cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Type 2 diabetes mellitus—current therapies and the emergence of surgical options

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are usually treated with pharmacologic agents in combination with lifestyle modification. The development of new antidiabetic agents, such as insulin analogs and incretin-based therapies, has led to treatment strategies that enable many patients with T2DM to achieve target HbA(1c) levels (≤7.0%). However, many factors-including those related to the patient or the health-care provider, drug inadequacies and adverse effects-can interfere with the ability of some patients to reach metabolic targets. Clinical data from the USA indicate that HbA(1c) concentration, blood pressure and serum levels of lipids in patients with T2DM are progressively decreasing toward the target goals set by the American Diabetes Association. These improvements in metabolic regulation have led to a 30-40% decrease in reported microvascular and macrovascular complications of diabetes mellitus in the USA. Gastric bypass surgery in morbidly obese individuals with T2DM leads to remission of the diabetes mellitus in the majority of patients and improvement in the rest. A major contributor to this improvement is an alteration in gastrointestinal hormone secretions. Interventional surgery might, therefore, be considered a reasonable therapeutic alternative for overweight and obese (BMI <35 kg/m²) patients with T2DM who do not respond to medical therapy.
A Model of Tidal Rectification by Potential Vorticity Mixing. Part II: Frontal Regime*

Abstract A model of tidal rectification in a homogeneous ocean (Part I) is extended here to include a front that separates shelf and slope waters. The front is approximated as a density discontinuity, the stratification and anchoring position of which are given, but which otherwise is coupled to the flow field. The dynamical closure is formulated through vorticity balance of the two layers and a parameterization of potential vorticity (PV) flux in terms of local tidal amplitude and the mean field. As an example of the frontal effect on the tidally rectified flow, a solution is calculated for the case of negligible interfacial stress and PV flux in the bottom boundary layer and compared with that of a homogeneous ocean. It is found that the mean along-isobath flow outside the frontal zone remains largely unchanged, but is qualitatively altered in the frontal zone. Specifically, the mean flow above the sloping front—being insulated from bottom friction—is greatly intensified by PV mixing, consistent with ob...
Modeling intra-subject correlation among repeated scans in positron emission tomography (PET) neuroimaging data.

Many in vivo positron emission tomography (PET) neuroimaging studies record correlates of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in a series of scans for each individual, usually under different experimental conditions. Typical methods for statistical analysis involve fitting voxel-specific general linear models (GLM) that assume spherical normal errors, implying that all voxel-specific rCBF measurements are independent and arise from identical normal probability distributions. While the spherical GLM provides a unified and computationally efficient approach to estimation, the likely correlations among an individual's repeated scans and heteroscedasticity between conditions prompt the use of extended statistical methodology. We outline a more general method to analyze PET data using random effects and correlated errors to model unequal variances across conditions as well as covariances (correlations) among the repeated scans for each individual. We introduce correlation maps to display intra-subject correlations between an individual's rCBF measurements from different scans. We illustrate the application of our model using data from a study of social anxiety and highlight analytical advantages over the spherical GLM.
Root responses of flood-tolerant and flood-sensitive tree species to soil redox conditions

Under controlled rhizotron conditions, roots of Taxodium distichum L., Quercus lyrata Walt, and Q. falcata var. pagodaefolia Ell. were subjected to low soil redox potentials. Root elongation was inhibited at low soil redox potentials. In T. distichum, redox potentials below +200 mV resulted in a significant inhibition of root elongation. In Q. falcata var. pagodaefolia and Q. lyrata, redox potentials below +350 mV resulted in complete cessation of root growth. Studies on root anatomy indicated that low soil redox potenials resulted in a changed cellular structure in the cortex of T. distichum. However, little change was noted in stress roots of oak species. Alcohol dehydrogenase activity in T. distichum roots was approximately doubled compared to control plants, indicating stimulated alcoholic fermentation. In T. distichum, alcoholic fermentation and anatomical changes contribute to flood tolerance but oak species lack these characteristics.
Optimizing Protective Measures with Respect to Multiple Hazards

In the past century, more than a thousand attacks targeted the transportation system or used it as a weapon. In the latter case, terrorists transformed the transportation system into a delivery system for vehicular bombs targeting structural assets. The most effective protection against this threat is the erection of barriers to create sufficient distance between the asset and the avenue of attack. However, these barriers often impede traffic flow and degrade evacuation and other emergency response times. Thus, although they reduce a network's risk from one type of event, the protective measures increase risk from other hazards. This paper examines the trade-offs between protective measures that limit vehicle access to structures and the benefits of a fully operational transportation system in evacuation scenarios. A framework containing a linear integer program is presented to select optimally a vector of active and passive security measures while ensuring emergency transportation connectivity and mobili...
Radiative-convective disequilibrium

Abstract Radiative-convective systems inevitably seek a statistical equilibrium, but there is no reason to believe that this equilibrium must be steady. The obvious temporal variability of convection in nature, on many time scales, is clearly linked, at least in part, to forcing by transient large-scale dynamical processes (e.g. easterly waves) and transient radiative processes (e.g., the diurnal and seasonal cycles). The possibility remains, however, that under some conditions radiation and convection can interact nonlinearly to produce spontaneous temporal fluctuations on “large scales”. Recent numerical simulations with both parameterized and model-resolved two-dimensional convection provides evidence that this can, indeed, happen. Radiative-convective oscillations on both short (days) and long (weeks) time scales have been reported. Highly idealized models have been devised to interpret the results. Work is under way to determine to what extent such “free” radiative-convective oscillations are relevant to the transient convective activity that we see in nature.
An efficient stereoselective preparation of cis-perfluoroalkenylzinc reagents [(E)-RFCFCFZnCl] by the metallation of 1H,1H-perfluoroalkanes and their derivatization to cis-1-arylperfluoroalkenes [(Z)-RFCFCFAr]

Abstract Various 1 H ,1 H -perfluoroalkanes (R F CF 2 CH 2 F, R F = CF 3 , C 2 F 5 , C 4 F 9 , C 5 F 11 , C 6 F 13 , C 10 F 21 ) were metallated using LDA in a THF solution of ZnCl 2 at RT or −78 °C to produce the corresponding perfluoroalkenylzinc reagents (R F CF CFZnCl) in a cis -selective fashion. An increased yield (75–83%) and cis -selectivity (>89%) of the perfluoroalkenylzinc reagents were observed for metallation reactions performed at −78 °C. The cis selectivity was excellent for 1 H ,1 H -perfluoroalkanes with larger R F groups (C 4 F 9 , C 5 F 11 , C 6 F 13 , >96%). The cis -perfluoroalkenylzinc [( E )-R F CF CFZnCl] reagents were coupled with aryl iodides to obtain cis -1-arylperfluoroalkenes [( Z )-R F CF CFAr] in 71–95% isolated yields. The cis -perfluoroalkenylzinc reagents upon iodinolysis produced cis -1-iodoperfluoroalkenes [( E )-R F CF CFI] in 68–70% isolated yield.
Intensity and polarization of dust aerosols over polarized anisotropic surfaces

The effect of surface polarization on the intensity and linear polarization patterns of sunlight in an atmosphere containing a dust aerosol layer is investigated by means of the adding principle for vector radiative transfer in which the surface is treated as a layer without transmission. We present a number of computational results and analysis for three cases: Lambertian (unpolarized isotropic), polarized isotropic, and polarized anisotropic surfaces. An approach has been developed to reconstruct anisotropic 2 � 2 phase matrix elements on the basis of bidirectional-reflectance and linear-polarization patterns that have been measured from polarimeters over various land surfaces. The effect of surface polarization on the simulated intensity patterns over a dust layer is shown to be negligible. However, the differences in the simulated linear polarization patterns between commonly assumed Lambertian and polarized anisotropic cases are substantial for dust optical depths between 0.1 and 0.5 and for surface albedos of 0.07 and 0.4, particularly in backward directions.
Thrombospondin-2 gene silencing in human aortic smooth muscle cells improves cell attachment

Background Despite decades of research, anastomotic intimal hyperplasia remains a major cause of delayed prosthetic arterial graft failure. Previously, we reported profound upregulation of thrombospondin-2 (TSP-2) mRNA in neointimal smooth muscle cells after prosthetic arterial bypass graft placement. TSP-2 is an antiangiogenic matricellular protein with specific functions yet unknown. In this study, we hypothesized that inhibition of TSP-2 in human aortic smooth muscle cells (HAoSMCs) would reduce cell proliferation and migration in vitro, providing a therapeutic target to mitigate intimal hyperplasia. Study Design HAoSMCs were transfected with TSP-2 small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) using a commercial transfection reagent. Gene silencing was evaluated using semiquantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. ELISA was used to measure TSP-2 protein levels in cell culture supernatants. Cell migration and proliferation were assessed using scratch wound assays and alamar blue assays, respectively. Attachment assays were performed to assess the effect of TSP-2 silencing on HAoSMC adhesion to fibronectin. Results TSP-2 siRNA achieved consistent target gene silencing at 48 hours post-transfection in HAoSMCs. This single transfection allowed suppression of TSP-2 protein expression for more than 30 days. TSP-2 gene silencing did not affect HAoSMC migration or proliferation. MMP-2 levels were also unaffected by changes in TSP-2 protein levels. However, HAoSMC attachment to fibronectin improved significantly in cells treated with TSP-2 siRNA. Conclusions siRNA-mediated TSP-2 silencing of human aortic HAoSMCs improved cell attachment but had no effect on cell migration or proliferation. The effect on cell attachment was unrelated to changes in MMP activity.
The Discoidin I Gene Family of Dictyostelium Discoideum Is Linked to Genes Regulating Its Expression

The discoidin I protein has been studied extensively as a marker of early development in the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. However, like most other developmentally regulated proteins in this system, no reliable information was available on the linkage of the discoidin genes to other known genes. Analysis of the linkage of the discoidin I genes by use of restriction fragment length polymorphisms revealed that all three discoidin I genes as well as a pseudogene are located on linkage group II. This evidence is consistent with the discoidin I genes forming a gene cluster that may be under the control of a single regulatory element. The discoidin I genes are linked to three genetic loci (disA, motA, daxA) that affect the expression of the discoidin I protein. Linkage of the gene family members to regulatory loci may be important in the coordinate maintenance of the gene family and regulatory loci. A duplication affecting the entire discoidin gene family is also linked to group II; this appears to be a small tandem duplication. This duplication was mapped using a DNA polymorphism generated by insertion of the Tdd-3 mobile genetic element into a Tdd-2 element flanking the gamma gene. A probe for Tdd-2 identified a restriction fragment length polymorphism in strain AX3K that was consistent with generation by a previously proposed Tdd-3 insertion event. A putative duplication or rearrangement of a second Tdd-2 element on linkage group IV of strain AX3K was also identified. This is the first linkage information available for mobile genetic elements in D. discoideum.
INVESTIGATING IMPACTS OF LAND-USE LAND COVER CHANGE ON WETLANDS IN THE MUSKEGON RIVER WATERSHED, MICHIGAN, USA

Estimates indicate that nearly half of the world’s wetlands have been destroyed or altered as a result of human activities. However, studies investigating the impacts of land-use land cover change on wetlands have shown varied results. Furthermore, when assessing wetlands at the site level, landscapescale wetland health conditions can go largely unnoticed. The objective of this paper was to investigate wetland quality changes resulting from land-use land cover alterations at a watershed scale. Landscapepattern metrics were generated to examine changes in wetlands characteristics between 1978 and 2000 in the Muskegon River Watershed, Michigan, USA. Metrics quantifying composition, configuration, and fractal indication were generated and correlated with land-use land cover patterns and alterations. Results show ranging wetland stress with the mid-river portion of the watershed undergoing the highest fragmentation indicated by wetland patch dynamics. Landscape Shape Index, Fractal Dimension Index, and Interspersion and Juxtaposition Index metrics reflect similar spatial trends of decreasing wetlands quality. Agriculture and urban land-use composition had weak to moderate strength correlations with the Interspersion and Juxtaposition Index, respectively. The method was useful for identifying the spatial variability of wetland changes across watersheds and possible regions to focus management and monitoring efforts.
Making Pipes and Social Persons at the Keffer Site: A Life History Approach

Among the ancestral Wendat peoples of southern Ontario, clay smoking pipes were one of the most common items of durable material culture. The well-documented role of pipes and pipe smoking in Native American ceremonies of healing and diplomacy can best be understood against this backdrop of more mundane, but pervasive, smoking practices. Since 2012, the Wendat Pipes Project (WPP) has involved a wide-ranging analysis of a collection of Iroquoian smoking pipes from the fifteenth-century Keffer site in south-central Ontario. The project seeks to understand all stages in the life history of fired clay smoking pipes at the site, from production through use, exchange, recycling, breakage, and discard. Results indicate that pipe smoking at Keffer was a multidimensional practice that could be improvised to suit a wide array of social contexts by different actors. Smoking pipes, I suggest, became crucial media for personal identity construction through the interweaving of personal experiences, embodied habits, and pipe life histories. The intimate entanglement of pipes and personhood arguably lay behind their involvement in rituals of social exchange.
Radiosynthesis of F18 fluoroethyl glycine, a potential new PET imaging tracer for glycine transporter-1

1560 Objectives Glycine is the simplest amino acid, and it is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the caudal region. The synaptic glycine concentration is mainly regulated by the glycine transporter GlyT-1. The clinical studies have demonstrated that N-methyl glycine (Sarcosine, a GlyT-1 substrate and an endogenous antagonist) has therapy effect on schizophrenia. GlyT-1 is a new target for the pharmacotherapy to improve NMDA function in memory disorders and schizophrenia, which makes the GlyT-1 a valuable molecular imaging target. N-ethyl glycine was identified as an alternative GlyT1 substrate (EC50 = 55 μM). In this study, we synthesized N-[F18]fluoroethyl glycine, an analogue of N-ethyl glycine, to image the GlyT-1. Methods tert-butyl 2-(tert-butoxycarbonyl(2-(tosyloxy)ethyl)amino)acetate. The precursor is synthesized by the tosylation of tert-butyl 2-(tert-butoxycarbonyl(2-hydroxyethyl)amino)acetate, which is synthesized by the reaction of tert-butyl 2-aminoacetate and 2-iodoethanol, followed by amine Boc protection. The standard compound N-fluoroethyl glycine is synthesized with a similar method from radiosynthesis using the above precursor, with fluorination in acetonitrile solvent, followed by de-protection with 4M HCl at 100 degree. The product is purified with silica cartridge and QC is done by HPLC. Initial microPET imaging study is conducted on mice. Results the precursor is successfully synthesized in good yield (45% from the starting material tert-butyl 2-aminoacetate), confirmed with H-1 and C-13 NMR and MS. The radiolabeling yield of 5% - 8% gives enough doses for imaging, with high radiochemical purity. The initial microPET imaging study in mice showed that the main uptake is in kidney. The radioactivity ratios in the brain to blood, liver and muscle at 120 min are 2.5, 1.6, and 2.9 respectively. Conclusions F-18 N-fluoroethyl glycine has been successfully synthesized in high radiochemical purity and good yield. Further preclinical imaging experiments are needed to evaluate GlyT-1 imaging with F-18 N-fluoroethyl glycine
Better mousetraps

As a technologist, working in the field of storage systems, and employed by a company that develops and sells a wide range of computer systems and components, I've learned that the biggest impediments to technology transfer---including better OS support for specific applications---are not technical, but economic. This paper summarizes some of these issues, and considers how best we might respond to them.
Available data support protection of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher under the Endangered Species Act

ABSTRACT Zink (2015) argued there was no evidence for genetic, morphological, or ecological differentiation between the federally endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) and other Willow Flycatcher subspecies. Using the same data, we show there is a step-cline in both the frequency of a mtDNA haplotype and in plumage variation roughly concordant with the currently recognized boundary between E. t. extimus and E. t adastus, the subspecies with which it shares the longest common boundary. The geographical pattern of plumage variation is also concordant with previous song analyses differentiating those 2 subspecies and identified birds in one low-latitude, high-elevation site in Arizona as the northern subspecies. We also demonstrate that the ecological niche modeling approach used by Zink yields the same result whether applied to the 2 flycatcher subspecies or to 2 unrelated species, E. t. extimus and Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia). As a result, any interpretation of thos...
Atherosclerotic plaques are more prevalent in infradiaphragmatic aorta than thoracic aorta as revealed by FDG-PET/CT

1835 Objectives To demonstrate that inflammatory atherosclerotic plaques are more prevalent in the sub-diaphragmatic than in supra-diaphragmatic regions of aorta as visualized by FDG-PET. Methods Ten of 32 patients, who underwent PET/CT imaging for lung cancer, were selected for this analysis. Each patient underwent multiple-time-point PET/CT imaging at one, two, and three hours following the administration of FDG. Atherosclerotic plaque FDG-uptake, quantified as weighted average SUVmean (aSUVmean), was determined by placing ROIs around the arterial wall from the cardiac origin of the aorta down to the level of the aortic bifurcation. To calculate the aortic wall FDG uptake, we subtracted the aSUVmean of mean venous blood pool from the aorta activity (Δ SUVmean). The Δ aSUVmean of the supra- and infradiaphragmatic aorta was calculated and compared. Results Preliminary data of 10 patients with a mean age of 63 ± 10 showed that Δ SUVmean was higher in infradiaphragmatic aorta compared to the supradiaphragmatic aorta in all three time-point, but was significant only in three hour time point images (Δ SUVmean = 0.52, 0.72 in supra- and infradiaphragmatic aorta, respectively) (P Conclusions The preliminary data show increased FDG uptake in the infradiaphragmatic aorta compared to the supradiaphragmatic aorta. This effect appears to read statistical significance after three hours after administration of FDG. Delayed FDG uptake in atherosclerotic plaques and declining levels of FDG in the blood likely account for this important observation. These data support the benefit of delayed-time-point imaging in assessing atherosclerosis in any setting
Atomic Layer Epitaxy of GaAs on Ge Substrates

We report on the low temperature growth of GaAs on Ge substrates using Atomic Layer Epitaxy. Low temperature deposition has resulted in substantial reduction of the outdiffusion of Ge into the GaAs epilayer as being indicated from SIMS. The I-V characteristics of the GaAs/Ge heterojunction were thyristor like or near abrupt depending on the growth temperature. We also report on the use of the Atomic Layer Epitaxy self-limiting adsorption process of TMGa to control the diffusion of Ga into Ge substrates at the monolayer level.
Antifeedants from Rayless Goldenrod and Oil of Pennyroyal: Toxic Effects for the Fall Armyworm

The volatile oils and methanol-water partition fractions from rayless goldenrod, Isocoma wrightii (Gray) Rbd., at concentrations of 20,000 and 50,000 ppm, respectively, inhibited the feeding of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), almost completely, while, oil of pennyroyal, Mentha pulegium (Linn.), inhibited feeding completely at 5000 ppm. When these goldenrod fractions were incorporated in the insects’ rearing diet at 1000 ppm concentration, the following toxic effects were noted: decrease in the weight of the larvae and number surviving on the 12th day; decrease in the number of normal adult moths emerging; and increase in the total days of the life cycle. At this concentration with the oil of pennroyal all of the larvae died within 24 h when placed on the medium.
Learning How to Be a Research-Minded Teacher Four Instrumental Music Education Students Investigate Good Music Teaching Through Case Study Methodology

Increasing evidence, both in general education and music education, points to the significance of inquiry as a part of teacher preparation. The purpose of this case study was to investigate the way...
Sodium Ion Kinetic Measurements by Coherent Microwave Scattering

This paper demonstrates non-intrusive measurements of sodium argon ion cluster recombinations with electrons, based on coherent microwave scattering (Radar) from REMPI (Resonance Enhanced Multi-Photon Ionization). The sodium number density in the sodium argon mixture was determined by the direct absorption measurement. A tunable laser beam resonantly ionizes the sodium atoms by 2+1 REMPI process in the mixture of sodium and argon at various pressures of 1 Torr to atmospheric pressure and temperatures of 300K to ~800K. Since the plasma is mainly made of sodium ions in the mixture, the sodium argon ion clusters are thus formed by the Chaperone process. The sodium argon ion cluster recombinations with electrons are inferred from the direct measurement of the total
Radiation effects on the electrode and electrolyte of a lithium-ion battery

Abstract The performance degradation and durability of a Li-ion battery is a major concern when it is operated under radiation conditions, for instance, in deep space exploration, in high radiation field, or rescuing or sampling equipment in a post-nuclear accident scenario. This paper examines the radiation effects on the electrode and electrolyte materials separately and their effects on a battery's capacity loss and resistance increase. A 60 Co irradiator (34.3 krad/h) was used to provide 0.8, 4.1, and 9.8 Mrad dose to LiFePO 4 electrodes and 0.8, 1.6, and 5.7 Mrad to 1 M LiPF 6 in 1:1 wt% EC:DMC electrolytes. This study shows that the coin cells assembled with irradiated components have higher failure rate (ca. 70%) than that of control group (ca. 14%). A significant battery capacity fade post irradiation was observed. The electrolyte also shows a darkened color a few weeks or months after irradiation. The discovery of this latent effect may be significant because a battery may degrade significantly even showing no sign of degradation immediately after exposure. We investigated electrolyte composition by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy prior and post irradiation. Polymerization reactions and HF formation are considered as the cause of the discoloration.
Analysis on the reference end temperature compensation in the thermocouple verification

In the process of thermocouple verification,the instability of reference end temperature caused the measurement data inaccuracy,so the verification results can't be confirming.The paper puts forward using the methods of compensation conductor and reference end temperature compensator to eliminate the measuring errors,solves the problems of standard thermocouple verification device can't verify the industrial thermocouple.
Improving students' abilities in middle school with demonstrative experiments

Based on not only the middle school students' psychological characteristics and the peculiarities of physics,but also the System Theory,the Cybernatics and the Information Theory,the author elucidated the effect of demonstrative experiments to the students' observation abilities, thinking abilities and rememberance abilities combining with her teaching practices in this article.
When is enough enough? Secondary surgery for cleft lip and palate patients.

Secondary cleft surgery differs from the primary surgery in two important respects: (1) the patient can participate in the choices of whether and how to proceed and (2) there is no universal consensus among professionals and lay persons alike that intervention is necessary. This article condenses a personal experience with secondary cleft surgery and attempts to answer “when is enough enough?”
Interactive effects of sodium zeolite-A and copper in growing swine: growth, and bone and tissue mineral concentrations.

An experiment was conducted with 64 crossbred pigs to determine the effect of 0 or .50% dietary sodium zeolite-A (NZA) in combination with 0 or 250 ppm supplemental Cu (as CuSO4.5H2O). Pigs were assigned randomly to one of the following four treatments: 1) corn-soybean meal basal (B), 2) B + .50% NZA, 3) B + 250 ppm Cu, or 4) B + .50% NZA + 250 ppm Cu. Each treatment was replicated four times with four pigs per replicate. Average initial weight was 7.5 kg and the experimental period lasted 144 d. Overall rate and efficiency of gain, incidence of gastric ulcers, dressing percentage, carcass weight, percentage of muscling, 10th rib fat, loin eye area, blood urea N, and bone Ca, P, Mn, Fe, Ni, Na, and Al concentrations were not affected by treatment. The addition of 250 ppm Cu increased liver (P less than .01), serum (P less than .06), and bone (P less than .07) Cu concentrations but decreased mean backfat thickness (P less than .09), bone ash percentage (P less than .03) and serum (P less than .09) and bone (P less than .01) Zn concentrations. Sodium zeolite-A increased serum alkaline phosphatase (P less than .04), carcass length (P less than .06), and liver (P less than .02) and bone (P less than .01) Zn content but decreased (P less than .04) serum Ca and serum inorganic P concentrations. Sodium zeolite-A did not protect against liver Cu accumulation or gastric ulceration in growing swine fed 250 ppm supplemental Cu.
Between Orality and Literacy: Plato’s Hybrid Medium and the Foundations of Media Theory

The group known as the Toronto School of Communication—primarily Harold Innis, Eric Havelock, Marshall McLuhan, and Walter J. Ong—charted the development of ancient Greek culture as a passage from formulaic Homeric orality to linear Platonic literacy. Their account relied on the work of Milman Parry and Albert Lord, which compared formulaic aspects of oral poetry in contemporaneous Yugoslavia with the compositional patterns recorded by the ancients. Havelock and Ong argued that Plato’s dialogues mark the division between orality and literacy in ancient Greek culture; and according to McLuhan, Plato “straddled the old Homeric world” and a “new, rational civilized world,” serving as the paradigm for examining changes in thought, language, and culture that came with innovations in media in subsequent eras. In the decades since, however, scholars have uncovered telltale formulaic patterns in Plato, and there have been new findings concerning connections between Greek and Near Eastern literatures and cultures. The combined weight of this evidence indicates that the empirical and theoretical foundations laid by the Toronto theorists needs reassessing. On this basis, this chapter suggests a more nuanced view of media changes as encompassing cultural borrowing, continuities, and smaller fractures in the tradition, and it points to new ways of understanding this moment in the rich interaction between the oral and the textual.
Conclusion: Extending the Narrative Account

To conclude my argument, I return to what I have referred to as the Bridesburg statement: ‘white people are responsible for the hate crimes against Ward.’ I have suggested that in the context of the philosophical debate on group responsibility, such a statement can be interpreted in any of three ways. Now we are capable of labeling the possible interpretations. First, just as some Bridesburg residents have done, we could say that a few specific ‘white’ individuals are responsible (the narrow shared view a la individualists). Second, we could say that the entire group is responsible, implying either that the group itself is a moral agent (French’s strong collective responsibility) or that each and every member of the group is equally responsible (Arendt’s broad shared responsibility). A third, different interpretation would be that many ‘white’ people are responsible to varying degrees but that some are exempt from responsibility (May’s and McGary’s broad shared view; mine, too). I have been arguing that in the Ward case the best interpretation is this third option, so long as we begin the statement with the word ‘many.’ Thus, the ultimate thesis of this book is that it can be reasonable to say ‘many white people are responsible for white-on-black hate crime.’
Domesticating the Global

ABSTRACTIn Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, vernacular commercial signage—often hand painted by local sign writers—has evolved in conversation with sweeping economic privatization and liberalization initiatives enacted since the 1990s. Many of Lusaka's sign writers employ tactics that visually link their work to globally dominant design practices as they simultaneously imbue global brand imagery with Zambian specificity. Hinging upon visual and historical analysis of locally made commercial signs, in conversation with the macro- and micro-processes of globalization, this article examines these tactics of improvisation and appropriation to investigate how they both reflect and shape contemporary Zambian narratives of locality and cosmopolitanism. By harnessing powerful brand imagery for individual and community interests as well as public and private institutions, Lusaka's sign writers have repositioned seemingly marginal vernacular practices at the center of everyday cultural production in the globalized ec...
Betalain-rich concentrate supplementation improves exercise performance and recovery in competitive triathletes.

We aimed to determine the effects of a betalain-rich concentrate (BRC) of beetroots, containing no sugars or nitrates, on exercise performance and recovery. Twenty-two (9 men and 13 women) triathletes (age, 38 ± 11 years) completed 2 double-blind, crossover, randomized trials (BRC and placebo) starting 7 days apart. Each trial was preceded by 6 days of supplementation with 100 mg·day−1 of BRC or placebo. On the 7th day of supplementation, exercise trials commenced 120 min after ingestion of 50 mg BRC or placebo and consisted of 40 min of cycling (75 ± 5% maximal oxygen consumption) followed by a 10-km running time trial (TT). Subjects returned 24 h later to complete a 5-km running TT to assess recovery. Ten-kilometer TT duration (49.5 ± 8.9 vs. 50.8 ± 10.3 min, p = 0.03) was faster with the BRC treatment. Despite running faster, average heart rate and ratings of perceived exertion were not different between treatments. Five-kilometer TT duration (23.2 ± 4.4 vs 23.9 ± 4.7 min, p = 0.003), 24 h after the 10...
An application of pattern recognition for social systems simulation

The use of the techniques developed for adaptive learning and pattern recognition have been applied to the social system discussed in, Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation - The Robbers' Cave Experiment by Sherif et al. This was an experiment in social psychology designed to trace over a period of time the formation and functioning of attitudes of one group toward another in an experimental situation. Two methods of simulation were attempted, the first a sequential learning system employing a matched filter machine; the second a parallel self-adaptive machine bearing the acronym GELISIMA GEeralized LInear-element SImulation MAchine. The simulation models of the second kind provided accurate replication of the social system suitable for hypothesis generation, variable manipulation and control, internal structure variations and other parameter manipulation.
Impact of asynchronous transmissions in noncontiguous OFDMA

Multiple point-to-point (p2p) communication links that share noncontiguously available spectrum via noncontiguous orthogonal frequency division multiple access (NC-OFDMA) are considered in this paper. NC-OFDMA divides the spectrum into orthogonal subcarriers and assigns nonoverlapping subsets of these subcarriers to each of the links. Such a setup is motivated by the need for dynamic and opportunistic access of a large pool of spectrum that is fragmented due to the presence of incumbent transmissions. The transmissions of the p2p links are assumed to be asynchronous, i.e., the start and end of the NC-OFDM symbol is not time synchronized across the links. In such a setting, this paper studies the inter-carrier-interference (ICI) arising from the loss of orthogonality between the subcarriers due to (a) the asynchronous nature of the communications and (b) the frequency offset between the links. An analytical characterization of this ICI reveals that in the absence of transmit power control, the impact of this ICI can be severe enough to disable the concurrent transmissions of the other p2p links. Experimental results using a Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) platform validate our analysis and show that the negative effects of asynchronous transmission which are particularly significant at high SNR. To remedy this, a decentralized synchronization scheme is presented wherein beacons appended to the transmitted signal are used to enable timing coordination between two NC-OFDM links, thereby eliminating the ICI resulting from asynchronous transmission. Effectiveness of such a scheme is validated using experiments. In cases where such timing coordination cannot be enabled, our analysis is then used to provide guidelines on the choice of basic system parameters for the p2p links such as the number of contiguous subcarriers to be allocated to a link and length of guard band and range of operating SNRs to mitigate the effect of asynchronous NC-OFDM transmission.
Targeting the tumor-promoting microenvironment in MET-amplified NSCLC cells with a novel inhibitor of pro-HGF activation

// Benjamin Y. Owusu 1 , Shantasia Thomas 1 , Phanindra Venukadasula 1 , Zhenfu Han 2 , James W. Janetka 2 , Robert A. Galemmo Jr 1 and Lidija Klampfer 1 1 Department of Oncology Southern Research, Birmingham, AL, 35205 USA 2 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA Correspondence to: Lidija Klampfer, email: klampfer@southernresearch.org Keywords: HGF, MET, NSCLC Received: January 13, 2017 Accepted: May 03, 2017 Published: May 29, 2017 ABSTRACT Targeted therapeutic agents, such as inhibitors of epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR), have transformed the management of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. MET-amplified NSCLC cells display resistance to EGFR-targeting agents, but are addicted to MET signaling for survival and proliferation and are sensitive to MET inhibition. However, responsive cancer cells invariably develop resistance to MET-targeted treatment. The tumor microenvironment plays a major role in resistance to anticancer therapy. We demonstrated that fibroblasts block the response of MET-amplified NSCLC cells to the MET kinase inhibitor, JNJ38877605 in an HGF-dependent manner. Thus, MET-amplified NSCLC cells become addicted to HGF upon pharmacological inhibition of MET. HGF restored phosphorylation of MET, EGFR and RON, and maintained pro-survival AKT and ERK signaling in MET-inhibited cells. We developed a small molecule inhibitor of pro-HGF activation, SRI31215, which acts as a triplex inhibitor of the pro-HGF activating proteases matriptase, hepsin and HGF activator (HGFA). SRI31215 blocked crosstalk between tumor cells and fibroblasts and overcame fibroblast-mediated resistance to MET inhibition by preventing fibroblast-mediated reactivation of AKT and ERK signaling. Structurally unrelated triplex inhibitors of matriptase, hepsin and HGFA that we developed in parallel showed similar biological activity. Our data suggest that simultaneous inhibition of HGF and MET is required to overcome resistance to MET inhibitors in MET-amplified NSCLC cells. This provides a rationale for the development of novel combination therapeutic strategies for the treatment of NSCLC patients with MET amplification.
Cycling of Organic Matter

One of the useful ways of integrating concepts of energy flow and nutrient cycling in a terrestrial ecosystem is to focus on the cycling of organic matter. The chemical energy and nutrients sequestered in terrestrial plant biomass or within a forest soil are part of a larger ecosystem cycle of organic matter characterized by (i) multiple storage pools with different residence times and (ii) multiple component processes, including trophic transfers among consumer organisms, production of detritus or necromass from senescent or dead life forms, release of elements from organic matter via decomposition and mineralization processes, evolution of gaseous CO2 from respiration, and recycling of nutrients into new growth of organisms. This chapter examines how organic matter pools are distributed in the landscape, what processes control organic matter cycling, and how organic matter cycling is influenced by environmental and ecological conditions.
Thinking like politicians: What can crowdfunding projects learn from political campaigns?

Modern presidential campaigns were found to raise and spend money faster than any startup in the business world. In this paper, we examine the potential reasons for their financial success and thei...
Energy Metabolism and Diet: Effects on Healthspan

The study of energy metabolism has deep roots in understanding aging and lifespan in all species. In humans, total energy expenditure (EE) decreases substantially in advanced age resulting from parallel changes in resting metabolic rate and activity EE. These components are typically balanced by essential food intake that maintains body mass and cell integrity. However, aging results in an energy imbalance that reduces both energy intake and expenditure. Non-essential bioactive foods such as resveratrol and rapamycin might provide a remedy for such an imbalance through modulation of sub-cellular energy metabolism processes.
Variable Eddington Factor Method for the SN Equations with Lumped Discontinuous Galerkin Spatial Discretization Coupled to a Drift-Diffusion Acceleration Equation with Mixed Finite-Element Discretization

We apply the Variable Eddington Factor (VEF) acceleration method to the 1-D, one-group SN equations with a Lumped Linear Discontinuous Galerkin (LLDG) spatial discretization in conjunction with a d...
Response to comment on "Magnetosensitive neurons mediate geomagnetic orientation in Caenorhabditis elegans"

Many animals can orient using the earth's magnetic field. In a recent study, we performed three distinct behavioral assays providing evidence that the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans orients to earth-strength magnetic fields ( Vidal-Gadea et al., 2015 ). A new study by Landler et al. suggests that C. elegans does not orient to magnetic fields ( Landler et al., 2018 ). They also raise conceptual issues that cast doubt on our study. Here, we explain how they appear to have missed positive results in part by omitting controls and running assays longer than prescribed, so that worms switched their preferred migratory direction within single tests. We also highlight differences in experimental methods and interpretations that may explain our different results and conclusions. Together, these findings provide guidance on how to achieve robust magnetotaxis and reinforce our original finding that C. elegans is a suitable model system to study magnetoreception.
Cytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli and the hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Recently, a new class of diarrhea-associated Escherichia coli has been linked to the hemolytic uremic syndrome. The organisms included in this group produce cell-damaging toxins (cytotoxins) related to Shigatoxin made by S . dysenteriae 1. The most common pathogen in this group is E . coli 0157:H7.
Molecular studies in achondroplasia using Co12A1 probes.

Type II Collagen is the major collagen of mature cartilage and consists of a trimer of Co12A1 chains. We have been using Co12A1 gene probes to study patients with various chondrodystrophies including Achondroplasia. We have used clones spanning 90% of the Co12A1 sequence in Southern analyses of the DNA of over 50 patients with Achondroplasia using the restriction enzymes EcoR1, HindIII, and BamH1. In no case were abnormal bands observed which would be indicative of a major gene rearrangement.
Cell adhesion molecules in breast cancer invasion and metastasis

Metastasis occurs through a series of sequential steps, all of which a metastatic cell must successfully complete in order to establish growth at the secondary site. Cell adhesion molecules including the cadherins, immunoglobulin superfamily, selectins, and integrins play important roles in tumor metastasis. Mucins can also be involved in tumor cell adhesion. In this chapter we review the current knowledge of these groups of cell adhesion molecules in breast cancer.
Experimental study of a DC charging station for full electric and plug in hybrid vehicles

Abstract This paper is aimed to analyze design criteria, setting up, control strategies and experimental tests related to a power configuration of DC micro-grid for fast charging of full electric and plug in hybrid vehicles. The proposed DC fast charging architecture is derived by an analysis comparing the main characteristics of well known architectures, mainly based on AC and DC bus, taking also into account the integration of renewable energy sources (RESs) with stationary energy storage systems and fleets of road electric/hybrid vehicles. On the base of the proposed architecture a laboratory prototype of charging station has been realized by means of a 20 kW AC/DC bidirectional grid tie converter interconnected with two different power DC/DC converters of similar rated power. In this micro-grid architecture the AC/DC converter realizes a conversion stage at 790 V DC, whereas other two converters allow either the electric vehicle battery packs to be charged or an energy storage buffer to save electric energy and support the main grid during the fast charging operations. The laboratory tests described in this paper are mainly devoted to characterize the laboratory demonstrator, in different operative conditions, such as vehicle-to-grid (V2G), charging/discharging operations of different types of storage systems and fast charging operations of road electric vehicles. Then the study of the proposed power conversion architecture is focused on the evaluation of charging/discharging power, efficiency, energy flux management and its impact on the main grid. In addition proper control strategies are evaluated and implemented, allowing the proposed architecture to follow the required operations. The obtained experimental results demonstrate real advantages in terms of charging times and power requirements from the main grid, when adopting DC buffer architecture for fast charging operations. Finally, these results support the identification of a knowledge base, useful to evaluate energy management and control strategies to be adopted for DC charging stations and each one of their power converters in a smart grid scenario with distributed generation systems.
Dislocation absorption and transmutation at {101¯2} twin boundaries in deformation of magnesium

Abstract How matrix dislocations, i.e. basal, prismatic and pyramidal, interact with { 10 1 ¯ 2 } 10 1 ¯ 1 ¯ twin boundaries in hexagonal close-packed metals has been discussed extensively in the literature. However, so far no systematic investigation has been reported. In this work, we performed atomistic simulations to study interaction between matrix dislocations in pure Mg with a { 10 1 ¯ 2 } twin boundary. Our results show that for the basal and the prismatic slip, when the Burgers vector is parallel to the zone axis of the twins, a matrix basal dislocation can be transmuted to a twin prismatic dislocation and vice versa. However, when the Burgers vector of the matrix dislocation is non-parallel to the zone axis, no transmutation occurs and the dislocation is absorbed by the twin boundary which acts as a dislocation sink. For a matrix pyramidal dislocation, the dislocation is absorbed by the twin boundary and no transmutation occurs either. It appears that if the product dislocation is a real slip system, transmutation may occur during twin-slip interaction. Otherwise the matrix dislocation will be shredded by atomic shuffling and then absorbed by the twin boundary. If the core structure of the product dislocation is complex, transmutation may not occur as well and dislocation absorption will occur. Lattice correspondence in deformation twinning was applied in explaining the interaction mechanisms. Our results can be well correlated to macroscopic experimental observations which show twin-slip interaction only contributes negligibly to work hardening in deformation of hcp metals.
Nuclear processes and accelerated particles in solar flares

A detailed review of nuclear processes and particle acceleration in solar flares has been completed recently (Ramaty and Murphy, 1987). Included in this review were a comprehensive discussion of the theory of gamma-ray and neutron production, as well as the results of comparisons of calculations with gamma-ray, neutron and charged-particle observations of solar flares. The implications of these comparisons on particle energy spectra, total numbers, anisotropies and electron-to-proton ratios, as well as on acceleration mechanisms and the interaction site were also discussed. In addition, elemental and isotopic abundances of the ambient gas, derived from gamma-ray observations, were compared to abundances obtained from observations of escaping accelerated particles and other sources. The present paper is a synopsis of this review
Abstract P212: Depressive Symptoms Mediate the Relationship Between Dispositional Mindfulness and Diet Quality Among Healthy Midlife Adults

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that mindfulness, a practice of non-judgmental awareness of present experience, may reduce eating psychopathology and emotion-driven eating. However, few stud...