cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Novel Pseudo‐Protein‐Based Biodegradable Nanomicellar Platform for the Delivery of Anticancer Drugs

Amino acid-based poly(ester amide)s are a new family of biodegradable polymers that exhibit "pseudo-protein" characteristics and the structural varieties of poly(ester amide)s make them hold great potential in multiple biomedical applications. In this study, a lysine-phenylalanine-based pseudo-protein is developed as the self-assembled nanomicellar carrier for efficient delivery of doxorubicin. The lysine moieties from the pseudo-protein provide available sites for further functionalization, and methylcoumarin is introduced for easy and photocontrollable crosslinking, to effectively improve the micellar stability in serum containing environment and against dilution. However, photocrosslinks do not bring in any barrier for the intracellular release of doxoubicin. Doxorubicin release is significantly accelerated by proteolytic enzyme, due to the biodegradability of pseudo-protein micelles. In addition, pseudo-protein delivery system exhibits unique interactions with HCT116 human colon cancer cells. Doxorubicin loaded in pseudo-protein micelles colocalizes with mitochondria and endolysosomes, while free doxorubicin is distributed only in the nuclei. Doxorubicin-loaded pseudo-protein micelles stimulate increased level of intracellular reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial damage. Free doxorubicin induces conditional apoptosis in HCT116 cells between 0.5× 10-6 and 2 × 10-6 m, while DOX loaded in pseudo-protein micelles induces apoptosis over a higher/broader concentration range (2 × 10-6 -10 × 10-6 m).
Aqueous Humor Dynamics of the Brown-Norway Rat

Purpose The study aimed to provide a quantitative description of aqueous humor dynamics in healthy rat eyes. Methods One eye of 26 anesthetized adult Brown-Norway rats was cannulated with a needle connected to a perfusion pump and pressure transducer. Pressure-flow data were measured in live and dead eyes by varying pump rate (constant-flow technique) or by modulating pump duty cycle to hold intraocular pressure (IOP) at set levels (modified constant-pressure technique). Data were fit by the Goldmann equation to estimate conventional outflow facility (C) and unconventional outflow rate (Fun). Parameter estimates were respectively checked by inserting a shunt of similar conductance into the eye and by varying eye hydration methodology. Results Rat IOP averaged 14.6 ± 1.9 mm Hg at rest. Pressure-flow data were repeatable and indistinguishable for the two perfusion techniques, yielding C = 0.023 ± 0.002 μL/min/mm Hg and Fun = 0.096 ± 0.024 μL/min. C was similar for live and dead eyes and increased upon shunt insertion by an amount equal to shunt conductance, validating measurement accuracy. At 100% humidity Fun dropped to 0.003 ± 0.030 μL/min. Physiological washout was not observed (-0.35 ± 0.65%/h), and trabecular anatomy looked normal. Conclusions Rat aqueous humor dynamics are intermediate in magnitude compared to those in mice and humans, consistent with species differences in eye size. C does not change with time or death. Evaporation complicates measurement of Fun even when eyes are not enucleated. Absence of washout is a notable finding seen only in mouse and human eyes to date.
Thermo-mechanical characterization of materials at micro/nanoscal E under bending

This paper presents a new method for testing materials at the microscale at high temperature under bending in-situ in SEM. The proposed method consists of a straining stage with built-in force and displacement sensors attached to a heating stage inside the SEM. The sample is co-fabricated with the stage to eliminate any misalignment error. The method is applied to test the strength of single crystal silicon (SCS) micro-beams under bending. At room temperature, bending tests revealed strengthening of SCS compared to that under uniform tension. This strengthening is contributed by stress localization near the surface of the beams close to the anchors, and the stress gradient from the surface to the neutral axis. The study further reveals significant reduction in the Brittle to Ductile Transition (BDT) temperature of SCS micro-beams compared to their bulk counterparts.
How should we probe a strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma?

Dramatic changes had occurred with our understanding of quark-gluon plasma, which is now believed to be rather strongly coupled. One set of questions is what is its internal structure: at the moment the best answer seem to be a liquid made of binary bound states. Another set of questions is how to probe it, especially using hard probes of the main interest to this meeting. Three suggestions to be discussed are (i) the ionization losses related to new bound states; (ii) the “conical flow” from quenched jets; (iii) possible new peaks in the dilepton spectra, corresponding to vector mesons above T c .
Analytical Study of Large-Area Suspended Ceilings

Due to the complex and heterogeneous construction of suspended ceiling systems, current standards provide only limited guidance for their seismic design. Simplified uniaxial numerical models of sus...
Revealing the Working Mechanisms of Planar Perovskite Solar Cells With Cross-Sectional Surface Potential Profiling

With the rapid improvement in the efficiencies of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), understanding their working mechanisms becomes more and more critical for their further optimization. In this work, Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) is utilized to characterize the surface potential (SP) distribution on the cross-sectional surface of planar PSCs. Devices with regular structure Indium Tin Oxide (ITO)/ZnO/perovskite/2,2′,7,-7′-tetrakis(N,N-di-p-metho-xyphenylamine)-9,9′-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD)/Au and inverted structure Fluorine doped Tin Oxide (FTO)/nickel oxide ( $\text{NiO}_{x}$ )/perovskite/ZnO/Ag are studied. The analysis of KPFM measurement indicates that, while p-n junction forms at the perovskite/ZnO interface in regular planar PSCs, p-i-n junction exists in inverted planar PSCs with electric field peaks at perovskite/ $\text{NiO}_{x}$ and perovskite/ZnO interfaces. In addition, charge injection barriers in planar PSCs are revealed with relative SP profiles obtained under different biases. In regular PSCs, charge injection barriers are only observed at the perovskite/ZnO interface and the contact between perovskite and spiro-OMeTAD is an ideal ohmic contact, while in inverted PSCs, charge injection barriers are observed at both perovskite/ZnO and perovskite/ $\text{NiO}_{x}$ contacts. The appearance of additional charge injection barriers in inverted PSCs exacerbates the charge recombination in these devices and leads to their relatively low open-circuit voltages. Our result indicates that the inefficient charge extraction is a major problem affecting the performance of planar PSCs.
Concurrent Placement of Bilateral Suboccipital and Supraorbital Nerve Stimulators Using On-Q* Tunneler: Technical Note.

Background Stimulation of the occipital and supraorbital nerves is used to treat chronic migraine refractory to medical management. Placement of cranial leads is often challenging due to the rigid Touhy needle included in the kit for its placement. Objective To report the first case of concurrent placement of bilateral supraorbital (SNS) and occipital nerve stimulators (ONS) from a unilateral approach using the On-Q* Tunneler, (Halyard Health, Alpharetta, Georgia) a flexible, blunt tipped plastic tunneler with a tear-away sheath. Methods We present the case of a 49-yr-old female with debilitating daily holocephalic headaches who underwent placement of SNS and ONS through a cervical and left temporal incision at an outside hospital. She presented to our institution with purulent drainage from the temporal incision and the system was removed. We describe an alternative approach to bilateral SNS and ONS placement with a soft flexible tunneling device, which facilitated placement of the entire system through a right temporal incision, thereby avoiding her previously infected surgical sites. Results The patient reported complete resolution of her daily headaches and was able to resume her activities as a full-time student. Conclusion The flexibility of the On-Q tunneler device (Halyard Health) allows the placement of bilateral SNS and ONS from a unilateral incision, thereby minimizing the cosmetic effect and infectious risk of this procedure.
METABOLICALLY HEALTHY AND UNHEALTHY OBESITY AND CHANGES IN LEFT VENTRICULAR MASS, VOLUME AND FUNCTION BY CARDIAC MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING: RESULTS FROM THE MULTI-ETHNIC STUDY OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS

Adverse metabolic factors, even in the absence of obesity, have been shown to predict cardiovascular disease (CVD). We evaluated how metabolically healthy and unhealthy obesity relate to longitudinal changes in left ventricular mass, volume and function by MRI. Participants were from the Multi-
The Present Status and Perspectives of Hemodialysis

I accepted this invitation to speak to you only because I have so much admiration for the work of Dr. Chang. Figure 1 shows the City of Kampen in The Netherlands, which was about as large (23,000 inhabitants) when I worked there during the war as it was on the slide made from a gravure anno 1495. We did not go to the movies for 5 years during the German occupation, so we had nothing better to do than to make artificial kidneys. Here are some of these artificial kidneys (Figure 2), wooden drums, because other material could not be obtained. Later, after World War II one of these kidneys was sent to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal so that les Canadiens and the Canadians would both be treated with hemodialysis. This rotating drum rotates slowly, and as a result, blood in the cellophane tubing which is wrapped around the drum tends to go down by gravity. As the drum turns, the blood will continuously go down and run through the 20 metres of cellophane tubing from one end of the drum to the other. The principle involved is that both the dialyzing fluid which is in the tank, and the blood in the cellophane tubing are continuously moving.
Getting intimate with Mars

Robotic rovers are starting to unravel the secrets of the red planet, but we would discover so much more, says Charles Elachi, if we brought samples back to Earth, and one day even put humans on Mars.
Sequence Analysis of Mammalian Cytochrome b Mutants

A series of mouse cell mutants with increased resistance to inhibitors of electron transport through the protonmotive cytochrome h of Complex III (ubiquinol — cytochrome c oxidoreductase) have been isolated in this laboratory (Howell et al., 1983a; Howell et al., 1983b; Howell and Nalty, submitted for publication). Biochemical and somatic cell genetic analyses indicated that these resistance phenotypes were determined by mutations within the mitochondrial gene encoding the apocytochrome b.
Chemistry of Iron in Calcareous Systems

The reactions of Fe with carbonate are of interest for two main reasons: (1) they represent important geologic and pedogenic processes which influence the transport of Fe(aq) and the deposition and occurrence of Fe oxides, carbonates, and sulfides, and (2) iron is a limiting nutrient for crop production on much of the 25–30% of the world land area which is calcareous. Iron deficiency is the most prevalent and the most difficult to control of the plant nutritional problems encountered on calcareous soils. In spite of the importance of Fe/carbonate reactions to the geological, biological, and agricultural sciences, there has been little published literature on the chemistry of this system.
Dog bite injuries to the face: Is there risk with breed ownership? A systematic review with meta-analysis

Abstract Introduction Dog bite injuries to the face are a serious, yet modifiable public health concern. This study explores the relationship between dog breed and the risk of biting and injury. The objective of this study is to determine the relative risk and severity of dog bite injuries to the face by breed. Methods Retrospective chart review of facial dog bite injuries presenting to the University of Virginia Health System and Nationwide Children's Hospital. Additionally, descriptive data was collected from 240 patients over the last 15 years. Bite risk by breed was assessed by a literature search from 1970 to current. A composite measure was used to determine the severity of injury, and characterize each patient into an ordinal scale of bite severity. An average of each breed bite rate within each study was calculated and combined to create an empiric bite risk by breed. Dog breeds were also further characterized morphologically. Results Bite risk by breed from the literature review and bite severity by breed from our case series were combined to create a total bite risk plot. Injuries from Pitbull's and mixed breed dogs were both more frequent and more severe. This data is well-suited for a bubble plot showing bite risk on the x-axis, bite severity on the y-axis, and size of the bubble by number of cases. This creates a "risk to own" graphic for potential dog owners. Conclusions Breeds vary in both rates of biting and severity. The highest risk breeds had both a high rate of biting and caused significant tissue injury. Physical characteristics can also help determine risk for unknown or mixed dog breeds. Potential dog owners can utilize this data when assessing which breed to own.
Cram\'er Type Moderate Deviations for Random Fields

We study the Cramer type moderate deviation for partial sums of random fields by applying the conjugate method. The results are applicable to the partial sums of linear random fields with short or long memory and to nonparametric regression with random field errors.
The ORMDL/Orm-serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) complex is directly regulated by ceramide: Reconstitution of SPT regulation in isolated membranes.

Sphingolipids compose a lipid family critical for membrane structure as well as intra- and intercellular signaling. De novo sphingolipid biosynthesis is initiated by the enzyme serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT), which resides in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. In both yeast and mammalian species, SPT activity is homeostatically regulated through small ER membrane proteins, the Orms in yeast and the ORMDLs in mammalian cells. These proteins form stable complexes with SPT. In yeast, the homeostatic regulation of SPT relies, at least in part, on phosphorylation of the Orms. However, this does not appear to be the case for the mammalian ORMDLs. Here, we accomplished a cell-free reconstitution of the sphingolipid regulation of the ORMDL–SPT complex to probe the underlying regulatory mechanism. Sphingolipid and ORMDL-dependent regulation of SPT was demonstrated in isolated membranes, essentially free of cytosol. This suggests that this regulation does not require soluble cytosolic proteins or small molecules such as ATP. We found that this system is particularly responsive to the pro-apoptotic sphingolipid ceramide and that this response is strictly stereospecific, indicating that ceramide regulates the ORMDL–SPT complex via a specific binding interaction. Yeast membranes harboring the Orm–SPT system also directly responded to sphingolipid, suggesting that yeast cells have, in addition to Orm phosphorylation, an additional Orm-dependent SPT regulatory mechanism. Our results indicate that ORMDL/Orm-mediated regulation of SPT involves a direct interaction of sphingolipid with the membrane-bound components of the SPT-regulatory apparatus.
L1 Transfer Effects in the Production of Generic Plurals in L2 Arabic

This study examines first language (L1) English transfer in the acquisition of plural noun semantics in second language (L2) Arabic. Drawing on previous research on the L2 acquisition of plural noun interpretation, the study presents and discusses new production data of specific and generic definite plurals by English-speaking learners of Arabic at beginning (n = 15), low-advanced (n = 15), and high-advanced levels (n = 11). The results from 2 meaning-based elicitation tasks showed that the beginning group heavily transferred their L1 English generic bare plurals in the production of target-like Arabic generic definite plurals. The low-advanced group fluctuated between bare and definite plurals. Only the high-advanced group, who had studied Arabic in an immersion setting combined with very structured classroom instruction, showed considerable stability in their production of target-like definite plurals. A careful analysis of the textbook series the beginning and low-advanced groups were taught from showed that the semantics of plural nouns, and more broadly, the semantics of the definite article, were not explicitly taught. The study concludes that the L1 effects in mapping definite and bare plural nouns to their meanings are exacerbated in the absence of explicit instruction. Further pedagogical implications for teaching form-meaning mappings for articles are discussed.
The Mechanics of Treatment-effect Estimate Bias for Nonexperimental Data:

To measure “treatment” effects, social science researchers typically rely on nonexperimental data. In education, school and teacher effects on students are often measured through value-added models...
An Interdisciplinary Platform for Undergraduate Research and Design Projects

Students in the engineering and technology programs are challenged to thoroughly apply their learned technological knowledge and skills toward design and implementation of a challenging engineering project. In this paper, a platform for comprehensive interdisciplinary designs, which utilizes a synergy of competencies gained from undergraduate academic and research experiences with insight to the efforts concerning design project is presented. The platform is based on an interdisciplinary process for design and implementation of various unmanned aerial vehicle systems that involve airframe configurations, propulsion, computing components, camera and vision systems, sensors, actuators, autopilot functions, and data collecting components. This interdisciplinary platform provides students with experience in design, selection, integration, calibration, programming, and applications that require learning and knowledge from various fields of engineering and engineering technology. A number of projects that have been developed based on the platform in an undergraduate unmanned vehicle systems course in an engineering technology program are discussed.
What Do We Know About Social-Media Marketing?

![Figure][1] As the field of marketing research grows ever more diverse, it's imperative that the stewards of thought leadership speak with a clear, consistent, and succinct voice. To that end, the editors of the Journal of Advertising Research have regularly refined a series of formal
Introduction: the value of environmental disagreement

Disagreement is all around us. Could we approach environmental disagreement not as a threat but as a resource? The essays in this Symposium offer insights into working with difference; several come from a series of related paper sessions held at the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences annual conference in June 2017 and 2018. Identity politics, and resultant identity-based insularity separating social groups, may help us appreciate the origin and intensity of such disagreement, in that identity seems to be more important to social factions than differing policy positions on issues. The five essays here address difference and disagreement with an emphasis on theory, methodology, and/or pedagogy, and point to similar efforts which may offer creative paths to explore the value of environmental disagreement.
Exploring How Vitrimer-like Properties Can Be Achieved from Dissociative Exchange in Anilinium Salts

Dynamic covalent materials have properties such as self-healing, recyclability, and stress relaxation because of the dynamic exchange in polymer networks. Here, kinetic exchange in anilinium salts ...
Game—Introduction to Probability: Bison Hold’em Poker Game

Probability literacy is the foundation of business analytics. Although traditional textbook probability exercises may be convenient, students might have insufficient life experience to contextualiz...
Benchmarking and effective strategic communications: ways to implement in public administration

The current information environment is being extremely fast developed mixing up and joining public administration and commercial (private) sector. The article discusses benchmarking, including a proposal to implement benchmarking as measurement of effectiveness of realization of the strategic communications in public administration.
Modulation of OSCP mitigates mitochondrial and synaptic deficits in a mouse model of Alzheimer's pathology

Abstract Synaptic failure underlies cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cumulative evidence suggests a strong link between mitochondrial dysfunction and synaptic deficits in AD. We previously found that oligomycin-sensitivity-conferring protein (OSCP) dysfunction produces pronounced neuronal mitochondrial defects in AD brains and a mouse model of AD pathology (5xFAD mice). Here, we prevented OSCP dysfunction by overexpressing OSCP in 5xFAD mouse neurons in vivo (Thy-1 OSCP/5xFAD mice). This approach protected OSCP expression and reduced interaction of amyloid-beta (Aβ) with membrane-bound OSCP. OSCP overexpression also alleviated F1Fo ATP synthase deregulation and preserved mitochondrial function. Moreover, OSCP modulation conferred resistance to Aβ-mediated defects in axonal mitochondrial dynamics and motility. Consistent with preserved neuronal mitochondrial function, OSCP overexpression ameliorated synaptic injury in 5xFAD mice as demonstrated by preserved synaptic density, reduced complement-dependent synapse elimination, and improved synaptic transmission, leading to preserved spatial learning and memory. Taken together, our findings show the consequences of OSCP dysfunction in the development of synaptic stress in AD-related conditions and implicate OSCP modulation as a potential therapeutic strategy.
Post-COVID recovery: Characteristics of chronically critically ill patients admitted to a long-term acute care hospital

Background: Survivors of COVID-19 pneumonia often suffer from chronic critical illness (CCI) and require long-term hospitalization. Long-term acute care (LTAC) hospitals are vital in the care of CCI patients, but their role for patients post COVID-19 infection is not known. Barlow Respiratory Hospital (BRH) is a 105-bed, LTAC hospital network serving ventilator-dependent and medically-complex patients transferred from the ICUs of hospitals in southern California. We report patient characteristics of our first series of COVID-19 survivors admitted to the post-acute venue of an LTAC hospital. Methods: Single-center observational descriptive report of patients recovering from acute infectious complications of COVID-19 pneumonia requiring long-term respiratory support. Results: From 28 April to 7 September 2020, 41 patients were admitted to BRH for continued recovery from COVID-19 pneumonia. Median age: 68 [44-94] years, 25/41 (61%) male, 33/41 (80.5%) with tracheostomy, 21/41 (51.2%) on invasive mechanical ventilation, 9/41 (22%) receiving hemodialysis. All mechanical ventilation and hemodialysis interventions were initiated at the transferring hospital. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first report to characterize CCI and medically complex COVID-19 patients transferred to the post-acute venue of an LTAC hospital. Patients on average spent over six weeks in the transferring hospital mostly in the ICU, are largely elderly, carry the known risk factors for COVID-19 infection, and experienced respiratory failure necessitating prolonged mechanical ventilation via tracheostomy. Our findings suggest that these patients will continue to require considerable medical interventions and treatments, including weaning from mechanical ventilation, owing to the numerous sequelae of the infection and the burden of acute-on-chronic diseases. As ICU survival rates improve, this research further emphasizes the important role of the LTAC hospital in responding to the COVID-19 crisis.
Interactive Information Retrieval with Bandit Feedback

Information retrieval (IR) in nature is a process of sequential decision making. The system repeatedly interacts with the users to refine its understanding of the users' information needs, improve its estimation of result relevance, and thus increase the utility of its returned results (e.g., the result rankings). Distinct from traditional IR solutions that rigidly execute an offline trained policy, interactive information retrieval emphasizes online policy learning. This, however, is fundamentally difficult for at least three reasons. First, the system only collects user feedback on the presented results, aka, the bandit feedback. Second, users' feedback is known to be noisy and biased. Third, as a result, the system always faces the conflicting goals of improving its policy by presenting currently underestimated results to users versus satisfying the users by ranking the currently estimated best results on top. In this tutorial, we will first motivate the need for online policy learning in interactive IR, by highlighting its importance in several real-world IR problems where online sequential decision making is necessary, such as web search and recommendations. We will carefully address the new challenges that arose in such a solution paradigm, including sample complexity, costly and even outdated feedback, and ethical considerations in online learning (such as fairness and privacy) in interactive IR. We will prepare the technical discussions by first introducing several classical interactive learning strategies from machine learning literature, and then fully dive into the recent research developments for addressing the aforementioned fundamental challenges in interactive IR. Note that the tutorial on "Interactive Information Retrieval: Models, Algorithms, and Evaluation" will provide a broad overview on the general conceptual framework and formal models in interactive IR, while this tutorial covers the online policy learning solutions for interactive IR with bandit feedback.
Estimation of Constrained Mean-Covariance of Normal Distributions

Estimation of the mean vector and covariance matrix is of central importance in the analysis of multivariate data. In the framework of generalized linear models, usually the variances are certain functions of the means with the normal distribution being an exception. We study some implications of functional relationships between covariance and the mean by focusing on the maximum likelihood and Bayesian estimation of the mean-covariance under the joint constraint $\bm{\Sigma}\bm{\mu} = \bm{\mu}$ for a multivariate normal distribution. A novel structured covariance is proposed through reparameterization of the spectral decomposition of $\bm{\Sigma}$ involving its eigenvalues and $\bm{\mu}$. This is designed to address the challenging issue of positive-definiteness and to reduce the number of covariance parameters from quadratic to linear function of the dimension. We propose a fast (noniterative) method for approximating the maximum likelihood estimator by maximizing a lower bound for the profile likelihood function, which is concave. We use normal and inverse gamma priors on the mean and eigenvalues, and approximate the maximum aposteriori estimators by both MH within Gibbs sampling and a faster iterative method. A simulation study shows good performance of our estimators.
Carbon arc for nanoparticle production: Ablation rate calculation. Comparison to experiments

A graphite anode ablates in an arc system producing nanoparticles. Experiments show that the ablation rate increases sharply when the current density at the anode exceeds some critical value, which separates the low ablation and high ablation modes. According to the existing hypotheses, the high ablation mode takes place when the anode voltage drop, which is negative in the low ablation mode, turns positive. Based on the work of Nemchinsky [J. Appl. Phys. 130, 103304 (2021)], where the anode voltage drop was evaluated, in this paper, the thermal regime of the anode is considered. It is shown that the main heating mechanism is electron condensation on the anode. The main cooling mechanism is radiation in the low ablation mode and cooling by sublimation in the high ablation mode. In the last case, the energy necessary to compensate for the strong cooling effect of sublimation is delivered by electrons accelerated at the positive anode drop inside the anode sheath. The proposed model allows one to find the ablation rate for a wide range of arc currents and anode diameters. Comparison to the available experimental data shows reasonable agreement. Based on analysis of the experiments and calculations, it was hypothesized that the ablation rate is not sensitive to the presence of a catalyst.
Inactivation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Polyphenoloxidase in Mango Nectar Treated with UV Light

Fresh mango nectar was processed by UV light at five flow rates (0.073 to 0.451 liter/min) and five UV light doses (75 to 450 kJ/m2) to evaluate total microbial load, Saccharomyces cerevisiae survival, and polyphenoloxidase activity. UV systems containing an inner mercury lamp (254 nm) each with intensity of 25 mW/cm2 were used as germicidal sources. In addition, mango nectar was treated for 15 min at 0.073 and 0.451 liter/min, stored at 3 degrees C, and evaluated periodically for total microbial count, yeast count, color, and polyphenoloxidase activity. The first-order kinetics modeling found that DUV-values in mango nectar ranged from 27.9 to 10.9 min (R2 > 0.950) and 26.0 to 11.8 min (R2 > 0.962) for total microbial count and yeast count, respectively. The maximum log reduction (CFU per milliliter) was 2.71 and 2.94 for total microbial count and yeast count, respectively, after 30 min of UV treatment at 0.451 liter/min. DUV-values ranging from 156 to 204 min were observed for polyphenoloxidase activity. The remaining polyphenoloxidase activity after 30 min of UV treatment at 0.451 liter/min was 19 +/- 4%. Initial microbial load and yeast in stored mango nectar were reduced in the range 2.86 to 3.41 and 1.82 to 1.97 log (CFU/ml) cycles, respectively. No substantial microbial growth was observed prior to 20 days of storage. Averages of 1,055 +/- 32, 803 +/- 32, and 710 +/- 37 enzyme activity units were observed in mango nectar UV processed at 0, 0.073, and 0.451 liter/min, respectively, during the entire storage period. However, mango nectar treated at 0.073 and 0.451 liter/min maintained a yellow and yellow-orange color, respectively, after 26 days of storage.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance for Environmental Monitoring

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is one of the most powerful tools available for analytical chemists at present. The power of the technique and its wide applicability come from the fact that it probes isolated nuclei with low-energy radio waves. The isolation of the probed nuclei allows one to obtain very detailed information on their local electronic and physical environments. The coupling of nuclei also allows for a systematic study of their connectivities. The use of radiofrequency exploits (i) our fundamental understanding and ability to manipulate this form of electromagnetic energy and (ii) the low-energy nature of this radiation to gently and nondestructively probe nuclei, and hence, molecules in a range of situations, including in vivo. These attributes of NMR allow it to have a wide range of applications within the field of environmental monitoring, from identification and detection to unraveling complex biochemical process due to environmental stressors. The NMR field continues to evolve with advances in theory, practice, and hardware and, as it does so, it expands into applications ranging from monitoring natural organic matter (NOM) in the environment to emerging environmental issues, such as atmospheric organic matter (AOM) characterization or chemical weapon detection and identification, to studying the influence of environmental stressors on a range of living organisms through metabolite profiling.
Low Anterior Resection and Abdominoperineal Resection

Low anterior resection (LAR) and abdominoperineal resection (APR) are the two primary operations for surgical resection of rectal cancer. The decision to perform one operation over the other is based primarily on the tumor location in relation to the sphincter complex. Low anterior resection involves resection of the tumor with a primary anastomosis to the remaining anorectum, thus maintaining intestinal continuity. It is usually reserved for tumors located between 4 and 16 cm from the anal verge. Abdominoperineal resection involves removing the tumor along with the anal canal and sphincter complex, creating a permanent end colostomy. To qualify for an LAR, both the tumor and the distal margin must allow preservation of the sphincter complex.
WiFi-NC: WiFi over narrow channels

The quest for higher data rates in WiFi is leading to the development of standards that make use of wide channels (e.g., 40MHz in 802.11n and 80MHz in 802.11ac). In this paper, we argue against this trend of using wider channels, and instead advocate that radios should communicate over multiple narrow channels for efficient and fair spectrum utilization. We propose WiFi-NC, a novel PHY-MAC design that allows radios to use WiFi over multiple narrow channels simultaneously. To enable WiFi-NC, we have developed the compound radio, a single wideband radio that exposes the abstraction of multiple narrow channel radios, each with independent transmission, reception and carrier sensing capabilities. The architecture of WiFi-NC makes it especially suitable for use in white spaces where free spectrum may be fragmented. Thus, we also develop a frequency band selection algorithm for WiFi-NC making it suitable for use in white spaces. WiFi-NC has been implemented on an FPGA-based software defined radio platform. Through real experiments and simulations, we demonstrate that WiFi-NC provides better efficiency and fairness in both common WiFi as well as future white space scenarios.
Surveillance Neuroimaging to Detect Relapse in Childhood Brain Tumors: A Pediatric Oncology Group Study

PURPOSE: To investigate the prognostic significance of surveillance neuroimaging for detection of relapse among children with malignant brain tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A historical cohort study examined all children who experienced relapse from 1985 to 1999 on one of 10 Pediatric Oncology Group trials for malignant glioma, medulloblastoma, or ependymoma. RESULTS: For all 291 patients (median age at diagnosis, 8.2 years), median time to first relapse was 8.8 months (range, 0.6 to 115.6 months). Ninety-nine relapses were radiographic, and 192, clinical; median time to relapse was 15.7 versus 6.6 months, respectively (P = .0001). When stratified by pathology, radiographic and clinical groups showed differences in median time to relapse for malignant glioma (7.8 v 4.3 months, respectively; P = .041) and medulloblastoma (23.6 v 8.9 months, respectively; P = .0006) but not ependymoma (19.5 v 13.3 months, respectively; P = .19). When stratified by early (< 8.8 months) or late (≥ 8.8 months) time to relapse, ...
Increased levels of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 protein and messenger RNA in human peripheral blood monocytes due to titanium particles

Cytokines produced by macrophages in the periprosthetic membranes surrounding joint replacements have been implicated as causal agents in osteolysis and prosthetic loosening. The present study characterizes the response of human peripheral blood monocytes to titanium particles. Monocytes were obtained from volunteers and blood that had been donated to the American Red Cross and were cultured in the presence of titanium particles (one to three micrometers in diameter). There were consistent dose-dependent increases in the production of TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor-α) and IL-6 (interleukin-6) protein, with the greatest stimulation generally observed with a concentration of 6 x 105 to 6 x 106 particles of titanium per milliliter. The level of TNF-α was the greatest (fifty to 1000 times greater than the control level) after eight hours of exposure to titanium particles; the level of IL-6 was two to five times greater than the control level after sixteen hours of exposure. These increases were similar to those observed after stimulation with lipopolysaccharide and depended on de novo synthesis rather than on release from intracellular stores. The production of TNF-α was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by the translational inhibitor cycloheximide and the transcriptional inhibitor actinomycin D, indicating the requirement for both mRNA (messenger RNA) and protein synthesis for the induction of cytokine synthesis by titanium particles. Although the increase in the levels of cytokine mRNA in response to titanium was rapid (thirty to ninety minutes), the increase in the level of TNF-α mRNA preceded that of IL-6 mRNA. The level of TNF-α mRNA was the greatest at ninety minutes and the level of IL-6 mRNA was the greatest at three hours. After stimulation with titanium particles, the level of TNF-α mRNA was increased as much as fivefold and the level of IL-6 mRNA, as much as twelvefold. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Awareness of the importance of wear debris particles in cytokine-induced bone resorption has resulted in improvements in the designs of implants and in operative techniques to reduce wear of components. The present study further elucidates the biological mechanisms involved in periprosthetic osteolysis. Titanium-stimulated biosynthesis of the cytokines TNF-α and IL-6, which are both potent stimulators of bone resorption, requires increases in the synthesis of both mRNA and protein by monocytes. An understanding of the complex mechanisms of the induction of cytokine synthesis by particles of wear debris will facilitate the design of pharmacological agents to control periprosthetic bone resorption. These agents, in combination with other efforts to reduce the generation of wear debris, may improve the longevity of orthopaedic implants.
Empowerment for digitization: lessons learned from The Making of Modern Michigan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the planning and implementation of a project (The Making of Modern Michigan) which was undertaken to develop a digital collection on Michigan history and to provide training, equipment and technical resources needed by staff in small and medium‐sized Michigan libraries to begin their first digitization projects.Design/methodology/approach – Using a case‐study approach, The Making of Modern Michigan is placed in the larger context of academic‐library digitization efforts since the mid‐1990 s. The needs of the target audience are reviewed, and the services and technical resources provided to them are described with special attention to the innovative aspects of the project: tools for copyright status profiling and metadata entry.Findings – The article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of The Making of Modern Michigan's decentralized approach to managing a collaborative project involving more than 50 institutions.Practical implications – The library ...
New approach to determine number of lanes on freeway upgrades

A slow-moving heavy vehicle can substantially reduce traffic flow because the vehicle acts as a moving bottleneck. In particular, the bottleneck can be initiated on a long uphill freeway section wh...
Purification and characterization of maize ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase

Abstract The ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase purified from maize (a C 4 monocot) to homogeneity has a MW of532 000 and sedimentation coeffici
The psychiatric clinical specialist's impact on psychiatric emergency services

Abstract Psychiatric emergency services have evolved into more comprehensive programs during the past two decades. With this evolution other disciplines have gained access to the services and integrated their expertise and philosophy into the daily care of patients. Nursing has been an integral part of this process and contributed its perspective in nursing care. This paper outlines the development of psychiatric emergency services with a special emphasis on the contribution of nursing specialists who have developed their role within the psychiatric emergency service. What has been unique about the nursing contribution is the attention to individualizing patient care and modifying treatment approaches to meet the patients' needs and interests in psychiatric treatment. Additionally, nursing has complemented the physician's role by developing expertise in assessment that is both psychologically and biologically oriented. Nursing's future contribution to psychiatric emergency services should address mechanisms for tracking patients who enter the psychiatric emergency service system with an emphasis on linkage with other programs or resolution of the crisis episode.
Aromatic hydroxylation of amphetamine with rat liver microsomes, perfused liver, and isolated hepatocytes

Abstract The hydroxylation of amphetamine to p -hydroxyamphetamine has been investigated. In 1 hr, perfused rat livers hydroxylated about 85 per cent of the administered 20 μmole dose of amphetamine. Ninety-four per cent of the p -hydroxyamphetamine was further metabolized by conjugation. Isolated hepatocytes are capable of hydroxylation of amphetamine and conjugation of hydroxyamphetamine at rates comparable to those of the perfused liver. The rate of hydroxylation with microsomes is about 50 per cent of that attained with isolated hepatocytes. With hepatocytes, the hydroxylation is inhibited by typical inhibitors of microsomal oxygenase(s) such as 2,6-dichlorophenyphenoxyethylamine (DPEA) and SKF525A, and it is inhibited by iprindole. However, the rate could not be increased by treatments which induce cytochrome P450 and increase other mono-oxygenase reactions. The results obtained with both isolated hepatocytes and microsomes suggest that amphetamine is hydroxylated by a microsomal cytochrome P450-dependent enzyme system, but that amphetamine is not a typical substrate.
Country of Authorship and Collaboration Affect Citations of Articles by South and East Asian Authors in Agronomy Journals: A Case Study of China, Japan, and India

A total of 7,707 agronomy papers (2006 to 2011) by Chinese, Indian, and Japanese authors were identified in the Web of Science (WoS) database. The impact factors (IFs) of papers and the uncited paper rate (UPR) in a particular journal with a given country's authorship was calculated as IFs calculated in Journal Citation Reports. For India, the impact factors of articles authored within one country (within-country impact factor) were significantly lower than the overall IF. The impact factors of collaborative articles (collaborative impact factor) and within-country impact factors for the three countries differed significantly. The uncited rates of collaborative papers (uncited collaborative paper rate) and uncited rates of papers authored within one country (uncited within-country paper rate) of China and Japan were significantly different. However, for India, the uncited collaborative paper rate was significantly lower than the uncited within-country paper rate; collaboration (mostly with developed count...
Isotopic evidence for Younger Dryas aridity in the North American midcontinent

Determining the impact of the Younger Dryas (YD) climate event on the unglaciated North American midcontinent has proved difficult due to a scarcity of suitable paleoclimate proxies. Here we present a well-dated carbon isotope (δ13C) record from a buried soil sequence in southwestern Missouri, which reveals a large isotopic excursion during the YD chronozone. In this region of the modern prairie-forest border, the δ13C signature of soil organic matter is a reliable indicator of past climatic change because δ13C values are controlled primarily by the relative abundance of C3 and C4 plants, which is tied to the environmental setting. Between ca. 13,200 and 11,900 yr ago, the abundance of C4 grasses increased by upwards of 50% of the total biomass, indicating expansion of grassland most likely driven by increased aridity during this period. Environmental gradients in the midcontinent must have been very steep, because at the same time that a C4-rich prairie existed in southwestern Missouri, spruce forests grew in Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio.
Morphometry of spine-free nonpyramidal neurons in rabbit auditory cortex.

A study of the morphometry and laminar distribution of spine-free nonpyramidal neurons in electrophysiologically verified primary auditory cortex was carried out in adult rabbits. By using image-combining computer microscopy, the locations of all impregnated neurons in 300-μm Golgi-Cox Nissl sections through the auditory cortex were determined. Spine-free non-pyramidal neurons constitute nearly 72% of the nonpyramidal neurons present. They are distributed in a band extending from 450 to 750 μm beneath the pial surface corresponding to laminae III and IV. A combination of dendritic stick, Fourier, and statistical analyses revealed a highly significant spatial orientation of their dendrite systems along a vertical axis parallel to the apical dendrites of pyramidal neurons. A significant tangential orientation of dendrites along a dorsal-ventral axis was also found. A radial analysis of the dendrite systems revealed that the pronounced vertical orientation of spine-free nonpyramidal neurons is due to (1) directed dendritic growth along the vertical axis, (2) decreased branching and rapid termination of tangentially oriented dendrites, and (3) increased branching of vertically growing dendrites. The radial analysis also revealed that the longest branches are those directed toward the white matter.
Magnetomotive nanoparticle transducers for optical rheology of viscoelastic materials

The availability of a real-time non-destructive modality to interrogate the mechanical properties of viscoelastic materials would facilitate many new investigations. We introduce a new optical method for measuring elastic properties of samples which employs magnetite nanoparticles as perturbative agents. Magnetic nanoparticles distributed in silicone-based samples are displaced upon probing with a small external magnetic field gradient and depth-resolved optical coherence phase shifts allow for the tracking of scatterers in the sample with nanometer-scale sensitivity. The scatterers undergo underdamped oscillations when the magnetic field is applied step-wise, allowing for the measurement of the natural frequencies of oscillation of the samples. Validation of the measurements is accomplished using a commercial indentation apparatus to determine the elastic moduli of the samples. This real-time non-destructive technique constitutes a novel way of probing the natural frequencies of viscoelastic materials in which magnetic nanoparticles can be introduced.
Surface energy of electron-hole liquid in germanium at zero and finite〈111〉 uniaxial stress

Abstract In the framework of density-functional formalism we show that in a calculation of surface energy of electron-hole liquid (EHL) in germanium the inclusion of first gradient correction to exchange-correlation energy has a significant quantitative effect. The surface energy of EHL in Ge under very large 〈111〉 stress is found to be a factor of sixteen smaller than the value in Ge at zero stress.