cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Application and testing of the L neural network with the self-consistent magnetic field model of RAM-SCB

We expanded our previous work on L* neural networks that used empirical magnetic field models as the underlying models by applying and extending our technique to drift shells calculated from a physics-based magnetic field model. While empirical magnetic field models represent an average, statistical magnetospheric state, the RAM-SCB model, a first-principles magnetically self-consistent code, computes magnetic fields based on fundamental equations of plasma physics. Unlike the previous L* neural networks that include McIlwain L and mirror point magnetic field as part of the inputs, the new L* neural network only requires solar wind conditions and the Dst index, allowing for an easier preparation of input parameters. This new neural network is compared against those previously trained networks and validated by the tracing method in the International Radiation Belt Environment Modeling (IRBEM) library. The accuracy of all L* neural networks with different underlying magnetic field models is evaluated by applying the electron phase space density (PSD)-matching technique derived from the Liouville's theorem to the Van Allen Probes observations. Results indicate that the uncertainty in the predicted L* is statistically (75%) below 0.7 with a median value mostly below 0.2 and the median absolute deviation around 0.15, regardless of the underlying magnetic field model. We found that such an uncertainty in the calculated L* value can shift the peak location of electron phase space density (PSD) profile by 0.2 RE radially but with its shape nearly preserved.
Responses of neurons in the rat ventral posterior lateral thalamic nucleus to noxious visceral and cutaneous stimuli

Visceral nociceptive responses to distention of the ureter, and responses to innocuous and noxious mechanical stimulation of the skin were recorded from neurons in the ventral posterior lateral nucleus of the thalamus in anesthetized rats. The ventral posterior lateral (VPL) neurons were classified by their responses to cutaneous stimuli as either low-threshold or wide-dynamic-range neurons. No high-threshold neurons were found in the population of VPL neurons sampled. Some VPL neurons that responded to distention of the ureter appeared to lack a cutaneous receptive field. The majority of VPL neurons that responded to noxious visceral stimulation of the ureter were classified as low-threshold neurons, based on their responses to cutaneous stimuli. Transection of the DC at an upper cervical level dramatically reduced the responses of VPL neurons to ureter distention and to innocuous mechanical stimulation of the skin, but the responses to noxious mechanical stimulation of the skin remained intact. Ureter distention and mechanical stimulation of the skin might activate dorsal horn neurons, including postsynaptic dorsal-column pathway (PSDC) neurons and spinothalamic tract (STT) cells. We conclude that both the DC pathway and the STT are likely to contribute to the visceral and somatic responses of some VPL neurons.
New variants of the human and rat nuclear hormone receptor, TR4: Expression and chromosomal localization of the human gene

TR4 is a new member of the nuclear hormone receptor family. This receptor is highly conserved in rat and human, but an in-frame insertion of 19 amino acid residues in the amino-terminal (A/B) region was found in the human, but an in-frame insertion of 19 amino acid residues in the amino-terminal (A/B) region was found in the human homolog, which we refer to as hTR4{alpha}1. which is homologous to hTR4{alpha}1 since it contains the extra 19 amino acids in the A/B region. The two rat transcripts showed a differential tissue distribution. Analysis of the exon-intron organization of the hTR4 A/B region showed that the 19-amino-acid peptide insert in hTR4{alpha}1 was encoded by a separate exon, indicating that hTR4{alpha}1 and hTR4{alpha}2 transcripts were produced by the differential usage of the exon. RT-PCR analysis revealed that both hTR4{alpha}1 and hTR4{alpha}2 were detectable in brain, placenta, and ovary. In contrast, the human ovarian cancer cell line, PA1, failed to express hTR4{alpha}1. By fluorescence in situ hybridization, we have mapped the hTR4 gene to 3p25, a region deleted in some forms of cancer. 24 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage A Preventable Disease With a Heritable Component

Background and Purpose — Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) caused by ruptured intracranial aneurysm affects approximately 16 000 Americans annually, and almost 40% of affected patients die within 30 days despite the best current therapy. Prevention of SAH is therefore of paramount importance. We present a preliminary analysis of risk factors for SAH from our population-based, case-control study. Methods — Cases were prospectively collected and matched 2:1 by age, race, and gender to controls using random digit dialing. Personal risk factor history, family history, neuroimaging data, and genetic samples were obtained. Univariate and bivariate analyses were performed and population-attributable risks estimated. Multivariable analysis was performed using conditional logistic regression. Results — Between June 1997 and February 2000, 107 cases and 197 controls were enrolled. In bivariate analyses, a large proportion of population-attributable risk for SAH could be explained by modifiable risk factors: smoking, hypertension, and heavy alcohol use. In multivariable analysis, current cigarette smoking, history of hypertension, frequent alcohol use, lower body mass index, and a family history of a relative with SAH or intracranial aneurysm were found to be significant, independent risk factors for SAH. Conclusion — Our data confirm previous reports that SAH clusters within some families independent of environmental risk factors, suggesting that SAH has a significant genetic component. Yet, even among families at increased risk of SAH, smoking cessation, treatment of hypertension, and reduced alcohol intake may substantially decrease SAH risk. The independent associations with heavy alcohol use and low body mass index with SAH may be confounded by smoking and require further study.
Financing Child Care Through Local Taxes One City's Bold Attempt

The Fremont, California, City Council placed a measure on the June 1989 ballot asking residents whether a tax should be levied to pay for child-care services. It was the nation's first city election ever held on the issue, and it brought the policy debate on child care into the political arena. Reporting on interviews with local policymakers and the results of an exit poll conducted on election day, this article concludes that the reasons the measure lost by a 3.5 to 1 margin were that the city overestimated the shortage of child-care slots, that supporters of the measure underestimated the opposition, and that the city council and public opinion polls overestimated the willingness of the voting population to pay for public support of child care.
MODIFICATION OF FUNG DOUBLE TUBE AND CP ANASELECT OXYPLATE METHODS TO IMPROVE THEIR PERFORMANCE IN ENUMERATING CLOSTRIDIUM PERFRINGENS FROM SEWAGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL WATERS

The Fung Double Tube (FDT) and the newly developed CP AnaSelect Oxyplates methods can enumerate concentrations of Clostridium perfringens without need for external anaerobic generating systems. Because Clostridium perfringens is a reliable indicator of fecal contamination and it is one of the fastest growing fecal bacteria, these two methods were evaluated as feasible methods to screen recreational waters for sewage contamination. To increase the sensitivity and selectivity of these methods, three modifications were evaluated. The first modification was to pretreat the water samples using a microwave oven to attain high temperature (70C) for a short time (2.5 min) to reduce the interfering growth of non-C. perfringens colonies on the selective media. The second modification was the addition of phosphatase reaction, thus enumerated colonies could be confirmed as C. perfringens. The third modification was to increase the sample volume for the FDT test from 5 to 10 mL/tube. The data collected showed that these modifications improved the selectivity and sensitivity of these two methods to enumerate C. perfringens from sewage-contaminated water samples as well as environmental water samples such as streams, harbors, canals and coastal swimming beaches. The recovery efficiencies of the FDT and experimental CP AnaSelect Oxyplate for C. perfringens were similar to traditionally used membrane C. perfringens, tryptose sulfite cycloserine and Shahidi Ferguson perfringens agar media by membrane filtration technology, followed by incubation in anaerobic chambers. These results show that the modified FDT and CP AnaSelect Oxyplate methods are feasible and reliable methods to monitor environmental waters for C. perfringens. The FDT method is especially promising because it is simple, inexpensive and can produce results in 5–6 h. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Clostridium perfringens is currently being evaluated as a reliable indicator of sewage contamination in recreational waters. However, traditional methods to assay for C. perfringens are expensive and cumbersome because of the need for external anaerobic generating systems. In addition, target colonies must be confirmed by a second test. In this study, two methods are described, with capabilities to self-generate anaerobic conditions and to immediately confirm the target colonies as C. perfringens. Moreover, one of the methods meets the difficult criterion of obtaining results in 6 h so decision on closing the beach can be reached on the same day the beach water sample is tested. Since these two methods are feasible and reliable, it will encourage many laboratories to assay their recreational waters for C. perfringens and a national database to determine the quality of recreational waters based on concentrations of C. perfringens can be developed.
Reductionism and Practicality

Like most domains of science, the study of the mind has been tackled at many scales of analysis, from the behavior of large groups of people (economics and ecology), to the diffusion of ions across cellular membranes (molecular biology and biophysics). At each of these scales, researchers often believe that the critical phenomena of interest, and the most powerful explanatory constructs and mechanisms, reside at their scale of analysis, with finer scales argued to be incapable of predicting the interesting phenomena, while coarser scales are purported to miss critical mechanistic subtleties. Here we argue by analogy that, for better or worse, researchers at all scales are correct: phenomena at each scale of analysis are intractable from other scales; thus, while reductionism is a useful scientific goal, it will not obviate the need for macroscopic research, constructs, and formalisms. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
Nucleic acid crystallography: current progress.

Fifty years after the publication of the DNA double helix model by Watson and Crick, new nucleic acid structures keep emerging at an ever-increasing rate. The past three years have brought a flurry of new oligonucleotide structures, including those of a Hoogsteen-paired DNA duplex, Holliday junctions, DNA–drug complexes, quadruplexes, a host of RNA motifs and various nucleic acid analogues. Major advances were also made in terms of the structure and function of catalytic RNAs. These range from improved models of the phosphodiester cleavage reactions catalyzed by the hairpin and hepatitis delta virus ribozymes to the visualization of a complete active site of a group I self-splicing intron with bound 5′- and 3′-exons. These triumphs are complemented by a refined understanding of cation–nucleic-acid interactions and new routes to the generation of derivatives for phasing of DNA and RNA structures.
Proactive management of software aging

Software failures are now known to be a dominant source of system outages. Several studies and much anecdotal evidence point to "software aging" as a common phenomenon, in which the state of a software system degrades with time. Exhaustion of system resources, data corruption, and numerical error accumulation are the primary symptoms of this degradation, which may eventually lead to performance degradation of the software, crash/hang failure, or other undesirable effects. "Software rejuvenation" is a proactive technique intended to reduce the probability of future unplanned outages due to aging. The basic idea is to pause or halt the running software, refresh its internal state, and resume or restart it. Software rejuvenation can be performed by relying on a variety of indicators of aging, or on the time elapsed since the last rejuvenation. In response to the strong desire of customers to be provided with advance notice of unplanned outages, our group has developed techniques that detect the occurrence of software aging due to resource exhaustion, estimate the time remaining until the exhaustion reaches a critical level, and automatically perform proactive software rejuvenation of an application, process group, or entire operating system, depending on the pervasiveness of the resource exhaustion and our ability to pinpoint the source. This technology has been incorporated into the IBM Director for xSeries servers. To quantitatively evaluate the impact of different rejuvenation policies on the availability of cluster systems, we have developed analytical models based on stochastic reward nets (SRNs). For timebased rejuvenation policies, we determined the optimal rejuvenation interval based on system availability and cost. We also analyzed a rejuvenation policy based on prediction, and showed that it can further increase system availability and reduce downtime cost. These models are very general and can capture a multitude of cluster system characteristics, failure behavior, and performability measures, which we are just beginning to explore.
Comparison of African American Children's Performances on a Minimal Competence Core for Morphosyntax and the Index of Productive Syntax

Purpose This study is a response to the need for evidence-based measures of spontaneous oral language to assess African American children under the age of 4 years. We determined if pass/fail status on a minimal competence core for morphosyntax (MCC-MS) was more highly related to scores on the Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn)—the measure of convergent criterion validity—than to scores on 3 measures of divergent validity: number of different words (Watkins, Kelly, Harbers, & Hollis, 1995), Percentage of Consonants Correct–Revised (Shriberg, Austin, Lewis, McSweeney, & Wilson, 1997), and the Leiter International Performance Scale–Revised (Roid & Miller, 1997). Method Archival language samples for 68 African American 3-year-olds were analyzed to determine MCC-MS pass/fail status and the scores on measures of convergent and divergent validity. Results Higher IPSyn scores were observed for 60 children who passed the MCC-MS than for 8 children who did not. A significant positive correlation, r pb = .73, betwee...
Value-Based Financially Sustainable Behavioral Health Components in Patient-Centered Medical Homes

Because a high percentage of primary care patients have behavioral problems, patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) that wish to attain true comprehensive whole-person care will find ways to integrate behavioral health services into their structure. Yet in today’s health care environment, the incorporation of behavioral services into primary care is exceptional rather than usual practice. In this article, we discuss the components considered necessary to provide sustainable, value-added integrated behavioral health care in the PCMH. These components are to: (1) combine medical and behavioral benefits into one payment pool; (2) target complex patients for priority behavioral health care; (3) use proactive onsite behavioral “teams;” (4) match behavioral professional expertise to the need for treatment escalation inherent in stepped care; (5) define, measure, and systematically pursue desired outcomes; (6) apply evidence-based behavioral treatments; and (7) use cross-disciplinary care managers in assisting the most complicated and vulnerable. By adopting these 7 components, PCHMs will augment their ability to achieve improved health in their patients at lower cost in a setting that enhances ease of access to commonly needed services.
AGE-DEPENDENT EFFECTS OF JASMONIC ACID TREATMENT AND WIND EXPOSURE ON FOLIAR OXIDASE ACTIVITY AND INSECT RESISTANCE IN TOMATO

Jasmonic acid (JA) treatment of tomato plants induces several defense-related oxidative enzymes and increases pest resistance in a manner thought to simulate natural insect wounding. In a full-factorial greenhouse experiment, we examined the independent and interactive effects of plant age and exposure to wind-induced mechanical stress (MS), on the ability of JA to induce defense in tomato. In general, treatment of 4-, 6-, and 8-week-old tomato plants with 1 mM JA resulted in the induction of peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase activity and reduced the relative growth rate of first-instar Manduca sexta larvae fed treated leaves, in accordance with other studies. Peroxidase activity increased with plant age and was induced by JA most strongly in older plants. In contrast, polyphenol oxidase activity did not change with plant age and was induced by JA most strongly in young plants. While relative growth rates of M. sexta were lower on older plants overall, JA reduced growth rates most strongly in young plants, in which JA treatment enhanced polyphenol oxidase activity by more than 70%. MS enhanced the activity of peroxidase, but substantially reduced the activity of polyphenol oxidase; the latter most intensely on older plants. M. sexta tended to grow more slowly on MS-treated plants, although this effect was not significant. Thus, reduced polyphenol oxidase activity in MS-treated plants did not lead to an increase in growth rate of M. sexta, possibly because peroxidase activity was still elevated in MS-treated plants. Significant interactions between JA and MS and three-way interactions were not detected for any variable, although the inductive effects of both JA and MS interacted in complex ways with plant age. Our results indicate that resistance traits in tomato are differentially affected by JA and wind exposure and differ in their relative contribution to defense as plants age.
Temporal Correlation and Frequency Spectra of Wave Fluctuations in a Random Medium and the Effects of an Inhomogeneous Random Medium

This chapter contains sections titled: Temporal Frequency Spectra of a Plane Wave When the Average Wind Velocity U Is Transverse and the Wind Fluctuation V f Is Negligible Temporal Spectra due to Average and Fluctuating Wind Velocities Temporal Frequency Spectra of a Spherical Wave Two-Frequency Correlation Function Crossed Beams Wave Fluctuations in an Inhomogeneous Random Medium Wave Fluctuations in a Localized Smoothly Varying Random Medium
The Impact of Instructor Expertise and Competency on Student Learning and Strategies for Improvement

Context: Paradoxes exist in athletic training education. Practicing athletic trainers must be able to demonstrate competency in the knowledge, skills, and abilities that span the scope of practice....
Drawing the True You: Redefining Self-Perception Using an Integrated, Multisensory Intervention

AbstractThis article includes a description of a creative intervention to build and foster self-esteem in women who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. The author, while a counselor-in-training, was tasked with implementing a self-esteem psycho-education group for women with substance abuse addiction and criminal backgrounds at a women’s recovery center in the central United States. The resources provided and referenced did not seem adequate; therefore, the author developed The True You intervention as a way to creatively reveal and enhance the self-esteem of each group member. An example of the intervention and a discussion of the adaptations and limitations are provided.
Methyl Radical Reactivity on the Basal Plane of Graphite

The reaction of submonolayer Li atoms with CH3Cl at 100 K on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface has been studied under ultrahigh vacuum. We exploit the low defect density of the high quality HOPG used here (∼109 defects cm–2) to eliminate the effects of step edges and defects on the graphite surface chemistry. Li causes C–Cl bond scission in CH3Cl, liberating CH3 radicals below 130 K. Ordinarily, two CH3 species would couple to form products such as C2H6, but in the presence of graphite, CH3 preferentially adsorbs on the flat basal plane of Li-treated graphite. A C–CH3 bond of 1.2 eV is formed, which is enhanced relative to CH3 binding to clean graphite (0.52 eV) due to donation of electrons from Li into the graphite and back-donation from graphite to CH3. A low yield of C1, C2, and C3 hydrocarbon products above 330 K is found along with a low yield of H2. The low yield of these products indicates that the majority of the CH3 groups are irreversibly bound to the basal plane of graphite, a...
Parasitization of Goniozus legneri (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) at increasing parasite and host, Amyelois transitella (Lepidoptera: Phycitidae), densities.

Goniozus legneri Gordh oviposition behavior was significantly influenced by variations in host-parasite densities. Oviposition rates tended to increase with increases in host density. Sex ratios, although strongly female biased (>82%), were significantly influenced by host-parasite density within a range of about 10%.
Development and behavior of immature stages of the maize weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) within kernels of resistant and susceptible maize.

Development and behavior of the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky, were studied in artificially infested kernels of resistant and susceptible maize. Four instars and the prepupal and pupal stages were determined by observing daily radiographs of 76 larvae. Larval molt was determined by a sudden increase in tunnel diameter. The lengths of the first, second, and third stadia were similar in both resistant and susceptible maize. The fourth stadium was significantly shorter in the resistant types. In general, the first and second stadia were significantly longer than the others, probably because of handling stress. Longer first stadia also occurred when larvae were placed in the endosperm. Feeding at the interface between endosperm and germ promoted significantly faster development of the second, third, and fourth instars. The larvae made short, wide tunnels in resistant maize and long, narrow tunnels in susceptible maize. The prepupal stage lasted 1 d and the pupal stage 5.5 d. The duration of the preemerged adult stage was longer in resistant than in susceptible varieties.
Precision electronic counting of Psoroptes ovis (Acari: Psoroptidae)

Psoroptes ovis mites were counted and measured with an electronic particle counter. A comparison of numbers of manually and electronically counted mites yielded a ratio of ca. 0.98. A reliable method for counting and measuring different life stages of near-microscopic arthropods is presented. Volume and diameter of mites obtained from electronic measurements agreed quite well with known values for these mites. Manual measurements of length and width of adult females was 553 and 442 µm, respectively, compared with an electronically determined diameter of 428 ± 35 µm. For larvae, lengths and widths were 211 and 164 µm compared with an electronically determined diameter of 175 ± 40 µm.
Long-Range Forecasting, 2nd. Ed

Long-Range Forecasting, 2nd. ed, is based heavily on empirical studies and demonstrated many useful forecasting techniques to attain higher levels of accuracy. The book incorporates supportive answers when wondering which forecasting method is best to use in give situations, or the advantages or disadvantages for each method. Research areas covered in the book include: economics, sociology, psychology, transportation, education and management, with references to medicine, weather, and techonology. The book explains, in clear detail: How to structure a forecasting problem, the strengths and weaknesses of the available forecasting methods, how to evaluate forecasting systems, how to get a new forecasting method accepted by your users, how managers should use forecasts, ideas for future research - with suggestions on the kind of research that will have the biggest payoff.
Neutrophils in reexpansion pulmonary edema.

This study investigated the possible contribution of neutrophils to development of reexpansion pulmonary edema (RPE) in rabbits. Rabbits' right lungs were collapsed for 7 days and then reexpanded w...
C-Lock-A Method to Maximize Carbon Sequestration Value to Agro-forestry Producers and Purchasers

Publisher Summary This chapter provides a detailed description of C-Lock, a patent-pending Web-based carbon sequestration accounting and marketing tool. C-Lock, developed by Dr. Zimmerman and his colleagues at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, aggregates carbon emission reduction offsets from individual land parcels and prepares certified units for sale in the marketplace. The C-Lock process allows agricultural producers to quantify the impact of specific land-use management practices for specific agricultural land parcels on the sequestration of carbon in soil and vegetation. It also aggregates carbon emission reduction offsets for individual land parcels into units that can be efficiently marketed. This comprehensive tool has been designed to serve as an interface to link agricultural producers, carbon sequestration science and policy, and those who wish to purchase carbon emission reduction offsets. The C-Lock process incorporates three levels of data validation. Level I validation compares producer input data with lookup data for regional land use. Level II verification consists of a random audit to compare satellite data for a land parcel with reported data. Level III verification consists of submitting all data to a third party to operate the model and confirm the results. The C-Lock system must account for the variability in carbon accounting that results from a wide range of sources.
In support of Fatty Acid Synthase (FAS) as a metabolic oncogene in breast cancer: Extracellular acidosis acts in an epigenetic fashion activating Fatty Acid Synthase (FAS) gene expression in non-cancerous human breast epithelial MCF10A and breast cancer MCF-7 cells

2784 Relatively little information exists on the ultimate molecular mechanisms by which the lipogenic enzyme Fatty Acid Synthase (FAS) is differentially overexpressed in a biologically aggressive subset of human malignancies. Since the microenvironment of solid tumors contains regions of poor oxygenation and high acidity, it has recently been suggested that cancer-associated FAS is a novel metabolic oncogene conferring a selective growth advantage upon stresses such as hypoxia and/or low pH. Here, we performed transient transfection studies with a 178-bp FAS promoter fragment harboring a complex Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Proteins (SREBP)-binding site to evaluate whether extracellular low pH and/or hypoxia may act in an epigenetic fashion by inducing changes in the transcriptional activation of FAS gene in cancer cells. First, non-cancerous human breast epithelial MCF10A and breast cancer MCF-7 cells cultured in acidosis (pH 6.5), but not under hypoxia or in the presence of hypoxia mimetics, demonstrated a more than two-fold increase in the transcriptional activity of FAS promoter-reporter constructs compared with control cells grown under standard culture conditions (pH 7.4). Second, the up-regulatory effect of extracellular acidosis on the transcriptional activation of FAS gene was not observed when the FAS promoter was truncated at the SREBP-binding site. Third, MCF10A and MCF-7 cells engineered to overexpress the Her-2/ neu ( erb B-2) oncogene exhibited a SREBP-dependent activation of the FAS promoter-reporter construct up to six-fold higher than that found in wild-type MCF10A or MCF-7 cells, while extracellular acidosis resulted only in a marginal increase of Her-2/ neu -promoted activation of FAS gene. This study reveals for the first time that extracellular acidosis can work in an epigenetic fashion by up-regulating the transcriptional expression of FAS gene in non-cancerous and cancerous breast epithelial cells, a stimulatory effect that is equally mimicked by well-characterized oncogenic stimuli such as Her-2/ neu . Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest that activation of FAS gene expression is a very early and necessary molecular event of the malignant cell phenotype, thus supporting the role of FAS as a novel metabolic oncogene in breast cancer cells.
Isolation and characterization of uridine diphosphate-N-glycolylmuramyl-L-alanyl-γ-D-glutamyl-meso-α,α′-diaminopimelic acid from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Abstract When growing cells of the H37Ra strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis are exposed to 1.0 m M D-cycloserine, an intracellular peptide-containing nucleotide accumulates. This incomplete precursor for the synthesis of cell wall was isolated and characterized as UDP-N-glycolylmuramyl-L-Ala-γ-D-Glu- meso -DAP.
Approximating the near-edge mass absorption coefficients for Ni using an ultra-thin bimetal foil

In an effort to improve the characteristics of a fluorescing metal-foil-based beam position monitor, a new bimetal ultra-thin (0.98/0.67 µm) Ti–Ni foil was introduced to replace an existing single-element ultra-thin 0.5 µm thick Cr foil. During characterization it was determined that absorption measurements on the bimetal foil could be used to fit the Ni mass absorption coefficients accurately in the vicinity of the Ni K edge. Comparison with experimental results from the literature demonstrated that the fitting procedure produced coefficients with uncertainties of the order of ±1%. Once determined, these fit coefficients allowed the thickness of an independently mounted 8 µm thick Ni foil to be computed from absorption measurements instead of relying on a tool-based measurement of the foil thickness. Using the 8 µm thick foil, a continuous map of Ni mass absorption coefficients was produced at 1 eV resolution throughout the near-edge region. This high-resolution map marks a significant improvement over the existing NIST XCOM or FFAST database mass absorption coefficients, which have estimated errors of 10–20% for the near-edge region.
Tree-based Dependence Models for Speech Recognition

The independence assumptions typically used to make speech recognition practical ignore the fact that different sounds in speech are highly correlated. Tree-structured dependence models make it possible to represent cross-class acoustic dependence in recognition when used in conjunction with hidden Markov or other such models. These models have Markov-like assumptions on the branches of a tree, which lead to efficient recursive algorithms for state estimation. This paper will describe general approaches to topology design and parameter estimation of tree-based models and outline more specific solutions for two examples: discrete-state hidden dependence trees and continuous-state multiscale models, drawing analogies to results for time series models. Initial results for both cases will be described, followed by a discussion of questions raised by the experiments.
Understanding inner music: A dimensional approach to musical imagery.

Inner music—hearing music inside your head that isn’t playing in the environment—is a common experience that takes many forms. Research on inner music, however, has primarily emphasized instances of involuntary, aversive musical imagery, such as “earworms.” The present research develops a new conceptual framework, consisting of five fundamental dimensions, that can advance our understanding of inner music. In an experience-sampling study, a sample of musicians and people from the general university community (N = 132) was recruited to examine inner music as it occurs in-the-moment in everyday life. Over the course of a week, participants were contacted throughout the day and asked about their experiences with inner music, with an emphasis on the five dimensions: Affective Valence, Repetitiveness, Vividness, Mental Control, and Length. The results showed that there is variability at both the within-person and between-person levels on each of the proposed dimensions—people have a variety of musical imagery experiences, not just a few different types. Additionally, these dimensions were related to three different individual difference factors: personality, musical expertise, and auditory imagery ability. Openness to experience and extraversion, musical training, and the ability to form vivid auditory images were the primary predictors of the qualities of inner music. Additionally, the present research has implications for how musical imagery is measured—retrospective and in-the-moment reports differed considerably, suggesting people cannot accurately recall their inner music experiences. Overall, the findings show considerable variability in musical imagery and that focusing on specific types of inner music (e.g., earworms) ignores many other experiences. Looking at the qualities of inner music will be fruitful for future work and broaden the scope of research.
Engaging young learners in making games: an exploratory study

There has some initial work on using game play and game development to engage young children in STEM learning [5, 22, 23]. However, there not been a lot of recent work on using game development to engage young children in improving computational thinking. In this paper, the author provides an overview of an exploratory study of a group of forth grade and a group of fifth grade students during summer 2017. Both groups of students used a free game development platform from Microsoft (Kodu Game Lab) to make computer games. The results found that the participants in both camps demonstrated significant changes in attitudes and perceptions of CS.
Mandating Coverage for Fertility Preservation - A Step in the Right Direction.

Connecticut and Rhode Island recently became the first U.S. states to mandate insurance coverage of fertility-preservation services for patients about to undergo a medical treatment — surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy — that may have deleterious effects on the gonads.
EGCG sensitizes human prostate carcinoma LNCaP cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis

2258 Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the major polyphenolic constituent present in green tea possesses anti-proliferative and anti-tumor promoting effects against several tumor types including prostate cancer. These effects of EGCG have been demonstrated to be triggered via disruption of cell cycle and induction of apoptosis of cancer cells. Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), an endogenous member of the tumor necrosis factor family of cell death-inducing ligands, induces apoptosis in a wide variety of cancer and transformed cells. However, some cells including the human prostate carcinoma LNCaP cells are only slightly susceptible to apoptosis induction by TRAIL. In this study, we determined if EGCG could sensitize LNCaP cells to limited apoptosis induction by TRAIL. LNCaP cells were treated with EGCG (20-80 μM) for 24 hours followed by the treatment with TRAIL (100 ng/ml) for another 24 hours. Control cells treated with the vehicle, EGCG alone and TRAIL alone were run in parallel. Cells were processed for studying cell-viability by an MTT assay and for investigating key death regulatory molecules by immuno-blot analysis. There was 20% cell death by TRAIL alone and 22%, 34% and 46% cell death by EGCG alone at 20, 40 and 80 μM respectively. Combination of EGCG and TRAIL resulted in 11 to 19% enhanced cell death as compared to additive effects of the each agent alone. Further, cells treated with EGCG and TRAIL exhibited increased induction of apoptosis when compared to each agent alone. The induction of apoptosis by the combination of TRAIL and EGCG was found to be accompanied by increased cleavage of procaspases-3, -6, -8, and -9 and cleavage of PARP. We also observed that combination of EGCG and TRAIL significantly up regulated DR4, a death receptor of TRAIL. In addition we found that EGCG and TRAIL mediated apoptosis occurs due to synergistic inhibition of survivin, an anti-apoptotic member of the inhibitor of apoptosis family of proteins, that is selectively expressed in most common human neoplasms and appears to be involved in tumor cell resistance to anticancer agents. We further observed enhanced induction of pro-apoptotic Bax and Bak and inhibition of anti-apoptotic Bcl2 in cells pre-treated with EGCG followed by TRAIL. Our results suggest that both the extrinsic (receptor-mediated) and intrinsic (chemical-induced) pathways of apoptosis are triggered in LNCaP cells treated with a combination of EGCG and TRAIL. These observations define a potential use of EGCG in sensitizing prostate cancer cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis and offer a novel strategy for treating human prostate cancer.
Exploring Online and Offline Search Behavior Based on the Varying Task Complexity

In an information seeking episode, users often look for sources in online and offline environments depending on the task at hand. However, at most times users consider factors such as ease, time taken to complete the task, and the number of sources to be consulted as the essential factors while fulfilling the information seeking task. In our study, we explore the role of different cost variables -- ease, time taken to complete the task, and the number of sources consulted -- as the factors to be explored based on different cognitive task complexity levels, from Bloom»s taxonomy, by conducting a user study. We study the different search behaviors shown by users in online and offline environments based on the different cognitive task complexity levels and the three cost variables. We observed intriguing results that show factors such as ease, time, and the number of sources play a role in source selection while completing the tasks. Our study is a novel proposition in that we explore research in the direction of source selection based on different cognitive task complexity levels. The findings will contribute to shaping how tasks should be designed to use sources in a helpful and convenient manner. Moreover, the results also advance our understanding of the role that different affordances play in online and offline search behavior.
Seroconversion on preexposure prophylaxis: a case report with segmental hair analysis for timed adherence determination.

Objective We describe the third case report of seroconversion with multidrug resistant (MDR)-HIV despite pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with emtricitabine (FTC) and tenofovir (TFV) disoproxil (TDF). Design Case report. Methods PrEP adherence was assessed via self-report, pharmacy records, and measuring TFV/FTC levels with liquid-chromatography/tandem-mass-spectrometry in plasma and hair. Segmental hair analysis was performed to assess PrEP adherence over prior months. Genotypic resistance was assessed. Results A 34 year-old white MSM started daily FTC/TDF in February 2016 after being provided 11 refills. In March 2017, he developed fevers, chills, myalgias and was assessed, but no HIV test was sent. In April 2017, an antigen/antibody HIV test was reactive (day 0). On day 2, HIV-1 RNA was 27 316 copies/ml, genotyping revealed M184V, K70T, K65R, and K103N mutations, plasma TFV and FTC concentrations were consistent with recent dosing. To evaluate adherence over preceding months, a hair sample was collected at day 27 and segmental analysis of TFV/FTC levels performed in one-centimeter segments from the scalp. Hair drug levels (0.0434-0.0520 ng TFV/mg hair) were commensurate with consistently high PrEP adherence over the prior 3 months. Conclusions This study employs segmental analysis of PrEP drug levels in hair for the first time to assess adherence over preceding months in the setting of an HIV seroconversion on PrEP. High adherence over the period of likely acquisition makes MDR-HIV infection the most likely scenario in this case. Adequate adherence assessment when examining PrEP failures and ensuring best practices in PrEP prescribing and follow-up are important.
Decentralization of Health Systems: Challenges and Global Issues of the Twenty-First Century

Decentralization of health systems is a growing trend in most nations. However, there are a series of new challenges that face these processes of decentralization. To assess these challenges, this chapter first starts with a definition of decentralization that defines who gets more choice (deconcentration or devolution) and how much choice they get over what functions, which we call “decision space.” It is also important to assess the capacities of those who receive more choice and the accountability they have toward the national authorities and the local population of beneficiaries. The major new challenges to the processes of decentralization reviewed in this chapter are national health insurance and universal coverage, growth of the private sector, epidemiological and demographic changes, and new structures of governance and accountability. It concludes with policy recommendations which suggest the need to balance “decision space” for local authorities with realistic development of their capacities, reserving some key functions to the national authorities. It is also important to push forward a research agenda to assess the best mix of the elements of decentralization that are most likely to achieve better health system performance.
Teaching About Race and Racism: The Imperative of History

Teaching About Race and Racism: The Imperative of History makes a case for teaching about the history of the construction of race in the classroom. Documenting how every institution in the country participated in creating a racial hierarchy with white at the top and noting how cultural beliefs and values were then created to reinforce racist assumptions, the author argues that teaching the evolution of the political and social construction of race offers students an opportunity to step back from conditioned personal defensiveness and denial in order to individually and collectively understand and take responsibility for racial justice.
Asymptotic and exact interval estimators of the common odds ratio under the sequential parallel comparison design.

When studying treatments for psychiatric or mental diseases in a placebo-controlled trial, we may consider use of the sequential parallel comparison design to reduce the number of patients needed t...
Highly Efficient Nonlinear Integrated Photonics in Ultracompact Periodically-Poled Lithium Niobate on Silicon

We present second-harmonic generation, pumped in the telecom wavelengths, with strong nonlinear conversion efficiencies up to 1230 %W−1cm−2 using ultracompact periodically-poled thin-film lithium niobate waveguides on a silicon chip.
Private Equity, Jobs and Productivity: Reply to Davis, Haltiwanger, Handley, Jarmin, Lerner, and Miranda (2018) (A Comment deux )

Davis, Haltiwanger, Handley, Jarmin, Lerner, and Miranda (2014) provide evidence that the impact of controversial leveraged buyouts on employment is modest. Our paper challenges this view. We argue that the sample tested in Davis et al. (2014) is not specific to controversial leveraged buyouts as claimed. We show that while the Davis et al. (2014) sample does include some controversial leveraged buyouts, most buyouts tested are growth equity and other private equity investments. Using a new public dataset specific to controversial leveraged buyouts, we show that employment declines are economically significant and worthy of public concern.
Teacher Strike! Public Education and the Making of a New American Political Order

Review of: "Teacher Strike! Public Education and the Making of a New American Political Order," by Jon Shelton.
RACE AND SEX-BASED DISPARITIES PERSIST IN THE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH SEVERE, SYMPTOMATIC AORTIC VALVE STENOSIS

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has revolutionized the care of patients with severe symptomatic aortic valve stenosis (ssAS); however, it remains unknown whether dissemination of this technology has been equitable. Natural language processing of electronic health records in the claims
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY OF GLUTAMINE SYNTHETASE DNA INTERACTIONS

ABSTRACT It has been suggested that glutamine synthetase regulates transcription of several genes in enteric bacteria. Electron micrographs now show that the enzyme binds to DNA. The affinity is non-specific: GS1 binds to phage DNA containing an operon that GS is known to regulate, but also to wild type phage DNA, and to DNAs as diverse as colicine ElI and calf thymus. GS in both its adenylylated and unadenylylated forms binds to DNA. At low ratios of GS to DNA, some GS molecules bind several strands of DNA.
Transforming the Hispanic Leader

This essay describes the curriculum and implementation of the Hispanic Leadership Academy (HLA), designed to guide and mentor first generation, Hispanic students into becoming leaders in their comm...