cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fasting Induces IL-1 Resistance and Free-Fatty Acid-Mediated Up-Regulation of IL-1R2 and IL-1RA.

Objective: Weight loss is a near societal obsession and many diet programs use significant calorie restriction (CR) including fasting/short term starvation to generate rapid effects. Fasting is also a well-recognized cause of immunosuppression especially within the innate immune system. In this study, we sought to determine if the IL-1 arm of the neuroimmune system was down-regulated by a 24 hr fast and how fasting might generate this effect. Design: Mice were allowed ad libitum access to food or had food withheld for 24 hrs. Expression of the endogenous IL-1 antagonists IL-1 receptor type 2 (IL-1R2) and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) were determined as were sickness behaviors before and after IL-1 administration.Results: Fasting markedly increased gene expression of IL-1R2 (83-fold in adipose tissue, 9.5-fold in liver) and IL-1RA (68-fold in liver). Fasted mice were protected from IL-1-induced weight loss, hypoglycemia, loss of locomotor and social anxiety. These protections were coupled to a large positive interaction of fasting and IL-1 on IL-1R2 gene expression in adipose tissue and liver (2.6-fold and 1.6-fold, respectively). Fasting not only increased IL-1RA and IL-1R2 protein 2.5-fold and 3.2-fold, respectively, in liver; but also increased IL-1R2 1.8-fold in adipose tissue. Fasting, in turn, triggered a 2.4-fold increase in plasma free-fatty acids (FFAs) and a 2.1-fold increase in plasma corticosterone. Inhibition, of glucocorticoid action with mifepristone did not impact fasting-dependent IL-1R2 or IL-1RA gene expression. Administration of the FFA, palmitate, to mice increased liver IL-1R2 and IL-1RA gene expression by 14-fold and 11-fold, respectively. Conclusion: These findings indicate that fasting augments expression of endogenous IL-1 antagonists inducing IL-1 resistance. Fasting-induced increases in plasma FFAs appears to be a signal that drives immunosuppression during fasting/short term starvation.
Fatal knee dislocation in a morbidly obese Jehovah's witness. A case report

We describe a case of a morbidly obese Jehovah’s Witness who sustained a popliteal artery and vein transection after a spontaneous knee dislocation. Following surgical repair, the patient fatally deteriorated, while blood products had to be withheld according to the patient’s preoperative request.
Inhibition of naming by rhyming primes.

The priming effects of graphemically similar (e.g.,hose) and graphemically dissimilar (e.g., ROWS) rhymes on the naming of target words (nose) were examined at prime-target stimulus onset asynchronies (SOA) of 36, 70, and 250 msec. A four-field presentation procedure was used of mask-prime-mask-target. The effects of rhyme primes were measured relative to those of nonrhyming control primes (CHEF, DISH) that matched the rhymes in frequency and length and shared no letters in the same positions. At SOAs of 36 and 70 msec, rhyme priming was inhibitory and equal for graphemically similar and graphemically dissimilar rhymes. At SOA= 250 msec, rhyme priming was insignificant with a tendency toward facilitation. The results are discussed in the context of (1) contrasting effects of complete versus partial phonological overlap within a prime-target pair, and (2) the hypothesis that phonological codes stabilize fastest and provide, therefore, the earliest and major constraint on word recognition.
Analysis of the Intracellular Amino Acid Pool and Proteins from Whole Cells of Rhizobium japonicum

. The amino acid composition of proteins from whole cells of Rhizobium japonicum was determined. The proteins contain only those amino acids commonly associated with bacteria and in ratios approximately equal to those which have been reported in other bacterial genera. Analysis of the intracellular amino acid pool showed relatively large amounts of alanine, glutamate and lysine. These amino acids are normally associated with the peptidoglycan layer of bacterial cell walls leading to speculation that the pool observed was for the synthesis of cell wall precursors rather than for general protein synthesis. The high levels of alanine relative to the other amino acids can also be explained by the operation of alanine dehydrogenase, (E.C. 1.4.1.1) which is an assiniilatory enzyme for ammonia.
Parallels Between Major Depressive Disorder and Alzheimer’s Disease: Role of Oxidative Stress and Genetic Vulnerability

The thesis of this review is that oxidative stress is the central factor in major depressive disorder (MDD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). The major elements involved are inflammatory cytokines, the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, the hypothalamic-pituitary gonadal, and arginine vasopressin systems, which induce glucocorticoid and "oxidopamatergic" cascades when triggered by psychosocial stress, severe life-threatening events, and mental-affective and somatic diseases. In individuals with a genomic vulnerability to depression, these cascades may result in chronic depression-anxiety-stress spectra, resulting in MDD and other known depressive syndromes. In contrast, in subjects with genomic vulnerability to AD, oxidative stress-induced brain damage triggers specific antioxidant defenses, i.e., increased levels of amyloid-β (Aβ) and aggregation of hyper-phosphorylated tau, resulting in paired helical filaments and impaired functions related to the ApoEe4 isoform, leading to complex pathological cascades culminating in AD. Surprisingly, all the AD-associated molecular pathways mentioned in this review have been shown to be similar or analogous to those found in depression, including structural damage, i.e., hippocampal and frontal cortex atrophy. Other interacting molecular signals, i.e., GSK-3β, convergent survival factors (brain-derived neurotrophic factor and heat shock proteins), and transition redox metals are also mentioned to emphasize the vast array of intermediates that could interact via comparable mechanisms in both MDD and AD.
Genetics of childhood disorders: XI. Fragile X syndrome.

Fragile X syndrome is a common form of mental retardation with an estimated incidence of 1 per 2,000 to 4,000 in the general population. The physical manifestations associated with the syndrome include macroorchidism, large ears, a prominent jaw, moderate to severe mental retardation, and autistic-like behavior. However, physical features are not always reliable indicators of the presence of the condition, particularly in prepubertal children and females. For years, investigators had noted that the phenotype of fi-agle X syndrome cosegregated with an unusual disruption of the X chromosome. Karyotyping of cells grown in folate-depleted cell culture media revealed that many patients had a “fragile” site on one of their X chromosomes that appeared as a constriction on the distal long arm. This genetic syndrome is of particular interest to clinicians and scientists who want to understand brain development and function in children. Individuals with fragile X syndrome manifest neurodevelopmental abnormahties that indude varying levels of cognitive dysfunction, particularly in the domains of executive, visual-spatial, and visual motor abilities, and frequently display behavioral symptoms of autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and social anxiety. Morphological variations of brain structure have been observed in this population and include abnormalities in the cerebellar vermis, caudate, hippocampus, and lateral ventricles. In 1991, Verkerk and colleagues identified a single gene that was associated with symptoms of the disorder. The gene, known as fragile X mental retardation gene 1 (FMR-I), exhibited a novel form of mutation that had not been previously described. It was determined that a sequence of 3 nucleotides (CGG) was repeated many times in patients. This region of the FMR-I gene
Isozyme survey of various species of Prunus in the subgenus Amygdalus

Abstract Seventeen isozyme systems were surveyed in clones of almond ( Prunus dulcis Webb), P. davidiana (Carr.) Franch., P. kansuensis Rehd., P. mira Koehne, peach ( P. persica (L.) Batsch), and P. persica ssp. ferganensis , all members of the subgenus Amygdalus . Nine systems, representing 16 presumptive loci, stained consistently to characterize. Three of these presumptive loci were monomorphic, while the other 13 presumptive loci were polymorphic for 36 possible alleles. The significance of these results relative to the genetic mapping of peach is discussed.
Stratigraphic framework of the geometry of the basal decollement of the Appalachian-Ouachita fold-thrust belt

The geometry of the basal decollement of the Appalachian-Ouachita fold-thrust belt is related to lateral and vertical variations in stratigraphic facies. Successive lithotectonic units reflecting evolution of the tectonic framework include pre-Appalachian crystalline basement, rift-fill sedimentary and volcanic rocks, passive-margin shelf and off-shelf facies, and synorogenic clastic wedges. Five distinct configurations of the basal decollement are systematically distributed with respect to pre-thrust tectonic elements and sedimentary facies. The relationship between sedimentary facies distribution and decollement geometry is useful in describing and predicting along-strike and across-strike variations in decollement level. The geometry of the basal decollement reflects the shapes of promontories and embayments along the rifted continental margin.
Unfolding the effects of the T=0 and T=1 parts of the two-body interaction on nuclear collectivity in the f-p shell

Calculations of the spectra of various even-even nuclei in the fp shell ($^{44}\mathrm{Ti}$, $^{46}\mathrm{Ti}$, $^{48}\mathrm{Ti}$, $^{48}\mathrm{Cr}$, and $^{50}\mathrm{Cr}$) are performed with two sets of two-body interaction matrix elements. The first set consists of the matrix elements of the FPD6 interaction. The second set has the same $T=1$ two-body matrix elements as the FPD6 interaction, but all the $T=0$ two-body matrix elements are set equal to zero (T0FPD6). Surprisingly, the T0FPD6 interaction gives a semireasonable spectrum when compared to FPD6 (or else this method would make no sense). A consistent feature for even-even nuclei, e.g., $^{44,46,48}\mathrm{Ti}$ and $^{48,50}\mathrm{Cr}$, is that the reintroduction of $T=0$ matrix elements makes the spectrum look more rotational than when the $T=0$ matrix elements are set equal to zero. The odd-odd nucleus $^{46}\mathrm{V}$ is also discussed. In general, but not always, the inclusion of $T=0$ two-body matrix elements enhances the $B(E2)$ rates.
The relationship of age and extraversion to arousal and performance on a sustained attention task: a cross-sectional investigation using the Mackworth Clock-Test

Abstract H. J. Eysenck has postulated—and received some empirical support for—an inverse relationship between extraversion and arousal level. Age and extraversion have been found to be negatively correlated. These two outcomes led to the conclusion that arousal level must be increasing with age. This conclusion, however, runs counter to evidence which indicates a lowered arousal with old age. In an attempt to resolve this apparent conundrum a sample of 134 men from 32 to 91 years of age participated in the Mackworth Clock-Test of vigilance during which their arousal level was measured by electrodermal activity. One measure of arousal was unrelated to extraversion both within and across young, middle, and old age groups. For the second measure of arousal as age increased a decrease in arousal level was observed and the relationship of extraversion and arousal was found to be a function of age: inverse for young, none for middle-aged, direct for old. In addition no relation was found between vigilance performance and extraversion.
Influence of the level and location of contamination on the multiplication of Salmonella enteritidis at different storage temperatures in experimentally inoculated eggs

Abstract Prompt refrigeration to temperatures capable of restricting microbial growth has been recommended as an approach to reducing the likelihood that contaminated eggs will transmit Salmonella enteritidis to humans. By using experimentally contaminated egg components, the present study determined the extent to which small numbers of S. enteritidis could grow to more dangerous levels at different temperatures over a period up to 3 d. This model was intended to simulate the potential opportunities for S. enteritidis multiplication following oviposition and prior to the achievement of internal temperatures able to prevent further microbial growth in eggs. At a relatively warmer incubation temperature (25 C) and with higher inoculum doses (150 cells), rapid and substantial S. enteritidis multiplication often occurred, especially when the bacteria had an opportunity for access to yolk nutrients and when contaminated eggs were incubated for 2 or 3 d before sampling. Extensive multiplication of S. enteritidis was less frequently observed at lower inoculum doses (15 cells), shorter storage times (1 d), and lower temperatures (10 to 17.5 C) and when contaminants were introduced into the albumen.
Gastric distension enhances CCK-induced Fos-like immunoreactivity in the dorsal hindbrain by activating 5-HT3 receptors

The combination of gastric distension and cholecystokinin (CCK) enhances both suppression of food intake and induction of c-Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-LI) in the dorsal vagal complex (DVC). Previously, we have shown that serotonin type-3 (5-HT3) receptor mediation of suppression of food intake by CCK requires gastric participation. Therefore, we hypothesized that 5-HT3 receptors mediate CCK-induced Fos-LI in the dorsal hindbrain through a mechanism that involves gastric distension. To test this hypothesis, we counted Fos-LI in the DVC of ondansetron (1 mg/kg; 5-HT3 receptor antagonist) and vehicle-treated rats following gastric balloon distension (5 ml), CCK (1 microg/kg) administration, or CCK combined with gastric distension. Ondansetron administration attenuated DVC Fos-LI by CCK administration. Likewise, ondansetron attenuated Fos-LI by gastric distension in the DVC, specifically within the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) and area postrema (AP) nuclei. The most pronounced attenuation of distension-induced Fos-LI by ondansetron occurred in the NTS, particularly in the medial and intermedial NTS. When combined, CCK and gastric distension enhanced Fos-LI in the DVC greater than each treatment alone. Furthermore, ondansetron administration attenuated the overall DVC enhanced Fos-LI induced by CCK + gastric distension, in particular at the NTS and AP nuclei. We found that, within the mid-to-caudal regions of the NTS and AP, 5-HT3 receptors most significantly mediate neuronal activation by CCK + distension. In conjunction with previous behavioral data, these results show that gastric distension enhances CCK-induced neuronal activation in the DVC by activating 5-HT3 receptors.
Theoretical approach to evaluating plagioclase dissolution mechanisms

Abstract The more rapid dissolution of Ca-rich feldspars relative to Na, K-rich feldspars has been attributed to the preferential leaching of Al deep within the feldspar structure. Evidence from surface microanalysis (e.g., Hellmann et al., 2003 ), however, shows that preferential dissolution of Al is confined to the top layers of the feldspar lattice and that the amorphous surface layer most likely results from precipitation versus dissolution. It is thus critical to examine the extent of preferential Al removal. Here we present a theoretical study of plagioclase dissolution behavior using parameterized Monte Carlo simulations. Two different dissolution mechanisms, a mechanism involving preferential leaching of Al and an interfacial dissolution–reprecipitation mechanism, are tested using compositions representing the entire plagioclase solid solution series. Our modeling results indicate that under the control of the preferential Al leaching mechanism, the influence of (Al, Si) disorder on the dissolution rate is significant. At a fixed composition, an increase in the degree of (Al, Si) disorder yields an increased dissolution rate, with an 8-fold increase in dissolution rate observed for highly disordered albite ( An 0 ) compared to low albite. Increasing anorthite content tends to decrease the variation in the dissolution rate due to disorder. The difference in the dissolution rate of 293 tested oligoclase configurations with a composition of An 20 is 3-fold, and the difference is reduced to 2-fold among 107 andesine configurations of An 30 . Furthermore, feldspar configurations with completely disordered (Al, Si) distributions yield a consistent log-linear dependence of dissolution rate on the anorthite content ( An ), while other feldspar configurations with modest degrees of (Al, Si) disorder exhibit rates less than this trend. In contrast, when Al removal is confined to the top surface layers, a variety of feldspar configurations with different (Al, Si) disorder but a single fixed composition have similar dissolution rates; and the dissolution rate of Ca-rich feldspars departs positively from its log-linear relationship with anorthite content. This departure occurs around An 80 and is in good agreement with previous experimental studies. Subsequent modeling results of aluminum inhibition, Δ G dependence, and formation of altered surface layers in the framework of the interfacial dissolution–reprecipitation mechanism are all comparable with experimental investigations, and these results suggest that an interfacial dissolution–reprecipitation mechanism governs the dissolution of plagioclase feldspars.
Security models and information flow

A theory of information flow is developed that differs from that of nondeducibility, which is seen to be a theory of information sharing. The theory is used to develop a flow-based security model (FM) and to show that the proper treatment of security-relevant causal factors in such a framework is very tricky. Using FM as a standard for comparison, an examination is made of interference, generalized noninterference, and extensions to noninterference designed to protect high-level output, and it is seen that the proper treatment of causal factors in such models requires programs to be considered as explicit input to systems. This gives a new perspective on security levels. The model of D.E. Bell and L.J. LaPadula (1973), on the other hand, more successfully models security-relevant causal information, although this success is bought at the expense of the model being vague about its primitives. This vagueness is examined with respect to the claim that the Bell-LaPadula model and noninterference are equivalent. >
Word Meanings Matter: Cultivating English Vocabulary Knowledge in Fifth‐Grade Spanish‐Speaking Language Minority Learners

This pilot study investigated the effects of a 20-week quasiexperimental vocabulary intervention aimed at improving Spanish-speaking language minority students' English vocabulary and writing outcomes. Participants were two matched samples of fifth graders (N = 49) in a predominantly Latino, low-income urban school. Pre- and posttest analyses revealed that the treatment group gained knowledge of a larger number of target words than did the contrast group and that the treatment group students were generally better at determining their own word knowledge. Further, individual growth modeling revealed the treatment students' overall writing quality improved over the course of the 20-week intervention, even though writing instruction was not part of the intervention, and improvements in students' writing quality were larger during the last 10 weeks of the intervention. The need for purposeful activities that provide students with authentic contexts to learn and productively use newly taught words is discussed.
An Approach of Shaping Offset Dual Reflector Antennas by Controlling Location of Caustic for Local Dual Reflector System

This paper presents a shaping method for offset dual reflector antennas. The shaping method solves nonlinear equations to obtain an electrically small local dual reflector surface section. A shaped offset dual reflector antenna surface is created by combining them and the desired aperture distribution that is controlled by the location of caustic for each local dual reflector system. In shaping dual reflectors, the principles of geometrical optics (GO), such as conservation of power and Snell's law, have been widely used. In addition, geometrical properties of parabolic main reflector and either elliptic or hyperbolic subreflector surface are used to formulate the shaped surface equations
Peace through Trade or Free Trade

This study argues that a subtle shift in the primary independent variable of the commercial peace literature—from trade to free trade—provides an opportunity to respond to the some of the strongest criticisms of this research program. Free trade, and not just trade, promotes peace by removing an important foundation of domestic privilege—protective barriers to international commerce—that enhances the domestic power of societal groups likely to support war, reduces the capacity of free-trading interests to limit aggression in foreign policy, and simultaneously generates political support for the state often used to build its war machine. A series of statistical tests demonstrates that higher levels of free trade, rather than trade alone, reduce military conflict between states. Moreover, contrary to conventional wisdom, these arguments suggest how the puzzling case of World War I may confirm, rather than contradict, the central claims of commercial liberalism.
Tissue Factor Coagulant Function Is Enhanced by Protein-disulfide Isomerase Independent of Oxidoreductase Activity

Protein-disulfide isomerase (PDI) switches tissue factor (TF) from coagulation to signaling by targeting the allosteric Cys186-Cys209 disulfide. Here, we further characterize the interaction of purified PDI with TF. We find that PDI enhances factor VIIa-dependent substrate factor X activation 5-10-fold in the presence of wild-type, oxidized soluble TF but not TF mutants that contain an unpaired Cys186 or Cys209. PDI-accelerated factor Xa generation was blocked by bacitracin but not influenced by inhibition of vicinal thiols, reduction of PDI, changes in redox gradients, or covalent thiol modification of reduced PDI by N-ethylmaleimide or methyl-methanethiosulfonate, which abolished PDI oxidoreductase but not chaperone activity. PDI had no effect on fully active TF on either negatively charged phospholipids or in activating detergent, indicating that PDI selectively acts upon cryptic TF to facilitate ternary complex formation and macromolecular substrate turnover. PDI activation was reduced upon mutation of TF residues in proximity to the macromolecular substrate binding site, consistent with a primary interaction of PDI with TF. PDI enhanced TF coagulant activity on microvesicles shed from cells, suggesting that PDI plays a role as an activating chaperone for circulating cryptic TF.
Homologous pairing of 15q11–13 imprinted domains in brain is developmentally regulated but deficient in Rett and autism samples

Rett syndrome (RTT), caused by mutations in MECP2 (encoding methyl CpG binding protein 2), and Angelman syndrome (AS), caused by maternal deficiency of chromosome 15q11-13, are autism-spectrum neurodevelopmental disorders. MeCP2 is a transcriptional repressor of methylated genes, but MECP2 mutation does not directly affect the imprinted expression of genes within 15q11-13. We tested a potential role for MeCP2 in the homologous pairing of imprinted 15q11-13 alleles in human brain tissue and differentiated neurons by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). FISH analysis of control cerebral samples demonstrated a significant increase in homologous pairing specific to chromosome 15 from infant to juvenile brain samples. Significant and specific deficiencies in the percentage of paired chromosome 15 alleles were observed in RTT, AS and autism brain samples when compared with normal controls. SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells also showed a significant and specific increase in the percentage of chromosome 15q11-13 paired alleles following induced differentiation in vitro. Transfection with a methylated oligonucleotide decoy specifically blocked binding of MeCP2 to the SNURF/SNRPN promoter within 15q11-13 and significantly lowered the percentage of paired 15q11-13 alleles in SH-SY5Y cells. These combined results suggest a role for MeCP2 in chromosome organization in the developing brain and provide a potential mechanistic association between several related neurodevelopmental disorders.
Introducing standardized "readbacks" to improve patient safety in surgery: a prospective survey in 92 providers at a public safety-net hospital

Background: Communication breakdowns represent the main root cause of preventable complications which lead to harm to surgical patients. Standardized readbacks have been successfully implemented as a main pillar of professional aviation safety for decades, to ensure a safe closed-loop communication between air traffic control and individual pilots. The present study was designed to determine the perception of staff in perioperative services regarding the role of standardized readbacks for improving patient safety in surgery at a single public safety-net hospital and level 1 trauma center. Methods: A 12-item questionnaire was sent to 180 providers in perioperative services at Denver Health Medical Center. The survey was designed to determine the individual participants’ perception of (1) appropriateness of current readback processes; (2) willingness to attend a future training module on this topic; (3) specific scenarios in which readbacks may be effective; and (4) perceived major barriers to the implementation of standardized readbacks. Survey results were compared between departments (surgery versus anesthesia) and between specific staff roles (attending or midlevel provider, resident physician, nursing staff), using non-parametric tests. Results: The response rate to the survey was 50.1 % (n=92). Respondents overwhelmingly recognized the role of readbacks in reducing communication errors and improving patient safety. There was a strong agreement among respondents to support participation in a readbacks training program. There was no difference in the responses between the surgery and anesthesia departments. There was a statistically significant difference in the healthcare providers willingness to attend a short training module on readbacks (p<0.001). Resident physicians were less likely to endorse the importance of readbacks in reducing communication errors (p=0.01) and less willing to attend a short training module on readbacks (p<0.001), as compared to staff providers and nursing staff. The main challenge for respondents, which emanated from their responses, appeared to relate to determining the ideal scenarios in which readbacks may be most appropriately used. Overall, respondents strongly felt that readbacks had an important role in patient handoffs, patient orders regarding critical results, counting and verifying surgical instruments, and delegating multiple perioperative tasks. Conclusion: The majority of all respondents appear to perceive standardized readbacks as an effective tool for reducing and/or preventing adverse events in the care of surgical patients, derived from a breakdown in communication among perioperative caregivers. Further work needs to be done to define the exact clinical scenarios in which readbacks may be most efficiently implemented, including the definition of a uniform set of scripted quotes and phrases, which should likely be standardized in concert with the aviation safety model.
Dramaturgical Teaching in the Leadership Classroom: Taking Experiential Learning to the Next Level

This paper presents a pedagogical approach to leadership education that takes experiential learning to the next level of faculty-student interaction and experience. Dramaturgical teaching involves the instructor displaying the leadership style(s) in and out of the classroom so that students experience the leadership style while learning about it. Proposed course structures, special instructions for faculty using this teaching method, preliminary evaluations of the method, and implications are discussed.
The Association Between Correctional Orientation and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors Among Correctional Staff

This study sought to examine the relationship between correctional orientation (support for rehabilitation or punishment) and organizational citizenship behaviors (going above and beyond what is expected at work). All available staff at a Midwestern, high-security prison that housed juvenile offenders sentenced as adults were surveyed. Regression results suggest that correctional orientation does have a direct impact on organizational citizenship. Those staff indicating greater support for rehabilitation were more likely to report engagement in organizational citizenship behaviors. Support for punishment, however, had a nonsignificant association. Even among custody staff (i.e., correctional officers) and staff who spent half or more of their day interacting with inmates, support for rehabilitation had a significant positive association with organizational behaviors and support for punishment was not a significant predictor. In addition to the benefits of increased support for rehabilitation, such as better inmate relations, job satisfaction, and lower job stress, the current results suggest that another benefit of increasing support for rehabilitation among staff could result in greater engagement in organizational citizenship behaviors. Correctional administrators should explore different ways to promote support for rehabilitation among staff.
A Specific Antibody Response to HCV E2 Elicited in Mice by Intramuscular Inoculation of Plasmid DNA Containing Coding Sequences for E2

As the chimpanzee, the only reliable animal model for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, is impractical for early stage testing of HCV vaccine candidates, we have evaluated the immune response in mice to an experimental plasmid based HCV vaccine. We used this system because DNA vaccines can be rapidly constructed without the necessity of large scale protein production and purification. In this preliminary study we tested the immune response in mice to HCV envelope glycoprotein, E2, induced by a eukaryotic expression plasmid. Protein expression was monitored by immunofluorescence in transfected tissue culture cells. Each mouse was inoculated intramuscular with 100 microg plasmid DNA and some mice were boosted after 5 weeks. Among 12 BALB/C mice inoculated, 10 developed antibody to E2 by the second week. The antibody levels increased steadily before reaching a plateau in mice receiving the booster, but in the nonboosted mice the antibody declined over time. The serum from one mouse was tested against a series of overlapping peptides covering most of E2. This serum contained antibodies recognizing two distinct epitopes beginning at amino acid 57 and amino acid 113 but no antibody was directed against peptides representing the hypervariable region of E2, antibody to which is thought to be important in HCV neutralization. We have shown that the use of plasmid based vaccines can induce a specific immune response in mice against HCV antigens. This system should be useful as the first step in vaccine development.
Control of Al Orientation on Si(100) Substrate Using a Partially Ionized Beam

We report an investigation of Al films deposited on Si(100) surfaces by a partially ionized beam. By controlling the Al ion to atom ratio in the beam and the bias potential applied to the substrate, two different orientations, namely, the Al(110) and the Al(111) faces, can be formed on the Si(100) substrate.
Microbial laboratory evolution in the era of genome‐scale science

Laboratory evolution studies provide fundamental biological insight through direct observation of the evolution process. They not only enable testing of evolutionary theory and principles, but also have applications to metabolic engineering and human health. Genome-scale tools are revolutionizing studies of laboratory evolution by providing complete determination of the genetic basis of adaptation and the changes in the organism's gene expression state. Here, we review studies centered on four central themes of laboratory evolution studies: (1) the genetic basis of adaptation; (2) the importance of mutations to genes that encode regulatory hubs; (3) the view of adaptive evolution as an optimization process; and (4) the dynamics with which laboratory populations evolve.
Hospital and intensive care unit management of decompensated pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular failure.

Pulmonary hypertension and concomitant right ventricular failure present a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge in the intensive care unit and have been associated with a high mortality. Significant co-morbidities and hemodynamic instability are often present, and routine critical care unit resuscitation may worsen hemodynamics and limit the chances of survival in patients with an already underlying poor prognosis. Right ventricular failure results from structural or functional processes that limit the right ventricle’s ability to maintain adequate cardiac output. It is commonly seen as the result of left heart failure, acute pulmonary embolism, progression or decompensation of pulmonary hypertension, sepsis, acute lung injury, or in the perioperative setting. Prompt recognition of the underlying cause and institution of treatment with a thorough understanding of the elements necessary to optimize preload, cardiac contractility, enhance systemic arterial perfusion, and reduce right ventricular afterload are of paramount importance. Moreover, the emergence of previously uncommon entities in patients with pulmonary hypertension (pregnancy, sepsis, liver disease, etc.) and the availability of modern devices to provide support pose additional challenges that must be addressed with an in-depth knowledge of this disease.
Remote sensing of physical cycles in Lake Superior using a spatio-temporal analysis of optical water typologies

Abstract An optical class-based approach was adapted and applied to satellite imagery of aquatic color radiometry over Lake Superior. Lake Superior exhibits an optically complex environment whose physical and biogeochemical variability is unknown for much of the year. We characterized optical classes or optical water types (OWTs) from remotely sensed data and determined the temporal and spatial distribution of the OWTs. OWT distributions were interpreted through their inherent optical properties (IOPs) and physical drivers. Five identified OWTs based on spectrally normalized remote sensing reflectance imagery from the MODIS-Aqua mission revealed a gradient between class-specific IOPs for colored dissolved organic matter absorption (a CDOM ) and particulate backscattering (b bp ). The clearest OWT displayed widespread prominence over the lake and within and across years, indicating strongly stable physical dynamics including stratification and permanent circulation patterns. The most optically complex OWT (highest a CDOM and b bp ) followed more stochastic dynamics coinciding with localized runoff and mixing events. OWTs with intermediate optical complexity delineated river outflow plumes, upwelling, and annual lake wide turnover events while revealing annual and biannual harmonic patterns. OWTs verified both previously observed and unobserved dynamics in Lake Superior, demonstrating a valuable utility to characterize spatio-temporal, optical, and biogeochemical variability.
An Approximation to the Information Matrix of Exponential Family Finite Mixtures

A simple closed form of the Fisher information matrix (FIM) usually cannot be obtained under a finite mixture. Several authors have considered a block-diagonal FIM approximation for binomial and multinomial finite mixtures, used in scoring and in demonstrating relative efficiency of proposed estimators. Raim et al. (Stat Methodol 18:115–130, 2014a) noted that this approximation coincides with the complete data FIM of the observed data and latent mixing process jointly. It can, therefore, be formulated for a wide variety of missing data problems. Multinomial mixtures feature a number of trials, which, when taken to infinity, result in the FIM and approximation becoming arbitrarily close. This work considers a clustered sampling scheme which allows the convergence result to be extended significantly to the class of exponential family finite mixtures. A series of examples demonstrate the convergence result and suggest that it can be further generalized.
Dietary Supplementation of Grape Polyphenols to Rats Ameliorates Chronic Ethanol-Induced Changes in Hepatic Morphology without Altering Changes in Hepatic Lipids

Increase in oxidative stress after chronic ethanol consumption can result in hepatic injury. Because polyphenolic compounds can offer antioxidant protection to the cardiovascular system, this study was designed to investigate whether dietary supplementation of polyphenols from grapes may ameliorate hepatic injury resulting from chronic ethanol consumption. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were administered the following diets for 2 mo: 1) Lieber-DeCarli (L-D) diet with isocaloric amount of maltose instead of ethanol (Basal), 2) the L-D diet with 50g/L ethanol (EtOH); 3) L-D diet with 50 mg/L of grape polyphenols (GP) and 4) ethanol diet with GP (EtOH + GP). Rats given EtOH or EtOH + GP diets had significantly more hepatic triacylglycerols (P < 0.0001) and lipid peroxidation products (P < 0.01) compared with those given the Basal and GP diets. In addition, ethanol ingestion also decreased significantly (P < 0.01) the proportion of 16:0 and increased 18:0 and 18:1 in hepatic phospholipids, suggesting a perturbation of the de novo fatty acid biosynthesis pathways. However, GP supplementation alone and GP added to the ethanol diet did not alter the lipid changes mediated by ethanol except for the levels of 22:6(n-3) which were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the EtOH + GP group than in the EtOH group. Despite a lack of gross lipid changes, histologic assessment showed significantly (P < 0.05) less hepatic damage in the GP + EtOH group compared with the EtOH group. These results clearly distinguished ethanol-mediated changes in hepatic morphology from the changes in hepatic lipids and further demonstrated the ability of GP to ameliorate hepatic damage resulting from chronic ethanol consumption.
The Benedick, Bachelorhood, and Edith Wharton's Classified (Re)Invention of the Heterosexual Male in The House of Mirth

Much of the traditional criticism surrounding Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth narrows its analytic focus on the plight of Lily Bart and her repeated failures to stay afloat amid the turbulent wa...
Physical Fitness of the Aged Patients with Cardiovascular Disease.

高齢循環器疾患々者および健常者を対象とした自験成績を中心に体力について述べた。酸素摂取量は加齢により低下する。従って，年齢は体力を表す1つの指標になる。しかし，個人差が大きいことも高齢者の特徴である。高齢循環器疾患々者に対する運動処方は，心機能を考慮しながら体力の維持・向上につながる運動刺激を日常生活に取り入れていくことが重要であると思われる。
Prevalence of anemia among infants and young children in rural areas of Hubei province

Objective To analyze the prevalence of anemia among infants and young children aged 6-23 months in rural areas of Hubei province. Methods Cluster random sampling was adopted in the study. Feeding behaviors was surveyed with a questionnaire,and hemoglobin,body weight and height were also measured. Results A total of 813 infants and young children aged 6-23 months were investigated. The prevalence of anemia of the infants and young children was30. 6%( 29. 2% for boys and 32. 2% for girls). Among 6-11 month-old infants,the prevalence of anemia( 33. 6%) was higher than that of 12-17 month-old infants( 31. 2%) and 18-23 month-old infants( 24. 6%)( P 0. 05). The prevalence of anemia of the infants with malnutrition( 32. 7%) or maternal anemia( 37. 6%) was higher than that of infants without malnutrition( 22. 2%) or maternal anemia( 28. 8%)( P 0. 05). Compared with the infants who did not receive colostrums feeding or receive breastfeeding postnatal 24 hours,the prevalence of anemia of the infants who ever received colostrums feeding( 27. 4%) or received breastfeeding postnatal 24 hours( 18. 4%) was lower significantly( P 0. 01).Conclusion Interventions as advocating postnatal breastfeeding as soon as possible and colostrums feeding,improving mother anemia and child malnutrition could decrease the prevalence of anemia among infants and young children in rural areas.
Joint toxic effects of the type-2 alkene electrophiles.

Human populations are exposed to complex environmental mixtures of acrolein, methylvinyl ketone (MVK) and other type-2 alkenes. Many members of this chemical class are electrophiles that possess a common molecular mechanism of toxicity; i.e., protein inactivation via formation of stable cysteine adducts. Therefore, acute or chronic exposure to type-2 alkene mixtures could represent a health risk due to additive or synergistic interactions among component chemicals. Despite this risk, there is little experimental information regarding the joint effects of type-2 alkenes. In the present study we used sum of toxic units (TUsum = ∑TUi) to assess the relative toxicity of different type-2 alkene mixtures. These studies involved well characterized environmental type-2 alkene toxicants and included amide (acrylamide; ACR), ketone (methyl vinyl ketone; MVK), aldehyde (2-ethylacrolein; EA) and ester (methyl acrylate; MA) derivatives. In chemico analyses revealed that both binary and ternary mixtures could deplete thiol groups according to an additive joint effect at equitoxic and non-equitoxic ratios; i.e., TUsum = 1.0 ± 0.20. In contrast, analyses of joint effects in SNB19 cell cultures indicated that different permutations of type-2 alkene mixtures produced mostly synergistic joint effects with respect to cell lethality; i.e., TUsum < 0.80. A mixture of ACR and MA was shown to produce joint toxicity in a rat model. This mixture accelerated the onset and development of neurotoxicity relative to the effects of the individual toxicants. Synergistic effects in biological models might occur when different cellular proteomes are targeted, whereas additive effects develop when the mixtures encompasses a similar proteome.
Therapy and clinical trials in frontotemporal dementia: past, present, and future.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a common form of dementia with heterogeneous clinical presentations and distinct clinical syndromes. This article will review currently available therapies for FTD, its related disorders and their clinical evidence. It will also discuss recent advancements in FTD pathophysiology, treatment development, biomarker advancement and their relation to recently completed or currently ongoing clinical trials as well as future implications. Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a type of dementia with distinct clinical syndromes. Current treatments involve off-label use of medications for symptomatic management and cannot modify disease course. Advancements in FTD pathophysiology, genetics, and biomarkers have led to development of small molecules targeting the underlying pathology in hopes of achieving a disease-modifying effect. This article will review current therapies for FTD, discuss advancements in FTD pathophysiology, therapy development, biomarker advancement, their relation to recent clinical trials and future implications. This article is part of the Frontotemporal Dementia special issue.
Modeling the effects of welding

Publisher Summary This chapter presents an overview of the solid mechanics issues for modeling welding processes. It provides a review of continuum mechanics formulations, followed by a discussion of numerical formulations. The chapter discusses the material properties. Modeling of welding distortion and residual stress has been an active research area since the late 1970s. More recent developments in the area of weld modeling include the development of Eulerian models for modeling long, steady welds and the development of a decoupled 3D weld modeling and 3D structural response approach. Eulerian models offer an efficient approach to modeling very long, uniform welds. The modeling of the material behavior from room temperature up to melting temperature poses a challenge. That becomes even more difficult in the presence of phase transformations. Therefore, the aspects of material modeling that must be handled in an appropriate way in order to obtain an accurate solution are: (1) Modeling elastic and plastic deformation in combination with a cut-off temperature and (2) Accounting for the effect of solid–solid, solid–liquid transformations or other microstructural changes in the material behavior.
Robust Adaptive Coverage for Robotic Sensor Networks

This paper presents a distributed control algorithm to drive a group of robots to spread out over an environment and provide adaptive sensor coverage of that environment. The robots use an on-line learning mechanism to approximate the areas in the environment which require more concentrated sensor coverage, while simultaneously exploring the environment before moving to final positions to provide this coverage. More precisely, the robots learn a scalar field, called the weighting function, representing the relative importance of different regions in the environment, and use a Traveling Salesperson based exploration method, followed by a Voronoi-based coverage controller to position themselves for sensing over the environment. The algorithm differs from previous approaches in that provable robustness is emphasized in the representation of the weighting function. It is proved that the robots approximate the weighting function with a known bounded error, and that they converge to locations that are locally optimal for sensing with respect to the approximate weighting function. Simulations using empirically measured light intensity data are presented to illustrate the performance of the method.
Sexually dimorphic control of gene expression in sensory neurons regulates decision-making behavior in C. elegans

Animal behavior is directed by the integration of sensory information from internal states and the environment. Neuroendocrine regulation of diverse behaviors of Caenorhabditis elegans is under the control of the DAF-7/TGF-β ligand that is secreted from sensory neurons. Here, we show that C. elegans males exhibit an altered, male-specific expression pattern of daf-7 in the ASJ sensory neuron pair with the onset of reproductive maturity, which functions to promote male-specific mate-searching behavior. Molecular genetic analysis of the switch-like regulation of daf-7 expression in the ASJ neuron pair reveals a hierarchy of regulation among multiple inputs-sex, age, nutritional status, and microbial environment-which function in the modulation of behavior. Our results suggest that regulation of gene expression in sensory neurons can function in the integration of a wide array of sensory information and facilitate decision-making behaviors in C. elegans.
Of Flight, Fraud, and Freedom: Achebe’s Political Tricksters

The trickster’s role in West African and other postcolonial literatures exemplifies the integration of traditional storytelling elements to affirm a culture’s values without severing those values from European influences. Modern fictional tricksters, including Achebe’s, play a role in recovering dimensions of culture that were nearly extinguished by colonization or reshaped by colonial priorities. In shedding light, moreover, on dilemmas posed by colonial and postcolonial societies—such as, in Achebe’s work, the misappropriation of power and the corrupt practices of post-independence rulers—tricksters demonstrate the relevance to modern literature of traditional narrative motifs.
Detection of Multiple Signals

In this chapter we will discuss the problem of detecting multiple signals using information from multiple sensors. To understand the advantages of using a sensor array over a single element in various aspects of detection and estimation it is necessary to understand the nature of signals and noise the array is desired to receive.