cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ethnic differences in excretion of butadiene-DNA adducts by current smokers.

1,3-butadiene (BD) is a known human carcinogen used in the synthetic polymer industry and also found in cigarette smoke, automobile exhaust, and wood burning smoke. BD is metabolically activated by cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYP) 2E1 and 2A6 to 3,4-epoxy-1-butene (EB), which can be detoxified by GST-catalyzed glutathione conjugation or hydrolysis. We have previously observed ethnic differences in urinary levels of EB-mercapturic acids in white, Japanese American, and Native Hawaiian smokers. In the present study, similar analyses were extended to urinary BD-DNA adducts. BD-induced N7-(1-hydroxy-3-buten-2-yl) guanine (EB-GII) adducts were quantified in urine samples obtained from smokers and non-smokers belonging to three racial/ethnic groups: white, Japanese American, and Native Hawaiian. After adjusting for sex, age, nicotine equivalents, BMI, and batch, we found that Japanese American smokers excreted significantly higher amounts of urinary EB-GII than whites (1.45 [95%CI: 1.12-1.87] vs 0.68 [95%CI: 0.52-0.85] fmol/mL urine, p=4x10 -5). Levels of urinary EB-GII in Native Hawaiian smokers were not different from those in whites (0.67 [95%CI: 0.51-0.84] fmol/mL urine, p=0.938). There were no racial/ethnic differences in urinary EB-GII adduct levels in non-smokers. Racial/ethnic differences in urinary EB-GII adduct levels in smokers could not be explained by GSTT1 gene deletion or CYP2A6 enzymatic activity. Urinary EB-GII adduct levels in smokers were significantly associated with concentrations of BD metabolite dihyroxybutyl mercapturic acid (DHBMA). Overall, our results reveal that urinary EB-GII adducts in smokers differ across racial/ethnic groups. Future studies are required to understand other genetic and epigenetic factors that may be responsible for these differences.
A standard energy eigenvalue problem for directly solving the stationary states of quantum billiards via boundary integral analysis

Abstract By using the series expansions of the Bessel functions for the real and imaginary parts of the free particle Green’s function for the two-dimensional stationary states of quantum billiards, it can be shown that some components of the Green’s function are redundant which can be eliminated to make the boundary integral equation for the wave function of free particles inside quantum billiards independent of the wave numbers. This development leads to a much faster search for the energy eigenvalues of quantum billiards by scanning their wave numbers or the formulation of the standard eigenvalue problem which can directly be solved for the energy eigenvalues. Some numerical examples were used to demonstrate that the proposed technique is accurate, computationally effective and straightforward to be applied in practice.
Location of the targeted lymph node in a mandibular lymphocentrum: A needle aspiration model in canine cadavers.

Accurate tumour staging has a profound impact on the care and prognosis of oncologic patients. Due to the presence of multiple lymph nodes (LNs) in the mandibular lymphocentrum, clinicians may not know which specific LN they are sampling during routine fine needle aspirations, which introduces a source of uncertainty in accurately determining patient clinical stage. The objective of this cadaveric study was to determine the success of targeting specific mandibular LNs by palpation alone, verified by computed tomography (CT). A 1.5-inch, 22-gauge needle was inserted into the targeted LN (selected by drawing with the equal sample sizes of the left/right mandibular lymphocentrum and the lateral/medial node) and success was evaluated by CT images in transverse, sagittal and dorsal views. The overall success rate of inserting the needle into the targeted LN was 55.9%. One variable was significantly associated with successful needle insertion: lateral (vs. medial) LN location (p = .019). In addition, the distance from the LN to the ventral skin surface in the successful group appeared to be shorter compared to the unsuccessful group (3.37 mm [1.55-6.46] vs. 4.9 mm [1.57-17.79], p = .066). These findings suggest that physical accessibility of the LN is the most important factor for successful needle insertion using palpation. Palpation-based sampling of specific mandibular LNs is often inaccurate and if targeted sampling of a particular LN is required, additional methods should be used to guide accurate sample acquisition.
Present Value: A Note on Personal Applications

This note explores discounted cash flows as a core technique for valuing a business, allocating scarce resources, and comparing alternative investments. Suitable for MBA and undergraduate business students, this note builds on students' basic understanding of discounting future cash flows with simple examples to which students can easily relate. Whether the discounted cash flow process used to derive a net present value or an internal rate of return metric, it is powerful, rational, and informative. Excerpt UVA-C-2314 August 3, 2010 Present Value: A Note on Personal Applications If you were to ask people who work in the financial arena what one financial analytical technique should be in the Financial Hall of Fame (if there were such a thing), one response would probably dominate: “discounted cash flows for determining present value.” This technique is well documented as core to valuing a business, allocating scarce resources, and comparing alternative investments. Whether the process is used to derive a net present value (NPV) or an internal rate of return (IRR) metric, it is powerful, rational, and informative. This note presumes a basic familiarity with the technique of discounting future cash flows. As a refresher, however, these are its three fundamental premises: 1. A dollar today is more valuable than a dollar tomorrow due to the 24-hour use of the one today (ignoring any uncertainty factors). . . .
On The Direct Costs of REIT SEOs

This study examines the determinants of direct costs for real estate investment trust (REIT) seasoned equity offerings. These costs are not related to information asymmetries, unlike non- REIT firms. Gross spreads vary inversely with stock liquidity, price, and industry activity. Concerning REIT-specific heterogeneity, gross spreads are generally insensitive to property type and operating partnership structure. Still, the findings suggest managers can influence costs as higher fees are directly related to the use of underwriting syndicates and more reputable investment banks. Finally, a test for differences in direct costs across REIT and comparable industrials shows significantly lower direct issuance costs for REITs.
Engineering human liver fatty acid binding protein for detection of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group of synthetic fluorinated chemicals with surface active and water-repellent properties. The combination of wide-spread use in numerous consumer and industrial products and extended biological half-lives arising from strong carbon-fluorine bonds has led to significant accumulation of PFAS in humans. As most human interaction with PFAS comes from ingestion, it is important to be able to detect PFAS in drinking water as well as in agricultural water. Here we present an approach to designing a fluorescence-based biosensor for the rapid detection of PFAS based on human liver fatty acid binding protein (hLFABP). Introduction of solvatochromic fluorophores within the ligand binding pocket (L50) allowed for intrinsic detection of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) via blue-shifts in fluorescence emission spectra. Initially, a single tryptophan mutation (L50W) was found to be able to detect PFOA with a limit of detection (LOD) of 2.8 ppm. We improved the sensitivity of the biosensor by exchanging tryptophan for the thiol reactive fluorophore, acrylodan. The acrylodan conjugated C69S/F50C hLFABP variant is capable of detecting PFOA, PFOS, and PFHxS in PBS with LODs of 112 ppb, 345 ppb, and 1.09 ppm, respectively. The protein-based sensor is also capable of detecting these contaminants at similar ranges in spiked environmental water samples, including samples containing an interfering anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate. Overall, this study demonstrates engineered hLFABP is a useful platform for detection of PFAS in environmental water samples and highlights its ease of use and versatility in field applications.
Google's Insights for Search: A Note Evaluating the Use of Search Engine Data in Social Research*

Objective. This research note presents and assesses the potential for Google's Insights for Search tool for use in social science research. Methods. Measures of social phenomena across time and across ecological units produced from search engine data are compared with existing data sources. Results. The comparisons show that the search engine data correspond quite closely with existing measures of issue salience and religious adherence. Conclusions. Given its relative lack of cost both in terms of money and labor, its flexibility, and its correspondence to other data, social scientists should consider the Insights for Search tool for research purposes.
PPCP: efficient probabilistic planning with clear preferences in partially-known environments

For most real-world problems the agent operates in only partially-known environments. Probabilistic planners can reason over the missing information and produce plans that take into account the uncertainty about the environment. Unfortunately though, they can rarely scale up to the problems that are of interest in real-world. In this paper, however, we show that for a certain subset of problems we can develop a very efficient probabilistic planner. The proposed planner, called PPCP, is applicable to the problems for which it is clear what values of the missing information would result in the best plan. In other words, there exists a clear preference for the actual values of the missing information. For example, in the problem of robot navigation in partially-known environments it is always preferred to find out that an initially unknown location is traversable rather than not. The planner we propose exploits this property by using a series of deterministic A*-like searches to construct and refine a policy in anytime fashion. On the theoretical side, we show that once converged, the policy is guaranteed to be optimal under certain conditions. On the experimental side, we show the power of PPCP on the problem of robot navigation in partially-known terrains. The planner can scale up to very large environments with thousands of initially unknown locations. We believe that this is several orders of magnitude more unknowns than what the current probabilistic planners developed for the same problem can handle. Also, despite the fact that the problem we experimented on in general does not satisfy the conditions for the solution optimality, PPCP still produces the solutions that are nearly always optimal.
Analysis of uridine diphosphate-glucose pyrophosphorylase synthesis during differentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum.

Abstract The enzyme UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase has been purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from both vegetative amoebae and cells at the culmination stage of differentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum. The two purified enzyme protein preparations, having higher specific activities than any preparation previously reported, were clearly resolvable by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. Immunological analysis, however, indicated a high degree of similarity in antigenic determinants between the two forms of the enzyme. Comparison of the rates of incorporation of [35S]methionine into UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and into acid-insoluble protein suggests that the maintenance of enzyme protein at a constant level during the transition period from growth to multicellular differentiation is attributable to a rapid turnover of enzyme protein, rather than to a cessation of enzyme synthesis. A decrease in the rate of enzyme degradation as opposed to an induction of enzyme synthesis is suggested as the mechanism of UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase accumulation during multicellular differentiation.
Normalization of vital signs does not reduce the probability of acute pulmonary embolism in symptomatic emergency department patients

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2012; 19:11–17 © 2012 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Abstract Objectives: In a patient with symptoms of pulmonary embolism (PE), the presence of an elevated pulse, respiratory rate, shock index, or decreased pulse oximetry increases pretest probability of PE. The objective of this study was to evaluate if normalization of an initially abnormal vital sign can be used as evidence to lower the suspicion for PE. Methods: This was a prospective, noninterventional, single-center study of diagnostic accuracy conducted on adults presenting to an academic emergency department (ED), with at least one predefined symptom or sign of PE and one risk factor for PE. Clinical data, including the first four sets of vital signs, were recorded while the patient was in the ED. All patients underwent computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) and had 45-day follow-up as criterion standards. Diagnostic accuracy of each vital sign (pulse rate, respiratory rate, shock index, pulse oximetry) at each time was examined by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results: A total of 192 were enrolled, including 35 (18%) with PE. All patients had vital signs at triage, and 174 (91%), 135 (70%), and 106 (55%) had second to fourth sets of vital signs obtained, respectively. The initial pulse oximetry reading had the highest AUC (0.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.50 to 0.76) for predicting PE, and no other vital sign at any point had an AUC over 0.60. Among patients with an abnormal pulse rate, respiratory rate, shock index, or pulse oximetry at triage that subsequently normalized, the prevalences of PE were 18, 14, 19, and 33%, respectively. Conclusions: Clinicians should not use the observation of normalized vital signs as a reason to forego objective testing for symptomatic patients with a risk factor for PE.
School phobia in older children and adolescents: diagnostic implications and prognosis.

A series of 20 cases of school phobia in older children and adolescents was analyzed and categorized into three diagnostic groups: neurotic, organic and schizophrenic. Important differences were noted between neurotic and schizophrenic patients, particularly with respect to the malignant psychiatric symptoms, high intelligence and relapsing tendency of the schizophrenic group. The features common to all groups were pathological maternal attitudes, somatic complaints, anxiety and depression, rarity of prior history of significant anxiety about school, and favorable response to treatment. The symptoms most amenable to treatment were anxiety (both sexual and separation), depression, somatic complaints, and school phobia. With alleviation of these symptoms, there followed an improvement in physical health, school achievement, and social adjustment. Regular school attendance was achieved without coercion in 18 patients. A long-term follow-up averaging 5 years showed sustained improvement in 18 patients. School phobia in late childhood and adolescence is a different syndrome from that in early childhood, and it has graver diagnostic implications.
Modeling Piston Ring-Pack Lubrication With Consideration of Ring Structural Response

The lubrication of the piston ring-pack is directly related to the engine friction and oil consumption. Non-axisymmetric characteristics of the power cylinder system, most noticeably cylinder bore distortion, piston secondary motion, and ring gaps, can introduce circumferential variations to ring/liner lubrication and overall performance of the ring-pack in friction and oil consumption. In order to be able to optimize the piston ring-pack in a more fundamental way, it is necessary to develop physical understanding of the effects of these non-axisymmetric properties and effective numerical tools. In this study, a comprehensive model has been developed for the lubrication of a piston ring-pack. By employing a finite element analysis, this model is capable of evaluating the in-plane structural response of a ring to external forces. A newly developed one-dimensional hydrodynamic lubrication sub-model is implemented to calculate the lubrication force at each cross-section. The model has been applied to a light-duty diesel engine in a high-speed and full-load condition. In the discussion, emphases are placed on the oil transport along the liner, and the effects of the piston tilt motion, ring twist and bore distortion on the lubrication. Under the extreme condition of the leading edge of the second ring being flooded during down-strokes, considerable down-scraping of oil by the top ring is observed for all the cases tested. Bore distortion is found to have significant influence on the oil transport. Because of the reduced conformability of the top ring caused by the bore distortion, a relatively large amount of oil is left on the liner by the top ring during intake stroke. Under the impact of increasing gas pressure acting on the back, the top ring can carry some oil to the upper region of liner, and even up-scraping of oil is observed. Both up and down-scraping of oil by the top ring are found to increase with the amplitude of bore distortion.
Influences on the food choice behavior of adults with severe mental illness

The objective of this research was to gain a deeper understanding of factors influencing the healthiness of food choice behaviors of community-dwelling adults with severe mental illness. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in an outpatient treatment facility with 20 program participants and 10 staff. Grounded theory analysis methods were used. Five dominant themes emerged: food availability, preference for simple food preparation, perceived cost of food, complexity of choice, and relative importance of healthy food choices. The theme of medication effects only emerged from staff interviews. This research can be useful to inform the design of nutrition interventions for this population.
Case 17: Before You Start Any Research

You just have been appointed to a university medical department with an expectation to do clinical research, but you have no grant to pay for your nonclinical time. The department gives you 1 day a week to do research. Not much, but this is a common arrangement until you show productivity with the time given. Should you be productive, the department may choose to further subsidize your research time.
True P-wave pion absorption near threshold in pion-nucleus scattering☆

Abstract It is shown that the scattering off virtual excitations in the medium is as important as self-energy insertions on the ▵ in the microscopic description of true P-wave pion absorption near threshold in pion-nucleus scattering.
Microstructure Diffusion Models with Secondary Flux

Abstract Totally fissured media in which the cells are isolated by the fissure system are effectively described by double porosity models with microstructure. These models contain the geometry of the individual cells or pores in the medium and the flux across their interface with the fissures which surrounds them. We extend these models to include the case of partially fissured media in which a secondary flux effect arises from cell-to-cell diffusion paths. These quasilinear problems are formulated in appropriate spaces for which the cells respond to the local linearization of the fissure pressure. It is shown that they are well-posed and that the solutions depend continuously on parameters that determine the models.
Developments in laboratory diagnostics for isocyanate asthma.

Purpose of review Isocyanates, reactive chemicals used to generate polyurethane, are a leading cause of occupational asthma worldwide. Workplace exposure is the best-recognized risk factor for disease development, but is challenging to monitor. Clinical diagnosis and differentiation of isocyanates as the cause of asthma can be difficult. The gold-standard test, specific inhalation challenge, is technically and economically demanding, and is thus only available in a few specialized centers in the world. With the increasing use of isocyanates, efficient laboratory tests for isocyanate asthma and exposure are urgently needed.
Gyromagnetic Ratio of Iron at Low Magnetic Intensities

It is shown that the measured value for the gyromagnetic ratio of pure iron as determined by a direct magneto-mechanical method, undergoes a change for low values of the induced magnetic intensity. The effective value of this ratio extrapolated to zero intensity, checks the value which is theoretically expected from a consideration of recent ferromagnetic resonance experiments. For higher values of the induced magnetic intensity, the gyromagnetic ratio approaches a constant value which checks the value obtained in previous investigations based upon the Einstein-de Haas effect.
Sexually dimorphic myofilament function and cardiac troponin I phosphospecies distribution in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mice

The pathological progression of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is sexually dimorphic such that male HCM mice develop phenotypic indicators of cardiac disease well before female HCM mice. Here, we hypothesized that alterations in myofilament function underlies, in part, this sex dimorphism in HCM disease development. Firstly, 10-12month female HCM (harboring a mutant [R403Q] myosin heavy chain) mice presented with proportionately larger hearts than male HCM mice. Next, we determined Ca(2+)-sensitive tension development in demembranated cardiac trabeculae excised from 10-12month female and male HCM mice. Whereas HCM did not impact Ca(2+)-sensitive tension development in male trabeculae, female HCM trabeculae were more sensitive to Ca(2+) than wild-type (WT) counterparts and both WT and HCM males. We hypothesized that the underlying cause of this sex difference in Ca(2+)-sensitive tension development was due to changes in Ca(2+) handling and sarcomeric proteins, including expression of SR Ca(2+) ATPase (2a) (SERCA2a), β-myosin heavy chain (β-MyHC) and post-translational modifications of myofilament proteins. Female HCM hearts showed an elevation of SERCA2a and β-MyHC protein whereas male HCM hearts showed a similar elevation of β-MyHC protein but a reduced level of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) phosphorylation. We also measured the distribution of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) phosphospecies using phosphate-affinity SDS-PAGE. The distribution of cTnI phosphospecies depended on sex and HCM. In conclusion, female and male HCM mice display sex dimorphic myofilament function that is accompanied by a sex- and HCM-dependent distribution of sarcomeric proteins and cTnI phosphospecies.
Dialoguing Difference in Joint Ethnographic Research: Reflections on Religion, Sexuality, and Race

In this essay, we build on the relationship between autoethnography and reflexivity by blending traditional practices of ethnography--thick description, emphasis on theory, etc.--with innovative methods such as first-person narrative, dialogue, and rhetorical collage. In doing so, we highlight the layered nature of the relationship between researchers. Our experience suggests that dialogue functioned reflexively on multiple levels, allowing tensions in our relationship to surface. Differences in our personalities and persons (i.e., religion, sexual orientation, skin color, academic experience) that were muted in our everyday academic environments emerged while working in the field. In particular, the tensions of the field disrupted previous narratives, requiring a new narrative for the continuation of the research project and creation of a friendship. Overall, we argue that reflexivity allows us to navigate the tensions inherent in our relationship and arrive at a new place of mutual understanding within our differences.
Preparing Teachers to Work with Paraeducators

The increase in numbers of paraeducators who work in programs serving students at risk has led to a recognition of the need to train teachers in supervisory skills. In this article, we review the available literature on preparing teachers to work with and supervise paraeducators. Although there is considerable agreement on the content of such preparation, the results of the review show that the number of researchers and developers in this area is currently small and that more research needs to be done on the issues surrounding this topic.
Bringing public services experience to technical services: Improvements in practice

Service to our users is the principal basis for a library's existence and as users' expectations increase, libraries must continually change their organization's policies, procedures and workflows to meet these expectations. In order to achieve this in the Acquisitions Monographs Unit at Texas A&M University (TAMU) Libraries, Library Administration utilized a public service librarian who has a strong user oriented background to provide a fresh look at established procedures. This librarian examined TAMU Libraries Acquisition Monographic policies, procedures and workflows from a user perspective and found some of them to be out of date. Then the librarian researched other businesses and libraries best practices which she then adopted and modified to fit the needs of her unit. These “New Best Practices” could be transferable to any library facing similar organizational needs.
Study of 3-D optical multistage interconnection networks

The arrival of optical technology changes the interconnection structure of highly-parallel multiprocessor systems. We classify and investigate the topologies of three-dimensional multistage interconnection networks. We also discuss the routing algorithms in the three-dimensional environment. Certain network topologies and controls are better utilizing the optical features. These networks are given special attention in our study. Key Words: Optical Switch, I)ilation, Spatial Invariance, 3-D Interconnections, Multistage Interconnection Network, Multiprocessors, Network Topology.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Novel synthesis of various orthogonally protected Cα-methyllysine analogues and biological evaluation of a Vapreotide analogue containing (S)-α-methyllysine

Prochiral malonic diesters containing a quaternary carbon center have been successfully transformed into a diverse set of tBoc-Fmoc-α2,2-methyllysine-OH analogues through chiral malonic half-ester intermediates obtained via enzymatic (Pig Liver Esterase, PLE) hydrolysis. The variety of chiral half-ester intermediates, which vary from 1 to 6 methylene units in the side chain, are achieved in moderate to high optical purity and in good yields. The PLE hydrolysis of malonic diesters with various side chain lengths appears to obey the Jones's PLE model according to the stereochemical configurations of the resulting chiral half-esters. The established synthetic strategy allows the construction of both enantiomers of α2,2-methyllysine analogues, and a (S)-β2,2-methyllysine analogue from a common synthon by straightforward manipulation of protecting groups. Two different straightforward and cost effective synthetic strategies are described for the synthesis of α2,2-methyllysine analogues. The described strategies should find significant usefulness in preparing novel peptide libraries with unnatural lysine analogues. A Vapreotide analogue incorporating (S)-α2,2-methyllysine was prepared. However, the Vapreotide analogue with (S)-α-methyl-α-lysine is found to lose its specific binding to somatostatin receptor subtype 2 (SSTR2).
Regional-scale assessment of non-point source groundwater contamination

Predictive assessments of non-point source (NPS) pollution can have great utility for environmentally focused land use decisions related to both the remediation of existing groundwater contamination and the regulation of current (and future) agrochemical use. At the regional scales associated with NPS agrochemical applications there are staggering data management problems in assessing potential groundwater vulnerability. Geographical information system (GIS) technology is a timely tool that greatly facilitates the organized characterization of regional-scale variability. In this paper we review the recently reported (Loague et al., 1998a,b) simulations of NPS groundwater vulnerability, resulting from historical applications of the agrochemical DBCP (1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane), for east-central Fresno County (California). The Fresno case study helps to illustrate the data requirements associated with process-based three-dimensional simulations of coupled fluid flow and solute transport in the unsaturated/saturated subsurface at a regional scale. The strengths and weaknesses of using GIS in regional-scale vulnerability assessments, such as the Fresno case study, and the critical problem of estimating the uncertainties in these assessments (owing to both data and model errors) are discussed. A regional GIS-driven integrated assessment approach is proposed, which is based upon cost–benefit analysis, and incorporates both physical and economic factors that can be used in a regulatory decision process. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Abstract 2092: Elevated PKCα expression and its association with Notch signaling in localized and metastatic prostate cancers

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Background: Conventional protein Kinase C alpha (PKCα) is linked to the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, motility, survival, and apoptosis. Elevated PKCα expression has been reported in human early prostate cancer (PCa) and rat prostatic tumor cell lines. In this study, the expression level of PKCα was evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and correlated with the expression levels of Notch1 and Jagged1 in localized and metastatic PCa. Methods: : IHC for PKCα was performed on tissue microarray (TMA) slides containing 156 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) prostatic tissues specimens, including 39 benign prostatic changes, 97 localized prostate cancers and 20 metastatic prostate cancers. The expression level of PKCα was reported as a final IHC score calculated as staining extent score (0-3) multiplied by intensity score (0-3) with a maximal score of 9. ANOVA was employed to reveal the differences in IHC scores among pathologic categories, followed by Tukey-adjusted pairwise comparisons. Spearman correlation coefficient was evaluated to measure correlation between expression levels of PKCα, Notch1, and Jagged1. Results: IHC staining for PKCα was predominantly observed in cytoplasm (in 94% specimens). The score of PKCα cytoplasmic staining in metastatic PCa (5.48 ± 1.84, Mean ±SD) was significantly higher than those in localized PCa (3.30 ± 2.10, P = 2.95E-05) and in benign prostatic tissue (1.92 ± 1.53, P = 6.45E-09). Similarly, IHC score in localized PCa was significantly higher than that observed in benign prostatic changes (P = 0.001). Correlation analysis revealed that the expression level of cytoplasmic PKCα was significantly correlated with the expression levels of cytoplasmic Notch1 (r = 0.396, P = 5.85E-05), cytoplasmic Jagged1 (r = 0.610, P = 3.42E-11), and membranous Jagged1 (r = 0.354, P = 3.76E-04, respectively) in localized and metastatic prostate cancers. Conclusions: Our results indicate that up-regulation of PKCα plays a role not only in PCa formation and progression, but also in PCa metastasis. The evidence of significant correlation between PKCα and Jagged1-Notch1 signaling pathway supports the notion that synergy of PKCα with Jagged1-Notch1 signaling may play an important role in modulating the tumorgenesis and metastasis in human PCa. Citation Format: Xinchun Zhou, He Zhu, Xu Zhang, Jack Lewin, Lucio Miele. Elevated PKCα expression and its association with Notch signaling in localized and metastatic prostate cancers. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2092. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2092
Demonstration of synthetic aperture imaging ladar

The spatial resolution of a conventional imaging LADAR system is constrained by the diffraction limit of the telescope aperture. The purpose of this work is to investigate Synthetic Aperture Imaging LADAR (SAIL), which employs aperture synthesis with coherent laser radar to overcome the diffraction limit and achieve fine-resolution, long range, two-dimensional imaging with modest aperture diameters. This paper details our laboratory-scale SAIL testbed, digital signal processing techniques, and image results. A number of fine-resolution, well-focused SAIL images are shown including both retro-reflecting and diffuse scattering targets. A general digital signal processing solution to the laser waveform instability problem is described and demonstrated, involving both new algorithms and hardware elements. These algorithms are primarily data-driven, without a priori knowledge of waveform and sensor position, representing a crucial step in developing a robust imaging system. These techniques perform well on waveform errors, but not on external phase errors such as turbulence or vibration. As a first step towards mitigating phase errors of this type, we have developed a balanced, quadrature phase, laser vibrometer to work in conjunction with our SAIL system to measure and compensate for relative line of sight motion between the target and transceiver. We describe this system and present a comparison of the vibrometer-measured phase error with the phase error inferred from the SAIL data.
Physical Organic Chemistry of Transition Metal Carbene Complexes. 19.1 Kinetics of Reversible Alkoxide Ion Addition to Substituted (Methoxyphenylcarbene)pentacarbonylchromium(0) and (Methoxyphenylcarbene)pentacarbonyltungsten(0) in Methanol and Aqueous Acetonitrile

Rate and equilibrium constants for the nucleophilic addition of MeO- in methanol and in 90% MeCN−10% MeOH, of HC⋮CCH2O- and CF3CH2O- in 50% MeCN−50% water, and of OH- in 50% MeCN−50% water (rate constants only) to Fischer carbene complexes of the type (CO)5MC(OMe)C6H4-4-Z (M = Cr and W) are reported. The reactions lead to the formation of tetrahedral adducts of the type (CO)5M−C(OMe)(OR)C6H4-4-Z. The kinetics of general acid catalyzed loss of MeO- from the MeO- adducts by phenol, 4-bromophenol, and 3,5-dichlorophenol, to regenerate the carbene complex, were also investigated. Hammett ρ and ρn values as well as approximate βnuc ( ) values were determined. They suggest that the transition state for alkoxide ion addition to the carbene complexes is imbalanced in the sense that charge delocalization into the CO ligands lags somewhat behind C−O bond formation. This finding is consistent with the fact that the intrinsic rate constants for these reactions are substantially lower than those for alkoxide ion addi...
Engineering of N. benthamiana L. plants for production of N-acetylgalactosamine-glycosylated proteins - towards development of a plant-based platform for production of protein therapeutics with mucin type O-glycosylation

Background Mucin type O-glycosylation is one of the most common types of post-translational modifications that impacts stability and biological functions of many mammalian proteins. A large family of UDP-GalNAc polypeptide:N-acetyl-α-galactosaminyltransferases (GalNAc-Ts) catalyzes the first step of mucin type O-glycosylation by transferring GalNAc to serine and/or threonine residues of acceptor polypeptides. Plants do not have the enzyme machinery to perform this process, thus restricting their use as bioreactors for production of recombinant therapeutic proteins.
Design Team Perception of Development Team Composition: Implications for Conway's Law

Conway's law, the idea that a software system reflects the structure of the organization that built it, is one of the most well-known "laws" in software engineering. However, the seemingly straightforward phenomenon described by Conway appears to be subject to nuances of personal and organizational dynamics as well as contextual factors, most of which are neither well-understood nor well-studied. As a pilot study intended to foster discussion within the RESER community, we performed a small and somewhat informal qualitative study designed to elucidate some of these nuances. We posited that the designers' perception of the ultimate composition of the development team would affect the resultant system architecture more so than would the actual composition of the design team. The results of the pilot study support this hypothesis and are intended as a motivator for on-going discussion, as well as a catalyst for more thorough and formal differentiated replications, to explore and elucidate the nuances of Conway's law.
Can More Efficient IT Be Worse for the Environment

Understanding the role that energy efficiency can play in enabling IT to serve sustainability is critical, both to the computing industry and to the global ecosystem. The information and communication technology sector accounts for 2-2.5 percent of global CO2 emissions and is growing rapidly. Making IT more efficient can also contribute to unsustainable economic growth and related environmentally harmful activities. Many factors influence whether a given effort to increase energy efficiency aligns with sustainability. Our objective here is not to undermine efficiency efforts. Efficiency tends to foster economic growth, which is a policy goal for all industrialized nations and often increases people's standard of living. However, many computing professionals seek to improve efficiency because they believe it is a reliable way to reduce humanity's environmental impact. Unfortunately there is no clear consensus on this relationship in the environmental science and economics literature.Identifying which particular energy efficiencies can be sustainability-directed is currently very difficult. In pursuing sustainability through efficiency, we must first determine the conditions under which efficiency aligns with sustainability and undertake only the efforts that satisfy those conditions.
Clinical dietetics changes due to cost-reduction activities in healthcare systems.

Abstract Objective This study was designed to assess changes in clinical dietetics due to cost-reduction activities in healthcare systems. Subjects 1,200 ADA members who indicated that they were employed by acute care hospitals in ADA Area 2 states. Design A questionnaire about changes in clinical dietetics staffing and clinical dietitians' activities and responsibilities was developed based on qualitative research. Descriptive statistics, t tests, analysis of variance, χ 2 tests, and correlations were calculated. Results A total of 342 usable questionnaires (28.5%) were returned. More than one third (37.9%) of respondents reported reductions in the number of clinical dietitians, and 32.2% reported increases in the number of part-time clinical dietitians. Most respondents indicated that they were more involved with high-risk patient interventions, had limited time for inpatient instruction, and experienced an increased patient caseload. Although 45.4% of respondents reported diminished job satisfaction due to recent changes in healthcare systems, some changes, such as increased high-risk patient intervention and referrals, were positively correlated with perceived job satisfaction. Discussion Thorough review of current clinical dietetics activities/responsibilities and planning before cost-reduction, restructuring activities may maximize staff utilization without decreased job satisfaction of clinical dietetics staff. J Am Diet Assoc. 2001;101:1347-1350.
Triangle anomaly in triple-Regge limits

Reggeized gluon interactions due to a single quark loop are studied in the full triple-Regge limit and in closely related helicity-flip helicity-pole limits. Triangle diagram Reggeon interactions are generated that include local axial-vector effective vertices. It is shown that the massless quark triangle anomaly is present as a chirality-violating infrared divergence in the interactions generated by maximally nonplanar Feynman diagrams. An asymptotic dispersion relation formalism is developed which provides a systematic counting of anomaly contributions. The asymptotic amplitude is written as a sum over dispersion integrals of triple discontinuities, one set of which is unphysical and can produce chirality transitions. The physical-region anomaly appears in the generalized real parts, determined by multi-Regge theory, of the unphysical discontinuities. The amplitudes satisfy a signature conservation rule that implies color parity is not conserved by vertices containing the anomaly. In the scattering of elementary quarks or gluons the signature and color parity of the exchanged Reggeon states are such that the anomaly cancels. At lowest order, it cancels in individual diagrams after the transverse momentum integrations are performed.
A microRNA controlling left/right neuronal asymmetry in Caenorhabditis elegans

How left/right functional asymmetry is layered on top of an anatomically symmetrical nervous system is poorly understood. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, two morphologically bilateral taste receptor neurons, ASE left (ASEL) and ASE right (ASER), display a left/right asymmetrical expression pattern of putative chemoreceptor genes that correlates with a diversification of chemosensory specificities. Here we show that a previously undefined microRNA termed lsy-6 controls this neuronal left/right asymmetry of chemosensory receptor expression. lsy-6 mutants that we retrieved from a genetic screen for defects in neuronal left/right asymmetry display a loss of the ASEL-specific chemoreceptor expression profile with a concomitant gain of the ASER-specific profile. A lsy-6 reporter gene construct is expressed in less than ten neurons including ASEL, but not ASER. lsy-6 exerts its effects on ASEL through repression of cog-1, an Nkx-type homeobox gene, which contains a lsy-6 complementary site in its 3' untranslated region and that has been shown to control ASE-specific chemoreceptor expression profiles. lsy-6 is the first microRNA to our knowledge with a role in neuronal patterning, providing new insights into left/right axis formation.
Response identification of distributed systems with noisy measurements at finite points

A stochastic approximation algorithm is proposed for the on-line estimation of the parameters in an assumed approximate response of a class of distributed systems minimizing a mean-square error criterion. The systems considered are those that can be modeled mathematically by the general linear elliptic equation and are defined on a fixed and bounded domain @W. More importantly, it is assumed that the model is completely or partially unknown. Noisy measurements of the response are assumed available at a finite number of fixed points in @W. The response is approximated by a finite set of preselected linearly independent bounded functions. A random optimization algorithm is also proposed to obtain the optimal location of the measurement points such that a known sensitivity criterion is maximized and, therefore, the search algorithm is accelerated. The minimum eigenvalue of a positive definite matrix obtained from the performance criterion in terms of the known approximating functions and the measurements points is defined as the sensitivity criterion.
Pentylenetetrazol-induced retrograde amnesia and brain seizures in mice

These experiments examined in three strains of mice (Ha/ICR, Swiss Webster and C57BL/6J) the influence of pentylenetetrazol injections on: 1) brain seizure activity recorded from cortical electrodes, and 2) retrograde amnesia in an inhibitory avoidance task. In Ha/ICR mice, pentylenetetrazol administered after training impaired retention in doses that elicited brain seizures as well as in doses just below those which elicit brain seizures. The degree of retention impairment decreased with increasing training-treatment intervals. In Swiss Webster and C57BL/6J mice, doses of pentylenetetrazol which produced brain seizures did not affect retention. The results indicate that elicitation of brain seizures is not a sufficient condition for producing retrograde amnesia with pentylenetetrazol.
Flow past a flat plate at low Reynolds numbers

The flow past a flat plate at Reynolds numbers in the range 0·1 to 10·0 is investigated by an analogue method. The solution gives the stream function and the vorticity in the flow field surrounding the plate. From these are obtained the local coefficient of friction, the pressure distribution along the plate, and the total drag coefficient. The drag coefficient approaches the analytical values of Haaser (1950) and of Tomotika & Aoi (1953) as the Reynolds number decreases toward 0·1. The drag coefficient approaches the Blasius solution as the Reynolds number increases. At Reynolds number 10·0 the drag coefficient is still above the Blasius value, but is below the value obtained experimentally by Janour (1951). The difference from the experimental result is attributed for the most part to truncation error.
Effect of native Al2O3 on the elastic response of nanoscale Al films

Abstract A continuous, dense aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) layer of about 5 nm forms on the surface of Al upon exposure to oxygen or dry air. Since the elastic moduli of Al and Al 2 O 3 are 69 GPa and 370 GPa , respectively, the elastic modulus of a thin Al film of sub-micron dimension (with the native oxide layer) should be much higher than that of pure Al. However, uniaxial tensile measurements on Al films with thickness down to 50 nm revealed an effective modulus close to 69 GPa . In the present paper, we investigate a plausible mechanism for this discrepancy, namely, the effect of wavy surface oxide layer. Here thin Al films are considered as Al-Al 2 O 3 composites. Uniaxial tensile experiments on a free-standing, 200 nm thick Al film are performed using MEMS techniques. The surface morphology of the specimen is characterized by AFM. An analytical model is developed to estimate the effective modulus, Ē , of a wavy oxide layer. The current study shows that the model predictions using measured material parameters agree reasonably well with the experimental results, thus supporting the validity of the proposed mechanism.
Computational generation and screening of RNA motifs in large nucleotide sequence pools

Although identification of active motifs in large random sequence pools is central to RNA in vitro selection, no systematic computational equivalent of this process has yet been developed. We develop a computational approach that combines target pool generation, motif scanning and motif screening using secondary structure analysis for applications to 10(12)-10(14)-sequence pools; large pool sizes are made possible using program redesign and supercomputing resources. We use the new protocol to search for aptamer and ribozyme motifs in pools up to experimental pool size (10(14) sequences). We show that motif scanning, structure matching and flanking sequence analysis, respectively, reduce the initial sequence pool by 6-8, 1-2 and 1 orders of magnitude, consistent with the rare occurrence of active motifs in random pools. The final yields match the theoretical yields from probability theory for simple motifs and overestimate experimental yields, which constitute lower bounds, for aptamers because screening analyses beyond secondary structure information are not considered systematically. We also show that designed pools using our nucleotide transition probability matrices can produce higher yields for RNA ligase motifs than random pools. Our methods for generating, analyzing and designing large pools can help improve RNA design via simulation of aspects of in vitro selection.