cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Visual Long-Term Memory Has the Same Limit on Fidelity as Visual Working Memory

Visual long-term memory can store thousands of objects with surprising visual detail, but just how detailed are these representations, and how can one quantify this fidelity? Using the property of color as a case study, we estimated the precision of visual information in long-term memory, and compared this with the precision of the same information in working memory. Observers were shown real-world objects in random colors and were asked to recall the colors after a delay. We quantified two parameters of performance: the variability of internal representations of color (fidelity) and the probability of forgetting an object's color altogether. Surprisingly, the fidelity of color information in long-term memory was comparable to the asymptotic precision of working memory. These results suggest that long-term memory and working memory may be constrained by a common limit, such as a bound on the fidelity required to retrieve a memory representation.
Chapter 11. Narratives of Identity and History in Modern Cemeteries of Lima, Peru

Cemeteries are an important and multidimensional aspect of mortuary behavior. They are a rich source of information on a society's culture, sociopolitical organization, ethnic identities, economic relationships, and ideology. Cemeteries are dynamic loci, able to convey information to the living and subject to continuing interpretation. The architect of Lima's earliest cemetery attempted to fix its meaning through the plan of the burial ground he designed. Changed historical circumstances due to revolution, however, permitted a physical rewriting of that late Colonial Period script. In the aftermath of subsequent wars, coups, and other revolutions, Lima's cemeteries have continued to be venues of social commentary and social and political action. Today, Lima's elite cemeteries are fully planned cultural landscapes in which some of the traditional patterns of mortuary behavior are superceded. This chapter examines why and how individuals, families, groups, and even the nation-state manipulate and negotiate the space and place of burial for the purposes of asserting identity and controlling historical narrative.
Two-Tone Characterization of High-Power Modified Uni-Traveling Carrier Photodiode

The two-tone third-order intermodulation distortions of an InGaAs/InP modified charge compensated uni-traveling carrier photodiode with both absorbing and non-absorbing depleted region are characterized. Around 12 GHz modulation frequency, the third-order intercept point is >40 dBm over a wide range of photocurrents.
Attributable Mortality of Bacteremia Associated with the Bacteroides fragilis Group

Uncontrolled studies have suggested that Bacteroides fragilis group bacteremia has an attributable mortality rate between 13% and 33%. To determine the true attributable mortality rate and the mortality risk ratio associated with bacteremia due to the B. fragilis group, we conducted a matched-pair study in which cases were matched to controls for age, gender, year of admission, principal discharge diagnosis, and types of major surgery by an investigator blinded to survival status. Cases and controls were comparable in demographic and clinical characteristics. Cases had a significantly higher mortality rate (28% vs. 8.7%, P = .002, McNemar's test), with an attributable mortality rate of 19.3% (95% CI, 8%-30%; P = .003) and a mortality risk ratio of 3.2. In a multivariate analysis, three clinical factors were independently correlated with mortality: the presence of B. fragilis group bacteremia (RR: 4.9; 95% CI: 3.7-6.0; P = .009), congestive heart failure (RR: 8.0; 95% CI: 6.6-9.3; P = .003) or chronic liver disease (RR: 6.3; 95% CI: 4.8-7.7; P = .01). Cases also had a 16-day-longer stay in the hospital (P = .0007, Wilcoxon's signed rank test) compared with controls. Thus, B. fragilis group bacteremia contributes significantly to morbidity and mortality.
Risk Factors for the Development of Renal Parenchymal Damage in Familial Vesicoureteral Reflux

ABSTRACTPurpose: The association of vesicoureteral reflux, urinary tract infection and renal parenchymal damage is well known. Recently, it was reported that the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) DD gene polymorphism is a risk factor for renal damage in patients with congenital uropathies and high grade vesicoureteral reflux. We determine risk factors associated with renal damage in patients with primary familial vesicoureteral reflux.Materials and Methods: We reviewed the medical and radiological records of 188 siblings with primary vesicoureteral reflux comprising 88 families. We excluded from study 26 patients because of insufficient clinical information. Mean age at diagnosis of the remaining 92 girls and 70 boys was 2.3 years. Reflux was diagnosed by voiding cystourethrography and dimercapto-succinic acid scan was performed to evaluate renal scarring. The ACE I/D polymorphism was detected by polymerase chain reaction. For multivariate analysis risk factors, such as gender, age at diagnosis, history...
Unified description of diffractive deep inelastic scattering with saturation

We propose a new description of inclusive diffraction in deep inelastic scattering. The diffractive structure functions are expressed in the dipole picture and contain heavy-quark contributions. The dipole scattering amplitude, a saturation model fitted on inclusive deep inelastic scattering data, features a saturation scale ${Q}_{s}(x)$ larger than 1 GeV for $x={10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}$. The $q\overline{q}g$ contribution to the diffractive final state is modeled in such a way that both the large-${Q}^{2}$ and small-$\ensuremath{\beta}$ limits are implemented. In the regime ${x}_{\mathbb{P}}l0.01$ in which saturation is expected to be relevant, we obtain a parameter-free description of the HERA data with ${\ensuremath{\chi}}^{2}/\mathrm{points}=1.2$.
Effect of aggressive versus moderate lipid-lowering therapy on myocardial ischemia: The rationale, design, and baseline characteristics of the Study Assessing Goals in the Elderly (SAGE)

Abstract Background Patients with stable CHD who experience episodes of ischemia during routine daily activities are at increased risk of coronary events. Older patients are at a particularly high risk. Few trials have specifically investigated the effects of lipid-lowering therapy with statins in older patients. Methods The SAGE trial is a prospective, randomized, double-blind, parallel-arm study enrolling men and women with stable CHD at 192 centers worldwide. Qualifying participants (aged 65–85 years; low-density lipoprotein cholesterol 100–250 mg/dL) have had at least 1 episode of myocardial ischemia with total ischemia duration ≥3 minutes on 48-hour ambulatory electrocardiographic (AECG) monitoring performed during routine daily activities. Participants have been randomized to either atorvastatin 80 mg/day (aggressive lipid lowering) or pravastatin 40 mg/day (moderate lipid lowering). The primary efficacy measure is the absolute change in the total duration of myocardial ischemic events on 48-hour AECG monitoring from baseline to month 12. Results SAGE is fully enrolled and 893 patients have been randomized. The majority of the study participants are white (97%) men (69%). The mean age of the participants is 72 years. Most participants (94%) have a history of angina. Other high-risk patient groups included in the study are patients with hypertension (65%), patients with diabetes (23%), and patients with peripheral vascular disease (12%). Conclusions SAGE will evaluate the effect of aggressive versus moderate lipid lowering on the total duration of myocardial ischemia in older ambulatory patients with CHD. It is likely to provide valuable data on the benefits of statins in this patient population.
Ferrite-Free, Oil-Switched, Four-Stage High-Gradient Module for Compact Pulsed Power Applications

We describe the design and present initial experimental results of a novel, high-gradient, compact pulsed power module. Our application focus is linear accelerators but our technology is easily applicable to a wide range of pulse-power applications. Our design incorporates and combines for the first time a number of our recently developed, enabling technologies including: a novel, bipolar pulse-forming line allowing module stacking without ferrites, very compact and fast oil-filled switches, novel high-dielectric constant insulator/energy storage material, and a novel method for reducing edge enhancements in the pulse forming structure. The combination of these technologies enables us to design a very compact stackable module that will deliver high-gradient (5–10 MV/m) voltage at 5–10kA to arbitrary loads. Our prototype is comprised of four stages. Each stage is designed to operate at 300kV producing 1.2-MV into 120 Ohms. The pulse length is 25-ns and the pulse-shape is rectangular. We present initial experimental results up to 75 kV per stage with the switches operating in self-break mode.
The New York and the Josephine: two steamships of the Charles Morgan Line

Charles Morgan (1795 to 1882) was one of the most important figures in the development of steam packet service in the United States. Morgan's career spanned over a half century, during which he controlled some 117 steamships. Of the three known wrecks of Morgan Line steamers, two, the New York (1837–1845) and the Josephine (1867–1881), have been documented by the Minerals Management Service, a Federal agency responsible for overseeing the extraction of mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf. The two vessels document the changing technology of steam navigation through the middle part of the 19th century.
Fatty acid synthetase of chicken liver. Reversible dissociation into two nonidentical subcomplexes of similar size.

Abstract The synthetic reaction catalyzed by the chicken liver fatty acid synthetase has a bell-shaped pH rate profile with a maximum at pH 6.7 and gives a discontinuous biphasic Arrhenius plot. The activation energy at low temperature is 28,900 cal per mole, which changes to 11,300 cal per mole at temperatures above 15°. The amino acid composition of the purified enzyme was found to be very similar to other animal synthetases. Rabbit antibody to chicken liver fatty acid synthetase partially cross-reacts with the pigeon liver enzyme, but does not precipitate the rat and hamster liver enzymes. The chicken liver enzyme which has an s20, w of 12 S dissociates at low ionic strength in Tris-glycine buffer, pH 8.3, into an essentially homogeneous 8 S species, which has a molecular weight of 253,000 by equilibrium sedimentation. The dissociated enzyme contains a mixture of equivalent amounts of two subcomplexes of similar size, but differing in net charge and probably in the composition of enzyme components. The molecular weight (Msd), diffusion coefficient, frictional ratio (f/f0), and Stokes' radius (α) of the native and dissociated enzymes were found to be 500,800, 240,000; 2.44, 3.24; 1.63, 1.59; and 8.61, 6.70, respectively. Dissociation of this enzyme by the above method is a reversible process, accompanied by extensive oxidation of thiol groups. Reactivation of the resulting subcomplexes has been shown to follow a two-step reaction sequence: (a) reassociation of these half-molecules into an inactive enzyme in 0.2 m potassium phosphate buffer at neutral pH; (b) reduction of this inactive enzyme by dithiothreitol to yield the active enzyme. Dissociation, however, is not dependent on the oxidation of thiol groups, occurring just as readily when these groups are protected by dithiothreitol. The subcomplexes obtained in this manner are fully reduced and reconstitute in neutral phosphate buffer directly into the active enzyme in the absence of dithiothreitol. Synthetase activity, however, requires both fully reduced protein thiols and intact quaternary structure.
Serum and dietary magnesium and the risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

Background Experimental studies in animals and cross-sectional studies in humans have suggested that low serum magnesium levels might lead to type 2 diabetes; however, this association has not been examined prospectively. Methods We assessed the risk for type 2 diabetes associated with low serum magnesium level and low dietary magnesium intake in a cohort of nondiabetic middle-aged adults (N=12,128) from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study during 6 years of follow-up. Fasting serum magnesium level, categorized into 6 levels, and dietary magnesium intake, categorized into quartiles, were measured at the baseline examination. Incident type 2 diabetes was defined by self-report of physician diagnosis, use of diabetic medication, fasting glucose level of at least 7.0 mmol/L (126 mg/dL), or nonfasting glucose level of at least 11.1 mmol/L (200 mg/dL). Results Among white participants, a graded inverse relationship between serum magnesium levels and incident type 2 diabetes was observed. From the highest to the lowest serum magnesium levels, there was an approximate 2-fold increase in incidence rate (11.1, 12.2, 13.6, 12.8, 15.8, and 22.8 per 1000 person-years; P =.001). This graded association remained significant after simultaneous adjustment for potential confounders, including diuretic use. Compared with individuals with serum magnesium levels of 0.95 mmol/L (1.90 mEq/L) or greater, the adjusted relative odds of incident type 2 diabetes rose progressively across the following lower magnesium categories: 1.13 (95% CI, 0.79-1.61), 1.20 (95% CI, 0.86-1.68), 1.11 (95% CI, 0.80-1.56), 1.24 (95% CI, 0.86-1.78), and 1.76 (95% CI, 1.18-2.61) (for trend, P =.01) In contrast, little or no association was observed in black participants. No association was detected between dietary magnesium intake and the risk for incident type 2 diabetes in black or white participants. Conclusions Among white participants, low serum magnesium level is a strong, independent predictor of incident type 2 diabetes. That low dietary magnesium intake does not confer risk for type 2 diabetes implies that compartmentalization and renal handling of magnesium may be important in the relationship between low serum magnesium levels and the risk for type 2 diabetes.
Association of Thyroid, Breast and Renal Cell Cancer: A Population-based Study of the Prevalence of Second Malignancies

Analysis of the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data has shown that the incidence of thyroid cancer is higher in patients with a preexisting malignancy and that the incidence of other malignancies is higher in patients with thyroid cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of a second malignancy in patients treated for thyroid, breast or renal cell cancer and determine what associations, if any, exist between these cancers. This study utilized the novel data system, Explorys, as its population base. Patient cohorts were constructed using ICD-9 codes, and prevalence rates were obtained for each cancer. Rates of second malignancy were obtained and compared to the baseline prevalence for a particular malignancy. Female thyroid cancer patients had a 0.67- and twofold increase in prevalence of a subsequent breast and renal cell cancer. Female breast and renal cell cancer patients had a twofold and 1.5-fold increase in the prevalence of thyroid cancer, respectively. Male patients with thyroid cancer had a 29- and 4.5-fold increase in prevalence of subsequent breast and renal cell cancer. Male patients with breast and renal cell cancer had an increased prevalence of subsequent thyroid cancer, 19- and threefold, respectively. Our study demonstrated a bidirectional association between thyroid, breast and renal cancer in both male and female patients. This may have important implications for patient follow-up and screening after treatment of a primary cancer.
Efficient Synthesis of Simvastatin by Use of Whole-Cell Biocatalysis

Simvastatin is a semisynthetic derivative of the fungal polyketide lovastatin and is an important drug for lowering cholesterol levels in adults. We have developed a one-step, whole-cell biocatalytic process for the synthesis of simvastatin from monacolin J. By using an Escherichia coli strain overexpressing the previously discovered acyltransferase LovD (X. Xie, K. Watanabe, W. A. Wojcicki, C. C. Wang, and Y. Tang, Chem. Biol. 13:1161-1169, 2006), we were able to achieve >99% conversion of monacolin J to simvastatin without the use of any chemical protection steps. The key finding was a membrane-permeable substrate, α-dimethylbutyryl-S-methyl-mercaptopropionate, that was efficiently utilized by LovD as the acyl donor. The process was scaled up for gram-scale synthesis of simvastatin. We also demonstrated that simvastatin synthesized via this method can be readily purified from the fermentation broth with >90% recovery and >98% purity as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Bioconversion using high-cell-density, fed-batch fermentation was also examined. The whole-cell biocatalysis can therefore be an attractive alternative to currently used multistep semisynthetic transformations.
Intensity versus Identity Coding in an Olfactory System

We examined the encoding and decoding of odor identity and intensity by neurons in the antennal lobe and the mushroom body, first and second relays, respectively, of the locust olfactory system. Increased odor concentration led to changes in the firing patterns of individual antennal lobe projection neurons (PNs), similar to those caused by changes in odor identity, thus potentially confounding representations for identity and concentration. However, when these time-varying responses were examined across many PNs, concentration-specific patterns clustered by identity, resolving the apparent confound. This is because PN ensemble representations changed relatively continuously over a range of concentrations of each odorant. The PNs' targets in the mushroom body-Kenyon cells (KCs)-had sparse identity-specific responses with diverse degrees of concentration invariance. The tuning of KCs to identity and concentration and the patterning of their responses are consistent with piecewise decoding of their PN inputs over oscillation-cycle length epochs.
Critical Thinking Activities and the Enhancement of Ethical Awareness: An application of a ‘Rhetoric of Disruption’ to the undergraduate general education classroom

AbstractThis article explores how critical thinking activities and assignments can function to enhance students’ ethical awareness and sense of civic responsibility. Employing Levinas's Other-centered theory of ethics, Burke's notion of ‘the paradox of substance’, and Murray's concept of ‘a rhetoric of disruption’, this article explores the nature of critical thinking activities designed to have students question their (often taken-for-granted) moral assumptions and interrogate their (often unexamined) moral identities. This article argues that such critical thinking activities can trigger a metacognitive destabilization of subjectivity, understood as a dialectical prerequisite (along with exposure to otherness) for increased ethical awareness. This theoretical model is illustrated through a discussion of three sample classroom activities designed to destabilize moral assumptions and identity, thereby clearing the way for a heightened acknowledgment of otherness. In so doing, this article provides an alte...
Dysregulated NF-κB activation in cystic fibrosis: evidence for a primary inflammatory disorder

AIRWAY INFLAMMATION CHARACTERIZED by an influx of neutrophils and high concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines is a prominent and early feature of cystic fibrosis (CF). Until recently, it was thought that airway inflammation in CF was secondary to chronic bacterial infection resulting from impaired mucociliary clearance. However, new evidence supports the idea that dysregulation of the inflammatory response is an intrinsic component of the CF phenotype, and, therefore,
A measure of dependence for stable distributions

A distance based measure of dependence is proposed for stable distributions that completely characterizes independence for a bivariate stable distribution. Properties of this measure are analyzed, and contrasted with the covariation and co-difference. A sample analog of the measure is defined and demonstrated on simulated and real data, including time series and distributions in the domain of attraction of a stable law.
Integration and Breakthrough:The Art of War Culture during the Period of Republic of China

During the period of Republic of China,The Art of War Culture started the integration,surpassed the boundary of times and spaces and presented a unique and splendid picture.First of all,it surpassed the classic and constructed a modern military science;Secondly,being applied in the war:it did wake up in the crisis and rebuilding confidence:from the academic consciousness to the national awareness.This integration and breakthrough is a landmark in modern Chinese history of military science construction,which not only completed the academic integration and breakthrough,but also served the country in the war,especially in the anti-Japanese war,and completed the reshaping of the academic consciousness and national self-confidence.Following the impact of passive war,this ancient military theory has been given new life energy,thus the study on The Art of War has been given the features of being ethnical,practical and modern.
A nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive equation with cumulative damage for modified double-base propellants

A nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive equation with cumulative damage was proposed to model modified double base propellants.This model is based on Schapery's nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive equation with damage,and is composed of pseudostrain and a nonlinear coefficient that is a function of a damage parameter.A method for determining the parameters was introduced,with the parameters obtained through relaxation and uniaxial constant strain rate tension tests.Predictions using the constitutive equation are in good agreement with experimental measurements from constant strain rate tension tests and complex train history tension tests.
Socialization for New and Mid-Level Community College Student Affairs Professionals

This study was designed to explore the socialization of student affairs professionals in community colleges. The authors used the theory of organizational socialization (Van Maanen & Schein, 1979) and explored these nuances through a qualitative research design. Findings include differences in socialization in institutions versus the profession. The study offers insights for graduate preparation programs as they develop programs to prepare professionals in this sector.
The Uterus Duplex Bicollis, Vagina Simplex of Female Chinchillas

The available literature describing the morphology of the female chinchilla's uterine cervix varies and includes phrases such as 'the cervical canal,' 'a single cervix,' and 'the cervix;' alternatively, some publications describe 2 cervices. In this report, we provide an anatomically correct and definitive description of the uterine cervical morphology of the laboratory chinchilla. We further propose revised, anatomically precise nomenclature to characterize the female chinchilla reproductive tract as a whole.
Minimal-cost-variance power control for differentiated service satellite communications

It is the aim of this paper to focus on some advanced ideas of power adjustments for differentiated services in satellite communications. Dynamic resource allocation explicitly considers the tradeoff between the cost of transmit powers and the error of signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratios. Achieving maximal system capacity and design for reliability are intertwined and mutually reinforcing goals as being incorporated into the framework of minimal-cost-variance control theory. Closely related to the continuing quest for an effective procedure of availability for satellite communications is a reliable estimation process of terminal reports in presence of interferences and deteriorated link conditions with the hope that these findings would enable future capability concepts of resilient affordable satellite system controllers and ground terminals to achieve assured satellite communications.
The Many Scripts of the Chinese Scriptworld, the Epic of King Gesar , and World Literature

The idea of an East Asian cultural “bloc” united in no small part by the Chinese script has long been widely held; through the end of the Qing dynasty Chinese characters served as the scripta franca for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese intellectuals. Yet writing in East Asia has almost always involved more than Chinese characters and their offshoots. The purpose of this article is twofold. First is to introduce readers of world literature unfamiliar with East Asia to the wide variety of the region’s languages and scripts. The second objective is to demonstrate that when we associate writing in China only with Chinese characters, as often has been the case, we overlook some of the region’s, and the world’s, most significant works of world literature. These include the twelfth-century Epic of King Gesar , a living epic which at twenty-five times the size of the Iliad is the world’s longest.
Optimal Control for Problems with a Quadratic Cost Functional on the Therapeutic Agents

In this chapter, we give optimal solutions for systems with a control-affine dynamics (c.f., Section A.3 in Appendix A) when the dependence on the control in the objective is taken as a positive definite quadratic function. The mathematical advantages of such a formulation are obvious: the Hamiltonian H for the optimal control problem becomes strictly convex in the control u and thus has a unique minimizer, albeit only in the state-multiplier space (cotangent bundle). While this does not guarantee that controls found by an analysis of these necessary conditions are necessarily optimal, it considerably simplifies the analysis. However, as already mentioned, a quadratic functional form often is somewhat questionable and may be difficult to justify for biomedical problems. The prevalence of such models has its origin in an abundance of classical problems related to mechanical or electro-dynamical systems when such a term has a clear and justified connection with the kinetic energy of the system. If such a connection is not there—as it is lacking in the case of drug treatments—usually other, and often arbitrary “systemic” cost arguments are put forward to justify the choice. But such reasoning rarely is based on the underlying biology of the problem.
Role of Immunosuppression Minimization Protocols in Renal Transplantation

The subject of transplant immunosuppression has generated significant interest in recent years. Excellent immunosuppression, advances in surgical technique, post-transplantation care, and infection control have resulted in excellent outcomes. There is widespread support for the notion that the fundamental objective in transplant immunology should be the achievement of specific graft tolerance. However, until this objective evolves into reality, investigators are in search of the “ideal immunosuppressant”, which should target predominantly the immune system with minimal consequences for other tissues and minimal metabolic, cardiovascular and renal complications. While immunosuppressants have been associated with a tremendous trade-off in terms of morbidity, new agents have provided the investigators with the opportunity to formulate strategies that employ combination therapies with the goal of decreasing doses of individual agents and minimizing their toxicities. Multiple small studies have addressed the issue of minimizing immunosuppressants, but there is a need for well-designed clinical trials which should evaluate protocols that will reduce acute rejection, as well as chronic allograft nephropathy. They should address methods to identify subsets of patients who would maximally benefit from avoidance or withdrawal of steroids or calcineurin inhibitors. Other promising areas of research include tolerance studies among the sensitized recipients, and development of optimal immunosuppression based on genotype. In general, future trials must include a more diverse population of recipients, particularly the immunologically high risk groups.
Safe dispensing of chemotherapy for pharmacists

H workers are exposed to chemotherapy during preparation and administration of hazardous drugs including chemotherapy. This has been an ongoing concern for years in the healthcare industry. Various studies showing contamination in preparation area, long-term chromosomal abnormalities, biological marker changes in workers, long-term effects on reproduction, hair loss, rashes, miscarriages and birth defects and cancers due to chemotherapy exposure make this concern legitimate. There are guidelines for safe handling of both intravenous and oral chemotherapy from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) which all discuss how to prepare, handle and administer chemotherapy safely.
Information Extraction Agents for Service-Oriented Architecture Using Web Service Systems: A Framework

In some business domains, such as financial investment services, maintaining current information is a serious challenge, as markets evolve by the hour. This creates a demand for continually-updated information systems to support business decision-makers. Many sources of domain information are online documents containing unstructured text. For the information encoded in these natural language texts to be usable by systems, it must be extracted and reshaped into forms which those systems can recognize. The goal of this research is to investigate ways to exploit information-rich, online source texts in order to automatically update information in web service (WS) systems implemented in service-oriented architecture (SOA) environments. We propose a general framework for service-oriented web service systems that incorporates information extraction (IE) components capable of handling unstructured text. Since IE systems are sophisticated and difficult to implement, performance and economic considerations suggest...
Design and Synthesis of Novel Derivatives of ATRA Demonstrate the Combined Importance of Acid Moiety and Conjugated Double Bonds in Its Binding to PMLRAR-Alpha Oncogene in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia

Abstract All trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is the treatment of choice for Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) and binds to the transcriptional repressor PML-RAR-alpha oncogene. The binding of ATRA to RAR-alpha relieves transcriptional repression and leads to induction of genes important for myeloid differentiation. ATRA consists of an acid moiety at position 15 and is also characterized by conjugated double alkene bonds (Fig1A). The exact contributions of these structural components of ATRA in its clinically important binding to RAR-alpha receptor are not very well studied. In an effort to improve the therapeutic index and to study its binding mechanism, we synthesized novel retinoic acid analogs (retinoids). Our objective was to construct retinoids to test these structure functional correlates. 3 novel retinoids created were synthesized as follows: Compound 13a (Fig1B): consisting of modifying conjugated alkene backbone while keeping acid moiety intact. Compound 13b (Fig1C): consisting of modifying conjugated alkene backbone and converting acid to ester moiety. Compound 13c (Fig1D): consisting of modifying conjugated alkene and cycloalkene ring backbone and keeping acid moiety intact. We tested the ability of these newer retinoids to bind to RAR-alpha as well as inhibit the proliferation of PML-RAR-alpha containing acute promyelocytic leukemic cell line NB4. Reporter assays using a RAR- luciferase demonstrated that Compound 13a successfully relieved transcriptional repression by RAR-alpha and led to downstream gene induction. This was significantly less compared to wild type ATRA demonstrating the importance of C9–C10 double bonds in this binding. Compounds 13b and 13c could not relieve RAR mediated repression of gene induction demonstrating that the acid moiety plays a important role in this binding. Functional studies were consistent with these observations and showed that both ATRA and 13a were able to inhibit the proliferation of APL cells while 13b, 13c were not. Flow cytometry showed that 13a led to partial differentiation of NB4 cells, as evident from CD11b expression after five days of culture. 13b and 13c did not lead to any differentiation, while ATRA led to the greatest expression of CD11b. Our results demonstrate that both the acid moiety and conjugated double bonds are important in binding to RAR-alpha and the subsequent transcriptional repression by retinoic acid. These insights will be important in future efforts to improve the stability and efficacy of ATRA and also have implication in efforts focused on treating ATRA resistant cases of APL. Download : Download high-res image (64KB) Download : Download full-size image
Factors Influencing Youth Self-Perceptions of Overweight and Obesity

This study sought to examine whether participation in physical activity affects the ability to correctly classify body size, based on body mass index classifications. Secondarily, this study determined whether adolescents who incorrectly classified their body size overestimated or underestimated their size. Self-report data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were analyzed. Logistic regression was performed to examine relationships between self-perception of body size and physical activity, television viewing time, computer/video game use, physical education class time, and extracurricular sports activities. Significance was set to p<0.05. Physical activity was the only statistically significant independent variable (p=0.058, OR = 1.060). Although physical activity was shown to be statistically significant, it did not appear to meaningfully increase the ability of youth to correctly classify body size. Secondary analysis showed that adolescents who incorrectly classified their body size were more likely to underestimate their body size. Females more frequently underestimated their body size (females=673; males=384).
A direct ascorbate fuel cell with an anion exchange membrane

Abstract Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) is investigated as a renewable alternative fuel for alkaline direct liquid fuel cells (DLFCs). The environmentally- and biologically-friendly compound, l -ascorbic acid (AA) has been modeled and studied experimentally under acidic fuel cell conditions. In this work, we demonstrate that ascorbic acid is a more efficient fuel in alkaline media than in acidic media. An operating direct ascorbate fuel cell is constructed with the combination of l -ascorbic acid and KOH as the anode fuel, air or oxygen as the oxidant, a polymer anion exchange membrane, metal or carbon black anode materials and metal cathode catalyst. Operation of the fuel cell at 60 °C using 1 M AA and 1 M KOH as the anode fuel and electrolyte, respectively, and oxygen gas at the cathode, produces a maximum power density of 73 mW cm-2, maximum current density of 497 mA cm−2 and an open circuit voltage of 0.90 V. This performance is significantly greater than that of an ascorbic acid fuel cell with a cation exchange membrane, and it is competitive with alkaline DLFCs fueled by alcohols.
Analysis of Tip Vortex Near-Wake Evolution for Stationary and Oscillating Wings

A numerical study is conducted to characterize the tip vortex unsteady evolution on a rounded-tip NACA0012 wing of aspect ratio operating at a Reynolds number of Re=2.0×105 and an incidence of α=8 ...
Combined resource allocation and route optimization in multiagent networks: A scalable approach

This paper presents an algorithm to solve the simultaneous resource allocation and route optimization problem first presented in [1]. This NP hard problem entails finding simultaneously the locations of resources (or service or communication exchanges) in a multi-agent network as well as determining multihop routes from individual agents to a common destination through a network of resource nodes in such a way that the total cost of communication from all agents to the destination center is minimized. The main contribution of this article is that it develops a solution approach that scales better than the existing algorithm in [1]. The number of design variables in the algorithm presented in [1] grows exponentially O(2M) with the number of resources M; whereas in the algorithm proposed in this paper, the number of design variables are only of the order O(M). The proposed algorithm incorporates certain constraints that result from the law of optimality, which results in the reduction of the design parameter space. This algorithm, which is based on Maximum Entropy Principle (MEP), guarantees local minima and is heuristically designed to seek the global minimum.
Issues in Adolescent Counseling

Adolescent counseling presents a number of issues that the secondary-level school psychologist needs to consider. An initial stumbling block to counseling can occur when the counselor generalizes a...
The Attitudinal Consequences of Individual versus Organizational Pay for Performance

The present study investigates the relationship between pay for performance (PFP) plans and collective perceptions of organizational commitment. This study proposes a model of the process through w...
Tacrolimus as an adjunct to autologous minced muscle grafts for the repair of a volumetric muscle loss injury

Volumetric muscle loss (VML) following extremity orthopaedic trauma or surgery results in chronic functional deficits and disability. A current translational approach to address the devastating functional limitations due to VML injury is the use of an autologous minced muscle graft (~1 mm3 pieces of muscle tissue) replacement into the injured defect area, although limitations related to donor site morbidity are still unaddressed. This study was designed to explore adjunct pharmacological immunomodulation to enhance graft efficacy and promote muscle function following VML injury, and thereby reduce the amount of donor tissue required. Using a validated VML porcine injury model in which 20% of the muscle volume was surgically removed, this study examined muscle function over 3 months post-VML injury. In vivo isometric torque of the peroneus teritus (PT) muscle was not different before surgery among sham, non-repaired, non-repaired with tacrolimus, graft-repaired, and graft-repaired with tacrolimus VML groups. Bi-weekly torque analysis of the VML injured musculature presented a significant strength deficit of ~26% compared to pre-injury in the non-repaired, non-repaired with tacrolimus, and graft-repaired groups. Comparatively, the strength deficit in the graft-repair with systemic tacrolimus was marginally improved (~19%; p = 0.056). Both of the minced graft repaired groups presented a greater proportion of muscle tissue in full-thickness histology specimen. We demonstrate that adjunctive use of tacrolimus with an ~50% minced muscle graft replacement resulted in modest improvements in muscle function 3 months after injury and repair, but the magnitude of improvement is not expected to elicit clinically meaningful functional improvements.
Simultaneous suction debulking of lead vegetation prior to percutaneous lead extraction.

Abstract The infection rates of implanted cardiac devices have increased disproportionate to the dramatic increase in implantation rates, possibly related to rising patient comorbidities. Optimum strategy in cases with larger size vegetations, however, remains to be ascertained. In the absence of an effective and less invasive alternative, such patients usually undergo open thoracotomy for lead extraction. We describe the case of a 50-year-old female presenting with recurrent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia found to have 3 cm highly mobile vegetation on the right ventricular lead of her implanted defibrillator. While being intermediate-to-low surgical risk, she underwent AngioVac-directed suction debulking (AngioDynamics, Latham, NY, USA) of the vegetation simultaneously preceding percutaneous laser lead extraction in a single session. This less invasive alternative to open thoracotomy has been described in high surgical risk patients, but its widespread role remains unexplored.
Power, Politics, and Influence in Organizations

The study of the related concepts of power, politics, and influence in organizations has been a topic of interest for well over a century, with research expanding considerably in the last several decades. Power, politics, and influence are fundamental, and effectively ubiquitous, components of organizational life, serving to help explain how individuals act on their environments and interact with other individuals in organizations. This article briefly covers the existing knowledge of power, politics, and influence in organizations through a discussion of seminal works in these areas. Emerging areas of study and directions for future research are also discussed.
Cultured human trabecular meshwork cells express functional growth factor receptors

Purpose To compare the mRNA expression of growth factor receptors in cultured human trabecular meshwork (HTM) cells with ex vivo HTM tissues and to determine whether HTM cells generate a physiologic response after exposure to exogenous growth factors. Methods The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method was used to detect the expression of various growth factor receptor mRNAs using early passaged, cultured HTM cells from donors of several ages. RT-PCR on ex vivo HTM tissues from healthy donors and donors with glaucoma were also used to compare and contrast mRNA expression with cell culture results. After the exogenous administration of growth factors, cell proliferation and extracellular acidification rate studies were used to measure the functional responses of HTM cells to growth factors. Results Amplification products of the expected size for 15 growth factor receptors were detected in cultured HTM cells and in ex vivo HTM tissues. The administration of exogenous growth factors showed that (a) hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), insulinlike growth factor (IGF)-1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-AA, PDGF-BB, PDGF-AB, and basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) stimulated cell proliferation, whereas FGF-1 (acidic), transforming growth factor (TGF) alpha, interleukin (IL)-1alpha, nerve growth factor (NGF), and FGF-7 (keratinocyte growth factor [KGF]) had no significant influence on cell proliferation; (b) TGF-beta isoforms significantly inhibited EGF-stimulated trabecular meshwork cell proliferation; and (c) FGF-1 (acidic), TGF-alpha, EGF, IL-1alpha, IL-1beta, HGF, TNF-alpha, PDGF-AA, and IGF-1 significantly stimulated extracellular acidification, whereas FGF-2 (basic), FGF-7 (KGF), TGF-beta1-beta3 and NGF had no significant influence on extracellular acidification. Conclusions These studies show that mRNA for numerous growth factor receptors can be detected in cultured HTM cells and in ex vivo HTM tissues. They also show that many of the receptors are functional, because exogenous growth factor administration elicits a physiologic response. In vivo, these receptors may be activated by growth factors present within the aqueous humor (aquecrine/paracrine) or by growth factors synthesized and released locally by trabecular meshwork cells themselves (autocrine). Specific growth factors acting through high-affinity receptors may be involved in maintaining the normal microenvironment of the HTM and also may be involved in the pathogenesis of primary open-angle glaucoma.
Novel Method of Determining Vehicle Cartesian Location Using Dual Active Optical Beacons and a Rotating Photosensor

A novel system for sensing the location of a vehicle in a region of interest has been implemented; it has applications for mobile ground or aerial vehicle navigation (or positioning) in environments where other types of environmental localization are absent (e.g., lack of radio or GPS signals). The system uses photodetection of encoded laser-beam pulses emitted from a pair of beacons to gather information and perform localization calculations with reasonable accuracy. Testing of the realized system has shown consistent results that are in line with predictions from the previous model simulations. The approach of using dual angle-encoded beacons is shown to be a valid methodology for determining relative location and orientation in a sterile environment. Future optimizations would increase the pulse rates of the lasers, the rotational speed of the beacons, and use mirrors or prisms to replace the rotating detector with a stationary one.
The Rate of CD4 T Cell Entry into the Lungs during Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection Is Determined by Partial and Opposing Effects of Multiple Chemokine Receptors.

ABSTRACT The specific chemokine receptors utilized by Th1 cells to migrate into the lung during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection are unknown. We previously showed in mice that CXCR3+ Th1 cells enter the lung parenchyma and suppress M. tuberculosis growth, while CX3CR1+ KLRG1+ Th1 cells accumulate in the lung vasculature and are nonprotective. Here we quantify the contributions of these chemokine receptors to the migration and entry rate of Th1 cells into M. tuberculosis-infected lungs using competitive adoptive transfer migration assays and mathematical modeling. We found that in 8.6 h half of M. tuberculosis-specific CD4 T cells migrate from the blood to the lung parenchyma. CXCR3 deficiency decreases the average rate of Th1 cell entry into the lung parenchyma by half, while CX3CR1 deficiency doubles it. KLRG1 blockade has no effect on Th1 cell lung migration. CCR2, CXCR5, and, to a lesser degree, CCR5 and CXCR6 also promote the entry of Th1 cells into the lungs of infected mice. Moreover, blockade of G-protein-coupled receptors with pertussis toxin treatment prior to transfer only partially inhibits T cell migration into the lungs. Thus, the fraction of Th1 cell input into the lungs during M. tuberculosis infection that is regulated by chemokine receptors likely reflects the cumulative effects of multiple chemokine receptors that mostly promote but that can also inhibit entry into the parenchyma.
Choose Your Battles Wisely: The Consequences of Protesting Government Procurement Contracts

Firms that successfully protest a government agency’s conduct or terms of a procurement contract observe a reduction in future business opportunities with the government. These firms receive fewer and less valuable government contracts, face more contract cancellations, and experience significant reductions in sales growth and employee growth. Despite widespread belief, successful bid protesters do not delay government procurement due to lengthy dispute resolutions. We provide the first analysis of corporate interactions with the United States government bid-protest system. Our results demonstrate the effects of legitimate bid protests to firms.