cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electron microscopy study of exotic nanostructures of cadmium sulfide.

In this article, two simple methods, evaporation-condensation and catalytic thermal evaporation, were used to investigate the synthesis of CdS nanostructures for nanoscale optoelectronic applications. To understand their growth mechanisms, various electron microscopy and microanalysis techniques were utilized in characterizing their morphologies, internal structures, growth directions and elemental compositions. The electron microscopy study reveals that when using the evaporation-condensation method, branched CdS nanorods and self-assembled arrays of CdS nanorods were synthesized at 800°C and 1000°C, respectively. Instead of morphological differences, both types of CdS nanorods grew along the [0001] direction. However, when using the catalytic thermal evaporation method (Au as the catalyst), patterned CdS nanowires and nanobelts were formed at the temperature region of 500–600°C and 600–750°C, respectively. Their growth direction was along the direction [10 1 0] instead of [0001]. Based on the microscopy and microanalysis results, we propose some growth mechanisms in relation to the growth processes of those exotic CdS nanostructures.
Early Onset of Heat-Shock Response in Mouse Embryos Revealed by Quantification of Stress-Inducible hsp70i RNA

Heat shock response is fully established in mouse embryos at the blastocyst stage, but it is unclear when this response fi rst arises during development. To shed light on this question, we used a single-tube method to quantify mRNA levels of the heat shock protein genes hsp70.1 and hsp70.3 (hsp70i) in individual cleavage-stage embryos that had or had not been heat-shocked. While untreated, healthy embryos contained very low copy numbers of hsp70i RNA, heat shock rapidly induced the synthesis of hundreds of hsp70i transcripts per blastomere at both the 4-cell and the 8-cell stages. In addition, we performed hsp70i measurements in embryos that had not been heat-shocked but had been very slow in devel- oping. Quantifi cation of hsp70i RNA and genomic DNA copy numbers in these slow-growing embryos demonstrated the presence of two distinct populations. Some of the embryos contained considerable levels of hsp70i RNA, a fi nding consis- tent with the hypothesis of endogenous metabolic stress accompanied by cell cycle arrest and delayed development. Other slow-growing embryos contained no hsp70i RNA and fewer than expected hsp70i gene copies, suggesting the possibility of ongoing apoptosis. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that mouse embryos can activate hsp70i expression in response to sub-lethal levels of stress as early as at the 4-cell stage. Our results also indicate that quantifi cation of hsp70i DNA and RNA copy numbers may provide a diagnostic tool for embryonic health.
Effective whitelisting for filesystem forensics

Forensic analysis of the large filesystems commonly found on current computers requires an effective method for categorizing and prioritizing files in order to avoid overwhelming the investigator. A key technique for this purpose is whitelisting files, i.e., skipping the detailed analysis of files that match files in a well known reference collection of files. Effective use of this technique requires an efficient method to match files, detecting not only exact matches, but also near matches or approximate matches. This paper outlines the requirements for such matching, formalizes them as the bounded best match and approximate bounded near-match problems, and describes methods to solve these problems. In particular, the approximate bounded near-match problem is mapped to the problem of finding near neighbors in a high-dimensional metric space and solved using locality-sensitive hashing.
An architecture for motion estimation in the transform domain

In this paper, a novel architecture for transform domain motion estimation is proposed. We derive a recursion equation from the algorithm and wavefront array processors are used to perform motion estimation algorithm adoptively in the transform domain according to the compression ratio. It is also shown that a higher throughput rate with the reduction of arithmetic building blocks, frame memory size and the number of memory accesses is achieved. The proposed architecture can also reconfigure to different algorithms that can be used to perform power-aware video encoding. Simulation results on video sequences of different characteristics show comparable performance of the proposed algorithm to spatial domain approaches in the aspects of PSNR and compression ratio.
Characterization of age- and location-associated variations in the composition of articular cartilage from the equine metacarpophalangeal joint

Abstract Objective: To characterize the impact of age, gender, location and individual animal variation on the composition of articular cartilage from the metacarpophalangeal joint of horses. Design: Cartilage specimens were obtained from the metacarpophalangeal joints of 28 male, female and castrated male horses ranging in age from one day to 27 years of age. Cartilage samples from the distal metacarpus, proximal first phalanx and proximal sesamoids were analyzed separately. Chondrocyte number, DNA content, proteoglycan concentration and total collagen content were determined for each animal and joint location. Results: Age and joint location had a significant effect on chondrocyte number and DNA content with higher cell counts and DNA content detected in cartilage from the youngest age groups and in cartilage from the metacarpus and proximal sesamoids. The influence of age on chondrocyte numbers was not significant in horses over two years of age. Both age and joint location also influenced total proteoglycan and collagen content. Lower proteoglycan and collagen concentrations were detected in younger horses, and cartilage from the metacarpus had lower proteoglycan and collagen concentrations than that from other joint locations. Gender did not appear to influence chondrocyte number or matrix content of equine articular cartilage. However, there was significant residual variation in cellularity, proteoglycan levels and collagen content between individual animals that could not be explained by the signalment factors considered in this study. Conclusions: Future studies examining equine articular cartilage should avoid direct morphologic comparisons between animals of different ages, and any comparisons made between individuals should be interpreted cautiously. In addition, in vitro tissue culture models should avoid the use of cartilage pooled from different animals or from different locations within the same joint.
An algorithm for extracting the network geometry of three-dimensional collagen gels

The geometric structure of a biopolymer network impacts its mechanical and biological properties. In this paper, we develop an algorithm for extracting the network architecture of three-dimensional (3d) fluorescently labeled collagen gels, building on the initial work of Wu et al., (2003). Using artificially generated images, the network extraction algorithm is then validated for its ability to reconstruct the correct bulk properties of the network, including fiber length, persistence length, cross-link density, and shear modulus.
Large-Eddy Simulation of Shallow Water Langmuir Turbulence Using Isogeometric Analysis and the Residual-Based Variational Multiscale Method

Abstract : We develop a residual-based variational multiscale (RBVMS) method based on isogeometric analysis for large-eddy simulation (LES) of wind-driven shear flow with Langmuir circulation (LC). Isogeometric analysis refers to our use of NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-splines) basis functions which have been proven to be highly accurate in LES of turbulent flows (Bazilevs, Y., et al. 2007, Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng., 197, pp. 173 201). LC consists of stream-wise vortices in the direction of the wind acting as a secondary flow structure to the primary, mean component of the flow driven by the wind. LC results from surface wave-current interaction and often occurs within the upper ocean mixed layer over deep water and in coastal shelf regions under wind speeds greater than 3m s 1. Our LES of wind-driven shallow water flow with LC is representative of a coastal shelf flow where LC extends to the bottom and interacts with the sea bed boundary layer. The governing LES equations are the Craik-Leivobich equations (Tejada-Mart nez, A. E., and Grosch, C. E., 2007, J. Fluid Mech., 576, pp. 63 108; Gargett, A. E., 2004, Science, 306, pp. 1925 1928), consisting of the time-filtered Navier-Stokes equations. These equations possess the same structure as the Navier-Stokes equations with an extra vortex force term accounting for wave-current interaction giving rise to LC. The RBVMS method with quadratic NURBS is shown to possess good convergence characteristics in wind-driven flow with LC. Furthermore, the method yields LC structures in good agreement with those computed with the spectral method in (Thorpe, S. A., 2004, Annu. Rev. Fluids Mech., 36, pp. 584 55 79) and measured during field observations in (D Alessio, S. J., et al., 1998, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 28, pp. 1624 1641; Kantha, L., and Clayson, C. A., 2004, Ocean Modelling, 6, pp. 101 124). [DOI: 10.1115/1.4005059]
ISOLATION, GROWTH, AND PHYSIOLOGY OF ACIDOPHILIC CHLAMYDOMONADS1,2

SUMMARY A buffered, chelated, defined medium was developed for isolation and growth of acid-bog flagellates and for physiological studies of bog chlamydomonads. Hydrogen ion tolerances of Chlamydomonas acidophila, C. sphagnophila 121 A, C. sphagnophila IU293, and, C. reinhardi were determined. Only C. acidophila grew at pH 2.0. It did not grow at pH 7.0 or 8.0 as did the other chlamydomonads tested. Liver fraction “L” and Fe permitted growth of C. acidophila at pH 2.0 equal to control growth at pH 5.0. Neither C. sphagnopliila 121A nor C. reinhardi grew at pH 2.0 with these additions. Hydrogen ion seems to be excluded from the cell interior of acid-tolerant species. They remained green (ie, pheophytinization did not occur) when cultured below pH 5.0. C. acidophila grew in the dark with glucose as sole source of carbon and energy. Acetate, glycolate, and glyoxylate were assimilated in the dark if glucose was also present. C. sphagnophila 121A did not grow in the dark on any of the 51 organic carbon compounds tested. C. acidophila and C. sphagnophila 121A seem promising tools for determining biochemical mechanisms responsible for differences in H+ tolerances. Presumably specialized cell walls or membranes are involved.
The CFTR and EGFR relationship in airway vascular growth, and its importance in cystic fibrosis

In this issue of the European Respiratory Journal , Martin et al. [1] focus on the life-threatening complication of haemoptysis in cystic fibrosis (CF). The authors examine the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A on angiogenesis in the normal state and in CF. They report that CF airways at transplantation show increased vascularity and increased VEGF-A expression. In normal human airway epithelial cells they report that VEGF-A synthesis is produced via activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and is suppressed by a selective EGFR inhibitor. Most novel and exciting are the findings that in airway epithelial cells containing cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), inhibition of CFTR increases EGFR activation and that an inhibitor of EGFR activation prevents the VEGF-A synthesis induced by suppression of CFTR, suggesting that there is a reciprocal relationship between CFTR and EGFR. Both CFTR and EGFR coexist on the airway epithelial surface. EGFR activation results in “pro-inflammatory responses”; in addition to VEGF-A, this includes other products such as interleukin-8 (a potent neutrophil chemoattractant) [2] and mucins [3]. The fact that inhibition of CFTR results in exaggerated production of VEGF-A suggests that CFTR normally suppresses the EGFR “inflammatory” responses. VEGF-A production occurs in response to EGFR activation. The study by Martin et al. [1] found that suppression of CFTR increased EGFR activation, but only after …
Make Geeks Popular: An Adaptive Network Approach to Induce Positive Drift of Students’ Grades Diffusing in Their Social Network

Our recent study showed that academic success may diffuse over time among high school students’ social network [1]. This finding naturally leads educators to ask an important question: How can one utilize such diffusion dynamics in order to improve the students’ grades as a whole at school? This is not a trivial question because the effects are found to be bidirectional; low achievers may benefit from working together with high achievers, but the high achievers’ grades may slide down at the same time, therefore naive mixing of students may not be an optimal strategy to exploit this diffusion dynamics of academic success. Here we present a more promising approach in which the number of a student’s social ties is artificially correlated with his or her grade adaptively. We tested the effectiveness of this approach through computational simulations. Our simulation model assumesN students (nodes) connected byE undirected links. Their grades and topology are initially random. In each iteration, the i-th student’s grade gi is updated by gi(t+1) = gi(t)+D (〈g〉i,t − gi(t)), where D is the diffusion constant and 〈g〉i,t the local average of the i-th student’s neighbors’ grades at time t. In addition, pE links are randomly chosen and removed from the network in each iteration and replaced by the same number of new links between students that are selected preferentially based on their grades, with selection probability P (i) ∼ g i . We conducted systematic simulations with p and α varied. Results (Fig. 1) show that the adaptive link replacement with positive preferential selection (p > 0, α > 0) caused positive drift of students’ average grades over time. The proposed approach may be practically implementable at school by, e.g., allowing higher-achieving students to participate in more extracurricular activities.
Constitutional Theory and the Rule of Recognition: Toward a Fourth Theory of Law

This essay, a contribution to a forthcoming edited volume on Hart's rule of recognition and the U.S. Constitution, advances one argument and pitches one proposal. The argument is that Hart's theory of law does not succeed. On Hart's account, legal propositions are what they are - that is, they have the particular content and status that they do - by virtue of their satisfying necessary and sufficient conditions that are themselves established by a special sort of convergent practice among officials. American constitutional theorists are often troubled by this account because it seems to imply that in the "hard cases" in which practice-legitimated modalities of constitutional argument conflict, there is no law (or, put more precisely, such law as exists is much too general to resolve disputes), leaving judges with the extra-legal or political task of crafting more determinate law. Vindicating constitutional theorists' disquiet with the dichotomous law/not-law picture that emerges from the Hartian account, I argue that law cannot be validated by practice-determined criteria in the way that Hart proposes. If my argument is sound, and therefore Hart's account is not, it remains to determine what the correct theory of law is. My proposal is to view law as an argumentative practice. Of course, put so generally, this notion will hardly be controversial: no contemporary jurisprudential theories are likely to deny tout court that law incorporates a dimension of practice or that it involves argument. It is beyond the ambition of this essay to fully articulate, let alone to successfully defend, a distinctive practice-based theory of law. But, drawing on recent work by Gerald Postema, it endeavors to say enough to escape vacuity, to distinguish my argumentative account from Dworkin's, and to nourish hope that the image dimly glimpsed can be realized.
Strategic Planning, an Essential Management Tool for Health Care Organizations, and Its Epidemiologic Basis

Organizations charged with the delivery of health services exist in an environment in which no single organization can isolate itself from the change that surrounds it. Strategic planning offers organizations a tool for analyzing the impact of changing trends and environmental conditions. It equips health care managers with a systematic process for setting future direction, developing effective strategies, and ensuring that the organization’s structure and systems are compatible with long-term survival and success. Through the use of strategic planning, organizations learn to think and to act strategically, thereby making better judgments about the future and becoming more proactive in shaping it.
What's Past Is Prologue: The Fate of Joint & Several Liability after Burlington Northern

This Essay examines the development of Burlington’s apportionment holding in the three years since its decision on May 4, 2009. Reviewing reporter- and database-reported opinions in the past 33 months, this Essay examines how the lower courts have been implementing Burlington’s apportionment holding and what the effects of that holding have been. In general, the application of Burlington’s apportionment holding has reflected a centrist position in the academic and professional debate: joint and several liability is certainly not “dead,” but it may be easier to defend against.This Essay concludes that the application of joint and several liability will be increasingly explained by (1) the willingness of the fact finder to engage in a perhaps intense and complex apportionment analysis; and (2) the comfort of the fact finder with highly technical details and statistical analysis. These developments have important practical and strategic implications for litigants regarding defense against joint and several liability.
Detecting the onset of eye fatigue in a live framework

This document describes a method for detecting the onset of eye fatigue and how it could be implemented in an existing live framework. The proposed method, which uses fixation data, does not rely as heavily on the sampling rate of the eye tracker as do methods which use saccade data, making it more suitable for lower cost eye trackers such as mobile and wearable devices. By being able to detect eye fatigue with such eye trackers, it becomes possible to react to the development of fatigue in virtually any environment, such as by alerting drivers that they appear fatigued and may want to pull over. It could also be used to aid in developing interfaces that are more user-friendly by noting at which point a user becomes fatigued while navigating the interface.
EFFECTS OF GUIDED LISTENING ON MUSIC ACHIEVEMENT AND PREFERENCE OF FOURTH GRADERS

Previous experimentation with background music has indicated that subjects may focus on a task to the exclusion of the music (Geringer & Nelson, 1979; Madsen & Wolfe, 1979). The present study was designed to investigate whether a music-related task affects achievement on a test related to that music and whether task or no-task listening conditions affect subsequent music preference. Ninety fourth-graders were block-randomized and assigned to three groups. The music-guide (n = 30) and music-only groups (n = 30) heard 5 min. of an orchestral music excerpt. Listening was conducted individually with headphones. The music-guide group completed a forced-choice written task while listening. The task related musical aspects of the excerpts to a choice of responses on the guide. An achievement test, emphasizing the same aspects as the guide, was then given to these two groups. All 90 subjects subsequently participated in operant and verbal measures of musical preference. Each subject was given 200 sec. to indicate which of four comparable orchestral excerpts was preferred. One excerpt was the one heard previously by the music-guide and music-only groups. An Operant Music Listening Recorder allowed each subject to select excerpts, and duration of listening time per excerpt was recorded. Verbal preference was then assessed. Results of the study may be summarized as follows: (1) Guided and music-only listening conditions did not result in significantly different scores on the music achievement test (t = 1.6, df = 58, f~ > .lo). (2) Neither listening condition influenced verbal or operant preference when compared with the control group (x" 3.77, df = 6, p > .70; Friedman two-way analysis of variance, xr2 = 5, p = .20). (3) The Spearman rank correlation berween the verbal and operant preference measures was .68 (p < .02). Although the present study required subjects to attend to the music to complete the task, results were not unlike those of studies involving background music and musically unrelated tasks.
Chiral SU 4 ⊗SU 4 and scale invariance

Proceeding from the speculation that the real world is approximately ${\mathrm{SU}}_{4}\ensuremath{\bigotimes}{\mathrm{SU}}_{{4}^{\ensuremath{-}}}$ and scale-invariant, we study the mechanism of spontaneous breakdown by considering a $\ensuremath{\sigma}$-type model that embodies both operator partial conservation of axial-vector current and operator partial conservation of dilatation current. Solutions exhibiting spontaneous breakdown are analyzed in relation to the behavior of transition when explicit symmetry breaking is turned on. Allowed domains for the symmetry-breaking parameters are also derived.
Phosphorylase activity in denervated skeletal muscle.

SummaryFollowing denervation of the rat rectus femoris muscle, phosphorylase a and t activity and the a/t ratio were maintained for 5 days, decreased by 10 days and remained low for 60 days. In muscles denervated for 15 days epinephrine increased the activity of phosphorylase a and t and the a/t ratio, and markedly inhibited the expected decrease in enzyme activity which follows tetanic contraction. Following electrical stimulation, the recovery of activity ratios in both intact and denervated muscles occurred at the same time. In denervated muscle the return of phosphorylase a and t was delayed as compared to that in normal muscle. Epinephrine showed no effect on the recovery of enzyme activity in the denervated muscle. Changes in muscle phosphorylase activity after denervation atrophy differ from those incurred from other causes.
The clinical spectrum of duodenal polyps in pediatrics.

Objectives: The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the prevalence, clinical presentation, and histologic subclassification of duodenal polyps identified on endoscopy (EGD) in pediatric patients. Methods: We performed an 18-year retrospective study of all pediatric patients (< 21 years) with duodenal polyps diagnosed between 1983 and 2001 at The Johns Hopkins Children's Center. Our analysis includes a formal histologic evaluation of duodenal polyps either biopsied using cold-forceps or removed by snare cautery. Results: Duodenal polyps were reported in 22 of 5766 EGDs (0.4%) performed in 16 (M:F; 1:1) patients with a mean (SD) age of 14.1 (5.1) years. Polyps were equal in both the Caucasian and African American population (adjusted ratio 1.2:1). The histologic subtypes included Adenomatous (42%), Brunner's gland hyperplastic (33%), hamartomatous (17%), and heterotopic gastric gland polyps (8%). The most frequent indication for EGD was surveillance in patients with polyposis syndromes; most of these patients were asymptomatic at the time of their EGD. In comparison, the most frequent indication for an EGD in patients without polyposis syndromes was abdominal pain and vomiting. Conclusions: Duodenal polyps are most frequently encountered in children with polyposis syndromes, most of whom are asymptomatic. In nonsyndromic patients, the most common histologic subtype is Brunner's gland hyperplastic polyp and presenting symptoms include abdominal pain and vomiting.
A preconditioning protocol and biaxial mechanical measurement of the small intestine

Understanding the biomechanical properties of the small intestine is necessary for developing in vivo mobility systems for miniature robots. In this work, we have experimentally determined preconditioning parameters and then performed in-plane biaxial biomechanical characterisation of small intestinal tissue. Excised tissue samples underwent uniaxial tension tests for two physiological Piola-stress values and multiple cycles. The percent change in the length of the tissue reached equilibrium after approximately 13 preconditioning cycles for both loading values. The mechanical behaviour of the tissue did not appear to be affected by the loading values. Thirty-three tissue samples from the proximal, middle, and distal regions of the small intestine of three pigs underwent preconditioning and subsequent in-plane biaxial biomechanical characterisation. The mean moduli for all samples in the low and high modulus regions were, respectively, 307.25 ± 29.67 kPa and 2,211.72 ± 316.88 kPa along the longitudinal direction, and 180.07 ± 17.01 kPa and 1,388.89 ± 206.15 kPa along the circumferential direction. For the low modulus region, the proximal tissue was significantly stiffer than the distal tissue in the circumferential direction (p = 0.0356). Overall, the longitudinal direction was stiffer for both the high and low modulus regions (p = 0.0056 and 0.0004, respectively).
Abstract LB-99: Bif-1 promotes EGFR endocytic degradation and contributes to suppression of metastatic potential in breast and colon cancers

Bif-1, a member of the endophilin B protein family, is involved in apoptosis and autophagy induction and in regulating membrane dynamics of organelles such as the Golgi and mitochondria. While endophilin A family members are involved in the formation and fission of endocytic vesicles at the plasma membrane, recent data suggest a role for Bif-1 in promoting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) endocytic degradation. Increased EGFR expression is seen in a variety of tumors including breast and colorectal cancers and has been correlated with disease progression, poor survival, poor response to therapy, and resistance to cytotoxic agents. Activation of EGFR promotes cell growth, differentiation, survival, and migration through MAPK, PI3K, STAT, and Src signaling pathways; whereas signal termination and receptor down-regulation occur primarily through clathrin-mediated endocytosis and lysosomal degradation. However, the mechanism through which Bif-1 regulates EGFR endocytic trafficking and degradation has not been thoroughly investigated. Here we report that suppression of Bif-1 expression in breast and colon cancer cells delays EGFR degradation. While Bif-1 depletion does not disrupt EGFR internalization or trafficking to the vicinity of LAMP-1 positive late endosomes/lysosomes, endosome maturation and endosome/lysosome fusion seem to be suppressed in cells lacking Bif-1. Moreover, knockdown of Bif-1 enhances breast cancer cell migration and invasion. These findings, together with previous data showing that loss of Bif-1 promotes tumorigenesis in mice and that decreased expression of Bif-1 is seen in many types of human cancers including breast and colorectal cancers, further suggest that Bif-1 functions as a tumor suppressor. In addition to its roles in apoptosis and autophagy induction, this study supports a new role for Bif-1 in regulating the late stages of EGFR lysosomal degradation and identifies Bif-1 as a suppressor of metastatic potential in breast cancer. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-99. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-LB-99
Community Development Authorities: A Further Exploration of Institutional Corruption in Bond Finance

While many investors consider municipal bonds to be “safe investments,” today’s municipal bond market encompasses far more than the simple general obligation bonds of state and local governments. The tax-exempt bonds issued by Community Development Authorities (CDAs) through the municipal bond market are typically unrated; they are, in effect, junk bonds with a history of great success, dismal failure, multiple bondholder lawsuits, and occasional federal investigations. This paper considers the variable history of CDAs in California and Colorado during the late eighties and early nineties and their replication in Virginia a decade later. Using a detailed examination of the Virginia experience, this paper argues that that the model of institutional corruption devised by the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics helps explain why CDAs often fail to achieve their institutional purposes, and why Virginia officials often failed to learn from the examples of Colorado and California. The examination highlights significant instances of cronyism and conflicts of interest within the economy of influence surrounding CDA creation and management, and suggests that the loss of public trust when a CDA fails to achieve its institutional purpose extends beyond the district’s boundaries to impact public trust in the municipal bond market as a whole.
AIDS Surveillance among People under Custody in Xuchang City during 2005—2008

[Objective]To master the status and risk factors of HIV infection among people under custody in Xuchang City,and provide scientific evidence for developing prevention and control measures for this population.[Methods]Unified questionnaire was used to conduct interview-type survey on people under custody,blood samples were tested for HIV antibody,the confirmed positive ones was investigated epidemiologically.[Results]Of 19 198 people under custody,51 were identified positive,the detection rate was 0.27%.All 51 cases were male;route of infection:14 cases had the history of sexual disorder,19 cases had single-mining history of plasma,4 cases had blood transfusion history,8 cases had intravenous drug use history,6 cases had unknown causes;the average age was 38.3 years.[Conclusion]The infection rate of people under custody is higher than the general population in this city.Carrying out AIDS surveillance on this population is one of the important ways to discover HIV infectors.Simultaneously extensive and long-term health education about AIDS prevention knowledge should be implemented on people under custody to improve their self-protection awareness,to promote their "Knowledge,Attitudes and Practice" change and reduce the spread of AIDS.
Disulphide cross-linking of smooth-muscle and non-muscle caldesmon to the C-terminus of actin in reconstituted and native thin filaments

It was reported that chicken gizzard smooth-muscle caldesmon Cys-580 can be disulphide-cross-linked to the C-terminal pen-ultimate residue (Cys-374) of actin, indicating that these residues are close in the protein complex [Graceffa, P. and Jancso, A. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 20305-20310]. Since the possibility that the cross-link involves a cysteine residue other than actin Cys-374 was not absolutely excluded, more direct evidence was sought for the identify of the cysteine residues involved in the cross-link. We show here that caldesmon could not be disulphide-cross-linked to actin which had Cys-374 removed by carboxypeptidase A digestion, providing direct support for the participation of actin Cys-374 in the cross-link to caldesmon. In order to assign the caldesmon cysteine residue involved in the cross-link, use was made of caldesmon from porcine stomach muscle, which is shown to contain one cysteine residue close to, or at, position 580, in contrast with chicken gizzard caldesmon, which has an additional cysteine residue at position 153. The porcine stomach caldesmon also formed a disulphide-cross-link to actin, further supporting the original conclusion that Cys-580 of the chicken gizzard caldesmon had been cross-linked to actin. Disulphide-cross-linking with similar yield was also observed in native chicken gizzard muscle thin filaments, indicating that the interaction between actin and the C-terminal domain of caldesmon is the same in native and reconstituted thin filaments. The much smaller non-muscle isoform of caldesmon, from rabbit liver, could be similarly cross-linked to actin, consistent with the sequence similarity between the C-terminal domain of muscle and non-muscle caldesmon. The ability to cross-link caldesmon Cys-580 to actin Cys-374 suggests the possibility that the Cys-580 region of caldesmon and the C-terminus of actin form part of the actin-caldesmon binding interface.
The Spirit and Intent of Motivational Interviewing.

PURPOSE To describe an educational program to improve inpatient psychiatric nursing staff communication skills to better provide patient-centered care throughout patient hospitalization. DESIGN AND METHODS Delivered and evaluated an educational program to increase inpatient staff knowledge and use of communication skills during patient encounters. CONCLUSIONS Emphasizing the spirit and intent of motivational interviewing in a training program results in a translation of the newly obtained knowledge into nursing practice, as evidenced by observed use of motivational interviewing skills during which patient encounters to strengthen the therapeutic alliance. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Advanced Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners can provide an important role of coaching/mentorship for inpatient psychiatric nursing staff to further develop communication skills that are meaningful, patient-centered, and may lead to improved treatment adherence.
Acupuncture in an outpatient clinic in China: a comparison with the use of acupuncture in North America.

Background The National Institutes of Health Consensus Panel on Acupuncture has listed as a priority the study comparing indications and patterns of use of acupuncture in different countries. Methods I visited an outpatient acupuncture clinic in China and reviewed the clinical files. A MEDLINE search was done to compare the use of acupuncture in North America and China. Results The most common disorder treated in the clinic was musculoskeletal pain. Less common indications included stroke rehabilitation, Bell's palsy, cholelithiasis, tinnitus, insomnia, migraine, and visceral pain. In North America, acupuncture is primarily for pain relief. Other uses include stroke rehabilitation, various emetic problems, migraine, and various addictions. Conclusions Acupuncture is most frequently used in China and North America for pain relief. Other common indications include peripheral nerve palsy, peripheral nerve neuralgia, stroke rehabilitation, psychoemotional disorders, migraine, visceral pain, emesis, asthma, and tinnitus. Acupuncture for cholelithiasis in China but not in the United States suggests a novel use of this modality.
Two-Stage Growth of Polymer Nanoparticles at the Liquid-Vapor Interface by Vapor-Phase Polymerization.

In this article, we study the growth of polymer nanoparticles that are formed on the surface of silicone oils via initiated chemical vapor deposition. The average radius of the particles can be increased by decreasing the silicone oil viscosity, increasing the deposition time, or increasing the deposition rate. The time series data indicates that there are two stages for particle growth. Particle nucleation occurs in the first stage and the particle size is dependent on the liquid viscosity and deposition rate. Particle growth occurs in the second stage, during which the particle size is dependent only on the amount of deposited polymer. This two-step process allows us to make core–shell particles by sequentially depositing different polymers. The benefits of our nanoparticle synthesis process are that solvents and surfactants are not required and the size of the nanoparticles can be controlled over a wide range of radii with a relatively narrow distribution.
INTERSTATE POLITICS AND ARTISTIC INNOVATION DURING THE REIGN OF KING CUO

THE TOMB OF KING CUO YIELDED SEVERAL HUNDRED BRONZE ARTIFACTS, including ritual vessels, daily utensils, horse and chariot fittings, weapons, bronze components of wooden or lacquer items, and tent skeletons. Many of these bronzes, especially the ones with elaborate designs, have cast or engraved inscriptions on their surfaces that record the year of their production and the names of the workshop, overseer, and artisan responsible for their manufacture. After arranging the dated bronzes into chronological order and observing the changes of their type and style over time, we can clearly see that the artistic style of these bronzes changed dramatically during the fourteenth year of King Cuo's reign, the year in which the state of Zhongshan achieved a great military success against a rival state, the Yan. New metallurgical technologies were applied and new motifs were introduced into the iconographic vocabulary of the Zhongshan bronzes. The relevant historical, archaeological, and paleographical evidence, when viewed together, suggests that these stylistic changes were related to Cuo's invasion of Yan, an important historical event revealed by the Cuo bronze inscriptions. Viewed under the context of the precise historical moment, stylistic changes and technological innovations can be seen to have had political significance. “WORKSHOP INSCRIPTIONS” AND THE ZHONGSHAN SYSTEM OF BRONZE MANUFACTURE The Kaogongji 考工記 chapter of the Zhouli indicates that official workshops during the Warring States Period were systematically organized; with artisans and supervisors of different ranks, they were sophisticated in division of labor and technological co-ordination. Casting or engraving “workshop inscriptions” or information concerning the manufacture of an artifact on its surface was common practice in the official bronze workshops of the Warring States Period. For instance, inscriptions recording production information were found on bronzes from the states of Qi and Jin. These workshop inscriptions were added to bronzes for supervisory purposes in an effort to guarantee the quality of final products. The contents of these inscriptions, as well as the titles for overseers and artisans, vary in each state. The “workshop inscriptions” on Cuo's bronzes specify the year of the king's reign, the workshop unit, the title and name of the overseer ( sefu 嗇夫), and the title and name of the artisan ( gong 工). In some cases the weight of the completed artifact was also included.
Imperatives of care and control in the regulation of homelessness in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 1880s to present:

Recent shifts in Malaysian homelessness policy towards the intensification of criminalising measures and exclusionary rhetoric seem indicative of a ‘punitive turn’, as often theorised for advanced ...
Detection of Low Frequency Modes of S1/S2 and QA/QA- in Photosystem II by Light-Induced Fourier Transform Infrared Difference Spectroscopy

Several new structural and mechanistic models for photosynthetic water oxidation predict unique molecular structures for each S state of the OEC that should present characteristic signals in the low frequency region of their vibrational spectra [1,2]. For example, oxo-bridged Mn2(μ-O)2 core vibrations occur at 600-700cm−1, metal-oxo stretches occur in the 700-1000 cm−1 region and Mn-OH stretches might occur around 400-500 cm−1 region [3,4]. Therefore, vibrational spectroscopies should provide critical and potentially conclusive structural and mechanistic insights into the PSII/OEC. Unfortunately, Raman spectroscopy is ineffective in PSII, owing to the presence of the strongly scattering chlorophyll molecules. Additionally, there are formidable technical problems, e.g., extensive water absorbance and limitations in optical materials, that have thwarted attempts to access the low-frequency region by FTIR. Up to now, there is a good deal of valuable information in the literature from the high frequency region of PSII by extensive FTIR studies, but there is no report of the use of FTIR techniques to study low-frequency metal-ligand vibrations in proteins.
String order parameters for one-dimensional Floquet symmetry protected topological phases

Floquet symmetry protected topological (FSPT) phases are nonequilibrium topological phases enabled by time-periodic driving. FSPT phases of one-dimensional (1D) chains of bosons, spins, or qubits host dynamically protected edge states that can store quantum information without decoherence, making them promising for use as quantum memories. While FSPT order cannot be detected by any local measurement, here we construct nonlocal string order parameters that directly measure general 1D FSPT order. We propose a superconducting-qubit array based realization of the simplest Ising FSPT phase, which can be implemented with existing quantum computing hardware. We devise an interferometric scheme to directly measure the nonlocal string order using only simple one- and two-qubit operations and single-qubit measurements.
Correction to: Coral Symbiodinium Community Composition Across the Belize Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System is Influenced by Host Species and Thermal Variability

The authors regret that acknowledgment for Dr. Adrian Marchetti was omitted from the manuscript. The correct acknowledgment is written below.
Costs of care with liver directed therapy (LDT) and sorafenib (S) in patients (pts) with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

383Background: 80% of HCC pts present with advanced disease, treatment for such pts is palliative in nature. It is important to ascertain cost associated with such palliative therapy, considering modest survival benefit afforded by these treatments. Methods: Utilizing a non-Medicare national claims database (MarketScan), we analyzed a cohort of pts with HCC diagnosis (Dx). Consistent with literature, pts selected had at least two claims with HCC code (155.0) between 1/1/2010 and 12/31/2013, at least 2 claims with chronic liver condition within 1 year of the HCC Dx, no claims for other malignancies for 1 year before HCC Dx, and excluded hepatectomy or transplant. Follow up was from date of first HCC claim to end of continuous insurance coverage (EOC) with prescription drug claim tracking, or 12/31/2015. Pts were divided into 4 groups based on receipt of S, LDT, combined therapy (LDT+S), or best supportive care (BSC) after HCC Dx. Costs obtained by adding payment (Pmt) amounts for all inpatient, outpatient,...
Mercy, Mental Illness, and the Moral Significance of Christian History: The Story of Fr. Juan Gilabert-Jofre, O. de. M.

This essay is concerned with the way theologians account for the moral significance of extraordinary and exceptional moments in the history of Christian faith and practice. A particular interest is...
Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-1) supplementation prevents diabetes-induced alterations in coenzymes Q9 and Q10.

Diabetes, which causes enhanced oxidative stress, is a multifactorial disease that leads to deleterious effects in many organ systems within the body. Ubiquinones (coenzyme Q9 and Q10) are amphipathic molecular components of the electron transport chain that function also as endogenous antioxidants and attenuate the diabetes-induced decreases in antioxidant defense mechanisms. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is considered to be an “essential surviving factor”, the level and function of which are compromised in diabetes. This study investigated the impact of IGF-1 supplementation on ubiquinone levels in a rat model of type I diabetes. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: control, control plus IGF-1, diabetic and diabetic plus IGF-1. Diabetic animals received a single intravenous injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 55 mg/kg). IGF-1 supplementation groups received a daily intraperitoneal dose of 3 mg IGF-1 per kilogram body weight for 7 weeks. Coenzyme Q9 and Q10 levels were assessed by ultraviolet detection on high pressure liquid chromatography. STZ caused a significant reduction in body weight and an elevation in blood glucose level, which were not prevented by IGF-1 supplementation. In addition Q9 and Q10 levels in diabetic liver were significantly elevated. IGF-1 supplementation prevented liver alterations in Q10 but not Q9 levels. Q9 and Q10 levels in diabetic kidney were significantly depressed, and these deleterious effects were abolished by IGF-1 treatment. These data suggest that IGF-1 antagonizes the diabetes-induced alterations in endogenous antioxidants including coenzyme Q10, and hence may have a therapeutic role in diabetes.
Implementation Issues for Interior-Point Methods

In this chapter, we discuss implementation issues that arise in connection with the path-following method. The most important issue is the efficient solution of the systems of equations discussed in the previous chapter. As we saw, there are basically three choices, involving either the reduced KKT matrix, $$\displaystyle{ B = \left [\begin{array}{cc} - {E}^{-2} & A \\ {A}^{T} &{D}^{-2} \end{array} \right ], }$$ (20.1) or one of the two matrices associated with the normal equations: $$\displaystyle{ A{D}^{2}{A}^{T} + {E}^{-2} }$$ (20.2) or $$\displaystyle{ {A}^{T}{E}^{2}A + {D}^{-2}. }$$ (20.3) (Here, \({E}^{-2} = {Y }^{-1}W\) and \({D}^{-2} = {X}^{-1}Z\).) In the previous chapter, we explained that dense columns/rows are bad for the normal equations and that therefore one might be better off solving the system involving the reduced KKT matrix. But there is also a reason one might prefer to work with one of the systems of normal equations. The reason is that these matrices are positive definite. We shall show in the first section that there are important advantages in working with positive definite matrices. In the second section, we shall consider the reduced KKT matrix and see to what extent the nice properties possessed by positive definite matrices carry over to these matrices.
PROTON TOTAL REACTION CROSS SECTION MEASUREMENTS FOR DEUTERIUM IN THE ENERGY RANGE 20–50 MeV*

Publisher Summary The direct measurements of nucleon–deuteron total disintegration cross sections are very few indeed. The N + d total disintegration cross section and its energy dependence are, next to elastic scattering angular distributions, the most important experimental quantities to be reproduced in any theoretical calculation of the N–d scattering problem because of the unitarity principle. The N–d total disintegration cross sections is calculated in the chapter within the Faddeev formalism using central, separable, spin-dependent, two-nucleon interactions; using local spin-dependent two-nucleon interactions; and applying Pade techniques to the multiple scattering series. The use of the subtraction method to determine the value of σr at energies below 100 MeV is not very reliable. The trend of σ with energy is typical for a proton reaction cross section. Accurate total reaction cross sections can help in distinguishing between calculations using the similar approach but different two-nucleon interactions.
Cell Volume Regulation and Vascular Endothelial Function

In the vasculature, the endothelium consists of a single monolayer that forms an interface between the blood and the underlying vessel and tissue. Accordingly, it has specialized functions that are critical to normal vascular function. Most apparent is its role as a physical barrier. Endothelial injury with subsequent exposure of subendothelial matrix may be important in the genesis of a variety of thrombotic disorders. Endothelial denudation may be an early event in atherosclerosis, resulting in platelet activation, release of platelet-derived growth factor, and eventual migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells in the intima (Ross 1986). In addition to being a physical barrier, endothelium is a selective permeability barrier, allowing passage of nutrients and restricting passage of macromolecules. This is particularly important in the cerebral vasculature, where endothelium forms the blood-brain barrier (Janzer and Raff 1987), and in the renal glomerulus, where endothelium contributes to the ultrafiltration barrier. Endothelium also has important paracrine functions in blood vessels that allow it to regulate platelet and leukocyte function, on the one hand, and vascular smooth muscle tone, on the other (Vane et al. 1990). Through these various properties the endothelium plays a critical role in governing thrombosis, inflammation, and hemodynamics.