cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Size-Dependent Endocytosis of Nanoparticles.

Recent advances in nanotechnology have stimulated novel applications in biomedicine where nanoparticles (NPs) are used to achieve drug delivery and photodynamic therapy. In chemotherapeutic cancer treatment, tumor-specific drug delivery is a topic of considerable research interest for achieving enhanced therapeutic efficacy and for mitigating adverse side effects. Most anticancer agents are incapable of distinguishing between benign and malignant cells, and consequently cause systematic toxicity during cancer treatment. Owing to their small size, ligand-coated NPs can be efficiently directed toward, and subsequently internalized by tumor cells through ligand–receptor recognition and interaction (see Fig. 1), thereby offering an effective approach for specific targeting of tumor cells. For example, branching dendrimers have recently been identified as potential candidates for site-specific drug carriers.[2] NPs have also been exploited in other biomedical applications such as bioimaging[3,4] and biosensing.[5,6] It has been demonstrated that florescent quantum dots are efficient in tumor cell imaging, recognition, and tracking,[3,4] and that gold NPs are capable of detecting small proteins.[5,6] To enable rational design of such NP-based agents, it is essential to understand the underlying mechanisms that govern the transmembrane transport and invagination of NPs in biological cells. In this communication, we present a thermodynamic model for receptor-mediated endocytosis of ligand-coated NPs. We identify an optimal NP radius at which the cellular uptake reaches a maximum of several thousand at physiologically relevant parameters, and we show that the cellular uptake of NPs is regulated by membrane tension, and can be elaborately controlled by particle size. The optimal NP radius for endocytosis is on the order of 25−30 nm, which is in good agreement with prior estimates.[7]
Effect of an occupational intervention on printing in children with economic disadvantages.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether an occupational therapy intervention improved an academic outcome (D’Nealian printing) in a school setting. The study specifically examined improvement in printing skills in economically disadvantaged first graders who were at risk academically and socially. The intervention was based on an occupational framework including biomechanical, sensorimotor, and teaching‐learning strategies. METHOD. The final sample consisted of 59 first-grade children from a low socioeconomic urban elementary school-based health center who were randomly assigned to an occupational therapy intervention or a control condition. In addition to regular academic instruction, the intervention group received 10 weeks of training twice a week for 30-minute sessions. The control group received only regular academic instruction. Subjects were pretested and posttested on the Minnesota Handwriting Test, which assesses legibility, space, line, size, and form (the main variables in this study) as well as speed. RESULTS. Multivariate analysis of variance confirmed that the gain scores in the occupational therapy intervention group were significantly greater than those in the control group. The Hotelling-Lawley Trace value was 0.606, with F (5, 53) = 6.43, p < .0001). The estimated effect size (η 2 ) was .378, with an observed power of .994. Largest gains for the intervention group were in the areas of space, line, and size. CONCLUSION. The intervention group demonstrated a significant increase in scores on the posttest of the Minnesota Handwriting Test when compared to the scores of the control group. Occupational intervention was effective in improving the academic outcome of printing in children who are economically disadvantaged. Peterson, C. Q., & Nelson, D. L. Effect of an occupational intervention on printing in children with economic disadvantages.
Preventing Cancer by Disrupting Progression of Precancerous Lesions

In this issue of the Journal, Correa et al. (1) provide results from the first reported randomized intervention trial of the effects of anti-Helicobacter pylori treatment and of vitamin supplementation on precancerous lesions of the stomach. The findings are encouraging, with evidence that therapy for H. pylori and supplementation with -carotene or vitamin C may help limit progression and enhance regression of conditions believed to be in the pathway of gastric cancer. Randomized clinical trials provide one of the most scientifically rigorous approaches to evaluate potential inhibitors of cancer. Trials directly evaluating cancer as an outcome require large numbers of persons to be followed, often for many years. In some circumstances, an effective alternative is a smaller, shorter term trial focusing on the carcinogenic process leading to the onset of clinically detectable cancer. Correa et al. followed this strategy in Colombia in an area where gastric cancer rates are high and precancerous lesions of the stomach are fairly common. By studying the effects of interventions on the progression/ regression of these common lesions, information can be obtained on whether intervening may inhibit the early changes leading to cancer. The inherent assumption in such a study is that the carcinogenic process does, in fact, involve a transition from normal epithelium through advancing precancerous lesions. Such a process may exist for a number of cancers, although evidence for most forms of cancer is scanty. For stomach cancer (especially the common intestinal type), however, epidemiologic and pathologic studies have documented that a series of transitions typically are involved (2). In most cases, particularly in high-risk areas, a sequence of events occurs whereby normal gastric mu-
Chloromethylated Activated Carbon: A Useful New Synthon for Making a Novel Class of Sorbents for Heavy Metal Separations

The chloromethylation of activated carbon is described. Chloromethylation was found to produce a carbon derivative with a surface area of 1310 m2/g and no significant change in the pore structure. The product was found to contain ∼1.5 mmole of [sbnd]CH2Cl groups per g of material, similar to the functional density reported in the original Merrifield resin synthesis. Displacement of the benzylic chloride was achieved by treating this material with an excess of sodium thiosulfate in refluxing aqueous methanol. The resulting Bunte salt was then hydrolyzed by treatment with warm 3 M HCl to afford the corresponding thiol (“AC-CH2-SH”) cleanly and in high yield. AC-CH2-SH was found to be an effective heavy metal sorbent, efficiently capturing Hg, Pb, Ag, and Cu. Sorption kinetics were rapid, with equilibrium achieved in less than 30 minutes.
Utilization of Biological Control for Managing Plant-Parasitic Nematodes

Biological control of plant-parasitic nematodes can be accomplished either by application of antagonistic organisms, conservation and enhancement of indigenous antagonists, or a combination of both strategies. The application of biological control has been inconsistent in suppressing nematode populations because the efficacy of antagonists is influenced by other soil organisms and the host-plant. Integration of biological control with nematicides, solarization, organic amendments, and crop rotation has also had varied success. Progress in biological control of nematodes has been hampered by the opaque nature of soil, the microscopic size of nematodes and their antagonists, and the complex interactions among soil organisms. Molecular biology offers new tools that will aid in determining which organisms are involved in naturally-suppressive soils, the fate of introduced antagonists, and how populations of indigenous and introduced antagonists change seasonally and with different crop production practices. Moreover, organisms have been engineered to over-express traits that enhance their activity against plant-parasitic nematodes.
The Computer’s Role in Undergraduate Chemistry Education: Report on a Study for UNESCO

The computer is affecting all of chemistry in a comprehensive manner. The rapidly decreasing cost of minicomputer total systems and the emerging inexpensive microprocessors make it possible to bring computer support to chemistry departments anywhere. In addition, telecommunications facilitate computer networking so that specialized resources may be shared with the minicomputer providing the interface to computer networks. The computer affects chemistry and hence chemistry education both as an aid to teaching and as an enhancement to the doing of chemistry. Three course outlines are given: (1) the computer in experimental chemistry; (2) modern techniques of handling chemical information; and (3) numerical methods in chemistry. Numerous examples of computer programs in use in many college and university chemistry departments are described briefly, including a simple approach to computer-assisted instruction in freshman chemistry. A model chemistry department-wide computer support system is sketched. The question of faculty training is addressed. The complete report is being distributed by UNESCO; Division of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Paris.
Studies of Chlormadinone Acetate and Mestranol on Blood Glucose and Plasma Insulin. I. Six-Month Oral Glucose Tolerance Test*

Blood glucose and plasma insulin levels were measured during an oral glucose tolerance test performed on 91 women before and after 6 months of taking a sequential oral contraceptive containing mestranol and chlormadinone acetate. Blood samples were drawn at .5 1 2 and 3 hours. The group data showed a significant elevation of both the glucose and insulin levels. During the pre-contraceptive-use testing 80 women had normal glucose tolerance curves 10 had borderline abnormal curves and 1 had an abnormal curve. When the women were retested at the 6 month check-point 16.2% with normal curves had become borderline abnormal and 80% of the borderline abnormal cases became normal. Data showed that women with normal glucose tolerance curves may be adversely affected by sequential-type oral contraceptive usage. Reasons for the reversal from abnormal to normal curves is not known but it is suggested these steroids may have 2 effects on carbohydrate metabolism depending upon the subject.
Krüppel-like factor KLF10 deficiency predisposes to colitis through colonic macrophage dysregulation

Kruppel-like factor (KLF)-10 is an important transcriptional regulator of TGF-β1 signaling in both CD8(+) and CD4(+) T lymphocytes. In the present study, we demonstrate a novel role for KLF10 in the regulation of TGFβRII expression with functional relevance in macrophage differentiation and activation. We first show that transfer of KLF10(-/-) bone marrow-derived macrophages into wild-type (WT) mice leads to exacerbation of experimental colitis. At the cell biological level, using two phenotypic strategies, we show that KLF10-deficient mice have an altered colonic macrophage phenotype with higher frequency of proinflammatory LyC6(+)MHCII(+) cells and a reciprocal decrease of the anti-inflammatory LyC6(-)MHCII(+) subset. Additionally, the anti-inflammatory CD11b(+)CX3CR1(hi) subset of colonic macrophages is significantly decreased in KLF10(-/-) compared with WT mice under inflammatory conditions. Molecularly, CD11b(+) colonic macrophages from KLF10(-/-) mice exhibit a proinflammatory cytokine profile with increased production of TNF-α and lower production of IL-10 in response to LPS stimulation. Because KLF10 is a transcription factor, we explored how this protein may regulate macrophage function. Consequently, we analyzed the expression of TGFβRII expression in colonic macrophages and found that, in the absence of KLF10, macrophages express lower levels of TGFβRII and display an attenuated Smad-2 phosphorylation following TGF-β1 stimulation. We further show that KLF10 directly binds to the TGFβRII promoter in macrophages, leading to enhanced gene expression through histone H3 acetylation. Collectively, our data reveal a critical role for KLF10 in the epigenetic regulation of TGFβRII expression in macrophages and the acquisition of a "regulatory" phenotype that contributes to intestinal mucosal homeostasis.
Fundamentally distributed information processing integrates the motor network into the mental workspace during mental rotation

The manipulation of mental representations in the human brain appears to share similarities with the physical manipulation of real-world objects. In particular, some neuroimaging studies have found increased activity in motor regions during mental rotation, suggesting that mental and physical operations may involve overlapping neural populations. Does the motor network contribute information processing to mental rotation? If so, does it play a similar computational role in both mental and manual rotation, and how does it communicate with the wider network of areas involved in the mental workspace? Here we used multivariate methods and fMRI to study 24 participants as they mentally rotated 3-D objects or manually rotated their hands in one of four directions. We find that information processing related to mental rotations is distributed widely among many cortical and subcortical regions, that the motor network becomes tightly integrated into a wider mental workspace network during mental rotation, and that motor network activity during mental rotation only partially resembles that involved in manual rotation. Additionally, these findings provide evidence that the mental workspace is organized as a distributed core network that dynamically recruits specialized subnetworks for specific tasks as needed.
Body Image, Prostheses, Phantom Limbs

The body image with respect to physical disability has long been a woefully under-theorized area of scholarship. The literature that does attend to the body image in cases of physical abnormality or functional impairment regularly offer poorly articulated or problematic definitions of the concept, effectively undermining its historic analytic scope and depth. Here, I revisit the epistemic roots of the body image while also engaging the rich contemporary literature from a body studies perspective in order to situate the narratives of amputees about the relationship between dismemberment, prosthetization, phantom limb syndrome, and body image. Stories about living with artificial, fleshy, phantomed, and residual limbs unquestionably reveal a number of peculiarities unique to amputees. However, they also offer a distinctively productive ingress into the analytic utility of a ‘re-visioned’ conceptualization of the body image more broadly speaking. Indeed, the body image can function as a robust investigative ...
Using small humanoid robots to detect autism in toddlers

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disorder often characterized by limited social skills, repetitive behaviors, obsessions, and/or routines. Using the small humanoid robot NAO, we designed an interactive program to elicit common social cues from toddlers while in the presence of trained psychologists during standard toddler assessments. Our program will capture three different videos of the child-robot interaction and create algorithms to analyze the videos and flag autistic behavior to make diagnosis easier for clinicians. Our novel contributions will be automatic video processing and automatic behavior classification for clinicians to use with toddlers, validated on a large number of subjects and using a reproducible and portable robotic program for the NAO robot.
Getting a Handle on RAS-targeted Therapies: Cysteine Directed Inhibitors

Directly inhibiting oncogenic RAS proteins has proven to be an arduous task, as after more than thirty years of intensive investigation, no clinically relevant therapies exist. Recently, two classes of selective small molecule inhibitors that target a cysteine-containing RAS mutant have been developed, representing the first directed approaches to specifically inhibit an oncogenic KRAS mutant. In this mini-review, we first assess the development and targeting strategies associated with novel cysteine-directed RAS inhibitors. Next, we describe the variable oncogenic potency of the KRAS G12C mutant when compared to other KRAS G12 mutants. Lastly, we evaluate how the redox properties of KRAS G12C may play a role in differential signaling and tumorigenic potency of the oncogene, the efficacy of small molecules targeting this specific RAS mutant and further development of directed oncogenic RAS inhibitors.
Bag-of-visual-words approach to abnormal image detection in wireless capsule endoscopy videos

One of the main goals of Wireless Capsule Endoscopy (WCE) is to detect the mucosal abnormalities such as blood, ulcer, polyp, and so on in the gastrointestinal tract. Only less than 5% of total 55,000 frames of a WCE video typically have abnormalities, so it is critical to develop a technique to automatically discriminate abnormal findings from normal ones. We introduce "Bag-of-Visual-Words" method which has been successfully used in particular for image classification in non-medical domains. Initially the training image patches are represented by color and texture features, and then the bag of words model is constructed by K-means clustering algorithm. Subsequently the document is represented as the histogram of the visual words which is the feature vector of the image. Finally, a SVM classifier is trained using these feature vectors to distinguish images with abnormal regions from ones without them. Experimental results on our current data set show that the proposed method achieves promising performances.
Zhouyuan Oracle-Bone Inscriptions: Entering the Research Stage?

In 1977, some 17,000 pieces of pyromantic turtle-shell, of which nearly 300 pieces were inscribed, were discovered at the site of the Zhou ancestral temple in Qishan, Shaanxi. Scholarship on this important inscriptional source has been hampered by the piecemeal nature of its publication. Now, Wang Yuxin, in his XiZhou jiagu tanlun, has brought together the information and conclusions of sixteen studies published through 1981. In addition, Wang has also presented his own research into the nature and periodization of these inscriptions. The author of this review article acknowledges Wang's contributions to the study of the Zhouyuan oracle-bone inscriptions, but finds fault not only with Wang's periodization but also with his assertion that a number of these inscriptions recording sacrifices to Shang ancestors manifest instead an exogamic relationship between the Shang and Zhou kings.
Self-channeling of Terawatt-power CO 2 laser Pulses in Air

We report the first observation of Kerr self-focusing of 3 ps TW CO 2 laser pulses in atmosphere. A centimeter diameter, 30m long, 10-μm light channel containing a few Joules of energy is generated and characterized.
Welding parameter maps to help select power and energy consumption of friction stir welding

Abstract The objectives of this work are to investigate power and energy consumption of friction stir welding over a wide range of welding parameters and to provide a welding parameter map synthesized with their relations to welding quality. Friction stir welding has been known as an energy efficient welding technology because the whole process takes place in the solid-state, i.e., no excessive heat is needed to melt the workpiece. However, the study of the energy consumption and resulting welding quality across a wide parameter window has not been established inclusively. In this work, a series of 6061-T6 aluminum butt welds were created by friction stir welding across various welding parameters (spindle speeds and weld speeds). In order to understand the overall power and energy consumption, both mechanical process power and electrical wall plug power were measured on the 3-axis CNC mill used to perform the welds. Additionally, temperatures near the workpiece surface and weld roots were measured. The resulting weld quality was assessed by conducting tensile tests of weld cross-sections to determine the location of failures. The results of the power/energy, temperatures, and tensile tests were incorporated, producing an inclusive welding parameter map. The welding parameter map helps identify minimum power and minimum energy consumption points within the process constraints needed for maintaining good welding quality. The general approach presented in this paper can be applied to different welding setups and conditions.
Laparoscopic and Robot-Assisted Adrenalectomy

The surgical approach to the adrenal gland was historically described via an open technique. In recent years, laparoscopic and robot-assisted approaches have become the preferred methods for removal of the adrenal gland when affected by a variety of pathologic disorders. Numerous reports and comparative studies have demonstrated minimally invasive adrenalectomy to be superior to open adrenalectomy with regard to blood loss, cosmesis, analgesic requirements, hospital stay, and recovery time. Laparoscopic and robot-assisted adrenalectomies are efficacious and safe and have become the standard for the majority of surgical adrenal disorders.
Galactic magnetic fields and magnetic monopoles.

Magnetic fields are associated with astronomical objects, from planets and stars to galaxies and clusters of galaxies. In contrast to magnetic fields, strong electric fields are absent throughout most of space. The free electrons reduce electric fields essentially to zero in the frame of reference of the local matter. Exceptions are cold planetary atmospheres and the thin isolated shear planes produced by the dynamical nonequilibrium of strained magnetic fields. The general absence of free electrons in the terrestrial atmosphere is attested by such phenomena as lightning and the free motion of the air across the geo-magnetic field. The occasional shear planes in planetary and stellar magnetic fields induce such high electric current densities as to accelerate the local electrons to large velocities, producing the aurora, the stellar flare, and the X-ray corona. Apart from these fascinating exceptions, however, electrical potential differences are limited to the thermal energy of the local electrons.
Abstract 1733: Wnt antagonists synergize with immune checkpoint inhibitors to enhance anti-tumor responses

Aberrant Wnt signaling through overexpression or activating mutations in Wnt pathway proteins is responsible for the initiation and progression of numerous cancers. While enhanced Wnt signaling has been shown to play a major role in cancer stem cell biology, more recent studies have implicated Wnt in the development of resistance to anti-tumor immune responses. Here, we show that in various syngeneic murine tumor models, targeting Wnt signaling using the Fzd receptor monoclonal antagonist antibody, OMP-18R5 (vantictumab) or the pan-Wnt decoy receptor Fc fusion protein OMP-Fzd8-Fc (ipafricept) in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors anti-CTLA-4 or anti-PD1 induce synergistic anti-tumor responses leading to decreased tumor volume and increased infiltration of activated CD8+ T cells into the tumor microenvironment. In addition, we show that combined Wnt and immune checkpoint inhibition decrease regulatory T cells (Tregs), enhance cytotoxic T cell activity and increase antigen presentation by APCs. More importantly, we demonstrate that anti-PD1 and the Wnt antagonists decrease immune suppressive myeloid cell populations, which may enhance therapeutic efficacy and anti-tumor responses. Therefore, these results suggest that co-targeting Wnt and immune checkpoint proteins may provide valuable opportunities for novel combination strategies for immunotherapeutic clinical development. Citation Format: Jenny Ross, Timothy Hoey, Ann Kapoun, John Lewicki, Austin Gurney, Christopher L. Murriel. Wnt antagonists synergize with immune checkpoint inhibitors to enhance anti-tumor responses [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1733.
Screening Ultrasound for Women with Dense Breasts in the Age of Patient-centered Care

As the field of medicine moves toward practicing patient-centered care, radiologists in breast imaging must continue to look for ways to increase the value of their practice in the eyes of patients. Providing adjunct screening of women with dense breasts provides such an opportunity. The presence of dense breast tissue is not only an independent risk factor for breast cancer but also a risk factor for the delayed diagnosis of breast cancer as dense tissue reduces the efficacy of screening mammograms due to the tissue masking effect. As legislation for notifying women of their breast density becomes commonplace, both women and referring physicians need to understand the risks of dense breast tissue as well as the benefits of additional screening affords. Breast radiologists can become integral to their patients’ care team by offering education to both referring providers and patients on the topic of dense breasts and supplemental screening solutions, such as screening breast ultrasound, which has been shown to have benefit in overcoming mammography’s shortcomings in this demographic of women.
Modeling energy efficiency as a supply resource: a bottom-up approach

Energy efficiency may be an inexpensive way to meet future demand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, yet little work has been attempted to estimate annual energy efficiency supply functions for electricity planning. The main advantage of using a supply function is that energy efficiency adoption can change as demand changes. Models such as Duke University’s Dynamic Integrated Economy/Energy/Emissions Model (DIEM) have had to rely on simplistic or fixed estimates of future energy efficiency from the literature rather than on estimates from energy efficiency supply curves. This paper attempts to develop a realistic energy efficiency supply curve and to improve on the current energy efficiency modeling. It suggests an alternative approach based on saved-energy cost data from program administrators and explains the methodologies employed to create the supply curve. It illustrates this approach with results from DIEM for various electricity demand scenarios. The analysis suggests that an additional 5–9% of energy efficiency is deployed for every 10% increase in the cost of electricity. Therefore, DIEM “invested” in energy efficiency up to an inelastic point on the energy efficiency supply curve. By contrast, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s energy efficiency approach assumes that realized energy efficiency is fixed, and has no elasticity, regardless of changes to marginal costs or constraints that affect emissions or economics.
Characterizing pediatric high frequency users of California emergency departments.

Abstract Objective Emergency department (ED) utilization has increased for the last several decades. Despite a focus on adult frequent ED users, little research has examined pediatric frequent ED users. The purpose of this study was to assess pediatric ED utilization in California and to describe those identified as frequent ED users. Methods This was a retrospective multi-facility study of ED visits by children 1–17 years of age using statewide data from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Patients were classified into utilization groups by the number of ED visits in a one-year period prior to their last visit in 2016: occasional (1–5 visits) vs. frequent (>5 visits). Differences in patient characteristics were compared between occasional and frequent users. Results There were 690,130 patients between 1 and 17 years of age with 1,238,262 visits during the study period. Children with ≥6 visits (2.3%) accounted for 9.3% of all visits. 67% of frequent users had no visits to a pediatric ED. Over 40% (41.4%) of frequent users visited 2 or more hospitals, compared to 7.7% of occasional users. In multivariate analysis, the characteristics with the largest associations with frequent ED use were age, payer, and being admitted/transferred. Conclusions The majority of pediatric frequent users do not seek care in pediatric EDs. Age, prior admission, and Medicare/Medicaid appear to have the largest associations with pediatric patient frequent ED utilization.
Surgical Navigation for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

This article reviews the basic setup and function of surgical navigation and displays a variety of applications in oral and maxillofacial surgery. The use of surgical navigation for dental implant placement is discussed elsewhere in this issue.
A Novel Mitochondrial Inhibitor Blocks MAPK Pathway and Overcomes MAPK Inhibitor Resistance in Melanoma.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine if inhibition of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) is an effective strategy against MAPK pathway inhibitor (MAPKi)–resistant BRAF-mutant melanomas. Experimental Design: The antimelanoma activity of IACS-010759 (OPi), a novel OxPhos complex I inhibitor, was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic studies and predictors of response were evaluated using molecularly and metabolically stratified melanoma cell lines. 13C-labeling and targeted metabolomics were used to evaluate the effect of OPi on cellular energy utilization. OxPhos inhibition in vivo was evaluated noninvasively by [18F]-fluoroazomycin arabinoside (FAZA) PET imaging. Results: OPi potently inhibited OxPhos and the in vivo growth of multiple MAPKi-resistant BRAF-mutant melanoma models with high OxPhos at well-tolerated doses. In vivo tumor regression with single-agent OPi treatment correlated with inhibition of both MAPK and mTOR complex I activity. Unexpectedly, antitumor activity was not improved by combined treatment with MAPKi in vitro or in vivo. Signaling and growth-inhibitory effects were mediated by LKB1–AMPK axis, and proportional to AMPK activation. OPi increased glucose incorporation into glycolysis, inhibited glucose and glutamine incorporation into the mitochondrial tricarboxylic acid cycle, and decreased cellular nucleotide and amino acid pools. Early changes in [18F]-FAZA PET uptake in vivo, and the degree of mTORC1 pathway inhibition in vitro, correlated with efficacy. Conclusions: Targeting OxPhos with OPi has significant antitumor activity in MAPKi-resistant, BRAF-mutant melanomas, and merits further clinical investigation as a potential new strategy to overcome intrinsic and acquired resistance to MAPKi in patients.
Historic and contemporary use of catfish aquaculture by piscivorous birds in the Mississippi Delta

Piscivorous birds are the primary source of catfish (Ictalurus spp.) depredation at aquaculture facilities in northwestern Mississippi. Of particular concern is the Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), which can cost aquaculture producers millions of dollars annually through the depredation of cultured fish. Historical research conducted in the early 2000s estimated cormorant use of aquaculture ponds in the region, but aquaculture area has decreased by more than 70% since those estimates were made. With less aquaculture available, we predicted cormorant densities on aquaculture would be greater today than historically. Applying a similar methodology as in historical studies, we used aerial surveys to collect data on cormorants at night roosts and using catfish aquaculture ponds during 3 consecutive winter seasons, beginning in 2015. Although the mean annual number of cormorants at roosts in the Delta during our study was 64% less than historically, we found no significant change in densities on aquaculture, suggesting that aquaculture area is likely the factor influencing cormorant occurrence in northwestern Mississippi. During contemporary surveys we also measured the abundance of Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) and Great Egrets (A. alba) on the aquaculture clusters, and built predictive models of abundance relative to variables associated with forage at and surrounding the clusters. We found abundance of all 3 species was strongly related to the amount of aquaculture area both within and surrounding a cluster, although patterns varied by species. Cormorant abundance was also greater on clusters with proportionately more food fish (≥20 cm in length) than fingerlings (<20 cm) and was positively related to the proximity and size of night roosts. The relationships described here can be used by producers and wildlife managers to predict the abundance of these piscivorous birds at aquaculture facilities and to design efficient management plans to mitigate potential impacts of depredation and disease.LAY SUMMARYMississippi contains ∼60% of all catfish production in the U.S., and bird depredation costs producers millions of dollars annually.We studied how Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, and Great Egrets use commercial catfish aquaculture in Mississippi.However, catfish production in Mississippi has declined by over 70% since its peak in the early 2000s, raising questions regarding bird use, particularly by cormorants.Does less aquaculture mean more cormorants per pond? Has the aquaculture decline affected cormorant abundance in the region, and is catfish aquaculture a driver of local bird abundance?To address these questions, we compared surveys of cormorants from the early 2000s with contemporary surveys.We found fewer cormorants in Mississippi today than in the past but cormorant density on ponds has not changed, suggesting a link to the amount of catfish ponds. Local abundance of all fish-eating birds surveyed was also related to the amount of catfish aquaculture.
Higher-Than-Expected Rates of Distal Radioulnar Joint Fixation in Radial Shaft Fractures: Location of Fracture Matters.

Background:The purpose of this study was to evaluate rates of distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) fixation based on location of the radial shaft fracture and risk factors associated with postoperative c...
Quadratic Integer Programming Approach for Reliability Optimization of Cyber-Physical Systems Under Uncertainty Theory

Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) are an example of software and hardware components working in symphony. The greatest challenge in CPS design and verification is to design a CPS to be reliable while encountering various uncertainties from the environment and its constituent subsystems. Cost, delay, and reliability of a CPS are functions of software–hardware partitioning of the CPS design. Hence, one of the key challenges in CPS design is to achieve reliability maximization while factoring in uncertainty in cost and delay.
STUDIES ON THE MECHANISM OF TRYPAN BLUE-INDUCED CONGENITAL MALFORMATIONS. I. DYE FRACTIONS AND FETAL ANOMALIES.

Abstract Eight different samples of trypan blue were fractionated into their main blue and red components. After spectral and chromatographic characterization, whole dyes, blue fractions, and red fractions were injected into a series of pregnant rats. A total of 170 control fetuses and 665 treated fetuses was obtained, the latter showing typical malformations in various degrees. Gross observations will provide a baseline for histologic and histochemical studies of maternal and fetal tissues now in progress. Neither trypan blue nor its red fraction were potent teratogens, though both, especially the blue fraction, may cause fetal resorptions. These findings suggest that other contaminants of the grossly impure commercial samples are responsible for the well-substantiated teratogenic action of “trypan blue.” The apparent innocuity of the red fraction, however, must be weighed against preliminary histological evidence that fluorescence, consistent with that emitted by the isolated red dye, has now been observed in some of the fetal tissues. On histochemical and chemical evidence from earlier studies, it is suggested that the target site of the teratogenic factor in trypan blue is an intracellular basic protein, probably nucleoprotein. It is further suggested that fetal cells (rapidly synthesizing new proteins) are most likely to be involved, that maternal cells cannot be ruled out on the present evidence, but that maternal plasma proteins are probably not primarily involved.
Insulin‐like growth factor‐1 lowers spreading depression susceptibility and reduces oxidative stress

Spreading depression (SD), the likely cause of migraine aura and perhaps migraine, is triggered by widespread and unfettered neuronal hyperexcitability. Migraine and the initiating hyperexcitability of seizure, which involve oxidative stress (OS), are likely interrelated. Environmental enrichment (EE) decreases seizure and can reduce migraine. EE's well-characterized neuroprotective effect involves insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Accordingly, we asked if IGF-1 could mitigate the hyperexcitability that initiates SD using rat hippocampal slice cultures. We demonstrate that IGF-1 significantly decreased SD susceptibility and related OS. We mimicked OS of SD and observed that IGF-1 abolished hyperexcitability from OS. Application of an antioxidant significantly decreased SD susceptibility and co-administration of an antioxidant with IGF-1 produced no additive effect, whereas an oxidizer significantly increased SD, and this effect was abrogated by IGF-1. Moreover, IGF-1 significantly decreased baseline OS, despite seemingly paradoxically increasing CA3 bursting. These results suggest that IGF-1 increased endogenous antioxidants to levels sufficient to buffer against the OS of SD. Insulin similarly mitigated SD susceptibility, but required a far greater dose. Since brain IGF-1 increases with EE, and, like insulin, independently functions as an EE mimetic, we suggest that EE mimetics are a novel source of therapeutics for SD, and by extension, migraine.
Economics of Carbon Dioxide Sequestration and Mitigation versus a Suite of Alternative Renewable Energy Sources for Electricity Generation in U.S.

An equilibrium economic model for policy evaluation related to electricity generation in U.S has been developed; the model takes into account the non-renewable and renewable energy sources, demand and supply factors and environmental constraints. The non-renewable energy sources include three types of fossil fuels: coal, natural gas and petroleum, and renewable energy sources include nuclear, hydraulic, wind, solar photovoltaic, biomass wood, biomass waste and geothermal. Energy demand sectors include households, industrial manufacturing and non-manufacturing commercial enterprises. Energy supply takes into account the electricity delivered to the consumer by the utility companies at a certain price which maybe different for retail and wholesale customers. Environmental risks primarily take into account the CO 2 generation from fossil fuels. The model takes into account the employment in various sectors and labor supply and demand. Detailed electricity supply and demand data, electricity cost data, employment data in various sectors and CO 2 generation data are collected for a period of nineteen years from 1990 to 2009 in U.S. The model is employed for policy analysis experiments if a switch is made in sources of electricity generation, namely from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. As an example, we consider a switch of 10% of electricity generation from coal to 5% from wind, 3% from solar photovoltaic, 1% from biomass wood and 1% from biomass waste. The model is also applied to a switch from 10% coal to 10% from clean coal technologies. It should be noted that the cost of electricity generation from different sources is different and is taken into account. The consequences of this switch on supply and demand, employment, wages, and emissions are obtained from the economic model under three scenarios: (1) energy prices are fully regulated, (2) energy prices are fully adjusted with electricity supply fixed, and (3) energy prices and electricity supply both are fully adjusted. Keywords : Carbon dioxide sequestration and mitigation; Renewable energy; Electricity generation JEL Classifications: C54; C68; Q42; Q48
Coamplified positive control detects inhibition of polymerase chain reactions.

Polymerase chain reactions (PCR) may fail to react because the substrate DNA is absent (true negative) or because of inhibition of specific amplification (false negative). The use of positive controls can increase confidence in negative PCR results by ruling out failure due to inhibition as a cause of the lack of amplification products. This report describes the construction and application of coamplified positive controls for herpes simplex virus and human herpesvirus 6 amplifications. Herpes simplex virus and human herpesvirus 6 PCR products were modified to generate control PCR products in which the original probe sequences were replaced by a Drosophila probe sequence. Implementation of the coamplified controls increased our specimen throughput in comparison with the parallel control amplifications used previously. Clinical laboratories using PCR for diagnosis of infectious diseases may find positive controls particularly helpful for increasing confidence that negative amplifications represent truly negative specimens. Images
Micro-firewalls for dynamic network security with distributed intrusion detection

This paper reports the design experiences and research findings of a new distributed security architecture for protecting exposed Intranets or clusters of computers from malicious attacks. We present a new approach of building micro-firewalls on network hosts to enable distributed intrusion detection with dynamic policy change, as the threat pattern changes. This distributed security can effectively counteract attacks from intruders or insiders. Three policy-update mechanisms are evaluated for achieving dynamic security. Mobile agents are shown most scalable and robust for policy update, but prone to attacks by other agents or hosts. The CORBA has the best speed performance with lower overhead The Java-based RMI demonstrates the highest security based on the sandbox model. The optimal choice depends on the tradeoffs among operating speed, Intranet scalability, host robustness, and the security level demanded by specific network applications.
Minimizing distortions in the time-domain measurement of microwave communications signals

We present a new method to minimize inaccuracies in time-domain measurements of microwave communications signals. The signal measurements are accomplished by converting the signal to baseband where accurate instrumentation is available. The baseband signal is composed of in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) components. The I and Q waveform measurements differ by a π/2 phase shift in the local oscillator used in the downconversion. Any I/Q imbalances may be detected and reduced by requiring the complex baseband signal to be invariant (apart from a rotation in the complex plane) with respect to the local oscillator phase. The complex baseband signal is measured twice, where the local oscillator (LO) phase is 0, and π/2 for the first signal measurement, and θ, and θ + π/2 for the second. Any I/Q imbalances and baseband nonlinearities are indicated by differences between the two measured signals. An LO phase shift of θ = π/4 + mπ/2, where m is an integer, is optimum for error detection. The errors may be reduced by averaging the measurements and by optimization of the measurement system. Errors caused by I/Q imbalances have been reduced to an error-to-signal power ratio of less than -56 dB. This accuracy is sufficient for essentially any communications system modeling applications.
Survivable inter-domain routing with Suurballe-based intra-domain disjointness information in multi-domain optical networks

We propose an algorithm to find a pair of disjoint inter-domain paths with minimum total cost based on a matrix for each domain that includes information generated by Suurballe's algorithm between the intra-domain aggregated links.
Toward parameterized verification of synchronous distributed applications

We present preliminary results on parameterized verification of distributed applications that assume a synchronous model of computation. Our theoretical results are negative -- the problem is undecidable even if each node has a single bit of non-determinism and the property is a 1-index safety property. Further, even if each node is completely deterministic, and the property is again a 1-index safety, parameterized verification cannot be solved via the cutoff method. Empirically, we show how to encode such applications as Array-Based Systems and verify them using existing model checkers. We demonstrate this approach on protocols for distributed mutual exclusion and collision avoidance.
Effects of ambient temperature and humidity on internal temperature and wing-beat frequency of Periplaneta americana☆

Abstract Internal thoracic temperature of Periplaneta americana males was measured at rest before flight, in flight, and at rest after flight at 25, 30, 35 and 40°C, and 50 and 95% r.h. The internal temperature at 50% r.h. was regularly below ambient temperature before flight and did not reach ambient temperature during flight at 35 and 40°C. Internal temperature at 95% r.h. was slightly below ambient temperature before flight at 30, 35, and 40°C, but the reduction was not as great as for 50% r.h. Maximum increase in thoracic temperature during flight was less at 50 than at 95% r.h. Internal temperatures lower than ambient are attributed to cooling through water loss. After flight thoracic temperatures dropped toward their pre-flight level. At 50% r.h. internal temperature 5 min after cessation of flight was approximately the same as the pre-flight temperature, but at 95% r.h. the internal temperature 5 min after flight ended was consistently higher than the pre-flight temperature. Wing-beat frequencies during flight of males with a thermocouple inserted in the thorax were the same as frequencies obtained from males without a thermocouple in the thorax. Internal thoracic temperature and wing-beat frequency were related but not closely correlated. From 30 to 40°C ambient the wing-beat frequencies at a given internal temperature were higher at 95 than at 50% r.h. During the warm-up portion of flight, prior to reaching equilibrium flying temperature, there was no appreciable increase in wing-beat frequency even though the internal temperature increased approximately 1·5 to 3·5°C. These examples of variation of wing-beat frequency that are not predictable from internal temperature indicate an additional mechanism influencing wing-beat frequency.
Template-Assisted Fabrication of Patchy Particles with Uniform Patches

Patchy particles with uniform patches of specific shape and size have been predicted to have a rich potential in fabricating new structures; however, an effective method to control the patch shape and size is still missing. In the method presented here, a template is used to assist the fabrication of patchy particles with patches of uniform shape and controlled size by use of the glancing angle deposition method (GLAD). Uniform shadowing effects are caused by the wall of the grooves carved into the surface of a silicon wafer. The ratio of template dimension to particle diameter and the angle of incidence of the metal vapor rays determine the patch shape and size. Mathematical calculations are applied to predict the patch shape and size. Scanning electron microscopy is used to demonstrate the efficiency of the method. Scaling analysis shows that the template-assisted GLAD method leads to a 3100-fold increase in patchy particle fabrication volumes compared to the template-free GLAD method.