbidities. Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) devices are now available as alternatives to chronic
Elevated levels of cholesterol-rich lipid rafts in cancer cells are correlated with apoptosis sensitivity induced by cholesterol depleting agents

5505 Lipid rafts are known to be membrane platforms for signaling molecules that are involved in various cellular functions, including cell survival. To better understand a role of rafts/caveolae in tumor progression and therapeutics, we investigated the effect of raft/caveolae disruption on cell viability and we compared raft/caveolae levels in prostate and breast cancer cell lines vs in their counterparts. Here, we report that cholesterol depletion using methyl-beta cyclodextrin (MβCD) caused anoikis-like apoptosis involving prominent morphology change, nuclei condensation, mitochondria membrane potential change, caspase-3 activation and AKT inactivation in human epidermoid carcinoma cell line, A431 cells. In addition, co-staining of cell surface cholesterol and GM1 that are raft/caveoale markers revealed that cholesterol depletion resulted in decreased levels of rafts/caveolae, and cholesterol repletion replenishes rafts/caveoale on the cell surface along with restoration of cell morphology change and cell viability and AKT activation in A431 cells. Interestingly, co-staining of cell surface cholesterol and GM1 also showed that breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7, and prostate cancer cell lines, PC-3 and LNCap cells contained more lipid raft than their normal counterparts, MCF-10A and PZ-HPV7, respectively. Moreover, breast cancer cell lines and prostate cell lines were much more sensitive to cholesterol depletion-induced cell death. To further analyze correlation between rafts/caveoale levels and cell survival, we tested effect of a cholesterol-lowering drug, simvastatin, on cell viability. Similarly to MβCD, simvastatin treatment promoted anoikis-like cell death with a decrease in AKT activation in A431 cells. Plasmamembrane cholesterol levels were reduced concomitantly with decreased GM1 levels in the simvastatin-treated A431 cells. Taken together, these data indicate that cancer cells contain increased levels of rafts/caveolae that are critical for cell survival signaling including AKT activation, and that agents targeted to disrupt and/or decrease levels of rafts/caveoale can be developed as anti-cancer drugs.
Biofilm community structure and the associated drag penalties of a groomed fouling release ship hull coating

Grooming is a proactive method to keep a ship’s hull free of fouling. This approach uses a frequent and gentle wiping of the hull surface to prevent the recruitment of fouling organisms. A study wa...
Carrying asymmetric loads during stair negotiation: Loaded limb stance vs. unloaded limb stance.

Abstract Background Individuals often carry items in one hand instead of both hands during activities of daily living. Research Question The purpose of this study was to investigate low back and lower extremity frontal plane moments for loaded limb stance and unloaded limb stance when carrying symmetric and asymmetric loads during stair negotiation. Methods Participants were instructed to ascend and descend a three-step staircase at preferred pace using a right leg lead and a left leg lead for each load condition: no load, 20% body weight (BW) bilateral load, and 20% BW unilateral load. L5/S1 contralateral bending, hip abduction, external knee varus, and ankle inversion moments were calculated using inverse dynamics. Results Peak L5/S1 contralateral bending moments were significantly higher when carrying a 20% BW unilateral load as compared to a 20% BW bilateral load for both stair ascent and stair descent. In addition, peak L5/S1 contralateral bending moments were significantly higher during step one than for step two. Peak external knee varus and hip abduction moments were significantly higher in unloaded limb stance as compared to loaded limb stance when carrying a 20% BW unilateral load. Significance General load carriage recommendations include carrying less than 20% BW loads and splitting loads bilaterally when feasible. Assessment recommendations include analyzing the first stair step and analyzing both the loaded and unloaded limbs.
Pathogenesis-related proteins and their genes in cereals

Pathogenesis-related proteins (PR-proteins) are induced in plants in response to attack by microbial or insect pests. They have been classified into several groups (PR-1 through PR-14 at present) based on their amino acid sequences and biochemical functions. Many of these proteins that have been purified from infected plants or seed extracts possess antifungal or insecticidal activity. Genes and cDNA clones for all classes of PR-proteins have been isolated from a variety of cereals. Some of these genes/cDNAs have been used to transform cereals. This review presents a summary of the PR-proteins and their genes characterized from rice, wheat, barley, sorghum and maize. Efforts to improve disease or insect resistance of these cereal plants by genetic engineering using genes for PR-proteins also are discussed. In many cases, the expression of the PR-proteins either singly or in combination appears to improve resistance to fungi or insects. In addition, chromosomal location of the PR-protein genes indicates that members of the same family of PR-protein genes or sometimes even several families of PR-protein genes often are clustered in the cereal genome, suggesting coordinate regulation. Some of these PR-protein genes map closely to quantitative traits loci. Some concerns regarding the use of genes encoding PR-proteins for genetic modification of cereals also are addressed.
Novel Strategies for Enhancing the Efficacy of Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy for Patients with Ovarian Cancer

Intraperitoneal chemotherapy with cisplatin and paclitaxel-based programs improves survival of women with small volume ovarian cancer. The challenge now is to further improve efficacy and reduce toxicity of this approach. Limited penetration of drug from the surface of tumor nodules is a major challenge. Drug gradients, tumor nodule blood flow, capillary permeability and drug reactivity all play important roles in determining depth of penetration. Several different approaches to pharmacologically manipulating these parameters have demonstrated increased efficacy in pre-clinical animal models. Additional strategies for directing drugs to the surface of tumor nodules are also under development. There is now a firm basis for the expectation that efficacy and safety of IP therapy can be substantially improved in the future.
Richard C. Powell and Klaus Dodds (eds): Polar Geopolitics? Knowledges, resources, and legal regimes. (Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.)

Polar Geopolitics? by Richard Powell and Claus Dodds (eds.) is reviewed. While this book does cover a range of actors, their actions and interactions, most chapters in parts I and II are essentially state-centric and necessarily so since power and authority are both concentrated at that level. Input in national policies from different parts of governments (e.g., civil servants), the media, and other sub-state actors (e.g., corporations) in determining policy is covered and covered well in the various case studies, but it is only in part III that indigenous peoples of the Arctic are really analyzed as competing actors. Readers in geography, political science, anthropology, and economics (among other disciplines) can benefit from this compilation’s chapters, each of which is well-researched and a contribution to improved understanding of the polar regions.
Information Provision in a Biased Market

A vast literature considers disagreements amongst traders about firm value. Of equal importance, however, are the disagreements between traders and firm management. In this paper, we investigate a manager's incentives to disclose information to traders who are more (or less) optimistic. Traders overweight disclosures that confirm their existing priors. Paradoxically, managers may disclose more information to traders who already believe that the firm's value is high, exacerbating mis-pricing of the firm's stock. We also find that managerial myopia might lead to more information disclosure and that it strictly exacerbates mis-pricing.
CE: Long-term outcomes after repair of congenital heart defects: part 2.

OVERVIEW: Many congenital heart defects can be repaired, but long-term monitoring is often required to forestall possible complications. This two-part article reviews 10 common congenital heart defects, their repairs, and their common long-term outcomes, along with the implications for nurses in cardiac and noncardiac settings alike. Here, in part 2, the author reviews four defects: tetralogy of Fallot, transposition of the great arteries, congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries, and single-ventricle defects.
Integrating PLM into Engineering Education

This case study considers an approach to educating students in Industrial and Systems Engineering, Engineering Management, and Systems Engineering programs on Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) concepts as well as on the use of industry relevant PLM tools. The case study follows how Oakland University’s Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) Department has integrated PLM concepts and tools into its degree programs. The integration has occurred, and continues to occur, over 3 phases as outlined below. (1) Integration of PLM techniques and tools into existing courses. (2) Development of courses that teach PLM tools and their application. (3) Development of a PLM dual education program with industry. Note that the beginning of the second phase is not contingent on the completion of the first phase, and likewise for the third phase with respect to the first and second phases. Each phase is an on-going effort, with later phases beginning after the previous phase has been initiated and is underway.
End stage scurvy in the developed world: A diagnostic conundrum but not to be mistaken for pyoderma gangrenosum

Scurvy is a clinical syndrome, resulting from ascorbic acid deficiency. Prevalence of the condition is now extremely low in the Western population and its diagnosis can be challenging without a high index of suspicion. When cases do present, they are often misdiagnosed initially. Therefore, a thorough history, physical exam, and laboratory evaluation are key to showing this now rare but extremely well-known disease. We report a case of scurvy manifesting as persistent non-healing lower-extremity ulcerations, initially mistaken for pyoderma gangrenosum. The patient responded to appropriate replacement therapy, but ulcers were slow to heal. As was the case in our patient, symptom reversal may require additional nutritional replacement. We encourage physicians to consider nutritional deficiencies in their differential diagnoses and highlight the incidence of malnutrition in the proper clinical setting to avoid diagnostic delay.
Ramsey-Bordé Matter-Wave Interferometry for Laser Frequency Stabilization at 10 − 16 Frequency Instability and Below

We demonstrate Ramsey-Borde (RB) atom interferometry for high performance laser stabilization with fractional frequency instability <2×10^{-16} for timescales between 10 and 1000s. The RB spectroscopy laser interrogates two counterpropagating ^{40}Ca beams on the ^{1}S_{0}-^{3}P_{1} transition at 657 nm, yielding 1.6 kHz linewidth interference fringes. Fluorescence detection of the excited state population is performed on the (4s4p) ^{3}P_{1}-(4p^{2}) ^{3}P_{0} transition at 431 nm. Minimal thermal shielding and no vibration isolation are used. These stability results surpass performance from other thermal atomic or molecular systems by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude, and further improvements look feasible.
Alarm Settings of Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems and Associations to Glucose Outcomes in Type 1 Diabetes.

Context Little evidence exists regarding the positive and negative impacts of continuous glucose monitor system (CGM) alarm settings for diabetes control in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Objective Evaluate the associations between CGM alarm settings and glucose outcomes. Design and Setting A cross-sectional observational study in a single academic institution. Patients and Main Outcome Measures CGM alarm settings and 2-week CGM glucose information were collected from 95 T1D patients with > 3 months of CGM use and ≥ 86% active usage time. The associations between CGM alarm settings and glucose outcomes were analyzed. Results Higher glucose thresholds for hypoglycemia alarms (ie, ≥ 73 mg/dL vs 205 mg/dL) were related to lower average glucose levels and 42% and 61% less time with glucose > 250 and > 320 mg/dL (P = 0.020, P = 0.016, P = 0.007, respectively), without more hypoglycemia. Lower alarm thresholds were also associated with more alarms (P < 0.0001). The optimal alarm threshold for < 5% of time in hyperglycemia and hemoglobin A1c ≤ 7% was 170 mg/dL. Conclusions Different CGM glucose thresholds for hypo/hyperglycemia alarms are associated with various hypo/hyperglycemic outcomes. Configurations to the hypo/hyperglycemia alarm thresholds could be considered as an intervention to achieve therapeutic goals.
Calculating weight of evidence and information value

Abstract This chapter illustrates some variables that are highly correlated with delinquencies in mortgages. Such variables include the percent of credit card limits used right now, the number of trade lines a borrower has that never reached 2 months delinquencies, the total of all limits, the total of installment limits, the number of recent inquiries, and the number collection accounts. I show how we calculate the weight of evidence of each bin of each variable and the calculation and illustration of the information value of the whole variable. It is a practical foray into key parts of making a credit score.
Increases in ambient temperature progressively disassemble Arabidopsis phytochrome B from individual photobodies with distinct thermostabilities

Warm temperature is postulated to induce plant thermomorphogenesis through a signaling mechanism similar to shade, as both destabilize the active form of the photoreceptor and thermosensor phytochrome B (phyB). At the cellular level, shade antagonizes phyB signaling by triggering phyB disassembly from photobodies. Here we report temperature-dependent photobody localization of fluorescent protein-tagged phyB (phyB-FP) in the epidermal cells of Arabidopsis hypocotyl and cotyledon. Our results demonstrate that warm temperature operates through different photobody dynamics from shade. Increases in temperature from 12{degrees}C to 27{degrees}C incrementally reduce photobody number by stimulating phyB-FP disassembly from selective thermo-unstable photobodies. The thermostability of photobodies relies on phyBs photosensory module. Surprisingly, elevated temperatures inflict opposite effects on phyBs functions in the hypocotyl and cotyledon despite inducing similar photobody dynamics, indicative of tissue/organ-specific temperature signaling circuitry downstream of photobody dynamics. Our results thus provide direct cell biology evidence supporting an early temperature signaling mechanism via dynamic assembly/disassembly of individual photobodies possessing distinct thermostabilities.
Estimation of population column proportions of 1’s in survey type designs

Motivated by the nature of observed responses in real world situations, we propose an iterative algorithm for estimating population column proportions of a n × k Bernoulli random matrix (X) in surv...
Establishing the Factor Structure of a Health-Related Quality of Life Measurement System for Caregivers of Persons Living With Traumatic Brain Injury.

Abstract Objectives To understand the factor structure of health-related quality of life specific to caregivers of people living with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design Prospective, cross-sectional data collection. Setting Three TBI Model Systems rehabilitation hospitals, an academic medical center, and a military medical treatment facility. Participants Caregivers (N=558) of people who have sustained a TBI (344 caregivers of civilians and 214 caregivers of service members or veterans; 85% women; 58% spouses; mean age, 46.12±14.07y) who have provided care for an average of 5.82±5.40 years. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcomes Measures The Traumatic Brain Injury Caregiver Quality of Life (TBI-CareQOL) measurement system including 10 Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System item banks (anger, anxiety, depression, social isolation, sleep disturbance, fatigue, ability to participate in social roles and activities, satisfaction with social roles and activities, emotional support, informational support) and 5 TBI-CareQOL banks (feelings of loss–self, feelings of loss–person with TBI, feeling trapped, caregiver-specific anxiety, caregiver strain). Results Confirmatory factor analysis model fit indices were compared for 14 empirically derived and 5 theoretically derived models. Confirmatory factor analysis results indicated that the best model fit was for a 6-factor model with dimensions that included mental health, social support, social participation, social isolation, physical health, and caregiver emotion. Conclusions Results indicated that a 6-factor model provided the best model fit for health-related quality of life in caregivers of individuals with TBI. These results have utility for both research and clinical applications. Establishing the TBI-CareQOL’s factor structure provides preliminary evidence of the measurement system’s construct validity, helps inform the selection of measures for specific research or clinical interventions, and informs the development of composite scores.
Hydrogenolysis of Linear Low-Density Polyethylene during Heterogeneous Catalytic Hydrogen–Deuterium Exchange

Exchange of deuterium (D) for hydrogen (H) on polyolefins enabled by heterogeneous catalysts is a versatile and relatively inexpensive technique to obtain matched pairs of isotopically labeled and ...