cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intestinal mucous membranes: The role of interfacial phenomena

This discussion reviews some of the studies that relate interfacial phenomena to transfer of material across interfaces in both physical chemical and biological systems. The studies mentioned include: the effect of pH differences between the interface and the bulk medium; the requirement for a large negative entropy of activation for transfer between phases; the resistance to transfer of water and salts produced by monolayers of phospholipids; facillitation of lipid transfer based upon the formation of hydrophilic oleomicelles; the facilitation of transfer of molecular aggregates when these aggregates are changed from crystalline to amorphous associations; and finally, the role of chemical reactions to facilitate transfer.
Evidence for Vertical Movement of Diagenetic Fluids, Texas Gulf Coast: ABSTRACT

Both the study of burial diagenesis and the study of present-day formation waters of Jurassic through Pleistocene formations from the Texas Gulf Coast document local vertical fluid transport of at least several kilometers. Evidence includes the following. (1) Discharge at the land surface of Mesozoic-derived brines as "bad water." (2) Emplacement of Mississippi Valley-type lead-zinc mineralization by fluids derived from Mesozoic formations in salt dome cap rocks at or near the land surface. (3) Emplacement of uranium in Tertiary aquifers as a result of reduction by ascending reduced sulfur, presumably of Mesozoic origin. (4) Emplacement of calcite cement derived from Mesozoic strata in Tertiary sandstones. (5) Presence of fluids in Plio-Pleistocene rocks with chemical sig atures that could only have been derived from Mesozoic strata. Material-transport calculations indicate that the volumes of fluid involved far exceed the volume of connate water deposited in the basin, strongly suggesting some mechanism of thermally driven convective flow. End_of_Article - Last_Page 498------------
Fish as model systems

Fish represent the largest and most diverse group of vertebrates. Their evolutionary position relative to other vertebrates and their ability to adapt to a wide variety of environments make them ideal for studying both organismic and molecular evolution. A number of other characteristics make them excellent experimental models for studies in embryology, neurobiology, endocrinology, environmental biology, and other areas. In fact, they have played a critical role in the development of several of these disciplines. Research techniques that enable scientists to make isogenic lines in a single generation, create and maintain mutants, culture cells, and transfer cloned genes into embryos signal an increasing role for fish as experimental models.
Microbial quality and safety of X-ray irradiated fresh catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) fillets stored under CO2 atmosphere.

The effect of low-dose X-ray irradiation (0, 2, and 3 kGy) on pathogens, spoilage bacteria (psychrotrophic, anaerobic, and lactic acid bacteria), and physicochemical parameters of iced catfish fillets stored under carbon dioxide (CO(2) ) atmosphere were studied. Irradiation of 2 or 3 kGy eliminated all Listeria monocytogenes (4.8 log CFU/g) and Salmonella Typhimurium (4.7 log CFU/g) while CO(2) atmosphere alone showed less than 1 log reduction on Salmonella Typhimurium. There was no recovery of either pathogen for the experimental period. Regardless of dose, irradiation showed 2 log reduction on psychrotrophic, anaerobic, and lactic acid bacteria for 24 d. Further post-irradiation reductions of spoilage bacteria were observed. Spoilage bacteria on catfish fillets treated with 2 kGy irradiation regained their growth after 16 d of storage. However, catfish fillets exposed to 3 kGy did not show growth of spoilage bacteria throughout the experimental period (24 d). Irradiation (2 or 3 kGy) increased pH and TBARS, and decreased Hunter "b" values but produced no effect on water holding capacity and texture. Shelf life of catfish fillets exposed to 2 or 3 kGy irradiation could be extended by more than 24 d at 2 to 4 °C, with the added safety of possibly eliminating pathogens.
Using Dairy Cow Derived Biomethane to Fuel the Viking 32 Hybrid Electric Vehicle

A high performance vehicle—Viking 32—designed and built at the Vehicle Research Institute has been powered with methane refined from a dairy cow anaerobic digester. A student and faculty led team designed and constructed two different refining processes to investigate the feasibility of developing a renewable energy source for transportation in Whatcom County. The paper discusses several key issues surrounding anaerobic digester produced biomethane: the quantity and significance of the energy produced, why transportation fuel is a viable alternative to electrical production in anaerobic digester projects, and the environmental benefits of the anaerobic digester. The design, construction and test results of the two different refining techniques are reviewed as well. The systems are considered for application beyond dairy cow anaerobic digesters. Finally, a renewable transportation concept is proposed for biomethane based transportation in Whatcom County.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
An accurate in-plane force field for porphine. A scaled quantum mechanical study

Abstract The ground state geometry, force field, and vibrational intensity data of free-base porphine were determined by density functional theory. Calculations were carried out with the Becke-Lee-Yang-Parr composite exchange-correlation functional and 6-31G ∗ basis set. The calculations predict a stable structure of D 2h symmetry. The resulting force field was transformed to internal coordinates and scaled by transferable scale factors from our previous work. There is very good agreement between the calculated and experimental frequencies and intensities, and between experimental and simulated spectra. The assignment of the in-plane modes is discussed and some reassignments are proposed. Finite field perturbation theory was used to obtain the Raman intensities.
Risk factors for medical deterioration of psychiatric inpatients: opportunities for early recognition and prevention.

Abstract Background Medical deterioration during admission to free-standing psychiatric hospitals is distressing for patients, interrupts bio-behavioral interventions, and places a substantial burden on health care resources. Emergency transfers to a general hospital are a reasonable marker of significant medical deterioration, but have not been assessed systematically. Objective To use clinical data available at the time of psychiatric admission to identify risk factors for transfers to a general hospital. Method Retrospective review of the hospital course of 1000 adults consecutively admitted for an average of 19.1 ± 21.3 days to a single free-standing psychiatric hospital in 2010. Results One hundred forty-four patients (14.4%) were transferred to a general hospital. Transferred and not-transferred groups differed significantly with regard to age, presence of dementia, number of comorbid medical disorder, history of arterial hypertension, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, albumin, glucose, calcium, hemoglobin, and hematocrit ( P 24 mg/dL), 32.7% of those with anemia (Hb Conclusion Medical deterioration of psychiatric inpatients correlates with higher BUN, lower albumin and hemoglobin, and older age. Baseline azotemia, anemia or hypoalbuminemia should trigger prompt medical evaluation and enhanced monitoring to prevent, identify, and treat somatic disorders.
A case study on the model-based design and integration of automotive cyber-physical systems

Cyber-physical systems (CPS), such as automotive systems, are very difficult to design due to the tight interactions between the physical dynamics, computational dynamics and communication networks. In addition, the evaluation of these systems at the early design stages is very crucial and challenging. Model-based design (MBD) approaches have been applied in order to manage the complexities due interactions. In this paper, we present a case study to demonstrate the systematic design, analysis and evaluation of an integrated automotive control system. The system is composed of two independently designed controllers, a lane keeping controller and an adaptive cruise controller, which interact as a result of the integration. The integrated system is deployed on a hardware-in-the-loop simulator for evaluation under realistic scenarios. We present experimental results that demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.
Exit out of Athens? Migration and Obligation in Plato’s Crito

A prevailing theme of the scholarship on Plato’s Crito has been civil disobedience, with many scholars agreeing that the Athenian Laws do not demand a slavish, authoritarian kind of obedience. Whil...
Synthesis of multiple input-change hazard-free combinational switching circuits without feedback†

This paper deals with hazards on outputs of combinational circuits without feedback for multiple input changes. A procedure is given to decompose a Boolean function into a feedback free circuit. The procedure either gives a logic hazard-free circuit or shows that the Boolean function cannot be broken down into a feedback free circuit which is free of logic hazards for multiple input changes. The procedure proves that all multiple input change combinational circuits cannot be implemented without dynamic logic hazards with no internal feedback. The result is therefore considerably different than the single input change and multiple input change static logic hazard cases.
Choice Under Conflict: The Dynamics of Deferred Decision

Choice often produces conflict. This notion, however, plays no role in classical decision theory, in which each alternative is assigned a value, and the decision maker selects from every choice set the option with the highest value. We contrast this principle of value maximization with the hypothesis that the option to delay choice or seek new alternatives is more likely to be selected when conflict is high than when it is low. This hypothesis is supported by several studies showing that the tendency to defer decision, search for new alternatives, or choose the default option can be increased when the offered set is enlarged or improved, contrary to the principle of value maximization.
The Black Orientation: A Basic for Environmental Planning and Designing in the Black Community.

The foremost challenge confronting the urban designer is to develop a new urban structures and systems which ... reflect a community's cultural values.... Very little documentation exists on the character of the black community as a basis for planning . . . nobody has carefully analyzed the attitudes of [Blacks] concerning open space analyzing, for example, how the streets of the ghetto serve as living rooms of the community.... Design formulas created in graphics studios and computer centers will help little to stimulate social interaction, economic integration, and political progress unless one adds the ingredients of intuition and respect for the life style and requirements of people from different cultural backgrounds. (1968, pp. 44, 49)
Molecular Biology of Circadian Rhythms. Amita Sehgal, editor. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Liss, 2004, 296 pp, $89.95, hardcover. ISBN 0-471-41824-2.

This book makes a major contribution for those trying to understand the biological task of accurate and flexible circadian time keeping. The first of four parts of this book comprises two chapters: “General Concepts” and “Genetic and Molecular Approaches Used to Analyze Rhythms”. The first provides a brief, rather sketchy historical background along with a short chronologically arranged scientific glossary of concepts and terms necessary to read, understand, and use the vast circadian literature and the rest of the book. The second chapter explains how genetic and molecular procedures have been used to understand circadian clocks and how they actually keep time. It does a good job of showing how these garden-variety molecular methods have been, can, and should be used to investigate time-based questions. All in all, part I accomplishes its goal and prepares the reader for the next two sections. Parts II and III of this book are artificially separated. Taken together, they comprise six chapters of highly variable quality and completeness. Together, they are an exercise in comparative chronobiology. This is useful in thinking about how …
RETROACTIVE INTERFERENCE IN THE RECALL OF SIMPLE SENTENCES.

A list of English sentences was learned by the method of free recall. Performance was scored both for sentences recalled precisely and for sentences recalled in content regardless of their syntactic form. Interpolated lists of sentences differing from the original list in syntactic details or in semantic form were used to produce retroactive inhibition (RI). The RI for semantic content was negligible; when the interpolated list differed only in syntax and preserved the semantic content of the original list the effect was facilitatory rather than inhibitory. When performance was scored for syntactic as well as semantic aspects RI was appreciable. The results are interpreted as additional support for the hypothesis that the two aspects, semantic content and syntactic form, pose more or less distinct tasks for the learner.
On the uncertain distinction between fast landscape exploration and second amorphous phase (ideal glass) interpretations of the ultrastable glass phenomenon

Abstract This paper is written as a challenge to the ultrastable glass community to distinguish phenomenologically between the fast landscape searching scenario under discussion in the ultrastable glass community, and the alternative scenario in which the material in the ultrastable state is actually an attempted realization of the low temperature ideal glass phase of the system that can be reached in some systems, like ST2 water and amorphous silicon, and model systems like the attractive Jagla model, by a first order thermodynamic transition. These are special in that they exhibit first order phase transitions to the ground state that are accessible above the normal T g of the high temperature phase — and in consequence exhibit vanishingly small excess entropies over crystal, and none of the “ubiquitous” glassy state cryogenic anomalies. In particular we show how, near a liquid–liquid critical point, the diffusivity can decrease arbitrarily rapidly over several orders of magnitude and that a growth front transformation from ultraslow phase to normal viscous liquid will be very difficult to distinguish from nucleation and growth of a new phase of different mobility.
Stoichiometry for drug potentiation of a pentameric ion channel

Drug modulation of ion channels is a powerful means to alter physiological responses for therapeutic benefit, yet the structural bases of modulation remain poorly understood. Here we study potentiation of nicotinic α7 acetylcholine receptors, which are emerging drug targets in several neurological disorders. α7 receptors are ligand-gated ion channels composed of five identical subunits, each bearing a site for the potentiating drug PNU-120596 (PNU). How the individual subunits contribute to PNU potentiation is not known. Taking advantage of a PNU-resistant mutant, we generated receptors composed of normal and PNU-resistant subunits and tagged one of the subunits with conductance mutations to report subunit stoichiometry. We then used patch clamp recording to monitor PNU potentiation of single α7 receptors with defined stoichiometry in real time. We find that potentiation depends steeply on the number of PNU-resistant subunits and that four, and possibly five, subunits must be sensitive to PNU for potentiation to occur. Thus, by monitoring the activity of every possible subunit combination, our findings predict that at the macroscopic level, PNU potentiation is highly cooperative.
Effect of CO2 sorption and desorption on the creep response of polycarbonate

In this article, experimental results on the effect of CO2 sorption and desorption on the creep response of polycarbonate (PC) are presented. Tensile specimens machined from PC sheets were exposed to CO2 and the absorbed gas mass fraction ranged from 0.045 to 0.12. The creep/creep recovery response of as-received PC, saturated PC, and saturation-cycled PC was characterized. It was found that the saturated PC showed a creep behavior similar to heating the PC to its glass transition temperature. The creep compliance of saturation-cycled PC was found to change with the desorption or aging time. The tests on PC saturated and then desorbed for up to 60 days showed that the effects of exposure to CO2 on PC creep properties persist long after the gas has left the polymer, and could be permanent. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 45:1639 –1644, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers
Effects of natural flooding and manual trapping on the facilitation of invasive crayfish-native amphibian coexistence in a semi-arid perennial stream

Aquatic amphibians are known to be vulnerable to a myriad of invasive predators. Invasive crayfish are thought to have eliminated native populations of amphibians in some streams in the semi-arid Santa Monica Mountains of southern California. Despite their toxic skin secretions that defend them from native predators, newts are vulnerable to crayfish attacks, and crayfish have been observed attacking adult newts, and eating newt egg masses and larvae. For 15 years, we have observed invasive crayfish and native California newts coexisting in one stream in the Santa Monica Mountains. During that period, we monitored the densities of both crayfish and newt egg mass densities and compared these to annual rainfall totals. After three seasons of below average rainfall, we reduced crayfish numbers by manual trapping. Our long-term data indicated that crayfish did not fare well in years when rainfall is above the historic average. This invasive predator did not evolve with high velocity streams, and observations indicated that southern California storm events washed crayfish downstream, killing many of them. Newts exhibit increased reproduction in years when crayfish numbers were reduced. A comparison with a nearby stream that does not contain crayfish indicated that newt reproduction positively responded to increased rainfall, but that fluctuations were much greater in the stream that contains crayfish. We suggest that rainfall patterns help explain invasive crayfish/newt coexistence and that management for future coexistence may benefit from manual trapping.
Liquid-crystal-deflector based variable fiber-optic attenuator.

A compact, low-component-count, no-moving-parts variable optical attenuator (VOA) is demonstrated for the first time by means of beam spoiling that is implemented via an electrically reconfigurable nonpixelated nematic liquid-crystal deflector. The VOA design features an in-line alignment polarization-insensitive design that does not use bulky polarization splitting and combining optics. The proof-of-concept VOA at 1550 nm demonstrates a 30-dB attenuation range, a 2.5-dB insertion loss, a ≤0.8-dB polarization-dependent loss, and a 1-s maximum attenuation reset time. The VOA design can counter performance-reducing environmental effects such as excess-loss increases due to temperature variations.
Topic-Partitioned Multinetwork Embeddings

We introduce a new Bayesian admixture model intended for exploratory analysis of communication networks—specifically, the discovery and visualization of topic-specific subnetworks in email data sets. Our model produces principled visualizations of email networks, i.e., visualizations that have precise mathematical interpretations in terms of our model and its relationship to the observed data. We validate our modeling assumptions by demonstrating that our model achieves better link prediction performance than three state-of-the-art network models and exhibits topic coherence comparable to that of latent Dirichlet allocation. We showcase our model's ability to discover and visualize topic-specific communication patterns using a new email data set: the New Hanover County email network. We provide an extensive analysis of these communication patterns, leading us to recommend our model for any exploratory analysis of email networks or other similarly-structured communication data. Finally, we advocate for principled visualization as a primary objective in the development of new network models.
Glomerulonephritis in Bacterial Endocarditis

For a modern assessment of the clinical and morphologic features of glomerulonephritis accompanying bacterial endocarditis, postmortem and renal biopsy files were reviewed for the years 1965 to 1979, a period of changing epidemiology, etiology, and therapeutic regimens in infective endocarditis. The incidence of glomerulonephritis in 107 patients examined at postmortem was 22.4%; focal glomerulonephritis was present in 8.4%, diffuse glomerulonephritis in 14%. Glomerulonephritis occurred as frequently in acute as in subacute bacterial endocarditis. Staphylococcus aureus, which has replaced Streptococcus viridans as the predominant etiology of fatal bacterial endocarditis, was frequently associated with glomerulonephritis, especially in parenteral drug abusers. Renal functional impairment due to focal glomerulonephritis did not necessitate dialysis or contribute to the death of any patient. Presentation with advanced renal insufficiency due to diffuse glomerulonephritis was associated with both failure of antibiotic therapy to eradicate infection and failure to recover renal function. In patients with diffuse glomerulonephritis and less severe impairment of renal function, antibiotic therapy was successful in achieving bacteriologic cure, and complete recovery of renal function occurred in the majority. Features of persistent glomerular disease were frequent in patients with diffuse glomerulonephritis long after bacteriologic cure of endocarditis.
Ethics and biological warfare research.

Biological weapons, unlike any other weapons, have been entirely renounced, and their possession by nations has been prohibited by international treaty. Nevertheless, many ethical questions that apply to biological warfare research have bearing on other forms of military research. This is especially true where specific categories of arms have been or are expected to be restricted by law. In this regard, the relationship of scientists to the U.S. Biological Defense Program can be instructive.
Wearable DC powerline communication network using conductive fabrics

A wearable DC power line communication network is proposed for health sensing and rehabilitation. This system provides a network through which multiple sensors and actuators can send and receive both information and power. With such a network, sensors placed at many remote locations on the human body can send and receive information to a centralized power/data coordinator. This system consists of three main components: (1) the centralized power/data coordinator which coordinates communication among the nodes, (2) smart sensors and actuators, which have some localized data processing, and (3) the communications bus, which consists of two electrical conductors. The system operates using a two-tiered protocol, which relies on both polling and prioritization. During normal operation, the centralized coordinator constantly polls the sensors and actuators, obtaining biological information; When an emergency signal is generated by one of the nodes, it immediately notifies the central components, which in turn notify an Internet provider in order to alert a doctor, paramedic, or other safety personnel. First, a unique DC power line communication system is reviewed. Next, the details of our wearable DC power line communication network is discussed. Next, the design process for such a system is discussed in terms of the medium type and the number of sensor nodes in the network. Finally, a preliminary design of the proposed system is presented.
Antidepressants at environmentally relevant concentrations affect predator avoidance behavior of larval fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas)

The effects of embryonic and larval exposure to environmentally relevant (ng/L) concentrations of common antidepressants, fluoxetine, sertraline, venlafaxine, and bupropion (singularly and in mixture) on C-start escape behavior were evaluated in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). Embryos (postfertilization until hatching) were exposed for 5 d and, after hatching, were allowed to grow in control well water until 12 d old. Similarly, posthatch fathead minnows were exposed for 12 d to these compounds. High-speed (1,000 frames/s) video recordings of escape behavior were collected and transferred to National Institutes of Health Image for frame-by-frame analysis of latency periods, escape velocities, and total escape response (combination of latency period and escape velocity). When tested 12 d posthatch, fluoxetine and venlafaxine adversely affected C-start performance of larvae exposed as embryos. Conversely, larvae exposed for 12 d posthatch did not exhibit altered escape responses when exposed to fluoxetine but were affected by venlafaxine and bupropion exposure. Mixtures of these four antidepressant pharmaceuticals slowed predator avoidance behaviors in larval fathead minnows regardless of the exposure window. The direct impact of reduced C-start performance on survival and, ultimately, reproductive fitness provides an avenue to assess the ecological relevance of exposure in an assay of relatively short duration.
Solar cell selection for Mars

The surface of Mars is an environment significantly different from both the surface of the Earth and from orbit. Solar cell performance is the major constraint on the landing site latitude, on science operations, and on how long during each day and during which Mars seasons a spacecraft can operate. This article examines what we know about the environment of Mars and how it affects the selection of solar cells for Mars surface operation.
COCO-CL: hierarchical clustering of homology relations based on evolutionary correlations

Motivation: Determining orthology relations among genes across multiple genomes is an important problem in the post-genomic era. Identifying orthologous genes can not only help predict functional annotations for newly sequenced or poorly characterized genomes, but can also help predict new protein--protein interactions. Unfortunately, determining orthology relation through computational methods is not straightforward due to the presence of paralogs. Traditional approaches have relied on pairwise sequence comparisons to construct graphs, which were then partitioned into putative clusters of orthologous groups. These methods do not attempt to preserve the non-transitivity and hierarchic nature of the orthology relation. Results: We propose a new method, COCO-CL, for hierarchical clustering of homology relations and identification of orthologous groups of genes. Unlike previous approaches, which are based on pairwise sequence comparisons, our method explores the correlation of evolutionary histories of individual genes in a more global context. COCO-CL can be used as a semi-independent method to delineate the orthology/paralogy relation for a refined set of homologous proteins obtained using a less-conservative clustering approach, or as a refiner that removes putative out-paralogs from clusters computed using a more inclusive approach. We analyze our clustering results manually, with support from literature and functional annotations. Since our orthology determination procedure does not employ a species tree to infer duplication events, it can be used in situations when the species tree is unknown or uncertain. Contact:jothi@mail.nih.gov, przytyck@mail.nih.gov Supplementary information: Supplementary materials are available at Bioinformatics online.
The Cytoskeleton Maintains Organelle Partitioning Required for Single-Cell C4 Photosynthesis in Chenopodiaceae Species

Recently, three Chenopodiaceae species, Bienertia cycloptera, Bienertia sinuspersici, and Suaeda aralocaspica, were shown to possess novel C4 photosynthesis mechanisms through the compartmentalization of organelles and photosynthetic enzymes into two distinct regions within a single chlorenchyma cell. Bienertia has peripheral and central compartments, whereas S. aralocaspica has distal and proximal compartments. This compartmentalization achieves the equivalent of spatial separation of Kranz anatomy, including dimorphic chloroplasts, but within a single cell. To characterize the mechanisms of organelle compartmentalization, the distribution of the major organelles relative to the cytoskeleton was examined. Examination of the distribution of the cytoskeleton using immunofluorescence studies and transient expression of green fluorescent protein–tagged cytoskeleton markers revealed a highly organized network of actin filaments and microtubules associating with the chloroplasts and showed that the two compartments in each cell had different cytoskeletal arrangements. Experiments using cytoskeleton-disrupting drugs showed in Bienertia and S. aralocaspica that microtubules are critical for the polarized positioning of chloroplasts and other organelles. Compartmentalization of the organelles in these species represents a unique system in higher plants and illustrates the degree of control the plant cell has over the organization and integration of multiorganellar processes within its cytoplasm.
The Bonds of Love: Looking Backward

In giving this brief account of the development of and influences on the book I hope to make it possible to see its location in a particular moment of not only psychoanalytic history but also the social and intellectual history of my generation. I delineate the influence of specific individuals, but more important, the way in which I was located in a number of transformational movements and disciplinary currents: the German student movement and the critical social theory it embraced, feminism and its particular way of revising psychoanalysis, infancy research and the transformations it brought to psychoanalysis, relational analysis and the changes in clinical practice. I also try to give some sense of the direction in which the book pointed me, where I see the main continuities with current thinking. Inasmuch as The Bonds of Love (1988) was an effort to bring together all these currents to think about a specific set of problems, it seemed right to me to mainly fill in the story of those tributaries and le...
Protecting and Extending Fertility for Females of Wild and Endangered Mammals

Sustaining viable populations of any wildlife species requires a combination of adequate habitat protection and a good understanding of environmental and biological factors (including reproductive mechanisms) that ensure species survival. Thousands of species are under threat of extinction due to habitat loss/degradation, over-exploitation, pollution, disease, alien species invasions and urban sprawl. This has served as incentive for intensive management of animal populations, both ex situ (in captivity) and in situ (living in nature). Assisted reproductive technologies developed for addressing human infertility and enhancing livestock production have shown encouraging promise in a few wildlife species. However, species-specific physiological variations and a lack of fundamental knowledge have limited how these tools can be used to help rapidly re-build endangered species numbers. Despite limitations, there is enormous potential in applying human-related fertility preservation strategies to wild animals, especially approaches that could assist managing or ‘rescuing’ the genomes of genetically valuable individuals. Indeed, one of the highest priorities in wildlife ex situ management is sustaining all existing genetic diversity to (1) preserve heterozygosity to avoid inbreeding depression and (2) ensure species integrity and the persistence of genomic adaptability to environmental changes. There are components of the rapidly emerging field of oncofertility in women that are highly compatible with preserving valuable genomes of individuals or populations of threatened wildlife. Strategies associated with ovarian tissue cryopreservation and follicle in vitro culture are especially attractive for protecting and extending fertility for wild females. Given adequate attention and more basic studies, we predict that these approaches could assist in the intensive and practical management of gene diversity in endangered species.
Human T and B Cell Immunoreactivity to a Recombinant 23-kDa Cryptosporidium parvum Antigen

Cryptosporidial infection in humans results in parasite-specific IgG, IgM, and IgA antibody responses, but little is known of the cell-mediated immune responses to cryptosporidial antigens. In a convenience sample of 35 Haitian residents, there was a high level of cryptosporidial exposure (>90%) as determined by immunoblot reactivity of serum against cryptosporidial antigens. An attempt was made to determine if there was a relationship between antibody and T cell-mediated responses to recombinant Cp23 antigen and how this correlated with reactivity to crude sporozoite antigen preparations (SAg). T cell reactivity was greater against SAg (57%) than to Cp23 (34.3%) as measured by [3H]thymidine incorporation. Proliferative responses to Cp23 were significantly correlated with SAg responses. By enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, most persons had IgG responses to both SAg (91.4%) and to recombinant Cp23 (88.5%). Antibody responses were greater among persons who exhibited T cell responses to SAg and Cp23. This s...
Leukotriene B4 mediates histamine induction of NF-κB and IL-8 in human bronchial epithelial cells

In 16HBE transformed human bronchial epithelial cells, histamine stimulated interleukin (IL)-8 mRNA and protein secretion, and this histamine stimulation was inhibited by the H1-receptor antagonist diphenhydramine (DPH), by the inhibitor of 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP) MK-886, by the 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor Zileuton, and by dexamethasone. Histamine stimulated bronchial epithelial cell production of leukotriene B4 (LTB4), and this production was inhibited by FLAP inhibitors MK-886 and L-655,238 and Zileuton. Histamine stimulated IL-8 luciferase reporter gene activity that was inhibited with DPH, dexamethasone, MK-886 and L-655,238, and Zileuton. The inhibition of IL-8 transcription and protein secretion by FLAP inhibitors and Zileuton was reversed with exogenous LTB4. There was increased IL-8 nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) DNA-binding activity after histamine stimulation, and this was inhibited by DPH and MK-886. Cytoplasmic phospholipase A2 mRNA levels were also potently induced by histamine. Thus histamine stimulation of bronchial epithelial cells involves binding at H1 receptors, production of LTB4, activation of NF-kappaB and increased expression of IL-8.
Fischer–Tropsch synthesis and water gas shift kinetics for a precipitated iron catalyst

Abstract A large number of kinetic data points (83 sets) was obtained over a wide range of CO conversion (7–90%), pressure (1.3–2.5 MPa) and H 2 /CO ratio (0.67–1.5) with an iron catalyst (100 Fe/5.1 Si/1.25 K). The kinetics of the catalyst in the low (X CO CO > 70%) regions were studied separately. Twenty six Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) and water gas shift (WGS) kinetic models were tested and discriminated. Water and CO 2 inhibition was evaluated. While all thirteen FTS models gave a satisfactory fit, the new FTS models that included CO 2 inhibition surpassed the others. Water inhibition of the FTS rate was insignificant over both low and high conversion ranges. For the WGS kinetics of the iron catalyst, a newly constructed empirical model and one from the literature provided the best fits of the WGS rates, while nine mechanistic models and one power law WGS model were unable to satisfactorily fit the WGS kinetic data. Water did not significantly limit the WGS rate and CO 2 only inhibited the rate at high CO conversions. The equations obtained for the low and high CO conversion ranges varied greatly. The errors for the models for 85% of the FTS and WGS data points were less than 10%, and the errors of the remaining points fell in the range of 10–15%.
Endoscopic Radiofrequency Ablation–Assisted Resection of Juvenile Nasopharyngeal Angiofibroma Comparison with Traditional Endoscopic Technique

ObjectivesTo evaluate the feasibility of radiofrequency surgical instrumentation for endoscopic resection of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) and to test the hypothesis that endoscopic radiofrequency ablation–assisted (RFA) resection will have superior intraoperative and/or postoperative outcomes as compared with traditional endoscopic (TE) resection techniques.Study DesignCase series with chart review.SettingTwo tertiary care pediatric hospitals.Subjects and MethodsTwenty-nine pediatric patients who underwent endoscopic transnasal resection of JNA from January 2000 to December 2014.ResultsTwenty-nine patients underwent RFA (n = 13) or TE (n = 16) JNA resection over the 15-year study period. Mean patient age was not statistically different between the 2 groups (P = .41); neither was their University of Pittsburgh Medical Center classification stage (P = .79). All patients underwent preoperative embolization. Mean operative times were not statistically different (P = .29). Mean intraoperative blo...
Steric Crowding Makes Challenging Csp3–F Reductive Eliminations Feasible

A high-yielding fluorination of (triphos)Pt–R+ has been achieved using an array of F+ sources, with XeF2 yielding R–F in minutes. The C–F coupling proved to be a stereoretentive process that proceeds via a concerted reductive elimination from a putative dicationic Pt(IV) center. The larger the steric congestion of the (triphos)Pt–Csp3+ complexes, the more efficient the fluorination, seemingly a result of sterically accelerated C–F reductive elimination along with simultaneous deceleration of its competing processes (β-H elimination).
Fast Swarm Based Lane Detection System for Mobile Robot Navigation on Urban Roads

The paper presents a swarm based lane detection system which uses cooperating agents acting on different regions of the images obtained from an onboard robot camera. These agents act on the image and communicate with each other to find out the possible location of the lane in the image. The swarm agents finalize their locations based on a set of rules which includes each other’s relative position and their previous locations. The swarm agents place themselves on the lane and generate a guidance path for the robot. This proposed lane detection method is is fast and robust to noises in the image. It is faster than the regression methods commonly used and can overcome the problem of noisy image to a good extent.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Relation Between Prothrombin Concentration and Retraction of the Blood Clot.

SummaryA relationship has been established between the prothrombin concentration and the clot retraction index. This should not be interpreted as a direct cause and effect relationship, inasmuch as other variables may influence both tests in common. In the case of the clot retraction index, thromboplastin, as well as prothrombin plays an important role in the reaction. The variation of the prothrombin concentration, when evaluated in terms of diagnosis, appears to be a more sensitive index than the clot retraction index.
Introduction to cyber manufacturing

Abstract Cyber manufacturing is transformative concept that involves the translation of data from interconnected systems into predictive and prescriptive operations to achieve resilient performance. It intertwines industrial big data and smart analytics to discover and comprehend invisible issues for decision making. With the advent of Internet-of-Things (IoT) and smart, predictive analytics technologies, companies have been building a networked data-rich environment, which calls for a systematic methodology to transform raw data into meaningful and actionable operations. This paper introduces a fundamental framework and architecture for cyber manufacturing systems.
Statistical Analysis of Keywords in Papers of Library and Intelligence

The papers of Books and Intelligence from 2010 to 2011.And key words in papers are discussed thoroughly.Some problems of Books and Intelligence are analyzed with Literature metrology.The key words of high frequency correlated to hot topics and highlights regarding the discipline development.
Dicer-regulated micro RNAs 222 and 339 promote immune-escape of cancer cells through downregulation of ICAM-1

2468 The RNase III endonuclease Dicer plays a key role in generation of mature, approximately 22-nucleotide-long micro RNAs (miRNAs) in cells. Recent studies suggest that Dicer is required for Type-2 T-cell response, which counteracts anti-tumor immunity. Furthermore, Dicer expression is associated with malignant phenotype of prostate cancers through regulation of miRNAs. These observations led us to hypothesize that expression of Dicer in cancer cells might regulate their susceptibility against immune-surveillance through processing of miRNAs. Among three human colorectal cancer cell lines (HCT116, DLD-1 and RKO) in which exon 5 of the human Dicer gene is disrupted (ex5-/-) (Cummins, J.M et al. 2006), HCT116 (ex5-/-) cells expressed human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A2 as well as tumor antigens interleukin-13 receptor alpha2 (IL-13Rα2) and EphA2. Compared to wild-type HCT116 cells, HCT116 (ex5-/-) cells were found to be remarkably more susceptible to antigen-specific lysis by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) raised against IL-13Rα2 or EphA2. To identify causative molecules that promoted the susceptibility of HCT116 (ex5-/-) cells, we examined expression of a panel of proteins that are known to mediate CTL-tumor cell interactions, including HLA class I, intercellular cell adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1, Fas, CD40, death receptor (DR)5 as well as tumor antigens IL-13Rα2 and EphA2 in the three ex5-/- cell lines and corresponding wild-type cells. Among these, ICAM-1 was up-regulated in all ex5-/- cell lines, while none of the other molecules evaluated were differentially expressed in ex5-/- vs. wild-type cells. Antibody-mediated blockade of the ICAM-1-LFA-1 interaction inhibited the specific lysis of the CTLs against HCT116 (ex5-/-) cells, indicating a pivotal role of this interaction. We next sought to identify specific miRNAs that can modulate ICAM-1 expression. Based on the miRBase algorithm (http://microrna.sanger.ac.uk), miRNAs 222 and 339 were predicted to bind to ICAM-1. Indeed, quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed the decrease of miRNAs 222 and 339 in all three ex5-/- cell lines compared to wild-type lines. Moreover, inhibition of these miRNAs in the parental cells by transfection with anti-miRNA 222 and 339 RNA-based inhibitor constructs up-regulated ICAM-1 expression and susceptibility of these cells against CTLs. Taken together, our results suggest that Dicer is responsible for the generation of miR-222 and miR-339, which suppress ICAM-1 expression on cancer cells, thereby down-regulating the susceptibility of cancer cells to CTL-mediated lysis.
Effect Of Guanidinoethane Sulfonate On The Genetically Seizure Susceptible Rat

Taurine occurs in high concentration in many mammalian tissues. It has numerous pharmacological actions. Taurine is powerfully anticonvulsant in both animal and human epilepsies1. Taurine reduces the rate of lesion development in genetically cardiomyopathic hamsters2. Taurine has inotropic actions3, and protects the heart in stress conditions such as calcium overload or increased workload4.
Risk Assessment of Antimicrobial Resistance

The possible contribution of foodborne antimicrobial resistance to antimicrobial drug resistance in human medicine continues to raise concern among the public, the food industry, and public health organizations. Antimicrobial resistance can become a complicating factor in infections or contamination by pathogens or it can be introduced through commensal organisms to potentially impact adverse health outcomes that are quite removed from the initial foodborne exposure. The wide variety of resistance mechanisms, the differences among host ranges, and the variety of uses of food animal and human uses of antimicrobial drugs create a rich complexity for risk assessments. Thus, risk assessments to date are nearly unique in their overall methods, favoring a principles-driven mode of analysis. This chapter discusses the principles for risk assessment as applied to antimicrobial resistance risk analysis.
Beur–French romances in French comedies: Postcolonial mimicry or a challenge to essentialist identities?:

During the last 50 years, descendants of Maghrebians who immigrated to France (beurs) have received French citizenship. Their societal position is paradoxical: French citizens by birth and soil, they live in French society; however, for many French de souche, they are still considered immigrants. Although the French government has a policy of assimilation, many beurs do not participate in the French way of life. They live in the projects, their children go to sub-standard schools, and beur youth unemployment rate is at least double that for the French population as a whole. Their practice of Islam alienates them further. However, while the anti-immigrant/anti-Muslim party is gaining in numbers, beur culture is increasingly a part of French culture: Arabic words have made their way into French, beur music is popular, and there is a strong beur presence in film. In this article, I will explore the portrayal of mixed-ethnicity couples in two films, Il reste du jambon (Anne Depetrini, 2010) and Mohamed Dubois...
Point spread function for PET detectors based on the probability density function of the line segment

We propose a new approach to calculate the Point Spread Function (PSF) for PET detectors based on the probability density function (PDF) of the line segment connecting two detector elements. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) events comprise the detection and positioning of pairs of oppositely directed 511 keV photons. The most significant blurring effect in PET is the considerable size of the detector elements, which causes uncertainty in the detected positions of photons. Typically this physical blurring is modeled in the forward direction, following photons from the source to the detectors. This work presents an analytical framework for calculating this physical blurring, from the inverse approach, that is from the detector to the source. The kernel is derived from the parameterization of the line segment whose endpoints are random variables described by the intrinsic detector response function distribution. This kernel is calculated in a first order approximation, and when compared against a measured PSF profile yields less than 8% root mean square (RMS) differences. Also, from this kernel a PSF-FWHM function of the distance to the center of the scanner is derived. The ratio between the PSF-FWHM and the intrinsic detector resolution (FWHM0) agrees with the Monte Carlo simulations. For detectors whose intrinsic response functions are described by Gaussian profiles we calculated ratios 1/√2 and √5/8 at the center (R=0) and halfway from the center at ( R=system-radius/2) respectively in agreement with published values of 1/√2 and 0.85; similarly for uniform (rectangular) profiles we get 1/2 and 3/4 which are equal to published values.