cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Studies on the structure of α1-acid glycoprotein II. Preparation and characterization of a glycopeptide fraction

Abstract A glycopeptide fraction was isolated from a proteolytic digest of α1-acid glycoprotein by chromatography on a paper-powder column using a mixture of n-propanolethanol-water-acetic acid (5:15:5:0.75) as solvent. This chromatographic procedure permits in one step complete separation of the glycopeptides from the amino acids and carbohydrate-free peptides. The recovery of this fraction in terms of glucosamine amounted to 85%. The sedimentation coefficient, s20,ω1%, of the isolated glycopeptide mixture was found to be 0.77 S and the calculated partial specific volume 0.614 (ml/g). The average molecular weight was approx. 2600. Thus, the carbohydrate moiety of α1-acid glycoprotein appears to be present in probably five to seven units which are separately attached to the polypeptide chain of this protein. The glycopeptide fraction consisted of 21% of sialic acid, 33% of hexoses, 40% of hexosamine, 2.6% of fucose and 8% of amino acids. This composition seems to indicate that probably not all of these polysaccharide units have the same structure. The peptide moiety was composed of aspartic acid, threonine, glycine, proline and serine.
Emerging Pharmacotherapies for Diabetic Macular Edema

Diabetic macular edema (DME) remains an important cause of visual loss in patients with diabetes mellitus. Although photocoagulation and intensive control of systemic metabolic factors have been reported to achieve improved outcomes in large randomized clinical trials (RCTs), some patients with DME continue to lose vision despite treatment. Pharmacotherapies for DME include locally and systemically administered agents. We review several agents that have been studied for the treatment of DME.
The round earth project: collaborative VR for elementary school kids

The concept of a spherical Earth and the implications of that fact are well-represented in the AAAS Project 2061 Science for all Americans report and the difficulty of teaching it has been documented by Nussbaum, Vosniadou and Brewer [3,4]. The concept of a round Earth is not a simple one for children to acquire. Their everyday experience reinforces their deeply held notion that the Earth is flat. More precisely, their mental model of the world separates `sky' and `earth' into two parallel layers, one `above' the other; the two directions `up' and `down' are absolute. Telling young children that the Earth is round does not cause their intuitive model to be replaced by a spherical conception of the Earth. Instead children assimilate the new information into their prior knowledge and often conclude that the earth is flat and circular.
THE USE OF URETER FOR VAGINAL RECONSTRUCTION

Cloaca1 exstrophy represents the most severe defect associated with an abnormality of the cloacal membrane. It remains today one of the ultimate challenges to modern pediatric surgery and pediatric urology. Genital anomalies in genetically female patients with cloacal exstrophy include a bifid uterus, vaginal duplication, exstrophic vagina, covered vaginal opening, vaginal agenesis, divergent mons pubis and bifid clitoris. Different reconstructive techniques have been described for the treatment of vaginal agenesis.l-3 To our knowledge we report the first use of ureter to create a neovagina.
Effect of Salinity on Osmoregulation and Survival of a Rhizocephalan Parasite, Loxothylacus panopaei, and Its Crab Host, Rhithropanopeus harrisii

The rhizocephalanLoxothylacus panopaei parasitizes the estuarine crabRhithropanopeus harrisii. Parasitized crabs are abundant during summers when salinities increase to around 15‰ in the crab–s habitat and scarce when salinities are lower. The two hypotheses that were proposed to explain this pattern were (1) that the parasite interferes with crab osmoregulation causing the host to die in low salinity water and (2) that salinity tolerance of the parasite larvae controls the incidence of parasitism. The first hypothesis was shown to be incorrect because (1) osmoregulation of infected crabs was, not altered by the parasite and (2) crab mortality did not increase in low salinity water down to 1‰. Unparasitized and parasitized crabs and the parasite itself were hypersomotic at low salinities (below 27‰ for the crabs). The parasite became slightly hyperosmotic at high salinities while the crabs were slightly hypoosmotic. The second hypothesis appears correct, becauseL. panopaei larvae survived poorly in salinities below 10‰ but well in salinities from 10 to 15‰. ThusR. harrisii, have a reproductive refuge at salinities below 10‰, because parasite larvae cannot survive and infect the mud crab at these low salinities.
Emerging approaches in the management of patients with neuroendocrine liver metastasis: role of liver-directed and systemic therapies.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are rare neoplasms arising from cells of the neuroendocrine system in a multitude of anatomic locations, and representing a wide range of histologies. Compared with other malignancies from the same organ (eg, pancreatic NET vs pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma), NETs are often indolent in both biology and disease progression. However, metastasis will develop in almost 40% of patients with NETs during the course of their disease, most commonly to the liver.1 In contrast to other malignancies, in a proportion of patients with neuroendocrine liver metastasis (NELM) disabling clinical symptoms can develop secondary to the production of specific biogenic amines and polypeptide hormones. Therefore, treatment of patients with NELM is focused on optimizing quality of life through reduction of such hormone-related symptoms, and improving survival in patients with disease amenable to liver-directed therapy, including hepatic resection, thermal ablation, and intra-arterial therapy (IAT).2-8 To date, hepatic resection remains the only potentially curative option for patients with NELM, with 5-year survival after hepatectomy ranging from 60% to 80% in recent series.6-11 Until recent reports of the use of somatostatin analogues in neuroendocrine tumors of mid-gut origin, and sunitinib and everolimus in patients with advanced pancreatic NETs (PNETs), there has been little success in the use of systemic therapy to treat patients with advanced NELM, with historic responses ranging from 15% to 20%.12-15 As these systemic agents are not curative, there is still considerable interest in the use of liver-directed therapy to increase patient survival and address hormonally related symptoms. In addition to surgery, IAT has emerged as an alternative liver-directed approach to treat patients with NELM. We review the management of patients with NELM with an emphasis on clarifying the relative roles of surgery, IAT, as well as emerging systemic therapeutic agents. To accomplish this, we performed an extensive literature search in PubMed using medical subject headings (ie, neuroendocrine, carcinoid, liver metastasis, hepatic metastases, hepatectomy, liver resection, transplantation, intra-arterial therapy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy) to identify relevant articles for inclusion.
Demonstration of double allelic expression (allelic inclusion) of rabbit κ light chain allotypes on heterozygous lymphocytes by double allotype sequential stimulation

The hypothesis that individual lymphoid cells from rabbits heterozygous for genetically controlled immunoglobulin antigenic determinants (allotypes) are able to express only one of the allelic specificities (allelic exclusion) has been tested by double anti-allotypic sequential stimulation (DASS). DASS refers to stimulation by anti-allotypic serum directed to one specificity, followed, after blocking, by stimulation with an anti-allotypic serum directed to a different allotypic specificity. Previously published data reveal that most lymphocytes from the peripheral blood (PBLs) may be stimulated to undergo “blast transformation” by the addition of anti-immunoglobulin (anti-Ig) or anti-allotype antiserum and that this stimulation is mediated through surface immunoglobulin on the responding cells. In addition, the process of transformation may be reversed (blocked) by the addition of serum immunoglobulin which reacts with the stimulating antiserum. Such “blocked” cultures may be restimulated by removal of the blocking immunoglobulin and readdition of the stimulating antiserum. The present report demonstrates that lymphocyte cultures from heterozygous donors prestimulated by antiserum to one of the allelic specificities, after blocking and subsequent stimulation by antiserum directed towards the other allelic specificity, respond to a greater extent than do cultures stimulated by one antiserum only. This suggests that some individual PBLs of a heterozygous rabbit express both allelic Ig allotypes on their surface. The data suggest that it is possible that doubly expressing cells may produce both allelic markers sequentially or alternatively.
Spatial analysis of urban decline: The geography of blight

Abstract Urban studies literature suggests that anti-blight resources are frequently deployed in arbitrary fashions for short-term political objectives, rather than in concentrated, empirically-driven ways intended to manage complex urban problems. This creates an ambiguous and subjective conceptualization of blight in practice, which often leads to mismatches between actual urban conditions and codified public policy targets. Therefore, this research points to the practical need for an operational definition of blight. It is reasonable to assume that focusing anti-blight efforts in spaces identified using empirical data will increase the efficiency of a city's policy efforts. To that end this paper quantifies blight with an approach that is replicable by virtually any city in the United States. We then examine blight patterns for a selected city using spatial clustering methods that highlight areas where policy intervention might be warranted. The findings demonstrate how spatial analysis combined with contextual urban geographic information can assist local policymakers in identifying and understanding the geographies of blight in their municipalities.
Contribution of Beta-Adrenergic Receptor Mediated Renin Release to the Maintenance of Blood Pressure During Nitroprusside Infusion in Conscious Rats

The extent to which β-adrenergic receptor mediated renin release contributes to the maintenance of blood pressure during hypotension induced by sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 40 μg/kg/min for 30 min) was assessed in conscious Wistar rats fitted with chronic aortic and vena caval catheters. Propranolol, (1.5 mg/kg, i.v,), reduced the basal level of plasma renin activity (PRA) in control rats from 4.4 ± 0.0.4 to 2.4 ± 0.4 ng angiotensin I/ml/min (p < .05) and decreased PRA obtained during SNP infusion from 35.3 ± 6.6 to 16.7 ± 2.2 ng angiotensin I/ml/min (p < .01). Despite the reduced PRA, the hypotensive response to SNP was not enhanced after propranolol. Treatment of these animals with captopril in order to block the actions of the remaining non-β-receptor released renin, resulted in augmentation of the SNP hypotension. Captopril also potentiated SNP hypotension in rats that had not received propranolol. The addition of propranolol to the captopril treated rats produced no further change in SNP hypotension. T...
Histologic studies of chronic idiopathic urticaria

Skin biopsy specimens were obtained from 43 consecutive patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria and from seven normal controls. Of 43 patients, 42 had a non-necrotizing perivascular infiltrate composed primarily of mononuclear cells. There was no evidence of damage to vessel walls, of nuclear debris, or of extravasation of red blood cells, and most cells were seen around vessels rather than within the vessel wall. One patient had vasculitis with a neutrophilic infiltrate, nuclear debris, and positive immunofluorescence. Quantitative cell counts revealed four times the number of mononuclear cells and 10 times the number of mast cells in urticaria biopsy sites vs normal skin. Thus chronic urticaria is characterized by an accumulation of mononuclear cells and mast cells with mast cell degranulation presumably associated with hive formation. In our series, the characteristic lesion is not vasculitic. The stimulus responsible for the infiltration of skin with these cells is unknown.
VENOUS OBSTRUCTION OF THE UPPER EXTREMITY CAUSED BY A MALFORMED VALVE OF THE SUBCLAVIAN VEIN.

A 39-year-old laborer with a venous obstruction of the left upper extremity was studied by selective phlebography. Surgery revealed that the obstruction was caused by an anomalous venous valve, diaphragm-like, at the middle third of the subclavian vein. The removal of the anomalous valve resulted in complete relief of the obstruction. This is the only known case of venous obstruction caused bv a malformed valve. The authors suggest that the term "primary venous obstruction" of the upper extremity be used instead of "traumatic thrombosis" or "Paget-Schroetter" syndrome, in cases in which the etiology has not been ascertained.
Diagnosis, investigation and treatment of delayed puberty in children

Abstract Delayed puberty is defined as lack of secondary sexual characteristics from the age of 13 years in females and 14 years in males. The most common cause is constitutional delay in growth and puberty, which occurs mainly in boys. Thereafter, pubertal delay can be classified according to circulating levels of luteinzing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone. CNS abnormalities result in hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism and gonadal failure causes hypergonadotrophic hypogonadism. New molecular defects that regulate gonadal function and cause pubertal abnormalities continue to be identified.
Transient Control of Electro-Hydraulic Fully Flexible Engine Valve Actuation System

Fully flexible valve actuation (FFVA) system, often referred to as camless valvetrain, employs electronically controlled actuators in place of the camshaft to drive the intake and/or exhaust valves for internal combustion engines. This system enables the engine controller to tailor the valve event according to the engine operating condition in real-time to improve fuel economy, emissions, and torque output performance. This paper presents the transient control of a laboratory electro-hydraulic fully flexible valve actuation system. Transient control of the FFVA system includes lift transient, duration transient, phase transient, speed transient, and mode transient. With constant engine speed, the valve profile is periodic in time domain and the lift, phase, and duration transients can be realized using robust repetitive control. When the engine speed varies, the period of the valve profile changes in real-time. This phenomenon poses a fundamental challenge to the transient control problem and repetitive control cannot be applied anymore. To overcome this challenge, we propose a new valve profile consisting of a periodic portion and a dwell portion with time-varying duration. Robust repetitive control is then applied to the periodic portion and proportional plus integral and derivative (PID) control is applied to the dwell portion. These two controls are switched in real-time to achieve asymptotic valve profile tracking performance. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control method, we show real-time valve-lift profiles used to explore homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion at different engine operating conditions.
Running as fast as it can: How spiking dynamics form object groupings in the laminar circuits of visual cortex

How spiking neurons cooperate to control behavioral processes is a fundamental problem in computational neuroscience. Such cooperative dynamics are required during visual perception when spatially distributed image fragments are grouped into emergent boundary contours. Perceptual grouping is a challenge for spiking cells because its properties of collinear facilitation and analog sensitivity occur in response to binary spikes with irregular timing across many interacting cells. Some models have demonstrated spiking dynamics in recurrent laminar neocortical circuits, but not how perceptual grouping occurs. Other models have analyzed the fast speed of certain percepts in terms of a single feedforward sweep of activity, but cannot explain other percepts, such as illusory contours, wherein perceptual ambiguity can take hundreds of milliseconds to resolve by integrating multiple spikes over time. The current model reconciles fast feedforward with slower feedback processing, and binary spikes with analog network-level properties, in a laminar cortical network of spiking cells whose emergent properties quantitatively simulate parametric data from neurophysiological experiments, including the formation of illusory contours; the structure of non-classical visual receptive fields; and self-synchronizing gamma oscillations. These laminar dynamics shed new light on how the brain resolves local informational ambiguities through the use of properly designed nonlinear feedback spiking networks which run as fast as they can, given the amount of uncertainty in the data that they process.
Response letter to: the Hispanic paradox further unraveled?

Dr Young and Ms. Hopkins1 suggest that the lack of a confirmation of the ‘Hispanic paradox’ for lung phenotypes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Lung Study could be due to differences in the distribution of Hispanic subgroups and lower smoking exposure in MESA compared to the study by Bruse et al. 2 As suggested, we repeated our analyses stratifying the Hispanic group into those of Mexican and non-Mexican origin and found similar results to initial findings. In a sensitivity analysis including only those Hispanic-Americans who identified Mexico as their country of origin, we again found that among both women and men, genetic ancestry did …
FloodTrail: an efficient file search technique in unstructured peer-to-peer systems

Searching efficiency is a decisive factor concerning scalability in large-scale peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing systems. While flooding is the most commonly used and user-performance oriented method to broadcast query across unstructured P2P networks, it generates a large number of redundant messages. Our study shows that more than 70% of messages are redundant using flooding in a moderately connected network, which imposes an increasingly excessive burden on the underlying infrastructure, hindering the growth and scalability of P2P systems. To reduce the use of flooding as well as its associated overhead, we utilize access trails left by a standard flooding, which is a collection of P2P links used by non-redundant messages. Thus the multiple queries following the flooding can be broadcasted along the trail to achieve two goals: (1) The ability of flooding to achieve short response time is maintained; and (2) the cost of a broadcast is minimized. Though the trail can be partially damaged in an ad hoc system with frequent arrivals and departures of peers, we use repeated trail refreshings and additional trail links to make a trail consistently available for query broadcast. We call this trail-based technique FloodTrail. We have evaluated the performance of FloodTrail on P2P systems for Web contents sharing. Simulation results show that FloodTrail could reduce flooding traffic by up to 57%, while maintaining almost the same search coverage as that of flooding.
Within-Cohort Age-Related Differences in Cognitive Functioning

It is widely accepted that the level of cognitive functioning can be influenced by characteristics of the environment that change over time. Many developmental researchers have referred to these influences as cohort effects, and have used year of birth as the basis for determining cohort membership. Furthermore, age-related differences in cognitive functioning are sometimes assumed to be primarily attributable to cohort differences, which implies that differences between birth cohorts should be much larger than differences within birth cohorts. Comparisons of composite scores for five cognitive abilities in different people tested at different ages in different years revealed that within-cohort differences across ages were often as large as between-cohort differences across ages. These results lead to questions about the practice of relying on birth cohort to represent influences on cognitive functioning associated with temporal shifts in characteristics of the environment.
Exposure of financial institutions to criminal liability

Purpose – Since, at least 9/11 financial institutions and financial intermediaries are considered to be at the forefront in the international attempt to halt illicit money transfer. Most financial institutions if involved at all play an unknowing or lax, but major role in dictating money laundering schemes. The purpose of this paper is to argue that to avoid sanctions including criminal liability, financial institutions and financial intermediaries must be better prepared and willing to assess prototypical money laundering typologies. To do otherwise will invite civil and criminal liability.Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines legislative pronouncements in general and US caselaw in particular in order to assess compliance and liability: real or imagined.Findings – There appears to be considerable agreement concerning at least one goal of terrorists attacks and that is to disrupt directly and indirectly economic global stability. Further, those charged with the task of identifying terrorist as...
Privatization of Marriage in Post-Socialist China

Over the past three decades, a distinctly post-socialist form of marriage with high rates of divorce as well as rising rates of marriage and remarriage has emerged as the result of a "triple turn" by the party-state in regard to the institution of marriage: a "turn toward" marriage as a voluntary contract, a "turn away" from close surveillance of sexual relationships, and a "turn away" from protection of communal property. The one-child policy runs against these three prevailing "turns" toward privatization, but to date this contradiction has been muted by a de facto distinction between (strong) control over reproduction and (weak) control over sexual relationships. Moreover, as illustrated here through close analysis of three recent interpretations 解释 of the Supreme People's Court and interviews with ordinary citizens in Guangzhou and Shanghai, by continuing to extend the logic of voluntary contract to intimate relationships, the party-state's own actions (and inaction) serve to accelerate privatization of marriage in post- socialist China.
Supplier Partnerships and the Small, High‐Growth Firm: Selecting for Success

Strategic partnerships are commonplace in today's global economy. Effective use of partnerships are viewed increasingly as an important issue facing small, growth-oriented firms. A key debate is how small firms should manage supplier partnerships. Contrasting the debate about the extent to which small firms are inertial versus adaptive, the impact of growth on value chain partnerships with suppliers was investigated. Data collected from 91 pharmaceutical-related firms is used to test the proposition that firm growth is related positively to maintaining or to expanding relationships with suppliers, not to terminating partnerships. The paper further posits that this relationship between firm growth and the amount purchased from a supplier is moderated by the perceived effectiveness of the value-chain partnerships such that when effectiveness is higher, the relationship between sales growth and the amount purchased from a value-chain partner is stronger. The propositions, which are tested with regression analysis, are supported partially.
Interpolating diffracted multiples with prediction‐error filters

Diffracted multiples are a persistent problem, especially in the cross-line direction. Methods to remove these multiples typically require dense and complete sampling. I use nonstationary prediction-error lters to interpolate extra shots in the in-line direction and extra receivers in the cross-line direction. The dimensionality of the interpolation does not make a big difference in the in-line direction, but makes a large difference in the cross-line direction. This is shown with several tests on a synthetic dataset.
Subcellular distribution of a heat-stable protein inhibitor of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in rat brain.

— Cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase catalyzes the phosphorylation of polypeptidic serine and threonine residues according to the following chemical equation: ATP + protein phospho-protein + ADP. A heat stable, trypsin labile factor present in brain, skeletal muscle and other tissues inhibits enzymatic phosphorylation of some proteins and enhances that of others. Since brain is one of the richest sources of adenylate cyclase, cAMP, cAMP-dependent protein kinase and the heat stable protein kinase inhibitor and because they may play a role in neurotransmission, an investigation of the subcellular distribution of the heat stable factor in rat brain was undertaken. Although present in the nuclear, mitochondrial and microsomal fractions, the highest activity of protein kinase inhibitor is in the soluble fraction: its activity parallels that of the cytoplasmic enzyme marker, lactate dehydro-genase. The inhibitory activity is also found in the synaptosome or pinched-off nerve ending fraction. Following osmotic lysis of this fraction, about 90% of the factor occurs in the soluble fraction. On the other hand, only 40% of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase is solubilized and 60% remains membrane-bound. Using this membrane-bound protein kinase, phosphorylation of endogenous substrate is unaltered by inhibitor, but phosphorylation of added histone substrate is decreased.
The Diversity of Class Analyses: A Critique of Erik Olin Wright and Beyond

Class analyses are both very old and quite new. This essay argues that Marx contributed a new class definition and analysis focused on the production, appropriation, and distribution of surplus labor. Yet, that innovative, new class analysis was lost by being dissolved into either pre-Marxian conceptualizations of class in terms of property and power or later social theories in which class was determined by people's consciousness and self-identifications. In this context, the essay pays special attention to the recent work of E.O. Wright. Class analysis based on the surplus labor definition of class is compared and contrasted with Wright's differently based definition and analysis.
Determination of Picomole Quantitites of Hydroperoxides by a Coupled Glutathione Peroxidase and Glutathione Disulfide Specific Glutathione Reductase Assay

A procedure to quantitate picomole amounts of hydroperoxides based on GSSG formation is described. Hydroperoxides are incubated with GSH and glutathione peroxidase, and the GSSG formed is measured by a GSSG-specific glutathione reductase recycling assay. Prior to analysis the remaining GSH is removed with N-ethylmaleimide. N-Ethylmaleimide inhibition of the recycling assay is prevented by alkaline hydrolysis of the N-ethylmaleimide, without GSSG hydrolysis, at pH 11. The method is rapid, 30 min, with a limit of detection of 142 pmol calculated by linear regression analysis. Stoichiometric amounts of GSSG are produced in response to hydroperoxides. An application of the method is shown with air oxidation of arachidonic acid solutions over 4 h at room temperature. The method is sufficiently sensitive to quantitate the low amounts of hydroperoxides present in fresh arachidonic acid samples.
Role of glucose dehydrogenase in germination of Bacillus subtilis spores

A mutant of Bacillus subtilis has been isolated which is devoid of glucose dehydrogenase. This mutant is unable to germinate on a mix of glucose, fructose, asparagine, and KCl, which is a normal germination trigger for wild-type strains. Transfer of the genotype by transformation to isogenic strains confers the same properties on these transformed strains. These observations strongly implicate glucose dehydrogenase in germination.
Taiwan's new national health insurance program: genesis and experience so far.

In 1995, after a planning effort of about half a decade, the Republic of China (Taiwan) replaced a previous patchwork of separate social health insurance funds with one single-payer, national health insurance scheme that is administered by an agency of the central government’s Department of Health. Within a year this bold legislative act brought the health care utilization rates of the 41 percent of Taiwan’s hitherto uninsured population up to par with those of the previously insured population. This paper describes the achievements of this policy initiative so far, along with the growing pains it has encountered, and seeks to extract lessons from the experience for health policymakers in other countries.
Cell Division Mutations in the Blue-Green Bacterium Agmenellum quadruplicatum Strain BG1: a Comparison of the Cell Wall

The peptidoglycan from two types of filamentous cell division mutants of Agmenellum quadruplicatum strain BG1 has been compared to that of the parent organism. Small variations in the total peptidoglycan composition on a dry-weight basis were found in the mutants. The reduced level of peptidoglycan in the serpentine mutant is consistent with a general decrease in the ratio of surface area to volume as compared to the parent organism. The increased peptidoglycan content in the septate mutant confirms previous ultrastructural observations of the greatly enlarged peptidoglycan septum between adjacent cells. A comparison of peptidoglycan composition and cross-linking in the two types of filamentous mutants of A. quadruplicatum and in drug-induced phenocopies suggests that structural alterations of the peptidoglycan are not involved in the apparent impairments of cellular division. Furthermore, data concerning the relative susceptibilities of the parent and mutants to antibiotics indicate that neither mutant exhibits a gross alteration of permeability.
Insulin signaling regulates neurite growth during metamorphic neuronal remodeling

Although the growth capacity of mature neurons is often limited, some neurons can shift through largely unknown mechanisms from stable maintenance growth to dynamic, organizational growth (e.g. to repair injury, or during development transitions). During insect metamorphosis, many terminally differentiated larval neurons undergo extensive remodeling, involving elimination of larval neurites and outgrowth and elaboration of adult-specific projections. Here, we show in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen), that a metamorphosis-specific increase in insulin signaling promotes neuronal growth and axon branching after prolonged stability during the larval stages. FOXO, a negative effector in the insulin signaling pathway, blocked metamorphic growth of peptidergic neurons that secrete the neuropeptides CCAP and bursicon. RNA interference and CCAP/bursicon cell-targeted expression of dominant-negative constructs for other components of the insulin signaling pathway (InR, Pi3K92E, Akt1, S6K) also partially suppressed the growth of the CCAP/bursicon neuron somata and neurite arbor. In contrast, expression of wild-type or constitutively active forms of InR, Pi3K92E, Akt1, Rheb, and TOR, as well as RNA interference for negative regulators of insulin signaling (PTEN, FOXO), stimulated overgrowth. Interestingly, InR displayed little effect on larval CCAP/bursicon neuron growth, in contrast to its strong effects during metamorphosis. Manipulations of insulin signaling in many other peptidergic neurons revealed generalized growth stimulation during metamorphosis, but not during larval development. These findings reveal a fundamental shift in growth control mechanisms when mature, differentiated neurons enter a new phase of organizational growth. Moreover, they highlight strong evolutionarily conservation of insulin signaling in neuronal growth regulation.
Varieties of in vivo tooth movements.

Abstract No Abstract Available. From the Department of Anatomy and Center for Human Growth and Development, The Univ. of Michigan.
Human Retrovirus in Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

In terms of suffering, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) ranks high among diseases which have spread misery around the world. With its slow but inexorable progression towards death, AIDS recruits various opportunistic organisms to produce some remarkably uncomfortable disease states. Whether from the air hunger of pneumocystis carinii or cytomegalovirus pneumonia, or from the cutaneous or oral discomfort of herpesvirus or candida albicans infection, or from the local or the generalized discomfort of cryptococcal meningitis or toxoplasma gondii meningoencephalitis, or from the lassitude resulting from the wasting and emaciation, patients with AIDS suffer. Unfortunately, the numbers of cases of AIDS continues to rise. Although, recently many have tried to find optimism in the “plateauing” of the AIDS epidemic, the reality is that, although the rate of increase is slightly less, the slope of the epidemic curve is still upward (Figure 1). Over 5000 cases of AIDS have been reported as of July 1, 1984 — unfortunately, half of these have been reported in the last 6 months.
Correctional Mental Health

The prevalence of depression, psychosis, substance use, and attempted or completed suicide in incarcerated populations is higher than in the general community. Mental health services are important components of care provided to inmates and involve screening for potential mental illness, further assessment of identified mental illness, and the provision of care appropriate to the inmate’s need. In the United States, there is a constitutional requirement to provide a level of care that demonstrates that correctional officials are not deliberately indifferent to the serious medical and mental health needs of those they incarcerate.
Bailouts, Opportunity Cost and Utilitarian Ethics: A Law & Economics Analysis

This article applies the concepts of opportunity cost and utilitarian ethics to corporate bailouts. When one thinks about bailing out a failing or distressed industry it is also necessary to consider alternative uses for the funds. Opportunity cost analysis concludes that the funds used for bailouts could be better utilized elsewhere. Utilitarian analysis, the dominant methodology among economists, also concludes that funding bailouts cannot be justified. This article constructs a simple mathematical model that is based on utilitarian analysis and concludes that bailouts cannot be ethically justified on utilitarian grounds because the result is a negative-sum game. Possible avenues for future research are also identified and discussed briefly.
Would weighted-student funding enhance intra-district equity in Texas? A simulation using DEA

We use data envelopment analysis to model the educational production function, and then explore how a shift to weighted student funding using the student weights embedded in the Texas School Finance Formula would alter the allocation of inputs and potential outputs. School outputs are measured as value-added reading and math scores on standard achievement tests. We find that if school districts allocated their resources efficiently, then they would not allocate their resources to campuses according to the funding model weights. Policies that promote greater efficiency would also enhance equity in educational outcomes.
The Failure to Transplant Democracy, Markets, and the Rule of Law into the Developing World

This article analyses the reason why the results have been frustrating for social reformers to promote democracy, markets, and the rule of law into the developing countries. Addressing the problem from three key dimensions: violence, perpetuity, and impersonality, the author points out that there is a fundamental error in the logic of the reformer's policies.
Using social media for global security

From an ISIS tweet that led to a successful US airstrike, to the radicalization of teenagers into terrorist causes,1 social media is increasingly important for practitioners and scholars. Yet, even...
Both STAT3 activation and cholesterol efflux contribute to the anti-inflammatory effect of apoA-I/ABCA1 interaction in macrophages

ABCA1 exports excess cholesterol from cells to apoA-I and is essential for HDL synthesis. Genetic studies have shown that ABCA1 protects against cardiovascular disease. We have previously shown that the interaction of apoA-I with ABCA1 activates signaling molecule Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), which optimizes the cholesterol efflux activity of ABCA1. ABCA1-mediated activation of JAK2 also activates signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), which significantly attenuates proinflammatory cytokine expression in macrophages. To determine the mechanisms of the anti-inflammatory effects of apoA-I/ABCA1 interaction, we identified two special ABCA1 mutants, one with normal STAT3-activating capacity but lacking cholesterol efflux ability and the other with normal cholesterol efflux ability but lacking STAT3-activating capacity. We showed that activation of STAT3 by the interaction of apoA-I/ABCA1 without cholesterol efflux could significantly decrease proinflammatory cytokine expression in macrophages. Mechanistic studies showed that the anti-inflammatory effect of the apoA-I/ABCA1/STAT3 pathway is suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 dependent. Moreover, we showed that apoA-I/ABCA1-mediated cholesterol efflux without STAT3 activation can also reduce proinflammatory cytokine expression in macrophages. These findings suggest that the interaction of apoA-I/ABCA1 activates cholesterol efflux and STAT3 branch pathways to synergistically suppress inflammation in macrophages.
Hyperplastic callus formation in osteogenesis imperfecta; report of a case and review of the literature.

A case of hyperplastic callus formation is reported in a girl of eleven; several bones were affected. There were no associated fractures. She is believed to be suffering from a mild non-familial type of osteogenesis imperfecta without blue sclerotics and presents multiple bony excrescences unassociated with injury. The relevant literature is reviewed. The effect of a trial of treatment with A.C.T.H. and with deep x-ray is reported.
Diffusion of Carbon Monoxide in Metalorganic thin Films Derived from Titanium Alkoxide Carboxylates

The diffusion of carbon monoxide into thin, transparent, porous film media is studied by doping the film with an iron porphyrin and spectroscopically monitoring the chemical interaction between the reduced iron porphyrin and the diffusing solute. The films are spin-cast from metal alkoxide carboxylates. Both optical absorption and resonance Raman spectroscopies have been used to study the porphyrin-doped film and the diffusion process. The studies yield information on the effective pore size and homogeneity of the materials, and show that redox chemistry can be performed on incorporated metallo-porphyrins. This investigation also demonstrates the usefulness of porphyrin-doped films as chemical sensors, showing a sensitivity below 70 ppb to aqueous carbon monoxide.
Calculation of the Viscosity of Nuclear Waste Glass Systems

Viscosity is one of the most important processing parameters and one of the most difficult to calculate theoretically, particularly for multicomponent systems like nuclear waste glasses. Here, we propose a semi-empirical approach based on the Fulcher equation, involving identification of key variables, for which coefficients are then determined by regression analysis. Results are presented for two glass systems, and compared to results of previous workers and to experiment. We also sketch a first-order statistical mechanical perturbation theory calculation for the effects on viscosity of a change in composition of the melt.
Nanoindentation probing of high-aspect ratio pillar structures on optical multilayer dielectric diffraction gratings

We measure the mechanical response of optical multilayer dielectric (MLD) diffraction gratings, geometries which are constrained in only one transverse direction but free in the other, using nanoindentation. The results are explained using a stress-strain model, which reveals a uniaxial yield stress of 4.1- 4.6 GPa and predicts a similar dependence of yield stress on loads for both fully-elastic and fully-plastic solutions. Following R. Hill’s model of an expanding cavity under internal pressure, we show that the indentation response of the high-aspect ratio “pillar” geometry can be expressed in terms of uniaxial yield stress rather than material hardness.
Pre-Law Advising and the Political Science Major: Evidence from Pre-Law Advisors

Political science is one of the most popular majors for law school applicants, and studies show that political science majors have high rates of law school admission. In addition, many political science departments have a pre-law advisor. However, little is known about the status of pre-law advising on college campuses or the views of pre-law advisors on political science. This article presents the results of a February 2015 survey of 313 college pre-law advisors from across the United States. The authors discovered that the majority of pre-law advisors hold faculty appointments and serve as pre-law advisors without additional compensation or course releases. Pre-law advisors also rate political science as the second-best major, among 14 popular majors, for preparing students for both admission to and academic success in law school. These findings should be of interest to political scientists as well as other faculty and administrators who are concerned with pre-law advising.
Enhanced Radiofrequency Ablation With Magnetically Directed Metallic Nanoparticles

Background— Remote heating of metal located near a radiofrequency ablation source has been previously demonstrated. Therefore, ablation of cardiac tissue treated with metallic nanoparticles may improve local radiofrequency heating and lead to larger ablation lesions. We sought to evaluate the effect of magnetic nanoparticles on tissue sensitivity to radiofrequency energy. Methods and Results— Ablation was performed using an ablation catheter positioned with 10 g of force over prepared ex vivo specimens. Tissue temperatures were measured and lesion volumes were acquired. An in vivo porcine thigh model was used to study systemically delivered magnetically guided iron oxide (FeO) nanoparticles during radiofrequency application. Magnetic resonance imaging and histological staining of ablated tissue were subsequently performed as a part of ablation lesion analysis. Ablation of ex vivo myocardial tissue treated with metallic nanoparticles resulted in significantly larger lesions with greater impedance changes and evidence of increased thermal conductivity within the tissue. Magnet-guided localization of FeO nanoparticles within porcine thigh preps was demonstrated by magnetic resonance imaging and iron staining. Irrigated ablation in the regions with greater FeO, after FeO infusion and magnetic guidance, created larger lesions without a greater incidence of steam pops. Conclusions— Metal nanoparticle infiltration resulted in significantly larger ablation lesions with altered electric and thermal conductivity. In vivo magnetic guidance of FeO nanoparticles allowed for facilitated radiofrequency ablation without direct infiltration into the targeted tissue. Further research is needed to assess the clinical applicability of this ablation strategy using metallic nanoparticles for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.
Lipid-Mediated Localization of Signaling Proteins

Publisher Summary This chapter provides a description on the structures of the different lipid modifications and how lipids are attached to proteins. It also discusses how these modifications impact the localization of lipidated proteins. Numerous signaling proteins are modified with amide-linked myristate, including the Src family of non-receptor tyrosine kinases, members of the G i family of G-protein α subunits, the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A, and the MARCKS protein, a protein kinase C substrate. Modification of the protein occurs co-translationally upon removal of the initiator methionine by methionylpeptidase. A number of cell surface proteins are anchored to the plasma membrane through a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI). This lipid modification is composed of a phosphatidylinositol lipid connected through a carbohydrate linker to the C-terminal carboxyl group of a protein. Covalent lipid modifications promote membrane association by direct insertion of the fatty acid or isoprenoid into the lipid bilayer. However, N-myristoylated and prenylated proteins are found in the cytoplasm as well as on cellular membranes, whereas S-palmitoylated proteins appear to be exclusively associated with membranes. The most frequent lipid modification found on integral membrane proteins is palmitoylation of cysteine residues within the cytoplasmic domain(s). Integral membrane proteins do not require covalent lipid modifications for membrane attachment. Palmitoylation can influence the trafficking of integral membrane proteins through the endocytic pathway, such as endocytosis of the anthrax toxin receptor is regulated through two posttranslational modifications, palmitoylation and ubiquitination, which play opposing roles. Palmitoylation and ubiquitination of the anthrax toxin receptors occurs at cysteine residues within the cytoplasmic domain of the receptor. The consequence of mutating the palmitoylated cysteines to alanine appears to be premature targeting of the receptor to lysosomes.
Integration of a niobium oxide selector on a tantalum oxide memristor by local oxidation using Joule heating

Memristive devices are two-terminal electrical switches with electrical resistance that depends on a state variable equivalent to electrical charge. In practice, multiple memristive devices are arranged into a crossbar array to form such components as memory and logic. For reliable operation of the crossbar array, electrical current sneak paths need to be eliminated by combining a highly nonlinear component, known as selector, with a memristive device. This ensures the explicit selection of an intended memristive device without disturbing the states of surrounding devices. However, integrating a selector onto a memristive device at the circuit level is not an appealing option for large scale integration. In this paper, a monolithic structure that contains a memristive device and a self-aligned selector is presented. A niobium oxide (NbO2) selector is built directly on a tantalum oxide (TaOx) memristive device by fist depositing an Nb layer on a TaOx memristive device and then forming NbO2 at the Nb/TaOx interface. Discussion will focus on an experimental and theoretical assessment on the electrothermal behavior of the Nb/TaOx structure that results in NbO2/TaOx selector/memristive devices.