cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pioneering Geologic Studies of the Black Hills, Dakota Territory, USA

Discovery of significant gold deposits in the Black Hills, Dakota Territory, in the early 1870s led to a Congressional mandate that organized geological exploration of the Hills be undertaken. Ferdinand V. Hayden (1829-1887), who had previously visited the region, principally to collect fossils, was thwarted in his efforts to oversee such exploration by the combined efforts of John Strong Newberry (1822-1892) and John Wesley Powell (1834-1902), who instead promoted Walter P. Jenney (1850-1904?) and Henry Newton (1845-1877), both colleagues of Newberry at the Columbia College School of Mines. In a four-month field season the Jenney/Newton Survey (1875) carefully examined some 6,000 square miles of the Black Hills. Newton then oversaw production of an extensive report on the geology, mineral resources and other aspects of natural history. The report included a detailed geologic map, numerous stratigraphic columns, interpretive figures illustrating the geomorphic evolution of the Hills, thin section petrogra...
Retirement Responses to Social Security Changes

Workers often retire at an age later than the age at which they accept Social Security benefits. This study employed a life-cycle model of individual utility to examine the effects of Social Security provisions on the timing of benefit acceptance and retirement. The behavioral responses of older workers are estimated with a two-equation logit model using data from the Retirement History Study. The results indicate that the legislated increase in the age of eligibility for full Social Security benefits beginning in the 21st century will have relatively small effects on the ages of retirement and benefit acceptance. The mandated decrease in the earnings test tax also is predicted to have only a small effect on the behavior of older persons.
Changes in morphine analgesia and side effects during daily subcutaneous administration in healthy volunteers.

Abstract Tolerance to the anti-nociceptive effects of opioids develops rapidly in animals. In contrast, humans with chronic pain show little or no loss of pain relief in prospective opioid trials of 4–8 weeks duration. Employing the Brief Thermal Sensitization model to induce transient cutaneous secondary hyperalgesia, we tested the hypothesis that opioid analgesic tolerance would develop rapidly. In this outpatient randomized placebo-controlled study, subjects in the MMMMP group received two injections of subcutaneous morphine 6 mg (150 min apart) on Monday–Thursday (total 48 mg over 4 days) and matching saline placebo on Friday. Subjects in the PPPPM group received placebo on Monday–Thursday and morphine (total 12 mg) on Friday. Sixty-one healthy volunteers were enrolled; morphine side effects accounted for all nine non-completions. Compared to the first placebo day, the reduction in the area of secondary hyperalgesia on the first morphine day was significant and robust in both groups. Morphine suppression of the painfulness of skin heating and elevation of the heat pain detection threshold were also significant. During 4 days of twice-daily injections, the decline in anti-hyperalgesic effects of morphine did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.06) compared to placebo. Morphine side effects did not correlate with anti-hyperalgesic effects and withdrawal symptoms did not emerge. As 4 days is the threshold for demonstrating analgesic tolerance to twice-daily morphine in animal models, a longer period of opioid exposure in healthy volunteers might be needed to detect analgesic tolerance.
Oxygen-enhanced/natural gas flame radiation

Abstract Total radiation measurements for oxygen-enhanced/natural gas diffusion flames are reported here. The parameters that were studied included the oxidizer composition ( Ω = 0.25−1.00 ), the burner firing rate (qf = 3−28 kW), the equivalence ratio (φ = 0.55−1.45), and the axial (Lr = 0.5−6.5) and radial (Dr = 0.4−1.0) position of the radiometer. The measured radiation ranged from 10 to 65 kW m−2. The nozzle Reynolds numbers ranged from 480 to 10 300. The location of the peak flame radiation ranged from 9 to 15% of the visible flame length. The stability limits and visible flame heights are also reported for a burner with a wide operating range.
Accuracy and reliability of pedotransfer functions as affected by grouping soils

Pedotransfer functions (PTFs; i.e., dependencies of soil water retention and soil hydraulic conductivity on basic soil parameters available from soil surveys) are widely used to predict soil functioning in agricultural and environmental systems. The reliability of PTFs needs to be assessed by examining the correspondence between measured and estimated data for data set(s) other than the one used to develop a PTF. Our objective was to see whether grouping according to taxonomic unit, soil moisture regime, soil temperature regime, and soil textural class would improve both PTF accuracy and reliability. We estimated soil water contents at matrix potentials of -33 kPa and -1500 kPa for the 447 soil samples from the Oklahoma National Resource Conservation Service database. Dry bulk density, the ratio of cation-exchange capacity (CEC) to clay content, and contents of clay, sand, coarse fragments, and organic matter were used as predictors. The Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH) was used to develop PTFs. To assess accuracy and reliability of the PTFs, we used cross-validation; i.e., repeated random splitting of the data set into subsets for development and validation. The PTF accuracy and reliability was quantified by the root mean square error in the development and validation data set, respectively. Grouping improved the accuracy of PTFs in most cases. None of the grouping criteria proved to be clearly superior. Although PTFs developed from the groups were more accurate than the PTFs developed from the whole database, they were not more reliable. Improving PTF reliability may be an issue distinctly different from improving PTF accuracy.
Current-level discrimination in the context of interleaved, multichannel stimulation in cochlear implants: Effects of number of stimulated electrodes, pulse rate, and electrode separation

The ability of cochlear implantees to detect an increment in current level at one of many stimulated electrodes was investigated. Such changes in the electric profile provide information for cochlear implantees to discriminate numerous sounds, especially vowels. In Experiment 1, sensitivity to increases in current level at one stimulation site in the electric profile decreased as the number of stimulated electrodes increased. This outcome was most likely a result of decreased stimulus levels at individual electrodes that were required to retain a comfortable loudness when the number of active electrodes was increased. Experiment 2 investigated the effects of pulse rate and separation between stimulation sites when the levels in percent of dynamic range and number of stimulated electrodes were held constant. The effect of pulse rate and electrode separation varied among listeners. The sensitivity of 6 of 9 listeners was best at the pulse rate that they used clinically. This might have been the result of adaptation to the clinical pulse rate, or listeners might have chosen their inherently best pulse rate during the clinical fitting.
Evanescent-mode resonator of pure te mode

An example of an evanescent-mode resonator, suitable for forming elements of filters, is shown operating in a pure TE mode. The object of this letter is to show that such a resonator is possible without introducing any lumped discontinuities in the guide which would introduce local generation of spurious modes.
Platelet contributions to the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis

Purpose of review The purpose of this review is to focus attention on platelet contributions, in general, to systemic sclerosis. There have also been recent advances in characterization of the phenotype of platelets in systemic sclerosis which will be reviewed. Recent findings An extensive literature provides strong support for varying degrees of platelet activation and aggregation in different forms and stages of systemic sclerosis. A recent finding is that systemic sclerosis platelets overexpress a specific nonintegrin 65 kDa receptor for type I collagen as well as expressing enhanced phosphilidylinositol-3 kinase as an activation signature. Overexpression of a type I collagen receptor would make systemic sclerosis platelets more susceptible to binding to exposed type I collagen in the subendothelial lining of damaged blood vessels, facilitating the cycle of platelet aggregation and release of preformed bioactive molecules that include a host of inflammatory and fibrogenic, chemokines, cytokines and growth factors. This activation phenotype of systemic sclerosis platelets may be secondary to autoimmunity and driven by cytokines from autoreactive T cells. Summary The contributions of platelets to the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis is likely substantial and may not be adequately represented in gene profiling of systemic sclerosis tissue due to the small amounts of RNA contained in platelets.
There are no hereditary productive γ-spaces

Abstract We show that if X is an uncountable productive γ -set [F. Jordan, Productive local properties of function spaces, Topology Appl. 154 (2007) 870–883], then there is a countable Y ⊆ X such that X ∖ Y is not Hurewicz. Along the way we answer a question of A. Miller by showing that an increasing countable union of γ -spaces is again a γ -space. We will also show that λ -spaces with the Hurewicz property are precisely those spaces for which every co-countable set is Hurewicz.
Variance of Precambrian K-Ar biotite dates, Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming

Abstract Biotite K-Ar dates for rocks from throughout the Bighorn Mountains are systematically related to rock unit and degree of alteration of the biotite. Fresh biotite from granitic rocks in the northern half of the range averages 2.75 ( σ = 0.05) by, biotite from gneiss, which forms the southern half of the range, averages 2.50 ( σ = 0.07) by, regardless of degree of alteration, and chloritized biotite from the northern granites averages ( 2.53 σ = 0.08) by. K-Ar systematics in Precambrian rocks may be obscured by uncritical grouping of samples and between-lab and within-lab variances that are greater than the best precision attainable in a single laboratory.
Summit-to-sea mapping and change detection using satellite imagery: tools for conservation and management of coral reefs.

Continuous summit-to-sea maps showing both land features and shallow-water coral reefs have been completed in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, using circa 2000 Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) Imagery. Continuous land/sea terrain was mapped by merging Digital Elevation Models (DEM) with satellite-derived bathymetry. Benthic habitat characterizations were created by unsupervised classifications of Landsat imagery clustered using field data, and produced maps with an estimated overall accuracy of >75% (Tau coefficient >0.65). These were merged with Geocover-LC (land use/land cover) data to create continuous land/ sea cover maps. Image pairs from different dates were analyzed using Principle Components Analysis (PCA) in order to detect areas of change in the marine environment over two different time intervals: 2000 to 2001, and 1991 to 2003. This activity demonstrates the capabilities of Landsat imagery to produce continuous summit-to- sea maps, as well as detect certain changes in the shallow-water marine environment, providing a valuable tool for efficient coastal zone monitoring and effective management and conservation.
HYDRATION OF GELATIN IN SOLUTION

1. It was shown that the high viscosity of gelatin solutions as well as the character of the osmotic pressure-concentration curves indicates that gelatin is hydrated even at temperatures as high as 50 degrees C. 2. The degree of hydration of gelatin was determined by means of viscosity measurements through the application of the formula See PDF for Equation. 3. When the concentration of gelatin was corrected for the volume of water of hydration as obtained from the viscosity measurements, the relation between the osmotic pressure of various concentrations of gelatin and the corrected concentrations became linear, thus making it possible to determine the apparent molecular weight of gelatin through the application of van't Hoff's law. The molecular weight of gelatin at 35 degrees C. proved to be 61,500. 4. A study was made of the mechanism of hydration of gelatin and it was shown that the experimental data agree with the theory that the hydration of gelatin is a pure osmotic pressure phenomenon brought about by the presence in gelatin of a number of insoluble micellae containing a definite amount of a soluble ingredient of gelatin. As long as there is a difference in the osmotic pressure between the inside of the micellae and the outside gelatin solution the micellae swell until an equilibrium is established at which the osmotic pressure inside of the micellae is balanced by the total osmotic pressure of the gelatin solution and by the elasticity pressure of the micellae. 5. On addition of HCl to isoelectric gelatin the total activity of ions inside of the micellae is greater than in the outside solution due to a greater concentration of protein in the micellae. This brings about a further swelling of the micellae until a Donnan equilibrium is established in the ion distribution accompanied by an equilibrium in the osmotic pressure. Through the application of the theory developed here it was possible actually to calculate the osmotic pressure difference between the inside of the micellae and the outside solution which was brought about by the difference in the ion distribution. 6. According to the same theory the effect of pH on viscosity of gelatin should diminish with increase in concentration of gelatin, since the difference in the concentration of the protein inside and outside of the micellae also decreases. This was confirmed experimentally. At concentrations above 8 gm. per 100 gm. of H(2)O there is very little difference in the viscosity of gelatin of various pH as compared with that of isoelectric gelatin.
Essential Fish Habitat and Wetland Restoration Success: A Tier III Approach to the Biochemical Condition of Common Mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus in Common Reed Phragmites australis- and Smooth Cordgrass Spartina alterniflora-Dominated Salt Marshes

A tier III, essential fish habitat analysis was used to evaluate the biochemical condition of common mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus residing in two isolated tidal salt marshes, one a relatively undisturbed polyhaline site dominated by Spartina alterniflora and the other a meso-oligohaline site dominated by an invasive variety of Phragmites australis. Stable isotopes signatures of C, N, and S in whole tissue samples of F. heteroclitus were used to compare the trophic spectrum for this species in each marsh as a function of the dominant macrophytes present with additional contributions from phytoplankton and benthic microalgae. Allometry of wet mass and its components, water mass, lean protein mass and lipid mass in individual fish exhibited hyperallometric patterns; and average lipid mass fell within the range reported for most fundulids, including F. heteroclitus. Significant differences were also detected in the allocation of lipid classes to energy reserves in the form of triacylglycerols (TAG) and free fatty acids. These reserves, especially TAG, are critical for reproduction, migration, and overwintering survival in many taxa and were significantly lower in fish collected in the P. australis-dominated marsh. Relative to the relatively undisturbed Spartina-dominated site, we tentatively conclude that the P. australis-invaded marsh was an inferior habitat for F. heteroclitus.
Optical Properties And Local Structure of Cu(Ii) Dopant in Znse Nanoparticles

Cu(II) doped ZnSe nanoparticles were synthesized using molecular cluster precursors. The Cu(II) dopant had the effect of quenching the ZnSe band edge emission, yet only weak emission from Cu(II) centers was observed. An X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) experiment was performed on the Cu(II) doped ZnSe nanoparticles. It was determined that the Cu(II) occupies a tetrahedral site in the lattice in an environment similar to that of Cu in bulk Cu2Se, and is likely to have substituted for Zn(II) in the lattice.
Longer, Higher Quality Videos Preferred by News Viewers:

This study reports people prefer longer, high-quality videos to any other type on newspaper websites and poor quality videos can harm the news brand. Editors should be much more critical of the videos they post and journalists should have multi-media training.
DISCO 10‐year retrospective survey results

One hundred-eighty-eight new and prospective Ph.D.s have participated in a unique series of meetings designed to integrate young scientists into the research community and to foster interdisciplinary and interinstitutional research. These meetings, the Dissertations Symposia in Chemical Oceanography (DISCO), are sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, the National Science Foundation, and the Sea Grant Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Expenses for the young marine chemists from academic institutions in the United States are totally provided by the sponsoring agencies. A number of new Ph.D.s from foreign schools have also participated by invitation; their expenses have been paid in part by their home countries or by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Extraintestinal Shigellosis: Bacteremia and Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia Shigella Sonnei in a Three-Year-Old Boy

A case of shigella bacteremia with paroxysmal atrial tachy cardia is described. The causative organism was Shigella sonnei which was also recovered from a sibling of the patient.
Mycophenolate mofetil and myasthenia gravis

Myasthenia gravis (MG) represents the prototypic autoimmune disorder with well characterized immunopathology. Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of this neuromuscular transmission disorder have significantly improved the management of myasthenic patients. Unfortunately the currently available immunomodulating treatments have significant side effects and some patients do not tolerate them or adequately respond to them. Therefore the possibility of a new immunosuppressant agent that is safe, effective and has steroid-sparing effect is very appealing. Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) has shown promising effects in MG patients in preliminary studies and is currently being studied in two prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, multicenter trials to better establish its role in the treatment of MG.
The role of dopamine in cognitive sequence learning: evidence from Parkinson's disease.

Electrophysiological and computational studies suggest that nigro-striatal dopamine may play an important role in learning about sequences of environmentally important stimuli, particularly when this learning is based upon step-by-step associations between stimuli, such as in second-order conditioning. If so, one would predict that disruption of the midbrain dopamine system — such as occurs in Parkinson’s disease — may lead to deficits on tasks that rely upon such learning processes. This hypothesis was tested using a “chaining” task, in which each additional link in a sequence of stimuli leading to reward is trained step-by-step, until a full sequence is learned. We further examined how medication (L-dopa) affects this type of learning. As predicted, we found that Parkinson’s patients tested ‘off’ L-dopa performed as well as controls during the first phase of this task, when required to learn a simple stimulus–response association, but were impaired at learning the full sequence of stimuli. In contrast, we found that Parkinson’s patients tested ‘on’ L-dopa performed better than those tested ‘off’, and no worse than controls, on all phases of the task. These findings suggest that the loss of dopamine that occurs in Parkinson’s disease can lead to specific learning impairments that are predicted by electrophysiological and computational studies, and that enhancing dopamine levels with L-dopa alleviates this deficit. This last result raises questions regarding the mechanisms by which midbrain dopamine modulates learning in Parkinson’s disease, and how L-dopa affects these processes. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Meal/Snack Frequencies of College Students: A Normative Study

The behavioral treatment of obesity is based upon the largely unverified theoretical assumption that many forms of overweight are acquired and maintained through deviant eating styles characterized by problems in meal/snack initiation and termination. Since overweight persons are theorized to display an exaggerated responsiveness to salient external stimuli, such as the sight, smell, and taste of food, more frequent meal/snack initiations might be anticipated from persons with weight concerns (Hawkins, 1977). Several recent observational studies (e.g. as recently reviewed by Mahoney, 1975, and Stunkard & Kaplan, 1977) have provided equivocal support for the contention that overweight persons eat at a faster rate in single ingestions occuring in naturalistic or laboratory settings. There is a dearth of information, however, regarding the frequency of meals and snacks for normal and overweight persons in naturalistic contexts. One problem is that such normative studies require the collection of data across several ingestions occurring in different situations.
Consecutive Charging of a Molecule-on-Insulator Ensemble Using Single Electron Tunnelling Methods

We present the local charge state modification at room temperature of small insulator-supported molecular ensembles formed by 1,1'-ferrocenedicarboxylic acid on calcite. Single electron tunnelling between the conducting tip of a noncontact atomic force microscope (NC-AFM) and the molecular islands is observed. By joining NC-AFM with Kelvin probe force microscopy, successive charge build-up in the sample is observed from consecutive experiments. Charge transfer within the islands and structural relaxation of the adsorbate/surface system is suggested by the experimental data.
The War on Terrorism and the Constitution

Discussion of civil liberties during wartime often omit the fact that there can be no meaningful liberty at all if our homes and offices are bombed or our loved ones are killed or injured by acts of terror. The Government must be given the tools necessary to accomplish its vital mission. The first priority must be to win the war against terrorism. There are, however, other priorities. The United States, in its just battle for freedom, must ensure that freedom is preserved during that battle as well. Moreover, care must be taken so that an exaggerated cry of “emergency” is not accepted uncritically as an excuse for eliminating the protections of a free society. The role of citizens in general, and lawyers in specific, is to maintain the difficult balance between patriotism and skepticism.
Faber Polynomials and the Faber Series

(1971). Faber Polynomials and the Faber Series. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 78, No. 6, pp. 577-596.
Blue Luminescent Biogenic Silicon-Germanium Oxide Nanocomposites

Marine diatoms are a class of microalgae that possess cell walls composed of silica nanoparticles. These organisms actively assimilate silicic acid Si(OH)4 from seawater, polymerize silicic acid to silica nanoparticles by a protein-mediated precipitation process, then assemble the silica nanoparticles into intricate patterns that constitute the cell wall microarchitecture of the diatom frustule. The biomineralization capacity of marine diatoms, Nitzschia frustulum, was harnessed to biologically manufacture silicon oxide / germanium oxide nanocomposite materials. Germanium was incorporated into living diatom cell mass by a two-stage cultivation process. The micro- and nanostructures of biogenic oxide nanocomposite were characterized by TEM with EDS, and XRD. Furthermore, photoluminescence (PL) measurements were performed on these biogenic nanocomposites with different post processing to study their optoelectronic properties. Strong blue photoluminescence was observed from samples treated with H2O2 and oxygen plasma. A clear blueshift was observed from the biogenic oxides with the addition of germanium. It is believed that self-trapped exciton affected by quantum confinement effect is responsible for the PL from these biogenic oxide nanocomposites.
Constructing a Minimal Counterexample in Group Theory

Desmond MacHale's intriguing article [2] neatly illustrates one mode of interplay between proof and example in group theory by describing the commonly used inductive technique of minimal counterexamples. In this Note, we use some ideas from group theory and linear algebra to lead the reader through a geometric and algebraic construction of one of the minimal counterexamples sought by MacHale. Recall that a group is called nilpotent if each of its Sylow subgroups is normal. One of MacHale's list of known-to-be-false conjectures is this: if G is a finite group having a fixed-pointfree automorphism 4, then G is nilpotent. The true theorem on which the conjecture is based assumes that 4 is of prime order; it was established by Thompson in his dissertation in 1959 [4]. His proof so excited the mathematical community that even the New York Times reported his result and the reaction to it [3]. MacHale indicates that [1, p. 336] contains details of a counterexample to the conjecture with IGI = 147 = 72 3 and 1j1 = 4. In our minimal counterexample to be constructed, I4 = 6 and IGI = 48 = 24 43. In what follows, we use some standard conventions of notation in group theory. In particular, we write operators on the right and denote both the action of a group homomorphism and conjugation using superscripts. Recall that if H and K are subgroups of a group G such that G = HK, H n K = 1, and H is normal in G, then G is called the semidirect product of H by K. In this situation, since H is normal in G, each element of K acts via conjugation as an automorphism of H. Of particular interest here is the situation in which each nontrivial element of K acts as a nontrivial (i.e., nonidentity) automorphism on H. In this case K is isomorphic to a subgroup of Aut H, the group of all automorphisms of H. A well-known geometric example leads directly to an important link between group theory and geometry. If A is the group of rotations of a regular tetrahedron, then A contains eight elements of order 3, three of order 2, and an identity element. Each element of order 3 is a 120?rotation of the tetrahedron about an axis passing through one of the 4 vertices and perpendicular to the opposite face. Each element of order 2 is a rotation of 1800 about one of three axes joining the midpoints of two nonadjacent edges of the tetrahedron. (See FIGURE 1.) If the vertices are labeled, and each rotation is identified with the permutation of the labels it produces, this identification provides a natural isomorphism between A and A4, the group of even permutations on 4 letters. Thus it is possible to use the algebra of permutations or geometry to analyze A.
Axial Flow Contra-Rotating Turbines

Two types of contra-rotating stages are considered; the first uses guide vanes and the second is vaneless. The wheels of the first type use bladings which are mirror images of each other and they operate with inlet and outlet swirl. The second type uses dissimilar bladings in each of the two wheels with axial inlet velocity to the first wheel and axial outlet velocity for the second wheel. An analysis of their performance indicates that both types can reach stage loading coefficients comparable or larger than conventional turbines with the same number of wheels. A comparison of the contra-rotating stages with conventional ones indicate a significant stage efficiency advantage of the contra-rotating over the conventional single rotation stages due mainly to the elimination of stationary vanes. The off-design performance indicates that relative wheel speed must be controlled. The attributes of contra-rotating turbines suggest their potential use in high performance aircraft engines, in dynamic space power systems and in low speed industrial gas turbines.Copyright © 1985 by ASME
Henry Simons is Not a Supporter of Free Enterprise

The Chicago School of Economics is seen far and wide as a free enterprise stronghold. The research programs of many of its members are extolled as supportive of capitalism, even by otherwise knowledgeable commentators. This article will show that such an evaluation cannot be supported, at least in the case of Henry Simons, one of the most eminent practitioners of economics to be associated with the economics department of the University of Chicago.
Analysis of air pollution in decorating residences in Baoshan District of Shanghai

[Objective]To know the indoor air pollution caused by decoration,provide a reference for relevant departments to carry out the indoor air pollution control.[Methods]By using the questionnaire survey and field detection,the air pollution status of residences after decoration of 84 households in Baoshan District was investigated and analyzed.[Results]There was a significant difference in the over standard rate of formaldehyde among different housing types,which the over standard rate in the schoolroom( 26. 19%) and the living room( 15.48%) was the highest and the lowest respectively. The concentration of formaldehyde reached the peak 4-12 months after the completion of the decoration,and the over standard rate was 46. 15%. Multiple conditional logistic regression analysis indicated that the over standard rate of formaldehyde was related to the furniture material and the temperature of testing. The levels of pollution caused by benzene,toluene and xylene were relatively low.[Conclusion]The indoor air pollution of residences is serious after decoration,and the relevant measures,such as adopting solid wood furniture,are helpful to reduce pollution.
3: INHIBITION OF THE RECEPTOR FOR ADVANCED GLYCATION END PRODUCTS RESTORES CHOLESTEROL EFFLUX IN THP-1 HUMAN MACROPHAGES EXPOSED TO PLASMA FROM TYPE 1 DIABETES MELLITUS PATIENTS

Purpose of Study Advanced glycation end products (AGE), proteins formed by nonenzymatic glycation, are prevalent in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. We have demonstrated that plasma from patients with type 1 DM (T1DM) decreases expression of cholesterol efflux proteins in cultured THP-1 macrophages compared to healthy control (HC) plasma. Here we explore a mechanism that restores cholesterol efflux in T1DM plasma through blockade of the receptor for AGE (RAGE). Methods Used Carboxy-methyl-lysine-modified proteins (CML-MP), the most prevalent AGE in vivo , were measured in the plasma of 20 pediatric T1DM patients and 20 sex and age-matched HC by ELISA. THP-1 macrophages (10 6 /ml) were incubated for 18 h in RPMI media in the presence of 10% plasma from each enrolled patient in triplicate±anti-RAGE antibody. Cholesterol efflux proteins: ATP binding cassette transporter (ABC)A1 and 27-hydroxylase were quantified by real-time RT-PCR using specific primers for each gene. Summary of Results The level of CML-MP was significantly elevated in T1DM plasma (1.65±1.3 ng/ml) versus HC plasma (1.05±0.4 ng/ml) (P Conclusions We demonstrate that elevated AGE in plasma of T1DM patients inhibits cholesterol efflux and suppresses intracellular cholesterol processing via 27-hydroxylase and ABCA1 in naive macrophages. RAGE inactivation restores mRNA level of the ABCA1 transporter, but not the 27-hydroxylase enzyme. These findings impart new targets for prevention of cardiovascular disease in DM and suggest that factors other than AGE may impact cholesterol transport.
Sleep Apnea and Cancer: Analysis of a Nationwide Population Sample.

Study objectives Epidemiological evidence from relatively small cohorts suggests that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with higher cancer incidence and mortality. Here we aimed to determine whether cancer incidence for major cancer types and risk of metastases or mortality from cancer are increased in the presence of OSA. Methods All OSA diagnoses included in an employee-sponsored health insurance database spanning the years 2003-2012 were identified and 1:1 matched demographically based on age, gender, and state of residence, or alternatively matched by comorbidities. The incidence of 12 types of cancer was assessed. In addition, another cohort of patients with a primary diagnosis of cancer was retrieved, and the risk of metastatic disease or cancer mortality was determined as a function of the presence or absence of OSA. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were fitted to assess the independent associations between OSA and outcomes of interest. Results Based on a cohort of ∼5.6 million individuals, the incidence of all cancer diagnoses combined was similar in OSA and retrospectively matched cases. However, the adjusted risk of pancreatic and kidney cancer and melanoma were significantly higher in patients with OSA, while the risk of colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers appeared to be lower. Among individuals with a diagnosis of cancer, the presence of OSA was not associated with an increased risk for metastasis or death. Conclusions In a large nationally representative health insurance database, OSA appears to increase the risk for only a very selective number of cancer types, and does not appear to be associated with an increased risk of metastatic cancer or cancer-related deaths.
Chylothorax as a Complication of Radical Nephrectomy

AbstractWe report a case of chylo-retroperitoneum and chylothorax following an uneventful left radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma, and propose the mechanism of an infradiaphragmatic lymphatic injury with fistulous connection into the chest. Treatment with oral medium chain triglycerides was unsuccessful. Subsequently, total parenteral nutrition in conjunction with chest drainage, retroperitoneal drainage and sclerotherapy successfully treated the chylothorax. To our knowledge chylothorax following radical nephrectomy has not been reported previously in the literature.
Generation and manipulation of hydrogel microcapsules by droplet-based microfluidics for mammalian cell culture

Hydrogel microcapsules provide miniaturized and biocompatible niches for three-dimensional (3D) in vitro cell culture. They can be easily generated by droplet-based microfluidics with tunable size, morphology, and biochemical properties. Therefore, microfluidic generation and manipulation of cell-laden microcapsules can be used for 3D cell culture to mimic the in vivo environment towards applications in tissue engineering and high throughput drug screening. In this review of recent advances mainly since 2010, we will first introduce general characteristics of droplet-based microfluidic devices for cell encapsulation with an emphasis on the fluid dynamics of droplet breakup and internal mixing as they directly influence microcapsule's size and structure. We will then discuss two on-chip manipulation strategies: sorting and extraction from oil into aqueous phase, which can be integrated into droplet-based microfluidics and significantly improve the qualities of cell-laden hydrogel microcapsules. Finally, we will review various applications of hydrogel microencapsulation for 3D in vitro culture on cell growth and proliferation, stem cell differentiation, tissue development, and co-culture of different types of cells.
An interferometer for atoms.

We have demonstrated an interferometer for atoms. A three-grating geometry is used, in which the interfering beams are distinctly separated in both position and momentum. We used a highly collimated beam of sodium atoms with a de Broglie wavelength of 16 pm and high-quality 0.4-\ensuremath{\mu}m-period free-standing gratings which we fabricated using a novel method. The interference signal is 70 counts/s, which allows us to determine the phase to 0.1 rad in 1 min. Applications of atom interferometers are briefly discussed.
Even on a Large Scale, Weight May Not Matter

With the advent of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program in 2009,1 and the financial penalties bestowed on institutions for not meeting expected metrics by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2012,2 much attention has been dedicated toward readmission reduction. This is particularly true in the heart failure population, which accounts for >1 million hospital visits and $31 billion per year in healthcare expenditures, mostly driven by hospital costs.3 Recurrent congestion is the major driving force returning the patient with heart failure through the hospital revolving doors, and a quarter of hospitalized patients with heart failure will be readmitted within 30 days.4 Thus, countless strategies have been devoted to improving transitions of care and monitoring of this patient population after they leave the hospital. However, such personalized care can be inconvenient for patients and resource and time intensive for healthcare providers. Therefore, there has recently been a flurry of technologically driven telemonitoring attempts, most of which have disappointingly failed to improve outcomes.5,6 See Article by Al-Chekakie et al In this issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes , Al-Chekakie et al7 describe the use of supplemented remote patient monitoring (RPM+; n=4106) compared with standard RPM (n=14 183) via …
Sex Changing Organisms and Reproductive Behavior

Sex change occurs as a natural phenomenon in a wide variety of animals. If the expected number of offspring produced differs between the sexes in size or age, an individual can profit by changing sex as it grows. Polygynous mating systems can convey high fitness to large males, and this in turn leads to selection for female-to-male sex change. Other mating systems (such as monogamy) can convey a size advantage to females, leading to selection for male-to-female sex change. Sex change is often socially controlled and can even lead to repeated sex changes in a single individual.
Evolutionary Rates in Proteins: Neutral Mutations and the Molecular Clock

There is an interesting relationship between neutral mutations and the molecular clock. The theory of neutral mutations requires that the rate of fixation of a mutation be equal to the neutral mutation rate. Thus the fixation of neutral mutations should be clocklike, with each “tick” of the clock representing another fixation. Naturally the clock will not be metronomic but, like a radioactive clock, stochastic, with fixation events in the unit time interval showing a Poisson distribution. Although a test of the clock hypothesis is a test of the neutral hypothesis, the existence of a clock does not depend on the correctness of the neutral hypothesis (see also Sarich and Cronin, this volume). This has resulted in past confusion. In a similar fashion, the covarion (concomitantly variable codons) concept (Fitch and Markowitz, 1970) is also independent of the correctness of the neutral hypothesis. We shall consider in turn a statistical model to test evolutionary rates, the results of that test, a comparison of our estimated rates with those from other sources, and some problems in testing evolutionary clocks.
Synaptobrevin binding to synaptophysin: a potential mechanism for controlling the exocytotic fusion machine.

Abstract The synaptic vesicle protein synaptobrevin (VAMP) has recently been implicated as one of the key proteins involved in exocytotic membrane fusion. It interacts with the synaptic membrane proteins syntaxin I and synaptosome-associated protein (SNAP)-25 to form a complex which precedes exocytosis [Sollner et al. (1993b) Cell, 75, 409-418]. Here we demonstrate that the majority of synaptobrevin is bound to the vesicle protein synaptophysin in detergent extracts. No syntaxin I was found in this complex when synaptophysin-specific antibodies were used for immunoprecipitation. Conversely, no synaptophysin was associated with the synaptobrevin-syntaxin I complex when syntaxin-specific antibodies were used for immunoprecipitation. Thus, the synaptobrevin pool bound to synaptophysin is not available for binding to syntaxin I and SNAP-25, and vice versa. Synaptobrevin-synaptophysin binding was also demonstrated by chemical cross-linking in isolated nerve terminals. Furthermore, recombinant synaptobrevin II efficiently bound synaptophysin and its isoform synaptoporin, but not the more distantly related synaptic vesicle protein p29. Recombinant synaptobrevin I bound with similar efficiency, whereas the non-neuronal isoform cellubrevin displayed a lower affinity towards synaptophysin. Treatment with high NaCl concentrations resulted in a dissociation of the synaptobrevin-synaptophysin complex. In addition, the interaction of synaptobrevin with synaptophysin was irreversibly abolished by low amounts of SDS, while the interaction with syntaxin I was enhanced. We conclude that synaptophysin selectively interacts with synaptobrevin in a complex which excludes the t-SNAP receptors syntaxin I and SNAP-25, suggesting a role for synaptophysin in the control of exocytosis.
Genetic Crosses and Linkage Mapping in Schistosome Parasites

Linkage mapping – utilizing experimental genetic crosses to examine cosegregation of phenotypic traits with genetic markers – is now 100 years old. Schistosome parasites are exquisitely well suited to linkage mapping approaches because genetic crosses can be conducted in the laboratory, thousands of progeny are produced, and elegant experimental work over the last 75 years has revealed heritable genetic variation in multiple biomedically important traits such as drug resistance, host specificity, and virulence. Application of this approach is timely because the improved genome assembly for Schistosoma mansoni and developing molecular toolkit for schistosomes increase our ability to link phenotype with genotype. We describe current progress and potential future directions of linkage mapping in schistosomes.
Progesterone turnover to its 5α-reduced metabolites in the ventral tegmental area of the midbrain is essential for initiating social and affective behavior and progesterone metabolism in female rats

Background: Among women and female rodents, progesterone (P) influences social affiliation and affect. These effects may be partly due to formation of its 5α-reduced, 3α-hydroxylated metabolite, 5α-pregnan-3α-ol-20-one (3α,5α-THP). Aim: To elucidate whether actions of 3α,5α-THP in the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA) are both necessary and sufficient to enhance non-sexual and sexual social behaviors, affect, and central 3α,5α-THP metabolism. Materials and methods: P and 3α,5α-THP formation were unperturbed or blocked in VTA via infusions of vehicle, PK11195 (400 ng), and/or indomethacin (10 µg). Rats then received subsequent infusions of vehicle or 3α,5α-THP (100 ng) and were assessed in a battery of tasks that included open field (exploration), elevated plus maze (anxiety behavior), social interaction (social affiliation), and paced mating (sexual behavior) or were not tested. Metabolic turnover of P to its 5α-reduced metabolites was assessed in plasma, midbrain, hippocampus, frontal cortex, diencephalon, and remaining subcortical tissues (control interbrain). Results: Infusions of any combination of inhibitors significantly reduced social and affective behavior in all tasks compared to vehicle, concomitant with reduced turnover of P to its 5α-reduced metabolites, in midbrain only. Subsequent infusions of 3α,5α-THP significantly reinstated/enhanced anti-anxiety behavior, lordosis, and P turnover to its 5α-reduced metabolites in midbrain, as well as hippocampus, cortex, and diencephalon (but not plasma or interbrain). Conclusions: These data are the first to provide direct evidence that actions of 3α,5α-THP in the VTA are both necessary and sufficient for social and affective behavior, as well as initiation of central 5α-reduction.
NeuroMesh: IoT Security Enabled by a Blockchain Powered Botnet Vaccine

Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices are ubiquitous and growing rapidly in number. However, IoT manufacturers have focused on the functionality and features of the devices and made security an afterthought. Since IoT devices have small memory capacities and low-power processors, many security firms have not been able to develop anti-malware software for these devices. Current IoT security solutions are heavy and unreliable. We have developed a lightweight IoT security solution that uses hacker tools against the hackers -- in essence, a vaccine for IoT. Our software provides managed security and intelligence to IoT devices using a "friendly" botnet operated through a proven, existing communication infrastructure for distributed systems -- the Bitcoin blockchain.
Pancreatic Fistula and Delayed Gastric Emptying Are the Highest-Impact Complications After Whipple

Abstract Background Patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy are at risk for a variety of adverse postoperative events, including generic complications such as surgical site infection (SSI) and procedure-specific complications such as postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) and delayed gastric emptying (DGE). Knowing which complications have the greatest effect on these patients can help to maximize the value of quality improvement resources. This study aims to quantify the effect of specific postoperative complications on clinical outcomes and resource utilization after pancreaticoduodenectomy. Materials and methods Patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy between January 2014 and December 2016, who were included in the pancreatectomy-targeted American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, were assessed for the development of specific postoperative complications, along with the contributions of these complications toward subsequent clinical outcome and resource utilization. The main outcomes were 30-d end-organ dysfunction, mortality, prolonged hospitalization, nonrounding discharge status, and hospital readmission. Risk-adjusted population attributable fractions were estimated for each complication-outcome pair, with the population attributable fraction representing the anticipated percentage reduction in the outcome where the complication was able to be completely prevented. Results About 10,922 patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy were included for analysis. The most common postoperative complications were DGE (17.3%), POPF (10.1%), incisional SSI (10.0%), and organ/space SSI (6.2%). POPF and DGE were the only complications that demonstrated sizable effects for all clinical and resource utilization outcomes studied. Other complications had sizable effects for only a few of the outcomes or had small effects for all the outcomes. Conclusions Quality initiatives seeking to minimize the burden imposed by postpancreaticoduodenectomy morbidity should focus on POPF and DGE rather than generic complications.
Gestational Restless Legs Syndrome

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sleep-related movement disorder. Pregnancy can potentiate RLS as well as worsen RLS in patients who have experienced it before. The diagnosis is primarily clinical and treatment of RLS in the pregnant patient needs to be tailored towards the risks and safety profile in the partum and breastfeeding period.