cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Topological linkage of circular DNA molecules promoted by Ustilago recl protein and topoisomerase

Abstract We studied the formation of linked circular DNA molecules promoted by the combined action of recl protein and type I topoisomerase of Ustilago maydis. When ATP was added as cofactor to reactions containing recl protein, pairs of homologous circular DNA molecules became linked after addition of topoisomerase. Closed circular duplex molecules could be joined at homologous sites with circular single-stranded molecules or with other circular duplex molecules, provided that homologous single-stranded DNA fragments or RNA polymerase and nucleoside triphosphates were also added. Complexes formed were topologically linked through regions of heteroduplex DNA. When the analog adenylyl-imidodiphosphate was substituted for ATP, nonhomologous pairs of circular DNA molecules became linked.
Impairment of ascorbic acid's anti-oxidant properties in confined media: inter and intramolecular reactions with air and vanadate at acidic pH.

The anti-oxidant properties of L-ascorbic acid were investigated in the confined medium produced by a sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (aerosol-OT, AOT) self-assembled reverse micelle. Using 1 H– 1 H NOESY (proton-proton 2D nuclear overhauser enhancement correlation spectroscopy) NMR spectroscopy, the location of ascorbic acid was investigated and found to be at the AOTinterface in contrast to earlier studies where the ascorbate was assumed to be in the water pool in these microemulsions. The reaction of ascorbic acid with oxygen was investigated using EPR spectroscopy. A delocalized monoanionic ascorbate radical was observed in microemulsions prepared from pH 5.6 stock solutions. This is in contrast to studies carried out in aqueous media where no radical formation was observed. The oxidation of ascorbic acid by aqueous V(V) was investigated in reverse micelles. Modest changes in the kinetic parameters were observed for this system compared to that in water. Details of these reactions were examined and can be summarized as the microemulsion solvating and stabilizing reactive intermediates via rate inhibition or enhancement. The inhibition of the oxidation is due to solvation stabilization of ascorbic acid in microemulsion media. Since ascorbate is a valuable marker of oxidative stress, our results suggest that compartmentization can modify the stabilization of the ascorbate radical and the changes in properties could be important in biological systems.
Lack of adaptation from standing genetic variation despite the presence of putatively adaptive alleles in introduced sweet vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum)

Population genetic theory predicts that the availability of appropriate standing genetic variation should facilitate rapid evolution when species are introduced to new environments. However, few tests of rapid evolution have been paired with empirical surveys for the presence of previously identified adaptive genetic variants in natural populations. In this study, we examined local adaptation to soil Al toxicity in the introduced range of sweet vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum), and we genotyped populations for the presence of Al tolerance alleles previously identified at the long-term ecological Park Grass Experiment (PGE, Harpenden, UK) in the species native range. We found that markers associated with Al tolerance at the PGE were present at appreciable frequency in introduced populations. Despite this, there was no strong evidence of local adaptation to soil Al toxicity among populations. Populations demonstrated significantly different intrinsic root growth rates in the absence of Al. This suggests that selection on correlated root growth traits may constrain the ability of populations to evolve significantly different root growth responses to Al. Our results demonstrate that genotype-phenotype associations may differ substantially between the native and introduced parts of a species range and that adaptive alleles from a native species range may not necessarily promote phenotypic differentiation in the introduced range.
A completely pipelined regular array processor implementation of the RITE algorithm

The paper presents a completely pipelined regular array processor implementation of a direction of arrival estimator. The estimator employs the recursive/iterative eigenspace decomposition (RITE) of a hermitian Toeplitz spatial correlation matrix. In addition to the recursive and iterative nature of the algorithm, various dependencies are strongly connected. The eigenvalue computations are based on the secular equation, and the eigenvector computations are based on the Schur algorithm. A new concept of a flushing processor is employed to integrate the Schur implementation of lower and upper triangular matrices with asymptotic processor efficiency of 100%. >
Theory of the Oscillating Viscometer for Slip Flow

The theory of the oscillating viscometer has been extended for a slip boundary condition. The cases considered here are: an infinite disk, an infinite cylinder, a sphere, and a pile of infinite disks. This study has prepared the way for the formulation of a new method for measuring the amount of slip experienced by bodies moving in gases outside the continuum regime. The theory of Kestin and Wang [11] has been extended to include slip at the boundary.
Computation of the periods of forced overflow oscillations in digital filters

For any given set of coefficient values for a second-order recursive digital filter, it is shown how to determine explicitly the periods of the forced response at which overflow oscillations can be sustained. The techniques that ate presented (which have quite general applicability) show for the first time how the concept of a P 0 matrix can be used to advantage in the study of nonlinear effects in digital filters.
Tumor-host signaling interaction reveals a systemic, age-dependent splenic immune influence on tumor development

// Afshin Beheshti 1,2 , Justin Wage 2 , J. Tyson McDonald 3 , Clare Lamont 2 , Michael Peluso 2 , Philip Hahnfeldt 2 and Lynn Hlatky 2 1 Division of Hematology/Oncology, Molecular Oncology Research Institute, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA 2 Center of Cancer Systems Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA 3 Cancer Research Center, Hampton University, Hampton, VA, USA Correspondence to: Lynn Hlatky, email: // Keywords : aging and cancer, tumor progression, tumor microenvironment, CD2, CD3e, Gerotarget Received : September 22, 2015 Accepted : September 29, 2015 Published : October 21, 2015 Abstract The concept of age-dependent host control of cancer development raises the natural question of how these effects manifest across the host tissue/organ types with which a tumor interacts, one important component of which is the aging immune system. To investigate this, changes in the spleen, an immune nexus in the mouse, was examined for its age-dependent interactive influence on the carcinogenesis process. The model is the C57BL/6 male mice (adolescent, young adult, middle-aged, and old or 68, 143, 551 and 736 days old respectively) with and without a syngeneic murine tumor implant. Through global transcriptome analysis, immune-related functions were found to be key regulators in the spleen associated with tumor progression as a function of age with CD2, CD3e, CCL19, and CCL5 being the key molecules involved. Surprisingly, other than CCL5, all key factors and immune-related functions were not active in spleens from non-tumor bearing old mice. Our findings of age-dependent tumor-spleen signaling interaction suggest the existence of a global role of the aging host in carcinogenesis. Suggested is a new avenue for therapeutic improvement that capitalizes on the pervasive role of host aging in dictating the course of this disease.
Interactions of Pathogenic Neisseriae with Epithelial Cell Membranes

The closely related bacterial pathogens Neisseria gonorrhoeae (gonococci, GC) and N. meningitidis (meningococci, MC) initiate infection at human mucosal epithelia. Colonization begins at apical epithelial surfaces with a multistep adhesion cascade, followed by invasion of the host cell, intracellular persistence, transcytosis, and exit. These activities are modulated by the interaction of a panoply of virulence factors with their cognate host cell receptors, and signals are sent from pathogen to host and host to pathogen at multiple stages of the adhesion cascade. Recent advances place us on the verge of understanding the colonization process at a molecular level of detail. In this review we describe the Neisseria virulence factors in the context of epithelial cell biology, placing special emphasis on the signaling functions of type IV pili, pilus-based twitching motility, and the Opa and Opc outermembrane adhesin/invasin proteins. We also summarize what is known about bacterial intracellular trafficking and growth. With the accelerated integration of tools from cell biology, biochemistry, biophysics, and genomics, experimentation in the next few years should bring unprecedented insights into the interactions of Neisseriae with their host.
Genomics of Helicobacter Species

Helicobacter pylori was the first bacterial species to have the genome of two independent strains completely sequenced. Infection with this pathogen, which may be the most frequent bacterial infection of humanity, causes peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. Other Helicobacter species are emerging as causes of infection, inflammation, and cancer in the intestine, liver, and biliary tract, although the true prevalence of these enterohepatic Helicobacter species in humans is not yet known. The murine pathogen Helicobacter hepaticus was the first enterohepatic Helicobacter species to have its genome completely sequenced. Here, we consider functional genomics of the genus Helicobacter, the comparative genomics of the genus Helicobacter, and the related genera Campylobacter and Wolinella.
Capsule commentary on Davydow et al., depression and risk of hospitalizations for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions in patients with diabetes.

Hospitalizations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) are potentially preventable, assuming timely and appropriate primary care is delivered to outpatients with these common, chronic conditions (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, asthma, COPD). Health care systems and hospitals frequently track and analyze ACSC hospitalizations as a performance measure.1 If hospitalization rates are disproportionately high, it is presumed that there may be problems in access to primary care or that outpatient management of these conditions is inadequate. In this issue of JGIM, Davydow and colleagues2 analyzed prospective cohort data in a large sample of patients (N = 4,128) with diabetes seen in 9 Group Health Cooperative primary care clinics in the Seattle area. The primary study question was whether comorbid major depression was independently associated with hospitalizations for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSCs) in patients with diabetes. After adjusting for demographic, clinical, and health-risk behavioral factors, major depression was associated with both the risk of initial ACSC-related hospitalization and the number of hospitalizations due to ACSCs. The hazard ratio and relative risk for ACSC-related hospitalization and the number of hospitalizations was increased by 41 % and 37 %, respectively. These important findings suggest that major depression may be an important contributor to hospitalizations for ACSCs. A limitation of this rigorously conducted study was the lack of information regarding depression treatment among study subjects, e.g. the proportion receiving treatment, the type and effectiveness of treatment and patient adherence and engagement with treatment. Even if these patients were receiving and adherent to depression treatment, it is safe to say that treatment was ineffective, given that participants’ scores on the PHQ-9 depression scale3 were in the diagnostic range for active, major depression. Despite this limitation, the study has important clinical implications. The findings suggest that improving depression care may be one strategy to prevent or reduce hospitalizations due to ACSCs, and subsequent hospitalization-related costs in patients with comorbid diabetes and depression. As the authors point out, “additional research is warranted to ascertain if effective interventions for depression in patients with diabetes could reduce the risk of hospitalizations for ACSCs and their associated adverse outcomes.”
PREROGATIVES, RESTRICTIONS, AND RIGHTS

INTRODUCTION In this essay, I offer a defense of the most prominent component of the anticonsequentialism articulated in Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia. This component is Nozick's affirmation of moral side constraints and the moral rights that are correlative to these side constraints. It is because of these side constraints and rights that the imposition by persons or groups of certain sacrifices upon others is morally impermissible even if the imposition of those sacrifices yields some (putatively) best outcome. These side constraints and rights prohibit persons and groups from advancing even the most alluring ends by means of imposing certain costs upon other individuals. Indeed, Nozick's opening sentence in Anarchy, State, and Utopia states, “Individuals have rights, and there are things no person or group may do to them (without violating their rights).” Yet it is a common and fair comment about Nozick's seminal work that it provides little in the way of sustained justification for this opening statement. This essay provides one strand of that missing justification. In order to introduce my argument, I need to situate it within the broad debate in moral theory between consequentialists and anticonsequentialists. More than that, I need to draw attention to a common progression within anticonsequentialist argumentation and to an important proposal that this progression should be halted at a point that is halfway between full consequentialism and full anticonsequentialism. More specifically, the proposal is that the progression of anticonsequentialist argumentation should be halted before it arrives at the anticonsequentialist component most prominent in Nozick, namely, the affirmation of moral side constraints and correlative moral rights.
Sublethal pesticide exposure disrupts courtship in the striped lynx spider, Oxyopes salticus (Araneae: Oxyopidae)

The striped lynx spider, Oxyopes salticus, is a dominant predator of pests in agricultural crops where pesticides are readily applied. While past research shows pesticides directly affect the mortality of agricultural pest predators, recent research has found that pesticide exposure may cause sublethal effects in these organisms. This study examined how residues of three common pesticides (active ingredients: bifenthrin, carbaryl, malathion) impact courtship behaviour of O. salticus. Males provided with cues left by females readily performed courting behaviours. However, when females left cues on a substrate containing bifenthrin and carbaryl, males were less likely to perform courtship behaviours and did so for less time. While males on the malathion treatment showed a trend for reduced courting, this was not significantly different from the treatment without pesticides. The cue produced by females is unknown in this species. However, our study found males reduced their courting over time, suggesting that the cue is ephemeral and not long lived. This study adds important insight into the growing evidence that pesticides greatly impact the ecology of agricultural pest predators and other non-target organisms by altering their behaviour.
Failure of Glass with Subthreshold Flaws

Conventional postthreshold crack analysis cannot be used to predict the strength and fatigue behavior of glass with subthreshold flaws. Therefore, a fracture mechanics model for failure of glass with subthreshold indentation flaws was developed. This model accounts for both the near- and farfield residual stresses associated with the indentation impression. It is shown that these stresses play a major role in the initiation and subsequent propagation of cracks that eventually cause failure. The model predicts “pop-in” of a well-developed crack and failure under continuous and discontinuous crack growth in both inert and fatigue conditions. The results of experiments with bare fused silica fibers with indentation subthreshold flaws in inert and fatigue (water) environments were in good agreement with the predictions by the model.
Constitutional Design in the Ancient World

This paper identifies two distinctive features of ancient constitutional design that have largely disappeared from the modern world: constitution-making by single individuals and constitution-making by foreigners. We consider the virtues and vices of these features, and argue that under plausible conditions single founders and outsider founders offer advantages over constitution-making by representative bodies of citizens, even in the modern world. We also discuss the implications of adding single founders and outsider founders to the constitutional toolkit by describing how constitutional legitimacy would work, and how constitutional interpretation would be conducted, under constitutions that display either or both of the distinctive features of ancient constitutional design.
Phosphate Stress in Cultures and Field Populations of the Dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum Detected by a Single-Cell Alkaline Phosphatase Assay

Alkaline phosphatase activity is a common marker of phosphate stress in many phytoplankton, but it has been difficult to attribute alkaline phosphatase activity to specific organisms or groups of phytoplankton in the field with traditional biochemical procedures. A new alkaline phosphatase substrate, ELF-97 (enzyme-labeled fluorescence), shows promise in this regard. When a phosphate group is cleaved from the ELF-97 reagent, the remaining molecule precipitates near the site of enzyme activity, thus fluorescently tagging cells with alkaline phosphatase activity. We characterized ELF-97 labeling in axenic cultures of a common dinoflagellate, Prorocentrum minimum, in order to understand ELF-97 labeling dynamics when phosphate nutrition varies. Enzyme activity, as detected by ELF-97 labeling, appears to be induced in late-log- or early-stationary-phase cultures if cells are grown in low-phosphate media and is lost when phosphate-stressed cells are refed with phosphate. ELF-97 appears to label an inducible intracellular alkaline phosphatase in P. minimum based on confocal microscopy studies. This may limit the use of this reagent to organisms that lack high levels of constitutive intracellular phosphatases. After laboratory cultures were characterized, ELF-97 was used to assay field populations of P. minimum in Narragansett Bay during two 1-week periods, and 12 to 100% of the P. minimum cells were labeled. The level of cell labeling was reduced by 3 days of incubation with added inorganic phosphate. Our results indicate that ELF-97 is an excellent new tool for monitoring phytoplankton phosphate stress in the environment when the data are supported by appropriate laboratory studies.
The Noise in the Archive: Oblivion in the Age of Total Recall

The convergence of pervasive forms of data collection, widespread deployment of cheap digital sensors, and economics of infinite storage is apparently leading us into an age of perfect remembering where “everyone is on the record all the time.” This paper investigates the figure of a future bereft of oblivion by confronting two widely discussed statements on the changing condition of memory, Gordon Bell’s Total Recall, and Viktor Mayer-Schonberger’s Delete. I argue that in spite of their antagonistic conclusions, both authors share an intellectual commitment to the unique historical status of digital information as immaterial, and thus, impervious to the noise, decay, and distortion that analogue carriers have previously brought to the task of preserving memory. I conclude that whatever the future of the past may be, digital information cannot, in fact, escape its material foundations, and will inevitably bring to the table its own particular sets of possibilities and constraints to the business of remembering and oblivion.
Characterization of periinfarct flow transients with laser speckle and Doppler after middle cerebral artery occlusion in the rat

Little information exists on the role and the characteristics of perfusion changes related to periinfarct depolarization. Our aim was to visualize and monitor periinfarct flow transients (PIFTs) in Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 10) with two different laser methods in a closed-skull model of filament middle cerebral artery occlusion. A laser Doppler probe was placed over the ischemic cortex 5 mm lateral to Bregma, and a 5 x 5 mm area centered 5 mm posterior and 4 mm lateral to Bregma was thinned for laser speckle imaging. Both neurological and histological evaluations were performed at 72 hr postinjury. Mean flow during 90-min ischemia was 29% of baseline measured by laser Doppler and 36-54% by laser speckle. Flow transients occurred in all rats, the number of PIFTs being 4.6 +/- 1.8/90 min. By both methods, 95.6% of them occurred with temporal correlation. The average duration of PIFTs was also identical (162 +/- 24 and 162 +/- 34 sec, respectively). Five different morphologies of flow transients ranging from hypoperfusive to hyperemic were identified by laser speckle. The PIFTs changed their morphology dynamically over certain regions. All of the animals showed an infarct (178.5 +/- 26 mm(3)) in the middle cerebral artery territory. Laser Doppler in itself can be a reliable method for counting/detecting PIFTs, but laser speckle is capable of monitoring the dynamic changes in PIFT morphology over the penumbral and periischemic cortex.
Using Personal Strengths with Intention in Pharmacy: Implications for Pharmacists, Managers, and Leaders

Background:The importance of allowing individuals to use their strengths in a work environment has been articulated through research focused on general audiences as well as by thought leaders within pharmacy. In particular, the work of Gallup has described how organizations that foster an environment in which employees frequently use their strengths achieve increased productivity, customer and employee satisfaction, and improved success at meeting goals. Despite acknowledging the importance of such an environment, little has been articulated in the pharmacy literature regarding how pharmacists can identify and apply their unique strengths within their profession.Objective:To provide an overview of the concept of individual strengths, the value of utilizing strengths in the profession, and the authors' experiences facilitating an awareness of this concept with student pharmacists, pharmacy residents, and pharmacists.Methods:Discovery and application of strengths has become a foundational theme in leadershi...
An amplifier-shaper-discriminator with baseline restoration for the ATLAS transition radiation tracker

The ASDBLR is a bipolar integrated circuit that provides eight channels of amplifier, shaper, discriminator and baseline restorer on a 6.17 by 4.78 mm silicon substrate. It is designed for use in the straw-based Transition Radiation Tracker (TRT) of the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Competing requirements for short measurement time (/spl ap/8 ns), good double pulse resolution (/spl ap/40 ns), low power (<30 mW/ch), and low operational threshold (/spl ap/1.5 fC) led to the choice of a largely differential circuit which includes detector tail compensation. A capacitively-coupled baseline restorer eliminates effective threshold shifts that would otherwise occur at the high per-wire hit rates (up to 20 MHz). A full-scale dynamic range of 200 fC and two discriminators with separate threshold adjusts allow the ASDBLR to function both as a tracker and a TR photon detector. Selectable ion-tail compensation makes the circuit compatible with both CF/sub 4/ and Xe-based gases.
Nationalism and Missions

Nationalism in the Orient came into being as a reaction to Western and Japanese political, military, economic, and cultural imperialism. It still has this character in countries remaining under colonial rule. This nationalism is a phenomenon of the twentieth century, although arising somewhat earlier in certain countries. Anti-western movements before this time were manifestations of cultural resistance to European penetration rather than truly nationalistic expressions. The Boxer Uprising of 1900 in China is the last major example of such a cultural reaction. Thereafter love and pride of ancient culture became increasingly only one ingredient in patriotic loyalty and devotion. Intensified during World War I, this earlier type of nationalism reached its climax in Asia in the period of World War II, and came to fruition in the independence of eight nations in East and Southern Asia. Since then this earlier type of nationalism has been replaced by a religious statism, to which many Western nations had already succumbed and which had led Japan to disaster. The entire Orient is far too vast an area for treatment in a brief paper, and this survey is limited to a mere outline of the relation of nationalism to the Christian mission as illustrated by events in some countries of East Asia, where along with India the issues were most sharply raised.
Polyimidines. VIII. Condensation of 3,5-dibenzylidenepyromellitide-1,7-dithione with m-xylylenediamine

A new pyromellitimidine-forming monomer, 3,5-dibenzylidenepyromellitide-1,7-dithione, was synthesized by thionation of 3,5-dibenzylidenepyromellitide using phosphorus pentasulfide in boiling chloro- or bromobenzene. Polymerization of this monomer with m-xylylenediamine (MXDA) in chlorobenezene at 95°C afforded poly(dihydroxydibenzylpyromellitimidinethione) with inherent viscosities of 0.23–0.51 dL/g in yields from 73 to 84%. Subsequent dehydration was accomplished by thermal methods or in a polar aprotic solvent such as dimethylformamide (DMF) using acid catalyst. Hydrated and dehydrated polymers were soluble in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP), m-cresol, and dioxane, and partially soluble in chloroform. Very brittle films could be cast from NMP solution. Thermogravimetric analysis of the dehydrated polymer showed a 10% weight loss in nitrogen atmosphere at 460°C
Histogram-based morphological edge detector

Presents a new edge detector for automatic extraction of oceanographic (mesoscale) features present in infrared (IR) images obtained from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). Conventional edge detectors are very sensitive to edge fine structure, which makes it difficult to distinguish the weak gradients that are useful in this application from noise. Mathematical morphology has been used in the past to develop efficient and statistically robust edge detectors. Image analysis techniques use the histogram for operations such as thresholding and edge extraction in a local neighborhood in the image. An efficient computational framework is discussed for extraction of mesoscale features present in IR images. The technique presented in the present article, called the Histogram-Based Morphological Edge detector (HMED), extracts all the weak gradients, yet retains the edge sharpness in the image. A new morphological operation defined in the domain of the histogram of an image is also presented. An interesting experimental result was found by applying the HMED technique to oceanographic data in which certain features are known to have edge gradients of varying strength. >
Medical Care in the Federal Bureau of Prisons: Fact or Fiction

Having spent five years imprisoned in Federal Medical Centers (FMC), I have substantive experience with the health care delivery system of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP). Intimately familiar with the symbolic quality of health care provided, I lived the rationing of health care practiced by FBOP medical personnel, and saw the organized denial of medical care to wards of the FBOP. Medical care within the FBOP is symbolic, with minimal expectation of improving prisoners' health. Discretionary medicine is top-down FBOP policy. The symbolic health care(less) provided by the FBOP is the focus of the present article.
Mechanistic Studies of the Solvolyses of Carbamoyl Chlorides and Related Reactions.

Carbamoyl chlorides are important intermediates, both in the research laboratory and in industrial scale syntheses. The most studied and used are the disubstituted derivatives, incorporating either aryl or alkyl groups (Ar2NCOCl or R2NCOCl). Sometimes, the groups are tied back to give a ring and piperidino- and morpholino-derivatives are commonly encountered. Some studies have been made with two different groups attached. Solvolyses tend to occur at the carbonyl carbon, with replacement of the chloride ion. Studies of both rate and products are reviewed and the solvolysis reactions are usually SN1, although addition of an amine leads to a superimposable bimolecular component. Many of the studies under solvolytic conditions include the application of the extended Grunwald–Winstein equation. The monosubstituted derivatives (ArNHCOCl or RNHCOCl) are less studied. They are readily prepared by the addition of HCl to an isocyanate. In acetonitrile, they decompose to set up and reach equilibrium with the isocyanate (ArNCO or RNCO) and HCl. Considering that the structurally related formyl chloride (HOCOCl) is highly unstable (with formation of HCl + CO2), the unsubstituted carbamoyl chloride (H2NCOCl) is remarkably stable. Recommended synthetic procedures require it to survive reaction temperatures in the 300–400 °C range. There has been very little study of its reactions.
The Border as Regulator of Life: Gustav Freytag's Uncontainable Realism

This article expands on Fontane's discussion of borders in Gustav Freytag, analyzing the various critical, aesthetic, geographic, and political modes of containment and their dissolution presented in Soll und Haben. The border region between Germany and Poland is the zone where an unresolvable dialectic of delimitation and expansion is played out. Following Friedrich Ratzel's Anthropogeogaphie, the border must be understood as a living organ, regulating the inner dynamics of nations. It is therefore no coincidence that Karl Haushofer, who in the 1920s and 1930s turned Ratzel's Political Geography into an imperialist Geopolitics, would use Freytag's novel Die Ahnen as a literary example of his slogan “Volk ohne Raum.” Freytag's peripheral realism simultaneously depicts ”grune Stellen” (Vischer) in the desert of Poland and scenes of unregulated, uncontainable violence. This ambiguity of this project of a “realist” novel manifests itself in a barely controlled, irregular force, incarnated in “dustere Grenzer...
Hearing on Electronic Communications Privacy Act Reform and the Revolution in Location Based Technologies and Services

This testimony, presented at a congressional hearing entitled “Electronic Communications Privacy Act Reform and the Revolution in Location Based Technologies and Services,” discusses the role of magistrate judges in handling surveillance requests by law enforcement, summarizes reported cases dealing with cell phone tracking, and suggests possible reforms to ECPA. The task of finding the appropriate balance between privacy and law enforcement belongs first of all to the political branches of government. As a judicial officer, I do not presume to advocate for either side of that debate. That said, from a magistrate judge’s perspective, there are two systemic flaws in the current statutory scheme that ought not be preserved in the next: undue complexity and undue secrecy. Simplicity may not be entirely achievable in a statute dealing with complicated technology. Likewise, transparency is not practicable for every phase of a criminal investigation. But complexity and secrecy take hidden tolls in the form of diminished privacy protection, unchecked judicial (and executive) power, and loss of public confidence in the judicial system. The 21st century version of ECPA should recognize and avoid these dangers.
Distinct Requirements for Vacuolar Protein Sorting 34 Downstream Effector Phosphatidylinositol 3-Phosphate 5-Kinase in Podocytes Versus Proximal Tubular Cells

The mechanisms by which the glomerular filtration barrier prevents the loss of large macromolecules and simultaneously, maintains the filter remain poorly understood. Recent studies proposed that podocytes have an active role in both the endocytosis of filtered macromolecules and the maintenance of the filtration barrier. Deletion of a key endosomal trafficking regulator, the class 3 phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) 3-kinase vacuolar protein sorting 34 (Vps34), in podocytes results in aberrant endosomal membrane morphology and podocyte dysfunction. We recently showed that the vacuolation phenotype in cultured Vps34-deficient podocytes is caused by the absence of a substrate for the Vps34 downstream effector PtdIns 3-phosphate 5-kinase (PIKfyve), which phosphorylates Vps34-generated PtdIns(3)P to produce PtdIns (3,5)P2. PIKfyve perturbation and PtdIns(3,5)P2 reduction result in massive membrane vacuolation along the endosomal system, but the cell-specific functions of PIKfyve in vivo remain unclear. We show here that the genetic deletion of PIKfyve in endocytically active proximal tubular cells resulted in the development of large cytoplasmic vacuoles caused by arrested endocytic traffic progression at a late-endosome stage. In contrast, deletion of PIKfyve in glomerular podocytes did not significantly alter the endosomal morphology, even in age 18-month-old mice. However, on culturing, the PIKfyve-deleted podocytes developed massive cytoplasmic vacuoles. In summary, these data suggest that glomerular podocytes and proximal tubules have different requirements for PIKfyve function, likely related to distinct in vivo needs for endocytic flux.
A family’s experience of coping with multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the red bone marrow that produces excess amounts of cloned plasma cells, osteolytic bone lesions, and the appearance of monoclonal proteins that may be found in the blood serum or urine. The aim of this article is to heighten awareness of this condition and provide some insight into the often aggressive nature of the disease within the context of end-of-life care. The narrative content portrays a vivid story of a dying mother, Susan, and how the family coped with the illness and impending death. The family had little time to come to terms with the diagnosis of cancer before Susan died. There is a definite need to increase understanding of the impact of this debilitating and incurable bone marrow cancer and to strengthen the evidence base for managing the disease in order to provide more supportive care. Conflict of interests: none
Synthesis of Group 4 Complexes That Contain the Tridentate Diamido/Donor Ligands [(ArylNCH2CH2)2O]2- and Zirconium Complexes That Contain [(ArylNCH2CH2)2S]2- and an Evaluation of Their Activity for the Polymerization of 1-Hexene

Compounds of the type (ArylNHCH2CH2)2O (Aryl = 2,6-Me2C6H3 (H2[1a]), 2,6-Et2C6H3 (H2[1b]), 2,6-i-Pr2C6H3 (H2[1c])) can be prepared by treating (TsOCH2CH2)2O (TsO = tosylate) with the lithium anilides in THF. [1a,b]TiCl2, [1a,b]TiMe2, [1a]Ti(CH2Ph)2, [1a−c]M(NMe2)2 (M = Zr or Hf), [1a−c]MCl2, and [1a−c]MR2 (R = Me, Et, i-Bu) were prepared. An X-ray study of [1a]Ti(CH2Ph)2 revealed the structure to be a distorted trigonal bipyramid (type B) in which the two amido nitrogens and one benzyl ligand occupy equatorial positions. An X-ray study of [1a]ZrMe2 showed it to be a distorted trigonal bipyramid that contains “axial” amido groups (type A), while an X-ray study of [1c]HfEt2 revealed it to have a structure halfway between type A and type B, i.e., a distorted square pyramid with one alkyl in the apical position. Analogous compounds were also prepared that contain a sulfur donor instead of oxygen, i.e., [(2,6-Me2C6H3NHCH2CH2)2S] (H2[2a]), [(2,6-i-Pr2C6H3NHCH2CH2)2S] (H2[2c]), [2a,c]Zr(NMe2)2, [2a,c]ZrCl2, [2a,...
The Federal Trade Commission and False Advertising: II

5W ITHIN its sphere, the success of the Federal Trade Commission can be measured in terms of the degree to which it extirpates "unfair methods" of business. The heart of this problem and the focal point of much of the Commission's work is the definition of the term "unfair methods." The layman is apt to agree with Edward S. Rogers' student, who said that the term "unfair competition" meant "playing dirty tricks."26 However correct and fundamental this definition may be, it remains a generalization that the Commission must translate into usable policies or standards by which specific methods can be judged, bearing in mind always the possibility that it may be subjected to review by the courts.
A Chronically Hypoprolactinemic Rat Model: Administration of Lergotrile Mesylate by Osmotic Minipump

AbstractThe feasibility of developing a hypoprolactinemic animal model by inducing prolonged suppression of endogenous prolactin (PRL) secretion by lergotrile mesylate (LM) administered via an ip implanted osmotic minipump was investigated. The response of plasma PRL to a 3-min ether challenge was examined over 7 days in animals receiving either physiological saline or LM at rates of 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 μg/hr via osmotic minipumps. Control animals demonstrated an increased PRL response to ether, in comparison to Day 1, upon subsequent exposures. The increased response to subsequent ether exposure was prevented by LM administration at rates of 2.5 and 5.0 μg/hr. LM at a rate of 10.0 μg/hr significantly suppressed the PRL response to ether on Days 4, 6 (P 0.002) following pump implantation. In addition, spontaneous PRL levels were examined over a 24-hr period in chronically cannulated male rats receiving either saline (n = 4) or LM at a rate of 10.0 μg/hr (n = 4), on Day 7 following pump...
New or Otherwise Noteworthy Species of Tuberales

(1947). New or Otherwise Noteworthy Species of Tuberales. Mycologia: Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 441-452.
Endometrial antigens involved in the autoimmunity of endometriosis.

Serum and peritoneal fluid from five fertile women without endometriosis and serum (n = 23) and peritoneal fluid (n = 12) from infertile women with endometriosis were tested for the presence of antibodies against endometrial tissue antigens by a Western blot analysis. Antigens with molecular weights (MW) of 19, 31, 38, and 42 kd reacted with antibodies in the serum and peritoneal fluid from both fertile and infertile women. Antibodies in 20 of 23 (87%) sera and all 12 (100%) peritoneal fluid samples from endometriosis patients reacted against endometrial antigens with molecular weights (MW) of 26 kd and/or 34 kd. Serum from 10 patients (43%) and peritoneal fluid from 6 patients (50%) also had antibodies to an endometrial antigen with MW of21.5 kd. Reactivity to other endometrial antigens with MW 16, 24, 48, and 75 kd was also noted in patients with endometriosis. Antibodies in the serum and peritoneal fluid from fertile women failed to react against these antigens. It is concluded that the humoral and local endometrial autoimmunity detected in patients with endometriosis is primarily directed against antigens with MW of 26 and 34 kd.
Applications of super capacitors for PMSG wind turbine power smoothing

The focus of this paper is wind power smoothing using super capacitors. Due to increasing penetration of the wind power in power system, the quality of the wind power has become a major concern to keep the stability of the power grid. One of the major problems of wind turbines is power fluctuations because of the wind speed oscillations. This paper studies the pros and cons of the integration of the super capacitors in the permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) wind turbine system. The dynamic of the wind turbine is developed to design a control algorithm for the wind turbine system. The system is simulated using PSIM software and the results are presented.
Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy

Hanahan and Weinberg described six distinct biological properties of cancer cells that enable tumor growth and metastasis. These properties were referred to as the traditional hallmarks of cancer. Recent discoveries further elucidated hallmarks including evasion of immune destruction by tumor cells that disrupt anticancer response pathways. This review discusses cancer immunology and new treatment strategies aimed at restoration of antitumor immune responses.
A new species of Ptychochromis from northeastern Madagascar (Teleostei: Cichlidae), with an updated phylogeny and revised diagnosis for the genus

A new species belonging to the endemic Malagasy cichlid genus Ptychochromis is described. Ptychochromis ernestmagnusi is known only from the middle to lower reaches of the Mananara River in northeastern Madagascar. Based on a unique configuration of the palatine, the new species is placed among the species of Ptychochromis considered to have an eastern-type palatine morphology by Stiassny and Sparks (2006). The new species is further distinguished from members of the “western clade” of Ptychochromis by anterior displacement of the first supraneural such that it overlies the dorsoposterior margin of the supraoccipital. Among species of Ptychochromis with eastern-type palatine morphology, P. ernestmagnusi shares with P. makira the possession of supraneurals with a characteristically flattened dorsal profile. Although P. makira and P. ernestmagnusi both possess paired lateral barring pigmentation patterns, the lateral flank bars in P. makira are distinctively V-shaped, whereas in P. ernestmagnusi they are oriented vertically. Ptychochromis ernestmagnusi is further distinguished from P. makira by prominent iridescent spangling on the flank and dorsal fin near its base, dusky grayish-green base coloration (vs. whitish), four laterosensory foramina on the lachrymal (vs. three), and a series of seven (vs. six) infraorbital bones. In addition, an updated phylogeny and diagnosis for Ptychochromis is presented, including anatomical data for the new species and novel anatomical data for the genus.
Exosomes mediate interepithelial transfer of functional P-glycoprotein in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.

Objective P-glycoprotein (P-gp) drives type-2 helper T-cell inflammation in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) through unknown posttranslational mechanisms of overexpression. A recent randomized clinical trial demonstrated that inhibition of P-gp was as effective as oral steroids and biologics in treating CRSwNP. Exosomes are 30- to 150-nm vesicles capable of intercellular membrane protein transfer. The aims of this study were 1) to determine whether CRSwNP mucus exosomes are enriched with P-gp, and 2) whether exosomal P-gp can be functionally transferred to autologous epithelial cells as a putative mechanism for the proinflammatory overexpression of P-gp in CRSwNP. Study Design Institutional review board-approved study in CRSwNP and control patients (n = 10 per group). Methods P-gp content of purified mucus exosomes was characterized by transmission electron microscopy and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Epithelial transfer of exosomal P-gp was determined by time-lapse fluorescent microscopy and calcein acetoxymethylester functional P-gp assay. Results CD63+/P-gp+ exosomes were detected in both groups. P-gp was significantly enriched in CRSwNP exosomes relative to control (median 198.5; interquartile range 123.6–270.5 vs. 74.4; 41.3–95.0 pcg P-gp/109 exosomes, P = 0.002). Exosomes were absorbed by epithelial cells within 10 minutes, resulting in a significant increase in P-gp activity in CRSwNP patients relative to control (P = 0.006). Conclusion Here we demonstrate the presence and P-gp enrichment of mucus-derived exosomes, or rhinosomes, in CRSwNP. These rhinosomes are capable of rapid intercellular transfer of P-gp, leading to increased P-gp function within recipient cells. This represents a novel mechanism for maintaining P-gp overexpression in CRSwNP, and more generally for interepithelial transfer of other proteins between mucosal epithelial cells. Level of Evidence NA. Laryngoscope, 2017
A Brief Note on Process Capability

Process capability, as revolutionized by Motorola, can be defined as the extent to which a process's natural variation falls within specifications. This note is a succinct introduction to the process capability ratio, which compares set specifications against the three standard deviations on either side of the process mean--six in total, referred to as Six Sigma. This introduction assumes a normal distribution of observations and a process that is performing predictably over time. Excerpt UVA-OM-1439 Rev. Sept. 19, 2011 A BRIEF NOTE ON PROCESS CAPABILITY Process behavior charts provide us with a way to determine whether a process is performing consistently and predictably over time and identify and eliminate special causes of abnormal variation. A process behavior chart does not provide us, however, with information about how well a process is performing relative to customer requirements. These charts offer evidence that a process is or is not performing consistently over time. To answer the question of how well a process is working relative to requirements, we need to have explicit understanding of what makes customers satisfied. Customer expectations guide a firm in setting specifications for performance. Specifications, also known as tolerances, may be based on government regulations, as with CAFE requirements for fuel emission per gallon in the auto industry or on engineering requirements, as with thread widths of mating components in an assembled product. If the threads of a particular screw must be within 8 and 12 millimeters, 8 millimeters is the lower specification limit or LSL, and 12 millimeters is the upper specification limit or USL. A service example would be a bank determining through market research that customers consider acceptable a transaction time of three minutes or less. Calculating the likelihood that a process meets specifications is one way to measure process capability. Motorola popularized another simple approach: comparing the spread of the natural variation in a process against the amount of variation that can be tolerated based on the requirements. Consider the screw example above. Suppose the screw manufacturing process in question produces screws with a width Y that is normally distributed around a mean of 10 millimeters, with a standard deviation of 0.5 millimeters. The process capability ratio, Cp, may be defined as follows: (1) Since width Y is normally distributed with a standard deviation of 0.5 millimeters, the “natural spread” of the process is defined as 3 millimeters (three standard deviations on either side of the mean). Also, given a USL of 12 millimeters and an LSL of 8 millimeters, the tolerable spread is 4 millimeters. Thus Cp = 4/3 = 1.33 for the screw manufacturing process. In this example, the fact that Cp > 1 suggests that the corresponding process largely meets specifications. A value of Cp = 1 would correspond to 3 defects per 1,000 units produced, since in this example the probability of a defect would equal the probability that Y 12, which is 0.27% (for the normally distributed variable). . . .
Small-Signal Response of Inversion Layers in High-Mobility $\hbox{In}_{0.53}\hbox{Ga}_{0.47}\hbox{As}$ MOSFETs Made With Thin High- $\kappa$ Dielectrics

Ultrahigh-mobility compound semiconductor-based MOSFETs and quantum-well field-effect transistors could enable the next generation of logic transistors operating at low supply voltages since these materials exhibit excellent electron transport properties. While the long-channel In0.53 Ga0.47As MOSFETs exhibit promising characteristics with unpinned Fermi level at the InGaAs-dielectric interface, the high-field channel mobility as well as subthreshold characteristics needs further improvement. In this paper, we present a comprehensive equivalent circuit model that accurately evaluates the experimental small-signal response of inversion layers in In0.53 Ga0.47As MOSFETs fabricated with LaAlO3 gate dielectric and enables accurate extraction of the interface state profile, the trap dynamics, and the effective channel mobility.