cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract A51: Investigation of the DEK oncogene as a blood biomarker for breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the leading causes of death for women in the United States. This is due, in part, because women wait too long to get a diagnosis or the disease returns, sometimes years later, due to ineffective treatment. Therefore, it is critically important to identify biomarkers that can better inform clinicians while providing a screening test more amenable to patients than mammograms. We are investigating the feasibility of using DEK protein levels in patient plasma as a biomarker for disease stage and prognosis. DEK is a chromatin-organizing protein that functions in DNA replication and repair, transcription, and mRNA splicing. The DEK oncoprotein is highly upregulated in many types of cancer including breast, head and neck, and melanoma. Using human cell culture and murine models, our previous studies have shown that DEK is functionally important for the promotion of cellular growth, invasion/metastasis, drug resistance, and breast cancer stem cell maintenance. Work by the Markovitz laboratory indicated that DEK is secreted by macrophages as a pro-inflammatory signaling molecule and can be internalized by neighboring cancer cells to promote typical DEK functions. This led to our hypothesis that DEK may be present in the plasma of cancer patients. In fact, the detection of DEK protein in urine is currently being explored as a diagnostic biomarker for bladder cancer. To test this hypothesis, we collected peripheral blood from patients with newly diagnosed, untreated BC (irrespective of the clinical stage) and age- and ethnicity-matched normal healthy controls. Plasma was separated from the samples and subjected to DEK specific ELISA (Cusabio, Wuhan, China). Preliminary results demonstrate that DEK is indeed present in the plasma of BC patients and we are currently comparing these levels to normal healthy controls. Further analyses are ongoing to determine whether DEK levels correlate with pertinent clinical and pathological variables including age, tumor stage, and ER/PR/HER-2 status. In addition, we are examining if DEK levels can predict response to various treatment modalities and risk of relapse. These data will be important to verify DEK plasma measurements as a clinically useful test and may give insight to future personalized and targeted treatment strategies for BC. Citation Format: Arun Sendilnathan, Mahmoud Charif, Elizabeth Shaughnessy, Jaime D. Lewis, Neetu Radhakrishnan, Elyse Lower, Catherine Lanigan, Harriet Kumar, Trisha M. Wise-Draper, Lisa Privette Vinnedge. Investigation of the DEK oncogene as a blood biomarker for breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Breast Cancer Research; Oct 17-20, 2015; Bellevue, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2016;14(2_Suppl):Abstract nr A51.
Comparative Community Proteomics Demonstrates the Unexpected Importance of Actinobacterial Glycoside Hydrolase Family 12 Protein for Crystalline Cellulose Hydrolysis

ABSTRACT Glycoside hydrolases (GHs) are key enzymes in the depolymerization of plant-derived cellulose, a process central to the global carbon cycle and the conversion of plant biomass to fuels and chemicals. A limited number of GH families hydrolyze crystalline cellulose, often by a processive mechanism along the cellulose chain. During cultivation of thermophilic cellulolytic microbial communities, substantial differences were observed in the crystalline cellulose saccharification activities of supernatants recovered from divergent lineages. Comparative community proteomics identified a set of cellulases from a population closely related to actinobacterium Thermobispora bispora that were highly abundant in the most active consortium. Among the cellulases from T. bispora, the abundance of a GH family 12 (GH12) protein correlated most closely with the changes in crystalline cellulose hydrolysis activity. This result was surprising since GH12 proteins have been predominantly characterized as enzymes active on soluble polysaccharide substrates. Heterologous expression and biochemical characterization of the suite of T. bispora hydrolytic cellulases confirmed that the GH12 protein possessed the highest activity on multiple crystalline cellulose substrates and demonstrated that it hydrolyzes cellulose chains by a predominantly random mechanism. This work suggests that the role of GH12 proteins in crystalline cellulose hydrolysis by cellulolytic microbes should be reconsidered. IMPORTANCE Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on earth, and its enzymatic hydrolysis is a key reaction in the global carbon cycle and the conversion of plant biomass to biofuels. The glycoside hydrolases that depolymerize crystalline cellulose have been primarily characterized from isolates. In this study, we demonstrate that adapting microbial consortia from compost to grow on crystalline cellulose generated communities whose soluble enzymes exhibit differential abilities to hydrolyze crystalline cellulose. Comparative proteomics of these communities identified a protein of glycoside hydrolase family 12 (GH12), a family of proteins previously observed to primarily hydrolyze soluble substrates, as a candidate that accounted for some of the differences in hydrolytic activities. Heterologous expression confirmed that the GH12 protein identified by proteomics was active on crystalline cellulose and hydrolyzed cellulose by a random mechanism, in contrast to most cellulases that act on the crystalline polymer in a processive mechanism.
Inhibition of uracil DNA glycosylase sensitizes cancer cells to 5-fluorodeoxyuridine through replication fork collapse-induced DNA damage

// Yan Yan 1 , Xiangzi Han 1 , Yulan Qing 2 , Allison G. Condie 3 , Shashank Gorityala 4 , Shuming Yang 2 , Yan Xu 2, 4 , Youwei Zhang 1 , Stanton L. Gerson 2 1 Department of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA 2 Department of Hematology and Oncology, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA 3 Division of Radiopharmaceutical Science, Case Center for Imaging Research, Department of Radiology, Chemistry, and Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA 4 Department of Chemistry, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, USA Correspondence to: Stanton L. Gerson, email: slg5@case.edu Keywords: 5-fluorodeoxyuridine, base excision repair, uracil DNA glycosylase, double strand breaks, colon cancer Received: March 31, 2016 Accepted: July 19, 2016 Published: August 09, 2016 ABSTRACT 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (5-FdU, floxuridine) is active against multiple cancers through the inhibition of thymidylate synthase, which consequently introduces uracil and 5-FU incorporation into the genome. Uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG) is one of the main enzymes responsible for the removal of uracil and 5-FU. However, how exactly UDG mediates cellular sensitivity to 5-FdU, and if so whether it is through its ability to remove uracil and 5-FU have not been well characterized. In this study, we report that UDG depletion led to incorporation of uracil and 5-FU in DNA following 5-FdU treatment and significantly enhanced 5-FdU’s cytotoxicity in cancer cell lines. Co-treatment, but not post-treatment with thymidine prevented cell death of UDG depleted cells by 5-FdU, indicating that the enhanced cytotoxicity is due to the retention of uracil and 5-FU in genomic DNA in the absence of UDG. Furthermore, UDG depleted cells were arrested at late G1 and early S phase by 5-FdU, followed by accumulation of sub-G1 population indicating cell death. Mechanistically, 5-FdU dramatically reduced DNA replication speed in UDG depleted cells. UDG depletion also greatly enhanced DNA damage as shown by γH2AX foci formation. Notably, the increased γH2AX foci formation was not suppressed by caspase inhibitor treatment, suggesting that DNA damage precedes cell death induced by 5-FdU. Together, these data provide novel mechanistic insights into the roles of UDG in DNA replication, damage repair, and cell death in response to 5-FdU and suggest that UDG is a target for improving the anticancer effect of this agent.
Analysis of lock-loss events in discrete-time phase locked loop (PLL)

Lock-loss phenomena were studied extensively for continuous-time phase locked loop (PLL), and closed form analytical expressions for the mean time to lose lock (MTLL) has been derived under the assumptions that the input is a phase modulated sine wave, and that the additive noise associated with the input can be added to the detector output. The analysis of the discrete-time phase detector is more complicated as the associated discrete-time stochastic equation depends on the signal constellation as well as on the detector non-linearity. In this study we present an approach for analyzing lock-loss events and for calculating the MTLL in first-order discrete-time PLL, and prove that the time to lose lock is approximately exponentially distributed. The results can be applied to any linear modulation scheme and, in particular, to any QAM modulation scheme, and can be used for qualitative understanding of the problem as well as for performance assessment and parameter optimization. In that context it is shown that the Leclert-Vandamme phase detector is more robust to the lock-loss problem at the cost of slightly larger residual phase error, compared with the more conventional Simon and Smith phase detector.
Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation and Inter Partes Review: A New Sort of Competition

In FTC v. Actavis, the Supreme Court declined to adopt a rule making reverse payment settlements per se unlawful under the antitrust laws. Instead, the Court concluded that such settlements could be unlawful under the rule of reason. The Court’s decision further fueled an already-existing debate about the proper treatment of various elements of reverse payment settlements under the antitrust laws. This debate suggests that the Actavis decision has not fully resolved the “turducken” problem presented by these sorts of cases. Difficult questions of antitrust law remain contained within what ultimately began as a patent lawsuit. In addition, it suggests that settlements will not necessarily become any less likely, but instead may become more complex in order to obfuscate the purpose and value of the settlement. As a result, the public will continue to be deprived of the benefit of having a determination as to the validity of the underlying patent claims. And consumers will continue to be harmed by sustained and illegitimate monopoly prices.This Article finds hope in the new inter partes review (IPR) procedure before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) introduced as a part of the America Invents Act (AIA). The IPR procedure offers a few benefits: a faster determination; litigation proceeding in parallel to district court litigation, which can effect competition among tribunals as well as competition among generic drug manufacturers seeking FDA approval; and a more favorable standard for interpreting patent claims.But these features alone are not enough to deter settlement and effect earlier generic entry, so this Article proposes a few additional changes. First, I propose that the PTO issue a rule requiring that, whenever the patent claims at issue cover a drug already approved for marketing by the FDA, the PTAB be required to proceed to a final written decision, regardless of whether the parties settle. Second, I propose that the Hatch-Waxman Act be amended to make the 180-day exclusivity period contestable, such that it may be awarded to the applicant for FDA approval that first obtains a determination, whether before a federal district court or the PTAB. Third, and finally, I propose that the Hatch-Waxman Act be amended so that determinations by the PTAB invalidating patent claims effect the same consequences as a federal district court determination invalidating a patent.
Aqueous origins of bright salt deposits on Ceres

Abstract Bright materials have been reported in association with impact craters on Ceres. The abundant Na2CO3 and some ammonium salts, NH4HCO3 and/or NH4Cl, were detected in bright deposits within Occator crater with Dawn near infrared spectroscopy. The composition and appearance of the salts suggest their aqueous mobilization and emplacement after formation of the crater. Here we consider origins of the bright deposits through calculation of speciation in the H–C–N–O–Na–Cl water-salt type system constrained by the mass balance of observed salts. Calculations of chemical equilibria show that initial solutions had the pH of ∼10. The temperature and salinity of solutions could have not exceeded ∼273 K and ∼100 g per kg H2O, respectively. Freezing models reveal an early precipitation of Na2CO3·10H2O followed by minor NaHCO3. Ammonium salts precipitate near eutectic from brines enriched in NH4+, Cl− and Na+. A late-stage precipitation of NaCl·2H2O is modeled for solution compositions with added NaCl. Calculated eutectics are above 247 K. The apparently unabundant ammonium and chloride salts in Occator's deposits imply a rapid emplacement without a compositional evolution of solution. Salty ice grains could have deposited from post-impact ballistic plumes formed through low-pressure boiling of subsurface solutions. Hydrated and ammonium salts are unstable at maximum temperatures of Ceres’ surface and could decompose through space weathering. Occator's ice-free salt deposits formed through a post-depositional sublimation of ice followed by dehydration of Na2CO3·10H2O and NaHCO3 to Na2CO3. In other regions, excavated and exposed bright materials could be salts initially deposited from plumes and accumulated at depth via post-impact boiling. The lack of detection of sulfates and an elevated carbonate/chloride ratio in Ceres’ materials suggest an involvement of compounds abundant in the outer solar system.
An International Survey of Ultrafiltration in CAPD

Twenty-nine centers have participated in an international survey to document more clearly the incidence of impaired peritoneal ultrafiltration and factors associated with the problem. Ultrafiltration was significantly lower when certain brands of dialysis fluid were used. These dialysis solutions were also associated with higher rates of dextrose absorption.
Cohabitation Transitions Among Low-income Parents: A Qualitative Investigation of Economic and Relational Motivations

At the intersection of the cohabitation and residential mobility literatures is an opportunity to better understand the factors that shape cohabitation choices for low-income couples. By investigating push and pull factors associated with cohabitation, this study aimed to identify linkages between cohabitation transitions and the broader socioeconomic context within which they occur. Collecting data from both members of low-income couples and carefully tracking all residential and cohabitation transitions made it possible to identify a wide range of push and pull factors that motivate couples to move. The findings suggest that cohabitation transitions were often motivated by economic necessity. Romantic partnerships, while important, were less frequently mentioned than other factors (i.e., interpersonal negotiations, finances, housing quality) in determining a couple’s living arrangements. These findings have important implications for understanding the complex relationship between economic and non-economic factors that shape romantic relationships.
North Atlantic Extratropical Rossby Wave Breaking during the Warm Season: Wave Life Cycle and Role of Diabatic Heating

AbstractThis study investigates the life cycle of anticyclonic Rossby wave breaking during the extended warm season (July–October) over the North Atlantic basin. It was found that upper-tropospheric breaking waves are coupled with lower-level perturbations and can be traced back to a wave train that extends from the North Pacific. The overturning of potential vorticity (PV) contours during wave breaking is associated with the rapid development of an upper-level ridge, which occurs along the east coast of North America and over a warm and moist airstream. The ridge development is investigated using the PV budget analysis and trajectory analysis. The PV budget analysis suggests that the horizontal advection of PV by the perturbed flow dictates the movement and the later decay of the ridge. The ridge amplification, opposed by the horizontal advection of PV, is driven by the vertical advection and the diabatic production of PV, both of which are connected to diabatic heating. The vital role of diabatic heatin...
NBC’s televised media portrayal of female athletes in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games: a critical feminist view

Mass media play a major role in influencing societal views of female athletes and in shaping the relationship between women and sport. While female athletes historically tend to receive little medi...
Re-assessing the Validity of the Opioid Risk Tool in a Tertiary Academic Pain Management Center Population.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the validity of the Opioid Risk Tool (ORT) in a large. diverse population. DESIGN A cross-sectional descriptive study. SETTING Academic tertiary pain management center. SUBJECTS A total of 225 consecutive new patients, aged 18 years or older. METHODS Data collection included demographics, ORT scores, aberrant behaviors, pain intensity scores, opioid type and dose, smoking status, employment, and marital status. RESULTS In this population, we were not able to replicate the findings of the initial ORT study. Self-report was no better than chance in predicting those who would have an opioid aberrant behavior. The ORT risk variables did not predict aberrant behaviors in either gender group. There was significant disparity in the scores between self-reported ORT and the ORT supplemented with medical record data (enhanced ORT). Using the enhanced ORT, high-risk patients were 2.5 times more likely to have an aberrant behavior than the low-risk group. The only risk variable associated with aberrant behavior was personal history of prescription drug misuse. CONCLUSIONS The self-report ORT was not a valid test for the prediction of future aberrant behaviors in this academic pain management population. The original risk categories (low, medium, high) were not supported in the either the self-reported version or the enhanced version; however, the enhanced data were able to differentiate between high- and low-risk patients. Unfortunately, without technological automation, the enhanced ORT suffers from practical limitations. The self-report ORT may not be a valid tool in current pain populations; however, modification into a binary (high/low) score system needs further study.
Integrating types and specifications for secure software development

Today, the majority of security errors in software systems are due to implementation errors, as opposed to flaws in fundamental algorithms (e.g., cryptography). Type-safe languages, such as Java, help rule out a class of these errors, such as code-injection through buffer overruns. But attackers simply shift to implementation flaws above the level of the primitive operations of the language (e.g., SQL-injection attacks). Thus, next-generation languages need type systems that can express and enforce application-specific security policies.
TFEB-dependent induction of thermogenesis by the hepatocyte SLC2A inhibitor trehalose.

The macroautophagy/autophagy-inducing disaccharide, trehalose, has been proposed to be a promising therapeutic agent against neurodegenerative and cardiometabolic diseases. We recently showed that ...
Radiation for brain metastases.

The use of radiotherapy in the treatment of brain metastases includes whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), either as definitive or as adjuvant treatment following resection or radiosurgery, radiosurgery alone, and brachytherapy. WBRT has been the primary treatment for brain metastases for over 50 years, improving local control and survival as well as providing effective palliation. While definitive WBRT remains the standard of care for most patients, adjuvant WBRT with radiosurgery and surgical resection has been shown to improve local control and survival in a subset of patients [1–3].
Modeling of Phosphorous Acid Fuel Cell in PSCAD

The renewable energy sources, such as wind, fuel cells, etc. are gaining more attention due to the increase in energy demand as well as being environmental kindly. A dynamic model of Phosphorous Acid Fuel Cell is modeled and simulated using PSCAD/EMTDC. The system consists of a fuel cell stack along with 3-phase Pulse-Width Modulator (PWM) inverter, LCL filter and step-up transformer connected to the main grid. A Real-Reactive power controller is implemented into the 3-phase PWM inverter to control and stabilize the active and reactive power flow onto the main grid. A LCL filter is connected to the inverter side, which eliminates the ultra-harmonic distortions of the frequency. The effect of the Line-Ground, Line-Line, etc. faults on the performance of the main grid’s output voltage is analyzed and studied. The fuel cell is connected to the main grid and the simulation results contain the analysis at different stages of the simulation.
The Human Microbiota and Asthma

Over the last few decades, advances in our understanding of microbial ecology have allowed us to appreciate the important role of microbial communities in maintaining human health. While much of this research has focused on gut microbes, microbial communities in other body sites and from the environment are increasingly recognized in human disease. Here, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of host-microbiota interactions in the development and manifestation of asthma focusing on three distinct microbial compartments. First, environmental microbes originating from house dust, pets, and farm animals have been linked to asthma pathogenesis, which is often connected to their production of bioactive molecules such as lipopolysaccharide. Second, respiratory microbial communities, including newly appreciated populations of microbes in the lung have been associated with allergic airway inflammation. Current evidence suggests that the presence of particular microbes, especially Streptococcus, Haemophilus, and Morexella species within the airway may shape local immune responses and alter the severity and manifestations of airway inflammation. Third, the gut microbiota has been implicated in both experimental models and clinical studies in predisposing to asthma. There appears to be a "critical window" of colonization that occurs during early infancy in which gut microbial communities shape immune maturation and confer susceptibility to allergic airway inflammation. The mechanisms by which gut microbial communities influence lung immune responses and physiology, the "gut-lung axis," are still being defined but include the altered differentiation of immune cell populations important in asthma and the local production of metabolites that affect distal sites. Together, these findings suggest an intimate association of microbial communities with host immune development and the development of allergic airway inflammation. Improved understanding of these relationships raises the possibility of microbiota-directed therapies to improve or prevent asthma.
Paradigm and nexus: neoclassical economics and the growth imperative in the World Bank, 1948–2000

The story of post-Second World War international political economy is often told as a series of paradigm shifts: from Keynesianism to neoliberalism to the post-Washington Consensus. This article ar...
Human Cytomegalovirus Remodeling of Lipid Metabolism Requires pUL37x1

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) replication requires remodeling of the host metabolic network, including increasing central carbon metabolism, fatty acid elongation and lipid synthesis. The virus-host interactions regulating HCMV metabolic hijacking are essential to infection. While multiple host factors including kinases and transcription factors have been defined, little is known about the viral factors required. Some host factors involved are dependent on Ca2+ signaling or host stress response. The viral pUL37x1 protein mobilizes Ca2+ and targets the mitochondria. The Ca2+ changes induced by pUL37x1 can activate stress responses. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the viral pUL37x1 protein is required for HCMV metabolic remodeling. Using a combination of metabolomics, lipidomics, and metabolic tracers, we demonstrate that pUL37x1 protein is necessary for HCMV induced fatty acid elongation and lipid metabolism but not required for most viral hijacking of central carbon metabolism. Additionally, we show that pUL37x1 is required for HCMV to fully induce two host proteins that were previously demonstrated to be important for virus induced lipid metabolism: fatty acid elongase 7 and the ER-stress related kinase PERK. We also demonstrate, for the first time, that HCMV replication results in the increase in phospholipids with very-long chain fatty acyl tails. We conclude that pUL37x1 is required for HCMV metabolic remodeling but is not necessary to for the virus to hijack metabolism on a network-wide scale.
Processing and Applications of CNT Sheets in Advanced Composite Materials

Abstract The development of synthesis techniques such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and floating catalyst CVD (FCCVD) has transformed CNTs from being property enhancing fillers in composites to structural materials of the future. These advanced synthesis techniques allow for ease in manufacturing of CNT sheets and their composites with other materials such as polymers and metals. Multipurpose CNT sheet composites find application in a variety of fields such as aerospace and energy storage. This chapter provides an insight into the development of the various techniques for manufacturing and processing of CNT sheets based on a review in the literature combined with our own experience. The “role reversal” in the development of high-strength CNT/polymer sheet composites, where the CNT is the majority phase, is discussed. CNT sheets are also excellent candidates for application as flexible, freestanding electrodes.
Temporal and abiotic fluctuations may be preventing successful rehabilitation of soil-stabilizing biocrust communities.

Land degradation is a persistent ecological problem in many arid and semiarid systems globally (drylands hereafter). Most instances of dryland degradation include some form of soil disturbance and/or soil erosion, which can hinder vegetation establishment and reduce ecosystem productivity. To combat soil erosion, researchers have identified a need for rehabilitation of biological soil crusts (biocrusts), a globally relevant community of organisms aggregating the soil surface and building soil fertility. Here, the impact of plant and biocrust cover was tested on soil erosion potential in the pinon-juniper woodlands of Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico, USA. Biocrusts were found to be similarly influential to vascular plants in reducing erosion, largely acting by promoting surface roughness. The potential to rehabilitate biocrusts within the Monument was also tested. Plots were inoculated on eroding soils before the summer monsoon with greenhouse-cultured biocrusts. In a full-factorial design, treatments to reduce or halt erosion were administered to the inoculated plots and their paired controls. These erosion-reduction treatments included barriers to overland flow (flashing), slash placement, and seeding of vascular plants. Dynamic changes to soil stability, penetration resistance, and extractable soil nutrients were observed through time, but no strong effects with the addition of biocrust inoculum, seeding, or erosion intervention treatments were seen. The results do suggest possible ways forward to successfully rehabilitate biocrust, including varying the timing of biocrust application, amending inoculum application with different types of soil stabilization techniques, and adding nutrients to soils. The insights gleaned from the lack of response brings us closer to developing effective techniques to arrest soil loss in these socially and ecologically important dryland systems.
Fantastic Generalization Measures and Where to Find Them

Generalization of deep networks has been intensely researched in recent years, resulting in a number of theoretical bounds and empirically motivated measures. However, most papers proposing such measures only study a small set of models, leaving open the question of whether these measures are truly useful in practice. We present the first large scale study of generalization bounds and measures in deep networks. We train over two thousand CIFAR-10 networks with systematic changes in important hyper-parameters. We attempt to uncover potential causal relationships between each measure and generalization, by using rank correlation coefficient and its modified forms. We analyze the results and show that some of the studied measures are very promising for further research.
Applied Linear Statistical Models

(1986). Applied Linear Statistical Models. Journal of Quality Technology: Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 76-77.
Central Banks: Gatekeepers of Monetary Stability and Guardians of Public Interest

This chapter presents the main elements of central banks’ traditional functions as gatekeepers of monetary and broader financial and economic stability and outlines some emerging considerations relating to central banks’ enhanced role as guardians of public interest. With regard to the central banks’ emerging enhanced role, the analysis focuses on their (1) heightened policy coordination need with fiscal, regulatory, and debt management authorities to increase the efficiency of the monetary policy transmission mechanism and the overall efficacy of economic policy making, (2) principal role in the establishment of a sovereign asset and liability management framework to identify, monitor, and manage sovereign balance sheet risks on a consolidated basis, which also helps monetary policy through a more accurate estimation of sovereign risks and consequently a more appropriate interest rate setting, (3) active role in the development of domestic capital markets to enhance the country’s funding sources and reduce its foreign exchange risk exposure, as well as to help the effectiveness of open market operations in targeting interest rates and in turn affecting the real economy, and (4) envisaged implicit role as protectors against emergent financial disruptions.
Police Officers' addiction frameworks and policy attitudes.

Abstract Police officers have frequent encounters with people who use drugs, either by making an arrest for a drug-related offense or responding to a drug overdose call. Yet, little is known about how police officers view drug addiction – as a disease, a moral failure, or something else – and how their frameworks for conceptualizing addiction impact their attitudes toward drug policies, including the use of naloxone. This research examined police officers’ adherence to a moralistic addiction framework in relation to their support for treatment-oriented drug policies. Officers (N = 618) were surveyed about their beliefs on drug policy and the extent to which drug addiction was a product of one’s morals or related to social or biological reasons. Results found that approximately 22% of the variance in drug policy attitudes could be explained by addiction frameworks and control variables. Officers who embraced a biological perspective of addiction were more supportive of policies that expanded treatment, including access to naloxone, and less punitive sanctions. Those with stronger moralistic views were less supportive of expanding treatment initiatives and endorsed expanding punitive sanctions. Officer age and education was positively related with expanding treatment and naloxone use while exposure to overdoses was negatively related to policy support. These results demonstrate that officers’ frameworks about drug addiction play an important role in drug policy attitudes and, by extension, how they might interact with people who use drugs.
An Internet of Things (IoT) Security Assessment for Households

IoT is becoming a common term. More consumers are purchasing and installing household IoT devices such as thermostats, security cameras, and lighting solutions. These so-called smart home appliances supposedly make our lives easier, safer, and more sustainable. However, the benefits come with risks, especially in cybersecurity and privacy. As more IoT hosts connect to a home network, the possibility of potential security breaches also increases. The more hosts in a network, the more opportunities for attackers, which is why users should pay attention to security vulnerabilities and address them as much as possible. In this context, self-assessment of how well a household is doing with IoT security is of great use. This paper proposes an easy-to-use and intuitive assessment tool to realize this idea.
Human Breast Cancer in Tissue Culture: The Effects of Hormones

The hormone-dependent nature of some human breast cancers has been appreciated by physicians for nearly a century.(1) Clinical responses in breast cancer patients to ablative and additive hormone therapies suggest that several hormones are important growth regulators of mammary cancer. Recent studies of the basic mechanisms by which hormones influence target tissues have led to important advances in our understanding of steroid hormone action and the clinical care of women with breast cancer.(2,3) It is now recognized that the first step in steroid hormone action is the binding of the hormone to a cytoplasmic receptor protein.(4) In the absence of this receptor, the steroid hormone is unable to elicit a response in the cell. Using this principle, investigators have now identified receptors for estrogen and other steroid hormones in some breast tumor samples, providing a basis for more rational therapeutic decisions.
Pico: An Object-Oriented Framework for Parallel Branch and Bound *

This paper describes the design of PICO, a C++ framework for implementing general parallel branch-and-bound algorithms. The PICO framework provides a mechanism for the efficient implementation of a wide range of branch-and-bound methods on an equally wide range of parallel computing platforms. We first discuss the basic architecture of PICO, including the application class hierarchy and the package's serial and parallel layers. We next describe the design of the serial layer, and its central notion of manipulating subproblem states. Then, we discuss the design of the parallel layer, which includes flexible processor clustering levels and communication rates, various load balancing mechanisms, and a non-preemptive task scheduler running on each processor. We close by describing the application of the package to a simple branch-and-bound method for mixed integer programming, along with computational results on the ASCI Red massively parallel computer.
Ion channels as targets for drug design

Abstract Ion channels are a heterogeneous group of pharmacologic receptors that respond to a variety of informational inputs by controlling in rapid and specific fashion the movements of ions across cell membranes. Under pathologic conditions the disorderly movements of ions may contribute to cell pathology and death. Drugs that regulate ion channel function in both voltage- and ligand-gated categories represent both molecular tools with which to dissect channel function and therapeutic agents for, inter alia , cardiovascular and neuronal disorders. These aspects are well illustrated by the Ca 2+ channel antagonist class of drugs.
Magnesium Transport in Escherichia coli INHIBITION BY COBALTOUS ION

Abstract Cobaltous ion, at concentrations as low as 10 µm, inhibits the energy-dependent transport of magnesium ion into cells of Escherichia coli. Co++ also substitutes for Mg++ in the medium in promoting the energy-dependent efflux of cellular Mg++. Cells accumulate Co++ in a reaction which is dependent upon metabolic energy. The maximum rate and extent of Co++ uptake are similar to those for Mg++, although the apparent affinity for Co++ is only about one-tenth that for Mg++. Mg++ at concentrations as low as 10 µm inhibits the uptake of Co++. Although intracellular Mg++ exchanges readily with external Mg++, Co++ within cells does not easily exchange with either Mg++ or Co++ in the medium. The physiological responses of E. coli to Co++ and Mg++ in the medium reflect the antagonistic effect of each ion on the uptake of the other. Exposure to a low level of Co++ in the medium, in the absence of Mg++, kills cells, but Mg++ protects against this lethal effect of Co++. Other conditions which prevent Co++ uptake, such as low temperature, or deprivation of an energy source, also reduce the lethality of exposure to Co++. A mutant selected for its relative resistance to Co++ in the medium had a decreased capacity to transport both Co++ and Mg++. It appears likely that Co++ is transported into cells of E. coli by the same system responsible for Mg++ transport. This transport, however, requires a much higher concentration of Co++ than is normally found in growth media, and the transport system described here may not be responsible for the uptake of Co++ present in very low concentrations during normal growth.
Classification and Orbit Equivalence Relations

An outline Definitions and technicalities Turbulence Classifying homeomorphisms Infinite dimensional group representations A generalized Scott analysis GE groups The dark side Beyond Borel Looking ahead Ordinals Notation Bibliography Index.
The Relationship Between Perceived Realism and the Cognitive Abilities of Children

AbstractThis research explored the possibility of a relationship between perceived realism (i.e., the difference between virtual reality and computer workstation treatments) and various cognitive abilities of children. The abilities under investigation were visualization, displacement and transformation, creative thinking, and spatially related problem solving. Experiments were performed using 23 subjects between the ages of 8 and 11. Four cognitive-ability tests were administered to the subjects. The dependent variable, spatially related problem solving, was measured with the Differential Aptitude Test. The independent variables, visualization, displacement and transformation, and creative thinking, were measured by the Minnesota Paper Form Board Test, the Mental Rotation Test, and the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, respectively. The results of the study indicated that spatially related problem solving abilities of children between the ages of 8 and 11 may be influenced by training in visualization ...
The prognostic value of age and follicle-stimulating hormone levels in women over forty years of age undergoing in vitro fertilization.

Purpose: Basal follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and ageare predictors of successful outcome in in vitro fertilization(IVF). More recently, the clomiphene citrate challenge test(CCCT) has been proposed as a better way to predict IVFoutcome than FSH alone. The purpose of this study was todetermine which indicator of ovarian reserve—basal(day 3) FSH or the CCCT—is the better predictor of IVF successin the critical age group of women over the age of 40. Methods: In this retrospective study, basal FSH andclomiphene-stimulated FSH levels from 104 women whounderwent 175 cycles of IVF were analyzed. Results: Neither basal FSH level nor stimulated FSH levelalone were statistically significant predictors of IVF success;however, no patient with a day 3 FSH level >11.1 mIU/mlor a stimulated day 10 FSH level >13.5 mIU/ml conceivedand carried a pregnancy. All ongoing pregnancies occurredin the first two cycles of IVF. Conclusions: Clear prognostic cutoff values were found topredict IVF success in women over age 40. IVF programsshould consider limiting the number of cycles of IVF inwomen above age 40.
Bovine recto-anal junction squamous epithelial (RSE) cell adhesion assay for studying Escherichia coli O157 adherence

Aim: To develop a new adherence assay, using cattle recto-anal junction squamous epithelial (RSE) cells, for evaluating bacterial adherence to cells of bovine origin. Methods and Results: Proof of concept was demonstrated using the human gastrointestinal pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7, for which cattle are reservoirs. Adherence assays were conducted using both RSE and HEp-2 cells, in the presence and absence of D+Mannose. E. coli O157 specifically adhered in a type I fimbriae-independent manner to RSE cells in significantly higher numbers and also bound significantly higher numbers of RSE cells than diverse laboratory strains of nonpathogenic E. coli. Conclusion: The RSE cell adhesion assay output highly reproducible and interpretable results that compared very well with those obtained using the more extensively used HEp-2 cell adherence assay. Significance and Impact of the study: The RSE cell adhesion assay provides a convenient means of directly defining and evaluating pathogen factors operating at the bovine recto-anal junction. The RSE cell adhesion assay further has the potential for extrapolation to diverse bacteria, including food-borne pathogens that colonize cattle via adherence to this particular anatomical site.
Experiments in the control and application of Automated Surface Vessel fleets

Over the past two decades, the use of Automated Surface Vessels (ASVs) has evolved from serving as military drones to performing a rich set of applications ranging from exploration to minesweeping to supporting the operation of underwater assets. The benefits of these systems motivate the question of how fleets of such ASVs could synergistically work together to perform more sophisticated and challenging tasks. In this paper, we describe our recent work in exploring the use of multi-ASV systems that sail in controlled formations in order to perform specific niche applications. We first describe our cluster space control technique, a formation control approach that promotes simple specification and monitoring of multi-robot systems. We then describe the design of our simple robotic kayaks which serve as our testbed for multi-ASV applications. Next, we show how we have applied the cluster space control to the multi-kayak fleet in order to test application concepts such as escorting/patrolling and gradient-based adaptive environmental sampling. Finally, we briefly describe some of our ongoing extensions to this work.
Towards automated extraction of expert system rules from sales data for the semiconductor market

Chip purchasing policies of the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) of laptop computers are characterized by probabilistic rules. The rules are extracted from data on products bought by the OEMs in the semiconductor market over twenty quarters. We present the data collected and a qualitative data mining approach to extract probabilistic rules from the data that best characterize the purchasing behavior of the OEMs. We validate and simulate the extracted probabilistic rules as a first step towards building an expert system for predicting purchasing behavior in the semiconductor market. Our results show a prediction score of approximately 95% over a one-year prediction window for quarterly data.
Marxian Political Economy: An outline

Part I. The Reproduction Schemes: 1. Methodological glasses for the longer view 2. simple and complex accumulation: the productive consumption of capital 3. Unproductive consumption: its historical and theoretical relevance Part II. The Labour Theory of Value: 4. The meaning and measurement of value within the context of the labour theory 5. Value accounting, prices, and socialist planning 6. The transformation of values into prices of production Part III: Relationships Between Prices and Values: 7. Unequal exchange: price-value relations, irregularity, and instability 8. Accumulation in the advanced capitalism: the nature of the crisis 9. Marx's first and second approximations to the evolution of class structure Part IV. The Development of Class Structure and Relationships: 10. Class structure and conflict in the managerial phase I 11. Class structure and conflict in the managerial phase II 12. Rotational employment and the transition to socialism.
Piezoresistive silicon pressure sensors in cryogenic environment

This paper presents data on low-temperature measurements of silicon pressure sensors. It was found that both the piezoresistance coefficients and the charge-carrier mobility increase with decreasing temperature. For lightly doped semiconductor materials, the density of free charge carriers decreases with temperature and can freeze out eventually. However, the effect of carrier freeze-out can be minimized by increasing the impurity content to higher levels, at which the temperature dependency of piezoresistance coefficients is reduced. An impurity density of 1 x 10 to the 19th/cu cm was found to be optimal for cryogenic applications of pressure sensor dies.
Weak-coupling theory of photoemission and inelastic neutron scattering and the mechanism of superconductivity in the cuprates

ARPES and low-energy inelastic neutron-scattering studies of cuprate superconductors are described using a weak-coupling theory in which quasiparticles on a square lattice interact via scalar and spin-dependent effective interactions. In this paper we point out that in underdoped Bi2212 both probes are consistent with dominant near-neighbor Heisenberg interactions. We discuss the implications of this finding for the mechanism of high-${T}_{c}$ superconductivity.
Redetermining the tidal current predictions for the Hudson River, NY

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) collects and distributes observations and predictions of water levels and currents to ensure safe, efficient and environmentally sound maritime commerce. The CO-OPS National Current Observation Program (NCOP) is responsible for updating and maintaining the accuracy of the Tidal Current Prediction Tables. In 2003, CO-OPS updated the tidal current reference station for The Narrows (at the mouth of New York Harbor), which controls over 75 secondary stations, including the entire stretch of the Hudson River. This critical reference station had not been updated by NOAA in over 70 years. With the installation of the New York/New Jersey Harbor Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS/spl reg/), new current meter data were available to update the tidal current tables. Soon after the updates to the tables were published, CO-OPS received inquiries from local pilots about possible discrepancies in the tidal current predictions along the Hudson River. In response to users9 concerns, CO-OPS resurveyed one location in the Hudson River, near Haverstraw, NY. Comparisons between these newly-collected data and historical data were performed, and the analysis revealed up to one hour differences in the timing of the flood current. With this new information, and the fact that most of the stations along the Hudson River are based on data collected more than 40 years ago, CO-OPS has committed to resurveying the Hudson River, from Manhattan to Troy, commencing the summer of 2005.
Metabolism of l-Malate and d-Malate by a Species of Pseudomonas

Extracts of a fluorescent species of Pseudomonas grown with m-cresol, degrade gentisic acid without isomerization of the ring-fission compound, maleylpyruvate, to give eventually d-malate and pyruvate. d-Malate is also a growth substrate. l-Malate but not d-malate is oxidized by a particulate enzyme not requiring nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP). NAD- or NADP-linked malate dehydrogenases are absent but cells contain an NADP-dependent l-malic enzyme. Exposure of cells to exogenous d-malate induces an NAD-dependent d-malic enzyme, not present when d-malate is formed endogenously. Succinate- or m-cresol-grown cells, containing no d-malic enzyme, rapidly oxidize d-malate in the presence of chloramphenicol at a concentration suffient to inhibit protein synthesis. An NADP-dependent cell-free system, prepared from succinate-grown cells which oxidized d-malate, is described.