cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Greco-Roman Culture and the Galilee of Jesus: The transformation of the landscape in the second and third centuries CE

After the arrival of large, long-term Roman garrisons, Palestine's landscape was transformed as Greco-Roman urban and monumental architecture became common features in many cities. In this chapter, I will discuss some of the changes that characterized civic life in the second and third centuries. I begin with the adoption of new civic names and titles. Next, I provide an inventory of where Roman urban architecture appeared. Last, I consider the issue of who was responsible for the construction of these buildings. Throughout the chapter, I consider developments throughout Palestine in order to keep those in Galilee in perspective. CIVIC TITLES AND NAMES One effect of the heightened Roman presence in Palestine was the establishment of new colonies. Caesarea Maritima was elevated to colonial status by Vespasian shortly after the first revolt, taking the official name Colonia Prima Flavia Augusta Caesarea. The Roman colony of Aelia Capitolina had been founded at Jerusalem by 132 CE. Military veterans settled at both cities. Inscriptions show that Caesarea adopted Roman-style civic institutions, with duumviri , decurions , and pontifices , and Aelia Capitolina probably did likewise. Both cities placed Latin inscriptions on their coins. In the late second century and throughout the first half of the third, numerous cities were awarded the status of colony and a few received the still more vaunted title of “metropolis.” By then, however, the designation “colony” appears to have been purely honorific; the Romans had ceased to establish genuine colonies occupied by military veterans.
1.5 X-Ray Crystallography: Data Collection Strategies and Resources

The optimal way to collect data for a macromolecular crystallography experiment will depend to a large extent on the properties of the crystal, the X-ray source, instrumentation and detector used for data collection and the speciﬁc purpose of the experiment (e.g., characterization of the ﬁrst crystals from a new macromolecule, de novo structure solution, functional studies or drug discovery, amongst others). This chapter will provide a review of the basic concepts of crystallography and X-ray diffraction that are required to understand the experiment; an overview of state-of-the-art X-ray sources and tools commonly used for data collection; and ﬁnally, a discussion on how to choose optimized data collection parameters in the context of a particular experiment type.
Progeria, rapamycin and normal aging: recent breakthrough

A recent discovery that rapamycin suppresses a pro-senescent phenotype in progeric cells not only suggests a non-toxic therapy for progeria but also implies its similarity with normal aging. For one, rapamycin is also known to suppress aging of regular human cells. Here I discuss four potential scenarios, comparing progeria with both normal and accelerated aging. This reveals further indications of rapamycin both for accelerated aging in obese and for progeria.
Classroom Management Through Lesson Design: Considering Some Often-Overlooked Variables to Prevent Issues Before They Start:

Classroom management skills and related issues are usually top concerns of preservice and new in-service music educators. This column, the first in a series about classroom management issues, is ab...
Making Sense of Organizational Change in Entrenched Schools: A Case Study of Leading Instructional Innovations in a High-Performing High School

This qualitative case study explores considerations for leading instructional initiatives in high-performing high schools by examining a pilot one-to-one laptop initiative in a Catholic high school...
Indirect pathway of caudate tail for choosing good objects in periphery

Abstract Choosing good objects is essential for real life, which is controlled mainly by the basal ganglia. For that, a subject need to not only find good objects, but ‘reject’ bad objects. To reveal this ‘rejection’ mechanism, we created a sequential saccade choice task for monkeys and studied the indirect pathway of caudate tail mediated by cvGPe (caudal-ventral globus pallidus externus). The inhibitory responses of cvGPe neurons to bad objects were smaller when the monkey made saccades to them by mistake. Moreover, experimental reduction of the inhibitory response by local injection of bicuculline (GABAA antagonist) disabled the monkey to reject bad objects. In conclusion, rejecting bad objects is crucial for goal-directed behavior, which is controlled by the indirect pathway in the basal ganglia.
Theoretical count rate capabilities of polycrystalline silicon photon counting imagers for CBCT applications

Photon counting detectors are of increasing interest for clinical imaging. By measuring and digitally recording the deposited energy of each detected x-ray photon, these detectors can decrease the effect of electronic readout noise and Swank noise, potentially leading to improved image quality at decreased dose. The energy information of each photon can also be used to perform advanced imaging techniques such as material separation and k-edge imaging. Photon counting detectors employing crystalline silicon for the detector backplane are currently used for mammographic imaging and are under active investigation for fan-beam breast computed tomography (BCT). Our group has been exploring the possibility of creating monolithic, large-area photon counting detectors in order to perform cone-beam CT (CBCT) for BCT and radiation therapy (kV CBCT) applications. The detectors employ polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) – a thin-film material that can be used to economically manufacture monolithic, large-area backplanes. In addition, poly-Si transistors have demonstrated good radiation damage resistance. The introduction of poly-Si-based photon counting detectors to BCT and kV CBCT would combine the benefits of photon counting with those of CBCT. However, one major challenge is designing circuits that are capable of handling the x-ray fluxes associated with these applications. A previously developed simulation methodology has been employed to model various levels of input flux in order to evaluate the count rate capabilities of poly-Si circuit designs. In this paper, the count rate capabilities of a promising poly-Si amplifier design under BCT and kV CBCT conditions are reported.
Pseudocapacitive Storage in Nanolayered Ti2NTx MXene Using Mg-Ion Electrolyte

Electrochemical supercapacitors are hybrids of a capacitor and battery that rely on materials capable of storing charges via pseudocapacitive reactions in addition to conventional electrostatic dou...
Simulating the impact of occupant behavior on energy use of HVAC systems by implementing a behavioral artificial neural network model

Abstract The current methods for simulating building energy consumption are often not accurate, and various types of occupant behavior may explain this inaccuracy. The present study used the EnergyPlus program to simulate the energy consumption of HVAC systems in office buildings. Measured energy data from the offices were used to validate the simulated results. When using the actual behavior from the offices, the difference between the simulated results and the measured data was less than 13%. When a behavioral artificial neural network (ANN) model was implemented in the energy simulation, the energy simulation performed as well as using the actual occupant behavior. However, energy simulation using constant thermostat set point without considering occupant behavior was not accurate. Further simulations demonstrated that adjusting the thermostat set point and the clothing level of the occupants could lead to a 25% variation in energy use in interior offices and 15% in exterior offices. The behavior data obtained from the other buildings revealed lower behavior occurrence among occupants, and the energy simulation with the behavioral ANN model calculated a wider comfort zone and a higher variation in energy use due to occupant behavior. Finally, energy consumption could be reduced by 30% with thermostat setback control and 70% with occupancy control.
Frequency, localization, and types of gastrointestinal stromal tumor-associated neoplasia

Background In recent years, increasing evidence of second neoplasms associated with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) has been found. Numerous case reports, mostly retrospective studies and a few reviews, have been published. To our knowledge, however, no systematic review or meta-analysis of the existing data has been performed so far. Aim To prepare a compilation, as complete as possible, of all reported second tumor entities that have been described in association with GIST and to systematically analyze the published studies with regard to frequency, localization, and types of GIST-associated neoplasms. Methods The MEDLINE and EBSCO databases were searched for a combination of the keywords GIST/secondary, synchronous, coincident/tumor, neoplasm, and relevant publications were selected by two independent authors. Results Initially, 3042 publications were found. After deletion of duplicates, 1631 remained, and 130 papers were selected; 22 of these were original studies with a minimum of 20 patients, and 108 were case reports. In the 22 selected studies, comprising a total number of 12050 patients, an overall rate of GIST-associated neoplasias of 20% could be calculated. Most second neoplasias were found in the gastrointestinal tract (32%) and in the male and female urogenital tract (30%). The specific risk scores of GISTs associated with other tumors were significantly lower than those without associated neoplasias. Conclusion In this first systematic review, we could confirm previously reported findings of a more than coincidental association between GIST and other neoplasias. The question whether there is an underlying causal association will need further investigation. Our data suggest that even GIST with a very low risk of disease progression should prompt screening for second neoplasia and subsequent frequent controls or extended staging.
Comparative Study of Wear-leveling in Solid-State Drive with NTFS File System

Traditional hard disk drives (HDD) are gradually being substituted by new non-mechanical storage media called solid-state drive (SSD) as they are lighter, faster, and more reliable alternatives. Companies have already started to use SSD in their products but the downside they are facing is its substantial price for less storage capacity. When it comes to performing forensic analysis on SSD, the autonomous behavior of the media makes it look less promising compared to the traditional hard disk drives. With wear-leveling on the go, the persistence of deleted data is always in question. The deleted data can stay on the media either partially or wholly and is dependent on various factors including file system, make and model, and the operating systems running to name a few. In this research, we analyzed the behavior of wear-leveling with NTFS file system on triple-level cell (TLC) serial-ATA (SATA) SSD as the primary storage device. The aim of this paper is to give a detailed comparison of wear-leveling with TRIM ON and TRIM OFF states effecting different file types. Our research work will help in providing a benchmark for digital forensics investigators who are constantly troubled by the thought of examining SSD.
A Look into the Future

With the availability of dedicated (second generation) synchrotron radiation sources around the world and suitable soft X-ray monochromators, such as the SX-700 plane grating [11.1, 2] or Dragon spherical grating [11.3, 4] instruments, conventional NEXAFS studies in the 1990s are limited neither by flux nor by resolution. Although many improvements in instrumentation are possible, to conclude this book we want to ask whether there are any truly novel and exciting opportunities on the horizon. In the following let us therefore do some brainstorming about possible future applications of NEXAFS spectroscopy. We shall restrict ourselves to novel ideas not mentioned in previous chapters. Most of these ideas are centered around new instrumentation in the form of new synchrotron radiation sources, novel monochromators or simply end-of-line equipment.
An Astrocyte-Modulated Neuromorphic Central Pattern Generator for Hexapod Robot Locomotion on Intel's Loihi

Locomotion is a crucial challenge for legged robots that is addressed "effortlessly" by biological networks abundant in nature, named central pattern generators (CPG). The multitude of CPG network models that have so far become biomimetic robotic controllers is not applicable to the emerging neuromorphic hardware, depriving mobile robots of a robust walking mechanism that would result in inherently energy-efficient systems. Here, we propose a brain-morphic CPG controler based on a comprehensive spiking neural-astrocytic network that generates two gait patterns for a hexapod robot. Building on the recently identified astrocytic mechanisms for neuromodulation, our proposed CPG architecture is seamlessly integrated into Intel's Loihi neuromorphic chip by leveraging a real-time interaction framework between the chip and the robotic operating system (ROS) environment, that we also propose. Here, we demonstrate that a Loihi-run CPG can be used to control a walking robot with robustness to sensory noise and varying speed profiles. Our results pave the way for scaling this and other approaches towards Loihi-controlled locomotion in autonomous mobile robots.
Introduction: Biomaterials in Medical Devices

Abstract The chapters that comprise Part 3 of this text summarize key principles and provide a “toolkit” for medical device innovation. They discuss total product life cycle for medical devices, safety and risk management, sterilization and disinfection consideration, verification and validation, bench-to-bedside translation, regulatory pathways and constraints, role of standards for testing of biomaterials, implant retrieval, evaluation and analysis, and legal and ethical concerns over the use of biomaterials in medical devices.
Do ideas have shape? Plato's theory of forms as the continuous limit of artificial neural networks.

We show that ResNets converge, in the infinite depth limit, to a generalization of image registration algorithms. In this generalization, images are replaced by abstractions (ideas) living in high dimensional RKHS spaces, and material points are replaced by data points. Whereas computational anatomy aligns images via deformations of the material space, this generalization aligns ideas by via transformations of their RKHS. This identification of ResNets as idea registration algorithms has several remarkable consequences. The search for good architectures can be reduced to that of good kernels, and we show that the composition of idea registration blocks with reduced equivariant multi-channel kernels (introduced here) recovers and generalizes CNNs to arbitrary spaces and groups of transformations. Minimizers of L2 regularized ResNets satisfy a discrete least action principle implying the near preservation of the norm of weights and biases across layers. The parameters of trained ResNets can be identified as solutions of an autonomous Hamiltonian system defined by the activation function and the architecture of the ANN. Momenta variables provide a sparse representation of the parameters of a ResNet. The registration regularization strategy provides a provably robust alternative to Dropout for ANNs. Pointwise RKHS error estimates lead to deterministic error estimates for ANNs.
Automatic intraprostatic lesion segmentation in multiparametric magnetic resonance images with proposed multiple branch UNet

Purpose Contouring intraprostatic lesions is a prerequisite for dose-escalating these lesions in radiotherapy to improve the local cancer control. In this study, a deep learning-based approach was developed for automatic intraprostatic lesion segmentation in multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) images contributing to clinical practice. Methods Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging images from 136 patient cases were collected from our institution, and all these cases contained suspicious lesions with Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) score ≥ 4. The contours of the lesion and prostate were manually created on axial T2-weighted (T2W), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and high b-value diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) images to provide the ground truth data. Then a multiple branch UNet (MB-UNet) was proposed for the segmentation of an indistinct target in multi-modality MRI images. An encoder module was designed with three branches for the three MRI modalities separately, to fully extract the high-level features provided by different MRI modalities; an input module was added by using three sub-branches for three consecutive image slices, to consider the contour consistency among different image slices; deep supervision strategy was also integrated into the network to speed up the convergency of the network and improve the performance. The probability maps of the background, normal prostate and lesion were output by the network to generate the segmentation of the lesion, and the performance was evaluated using the dice similarity coefficient (DSC) as the main metric. Results A total of 162 lesions were contoured on 652 image slices, with 119 lesions in the peripheral zone, 38 in the transition zone, four in the central zone and one in the anterior fibromuscular stroma. All prostates were also contoured on 1,264 image slices. As for the segmentation of lesions in the testing set, MB-UNet achieved a per case DSC of 0.6333, specificity of 0.9993, sensitivity of 0.7056; and global DSC of 0.7205, specificity of 0.9993, sensitivity of 0.7409. All the three deep learning strategies adopted in this study contributed to the performance promotion of the MB-UNet. Missing the DWI modality would degrade the segmentation performance more markedly compared with the other two modalities. Conclusions A deep learning-based approach with proposed MB-UNet was developed to automatically segment suspicious lesions in mpMRI images. This study makes it feasible to adopt boosting intraprostatic lesions in clinical practice to achieve better outcomes.
Learning from Wildfire Disaster Experience in California NICUs

Wildfires have been affecting California greatly, and vulnerable patients in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are not exempt. Our aim was to learn how personnel working in NICUs of California hospitals handled issues of neonatal transfer during wildfire disasters in recent years, with an ultimate goal to share lessons learned with healthcare teams on disaster preparedness. We identified California fires through newspaper articles and the CalFire.gov list. We determined which hospitals were affected and contacted members of the healthcare team through connections via the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative (CPQCC) database. We audio recorded interviews over phone or remote conferencing software or by written survey. We coded and analyzed transcripts and survey responses. While describing disaster preparedness, equipment (such as bassinets and backpacks), ambulance access/transport and documentation/charting were noted as important and essential. Teamwork, willingness to do other tasks that are not part of typical job descriptions, and unconventional strategies contribute to the success of keeping NICU babies safe when California wildfire strikes. Healthcare teams developed ingenious and surprising ways to evacuate NICU babies.
The Devil Wears Prada: A Qualitative Study on Counterproductive Workplace Behavior and Employee Satisfaction in the Fashion Industry

The counterproductive workplace behavior (CWB) of supervisors and the subsequent employee satisfaction (ES) of the subordinates in the fashion industry have been examined qualitatively for the first time in this study. The study result shows various types of CWB that the employees experience in today’s fashion industry, such as passive-aggressiveness, feedback avoidance, micro-aggression, claiming credits of others, condescending behavior, absenteeism, etc. On the other hand, the three major themes of ES show what the participants experience when they face their supervisors’ CWB. The pay was the least essential theme in terms of ES, whereas dissatisfaction with supervisor and workplace culture were the most dominant themes. Fashion brands should pay attention to this crucial information and communicate with their top management and employees to have a productive work environment. Future research could focus on fashion company size, location, ownership type, and organizational climate to further explore CWB and ES.
Review of transport mechanisms and numerical simulation studies of preformed particle gel for conformance control

Abstract Reservoir heterogeneity is one important reason for low oil recovery and early excessive water production. As an effective method to improve sweep efficiency and to reduce excessive water production, preformed particle gel has been applied widely in oilfields to control reservoir conformance due to its advantages in easy mixing and pumping, and gel quality control, compared to traditional in-situ polymer gels. Many lab-scale experiments and numerical simulations have been also conducted to understand particle transport mechanisms, plugging performance, and/or assist field application design. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review that summarizes the mechanisms and empirical models of particle gel transport and retention from experiments and the numerical simulation models including the percolation model, size exclusion model and lattice Boltzmann model in three scales of applications, respectively. We emphasized that the models to simulate open fracture and the porous media with pore networks should be different due to the different transport and plugging mechanisms of particle gels. Models and analyzed results presented in this review will help elucidate the problems and limitations in commercial/in-house software and published simulation models of particle gels for conformance control. The review results suggest the immature status of numerical simulation models on particle gel treatment in many key aspects. As a result, we also present suggestions and discussions with related bulk gel and fine particle models for future experimental and quantitative studies in order to develop an integrated field scale simulation model of preformed particle gel for conformance control.
Designing interview guides on stress and coping related to parenting pre-teen children: an example from a hermeneutic phenomenological study.

AIMS To develop a semi-structured interview guide on stress and coping related to parenting pre-teen children for a hermeneutic phenomenological research study. DESIGN Hermeneutic phenomenological research approach which describes the development of an interview guide with semi-structured questions. METHODS Ovid MEDLINE, CIHAHL, ERIC, SCOPUS, Web of Science, JSTOR, Education Source, PsyINFO and ProQuest were searched to identify possible interview guides with questions related to stress and coping. The literature was searched in 2019 and included manuscripts from 1970-2019. An initial interview guide was constructed. Mock interviews were used to confirm the rigour of the guide. RESULTS The final outcome was a semi-structured interview guide on stress and coping related to parenting pre-teen children. CONCLUSION The development of this semi-structured interview guide is relevant to hermeneutic phenomenological researchers who are interested in discovering how personal background meanings and interpersonal concerns shape parents' day-to-day stress appraisals and coping with parenting pre-teen children.
Wheels on the Bus: Impact of Vaccine Rollouts on Demand for Public Transportation

Public transit ridership tumbled amid the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to enormous budget deficits and prompting slashed or eliminated service offerings across the United States. These service cuts may cause a vicious cycle and end up hurting the most vulnerable riders who cannot afford to switch to other options. In this paper, we estimate the impact of COVID-19 vaccination progress on the demand for public transportation. To overcome well-documented challenges associated with empirically estimating the impact of vaccinations, we leverage unique features of the COVID-19 vaccination process to identify an instrumental variable. By merging the U.S. COVID-19 vaccination data with several sources of mobility and transportation data, we construct a sample connecting vaccination rates with the demand for public transportation. Using the instrumental variable approach, we estimate a one-percentage-point increase in the vaccination rate led to a 0.676% increase in the mobility in public transit centers. In addition, the extended vaccination leads to a significant increase in the number of trips across all distance ranges. We also examine trip modality and show extended vaccination contributed to increased mobility in bus stations, railway stations, and airport terminals. Our findings demonstrate the significant impact of vaccine rollouts on the demand for public transportation and provide strong support for restoring and revitalizing public transit infrastructure in anticipation of vaccine-buoyed demand recovery.
Restorative Justice Liability: School Discipline Reform and the Right to Safe Schools Part I: The Shifting Legal Environment

In this first article of a five-article series, Professor James begins by addressing the shifting legal environment of school discipline, liability, and safety. He then looks at the common wisdom on student safety, and alterations in the underlying law on student safety. The next part of the article addresses school discipline reform and conflicting responses to misconduct. He concludes by looking at the three great questions on liability: school’s duties to protect students, the tipping point at which student injury claims should succeed, and how courts should assess the reasonableness of school policies when they conflict with external mandates.
ROCK Inhibition Facilitates In Vitro Expansion of Glioblastoma Stem-Like Cells.

Due to their stem-like characteristics and their resistance to existing chemo- and radiation therapies, there is a growing appreciation that cancer stem cells (CSCs) are the root cause behind cancer metastasis and recurrence. However, these cells represent a small subpopulation of cancer cells and are difficult to propagate in vitro. Glioblastoma is an extremely deadly form of brain cancer that is hypothesized to have a subpopulation of CSCs called glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs; also called brain tumor initiating cells, BTICs). We propose the use of selective Rho-kinase (ROCK) inhibitors, Y-27632 and fasudil, to promote GSC/BTIC-like cell survival and propagation in vitro. ROCK inhibitors have been implicated in suppressing apoptosis, and it was hypothesized that they would increase the number of GSC/BTIC-like cells grown in vitro and improve cloning efficiencies. Indeed, our data demonstrate that transient and continuous supplementation of non-toxic concentrations of Y-27632 and fasudil inhibited apoptosis, enhanced the cells’ ability to form spheres, and increased stem cell marker expressing GSC/BTIC-like cell subpopulation. Our data indicated that pharmacological and genetic (siRNA) inhibitions of the ROCK pathway facilitates in vitro expansion of GSC/BTIC-like cells. Thus, ROCK pathway inhibition shows promise for future optimization of CSC culture media.
Distortions of Diagnostic Judgment

Assignment of a psychiatric diagnosis is based upon a complex interpersonal transaction in which a diagnostician's professional training, experience, and skill are applied to the detection of signs and indications of a specific mental disorder in a person who is typically experiencing distress, discomfort, and helplessness. In the ideal case, this determination is construed as an inference from the observations and communications gathered, subject to minimal distortions, if any. In actuality, the attainment of veridical psychiatric diagnosis across all populations and diagnostic categories was an ambitious and elusive goal throughout the twentieth century. By this time, substantial advances in formulating and applying rules of diagnosis have been made, exemplified by the changes in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals of the American Psychiatric Association from the first to the current fourth edition, the development of observational rating and self-report symptom scales, and the improvement of interviewing procedures. Nonetheless, problems with the validity of diagnostic judgment persist – a continuing task for the mental health professions throughout the world is to reduce errors and distortions. Keywords: psychopathology; psychotherapies
RCMap: Efficiently Creating High-Quality Euclidean Embeddings.

For many applications in computer vision and multimedia, similarity between objects is measured by a dissimilarity function that is complex, expensive to compute, and often non-metric. To allow fast distance computations, these objects may be embedded into a vector space, where the distance between the embedding of two objects approximates the actual dissimilarity between them. Traditional sparse embedding methods like FastMap and SparseMap allow embedding a new object into a vector space based on its dissimilarities with only a small set of objects. However, these methods do not optimize embedding quality, and may create embeddings that do not approximate the original dissimilarities well. BoostMap improves embedding quality, but incurs high computational cost. In this work, we propose RCMap, a technique that offers significant speedup over Boostmap, with minimal loss in embedding quality.
Silicate spin-on-glass as an overcoat layer for SiO 2 ridge waveguides

Silicate spin-on-glass is used to coat PECVD SiO 2 waveguides in order to smooth out surface topology and act as a moisture barrier. The measured optical throughput improved compared to uncoated waveguides.
The miR-200 family and its targets regulate type II cell differentiation in human fetal lung

Type II cell differentiation and expression of the major surfactant protein, SP-A, in mid-gestation human fetal lung (HFL) are induced by cAMP and inhibited by TGF-β. cAMP induction of SP-A promoter activity is mediated by increased phosphorylation and DNA binding of thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1/Nkx2.1), a master regulator of lung development. To further define mechanisms for developmental induction of surfactant synthesis in HFL, herein, we investigated the potential roles of microRNAs (miRNAs, miRs). To identify and characterize differentially regulated miRNAs in mid-gestation HFL explants during type II pneumocyte differentiation in culture, we performed miRNA microarray of RNA from epithelial cells isolated from mid-gestation HFL explants before and after culture with or without Bt2cAMP. Interestingly, the miR-200 family was significantly up-regulated during type II cell differentiation; miR-200 induction was inversely correlated with expression of known targets, transcription factors ZEB1/2 and TGF-β2. miR-200 antagonists inhibited TTF-1 and surfactant proteins and up-regulated TGF-β2 and ZEB1 expression in type II cells. Overexpression of ZEB1 in type II cells decreased DNA binding of endogenous TTF-1, blocked cAMP stimulation of surfactant proteins, and inhibited miR-200 expression, whereas cAMP markedly inhibited ZEB1/2 and TGF-β. Importantly, overexpression of ZEB1 or miR-200 antagonists in HFL type II cells also inhibited LPCAT1 and ABCA3, enzymes involved in surfactant phospholipid synthesis and trafficking, and blocked lamellar body biogenesis. Our findings suggest that the miR-200 family and ZEB1, which exist in a double-negative feedback loop regulated by TGF-β, serve important roles in the developmental regulation of type II cell differentiation and function in HFL.
DEPOSITIONAL AND GEOCHEMICAL CYCLICITY IN THE CRETACEOUS FINE-GRAINED STRATA OF COLOMBIA. A MODEL FOR ORGANIC MATTER CONTENT

espanolAnalisis espectrales de tiempo-frecuencia fueron aplicados a series deposicionales y geoquimicas en tres secciones del Grupo Villeta del Cretacico de Colombia. Los analisis muestran ciclicidad estadisticamente valida en patrones de apilamiento de parasecuencias en regiones distales de la cuenca y en variabilidad geoquimicas. Esta ciclicidad varia de baja a alta frecuencia (500 ka-20 ka); los resultados sugieren un control orbital tipo Miankovitch. Intervalos estratigraficos enriquecidos en carbon organico coinciden con secciones condensadas en las que se observa una ciclicidad estratigrafica de alta frecuencia. Ciclos estrati graficos finos (menores de 0,40 m) contienen cantidades moderadas de materia organica, a consecuencia de condensacion que permite que organismos reciclen el carbon organico y al mismo tiempo permite la oxidacion gradual de la materia organica. Ciclos estrati graficos finos a medios (0,6 m-5,0 m) muestran la mayor calidad y cantidad de materia organica. En estos casos la tasa de sedimentacion es suficientemente alta para inhibir la descomposicion de la materia organica por organismos y suficientemente baja como para no diluir la materia organica en la masa de sedimento. Ciclos estratigraficos gruesos (> 5 m) generalmente contienen bajas cantidades de materia organica porque altas tasas de sedimentacion la diluyen en su masa. El contenido de materia organica depende de la sedimentacion, de la paleoproductividad oceanica y del tamano y forma del grano sedimentario. Se muestra como el espesor de los ciclos estratigraficos de alta frecuencia puede ser utilizado como una herramienta muy simple para predecir la cantidad de materia organica. EnglishSpectral analyses of depositional and geochemical time series were conducted on three stratigraphic sections of the Cretaceous Vil I eta Group, Colombia. Results show statistically-valid cyclicity in distal parasequence stacking patterns and in geochemical variations. Cycles are in the low to high frequency spectra (500 ky - 20 ky). Timing of cyclicity suggests climatic controls on deposition, probably caused by Milankovitch orbital oscillations. Stratigraphic intervals enriched in total organic matter or organic matter indicators such as barium coincide with condensed intervals that are generally associated with observable high-frequency cyclicity. Very thin stratigraphic cycles (
Introduction to special section on Water Markets and Banking: Institutional Evolution and Empirical Perspectives

] This special section on Water Markets and Banking:Institutional Evolution and Empirical Perspectives presentsvarious economic approaches and legal and institutionaldiscussions to better understand the issues surrounding theallocation of water. The interest in water markets and waterbanking stems from the growing recognition that demandfor water is outstripping its availability worldwide. Noveland innovative adaptation strategies for decision making areneeded to address increasing scarcity in the face of climatechange, drought, and continuing population growth. One setof adaptive strategies being explored consists of market-type allocation institutions, but how do we design theseinstitutions within the variety of legal settings that existaround the world and how well do alternative marketstructures and arrangements function? The first three papersin this special section present case studies using alternativeeconomic methodologies to understand the operationof water marketing and banking in Australia, the UnitedStates, and South Africa. Other authors present an analysisof prices observed for water trades in the southwestregion of the United States to explore how market pricesconvey information about the operation of the institutionitself. By looking at the experience in the Chilean watermarkets, another paper focuses not on the history of pricesbut on a wide-ranging and qualitative assessment of thesuccess of the market institution. In another paper we arepresented with a comparison of formal and informal watermarkets in Australia. Finally, two papers address legal andinstitutional issues in the design of water market allocationinstitutions.[
Physical leaf defenses – altered by Zea life‐history evolution, domestication, and breeding – mediate oviposition preference of a specialist leafhopper

Plant anti-herbivore defenses are known to be affected by life-history evolution, as well as by domestication and breeding in the case of crop species. A suite of plants from the maize genus Zea (Poaceae) and the specialist herbivore Dalbulus maidis (DeLong & Wolcott) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) were used to test the hypothesis that anti-herbivore defenses are affected by plant life-history evolution and human intervention through domestication and breeding for high yield. The suite of plants included a maize (Zea mays ssp. mays L.) commercial hybrid, a maize landrace, two populations of the annual Balsas teosinte (Z. mays ssp. parviglumis Iltis & Doebley), and perennial teosinte (Z. diploperennis Iltis, Doebley & Guzman). Leaf toughness, pubescence, and oviposition preference were compared among the suite of host plants looking for effects of transitions in life history (i.e., from perennial to annual life cycle), domestication (i.e., from wild annual to domesticated annual), and breeding (i.e., from landrace to hybrid maize) on defense against D. maidis. Results on leaf toughness suggested that the life-history and domestication transitions weakened the plant's resistance to penetration by the mouthparts and ovipositor of D. maidis, whereas results on pubescence suggested that this putative defense was strengthened with the breeding transition, contrary to expectations. Results on oviposition preference of D. maidis coincided with the expectation that life-history and domestication transitions would lead to preference for Balsas teosinte over perennial teosinte, and of landrace maize over Balsas teosinte. Also, a negative correlation suggested that oviposition preference is significantly influenced by leaf toughness. Overall, the results suggested that Zea defenses against the specialist herbivore D. maidis were variably affected by plant life-history evolution, domestication, and breeding, and that chemical defense may play a role in Zea defense against D. maidis because leaf toughness and pubescence only partially explained its host preferences.
Resistance of drosophila to cadmium: Biochemical factors in resistant and sensitive strains☆

With regard to cadmium toxicity, Drosophila strains v;bw and Austin represent extremes in resistance and sensitivity, respectively. Both strains produced metallothionein (MT) in response to Cd ions in their diet. Austin produced more metallothionein than v;bw at Cd ion levels below 0.2 mM, when both strains were allowed lifetime development on Cd2+-containing media. When the rate of MT appearance was measured for 4 days in young adults the results showed no clear trend with time within a strain or between strains. The plot of LC50 vs. MT levels for identical developmental conditions revealed that for v;bw small increases in MT corresponded to large increases in resistance whereas for the sensitive Austin even large increases in MT had comparatively little effect on increasing LC50. Results given here suggest that differences in total MT content do not explain the genetically demonstrable difference in Cd2+-resistance between v;bw and Austin. However, since two MT genes are identified in Drosophila, differences in resistance could be reflective of greater relative amounts of one "more important" MT in the resistant fly.
Responses to the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor alpha in cells derived from rheumatoid synovium and other joint tissues involve nuclear factor kappaB-mediated induction of the Ets transcription factor ESE-1.

Objective. To investigate the expression of the novel Ets transcription factor ESE-1 in rheumatoid synovium and in cells derived from joint tissues, and to analyze the role of nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) as one of the central downstream targets in mediating the induction of ESE-1 by proinflammatory cytokines. Methods. ESE-1 protein expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry using antibodies in synovial tissues from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). ESE-1 messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were analyzed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction or Northern blotting in human chondrocytes, synovial fibroblasts, osteoblasts, and macrophages, before and after exposure to interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), tumor necrosis factor a (TNFalpha), or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with or without prior infection. with. an adenovirus encoding the inhibitor of nuclear factor kappaB (IkappaB). The wild-type ESE-1 promoter and the ESE-1 promoter mutated in the NF-kappaB site were cloned into a luciferase reporter vector band analyzed in transient transfections. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) and supershift assays with antibodies against members of the NF-kappaB family were conducted using the NF-kappaB site from the ESE-1 promoter as a probe. Results. Immunohistochemical analysis showed specific expression of ESE-1 in cells of the synovial lining layer and in some mononuclear and endothelial cells in RA and OA synovial tissues. ESE-1 mRNA expression could be induced by IL-1beta and TNFalpha in cells such as synovial fibroblasts, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, and monocytes. Transient transfection experiments and EMSAs showed that induction of ESE-1 gene expression by IL-1beta requires activation of NF-kappaB and binding of p50 and p65 family members to the NF-kappaB site in the ESE-1 promoter. Overexpression of IkappaB using an adenoviral vector blocked IL-1beta-induced ESE-1 mRNA expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation further confirmed that NF-kappaB binds to the ESE-1 promoter in vivo. Conclusion. ESE-1 is expressed in synovial tissues in RA and, to a variable extent, in OA, and is specifically induced in synovial fibroblasts, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, and monocyte/macrophages by IL-1beta, TNFalpha, or LPS. This induction relies on the translocation of the NF-kappaB family members p50 and p65 to the nucleus and transactivation of the ESE-1 promoter via a high-affinity NF-kappaB binding site. ESE-1 may play a role in mediating some effects of proinflammatory stimuli in cells at sites of inflammation.
Enantiospecific Synthesis of Natural (−)-Cocaine and Unnatural (+)-Cocaine from d- and l-Glutamic Acid

Natural (−)-cocaine and unnatural (+)-cocaine have been synthesized enantiospecifically from d- and l-glutamic acid, respectively. The axial−equatorial substitutents were introduced by a stereo- and regiospecific dipolar cycloaddition to the corresponding (1R,5S)- and (1S,5R)-N-BOC-nortropenes with (ethoxycarbonyl)formonitrile N-oxide. A sequence of subsequent stereochemically controlled transformations converted the fused isoxazoline to the requisite β-hydroxy ester. Synthesis of the key intermediate N-BOC-nortropenes involved construction of the 8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane framework by Dieckmann condensation of cis-5-substituted d- and l-proline esters. For comparison, (1R,5S)-N-BOC-nortropene also was derived by degradation from natural cocaine. The cis-5-substituted d- and l-proline esters were obtained by sulfide contraction and subsequent catalytic hydrogenation to induce stereospecifically the C-5 stereochemistry from d- and l-thiopyroglutamate, which in turn were prepared from d- and l-glutamic acid...
Sexual Expression: Its Emotional Context in Heterosexual, Gay, and Lesbian Couples

Much of what is known about emotions and sexuality explores the relationship enhancing qualities of positive affect. This research extends the current literature by focusing on the association between negative feelings and sexual thoughts and experiences in the context of close relationships, controlling for the effect of positive feelings. Specifically, the unique effects of daily negative feelings toward one's partner in general and specific negative feelings (i.e., anger, anxiety, and sadness) on the sexual experience of heterosexual, gay male, and lesbian relationships were explored. Participants completed an initial questionnaire followed by daily diary measures for 14 consecutive days. Positive feelings were positively associated with sexual variables as expected. Negative feelings were associated with increases in sexual behaviors for heterosexual men and women and gay men, but not lesbian women. Sadness showed a unique positive association with arousal, lust, wanted sexual behavior, and sexual behavior for heterosexual men and women and gay men, but not lesbian women. Neither anger nor anxiety was uniquely associated with the sexual experience for heterosexual or same-sex couples.
Is the central portal a safe approach for arthroscopy of the knee

Dear Editor, I read with interest the report by Bayar et al. [1]. Recently, my colleagues and I submitted a similar study to Current Orthopedic Practice (in review), stimulated by the concerns regarding with the transtendineal arthroscopic portal. Several papers after the original publication by Gillquist and Hagberg [6] have shown the central approach is a useful portal in knee arthroscopy [3, 8]. Eriksson [5], however, in a cadaveric study, found that this does not offer any major advantages compared with the standard lateral portal. In addition, this portal has been associated with increased postoperative pain, and decreased isokinetic quadriceps strength postoperatively. Complications, such as peritendinitis, tendinitis or tendon granuloma have been reported [2, 3]. In my practice, the central approach in arthroscopy of the knee has been a useful portal when convectional portals do not offer ample vision or good arthroscopy triangulation as in bucket-handle tears on the medial meniscus or to resection fibrous tissue around the stub in an old injury of the anterior cruciate ligament. In our study, an ultrasonographic follow-up in a series of eight patients (ten knees) who underwent arthroscopy for bucket-handle tears on the medial meniscus and utilized central portal, the procedure was well tolerated. In addition, we found no changes of the echotexture in the patellar tendon, such as an abnormal echogenecity, enlargement, or nodules 4–6 weeks after arthroscopy. No remarkable differences of the sagittal diameter of the patellar tendon were found when the affected and unaffected knees were compared. According to Martino et al. [7], ecographic changes in the patellar tendon are usually temporary events linked with normal cicatrisation weeks after the surgery and should not be considered a necessary complication of arthroscopy. Bayar et al. [1] found ecographic changes after several months. However, even when they found echographic thickness and focal hypoechoic areas in the patellar tendon, none of the patients had complaints and returned to their previous physical activity level. As referenced by Bayar et al. in their article [1], ultrasonographic findings such as hypoechoic areas of the patellar tendon had no significant relationship with the risk of patellar tendinitis in asymptomatic individuals [4]. Therefore, the interpretation of isolate changes as an abnormality in the tendon may be confusing, to conclude that the central approach is unsafe for arthroscopy of the knee. I agree with Bayar that the central portal should be avoided in patients with a symptomatic or previous tendon injury, and that future studies are needed to delineate indications and avoidance criteria of the central arthroscopic approach of the knee.