cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nonclassical activation of gli1 as a therapeutic target for squamous cell lung cancer

Background: The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is critical for embryonic development and its deregulation is implicated in a number of tumor types. The role of the Hh signaling pathway, however, in the initiation and growth of non-small cell lung cancer is largely unknown. Here, we investigate the role of the Hh pathway transcription factor, GLI1, in lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and as a potential therapeutic target for treatment of lung SCC. Methods: GLI1 expression in human SCC cell lines was evaluated by quantitative PCR and Western Blot. siRNA and shRNA of GLI1 in these cell lines were utilized in vitro and in vivo to test the requirement of GLI1 in tumor growth. Small molecule modulators of GLI1 were tested for their therapeutic potential. Results: GLI1 mRNA expression was significantly elevated in lung SCC compared to normal lung and lung adenocarcinoma patient specimens in several human genomic databases. Importantly, overexpression of GLI1 was correlated with poor overall survival in lung cancer patients. siRNA-mediated knock down of GLI1 in SCC cell lines decreased the expression of GLI1 target genes and caused a significant reduction in colony formation. Stable knock down of GLI1 in SCC cell lines caused a significant reduction in growth of xenograft tumors indicating the critical role of GLI1 in lung SCC progression. Inhibition or activation of SMO, an upstream component of Hh pathway, did not alter GLI1 expression level in lung SCC cell lines. However, inhibition of PI3K/AKT and MAPK signaling pathways down-regulated GLI1 expression, suggesting that GLI1 expression is dependent on PI3K/AKT and MAPK pathway activity rather than Hh ligand. Small molecule inhibition of PI3K/ mTOR pathway or GLI1 significantly reduced GLI1 expression, proliferation, and clonogenicity in SCC cell lines. Combinatorial inhibition of PI3K and GLI1 by BKM120 and arsenic trioxide (ATO), respectively, significantly abrogated the in vivo growth SCC tumors in mice and correlated with decreased tumor GLI1 expression. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that GLI1 is essential for lung SCC tumor progression. Furthermore, GLI1 expression in SCC is independent of Hh pathway ligand action and dependent on MAPK and PI3K pathway activity. Direct inhibition of GLI1 by repurposing ATO in combination with a PI3K inhibitor may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for lung SCC.
Cellular interpretation of multiple TGF-beta signals: intracellular antagonism between activin/BVg1 and BMP-2/4 signaling mediated by Smads.

During early embryogenesis of Xenopus, dorsoventral polarity of the mesoderm is established by dorsalizing and ventralizing agents, which are presumably mediated by the activity of an activin/BVg1-like protein and Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMP), respectively. Interestingly, these two TGF-beta subfamilies are found in overlapping regions during mesoderm patterning. This raises the question of how the presumptive mesodermal cells recognize the multiple TGF-beta signals and differentially interpret this information to assign a particular cell fate. In this study, we have exploited the well characterized model of Xenopus mesoderm induction to determine the intracellular interactions between BMP-2/4 and activin/BVg1 signaling cascades. Using a constitutively active BMP-2/4 receptor that transduces BMP-2/4 signals in a ligand-independent fashion, we demonstrate that signals provided by activin/BVg1 and BMP modulate each other9s activity and that this crosstalk occurs through intracellular mechanisms. In assays using BMP-2/4 and activin/BVg1-specific reporters, we determined that the specificity of BMP-2/4 and activin/BVg1 signaling is mediated by Smad1 and Smad2, respectively. These Smads should be considered as the mediators of the intracellular antagonism between BMP-2/4 and activin/BVg1 signaling possibly through sequestration of a limited pool of Smad4. Consistent with such a mechanism, Smad4 interacts functionally with both Smad1 and −2 to potentiate their signaling activities, and a dominant negative variant of Smad4 can inhibit both activin/BVg1 and BMP-2/4 mediated signaling Finally, we demonstrate that an activin/BVg1-dependent transcriptional complex contains both Smad2 and Smad4 and thereby provides a physical basis for the functional involvement of both Smads in TGF-beta-dependent transcriptional regulation. Thus, Smad4 plays a central role in synergistically activating activin/BVg1 and BMP-dependent transcription and functions as an intracellular sensor for TGF-beta-related signals.
Benzyldimethylbufotenin, a powerful antimetabolite of serotonin.

SummaryThe benzyl analog of bufotenin, BAB. or 1-benzyl-2,5-dimethylbufotenin (1-benzyl-2-methyl-5-methoxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine hydrochloride) has been found to be a highly active antagonist of serotonin. Not only was it effective on isolated tissues, but. unlike many others, was highly active as an antagonist to the pressor effects of serotonin in dogs, even when given by the oral route. Some differences in action from the corresponding primary amine (benzyl analog of serotonin) were found.
A Dempster-Shafer approach to multi-sensor track association

Logic for the Dempster-Shafer (D-S) evidential reasoning algorithm has been extended for application to multi-sensor data association. For this paper, it is assumed that a global MHT tracker must associate radar tracks with tracks from a second sensor that measures target features, such as carrier frequency in RF or color in the visible. Both sensors may form tracks on the same targets, or there may be cases where the feature sensor forms tracks when the radar sensor does not, and vice versa. There may also be more than one feature track reported from a single source, such that multiple feature tracks may be associated with a single radar track. Additionally, radar tracks may be lost when a target slows down or stops, but it is still desired to maintain the feature-track to radar-track association. This can be considered a version of the classical track-to-track (T2T) problem, but several extensions have been made. First, more accurate association is made by using track history. Typical T2T logic compares only the current state estimates, but the proposed D-S method effectively accumulates probability over time, taking into account the time histories of the tracks. Second, the one-to-one track association restriction of standard T2T logic is expanded upon to allow multiple feature tracks to associate with a single radar track. Next, an extension has been made to allow for association of tracks that have different dimension, so a three dimensional track can associate with an angle only track. Finally, logic has been added to recognize when a target has potentially stopped, in which case the target is no longer detected by radar and the associated track has been deleted, but a pseudo stopped track can still be associated with an existing feature track.
Water as a Connector Among Societal Needs

Water is a critical resource and effective multi-level management of it is required to satisfy diverse and urgent competing needs among people and nature. While the context varies among countries, three levels of management are required: a technical level with a focus on infrastructure, a management level to address nonstructural and regulatory tools, and a broader level to work with connected sectors. This broader level is labeled as integrated water resources management (IWRM) and provides essential management principles across diverse scenarios with multiple interactions among water-dependent sectors. IWRM requires a shared vocabulary to facilitate communication among practitioners, especially for shared governance. An integrated approach to management can facilitate effective problem-solving within the nexuses that water creates among critical societal support sectors.
Health insurance in the near elderly population

A number of studies have documented therising number of persons under age 65 who do not havehealth insurance. This paper focuses on the healthinsurance status of near elderly, those persons age 55through 64. A comparison age group, persons age 45through 54, is selected for benchmark purposes. Utilizing data from the 1996 Current PopulationSurvey, logistic regression is used to generateinsurance status prediction equations for both agegroups. Household characteristics, income, educationand employment are found to be significant predictorsof health insurance status, but fewer-than-expecteddifferences are found in comparing equations betweenthe two age groups. Results are discussed in thecontext of recent proposals to extend Medicarecoverage, the effect of Medicare policy changes on thenumber of near elderly persons without healthinsurance, and how prolonged periods of time withouthealth insurance may lead to an increased burden onMedicare as newly eligible Medicare recipients seekservices to address their pent-up demand for healthcare.
What Exactly Are We Trying to Accomplish? The Role of Desire in Transhumanist Visions

What Exactly Are We Trying to Accomplish? The Role of Desire in Transhuman Visions. Transhumanism, an extension of the Western materialistic worldview, places great faith in desire as a guide toward happiness. From within this perspective, transhumanism advocates radical and irreversible human enhancements, arguing that the potential benefits far outweigh the risks. Buddhist philosophy conversely identifies desire as the cause of suffering. In this chapter, Grant explores desire and its relationship with happiness in modern culture, drawing from research on psychology, neuroscience, consumerism, and Buddhist philosophy. Grant argues that desire is in fact a poor guide toward happiness and that transhumanism will likely bring greater suffering as long as it remains led by desire. A concluding section advocates for alternative motivators—such as compassion or attunement to interconnected flourishing—as preferable guides for progress.
A semantics-aware storage framework for scalable processing of knowledge graphs on Hadoop

Knowledge graphs are graph-based data models which employ named nodes and edges to capture differentiation among entities and relationships in richly diverse data collections such as in the biomedical domain. The flexibility of knowledge graphs allows for heterogeneous collections to be linked and integrated in precise ways. However, resulting data models often have irregular structures which are not easy to manage using platforms for structured, schema-first data models like the relational model. To facilitate exchange, inter-operability and reuse of data, standards such as Resource Description Framework (RDF) have been increasingly adopted for representation. Domains such as the biomedical now have large collections of publicly available RDF graphs as well as benchmark workloads. To achieve scalability in data processing, some efforts are being made to build on distributed processing platforms such as Hadoop and Spark. However, while some distributed graph platforms have emerged for certain classes of mining workloads for non-semantic graphs (without typed edges and nodes), knowledge graph processing, which often involves ontological inferencing, continues to be plagued by scalability and efficiency challenges. In this paper, we present the design of a Hadoop-based storage architecture for knowledge graphs that overcomes some of the challenges of big RDF data processing. The rationale of the design strategy is to go beyond the traditional approach of exploiting structural properties of graphs while storing to include exploitation of semantic properties of knowledge graphs. Our system SemStorm is a Hadoop-based indexed, polymorphic, signatured file organization that supports efficient storage of data collections with significant data heterogeneity. Naive storage models for such data place more demands for meta-data management than traditional systems can support. The polymorphic file organization is further coupled with a nested, column-oriented file format to enable discriminatory data access based on queries. A major hallmark of SemStorm is the enabling of semantic-awareness in storage framework. The idea is to exploit the knowledge represented in ontologies that accompany data for optimizing data storage models such as identifying and managing data (sometimes implicit) redundancies. Another major advantage of SemStorm is that it derives optimized storage models for data autonomically, i.e., without user input. Extensive experiments conducted on real-world and synthetic benchmark datasets show that SemStorm is up to 10X faster than existing approaches.
A “Case-Control Analysis within a Cohort-Study” about Malignant Lymphomas among Rubber and Tire Industry Workers

“Epidemiological studies provide an effective tool for evaluating possible causal relationships between occupational exposure and health in employed populations. Their major usefulness is not so much in the study of obvious events such as occupational injuries but in the examination of illness and death which may occur after many years of exposure and possibly even after exposure has ended.” (5)
Development of the Visual Cortex Deprived Prenatally of Retinal Cues

The mammalian visual system provides a unique model to analyze some of the factors influencing the development of laminated regions of the brain, especially the visual cortex. This review is focused on the development of the human and nonhuman primate primary visual (striate) cortex under normal and abnormal conditions. Principles of development revealed in this model are contrasted with observations in the visual cortex of other mammals and other sensory cortices, to try to identify rules applicable to the specification of the cerebral cortex in general.
Early Postemergence Control of Woodland Bittercress (Cardamine flexuosa With.) and Yellow Woodsorrel (Oxalis stricta L.) with Dithiopyr and Isoxaben Combinations1

Abstract The objective of this research was to evaluate dithiopyr and isoxaben combinations and indaziflam (Marengo) for early postemergence control of woodland bittercress (Cardamine flexuosa) and yellow woodsorrel at 4 different early growth stages. Herbicides evaluated included sprayable formulations of isoxaben, dithiopyr + isoxaben, dithiopyr, indaziflam, and prodiamine + isoxaben without any surfactants. Woodland bittercress growth stages included seed production (extra-large), recently flowered (large), 6 to 9 leaf (medium) or in 2 to 5 leaf stage (small), while yellow woodsorrel growth stages included 8 to 12 leaf stage (extra-large), 4 to 6 leaf stage (large), 2 to 4 leaf stage (medium) and cotyledon to 1 leaf stage (small). Shoot fresh weight data showed all treatments provided ≤98% of woodland bittercress at the small stage. Dithiopyr + isoxaben (98%), isoxaben (90%), and indaziflam (93%) provided the highest level of woodland bittercress control at the medium stage and were the only treatments...
Evaluation of the impact of enhanced recovery after surgery protocol implementation on maternal outcomes following elective cesarean delivery.

Abstract Background Despite significant improvements in outcomes following non-obstetric surgery with implementation of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols, development of these protocols for cesarean delivery is lacking. We evaluated implementation of an ERAS protocol for patients undergoing elective cesarean delivery, specifically the effect on opioid consumption, pain scores and length of stay as well as complications and re-admissions. Methods An ERAS protocol was developed and implemented for women undergoing elective cesarean delivery. The protocol construction included specific evidence-based items applicable to peripartum management and these were grouped into the three major phases of patient care: antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum. A before-and-after study design was used to compare maternal outcomes. To account for confounders between groups, a propensity matched scoring analysis was used. The primary outcome was postpartum opioid use in mg-morphine equivalents (MMEQ). Results We included 357 (n=196 before; n=161 after) women who underwent elective cesarean delivery. A significant difference in opioid consumption (28.4 ± 24.1 vs 46.1 ± 37.0 MMEQ, P [5] , [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] vs 8 [7] , [8] , [9] , P=0.007) and a shorter hospital length of stay (2.5 ± 0.5 vs 2.9 ± 1.2 days, P Conclusions Implementation of ERAS protocols for elective cesarean delivery is associated with significant improvements in analgesic and recovery outcomes. These improvements in quality of care suggest ERAS protocols should be considered for elective cesarean delivery.
The influence of field-based training on caseworker turnover

Abstract Caseworker turnover is a persistent problem for child welfare agencies. This study examines whether field-based pre-service training decreases turnover and examines which organizational factors mediate the effect of training on turnover. We used the population of caseworkers (N = 2365) hired into three caseworker roles during the transition from classroom-based to field-based training in a large U.S. state to compare differences in turnover between classroom-trained and field-trained caseworkers using discrete-time logistic regressions. We find that field-trained conservatorship caseworkers have 39% lower odds of leaving the agency within 18 months of hire compared to similar classroom-trained caseworkers. We examined whether organizational factors explain the effect of training on turnover rates among a sample of surveyed conservatorship caseworkers (72% response rate). We conducted decomposition models to determine the direct and indirect effects of training on turnover. We found that job satisfaction fully mediates the turnover effect and caseworker burnout partially mediates the effect of field-based training on turnover. Though we observed no effect on turnover, field-trained caseworkers in investigations and family-based safety services reported higher job satisfaction. The findings provide the first empirical support for an industry trend toward field-based training.
Improving Semantic Segmentation via Self-Training.

Deep learning usually achieves the best results with complete supervision. In the case of semantic segmentation, this means that large amounts of pixelwise annotations are required to learn accurate models. In this paper, we show that we can obtain state-of-the-art results using a semi-supervised approach, specifically a self-training paradigm. We first train a teacher model on labeled data, and then generate pseudo labels on a large set of unlabeled data. Our robust training framework can digest human-annotated and pseudo labels jointly and achieve top performances on Cityscapes, CamVid and KITTI datasets while requiring significantly less supervision. We also demonstrate the effectiveness of self-training on a challenging cross-domain generalization task, outperforming conventional finetuning method by a large margin. Lastly, to alleviate the computational burden caused by the large amount of pseudo labels, we propose a fast training schedule to accelerate the training of segmentation models by up to 2x without performance degradation.
EXAFS investigations of temperature-dependent structure in cobalt-59 molecular NMR thermometers.

Cobalt-59 nuclei are known for extremely thermally sensitive chemical shifts (δ), which in the long term could yield novel magnetic resonance thermometers for bioimaging applications. In this manuscript, we apply extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy for the first time to probe the exact variations in physical structure that produce the exceptional thermal sensitivity of the 59Co NMR chemical shift. We apply this spectroscopic technique to five Co(iii) complexes: [Co(NH3)6]Cl3 (1), [Co(en)3]Cl3 (2) (en = ethylenediamine), [Co(tn)3]Cl3 (3) (tn = trimethylenediamine), [Co(tame)2]Cl3 (4) (tame = 1,1,1-tris(aminomethyl)ethane), and [Co(diNOsar)]Cl3 (5) (diNOsar = dinitrosarcophagine). The solution-phase EXAFS data reveal increasing Co-N bond distances for these aqueous complexes over a ∼50 °C temperature window, expanding by Δr(Co-N) = 0.0256(6) A, 0.0020(5) A, 0.0084(5) A, 0.0006(5) A, and 0.0075(6) A for 1-5, respectively. Computational analyses of the structural changes reveal that increased connectivity between the donor atoms encourages complex structural variations. These results imply that rich temperature-dependent structural variations define 59Co NMR thermometry in macrocyclic complexes.
Looking at the Second Amendment from the Tenth: Early Experiences with a State Gun Violence Research Center

This chapter provides an overview of the early experience with a state gun violence research center. It highlights funding sources and struggles, necessary infrastructure and stakeholders, research priorities, and evaluation methods. This work may provide a template for similar efforts in other states.
Understanding athletic and exercise identity in relation to disordered eating behaviors

This study investigated the associations between athletic and exercise identities and a range of disordered eating and exercise behaviors. Study 1 (N = 441; 53.5% female) included online questionnaires of athletic identity and disordered eating behaviors, anthropometrics, and demographic information. Study 2 (N = 225; 50.2% female) added measures of: exercise identity, exercise behaviors, and a broader measure of disordered eating behaviors. Multiple linear regressions were used to test hypotheses. Dominance analysis was used in Study 2 to determine the unique variance accounted for by each predictor. Controlling for body mass index (BMI), age, and sex, athletic identity was not significantly associated with disordered eating in Study 1 (ps > 0.039) but was significantly associated with lower cognitive restraint in Study 2 (p = 0.012). In Study 2, stronger exercise identity was significantly associated with more cognitive restraint (p < 0.001), more body dissatisfaction (p = 0.016), more compulsive exercise (p < 0.001), and more positive and healthy exercise (p < 0.001), after controlling for BMI, age, sex, and athletic identity. Dominance analyses suggested that exercise identity was more strongly associated with these outcomes than athletic identity. Exercise identity, but not athletic identity, may be an important risk factor for disordered eating and exercise behaviors in broad populations. Level IV, results from uncontrolled trial.
Fully-reversed Tension-compression Fatigue of 2D and 3D Woven Polymer Matrix Composites at Elevated Temperature

Abstract High-temperature tension-compression fatigue behavior of polymer matrix composites with a 2D and a 3D fiber architecture was examined. The two composites studied in this work have the same NRPE polyimide matrix and carbon fiber reinforcement, but different fiber architectures. The 3D composite is a single-ply non-crimp 3D orthogonal weave material whereas the 2D laminated composite contains fifteen 0/90 woven plies. The study aims to evaluate the fitness of the two materials for service in aerospace thermal-protection systems. Thus mechanical testing was conducted under environmental conditions mimicking the realistic service environment: one side of the test specimen was held at 329 °C whilst the other side remained open to ambient laboratory air. The tension and compression stress-strain responses of the two composites were investigated and the basic tensile and compressive properties measured. The high-temperature properties were similar to those obtained at room temperature. Fully-reversed tension-compression cyclic tests were carried out at elevated temperature. The frequency was 1.0 Hz, the ratio of minimum to maximum stress was −1.0, and the runout condition was defined as survival of 200,000 cycles. The evolution of maximum and minimum strains with cycles as well as the progressive change in modulus were examined for each test. The 3D composite produced a higher fatigue limit, while the 2D laminated composite displayed a slightly better fatigue performance at higher stress levels. All specimens that survived 200,000 cycles without failure were tested in tension to failure to assess the retained tensile strength and stiffness. Examination of tested specimens with an optical microscope showed extensive delamination of the 2D composite. The 3D composite proffered enhanced delamination resistance.
The Impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 on Racially Discriminatory Donative Transfers

Discriminatory donative transfers based on race, religion, or gender have given rise to considerable litigation in the United States. With respect to racially discriminatory donative transfers, courts and commentators have paid very little attention to two federal statutes that outlaw discrimination on the basis of “race”—provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 that now are codified as 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981(a) and 1982. It is generally believed that these statutes applied only to state action. As a result, there was no particular reason to refer to them rather than to the Equal Protection Clause. However, in 1968, the Supreme Court held in Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., that section 1982 applies to private as well as government action. This potentially enlarged the scope of the 1866 Act's application to donative transfers. Section 1982 provides that “[a]ll citizens of the United States shall have the same right . . . as is enjoyed by white citizens . . . to inherit, purchase, . . . [and] hold ... real and personal property.” An analysis of the statute suggests that section 1982 may protect a potential beneficiary from being rejected as a grantee of property, whether by inheritance or other form of transfer, because of her race. Surprisingly, since the 1968 decision in Jones, courts generally have not assessed the impact on donative transfers of either section 1981(a) or section 1982. This Article considers the relevance of the 1866 Civil Rights Act to donative transfers and suggests that this Reconstruction statute does apply to donative transfers. The consequence of this analysis should be to invalidate some discriminatory donative transfers that had been considered free of state action, and to remedy other discriminatory donative transfers by excising the discriminatory restraint rather than eliminating the underlying gift.
A Preliminary Study: The C-Vue Chromatograph as a Presumptive Tool to Assist Kansas Law Enforcement to Distinguish Between Legal and Illegal Forms of Cannabis

Since the federal government now controls cannabis based on the total tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of 0.3% by dry weight, law enforcement, particularly in states in which cannabis is still controlled, faces many new challenges regarding the potential seizure of cannabis. No longer is the traditional Duquenois-Levine color reaction test utilized by law enforcement for many years able to distinguish between legal versus illegal forms of cannabis; both federally legal and illegal cannabis contain cannabinoids, which produce positive responses for this presumptive test. Law enforcement officers often need a quick answer when it comes to deciding whether or not to seize potential cannabis without the fear of a potential lawsuit. They often do not have the time to send a sample to an analytical lab and wait weeks for the results. This study evaluated the C-Vue Liquid Chromatograph (LC) as a simple, robust, affordable presumptive tool that, within less than an hour, allows officers to determine whether the sample is most likely legal (hemp) or illegal cannabis (marijuana) based on the 0.3% THC threshold. When this data was compared against a validated research-grade LC, using a set of 50 cannabis samples from different sources, the C-Vue correctly predicted whether the THC concentration was above or below the 0.3 wt. % threshold in 48 out of 50 samples, suggesting that the C-Vue may be useful as a presumptive tool.
Organizational Tips and Analog Tools for Busy Conservators

Most conservators find joy in learning intimately about an object through the process of rendering it whole. Yet many in our field experience static funding compounded by the burden of additional a...
Neurobiology of Phencyclidine (Sernyl), A Drug With An Unusual Spectrum of Pharmacological Activity

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews some of the available literature describing the unusual actions of phencyclidine. The chapter emphasizes on the pharmacology of phencyclidine. Phencyclidine is 1- (l-phencyclohexyl) piperidine hydrochloride. It is also known as Sernyl or CI-395. The effects of phencyclidine, like any other drug, are dose dependent. The pharmacological actions of phencyclidine appear to be complex. The effects depend upon the species and dose. Evidence is available that in subanesthetic doses the drug alters the reactivity of the central nervous system to various sensory inputs. The drug acts at spinal cord, brainstem, diencephalic, and cerebral cortical levels. Schizophrenic subjects appear to be quite sensitive to phencyclidine and become much worse, in contrast to their behavior after LSD-25 and mescaline. The metabolic effects of phencyclidine may be the result of uncoupling of oxidation from phosphorylation, similar to dinitrophenol, or result from a potentiation of the metabolic actions of catecholamines Phencyclidine possesses a pharmacological spectrum of activity uniquely different from other psychotomimetic or anesthetic drugs.
Filler/Polycarbosilane Systems as CMC Matrix Precursors

Pyrolytic conversion of polymeric precursors to ceramics is accompanied by loss of volatiles and large volume changes. Infiltration of a low viscosity polymer into a fiber preform will fill small spaces within fiber tows by capillary forces, but create large matrix cracks within large, intertow areas. One approach to minimizing shrinkage and reducing the number of required infiltration cycles is to use particulate fillers. In this study, Starfire allylhydridopolycarbosilane (AHPCS) was blended with a silicon carbide powder, with and without dispersant, using shear mixing. The polymer and polymer/particle interactions were characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis and rheometry. Polymer/particulate slurries and suspensions were used to infiltrate a figidized preform of an eight ply five harness satin CG Nicalon fiber having a dual layer BN/SiC interface coating, and the resulting composites characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy.
A Review of “Catholicism and Democracy: An Essay in the History of Political Thought”

The French Revolution of 1789 and its immediate aftermath constituted a watershed for Catholicism and political liberty. Historians can and do agree on that point, but in his recent and final book ...
Cardiac responses to selected cranial osteopathic manipulations in healthy young men (LB656)

Background and Purpose: Cranial manipulations (CM) as a part of osteopathic manipulative treatment have been used to treat patients. However, physiological responses to CM are not well defined in literature. The purpose of this study was to measure changes in heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), stroke volume index (SI), and cardiac index (CI) in response to selected CM and sham manipulation. Method: Healthy 25-35 year old men participated in this study. Non-invasive impedance cardiography method was used to measure changes in cardiac parameters before and after manipulations. Data were recorded and analyzed using BIOPAC Systems, Inc. equipment and software. All manipulations were performed by the same osteopathic physician. Results: CM increased parasympathetic input (70%) to the heart resulting in decreased HR (5%) and CI (7%) without significant effect on SI. These changes were not seen in sham manipulation. Conclusion: Selected CM decreased CI by decreasing HR without significant effect on c...
Which alcohol use disorder criteria contribute to the association of ADH1B with alcohol dependence

Although alcohol dependence (AD) is approximately 50% heritable, little is known about how specific genetic loci affect AD risk. In a genome-wide association study (GWAS), we identified highly significant associations between two population-specific functional variants in the alcohol dehydrogenase 1B gene (ADH1B) and AD in African-Americans (AAs; rs2066702) and European-Americans (EAs; rs1229984). In the current study, we determined which specific diagnostic criteria contributed to the observed associations of ADH1B SNPs with AD. Our analysis included both the DSM-IV and DSM-5 diagnostic systems. We also investigated the relationship of ADH1B variants to the maximum number of drinks consumed in a 24-hour period (MaxDrinks), a presumed intermediate phenotype of AD. We found that, although all criteria made strong individual contributions to the associations, the largest contributions came from those reflecting neuroadaptation: tolerance (rs2066702) and withdrawal (rs1229984). Overall, evidence for association with DSM-5 criteria was slightly stronger than for DSM-IV criteria. For rs2066702, results were similar for DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria. However, the most significant DSM-5 criterion associated with rs1229984 was alcohol-related social/interpersonal problems. Both ADH1B variants were associated with MaxDrinks, a measure of innate tolerance, and MaxDrinks mediated the associations between ADH1B and alcohol outcomes. We replicated the findings for rs2066702 and tolerance in an independent sample of AAs. Taken together, these results suggest that variation in ADH1B affects the adaptation to heavy drinking, highlighting population-specific differences in genetic risk for AUD. They also suggest that the revisions reflected in DSM-5 AUD may enhance the utility of that diagnosis for gene finding.
Confined, Crammed, and Inextricable: What The Wire Gets Right

This short essay, written for a symposium on the television series, "The Wire," uses a particular scene to discuss the show's treatment of the human and moral complexities of criminal justice work.
Reproducibility and Its Application to Technical Service Processes

This article explores the broad topic of reproducibility from the perspective of the data science domain and considers what aspects of reproducibility as a research practice are applicable to technical service processes. The article includes an overview of reproducible principles and presents a framework for evaluating levels of reproducibility.
Strain Variants of HHV-6

Publisher Summary This chapter describes various aspects of human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) variants. The HHV-6A and B variants are two distinct viruses and should be reclassified according to the nomenclature of herpesviruses. A nomenclature of HHV-6 strain groups was based on tropism on CD4+ T-lymphocytes, but each group was characterized by strain, GS or Z-29 (USA) or U1102 (Europe). These three strains were therefore considered prototypes of variant A (GS & U1102) and variant B (Z- 29). The second property considered was the use of monoclonal antibodies specific to variant A or B. The human sera reacted with both variants, and as of now there is no serologic test that can differentiate whether antibody (IgG or IgM) is directed to A or B variant. The third property that clearly distinguishes the two groups is the restriction enzyme endonuclease site. This was based on the first studies performed on strains GS and Z-29 and strains U1102 and Z-29. Another study on HHV-6 infection in febrile infants 90 days of age and younger showed that HHV-6 DNA was detected in the range of 70–169,000 DNA copies/ml, in 10.6% of these infants. HHV-6 variants A and B infections were seen in these children with or without fever. It is evident that there are geographical differences in HHV-6A and B distribution and that some areas of the world, such as Japan, basically lack HHV-6A infection, whereas in Africa, variants A and B are nearly evenly distributed.
Protein glycosylation defects in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mnn7 mutant class. Support for the stop signal proposed for regulation of outer chain elongation.

Total cell mannoprotein was isolated from Saccharomyces cerevisiae X2180 mutants that have defects in elongation of the outer chain attached to the N-linked core oligosaccharides (mnn7, mnn8, mnn9, and mnn10) (Ballou, L., Cohen, R. E., and Ballou, C. E. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 5986-5991). Comparison of the oligosaccharides released by endoglucosaminidase H digestion confirmed that the mnn9 mutation eliminates all but two mannoses of the outer chain, whereas the mnn8 and mnn10 strains produce outer chains of variable but similar lengths. The isolate designated mnn7 was found to be allelic with mnn8. Haploid mutants of the type mnn8 mnn9 or mnn9 mnn10 had the mnn9 phenotype, which established that the mnn9 defect is dominant and presumably acts at a processing step prior to the steps affected by mnn8 and mnn10. Analysis of the mnn1 mnn2 mnn10 oligosaccharides revealed that the heterogeneous outer chain contained 6-16 alpha 1----6-linked mannose units and each was terminated by a single alpha 1----2-linked mannose unit, whereas the core lacked one such unit that was present in the mnn9 oligosaccharide. The results are consistent with and support the hypothesis (Gopal, P. K., and Ballou, C. E. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84, 8824-8828) that addition of such a side-chain mannose unit is associated with termination of outer chain elongation in these mutants and may serve as a stop signal that regulates outer chain synthesis in the parent wild-type strain.
Supporting quality of service in multiple heterogeneous wireless networks

As users become mobile across multiple heterogeneous wireless networks, supporting quality of service across such networks becomes an important issue. In this paper, we present several different QoS schemes designed for allowing QoS support among multiple heterogeneous wireless networks. Fault-tolerant architectures are also introduced to provide continued QoS support in the case of network failures. In addition to an overlay or hierarchical wireless architecture, we believe that it may be possible to achieve a certain level of fault tolerance by allowing users to access one of several wireless networks. Such a level of fault tolerance is likely to be time and location-dependent. A simulation model has been developed to evaluate the effectiveness of various fault-tolerant architectures and schemes in terms of QoS improvement. The simulation model will be extended to grow into a network simulator for designing wireless networks with a certain QoS guarantees.
Understanding the impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This issue of the Journal of Traumatic Stress contains a special section on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars and related events have had a global impact at multiple levels, ranging from individuals to society as a whole. Consequently, public recognition of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other readjustment problems resulting from warzone exposure has increased. A query for the term “PTSD” conducted on January 6, 2010 usingGoogle’s news archive search found that the number of English language articles increased from 811 in 2001 (when the United States first went to war in Afghanistan), to 1,160 in 2003 (when the U.S. entered Iraq), to 3,480 in 2009. As public attention has increased, societal response has grown as well. Substantial resources have been committed to help individuals deal with the emotional toll of war. In the United States, for example, the Departments of Veterans Affairs andDefense have implemented large-scale surveillance programs to monitor the mental health of returning service members
Language, Language Development and Teaching English to Emergent Bilingual Users: Challenging the Common Knowledge Theory in Teacher Education & K-12 School Settings

Popular views about language and how children and youth learn language are based mainly in cognitive approaches in support of a common knowledge theory of language development. This common theory feeds into the efforts to increase teacher and learner accountability as measured on narrow assessments of what it means to use language well and in academic contexts. I show how certain scholarship supports popular view of language and of first- and second-language development, and explore further the connections between the common theory and educational policies for teaching emergent bilinguals students and English learners. The article concludes with a discussion of alternative approaches to language and bilingualism, and particularly, what these alternatives mean for teacher education and practicing teachers who teach emergent bilinguals and English learners across disciplines. Alternative approaches include arguments for language learning as a complex adaptive system in which language emerges from localized practice, self-organizes in unpredictable ways, and co-adapts in a nonlinear fashion depending on the kinds of interpersonal interactions learning bring to and are afforded by practices.
Five two-bit quantum gates are sufficient to implement the quantum Fredkin gate.

We present an analytic construction of the three-bit quantum conditional swap (Fredkin) gate that uses only five quantum gates, each acting on only two qubits. Our implementation is based on previous work on the three-bit quantum conditional-NOT (Toffoli) gate. Numerical evidence suggests that this is a minimal implementation. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Some Signals and Rules for Taking Speaking Turns in Conversations

Studied the turn-taking mechanism, whereby participants manage the smooth and appropriate exchange of speaking turns in face-to-face interaction in 2 videotapes showing a therapist-patient interview and a discussion between 2 therapists. 3 basic signals were noted: (a) turn-yielding signals by the s
Neural constraints on learning

Learning, whether motor, sensory or cognitive, requires networks of neurons to generate new activity patterns. As some behaviours are easier to learn than others, we asked if some neural activity patterns are easier to generate than others. Here we investigate whether an existing network constrains the patterns that a subset of its neurons is capable of exhibiting, and if so, what principles define this constraint. We employed a closed-loop intracortical brain-computer interface learning paradigm in which Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) controlled a computer cursor by modulating neural activity patterns in the primary motor cortex. Using the brain-computer interface paradigm, we could specify and alter how neural activity mapped to cursor velocity. At the start of each session, we observed the characteristic activity patterns of the recorded neural population. The activity of a neural population can be represented in a high-dimensional space (termed the neural space), wherein each dimension corresponds to the activity of one neuron. These characteristic activity patterns comprise a low-dimensional subspace (termed the intrinsic manifold) within the neural space. The intrinsic manifold presumably reflects constraints imposed by the underlying neural circuitry. Here we show that the animals could readily learn to proficiently control the cursor using neural activity patterns that were within the intrinsic manifold. However, animals were less able to learn to proficiently control the cursor using activity patterns that were outside of the intrinsic manifold. These results suggest that the existing structure of a network can shape learning. On a timescale of hours, it seems to be difficult to learn to generate neural activity patterns that are not consistent with the existing network structure. These findings offer a network-level explanation for the observation that we are more readily able to learn new skills when they are related to the skills that we already possess.
Reproductive Patterns of Six Populations of the Spotted Sand Bass, Paralabrax maculatofasciatus, from Southern and Baja California

Abstract The reproductive characteristics of six geographically isolated populations (n = 1150) of Spotted Sand Bass, Paralabrax maculatofasciatus, from throughout their natural range were studied from April 1992 to July 1994. Histological examination of gonads revealed the following: (1) a membrane-lined cavity or gonadal lumen was present in 9% of all males observed in this study, being present in the San Diego Bay, Los Pulpos, and Guerrero Negro populations; (2) sperm sinuses containing developing sperm were present in 65% of all females in the Anaheim Bay, Newport Bay, San Diego Bay, Los Pulpos, and Magdalena Bay populations; (3) atretic or yellow bodies were present in 76% of all males; and (5) five transitional individuals were found in the Los Pulpos and San Diego Bay populations. Both primary and secondary males were represented in all populations indicating diandric origin of males. Analysis of sex frequencies by age class and by length class for the San Diego and Los Pulpos populations showed a ...
1029-22 Effect of Cyclic GMP in Human Myocardium: Role of cAMP/cGMP Balance

Both cAMP and cGMP dependent protein kinases phosphorylate the same sites on troponin I. We tested the effects of 8-bromo-cGMP (8bcGMP) in electrically driven trabeculae (TRA) stimulated at 1 Hz at 37°C and in skinned fiber preparations (SFP, 22°C) from non-failing (NF, n = 8) and failing human hearts (F) (n = 6, NYHA IV). 8bcGMP (0.1 mmol/l) decreased force of contraction (FOC) by 16.3 ± 4.1% in NF and by 26.1 ± 5.5% in F, and reduced time to 80% relaxation (τ 80% ) by 20.3 ± 5.1% in NF and 28.6 ± 6.2% in F TRA. In SFP, 8bcGMP shifted the force-[Ca 2+ ] relationship towards higher [Ca 2+ ] by 0.22 ± 0.08 higher [Ca2+] by μ mol/l in NF and 0.24 ± 0.07 μmol/l in F. The addition of 0.1 mmol/L 8bcGMP to isoproterenol (1 μmol/l) pretreated TRA had no effect on FOC or (τ 80% ). Dibutyryl cAMP (10 μmol/l) shifted the force-[Ca 2+ ] relationship towards higher [Ca 2+ ] by 0.27 ± 0.09 μmol/l in NF and 0.26 ± 0.06 mu;mol/l in F SFP. The addition of 8bcGMP to dibutyryl cAMP did not further decrease the sensitivity of the myofilaments to Ca 2+ in SFP. Conclusions 1) cGMP enhances relaxation in human myocardium by reducing the sensitivity of the myofilaments to Ca 2+ and 2) cGMP may have therapeutic benefits by improving relaxation in failing hearts.
Combining urinary detection of TMPRSS2:ERG and PCA3 with serum PSA to predict diagnosis of prostate cancer

Objectives We sought to develop a clinical algorithm combining serum PSA with detection of TMPRSS2:ERG fusion and PCA3 in urine collected after digital rectal exam (post-DRE urine) to predict prostate cancer on subsequent biopsy.
Combinatorial aspects of the Baker-Akhiezer functions for S 2

We show here that a certain sequence of polynomials arising in the study of S2 m-quasi invariants satisfies a 3-term recursion. This leads to the discovery that these polynomials are closely related to the Bessel polynomials studied by Luc Favreau. This connection reveals a variety of combinatorial properties of the sequence of Baker-Akhiezer functions for S2. In particular we obtain in this manner their generating function and show that it is equivalent to several further identities satisfied by these functions.
A stochastic model for drug resistance in AIDS chemotherapy and the HIV incubation distribution

Abstract In this paper I develop a stochastic model for drug resistance to the anti-viral drugs in AIDS chemotherapy. The HIV incubation distributions and the first four moments of these distributions are derived in the presence of drug resistance under treatment by some anti-viral drugs. Some computer simulations are generated to illustrate the effects of drug resistance on the HIV incubation distributions and the progression of the HIV epidemic. It is shown that drug resistance would nullify the effects of treatment by anti-viral drugs and hence speed up the progression of the HIV epidemic considerably.