cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reaction of ethyl diazoacetate with alkyl-aromatic substrates: Influence of the TpxCu catalyst in the addition versus insertion chemoselectivity (Tpx = homoscorpionate)

The complexes TpBr3Cu(NCMe) (1) and TpMsCu (2) catalyze the addition of the :CHCO2Et unit (generated from N2CHCO2Et, EDA) to benzene to give a cycloheptatriene ring, in analogy with the Buchner reaction. When alkyl groups are attached to the aromatic rings, the selectivity of the reaction can be oriented toward addition or, alternatively, to the insertion into an alkyl C−H bond by using 1 or 2, respectively.
Sensitization of 12 Wt Pct chromium, titanium-stabilized ferritic stainless steel

The sensitization behaviors of 19 heats of titanium stabilized, 12 Wt Pct chromium, ferritic stainless steel were evaluated by measuring the intergranular corrosion resistance of samples given a two-step heat treatment. The latter consisted of a one-hour high temperature exposure followed by a water quench and one of 19 different low temperature treatments. The results indicate that heat treating at temperatures ≳ 1000 °C produces a microstructure which can be sensitized by subsequent aging at temperatures ≲ 600 °C. The amount of carbon and not the amount of nitrogen nor the amount of carbon plus nitrogen dictated the sensitization resistance of the titanium-stabilized, 12 Wt Pct chromium alloy. The proposed mechanism of sensitization in these alloys suggests that during the high temperature exposure, the titanium carbonitrides decompose, freeing carbon or carbon and nitrogen into interstitial solid solution. During subsequent heat treating at temperatures ≲600 °C, chromium-containing carbides precipitate intergranularly, and a chromium-depleted zone is formed along the grain boundaries. The presence of the chromium-depleted zone results in susceptibility to intergranular corrosion, α′ precipitates form after the intergranular precipitates during heat treating at 600 °C. The presence of α′ enhances the intergranular corrosion rate.
Roller Mutants of the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

The wild type nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, moves in a sinusoidal wave pattern and leaves sinusoidal paths behind it on a bacterial lawn. The nematode crawls on its side on a special cuticular tread that extends straight down the length of its body. Wild type worms also have rows of musculature and a ventral nerve cord that extend straight down the body. Roller mutants rotate around their long axis as they crawl and move in circular paths. Three roller mutants have been studied. Two mutants are left rollers and one is a right roller. The left rollers have left-handed helical treads, body musculatures, and ventral nerve cords whereas these structures are right-handed helices in the right roller. Double mutants constructed from roller mutants and long mutants indicate that long rollers have helices of the same pitch as normal length rollers. Double mutants constructed from rollers and dumpy mutants that are short and fat indicate dumpy phenotype is epistatic to roller. Double mutants constructed from rollers and blister mutants that have cuticular swelling indicate roller phenotype is epistatic to blister. The results suggest that the roller phenotypes are due to cuticular lesions. Rollers can chemotaxe up a gradient of an attractant by turning off their body muscle movement and continuing their head movements.
A meshfree thin shell method for non‐linear dynamic fracture

A meshfree method for thin shells with finite strains and arbitrary evolving cracks is described. The C 1 displacement continuity requirement is met by the approximation, so no special treatments for fulfilling the Kirchhoff condition are necessary. Membrane locking is eliminated by the use of a cubic or quartic polynomial basis. The shell is tested for several elastic and elasto-plastic examples and shows good results. The shell is subsequently extended to modelling cracks. Since no discretization of the director field is needed, the incorporation of discontinuities is easy to implement and straightforward.
The other half of international teaching assistant training: Classroom communication workshops for international students

ITAs often experience particular difficulty balancing their roles as teachers with their roles as students. Student communication skills training is warranted for ITAs because it may be more motivating than instructional skills training, because it captures an otherwise elusive segment of the clientele, and because learning can transfer to ITAs' own teaching repertoires. Such a program can begin with a focus on naming and social identity. The bulk of the program focuses on communication practices for participative learning such as small group problem solving and whole-group responding. A typical workshop concludes with a forum for student concerns, often focusing upon how to interact with one's academic advisor.
Parent behavior and child weight status among a diverse group of underserved rural families

The purpose of this study was threefold: to investigate the association between three parenting behaviors (parenting style, feeding style, and feeding practices), to evaluate whether these behaviors were associated with child weight, and to determine whether style (parenting and feeding) moderated the relationship between feeding practice and child weight. Ninety-nine parent-child dyads were recruited for a cross-sectional study where parents self-reported their parenting style, feeding style, and feeding practices along with demographic characteristics. Height and weight were measured for each dyad. The relationship between parenting style and feeding style showed modest agreement. Feeding style, but not parenting style, was associated with child BMI z-score while controlling for known covariates. An indulgent feeding style was associated with a higher child weight status. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that feeding style moderated the association between restrictive feeding practices and child BMI z-score. No moderating relationship was found between feeding style and the practices of pressure to eat or monitoring and child weight. This research suggests that an indulgent feeding style may be predictive of higher child weight and that future studies should examine the possible moderating role of feeding style in the parent feeding practice-child weight relationship.
Moving Neutron Source Detection in Radiation Portal Monitoring

Radiation detection systems are deployed at U.S. borders to guard against entry of illicit radioactive material. This article uses realistic simulated data under different vehicle and illicit material scenarios to compare the performance of six detection methods for analyzing neutron count data collected as a vehicle passes through a radiation portal monitor, that is, a neutron count vehicle profile. The six methods are based on the cumulative count, the maximum count, sequential cumulative sum, sequential exponentially weighted moving average, comparison against a matched filter (MF) library, and a new estimated MF that estimates the shape of a neutron count vehicle profile.
Experimental Validation and Uncertainty Quantification of a Single-Mode Optical Fiber Transmission Model

The radial intensity distribution of a transmission from a single-mode optical fiber is often approximated using Gaussian-shaped spatial field distributions. While such approximations are useful for some applications, they do not accurately describe optical transmission intensity off of the axis of propagation. A recent paper was presented that more accurately describes the intensity distribution, and this paper presents a simple experimental setup that verifies the model's accuracy through formal uncertainty quantification procedures. Agreement between the model and the experiment is established both on and off of the axis of propagation. These results are then discussed in the context of displacement sensor designs based on the optical lever architecture. Transmission behavior off of the axis of propagation controls the sensor performance when large lateral offsets (25-1500 μ m) exist between transmitting and receiving fibers. The practical implications of modeling accuracy over this lateral offset region are discussed as they relate to the development of high-performance, intensity-modulated optical displacement sensors. Specifically, the sensitivity, linearity, resolution, and displacement range of a sensor are functions of the relative positioning of the sensor's transmitting and receiving fibers. It is concluded that the predictive capability of the model presented in this paper could enable an improved methodology for high-performance sensor design.
Arabidopsis 56–Amino Acid Serine Palmitoyltransferase-Interacting Proteins Stimulate Sphingolipid Synthesis, Are Essential, and Affect Mycotoxin Sensitivity

Maintenance of sphingolipid homeostasis is critical for cell growth and programmed cell death (PCD). Serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT), composed of LCB1 and LCB2 subunits, catalyzes the primary regulatory point for sphingolipid synthesis. Small subunits of SPT (ssSPT) that strongly stimulate SPT activity have been identified in mammals, but the role of ssSPT in eukaryotic cells is unclear. Candidate Arabidopsis thaliana ssSPTs, ssSPTa and ssSPTb, were identified and characterized. Expression of these 56–amino acid polypeptides in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae SPT null mutant stimulated SPT activity from the Arabidopsis LCB1/LCB2 heterodimer by >100-fold through physical interaction with LCB1/LCB2. ssSPTa transcripts were more enriched in all organs and >400-fold more abundant in pollen than ssSPTb transcripts. Accordingly, homozygous ssSPTa T-DNA mutants were not recoverable, and 50% nonviable pollen was detected in heterozygous ssspta mutants. Pollen viability was recovered by expression of wild-type ssSPTa or ssSPTb under control of the ssSPTa promoter, indicating ssSPTa and ssSPTb functional redundancy. SPT activity and sensitivity to the PCD-inducing mycotoxin fumonisin B1 (FB1) were increased by ssSPTa overexpression. Conversely, SPT activity and FB1 sensitivity were reduced in ssSPTa RNA interference lines. These results demonstrate that ssSPTs are essential for male gametophytes, are important for FB1 sensitivity, and limit sphingolipid synthesis in planta.
Intestinal Trichomonads (Tritrichomonas mobilensis) in the Natural Host Saimiri sciureus and Saimiri boliviensis

A retrospective study of cecal and colonic tissues from 28 squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus and Saimiri boliviensis) demonstrated enteric trichomonads within luminal Crypts. Twenty-One of 28 (75%) had trichomonads in the mucosal epithelium either in cup-like depressions or intraepithelial vacuoles. Organisms were also beneath the superficial luminal mucosal epithelium and between the basement membrane and crypt epitheial cells. Immunoperoxidase staining also identified organisms within the lamina propria and submucosa. Additional histologic changes included mucosal ulceration, multifocal cryptitis, and focal epithelial necrosis. Most areas containing trichomonads did not have an associated inflammatory response.
Observations of aerobic, growing escherichia coli metabolism using an on-line nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy system.

An experimental system has been constructed which enables on-line measurements of phosphorus-31 ([sup 31]P) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra for growing bacterial suspensions under anaerobic or aerobic conditions. A sample stream from a laboratory bioreactor is circulated to the NMR sample chamber in a gas exchange system which permits maintenance of aerobic conditions for high-cell-density cultures. [sup 31]P NMR spectra with resolution comparable with those obtained traditionally using dense, concentrated, nongrowing cell suspensions can be obtained at cell densities above 25 g/L with acquisition times ranging from 14 to 3 minutes which decline as cell density increases. This system has been employed to characterize the changes in intracellular state of a stationary phase culture which is subjected to a transition from aerobic to anaerobic conditions. Both intracellular NTP level and cytoplasmic pH are substantially lower under anaerobic conditions. Also, the system has been employed to observe the response of a growing culture to external addition of acetate. Cells are able to maintain pH difference across the cytoplasmic membrane at extracellular acetate concentrations of 5 and 10 g/L. However, acetate concentrations of 20 g/L cause collapse of the transmembrane [Delta]pH and sharp reduction of the growth rate of the culture. Themore » experimental configuration described should also permit NMR observations of many other types of microbial cultures and of other nuclei.« less
Complementary and alternative medicine and HIV/AIDS. Part I: Issues and context

This paper reviews the definitions of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and adopts the definition, "Complementary and alternative medicine is defined through a social process as those practices that do not form part of the dominant system for managing health and disease" (Jonas, 1996, p.1). The authors review the literature on CAM usage in the general and HIV/AIDS populations, and the impact of CAM on modern Western medicine and the allied health professions. Host-virus factors in HIV/AIDS are examined from the perspectives of both Western medicine and complementary and alternative medicine. Methodological issues and the historical argument over the relative importance of host and microbe are explored in relation to HIV/AIDS and the CAM and Western approaches to HIV/AIDS care.
Language evolution, coalescent processes, and the consensus problem on a social network

In recent times, there has been an increased interest in theories of language evolution that have an applicability to the study of dialect formation, linguistic change, creolization, the origin of language, and animal and robot communication systems in general. One particular question that has attracted some interest has the following general form: how might a group of linguistic agents arrive at a shared communication system purely through local patterns of interaction and without any global agency enforcing uniformity? In this paper, we consider a natural model of language evolution on a social network, prove several theoretical properties, and establish connections to related phenomena in biology, social sciences, and physics.
Identification of a novel mutation of SH3BP2 in cherubism and demonstration that SH3BP2 mutations lead to increased NFAT activation

We describe a novel missense mutation (Aspartic acid to Asparagine, p.D419N (g.1371G>A, c.1255G>A) within exon 9 of SH3BP2 in a patient with cherubism, an autosomal dominant syndrome characterized by excessive osteoclastic bone resorption of the jaw. Two siblings and the father were carriers but lacked phenotypic features. Transient expression of p.D419N (c.1255G>A), as well as three previously described exon 9 mutations from cherubism patients (p.R415Q (c.1244G>A), p.D420E (c.1259G>A), and p.P418R (c.1253C>G)) increased activity of NFAT (nuclear factor of activated T-cells), an osteoclastogenic mediator, indicating that cherubism results from gain of function mutations in SH3BP2.
Capture probabilities in random-access mobile communications in the presence of Rician fading

The capture probabilities, C/sub n/, defined as the probability that any of the n, contending packets are correctly received, are found with reference to a random-access mobile radio communications system in the presence or fading, shadowing, and near-far effect. A Rician model for fading that is more general than the well-studied Rayleigh fading is considered. The capture probabilities are computed, and their dependence on the system parameters and, in particular, on the Rice factor, K, is investigated. As an example of application, a slotted ALOHA system is considered, and the performance of a simple control strategy is studied. Also, some analytical results are given as to the value of C/sub /spl alpha//=lim/sub n-/spl alpha//C/sub n/, which is relevant to the study of the system stability.
Modeling competitive adsorption of arsenate with phosphate and molybdate on oxide minerals

The mobility of As in soils depends on several factors including redox potential, soil mineralogy, pH, and the presence of other oxyanions that compete with As for soil retention sites. We investigated the effects of pH and competing anions on the adsorption of arsenate [As(V)] on a-FeOOH (goethite) and y-AI(OHb (gibbsite). Batch equilibrium As(V) adsorption experiments were conducted with P and MO as competing anions in order to produce single-anion [As(V), P, and MO] and binary-anion [As(V/P and As(V)/Mo] adsorption envelopes (adsorption vs. solution pH). Arsenate and P single-anion adsorption envelopes were similar with substantial adsorption occurring across a wide pH range, including pH values above the points of zero charge of the oxides. Maximum MO adsorption occurred across a narrower pH range (pH 4-6). On both oxides, equimolar P concentrations decreased As(V) adsorption within the pH range 2 to 11, whereas MO decreased As(V) adsorption only below pH 6. The constant capacitance model was used to predict competitive surface complexation behavior between As(V)/P and As(V)/Mo using intrinsic equilibrium constants [Kd, tint)] optimized from single-anion data. In addition, the model was applied using one-site (monodentate) and two-site (monodentate + bidentate) conceptualizations of the oxide surface. The two approaches gave comparable fits to experimental adsorption data and were consistent with competitive adsorption observed in binary adsorption envelopes. and MO has been described in whole soils with a competitive Freundlich-type isotherm equation (Roy et al., 1986), though the applicability o f the model was limited to cases where the As/P and As/Mo equilibrium concentration ratios were >20. Barrow (1974) investigated As(V) and P competitive adsorption in soil and found that, though As(V) desorbed some previously adsorbed P, a substantial portion o f the bound P was not displaced by As(V). Based on competitive adsorption between As(V) and P on goethite, Hingston et al. (1971) postulated that the goethite surface contains adsorption sites common to both As(V) and P anions, as well as sites that adsorb either one anion or the other. The ability to predict As(V) adsorption in complicated systems such as whole soils will require quantitative information on the adsorption of As(V) by individual soil minerals in the presence of competing anions.
Comparison of relative binding affinities of endocrine active compounds to fathead minnow and rainbow trout estrogen receptors

Twelve chemicals were tested for binding affinity to rainbow trout liver estrogen receptor (rbtER) and fathead minnow liver ER (fhmER). The chemicals included estradiol (E2), diethylstilbestrol (DES), ethinylestradiol (EE2), estrone (E1), estriol, tamoxifen (TAM), genistein (GEN), p-nonylphenol (PNP), p-tert-octylphenol (PTOP), methoxychlor (MXC), testosterone, and methyltestosterone (MT). Relative binding affinity (RBA) was calculated for each chemical as a function of E2 binding to the receptor. The estrogens DES, EE2, and E1 bound with high affinity to both receptors, with respective RBAs of 583, 166, and 28% (fathead minnow) and 179, 89, and 5% (rainbow trout). Relative binding affinity of E3, TAM, and GEN for both fhmER and rbtER were moderate, with values between 0.3 and 5%. The alkylphenols had weak affinity for the ERs with RBAs for the fhmER of 0.1 and 0.01 for PNP and PTOP, respectively. Corresponding values for the rbtER are 0.027 and 0.009. Estradiol ([3H]E2) only partially was displaced from both the fhmER and the rbtER by MXC, T, and MT. Comparison of RBAs of the chemicals tested for fhmER and rbtER indicates that the rank order of RBAs essentially are the same for both species.
Tissue-engineered small intestine and stomach form from autologous tissue in a preclinical large animal model.

Background Tissue-engineered small intestine, stomach, large intestine, esophagus, and gastroesophageal (GE) junction have been successfully formed from syngeneic cells, and employed as a rescue therapy in a small animal model. The purpose of this study is to determine if engineered intestine and stomach could be generated in an autologous, preclinical large animal model, and to identify if the tissue-engineered intestine retained features of an intact stem cell niche. Methods A short segment of jejunum or stomach was resected from 6-wk-old Yorkshire swine. Organoid units, multicellular clusters with predominantly epithelial content, were generated and loaded onto biodegradable scaffold tubes. The constructs were then implanted intraperitoneally in the autologous host. Seven wk later, all implants were harvested and analyzed using histology and immunohistochemistry techniques. Results Autologous engineered small intestine and stomach formed. Tissue-engineered intestinal architecture replicated that of native intestine. Histology revealed tissue-engineered small intestinal mucosa composed of a columnar epithelium with all differentiated intestinal cell types adjacent to an innervated muscularis mucosae. Intestinal subepithelial myofibroblasts, specialized cells that participate in the stem cell niche formation, were identified. Moreover, cells positive for the putative intestinal stem cell marker, doublecortin and CaM kinase-like-1 (DCAMKL-1) expression were identified at the base of the crypts. Finally, tissue-engineered stomach also formed with antral-type mucosa (mucus cells and surface foveolar cells) and a muscularis. Conclusion We successfully generated tissue-engineered intestine with correct architecture, including features of an intact stem cell niche, in the pig model. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration in which tissue-engineered intestine was successfully generated in an autologous manner in an animal model, which may better emulate a human host and the intended therapeutic pathway for humans.
Unbalanced non-binary tree-structured vector quantizers

An established method for developing unbalanced binary tree-structured vector quantizers is greedy growing followed by optimal pruning. These algorithms can be extended to a hybrid binary/quaternary tree structure or to a pure quaternary tree structure. The trade-off of decreased distortion for increased rate is examined for the split into two or four children at each terminal node. The trees employing quaternary splits have smaller memory requirements for the codebook and provide slightly lower mean-squared-error on the test sequence as compared to a binary tree. >
Service-Oriented Architecture and Web 2.0

Consumers rely on the Internet for commerce, banking, email, instant messaging, and a variety of other daily tasks. This current evolution is often referred to as Web 2.0. In this paper service-oriented architecture (SOA) is presented as the important part of increasing software efficiency in Web 2.0 with a basic concept of providing a basic set of services that each application can access to provide this common functionality
Mucociliary clearance of inhaled particles measured at 2 h after ozone exposure in humans

Acute exposure of humans to ozone is known to acutely cause pulmonary function decrements, inflammation, and increased permeability of pulmonary epithelium. A single study in humans has also shown that mucociliary transport increases during acute ozone exposure. Because different responses have shown a different time course of recovery after exposure, it was important to examine mucociliary transport at a different time after the cessation of ozone exposure. We exposed 15 healthy male and female nonsmoking subjects, on different occasions, to clean air and 0.4 ppm ozone for 1 h while they exercised continuously. Pulmonary function was measured immediately before and after exposure and 90 min and 24 h after exposure. Between 2 and 5 h after each exposure, retention of inhaled 5-microns mass median aerodynamic diameter 99mTc-labeled Fe2O3 particles was measured. Each subject returned the next day for a final particle retention measurement. Despite significant changes in pulmonary function, there was no difference in mean whole lung retention time of particles between clean air [77.9 +/- 0.8 (SE) min] and ozone (78.0 +/- 0.8 min) exposures, indicating that mucociliary transport is unaffected by ozone exposure when it is measured 2 h after exposure.
ECG data compression using the discrete cosine transform (DCT)

Orthogonal transforms provide alternate signal representations that can be useful for electrocardiogram (ECG) data compression. The goal is to select as small a subset of the transform coefficients as possible which contain the most information about the signal, without introducing objectionable error after reconstruction. With a sampling rate of 1 kHz, more than 99% of the power in the DCT is contained within the first 20% of the coefficients. Despite this result a 5:1 compression ratio cannot be obtained by merely substituting zero for the remaining 80%. The coefficients after the first 20%, although of relatively small magnitude, preserve the DC integrity of the signal. Approximating these components as zero leads to introduction of spurious sinusoidal terms in the reconstructed signal. A quantization technique to better approximate the higher coefficients has been used to obtain an accurate representation of the signal. The tradeoffs between accuracy, speed, and compression ratio are discussed. >
A Mass Analyzer System for the High Voltage Terminal of a Van De Graaff Heavy Ion Accelerator

A computer analysis of an electromagnetic mass analyzer system which will be mounted in the high voltage terminal of a planned 3MeV van de Graaff heavy ion accelerator at M.I.T. has been performed. Since one of the main fields of application of this new facility will be ion implantation, a stigmatic focusing analyzer with high transmission is required. It is shown that a magnetic sector field which is formed by plane inclined pole faces meets both these requirements. Second order ion optical calculations for this type of field are given and compared with two more conventional alternatives of stigmatic focusing analyzers namely the homogeneous field fringe field focusing magnet and the rotationally symmetric field with logarithmic field gradient n = 1/2. The complete ion injector system which will consist of a high temperature metal ion source, an extraction and focusing system and a stigmatic double focusing mass analyzer will have a total weight of about 400 pounds and be capable of unit mass resolution at least up to mass number 150.
Acute effects of the antiepileptic succinimides on the urinary tract and potentiation of phensuximide-induced urotoxicity by phenobarbital.

Phensuximide (PSX), methsuximide (MSX) and ethosuximide (ESX) are succinimide antiepileptic agents used worldwide in the treatment of absence seizures. A previous study from our laboratory demonstrated that PSX (0.3 or 0.6 mmol kg−1 day−1, i.p.) induced urotoxicity following daily administration for 5–7 days in Fischer 344 rats, but PSX (1.25 mmol kg−1, i.p.) induced only minimal urotoxicity following acute administration. The purpose of this study was to determine the acute nephrotoxic potential of MSX and ESX in male Fischer 344 rats and if antiepileptic succinimide-induced urotoxicity is potentiated by phenobarbital pretreatment. In one set of experiments, rats (four rats per group) were administered a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of a succinimide (0.4 or 1.0 mmol kg−1) or vehicle (sesame oil, 2.5 ml kg−1), and the renal function was monitored at 24 and 48 h. Neither ESX or MSX induced substantial changes in renal function or morphology, which suggests that neither compound is acutely nephrotoxic. Similar results were obtained with PSX, which supported our earlier findings with this antiepileptic agent. In a second set of experiments, rats (four rats per group) were pretreated for 3 days with phenobarbital (75 mg kg−1 day−1, i.p.) prior to receiving a succinimide (0.4 or 1.0 mmol kg−1, i.p.) or vehicle (sesame oil, 2.5 ml kg−1, i.p.). Renal function was monitored at 24 and 48 h after the last injection. Phenobarbital pretreatment had only minor effects on ESX- or MSX-induced renal effects, with no significant morphological changes detected between treated and pair-fed control groups. However, PSX-induced urotoxicity was potentiated by phenobarbital. Marked hematuria and proteinuria were observed following PSX (1.0 mmol kg−1) administration to phenobarbital-pretreated rats. Bladders from these animals contained bloody urine and exhibited hemorrhagic areas among the bladder epithelial cells. Proximal tubular cells exhibited mild damage, with some swelling and blebbing at the brush border membrane. These results suggest that phenobarbital potentiates PSX-induced urotoxicity and that the resulting hemorrhagic cystitis is mediated by one or more PSX metabolites.
Performance Management Execution for Effective and Continuous Employee Appraisals

Most new managers tend to be fearful of assessing the performance of their employees. However, when planned in advance, performance assessment sessions need not be unpleasant or uncomfortable for the manager or the employee. There are several phases in the performance appraisal process, including planning, execution, assessment, and performance review. Based on the review of literature and personal experiences of the authors, this paper starts with a discussion of performance management programs and focuses on the performance execution aspect of a comprehensive performance appraisal system. The authors discuss what managers can and must do to successfully implement an effective appraisal system. Finally, the authors provide practical recommendations for what managers and supervisors should avoid in their employee assessment and evaluation processes.
Effects of copper oxide bolus administration or high-level copper supplementation on forage utilization and copper status in beef cattle.

Two experiments were conducted to study effects of high-level Cu supplementation on measures of Cu status and forage utilization in beef cattle. In Exp. 1, eight steers randomly received an intraruminal bolus containing 12.5 g of CuO needles (n = 4) or no bolus (n = 4). Steers were individually offered free-choice ground limpograss (Hemarthria altissima) hay. On d 12 (Period 1) and d 33 (Period 2) steers were placed in metabolism crates, and total forage refused and feces produced were collected for 7 d. Daily samples of forage offered and refused and of feces excreted for each steer within period were analyzed for DM, ash, NDF, ADF, and CP. Liver biopsies were collected on d 0, 12, and 33. Copper oxide bolus administration resulted in greater (P 60 ppm of total Cu) resulted in less liver Cu accumulation by beef heifers compared with heifers consuming diets supplemented with moderate dietary Cu concentrations (i.e., 15 ppm). As well, the administration of CuO boluses might depress the digestibility of forage nutrient fractions in steers.
A longitudinal comparison of two salt reduction strategies: Acceptability of a low sodium food depends on the consumer

Abstract In their 2010 publication, Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake in the United States, the Institute of Medicine suggested the FDA mandate salt reduction at the food industry level via a strategy of gradual, step-wise decline. The objective of this study was to compare the acceptability trajectories of a gradual to an abrupt salt reduction strategy of a high sodium food, and to determine if these trajectories were impacted by an individual’s hedonic sensitivity to salt and/or motivation to reduce dietary salt intake. Eighty-three subjects participated in a three-part study: an initial taste test, a 16-week longitudinal study, and a final taste test. At the initial and final taste tests, subjects indicated liking of tomato juice at four salt concentrations ranging from 136 mg sodium/serving (low sodium) to 640 mg sodium/serving (comparable to a commercially available product). To create two groups for the 16-week study, subjects were balanced for 6-n-propylthiouracil sensitivity, motivation to reduce dietary salt intake, and hedonic sensitivity to salt (the difference in liking between the highest and lowest salt concentrations in tomato juice served at the initial taste test). One group received juice abruptly reduced in salt at week 4 to a target low sodium level; the second group received juice gradually reduced in salt via difference threshold steps determined in a preliminary study (cumulating reductions of 12% each), to reach the target at week 14. We observed no overall difference in liking for low sodium juice at the end of the study as a result of salt reduction strategy; however, the trajectory of liking ratings over time differed between groups. Gradual salt reduction was more effective than the abrupt salt reduction because the abrupt reduction was accompanied by a large immediate drop in liking whereas the gradual reduction better maintained acceptability throughout the process. Subjects with low hedonic sensitivity responded favorably to both salt reduction strategies and would likely have no difficulty in adjusting to the taste of reduced salt foods. However, subjects with high hedonic sensitivity disliked reduced salt juice at some point during the study, regardless of strategy, and would likely have difficulty in adjusting to the taste of reduced salt foods.
Pattern of p53 gene mutations in breast cancers of women of the midwestern United States.

BACKGROUND Mutation in the p53 gene is the most common genetic lesion in human cancers. The pattern of mutation in the p53 gene differs among cancers and may be a useful epidemiological tool for identification of factors contributing to carcinogenesis. PURPOSE Our purpose was to determine if the pattern of p53 mutation in breast carcinomas in our population of women residing in the midwestern region of the United States is similar to the pattern of p53 mutation in breast cancers in patients from other regions of the United States and Europe and in other epithelial tumors. METHODS With a technique we recently developed for the analysis of p53 mutations in genomic DNA from tumor cell clusters in touch preparations of solid tumors, we sequenced exons 5-9 and adjacent splice junctions of the gene in 44 breast cancers. Cells from each tumor were also stained with three monoclonal antibodies which recognize different epitopes of the p53 protein. RESULTS We detected p53 mutations in 14 (32.6%) of 44 breast carcinomas. Only half of the mutations were missense changes. The other half included five microdeletions (three producing frame-shifts), one single-base substitution generating a stop codon, and one single-base substitution generating a splice junction abnormality. Nuclear expression of p53 antigen was present in eight of 44 cancers, including six with hemizygous missense mutations in the p53 gene. CONCLUSIONS The pattern of p53 mutations in our breast cancer population differs from that reported in breast cancer populations by other investigators in which most p53 mutations were missense. Among 14 mutations in our population, at least five drastically altered the structure of p53, suggesting that a recessive mechanism of inactivation of the p53 gene may be more common than in other populations. IMPLICATIONS Differences in the pattern of p53 mutation in breast cancers in Midwestern women and in breast cancers in other populations may reflect selection bias or small sample sizes currently available. However, our data are compatible with the possibility that an endogenous or exogenous factor influences p53 carcinogenesis in some women with breast cancer in the Midwest to a greater extent than in other regions of the United States and Europe.
Technical Note: A Long-Lived External Ag/AgCl Reference Electrode for Use in High Temperature/Pressure Environments

High temperature pressure Ag/AgCl electrodes resistant to the contaminating effects of H/sub 2/ and H/sub 2/S were described in 1979. But the external reference electrode suffers from a thermal liquid junction potential (TLJP) and the development of the Soret effect (thermo-diffusion of the electrolyte). This paper describes a design to improve electrode life. A silvered-tube replaces the silver wire electrode. A liquid chromatograph minipump is used to slowly inject KC1 solution into the electrode to maintain a ''front'' of fresh solution. This prevents ageing effects, and the Soret effect. Construction specifications are given for: corrosion resistant tubing, electrical gland end, zirconium yarn, titanium tubing, polyimide collar, PTFE tubing, minipumps for chromatograph, zirconia plug, and silver chloride.
Idiopathic Lactic Acidosis: An Etiologic Mystery

The key to diagnosis is the ratio of lactate to pyruvate: if this remains normal, lactate elevation is of relatively small clinical importance; if lactate alone rises, the outlook is ominous. Occurring in the absence of any measurable fault in oxygen delivery or consumption, this type of acidosis may be less rare than is now supposed and may be incriminated in many unexplained sudden deaths outside the hospital.
Point of Health Care Entry for Youth With Concussion Within a Large Pediatric Care Network.

IMPORTANCE: Previous epidemiologic research on concussions has primarily been limited to patient populations presenting to sport concussion clinics or to emergency departments (EDs) and to those high school age or older. By examining concussion visits across an entire pediatric health care network, a better estimate of the scope of the problem can be obtained. OBJECTIVE: To comprehensively describe point of entry for children with concussion, overall and by relevant factors including age, sex, race/ethnicity, and payor, to quantify where children initially seek care for this injury. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In this descriptive epidemiologic study, data were collected from primary care, specialty care, ED, urgent care, and inpatient settings. The initial concussion-related visit was selected and variation in the initial health care location (primary care, specialty care, ED, or hospital) was examined in relation to relevant variables. All patients aged 0 to 17 years who received their primary care from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's (CHOP) network and had 1 or more in-person clinical visits for concussion in the CHOP unified electronic health record (EHR) system (July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2014) were selected. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Frequency of initial concussion visits at each type of health care location. Concussion visits in the EHR were defined based on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes indicative of concussion. RESULTS: A total of 8083 patients were included (median age, 13 years; interquartile range, 10-15 years). Overall, 81.9% (95% CI, 81.1%-82.8%; n RESULTS: = 6624) had their first visit at CHOP within primary care, 5.2% (95% CI, 4.7%-5.7%; n = 418) within specialty care, and 11.7% (95% CI, 11.0%-12.4%; n = 947) within the ED. Health care entry varied by age: 52% (191/368) of children aged 0 to 4 years entered CHOP via the ED, whereas more RESULTS: than three-quarters of those aged 5 to 17 years entered via primary care (5-11 years: 1995/2492; 12-14 years: 2415/2820; and 15-17 years: 2056/2403). Insurance status also influenced the pattern of health care use, with more Medicaid patients using the ED for concussion care (478/1290 Medicaid patie RESULTS: nts [37%] used the ED vs 435/6652 private patients [7%] and 34/141 self-pay patients [24%]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The findings suggest estimates of concussion incidence based solely on ED visits underestimate the burden of injury, highlight the importance of the primary care setting in concussion care management, and demonstrate the potential for EHR systems to advance research in this area. Language: en
Knew Me and New Me: Facilitating Student Identity Exploration and Learning through Game Integration

This paper reports a mixed-methods study supporting twenty 9th grade students' mathematics knowledge, motivation, and identity change through projective reflection using Game Network Analysis GaNA. GaNA is an ecological game-based learning framework that was conceptualized for facilitating teachers in selecting and using games. Projective reflection is an identity change process catalyzed by digital game play and facilitated by reflection and discussion activities focused within a domain. From September-December 2010, a game, Dimension M was used to facilitate students' in gameplay to construct mathematics knowledge, motivation to learn, and identity change. Data sources included interviews, in-class participant and video observations, and pre-post assessments. Students had statistically significant gains in mathematics. Students engaged in identity exploration activities that allowed them to value mathematics. The implications of projective reflection and GaNA are discussed. Further studies are needed for scaling and replicating the use of projective reflection.
Loss of Na,K-ATPase Activity during Cataract Formation in Lens

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the loss of Na, K–ATPase activity during cataract formation in lens. The chapter discusses the time course of changes in Na, K–ATPase activity, ion contents, lipid composition, and sulfhydryl group content in lens membranes during cataract formation induced by triparanol feeding. The maintenance of transparency in lens is critically dependent on the normal distribution of Na + and K + ions across fiber cell membranes, and on the activity of lens Na, K–ATPase. The plasma membrane of fiber cells is unusual in the high levels of cholesterol and saturated fatty acids in the phospholipids result in a gel to liquid-phase transition temperature of approximately 35°C. Triparanol and related amphiphilic pharmacological agents are cataractogenic and known to alter lipid metabolism in other tissues. Triparanol does not directly inhibit Na, K–ATPase when added at levels substantially in excess of those expected to accumulate in lens during the feeding period. Lens Na, K–ATPase can be partially purified by deoxycholate extraction and density gradient centrifugation of the fiber cell plasma membrane fraction.
Secure Multiparty RAM Computation in Constant Rounds

Secure computation of a random access machine RAM program typically entails that it be first converted into a circuit. This conversion is unimaginable in the context of big-data applications where the size of the circuit can be exponential in the running time of the original RAM program. Realizing these constructions, without relinquishing the efficiency of RAM programs, often poses considerable technical hurdles. Our understanding of these techniques in the multi-party setting is largely limited. Specifically, the round complexity of all known protocols grows linearly in the running time of the program being computed. In this work, we consider the multi-party case and obtain the following results:Semi-honest model: We present a constant-round black-box secure computation protocol for RAM programs. This protocol is obtained by building on the new black-box garbled RAM construction by Garg, Lu, and Ostrovsky [FOCS 2015], and constant-round secure computation protocol for circuits of Beaver, Micali, and Rogaway [STOC 1990]. This construction allows execution of multiple programs on the same persistent database.Malicious model: Next, we show how to extend our semi-honest results to the malicious setting, while ensuring that the new protocol is still constant-round and black-box in nature.
Plant germplasm acquisition and exchange

Plant germplasm is an essential element in crop production and improvement programs worldwide. In the U.S., this fact quickly became a stark reality for the first settlers to the east coast from Europe. Subsequently, government officials, recognizing a dearth of native crops, initiated modest efforts to introduce and test seeds and plants from abroad. In 1898, the U.S. Department of Agriculture established the Seed and Plant Introduction Section to provide for the worldwide acquisition of plant materials [1]. In the same year, new introductions were assigned Plant Introduction (PI) numbers and distributed to research stations and universities for testing. Data compilation for USDA Plant Inventories also started in 1898 and continues to the present. During the past 90 years, more than 518,000 PI numbers have been assigned and data have been compiled for 196 published inventories.
Modeling Pancreatic Endocrine Cell Adaptation and Diabetes in the Zebrafish.

Glucose homeostasis is an important element of energy balance and is conserved in organisms from fruit fly to mammals. Central to the control of circulating glucose levels in vertebrates are the endocrine cells of the pancreas, particularly the insulin producing β-cells and the glucagon producing α-cells. A feature of α- and β-cells is their plasticity, an ability to adapt, in function and number as a response to physiological and pathophysiological conditions of increased hormone demand. The molecular mechanisms underlying these adaptive responses that maintain glucose homeostasis are incompletely defined. The zebrafish is an attractive model due to the low cost, high fecundity, and amenability to genetic and compound screens and mechanisms governing the development of the pancreatic endocrine cells are conserved between zebrafish and mammals. Post development, both β- and α-cells of zebrafish display plasticity as in mammals. Here we summarize the studies of pancreatic endocrine cell adaptation in zebrafish. We further explore the utility of the zebrafish as a model for diabetes, a relevant topic considering the increase in diabetes in the human population.
Histone-binding of DPF2 mediates its repressive role in myeloid differentiation

Double plant homeodomain finger 2 (DPF2) is a highly evolutionarily conserved member of the d4 protein family that is ubiquitously expressed in human tissues and was recently shown to inhibit the myeloid differentiation of hematopoietic stem/progenitor and acute myelogenous leukemia cells. Here, we present the crystal structure of the tandem plant homeodomain finger domain of human DPF2 at 1.6-A resolution. We show that DPF2 interacts with the acetylated tails of both histones 3 and 4 via bipartite binding pockets on the DPF2 surface. Blocking these interactions through targeted mutagenesis of DPF2 abolishes its recruitment to target chromatin regions as well as its ability to prevent myeloid differentiation in vivo. Our findings suggest that the histone binding of DPF2 plays an important regulatory role in the transcriptional program that drives myeloid differentiation.
A compressive sensing unmixing algorithm for breast cancer detection

In this paper, we describe a novel unmixing algorithm for detecting breast cancer. In this approach, the breast tissue is separated into three components, low water content (LWC), high water content (HWC), and cancerous tissues, and the goal of the optimization procedure is to recover the mixture proportions for each component. By utilizing this approach in a hybrid DBT / NRI system, the unmixing reconstruction process can be posed as a sparse recovery problem, such that compressive sensing (CS) techniques can be employed. A numerical analysis is performed, which demonstrates that cancerous lesions can be detected from their mixture proportion under the appropriate conditions.
Hegselmann-Krause Opinion Dynamics in Finite Dimensions

In this chapter we describe the discrete-time Hegselmann-Krause opinion dynamics model as introduced in [1], and study its termination time under various scenarios. Despite many works and efforts toward understanding the nature of such dynamics, still a rigorous analysis of the Hegselmann-Krasue dynamics is both theoretically and practically important. The theoretical aspect is that it allows us to develop novel tools useful to study more complex time and state dependent evolutionary dynamics and elaborate on their connections with other fields.