cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Countering tumor progression by targeting of a driver of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition

T epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) constitutes a relevant process during the progression of carcinomas, as it mediates the conversion of stationary, epithelial tumor cells into mesenchymal-like, invasive cancer cells. We recently identified the T-box transcription factor brachyury, a molecule predominantly expressed in human tumors but only rarely expressed in normal adult tissues, as a novel driver of the EMT process in human carcinoma cells. Brachyury was demonstrated to induce the expression of molecules associated with the mesenchymal phenotype, human tumor cell motility and invasiveness in vitro, as well as metastatic propensity in xenograft models. Analysis of expression in multiple human tumor tissues demonstrated a preferential expression of Brachyury in higher stage lung tumors, suggestive of a role of Brachyury in human lung cancer progression. Analysis of breast cancer tissues also revealed expression of Brachyury in primary breast tumor samples as well as in 100% of breast cancer metastatic lesions analyzed by immunohistochemistry. We have now shown a positive correlation between Brachyury expression in epithelial tumor cells and features of tumor stemness, including resistance in response to treatment with various chemotherapeutic agents or radiation. In search for an approach to target tumor cells with high levels of brachyury, we have characterized its immunogenicity and developed brachyury-based cancer vaccine platforms, one of which is currently undergoing Phase I clinical testing. We hypothesize that the eradication of brachyury-expressing tumor cells via immunotherapeutic approaches could be efficient at eliminating tumor cells with invasive/metastatic potential as well as tumor resistance to conventional therapies.
Selected Benign Tumors

Lipomas are the most common benign neoplasm and usually arise in subcutaneous tissue. The trunk and proximal limbs are the most frequent sites. Although deep-seated benign lipomas do occur in the mediastinum or retroperitoneum, seemingly mature fatty neoplasms in the retroperitoneum should be considered well-differentiated (WD) liposarcoma. Most lipomas are solitary, soft, and painless, and grow slowly; 2–3 % of patients have multiple lesions that are occasionally seen in a familial pattern.
Party identification: The covert influence on media's construction and portrayal of women's political identities

vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW: THE EVOLUTION OF GENDER AND PARTISANSHIP AS POLITICAL FACTORS 9 Introduction 9 Gendered Differences in Media Coverage 9 Contemporary Gendered Partisan Differences 15 Media Coverage among Different Groups of Women 17 CHAPTER 3: PARTISANSHIP, GENDER, AND MEDIA COVERAGE: UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP THROUGH CONTENT ANALYSIS 20 Introduction 20 Variables 20 Political Party 20 Media Coverage 22 Research Hypotheses 23 Data and Method 26 Data 27 Content Analysis 28 CHAPTER 4: MEDIA COVERAGE OF WOMEN OFFICEHOLDERS: DOES PARTISANSHIP MATTER? 3
Florida’s task force approach to combat human trafficking: an analysis of county-level data

AbstractSince emerging in the USA during the 1990s, the multi-agency task force has become the preferred organizational structure for enforcing human trafficking laws and providing assistance to victims. These task forces often work across county lines and typically include law enforcement agencies, as well as social service and non-governmental organizations. The effect of collaborations with other types of agencies on law enforcement’s human trafficking arrests is unknown. County-level arrest data for human trafficking first became available through the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2014. In this paper, we present findings from county-level analyses with human trafficking arrests in the State of Florida as the dependent variable. Independent variables include the presence of a task force, sociodemographic characteristics, tourism measures, and police officers per capita. The strongest predictor of human trafficking arrests is the presence of a task force.
Performance of IUCN proxies for generation length

One of the criteria used by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to assess threat status is the rate of decline in abundance over 3 generations or 10 years, whichever is longer. The traditional method for calculating generation length (T) uses age-specific survival and fecundity, but these data are rarely available. Consequently, proxies that require less information are often used, which introduces potential biases. The IUCN recommends 2 proxies based on adult mortality rate, Td = α + 1/d, and reproductive life span, Tz = α + z* RL, where α is age at first reproduction, d is adult mortality rate, RL is reproductive life span, and z is a coefficient derived from data for comparable species. We used published life tables for 78 animal and plant populations to evaluate precision and bias of these proxies by comparing Td and Tz with true generation length. Mean error rates in estimating T were 31% for Td and 20% for Tz, but error rates for Td were 16% when we subtracted 1 year ( Td( adj )=Td-1 ), as suggested by theory; Td( adj ) also provided largely unbiased estimates regardless of the true generation length. Performance of Tz depends on compilation of detailed data for comparable species, but our results suggest taxonomy is not a reliable indicator of comparability. All 3 proxies depend heavily on a reliable estimate of age at first reproduction, as we illustrated with 2 test species. The relatively large mean errors for all proxies emphasized the importance of collecting the detailed life-history information necessary to calculate true generation length. Unfortunately, publication of such data is less common than it was decades ago. We identified generic patterns of age-specific change in vital rates that can be used to predict expected patterns of bias from applying Td( adj ).
A Study on Designing Video Tutorials for Promoting Security Features: A Case Study in the Context of Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

ABSTRACTThis article investigates the effectiveness of informational videos that are designed to provide an introduction to two-step verification (i.e., 2FA) and in turn seeks to improve the adopti...
Pain in the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Patient

Pain in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) is very common and often difficult to treat. There are unique conditions that may develop after spinal cord injury. Pain providers who work with SCI patients must be able to recognize and treat these conditions. Each spinal cord injury is unique; patients may have complete paralysis with absent sensation below the level of injury, or they may have only subtle neurological deficits depending on the location and severity of the injury. Pain after SCI may be caused by direct damage to the peripheral nerves or the spinal cord; it may be referred by areas of the body with abnormal sensation or from internal organs; it may be caused by spasticity. An understanding of the changes to the nervous system after SCI is essential. In addition to neurological pain conditions, SCI patients are at increased risk for upper extremity musculoskeletal conditions.
Where the Jews Aren't: The Sad and Absurd Story of Birobidzhan, Russia's Jewish Autonomous Region

Masha Gessen's Where the Jews Aren't: The Sad and Absurd Story of Birobidzhan, Russia's Jewish Autonomous Region is two books in one. The first tells, in a manner of speaking, the strange story of ...
Applications of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA) in drug delivery systems

The potential for use of polymers in controlled drug delivery systems has been long recognized. Since their appearance in the literature, a wide range of degradable and non-degradable polymers have been demonstrated in drug delivery devices. The significance and features of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymers in initial research and development led to commercial drug delivery systems. This review examines the breadth of EVA use in drug delivery, and will aid the researcher in locating key references and experimental results, as well as understanding the features of EVA as a highly versatile, biocompatible polymer for drug delivery devices. Topics will include.
Archimedes the Mathematician

Although Archimedes’ fame among the general populace in antiquity was based on his military machines, inventions, and legends, he earned his true immortality through his mathematical works. Here I discuss some of Archimedes’ mathematical ideas that are being used and applied twenty-three centuries after his lifetime.
A Comparison of Ultrasound and MRI Measurements of the Cross-Sectional Area of the Median Nerve at the Wrist.

Background: Ultrasound (US) measurement of cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve has emerged as a viable alternative to electromyography/nerve conduction studies (EMG/NCS) for diagnosis of...
Coping with Indonesia’s Mudflow Disaster

An ongoing mudflow catastrophe in Sidoarjo, Indonesia has submerged a vast area and displaced many villagers. Victims have been coping with this disaster by calling it the Lapindo Mudflow after the company deemed responsible, demanding compensations from the government and Lapindo, forming victim groups, commemorating the disaster annually, and writing their stories to fight a collective memory loss. In many of these activities they were helped by volunteer activists. Kanal Newsroom is a media advocacy team setup to provide information for and train some victims to write, broadcast, and publish their stories online and in print. Voicing their conditions allowed some victims to create meanings of their predicament and put up a resilient response to the seemingly unending disaster. Focusing on the victims group, this chapter illustrates a case of sociotechnical resilience at the level of affected community.
Electrochemical and Adsorption Studies on the Formation of Poly-8-Hydroxyquinaldine Thin Films at Glassy Carbon/Electrolyte Interface

The kinetics and thermodynamics of the electropolymerization of the chelating agent 8-hydroxyquinaldine on GCE's (Glassy Carbon Electrodes') surface from aqueous phosphate buffers are reported. Thermodynamic functions related to the adsorption of the monomer on the GCE's surfaces were determinated. No contribution from GCE surface's functional group to the electropolymerization reactions was reported. The effects of monomer concentration, pH, and temperature on the electrochemical growth of poly 8-hydroxyquinaldine were investigated. The results suggest that the propagation of the electropolymerization process takes place via a free radical chain reactions. Furthermore, the results indicate that the electrochemical growth of the polymeric films is dictated by pre-polymerization adsorption on the electrode surface.
Investigation of the feasibility of POE methodology for a modern commercial office building

Abstract Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE), as an architectural and technical tool, has been researched for decades to support an effective design decision process and also for indoor environmental quality control, such as thermal, air, lighting, and acoustic quality, as well as spatial quality. However, a one-time data collection has been frequently adopted that includes survey and field measurements, even though these data acquisition approaches have been moderately changed and revised. For modern office buildings, where a large number of time-varying architectural and environmental parameters are available, and the demands of individual occupants for specific environmental conditions vary per season, day, or even hour, little research effort has been made to validate whether the one-time data collection-based POE is still effective in a modern structure. To address this challenge, this research project included four different POE studies in two commercial office buildings, in Southern California in the U.S. At 189 individual workstations, selected in two buildings, an environmental satisfaction survey and spot measurements were repeatedly made during 4 seasons while considering seasonal and daily factors. This study found that human factors, such as gender and age, contributed to inconsistent environmental perceptions, depending on the season and/or month. This research revealed that multiple-time data collection is required to provide a vigorous environmental design solution which would enhance building occupants' environmental comfort, while considering time-varying environmental factors, such as a season.
ABCA1 Overexpression in Endothelial Cells In Vitro Enhances ApoAI-Mediated Cholesterol Efflux and Decreases Inflammation.

Atherosclerosis, a disease of blood vessels, is driven by cholesterol accumulation and inflammation. Gene therapy that removes cholesterol from blood vessels and decreases inflammation is a promisi...
Stability in Perovskite Photovoltaics: A Paradigm for Newfangled Technologies

While halide perovskites embody some of the most ideal photovoltaic properties, the breakthrough into the commercial marketplace is still uncertain and high risk. The major technical hurdle that still must be overcome is durability. This Perspective lays out our view of the ultimate needs for perovskite solar cell stability research to flourish. We outline a paradigm for conceptualizing stability as a tiered system of material, cell, and module. In cell-level studies, in particular, we propose the adoption of transferrable and flexible testing protocols. We believe that the adoption of standard testing protocols could dramatically improve the translatability of insights between laboratories working in this area worldwide; however, improved protocols alone will by no means replace the need for mechanistic insight into degradation mechanisms at all levels of perovskite solar cell stability. We believe that knowledge of degradation science is what will ultimately push perovskite solar cell modules from promi...
NoSync: Particle Swarm Inspired Distributed DNN Training.

Training deep neural networks on big datasets remains a computational challenge. It can take hundreds of hours to perform and requires distributed computing systems to accelerate. Common distributed data-parallel approaches share a single model across multiple workers, train on different batches, aggregate gradients, and redistribute the new model. In this work, we propose NoSync, a particle swarm optimization inspired alternative where each worker trains a separate model, and applies pressure forcing models to converge. NoSync explores a greater portion of the parameter space and provides resilience to overfitting. It consistently offers higher accuracy compared to single workers, offers a linear speedup for smaller clusters, and is orthogonal to existing data-parallel approaches.
Recent Advances in Intensified Ethylene Production—A Review

Steam cracking is a well-established commercial technology for ethylene production. Despite decades of optimization efforts, the process is, nevertheless, highly energy and carbon intensive. This r...
Lower Adherence: A Description of Colorectal Cancer Screening Barrier Talk.

Understanding how patients and physicians discuss screening barriers may illuminate reasons for non-adherence to recommended colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. The goal of the present study was to ...
Unrealistic Optimism and Asymmetry in the Pricing of Equity Tail Risk

Unrealistic Optimism is the phenomenon whereby human beings are unreasonably optimistic about the likelihood and impact of tail events, and they incorporate information selectively to reinforce that optimistic bias. Specifically, they update their priors more frequently when presented with information that supports the optimistic bias than they do with information that contradicts it. Consequently, new information about extreme positive events is processed quickly and efficiently, but new information about extreme negative events is processed with a lag, and when it is finally processed, it is processed with an optimistic bias which prolongs the amount of time that it takes for the negative information to be fully and correctly incorporated. To test these predictions, this paper introduces a novel methodology to directly calculate the tail risk premium for individual stocks, and then uses this measure to examine the characteristics of this premium in the cross section of stock returns. Information about positive tail events seems to be quickly and relatively efficiently priced, i.e., the existence of a premium for bearing positive tail risk today has no predictive power on future returns. However, same cannot be said of the pricing of extreme negative tail events. The existence of a premium for bearing negative tail risk today is significantly associated lower returns in the future. Moreover, the greater the premium for bearing negative tail risk today, the more negative and more persistent are the future returns.
Abstract MP56: Progression of Hyperglycemia in Older Adults: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Introduction: Despite the high prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes in old age, the progression of hyperglycemia in older adults is not well-characterized. Objective: To characterize prevalence a...
Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies and the Evolution of Galaxies & Active Galaxies

Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) are intriguing due to their continuum as well as emission line properties. The observed peculiar properties of the NLS1s are believed to be due to accretion rate close to Eddington limit. As a consequence, for a given luminosity, NLS1s have smaller black hole (BH) masses compared to normal Seyfert galaxies. Here we argue that NLS1s might be Seyfert galaxies in their early stage of evolution and as such may be low redshift, low luminosity analogues of high redshift quasars. We propose that NLS1s may reside in rejuvenated, gas rich galaxies. We also argue in favor of collisional ionization for production of FeII in active galactic nuclei (AGN).
Gentrification and the racialization of space

It is not uncommon for activists to use the language of colonization or occupation to describe the social dynamics at work in cities undergoing gentrification. Should these claims be regarded as ou...
"Short-Term Bias & Strategic Misalignment in Operational Solutions: Perceptions, Tendencies & Traps"

In this study we provide a multi-method examination of firm tendencies to adopt certain tactical solutions to resolve performance dilemmas. We consider the complex and dynamic paths through which i...
Abstract PO032: TIM3 regulation by phosphatidylserine

Immune responses have been successfully reactivated in cancer by targeting inhibitory receptors such as PD-1 on exhausted T cells to block immune checkpoints. Many patients do not respond, however, and a key challenge in immuno-oncology is to identify and understand new immune-regulatory targets to increase response rates. One other co-inhibitory receptor in T cells is TIM3, which – like PD-1 – is upregulated on exhausted T cells in the tumor microenvironment. TIM3 belongs to a family of phosphatidylserine (PS) receptors with well-documented roles in efferocytosis by phagocytes. However, the role of PS in regulating TIM3 remains unclear. Previous studies have shown that TIM3 can variously enhance or inhibit T cell signaling, though exactly how TIM3 accomplishes this range of activity is unknown. We therefore investigated how TIM3 levels modulate T cell signaling, and how PS in turn influences TIM3 activity. We found that TIM3 promoted T cell activity in a Jurkat T cell model when expressed at high – but not low – levels on the cell surface. We also confirmed the ability of human TIM3 to bind PS with low micromolar affinity using surface plasmon resonance. To investigate how PS affects the ability of TIM3 to promote T cell signaling in this model, we employed several approaches, including adding PS to the cell culture, manipulating TIM3 to reduce or abrogate PS binding (using chimeric receptors and TIM3 mutants), and pharmacological blockade of PS binding using a functional TIM3 antibody. Together, these studies supported a role for PS in regulating TIM3 activity, where decreased or abrogated PS binding prevented TIM3 from promoting T cell signaling. We also sought to understand what changes in T cell receptor (TCR) signaling might account for the TIM3-dependent effects we observed. We found that TIM3 did not impact phosphorylation of downstream components in the TCR signaling cascade. Rather, cells expressing high – but not low – surface levels of TIM3 displayed enhanced phosphorylation of receptor components in the TCR signaling pathway, similar to what has been reported for PD-1. We hypothesize that TIM3 modulates TCR signaling by modifying the localization and/or dwell time of one or more signaling effector proteins (e.g. phosphatases) in a manner dependent on PS engagement. The consequences of this are then determined by surface levels of TIM3. Our results demonstrate that PS does function as a ligand capable of modulating TIM3 activity, and provide new mechanistic insight into how TIM3 modulates TCR signaling. Citation Format: Courtney M. Smith, Alice Li, Nithya Krishnamurthy, Mark A. Lemmon. TIM3 regulation by phosphatidylserine [abstract]. In: Abstracts: AACR Virtual Special Conference: Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy; 2020 Oct 19-20. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2021;9(2 Suppl):Abstract nr PO032.
Phase sensitive coherence gated quantitative imaging for investigating intracellular and cellular dynamics

We present a novel optical coherence microscopy (OCM) implementation which permits accurate measurements of intensity and phase of light returned from the sample. We demonstrate the capacity to acquire stable phase recordings with a phase sensitivity of 0.1 nm rms at 500 Hz frame rates with a field-of-view of 250x250 µm and 1 µm lateral resolution. Instantaneous, coherence gated, quantitative phase imaging at high frame rates enables observations of the dynamics in cells and tissues, providing instant feedback on metabolic activity and tissue states. We demonstrate applications of the technology for ultrasensitive measurement of intracellular activity and cellular dynamics in cell cultures.
New insights into star cluster evolution towards energy equipartition

We present the results of a study aimed at exploring the evolution towards energy equipartition in star cluster models with different initial degrees of anisotropy in the velocity distribution. Our study reveals a number of novel aspects of the cluster dynamics and shows that the rate of evolution towards energy equipartition (1) depends on the initial degree of radial velocity anisotropy -- it is more rapid for more radially anisotropic systems; and (2) differs for the radial and the tangential components of the velocity dispersion. (3) The outermost regions of the initially isotropic system evolve towards a state of `inverted' energy equipartition in which high-mass stars have a larger velocity dispersion than low-mass stars -- this inversion originates from the mass-dependence of the tangential velocity dispersion whereas the radial velocity dispersion shows no anomaly. Our results add new fundamental elements to the theoretical framework needed to interpret the wealth of recent and upcoming observational studies of stellar kinematics in globular clusters, and shed further light on the link between the clusters' internal kinematics, their formation and evolutionary history.
Influence of a novel scaffold composed of polyurethane, hydroxyapatite, and decellularized bone particles on the healing of fourth metacarpal defects in mares.

Objective To determine the effect of a novel scaffold, designed for use in bone regeneration, on healing of splint bone segmental defects in mares. Study design In vivo experimental study. Sample population Five adult mares (4-10 years old; mean weight, 437.7 kg ± 29 kg). Methods Bilateral 2-cm full-thickness defects were created in the fourth metacarpal bones (MCIV) of each horse. Each defect was randomly assigned to either a novel scaffold treatment (n = 5) or an untreated control (n = 5). The scaffold was composed of polyurethane, hydroxyapatite, and decellularized bone particles. Bone healing was assessed for a period of 60 days by thermography, ultrasonography, radiography, and computed tomography (CT). Biopsies of each defect were performed 60 days after surgery for histological evaluation. Results On the basis of radiographic analysis, scaffold-treated defects had greater filling (67.42% ± 26.7%) compared with untreated defects (35.88% ± 32.7%; P = .006). After 60 days, CT revealed that the density of the defects treated with the scaffolds (807.80 ± 129.6 Hounsfield units [HU]) was greater than density of the untreated defects (464.80 ± 81.3 HU; P = .004). Evaluation of histology slides provided evidence of bone formation within an average of 9.43% ± 3.7% of the cross-sectional area of scaffolds in contrast to unfilled defects in which connective tissue was predominant throughout the biopsy specimens. Conclusion The novel scaffold was biocompatible and supported bone formation within the MCIV segmental defects. Clinical significance This novel scaffold offers an effective option for filling bone voids in horses when support of bone healing is indicated.
High-Resolution 3D Seismic Imaging of Fault Interaction and Deformation Offshore San Onofre, California

The Inner California Borderland (ICB) records a middle Oligocene transition from subduction to microplate capture along the southern California and Baja coast. The closest nearshore fault system, the Newport-Inglewood/Rose Canyon (NIRC) fault complex is a dextral strike-slip system that extends primarily offshore approximately 120 km from San Diego to Newport Beach, California. Holocene slip rates along the NIRC are 1.5-2.0 mm/yr in the south and 0.5 mm/yr along its northern extent based on trenching and well data. High-resolution 3D seismic surveys of the NIRC fault system offshore of San Onofre were acquired to define fault interaction across a prominent strike-slip step-over. The stepover deformation results in transpression that structurally controls the width of the continental shelf in this region. Shallow coring on the shelf yields a range of sedimentation rates from 0.27-0.28 mm/yr. Additionally, a series of smaller anticlines and synclines record subtle changes in fault trends along with small stepovers and secondary splay faults. Finally, sedimentary units onlapping and dammed by the anticline, place constraints on the onset of deformation of this section of the NIRC fault system. Thickness estimates and radiocarbon dating yield ages of 560,000 to 575,000 years before present for the onset of deformation.
No Time for Equal Time: A Comment on Professor Magarian's Substantive Media Regulation in Three Dimensions

This comment argues against revival of the Fairness Doctrine for broadcast television and other media.
Medicare Prospective Payment and the Shaping of U.S. Health Care

This is the definitive work on Medicare's prospective payment system (PPS), which had its origins in the 1972 Social Security Amendments, was first applied to hospitals in 1983, and came to fruition with the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Here, Rick Mayes and Robert A. Berenson, M.D., explain how Medicare's innovative payment system triggered shifts in power away from the providers (hospitals and doctors) to the payers (government insurers and employers) and how providers have responded to encroachments on their professional and financial autonomy. They conclude with a discussion of the problems with the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and offer prescriptions for how policy makers can use Medicare payment policy to drive improvements in the U.S. health care system. Mayes and Berenson draw from interviews with more than sixty-five major policy makers-including former Treasury secretary Robert Rubin, U.S. Representatives Pete Stark and Henry Waxman, former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta, and former administrators of the Health Care Financing Administration Gail Wilensky, Bruce Vladeck, Nancy-Ann DeParle, and Tom Scully-to explore how this payment system worked and its significant effects on the U.S. medical landscape in the past twenty years. They argue that, although managed care was an important agent of change in the 1990s, the private sector has not been the major health care innovator in the United States; rather, Medicare's transition to PPS both initiated and repeatedly intensified the economic restructuring of the U.S. health care system.
A set of inducible genes expressed by activated human monocytic and endothelial cells contain kappa B-like sites that specifically bind c-Rel-p65 heterodimers

NF-kappa B/Rel proteins regulate the inducible expression of many genes in activated monocytes and endothelial cells that contain decameric kappa B and kappa B-like binding sites. In this study, we examined the binding of c-Rel-p65 heterodimers to non-consensus kappa B-like sites from several genes that do not bind prototypic NF-kappa B(p50-p65). c-Rel-p65 heterodimers from both monocytic and endothelial cells bound to the kappa B-like sites in the interleukin-8, granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and tissue factor genes but not to a closely related sequence in the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor gene. In contrast, kappa B sites in the endothelial-leukocyte adhesion molecule-1 and Ig kappa genes that match the kappa B consensus, 5'-GGGRNNYYCC-3' (where R indicates A or G, Y indicates C or T, and N indicates any base), bound NF-kappa B(p50-p65). Comparison of the kappa B-like sites indicated that c-Rel-p65 heterodimers bound to a consensus sequence, 5'-HGGARNYYCC-3' (where R indicates A or G, Y indicates C or T, H indicates A, C, or T, and N indicates any base), which differs at position 1 from the kappa B consensus established for binding NF-kappa B(p50-p65) and other members of the NF-kappa B/Rel family. The selective binding of c-Rel-p65 heterodimers to kappa B-like sites in this set of genes may play a central role in regulating inducible gene expression in monocytes and endothelial cells.
Isolation, characterization and modification of clay solids from oil sand wastes

For the past several years, we have been exploring the possibility of using oil sand industry wastes, such as: coke, fly ash and fine tailings as resource materials for several potentially marketable products. In this investigation we have developed a technically feasible fractionation methodology to separate clay solids from oil sands coke fly ash for potential use as polymer reinforcements after surface modification. The separated clay fraction has been characterized by elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction, XPS, SEM, infrared spectroscopy, and surface area measurements.
Cost of a Ride

Problem: High costs and low ridership are the bane of fixed-guideway transit investments. The net capital and operating cost per passenger mile of recent investments ranged from $0.22 to over $10 in 2008. A better understanding of characteristics of the most successful transit investments can help inform future investment policy and improve the performance of existing transit systems. Purpose: We evaluated the ridership, operating costs, and capital costs of recent transit investments and identified job and population densities that can support more cost-effective fixed-guideway transit service. Methods: Combining investment and station-level data from over 50 American fixed-guideway transit investments with time-series data on 23 transit systems and surrounding land uses, we modeled the influence of job and population densities on transit ridership and capital and operating costs. Based on these results, we estimated the marginal costs per passenger mile of increasing transit ridership through system exp...
Effect of Nanoparticle Dispersion on Polymer Matrix and their Fiber Nanocomposites

Dispersion of nanoparticles and its effect on mechanical properties were investigated by fabricating nanocomposites via conventional sonication, sol-gel, and modified sonication method. Silica nanoparticles dispersed in epoxy and MEK produced via sol-gel method were procured as Nanopox F 400 and MEK-ST-MS, respectively, to produce silica/epoxy nanocomposite whereas the conventional son-ication method was followed to produce alumina/epoxy and carbon nanofibers (CNF)/epoxy nanocomposites. The conventional sonication method was modified by combining it with sol-gel method to improve the dispersion quality as well as to increase the particle loading. The as-prepared nanocomposites were morphologically and mechanically characterized to investigate the effect of dispersion of nanoparticles on polymer matrix nanocomposites. The nanocomposites fabricated via sol-gel method revealed the most improved and consistent properties among all nanocomposites which showed almost proportional properties improvement with particle loading in contrast to conventional nanocomposites. Subsequently, the modified matrix (silica/epoxy) was used to make fiber reinforced nanocomposites via the VARTM process. The effect of improved matrix properties was reflected in the properties of fiber composites which showed significant improvements in compressive strength, tensile strength and modulus, fracture toughness and impact resistance.
Motion-compensated image reconstruction for cardiac CT with sinogram-based motion estimation

Motion-compensated image reconstruction (MCIR) has been widely studied to reduce artifacts induced by cardiac motion. In this paper, we propose a new approach to estimating the motion of the coronary arteries. We use a simple linear model for the motion of each coronary artery during an axial scan and we estimate the model parameters in the sinogram domain. The purpose of the method is not to estimate the motion of the coronary arteries precisely, but rather to provide good initial estimates for subsequent joint image reconstruction and motion estimation‥ The idea was evaluated with a cardiac CT simulation. Simulation results illustrate that our proposed method can provide reasonably good motion estimates that may be useful for initializing the joint estimation of both motion parameters and reconstructed images.
Transmission of T-2 toxin into bovine and porcine milk.

Abstract A pregnant Holstein cow (third trimester) was intubated with 182 mg of T-2 for 15 consecutive days. This amount of toxin corresponds to a concentration in the feed of 50 ppm (from consumption of 3.6 kg grain-type ration/day). Milk samples (ca. 1 liter) were taken on the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 10th, and 12th day of T-2 intubation and were analyzed specifically for T-2 toxin by combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. All samples except those collected on the 4th and 8th days of intubation contained T-2 toxin in concentrations ranging from 10 to 160 ppb (10 to 160 ng/g of milk). A crossbred sow was given T-2 toxin in the feed at 12 ppm for 220 days. Six days after parturition a milk sample (58 g) contained 76 ppb of T-2 toxin. The minimum T-2 concentrations detectable by the spectometry in the selected ion monitoring mode and the extraction procedures described, lie between 5 to 10 ppb for cow's milk and 25 to 35 ppb for sow's milk. The amounts of T-2 administered and the duration of exposure of these animals to the toxin were unusually high and, therefore, afforded detectable quantities in the milk. At concentrations reportedly found in nature (2 ppm in the feed or 1/25 of the amounts administered in this experiment) we would be unable to detect the low levels of toxin which probably would be in the milk.
28 – Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

This chapter describes Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) represents one end of the spectrum of the alcohol-related birth defects and neurodevelopmental abnormalities, which is encompassed by FASD. FAS occurs in children born to women who drink heavily during pregnancy. Children with this disorder have a characteristic pattern of minor facial anomalies, growth deficiency, and evidence of neurodevelopmental effects. Due to a variety of impediments to identifying all children with this condition, the true prevalence of FAS and FASD is not known. However, current estimates suggest that 0.5–2 per 1000 children born in the United States have the full-blown syndrome. The neurobehavioral consequences of FAS are the most frequent debilitating feature of the disorder. FAS is considered the leading known cause of mental retardation in the Western world. Approximately 10 times as many children are estimated to be affected with cognitive and/or behavioral impairments as a consequence of prenatal alcohol exposure. This disorder is completely preventable through the avoidance of alcohol by women who are pregnant.
Theory of Plane Wave Reflection and Refraction by the Nonlinear Interface

This report includes a review of published as well as recent results. In previous papers a new kind of optical bi-stability was proposed which is connected with reflection and refraction of light by a single surface on a nonlinear medium without a resonator or feedback; its first experimental observations were made recently by Smith et al. The main conditions required for its existence are very exact matching of the optical densities of both media and almost grazing incidence of light. These effects are available for positive nonlinearity as well as for negative non-linearity. In the last case, it is possible to excite a new kind of nonlinear wave (longitudinally inhomogeneous travelling waves) which could provide a phenomenon of strong nonlinear parallax of refracted rays along the interface. For more simple observation and some applications of reflection bistability, the use of an electro-optic element as an “artificial” nonlinearity can be proposed; this light-feedback method is analogous to that used in hybrid devices. Our last result is connected with a proposition for a new way to realize reflection bistability which consists of application of single-mode optical waveguides (one of which must be nonlinear) rather than using two semi-infinite media. This allows us to avoid the secondary effects of self-focusing and self-bending of bounded refracted beams of light in a nonlinear medium. At the same time it conserves all features of the main phenomenon of reflection bistability.
THE VALIDITY OF A SURVEY QUESTION TO STUDY DIABETIC RETINOPATHY

This report presents the results of a comparison between information obtained from response to the question "Have you been told that the diabetes has affected the back of your eyes, that is, the retina?" and the determination of the severity of retinopathy by grading of stereoscopic fundus photographs. Both "younger onset" (n = 996) and "older onset" (n = 1,370) persons who participated in a large population-based study of diabetic persons in southern Wisconsin from 1980-1982 were included. For the younger onset persons, 31.1% responded positively, while 70.7% were found to have retinopathy. The sensitivity of the questionnaire response varied from 17.8% for persons with mild nonproliferative retinopathy to 81.9% for persons with proliferative retinopathy. The specificity was 97.3%. For the older onset persons, 14.9% responded positively, while 54.2% were found to have retinopathy. The sensitivity of the question varied from 9.9% for persons with mild nonproliferative retinopathy to 68.7% for persons with proliferative retinopathy. The specificity was 93.3%. The question used in this survey provides a highly specific measure of prevalence; it is most sensitive for proliferative retinopathy.
Review: Birgit Griese & Hedwig Rosa Griesehop (2007). Biographische Fallarbeit. Theorie, Methode und Praxisrelevanz [A Biographical Approach to Casework: Theory, Method and Practical Relevance]

Mit dem Analysekonzept der narrativen Identitat stellen GRIESE und GRIESEHOP in dieser Veroffentlichung ein praxistaugliches Auswertungsinstrument der biografischen Fallarbeit vor. Damit ist das Buch primar an die Sozialarbeitspraxis adressiert, mit dem vorgestellten Paradigma der narrativen Identitat werden aber auch enge Verbindungen zur Sozialarbeitsforschung geschaffen. Im Buch wird zunachst in reichhaltiger Art und Weise das Paradigma der narrativen Identitat begrifflich und theoretisch prazisiert. Das Analysedesign wird von anderen abgegrenzt und seine Eigenart der engen Einbindung der Theorie wird hervorgehoben. Ein groses Gewicht liegt auf praxisnahen Beispielen, die nachvollziehbar die Forschungsstrategie veranschaulichen. Abschliesend werden die zentralen Pramissen zusammengefuhrt, und die Analysemethode und Probleme werden kritisch besprochen. Insgesamt bietet die Veroffentlichung einen fundierten theoriegeleiteten und praxisorientierten Einstieg in das Arbeiten im Paradigma der narrativen Identitat. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0803246
14S,21R-Dihydroxydocosahexaenoic Acid Remedies Impaired Healing and Mesenchymal Stem Cell Functions in Diabetic Wounds

Treatment of diabetes-impaired wound healing remains a major unresolved medical challenge. Here, we identified suppressed formation of a novel reparative lipid mediator 14S,21R-dihydroxydocosa-4Z,7Z,10Z,12E,16Z,19Z-hexaenoic acid (14S,21R-diHDHA) in cutaneous wounds of diabetic db/db mice. These results indicate that diabetes impedes the biosynthetic pathways of 14S,21R-diHDHA in skin wounds. Administration of exogenous 14S,21R-diHDHA to wounds in diabetic animals rescued healing and angiogenesis. When db/db mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were administered together with 14S,21R-diHDHA to wounds in diabetic animals, they coacted to accelerate wound re-epithelialization, granulation tissue formation, and synergistically improved vascularization. In the pivotal cellular processes of angiogenesis, 14S,21R-diHDHA enhanced VEGF release, vasculature formation, and migration of db/db dermal microvascular endothelial cells (DMVECs), as well as remedied paracrine angiogenic functions of db/db MSCs, including VEGF secretion and the promotion of DMVEC migration and vasculature formation. Our results show that 14S,21R-diHDHA activates the p38 MAPK pathway in wounds, db/db MSCs, and DMVECs. Overall, the impeded formation of 14S,21R-diHDHA described in this study suggests that diabetes could affect the generation of pro-healing lipid mediators in wound healing. By restoring wound healing and MSC functions, 14S,21R-diHDHA is a new lead for the development of better therapeutics used in treating wounds of diabetics.
Neuroendocrine Cell Hyperplasia: A Diagnostic Pitfall in Pancreas Cytopathology

cance of indeterminate cytologic diagnoses in ductal lesions, there is a relative lack of knowledge on the importance of indeterminate diagnoses when dealing with PanNETs. Materials and Methods: The pathology records of a large tertiary care center were searched for FNA specimens of pancreatic lesions with documented histologic diagnosis of PanNET. Cytopathologic diagnoses were categorized according to their index of suspicion (atypical, suspicious for PanNET and PanNET). Additionally, the exact reasons for the various indeterminate categories were investigated (qualitative and/or quantitative lack of cytologic features, lack of confirmatory immunocytochemistry ICC). Results: One hundred and fifteen (115) cases of PanNET were identified. Of these, 50% (58/115) were diagnosed as PanNET, 8% (9/115) were suspicious for PanNET, 18% (21/115) were atypical, NOS, 6% (7/115) did not sample the lesion and were called benign and 17% (20/115) were nondiagnostic. Of those 58 cases that were definitively malignant, 43 (75%) required ICC for the diagnosis. Not surprisingly, all 30 indeterminate cases were morphologically suggestive of PanNET but did not have sufficient material for confirmatory ICC. The relative lack of diagnostic material was a significant impediment in almost a quarter of the resected PanNETs not achieving an adequate sampling of the tumor. Conclusions: FNA has a low sensitivity for a definitive diagnosis of PanNET (50%). The incidence of an indeterminate diagnosis (suspicious/ atypical) is high (26%) as well as non-diagnostic rate (17%). ICC is commonly employed to confirm cytologic interpretations (75% of the time). The common reasons for indeterminate diagnoses were e quantitative lack of lesional cells, abundant diluting benign acinar tissue, lack of welldeveloped neuroendocrine features and lack of material for confirmatory ICC.
Unified model for the thermal donor energy spectra In silicon and germanium

Abstract The hierarchy of thermal donors produced by annealing oxygen-doped germanium at ≈ 425°C is explained by using the perturbation model that has been applied to the thermal donors in silicon, with the only change being a scaling of the physical constants in order to reflect the different crystalline environment.
Manifolds in the Schwarzschild and Kerr Metrics

Abstract We show that the Schwarzschild and Kerr Metrics can be derived on any Reimannian manifold. Since any differentiable manifolds can be given a Riemann Metric, we conclude that the Schwarzschild and Kerr Metrics hold on differentiable manifolds in general.
DNA Digestion and Chromatin Condensation during Nuclear Death inTetrahymena

Abstract DNA fragmentation and nuclear condensation are key features in the regulated cell death of higher animal cells. Nuclear death also occurs as part of a developmentally programmed process during the sexual life cycle of the unicellular organismTetrahymena.We examined the regulation of nuclear death and the relationship between DNA fragmentation and chromatin condensation in this model system. Nuclear death is accompanied by DNA digestion to low-molecular-weight oligonucleosomal-length fragments, in agree- ment with a previous study [17], indicating an endonuclease-like activity typical of apoptosis in higher organisms. Actinomycin D and cycloheximide block DNA digestion as well as nuclear condensation suggesting that nuclear death is under genetic regulation. DNA digestion is completely blocked by aurin, a general nuclease inhibitor. In addition, when DNA fragmentation is blocked, nuclear condensation also fails to occur. Moreover, a kinetic analysis of DNA breakdown, using agarose gels, shows that some DNA digestion occurs before nuclear condensation has taken place. Thus the initiation of DNA digestion may provide conditions necessary for nuclear condensation. Temporary inhibition of nuclear death aborts the death program since after removal of inhibitors cells revert to a vegetative pathway without having eliminated the old or developed the new macronucleus. Zn2+and EGTA, both of which inhibit apoptosis in some cell types, fail to prevent nuclear condensation or DNA digestion inTetrahymena,suggesting a requirement here for an endonuclease which is Ca2+-independent and Zn2+-insensitive. With the TUNEL assay, DNA breakdown is detected exclusively in the condensed macronucleus (and occasional micronuclei identified as degenerating haploid products of meiosis), but not in precondensed macronuclei. These studies show that apoptotic-like DNA fragmentation occurs after condensation of the degenerating macronucleus. However, early DNA digestion may be critical for nuclear condensation and subsequent degeneration.