cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhancing IEEE 802.11i Standard using Quantum Cryptograp

Most of our social activities, financial transactions, and other sensitive activities take place online. These transactions are subject to the risk of being intercepted by malicious individuals or groups. The channels that carry this information use a set of specifications called 802.11 and 802.11x standards, created by IEEE for WLAN technologies. Unfortunately, these standards are not the most secure and use the WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) protocol which is not well designed and does not hold up to today’s methods of network penetration. In this paper we discuss the application of quantum cryptography as a way of creating encryption keys for wireless and mobile environments, which results in a secure solution to the weaknesses of the IEEE 802.11 standards and WEP protocol.
Difference modeling for design space exploration and comparison of three-dimensional structural simulation results:

Design space exploration is an important part of design in engineering fields. Recent research employs surrogate models to emulate finite element analyses across a design space, allowing rapid desi...
Toxicity screening of two prevalent metal organic frameworks for therapeutic use in human lung epithelial cells.

Introduction The flexibility and tunability of metal organic frameworks (MOFs), crystalline porous materials composed of a network of metal ions coordinated by organic ligands, confer their variety of applications as drug delivery systems or as sensing and imaging agents. However, such properties also add to the difficulty in ensuring their safe implementation when interaction with biological systems is considered. Methods In the current study, we used real-time sensorial strategies and cellular-based approaches to allow for fast and effective screening of two MOFs of prevalent use, namely, MIL-160 representative of a hydrophilic and ZIF-8 representative of a hydrophobic framework. The two MOFs were synthesized "in house" and exposed to human bronchial epithelial (BEAS-2B) cells, a pertinent toxicological screening model. Results Analysis allowed evaluation and differentiation of particle-induced cellular effects as well identification of different degrees and routes of toxicity, all in a high-throughput manner. Our results show the importance of performing screening toxicity assessments before introducing MOFs to biomedical applications. Discussion Our proposed screening assays could be extended to a wider variety of cell lines to allow for identification of any deleterious effects of MOFs, with the range of toxic mechanisms to be differentiated based on cell viability, morphology and cell-substrate interactions, respectively. Conclusion Our analysis highlights the importance of considering the physicochemical properties of MOFs when recommending a MOF-based therapeutic option or MOFs implementation in biomedical applications.
Feasibility Analysis of a Solar PV Grid-Connected System Using PVsyt Software Tools

The Renewable energy sources have become an effective and practical option for integration with fossil fuel power plants, as well as reducing the use of traditional fuels that pollute the environment. This paper presents a exploration of smart grid-connected photovoltaic installations in the southwest of Algeria. This power plant is located in the area of Kabertene Adrar with a capacity of 3 MW and has been under operation since 2015.
Confirming the Efficacy of an Adaptive Component to Family-Based Treatment for Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Family-based treatment (FBT) has the largest evidence base for treating adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN); 35–50% of cases remit at the end-of-treatment and remain remitted 3–4 years after treatment. Studies of FBT demonstrate that weight restoration by session 4 (of 2.4 kgs) predicts remission at end of treatment in 85–90% of cases. One way to improve outcomes is to tailor treatments to patients depending on successful weight restoration at session 4. Pilot data found that by adding three sessions of Intensive Parental Coaching (IPC) after session 4 improved outcomes in early non-responders. Further, data suggest that the mechanism underlying FBT is early improvements in parental self-efficacy related to re-feeding their child. This manuscript describes a study protocol to examine whether adding IPC to FBT improves outcomes in early non-responders and confirm whether change in parental self-efficacy is the mechanism by which FBT works. This two-site randomized controlled trial (RCT) will randomize 60 adolescents with a DSM-5 diagnosis of AN (30 per site) who are between the ages of 12–18 years old and do not gain 2.4 kgs by session 4 of FBT. Randomized participants will either continue standard FBT or receive the three sessions of IPC and then continue FBT as usual. Both arms include up to 18 sessions over the course of 9 months. Blinded assessments will be conducted at baseline, 3-month within-treatment, end of treatment, and at 6 and 12-month follow-up. Parental-self efficacy will be assessed using the Parent versus Anorexia Scale at all major assessment time points and at each of the first eight sessions of treatment. The primary outcome is achievement of weight remission (> 94% expected mean percent body mass index (BMI) adjusted for age, height, and gender). Clinical Trial Registration http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT03097874","term_id":"NCT03097874"}}NCT03097874.
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Hepatocellular Cancer: Current Understanding on Mechanisms of Resistance and Biomarkers of Response to Treatment

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver malignancy worldwide and a leading cause of death worldwide. Its incidence continues to increase in the US due to hepatitis C infection and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Liver transplantation and resection remain the best therapeutic options for cure, but these are limited by the shortage of available organs for transplantation, diagnosis at advanced stage, and underlying chronic liver disease found in most patients with HCC. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been shown to be an evolving novel treatment option in certain advanced solid tumors and have been recently approved for inoperable, advanced, and metastatic HCC. Unfortunately, a large cohort of patients with HCC fail to respond to immunotherapy. In this review, we discuss the ICIs currently approved for HCC treatment and their various mechanisms of action. We will highlight current understanding of mechanism of resistance and limitations to ICIs. Finally, we will describe emerging biomarkers of response to ICIs and address future direction on overcoming resistance to immune checkpoint therapy.
Gen Z and Esports: Digitizing the Live Event Brand

As digitization converges with globalization, industries across the world establish new standards, platforms and audience engagement methods to delight consumers adjusting to CV19’s virtual space. Within the Tourism and Hospitality industry, gamification provides the events and meetings sector an opportunity to implement hybrid events at a level unseen before. Esports is the newest standard of gamification for hybrid, both live and virtual, events. However, within this new standard, there is a large knowledge gap among event organizers of how to execute an esport experience and why esports dominance is necessary to incorporate into hospitality and tourism models. Through understanding esports’ majority consumer, Gen Z, and accurately reflecting esports culture, event organizers will assist the tourism economy through prosperous esport events.
The Need to Overrule Mapp v. Ohio

This Article argues that it is time to overrule Mapp v. Ohio. It contends, first of all, that a tough deterrent sanction is difficult to reconcile with a system where victims are increasingly seen to have a stake in criminal cases. Secondly, the Article maintains that a tough exclusionary sanction is inappropriate given what police are asked to do on the street and the fact that concepts such as probable cause or reasonable suspicion are inevitably matters of judgment on which reasonable people will differ. Thirdly, the Article shows how the Court’s epistemological assumption that “hunches” are improper bases for action and that officers must instead have reasons they can articulate for their actions is outdated given social science and neuroscience research showing that humans often “feel” or “sense” danger, sometimes at a subconscious level. The Article’s main attack on Mapp, however, is on the Court's assumption that harsh sanctions deter undesirable behaviors. This is wrong in theory and is highly debatable empirically. Classical deterrence theory always insisted that deterrence must result from the consistent imposition of proportional punishment, not the imposition of harsh punishments. Moreover, our experience with deterrence, especially, the death penalty, demonstrates that the deterrent effect of harsh sanctions will always be speculative and uncertain. Unfortunately, having given harsh deterrent sanctions its imprimatur in Mapp, the Court is not in a position to challenge the many deterrent sanctions that push sentences in the United States higher and higher and set the United States apart from other western countries. The Article concludes that it is time for the Court to overrule Mapp and rebuild the exclusionary rule on a proportional basis, such as one finds in other common law countries.
A New Long-term Generation Planning Tool for Low-carbon Economy

This paper presents a computationally efficient optimization model that finds the long-term generation expansion for low-carbon economy. The model incorporates investment and retirement of generation, CO 2 emissions polices, and power system physical constraints. The tool is used to simulate generation planning over a ten-year forecast horizon. The dual simplex linear programming algorithm is used to solve the optimization problem for 12 typical hour-types in each year that meets reliability criteria. Two scenarios are tested that consider subsidies for renewables and CO 2 emissions regulation. High and low gas price trends are also simulated and have small impacts on CO 2 emissions. Low gas prices with cap-and-trade reduce carbon emissions the most. Extensive retirement of coal-fired power plants occurs in all cases.
Interrater Agreement of Bosniak Classification Version 2019 and Version 2005 for Cystic Renal Masses at CT and MRI.

Interrater agreement for cystic renal mass assessment was similar between Bosniak version 2005 and Bosniak version 2019 and remains suboptimal; variation in Bosniak class was driven by common inter...
A Clinical Ethics Approach to Opioid Treatment of Chronic Noncancer Pain.

Because knowledge about the efficacy of long-term opioid use is lacking, decisions about opioid treatment for chronic nonmalignant pain should be guided by a six-step decision making process that is based in clinical ethics.
The EGF Receptor Signaling System

The receptor for epidermal growth factor (EGF) and related ligands (EGFR; also referred to as HER and c-erbB 1) is expressed on cells of many lineages. Receptor binding by at least five genetically distinct ligands activates the intrinsic kinase resulting in EGFR tyrosyl-phosphorylating itself and numerous intermediary effector molecules, including closely-related c-erbB receptor family members. This action initiates a multitude of signaling pathways, some of which attenuate receptor signaling. The integrated biological responses to EGFR signaling include mitogenesis or apoptosis, enhanced cell motility, protein secretion, and differentiation or dedifferentiation; the outcome depends both on the proteomic complement of cell and other operative extracellular signals. Implicated in organ morphogenesis, maintenance and repair, upregulated EGFR signaling also correlates with a wide variety of tumors, especially at progression to invasion and metastasis. Thus, EGFR and its resultant signals are therapeutic targets in cancer and wound healing treatments.
Motor Learning Research: Meaningful Ways for Physical Educators or a Waste of Time?

I attempt to provide a framework for the subsequent position papers by offering perceptions about the nature of motor learning research and various factors affecting its focus, quality, and depth. Historical antecedents and present conditions help to explain the course that the motor learning specialization is taking, with implications for the potential meaningfulness of the research to pedagogy and to the advancement of a body of knowledge. A number of variables confound the analysis, including the identification and growth of specializations referred to as motor control and sport psychology (and their interpreted relationship to motor learning), the ability to determine what in fact constitutes motor learning research, the judgment as to what research is user friendly (of potential benefit to physical educators), and the question as to who is responsible for making practical sense of the literature: the scholar or the practitioner.
Antibody Repertoire Development in Fetal and Neonatal Piglets. II. Characterization of Heavy Chain Complementarity-Determining Region 3 Diversity in the Developing Fetus

Since the actual combinatorial diversity in the VH repertoire in fetal piglets represents 30 fetal animals of different ages showed that >95% of VDJ diversity resulted from junctional diversity. Unlike sheep and cattle, somatic hypermutation does not contribute to the repertoire. These studies also revealed that 1) N region additions are as extensive in VDJ rearrangements recovered at 30 days as those in late term fetuses, suggesting that TdT is fully active at the onset of VDJ rearrangement; 2) nearly 90% of all rearrangement are in-frame until late gestation; 3) the oligoclonal CDR3 spectratype of 30-day fetal liver becomes polyclonal by 50 days, while this change occurs much later in spleen; 4) there is little evidence of individual variation in CDR3 spectratype or differences in spectratype among lymphoid tissues with the exception of the thymus; and 4) there is a tendency for usage of the most JH proximal DH segment (DHB) to decrease in older fetuses and for the longer DH segment to be trimmed to the same length as the shorter DH when used in CDR3. These findings suggest that in the fetal piglet, highly restricted combinatorial diversity and the lack of somatic mutation are compensated by early onset of TdT activity and other mechanisms that contribute to CDR3 junctional diversity.
Platinum/erbium disilicide nanowire arrays on Si(001)

Self-assembled ErSi/sub 2-x/ nanowires were grown on Si(001) substrates with average nanowire width of 2.8 nm. Submonolayer coverage of platinum was deposited postgrowth. Scanning tunneling microscopy showed that platinum preferentially deposited on the nanowire surface versus the Si surface. Reactive ion etching of ErSi/sub 2-x/ nanowires with and without platinum on the surface demonstrated that platinum acted as a more resistant etch mask. Etching platinum coated nanowires with lower platinum coverage produced linear arrays of quantum dots with a diameter of approximately the pre-etched nanowire width. The platinum layer was shown to passivate the highly reactive rare earth disilicide surface.
Algorithmic problems in ad hoc networks

The ad hoc networks research agenda aligns well with the methodology and point of view of theoretical computer science, for a variety of reasons: The resource frugality that permeates the theory of algorithms and copmplexity is a perfect match for the regime of resource scarcity that is prevalent in ad hoc networks, imposed by small, power-limited processors. The potentially large scale makes principled approaches more attractive, and necessitates analysis – occasionally even asymptotic analysis. Also, the interplay of geometry, graph theory, and randomness that is a characteristic of problems arising in ad hoc networks creates many challenging problems amenable to mathematical treatment. And the field’s young age and lack of established paradigms further foment and reward theoretical exploration. This talk will review recent work by the author and collaborators on geographic routing and clock synchronization.
Is There an Age Limit to Lung Transplantation

Background Lung transplantation in patients older than 65 years is increasingly common, but questions remain regarding risk vs benefit and procedure choice. We identified short-term and long-term outcomes in older single-lung transplant (SLT) and bilateral-lung transplant (BLT) recipients. Methods We performed a retrospective review of United Network for Organ Sharing data for patients who underwent lung transplantation between May 2005 and December 2012. Patients were grouped by age, and we calculated short-term and long-term survival rates and compared survival distributions. Results Of the 11,776 patients who received lung transplants, 9,317 (79%) were aged 12 to 64 years, 1,902 (16%) were 65 to 69, 486 (4%) were 70 to 74, and 71 (1%) were 75 to 79. Short-term survival was similar across all age groups and procedure types except those aged 75 to 79, who had lower short-term survival for BLT. Those aged 12 to 64 had higher 5-year survival for SLT and BLT than all other groups (p Conclusions Lung transplant can be offered to select older patients up to age 74 with acceptable outcomes. SLT may be preferred for elderly patients, but BLT offers acceptable long-term outcomes without significant short-term risk. Patients older than 75 have acceptable short-term outcomes for SLT, but long-term outcomes for SLT and BLT in this group are poor.
Experimental stress analysis of loaded boundries in two-dimensional second-boundary value problems: The state of strain developed at the boundaries when the displacements are applied mechanically, or thermally, is analyzed for several typical cases

The application of in-plane displacements to the boundaries of two-dimensional specimens is frequently associated with out-of-plane restraints. The state of strain developed at the boundaries when the displacements are applied mechanically, or thermally, is analyzed for several typical cases. The stresses associated with a knife-edge device used to eliminate out-of-plane restraints are also analyzed.
Confinement asymmetry and trapped particle effects on radial transport in charged plasmas

Weak axial variations in B(z) or {phi}(z) in 'axisymmetric' plasma traps cause a fraction of the particles to be trapped axially, with a velocity-space separatrix between trapped and passing populations. The trapped and passing particles experience different dynamics in response to a variety of {theta}-asymmetries in the E x B rotating plasma, so a discontinuity in the velocity-space distribution f(v) tends to form at the separatrix. Collisional scatterings thus cause large fluxes as they smooth the distribution in a boundary layer near the separatrix. In essence, this separatrix dissipation damps the AC or DC longitudinal currents induced by plasma waves or confinement field asymmetries. This trapped-particlemediated damping and 'neoclassical' particle transport often dominates in cylindrical pure electron plasmas, and may be important in other nominally symmetric open systems.
Determining service dependencies in distributed systems

We describe an architecture and its implementation for retrieving and handling dependency information from various managed resources in a Web-based environment. The core of our architecture is a dependency query facility that allows the application of queries and filters to dependency models; its output is a consolidated dependency graph that can then be used as input for event correlators and various management applications to display service topologies or to perform additional problem determination tasks. The definition of an XML-based notation for specifying dependencies facilitates the sharing of information between the various components involved in the process.
Effects of ATP precursors on ATP and free ADP content and functional recovery of postischemic hearts

It has been proposed that administration of adenine nucleotide precursors might accelerate replenishment of myocardial ATP and "free" ADP, thus improving recovery of depressed contractility of postischemic hearts. To test this hypothesis, Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts were subjected to 20 min of global ischemia and reperfused for 2 h with normal perfusate (n = 8) or perfusate containing 100 mumol/l of the ATP precursors adenosine (n = 8) or 5-amino-4-imidazolecarboxamide riboside (AICAriboside; n = 8). After reperfusion, developed pressure in untreated hearts averaged 70-80% of base line, whereas ATP content was reduced to approximately 70% of preischemic values. AICAriboside administration did not increase tissue ATP levels or contractility. However, in every heart that received adenosine during reperfusion, ATP content increased from a mean value of 65 +/- 4% of base line to 84 +/- 5% at the end of reperfusion (P less than 0.001). Free ADP also increased in adenosine-treated hearts from 40 to 50% of base line at the beginning of reperfusion, to normal levels by 60 min. However, no improvement in contractility was observed in the hearts that received adenosine. These results support the hypothesis that decreased availability of nucleotide precursors is responsible for depressed ATP levels in postischemic hearts; however, reduced ATP and free ADP levels may not be directly responsible for the depressed function of stunned myocardium.
Assessment of antimicrobial activity against biofilms.

Publisher Summary Standard minimal inhibitory and bactericidal concentration determinations provide a rapid screening method for assessing antimicrobial resistance. The information obtained may not be applicable to the in vivo situation where an infection is caused by microorganisms growing in biofilms. To more readily address this disparity in response to antimicrobials, it is important to assess activity of new compounds in a model system that embraces the response of biofilms. This chapter develops a simple biofilm model system using Streptococcus mutans, a primary etiological agent of dental caries. The model system embraces the classical experimental design of McCabe et at. Sucrose-driven colonization of a hard surface, in this case glass slides instead of nichrome wires, is the heart of this model. The versatility of this model lies in its implicit simplicity for assaying multiple samples to satisfy appropriate statistical analyses and the ability to perform single or multiple exposure regimens over time. One can expose the biofilms incubate the biofilms in dilute media or artificial saliva for several hours, and then expose the biofilms to the antimicrobials for another round. In essence, this allows one to simulate the situation whereby plaque communities are exposed to antimicrobials in dentifrices three times over a day.
Ocean Acidification Has Multiple Modes of Action on Bivalve Larvae

Ocean acidification (OA) is altering the chemistry of the world’s oceans at rates unparalleled in the past roughly 1 million years. Understanding the impacts of this rapid change in baseline carbonate chemistry on marine organisms needs a precise, mechanistic understanding of physiological responses to carbonate chemistry. Recent experimental work has shown shell development and growth in some bivalve larvae, have direct sensitivities to calcium carbonate saturation state that is not modulated through organismal acid-base chemistry. To understand different modes of action of OA on bivalve larvae, we experimentally tested how pH, PCO2, and saturation state independently affect shell growth and development, respiration rate, and initiation of feeding in Mytilus californianus embryos and larvae. We found, as documented in other bivalve larvae, that shell development and growth were affected by aragonite saturation state, and not by pH or PCO2. Respiration rate was elevated under very low pH (~7.4) with no change between pH of ~ 8.3 to ~7.8. Initiation of feeding appeared to be most sensitive to PCO2, and possibly minor response to pH under elevated PCO2. Although different components of physiology responded to different carbonate system variables, the inability to normally develop a shell due to lower saturation state precludes pH or PCO2 effects later in the life history. However, saturation state effects during early shell development will carry-over to later stages, where pH or PCO2 effects can compound OA effects on bivalve larvae. Our findings suggest OA may be a multi-stressor unto itself. Shell development and growth of the native mussel, M. californianus, was indistinguishable from the Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, collected from the southern U.S. Pacific coast, an area not subjected to seasonal upwelling. The concordance in responses suggests a fundamental OA bottleneck during development of the first shell material affected only by saturation state.
Environmental monitoring in the cell processing laboratory.

(2000). Environmental monitoring in the cell processing laboratory. Cytotherapy: Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 53-57.
To choose, fix, or ignore culture? The cultural politics of Gypsy and Traveler mobility in England

Historically, states have sought to repress the nomadic way of life, as evidenced by various policies that seek to displace, criminalize, or assimilate them. This practice continues today, as the situation of Gypsies and Travelers in Ireland and Britain attests to. This paper examines how Gypsies and Travelers are repeatedly denied the right to practice a nomadic way of life. This occurs through various measures, each corresponding to a particular understanding of how culture operates. I identify two dominant discourses: ‘culture as choice’ and ‘culture as nature.’ The former seeks to assimilate and sedentarize while the latter wishes to prevent Gypsies and Travelers from ‘settling down’ as it does not see any option but for nomadism to continue. Both are similar, however, in that they misunderstand nomadic practices and wish to erase Gypsy and Traveler ways of life. I then delineate how a cultural politics of mobility avoids the pitfalls of seeing culture as a choice or as essential and unchanging, as we...
Aromatase inhibition by 7-substituted steroids in human choriocarcinoma cell culture.

Abstract Androstenedione analogs containing 7α-substituents have proven to be potent inhibitors of aromatase both in vitro and in vivo . Several of these agents have exhibited higher affinity for the enzyme complex than the substrate. In order to examine further the interaction(s) of 7-substituted steroids with aromatase, 7-substituted 4,6-androstadiene-3,17-diones were synthesized and demonstrated competitive inhibition of aromatase activity in human placental microsomes. 7-Substituted 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-diones demonstrated mechanism-based inhibition of placental aromatase acitivity. These agents were evaluated for inhibition of aromatase activity in the JAr human choriocarcinoma line. The 7-substituted 4,6-androstadiene-3,17-diones produced dose dependent inhibition of aromatase activity in the cell cultures, with IC 50 values ranging from 490 nM to 4.5 μM. However, these agents are less effective when compared to other steroidal inhibitors, such as 7α-thiosubstituted androstenediones. These results on the 7-substituted 4,6-androstadiene-3,17-diones are consistent with the data from biochemical enzyme inhibition studies using human placental aromatase. On the other hand, 7-phenethyl-1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione exhibits greater inhibitory activity, with an IC 50 value of 80 nM. Other mechanism-based inhibitors, 7α-(4′-amino)phenylthio-1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione and 4-hydroxyandrostenedione, also exhibited potent inhibition of aromatase acitivity in JAr cells. In summary, the most effective B-ring modified steroidal aromatase inhibitors are those derivatives that can project the 7-aryl substituent into the 7α-position.
Generation of prostacyclin by lungs in vivo and its release into the arterial circulation.

VASCULAR walls generate from prostaglandin endoperoxides or arachidonic acid an anti-aggregatory and a vasodilator substance, prostacyclin (PGI2)1,2. Several prostaglandins are rapidly inactivated as they traverse the pulmonary circulation3 but prostacyclin passes through unchanged4,5. We report here that prostacyclin is continuously generated by the lungs in vivo or in vitro. Clearly, such an endocrine-like function of the lungs could play an important part in the natural resistance of the organism against intra-arterial thrombosis.
Endogenous Circadian Rhythm in Vasovagal Response to Head-Up Tilt

Background—The incidence of syncope exhibits a daily pattern with more occurrences in the morning, possibly as a result of influences from the endogenous circadian system and/or the daily pattern of behavioral/emotional stimuli. This study tested the hypothesis that the circadian system modulates cardiovascular responses to postural stress, leading to increased susceptibility to syncope at specific times of day. Methods and Results—Twelve subjects underwent a 13-day in-laboratory protocol in which subjects' sleep-wake cycles were adjusted to 20 hours for 12 cycles. A 15-minute tilt-table test (60° head-up) was performed ≈4.5 hours after scheduled awakening in each cycle so that 12 tests in each subject were distributed evenly across the circadian cycle. Of 144 tests, signs/symptoms of presyncope were observed in 21 tests in 6 subjects. These presyncope events displayed a clear circadian rhythm (P=0.028) with almost all cases (17/21) occurring in the half of the circadian cycle corresponding to the biologi...
The Meaning of Change in the Student-Teacher Interaction

What happens when a student and teacher have a negative confrontation is described in this article by the authors who also discuss what effect external assistance can have in bringing about change in that interaction.
Induction of PC12 cell differentiation by flavonoids is dependent upon extracellular signal‐regulated kinase activation

Many of the physiological benefits attributed to flavonoids are thought to stem from their potent antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties. Recently, it was shown that flavonoids protect nerve cells from oxidative stress by multiple mechanisms, only one of which is directly related to their antioxidant activity, suggesting that specific flavonoids may have other properties that could make them useful in the treatment of conditions that lead to nerve cell death. In particular, it was asked if any flavonoid could mimic neurotrophic proteins. To examine this possibility, we looked at the ability of flavonoids to induce nerve cell differentiation using PC12 cells. PC12 cells were treated with a variety of flavonoids to determine if there was a correlation between their neuroprotective activity and their neurite outgrowth-promoting activity. In addition, the signaling pathways required for flavonoid-induced differentiation were examined. We found that only a small subset of the flavonoids that were neuroprotective could induce neurite outgrowth by an extracellular signal-regulated kinase-dependent process. There was a strong correlation between the concentrations of the flavonoids that were neuroprotective and the concentrations that induced differentiation. These results suggest that the consumption of specific flavonoids could have further beneficial effects on nerve cells following injury, in pathological conditions or in normal aging.
Bax and Bcl-xS are induced at the onset of apoptosis in involuting mammary epithelial cells

Mammary gland involution is a physiological process in which the entire organ is remodeled through the process of apoptosis. Apoptosis of secretory alveolar cells is initiated at the time of weaning, followed by the collapse and disappearance of the entire lobuloalveolar compartment. While apoptotic figures were rare in mammary epithelium of lactating mice, their number increased after weaning and reached a maximum on day 3 of involution. Active cell death continued until day 5 after weaning and only little parenchyma remained on day 8, when remodeling of the gland was completed. Bax mRNA levels increased during the first day of involution independent of the presence or absence of p53. Bax protein was detected in an increasing number of cells after weaning, peaking at day 3 and decreasing thereafter. Low levels of bcl-x mRNA and protein were present during lactation, followed by a sharp increase during the first 2 days of involution. The bcl-xS splice variant of bcl-x can promote cell death, and bcl-xL has a protective function in cell culture. The ratio of bcl-xS versus bcl-xL remained stable in the virgin, pregnant and lactating gland. However, during the first 2 days of involution, bcl-xS expression increased six-fold more than bcl-xL. To further evaluate the role of Bcl-xS which was less abundant in the mammary cells than Bcl-xL, cotransfection studies were performed in cell culture. They confirmed that Bcl-xS protein can facilitate apoptosis even when Bcl-xL is present in excess. These findings point to a significant role for Bax and Bcl-xS in the regulation of apoptosis of secretory alveolar cells during involution.
HIGH-FREQUENCY JET VENTILATION (HFJV) & CONVENTIONAL VENTILATION(CV): GAS EXCHANGE AND AIRWAY PRESSURES. † 2000

We examined gas exchange and and airway pressures in 142 preemies entered in a randomized study of CV & HFJV at 8 centers. Infants were eligible if they were 700-1500g and required mechanical ventilation with ≥30% O2>2h after surfactant. The prescribed high-volume strategy defined as PEEP≥7cmH2O or a ≥1cmH2O PEEP increase from baseline (HI) was used in 34/69 HFJV patients; in 35 standard HFJV strategy of low peak and mean pressure was used (LO). Data were analyzed by ANOVA for repeat measures and are expressed as mean±SEM. PIP and delta p were lower with HFJV than CV(p<0.001). The a/A ratio was higher with HF-HI than CV and HF-LO(p<0.05). HF-LO resulted in more hyperventilation when compared to HF-HI and CV (p<0.05). Better oxygenation and less hypocarbia favor the use of HF-HI over HF-LO. Figure
High-temperature expansions to fifteenth order

High-temperature series expansions of the susceptibility and second moment to 15th order are calculated for zero external field on the linear chain (LC), plane square (PSQ), simple cubic (SC), and body-centered cubic (BCC) lattices. Checks for specific models against pertinent work in the literature are detailed.
Transcription activator-like effector hybrids for conditional control and rewiring of chromosomal transgene expression

The ability to conditionally rewire pathways in human cells holds great therapeutic potential. Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) are a class of naturally occurring specific DNA binding proteins that can be used to introduce targeted genome modifications or control gene expression. Here we present TALE hybrids engineered to respond to endogenous signals and capable of controlling transgenes by applying a predetermined and tunable action at the single-cell level. Specifically, we first demonstrate that combinations of TALEs can be used to modulate the expression of stably integrated genes in kidney cells. We then introduce a general purpose two-hybrid approach that can be customized to regulate the function of any TALE either using effector molecules or a heterodimerization reaction. Finally, we demonstrate the successful interface of TALEs to specific endogenous signals, namely hypoxia signaling and microRNAs, essentially closing the loop between cellular information and chromosomal transgene expression.
The pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of histiocytosis syndromes.

: The histiocytosis syndromes previously known, and often still referred to, as histiocytosis-X were originally categorized by many as malignant neoplasms. They have been treated as such with aggressive chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Although these modalities are still used, there are significant differences between the histiocytosis syndromes and true malignant disease that suggest conservative management for many patients. The clinical course of malignant neoplasia is relentlessly progressive with virtually no survival in untreated patients. The histiocytosis syndromes are characterized by frequent spontaneous remissions and exacerbations, with varying morbidity and survival in untreated patients, depending on the extent of the disease. Pathologically, the lesions of histiocytosis appear as reactive infiltrates, possessing little of the cellular atypicality and homogeneity characteristic of malignancy. Although the etiology of these phenomena is unknown, histiocytosis syndromes appear to represent a reactive autoimmune disorder triggered by unknown stimuli. (1–3)
Phonology, decoding, and lexical compensation in vowel spelling errors made by children with dyslexia

A descriptive study of vowel spelling errors made by children first diagnosed with dyslexia (n = 79) revealed that phonological errors, such as bet for bat, outnumbered orthographic errors, such as bate for bait. These errors were more frequent in nonwords than words, suggesting that lexical context helps with vowel spelling. In a second study, children with dyslexia (n = 14) performed identically to ability matched normally developing but younger children in a task that measured the ability to identify a spoken target vowel among similarly articulated items. These findings suggest that the high incidence of vowel substitution errors seen in descriptive studies of spelling do indicate difficulty in phoneme perception for dyslexic spellers but difficulty is appropriate for their level of literacy development but not for their age or grade in school.
Cardiac motion compensation and resolution modeling in simultaneous PET-MR: a cardiac lesion detection study

Cardiac motion and partial volume effects (PVE) are two of the main causes of image degradation in cardiac PET. Motion generates artifacts and blurring while PVE lead to erroneous myocardial activity measurements. Newly available simultaneous PET-MR scanners offer new possibilities in cardiac imaging as MRI can assess wall contractility while collecting PET perfusion data. In this perspective, we develop a list-mode iterative reconstruction framework incorporating both tagged-MR derived non-rigid myocardial wall motion and position dependent detector point spread function (PSF) directly into the PET system matrix. In this manner, our algorithm performs both motion ‘deblurring’ and PSF deconvolution while reconstructing images with all available PET counts. The proposed methods are evaluated in a beating non-rigid cardiac phantom whose hot myocardial compartment contains small transmural and non-transmural cold defects. In order to accelerate imaging time, we investigate collecting full and half k-space tagged MR data to obtain tagged volumes that are registered using non-rigid B-spline registration to yield wall motion information. Our experimental results show that tagged-MR based motion correction yielded an improvement in defect/myocardium contrast recovery of 34–206% as compared to motion uncorrected studies. Likewise, lesion detectability improved by respectively 115–136% and 62–235% with MR-based motion compensation as compared to gating and no motion correction and made it possible to distinguish non-transmural from transmural defects, which has clinical significance given the inherent limitations of current single modality imaging in identifying the amount of residual ischemia. The incorporation of PSF modeling within the framework of MR-based motion compensation significantly improved defect/myocardium contrast recovery (5.1–8.5%, p < 0.01) and defect detectability (39–56%, p < 0.01). No statistical difference was found in PET contrast and lesion detectability based on motion fields obtained with half and full k-space tagged data.
Sugar Beet Nematode (Heterodera Schachtii) Reared On Axenic Beta Vulgaris Root Explants

Aseptic Beta vulgaris root explants were penetrated by 35-45 percent of axenized Heterodera ichachtii larvae added to agar culture media. Maximum penetration occurred at 25°C within 5 days of inoculation. Higher levels of inoculum did not increase percentage penetration. Concentration of constituents in the medium influenced penetration. When concentrations of vitamin stock and sucrose were increased percentage penetration increased. This response did not occur with the macronutrient salts stock. Monoxenic excised roots of the three Beta species B. patellaris, B. procumbens and B. webbiana demonstrated different degrees of resistance to penetration.
How Contingent Questioning Promotes Extended Student Talk: A Function of Display Questions:

Research on traditional classrooms paints a picture of teachers controlling talk patterns and of students producing minimal amounts of mainly procedural talk, recitation-type talk, or both. Often t...
Perfusion estimation using 3D subharmonic imaging: An in vivo study

Under sufficient acoustic excitation microbubble-based ultrasound contrast agents (UCA) produce a marked subharmonic (f0/2) frequency component. By selectively receiving at the subharmonic, it is possible to perform UCA specific subharmonic imaging (SHI). We investigated the ability to quantify tissue perfusion (in ml/min/g) in 5 canines using 3D SHI. A Logiq 9 scanner (GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI) equipped with a 4D10L probe was modified to perform 3D harmonic imaging (HI; ftransmit=5 MHz and freceive=10 MHz) and 3D SHI (ftransmit=5.8 MHz and freceive=2.9 MHz). Imaging was performed in the lower renal pole of open-abdomen canines after injection of Definity (Lantheus Medical Imaging, N Billerica, MA). The canines received a 5 μl/kg bolus injection of Definity for HI and a 20 μl/kg for SHI in triplicate for each kidney. A microvascular staining technique based on isotope-labeled microspheres was used to quantify the degree of perfusion in each kidney. Ligation of a surgically exposed branch of the renal arteries induced low perfusion. Time-intensity curves were generated from regions-of-interest (ROIs) corresponding to the tissue samples used for microvascular staining. Perfusion was estimated from the initial slope of the fractional blood volume uptake and compared to the reference standard using linear regression analysis. Microsphere perfusion data showed an average perfusion of 9.30±6.60 and 5.15±3.42 ml/min/g pre and post ligation, respectively. The reference standard showed significant correlation with 3D HI perfusion estimates (r=0.38; p=0.007), but correlated better with 3D SHI (r=0.62; p<;0.001). Additionally, these results showed an improvement 2D SHI perfusion estimates previously reported by our group (r=0.57; Forsberg et al JUM 2006). In conclusion, 3D SHI perfusion estimates were in better overall agreement with the reference standard than 3D HI and were superior to previously reported 2D SHI results.
External validity and single-case experimentation: Issues and limitations (A response to J. S. Birnbrauer)

Abstract External validity is a major issue for applied research because of the importance of identifying interventions that extend widely across subjects, settings, trainers and other conditions. Birnbrauer (1981) elaborated misconceptions surrounding external validity. The present paper reconsiders several points to convey that many problems of external validity (e.g., subject selection, relevance of subject variables, conditions in which research is conducted) are relevant to both single-case and between-group research. External validity of the findings from single-case experiments may not necessarily be less than findings from between-group research. However, a limitation of single-case research may be the capacity to investigate dimensions that contribute to and delimit generality. Basically, external validity raises questions about interactions of the intervention with other conditions. The special contribution of between-group research is the capacity to investigate the separate and combined effects of variables that may contribute to intervention effects. In the context of generality across subjects, the contribution of between-group research to the investigation of subject x treatment interactions may need to be more fully acknowledged in applied research.
Altered cyclooxygenase-2 expression and nitric oxide metabolism following major elective surgery.

Abstract Background and aims Postoperative variation in immune function leads to increased susceptibility to infections. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)-generated Prostaglandin-E2 (PGE2), which signals through the PGE2 receptor (EP receptor), as well as nitric oxide metabolites (NOx), appear to be important in postoperative immune dysfunction. It is unclear, however, how these substrates and receptors change over time. This study was conducted to evaluate postoperative changes in inflammatory mediator production and monocyte COX-2 and EP receptor expression. Materials and methods Nineteen patients had blood drawn preoperatively and up to 1 week postoperatively. Plasma NOx levels were measured. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) COX-2 and EP receptor mRNA expression were analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). PBMC PGE2, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and IL-10 productions were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Statistical analyses were by ANOVA and Student’s t tests. Results Postoperatively, PBMC mean PGE2 and IL-6 productions were significantly increased at all time points. Mean TNF-α production was maximal on postoperative day 2, while mean IL-10 production was unchanged. Mean circulating NOx levels demonstrated a biphasic response decreasing early postoperatively and normalizing at postoperative day (POD) 7. PBMC COX-2 enzyme and EP receptor mRNA expression were unchanged. Conclusions Altered PBMC PGE2 production and plasma NOx levels support a role for altered macrophage activity, which may contribute to immune dysfunction in the postoperative period.
Ice sheet collapse affects ocean circulation

[1] As Earth's climate warms and ice melts, freshwater input to oceans could weaken the large-scale Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, which acts as an important conveyor of heat and has significant effects on climate. Green et al. used an intermediate complexity climate model to study how freshwater input to oceans can affect the meridional overturning circulation. They applied their model to the collapse of the Barents ice sheet about 140,000 years ago—the first study of this kind for the time period—which resulted in a huge influx of freshwater to the North Atlantic Ocean as large icebergs calved off of the ice sheet. (Paleoceanography, doi:10.1029/2010PA002088, 2011)
Tertiary Amine Esters for Carbon Dioxide Based Emulsions

Tertiary amine esters, a new class of surfactants for CO2-based dispersions, stabilize carbon dioxide in water macroemulsions for several hours even at a CO2 density as low as 0.74 g/mL (70 bar) at 298 K. The combination of a weakly hydrophilic tertiary amine, which is protonated by carbonic acid, and branched ester tails provides proper values of the hydrophilic−CO2-philic balance (HCB) for emulsion stabilization. The surfactant nitrilotripropane-1,2-diyl tripivalate (tBu-TIA) lowered the CO2−water interfacial tension to 2.6 mN/m as a result of the stubby architecture (low aspect ratio) of the surfactant tail, which helps block contact between water and carbon dioxide. The high level of methylation produces a smaller interfacial tension and greater emulsion stability relative to nitrilotripropane-1,2-diyl triacetate (TIA). Relative to the high-pressure CO2−water system with a pH 3.3, an increase in pH with the addition of NaOH decreases interfacial activity and reduces emulsion stability, as the surfacta...