cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hsp40 Affinity to Identify Proteins Destabilized by Cellular Toxicant Exposure

Environmental toxins and toxicants can damage proteins and threaten cellular proteostasis. Most current methodologies to identify misfolded proteins in cells survey the entire proteome for sites of changed reactivity. We describe and apply a quantitative proteomics methodology to identify destabilized proteins based on their binding to the human Hsp40 chaperone DNAJB8. These protein targets are validated by an orthogonal limited proteolysis assay using parallel reaction monitoring. We find that brief exposure of HEK293T cells to meta-arsenite increases the affinity of two dozen proteins to DNAJB8, including known arsenite-sensitive proteins. In particular, arsenite treatment destabilizes both the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex E1 subunit and several RNA-binding proteins. This platform can be used to explore how environmental toxins impact cellular proteostasis, and to identify the susceptible proteome.
Tied Goods and Consumer Switching Costs

Proprietary product designs create high switching costs, directly hurting consumers, and hurting firms due to intensified competition.
CHARACTERIZATION OF SOME STOCHASTIC PROCESSES

This chapter presents a theorem of Marcinkiewicz on identically distributed linear forms and discusses the characterizations of the Wiener process and of stable processes. A homogeneous and continuous process with independent increments is called a stable process. The first characterization of the Wiener process uses the independence of two stochastic integrals. The stochastic integrals are defined in the sense of convergence in probability and also as limits in the quadratic mean instead of integrals in the sense of convergence in probability.
Relativeness of energy and mass density manifested by space–time non-symmetry

Abstract The microscopic and macroscopic are mutually supportive for they are parts of the same entity. Their physical properties are intrinsic of the space–time being highly non-symmetry and non-homogeneous. The interchange of energy and mass density (EMD) reflects the space–time non-symmetry (STNS) and non-equilibrium and non-homogeneity (NENH) of the expanding universe. As such, the trade-offs of energy and mass density are scale and time dependent. The proportion of the “light matter” to the so-dubbed “dark matter” reflects only the very early stage of the journey from the big bang to the big crunch, both of which are disputable propositions. The light matter refers to the ordinary matter, while the dark matter differs in ways that are unknown. The exploration of this unknown substance, which may not even be matter in the ordinary sense, involves making hypotheses at the galactic scale of space–time. One of them is the idea of a “cosmological constant” that provokes dubbing dualism to pair with monism, the self-fused supreme (SFS). The SFS is assumed to prevail in another dimension of higher order space–time. Only, SFS possesses the secret of perfect symmetry and homogeneity, in opposition of dualism. The search for the dark matter has prompted the Euclid mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) to study the ways with which the energy density could depend on time or being a constant. To this end, the changeability, inhomogeneity, and mobility (CIM) of the galaxies deserve consideration. An explanation for the illusiveness of the dark matter is offered by Tao Te Ching in connection with the changeable and unchangeable. The dark energy and dark matter are subject to change as they have already been named. The so-dubbed “dark spirit” as the “mysterious one” is the only unchangeable.
When First Might Be Worst

This article urges attorneys to make sure that their clients are well advised when deal with the issue of relative priority of leases and loans. The subordination clause may be less important than the nondisturbance and attornment provisions
High Power U.V. — Preionized CO2 Lasers

Much of the interest currently expressed in CO2 lasers of extremely high peak power arises because of the possibility of their incorporation into various schemes aimed at producing thermonuclear fusion. Proposals in which uniform irradiation by a specially shaped laser pulse of a solid or hollow spherical target induces a high compression of the thermonuclear material have lead to predicted required laser energies which should be realizable in the near future (l,2). In addition the possibility of using high power CO2 lasers to heat lower density, magnetically confined plasmas to thermonuclear conditions has also been considered (3). In both these approaches there is implicit the development of efficient, large aperture uniform CO2 laser beams capable of sustaining high power pulses of controllable shape and duration. Since the development of pulsed, transversely excited high pressure gas lasers(4,5), several different schemes have been devised for the excitation of large volumes of laser gas mixtures with high optical gain and energy extraction. At the present time the most promising approaches to this problem appear to be those of the so-called “double discharge” technique (6,7), the electron beam controlled discharge(8), and discharges incorporating U.V. photo-preionization(9). The present paper will discuss the principal features of the latter technique, and, in addition, various methods of producing ultrashort pulses with U.V. photo-preionized CO2 lasers will be described. Some initial results on the amplification of ultrashort pulses, obtained with an oscillator-plifier laser system, will also be described.
Understanding how the distal pocket environment affects the ligand binding affinity of nitrite to heme proteins (1013.17)

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Nitric oxide (NO) plays a fundamental role in cardiovascular health and disruptions in normal NO physiology is associated with the progression of cardiovascular disease. A relatively new mechanism by which heme proteins can support vasodilatation during hypoxia is by converting nitrite (NO2-) to NO. This NO2- reductase activity plays essential roles in a variety of physiological processes. Because there is a large range in NO2- affinity and NO2- reductase activity in heme proteins with the same active site, this research seeks to better understand how the protein environment controls the binding chemistry of NO2- to the heme active site. Our goal is to determine how the distal pocket environment affects the binding affinity of NO2- to metmyoglobin mutants. Our hypothesis is that the distal pocket environment can increase the binding affinity of NO2- by way of electrostatic and steric interactions. To do this, we will compare the binding affin...
Evolutionary computation technologies for the automated design of space systems

The Evolvable Computation Group, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), is tasked with demonstrating the utility of computational engineering and computer optimized design for complex space systems. The group is comprised of researchers over a broad range of disciplines including biology, genetics, robotics, physics, computer science and system design, and employs biologically inspired evolutionary computational techniques to design and optimize complex systems. Over the past two years we have developed tools using genetic algorithms, simulated annealing and other optimizers to improve on human design of space systems. We have further demonstrated that the same tools used for computer-aided design and design evaluation can be used for automated innovation and design, and be applied to hardware in the loop such as robotic arms and MEMS micro-gyroscopes. These powerful techniques also serve to reduce redesign costs and schedules.
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy

A variety of medical therapies are clinically proven to improve symptoms and mortality in heart failure patients. However, some patients remain symptomatic despite optimal medical therapy. A subset of these patients may demonstrate electrical dyssynchrony which may contribute to hemodynamic and clinical deterioration. This chapter reviews the pathophysiology and clinical assessment of dyssynchrony, the clinical indications for cardiac resynchronization therapy, and a description of the devices and programming features currently available to heart failure patients.
Overview of Analysis Tools

The primary mission of an analyst or systems designer is to extract the physical requirements of the users and convert them to software. All software can trace its roots to a physical act or a physical requirement. A physical act can be defined as something that occurs in the interaction of people, that is, people create the root requirements of most systems, especially those in business. For example, when Mary tells us that she receives invoices from vendors and pays them thirty days later, she is explaining her physical activities during the process of receiving and paying invoices. When the analyst creates a technical specification which represents Mary’s physical requirements, the specification is designed to allow for the translation of her physical needs into an automated environment. We know that software must operate within the confines of a computer, and such systems must function on the basis of logic. The logical solution does not always treat the process using the same procedures employed in the physical world. In other words, the software system implemented to provide the functions which Mary does physically will probably work differently and more efficiently than Mary herself. Software, therefore, can be thought of as a logical equivalent of the physical world. This abstraction, which I call the concept of the logical equivalent (LE), is a process that analysts must use to create effective requirements of the needs of a system. The LE can be compared to a schematic of a plan or a diagram of how a technical device works.
Super-Streaming: A New Object Delivery Paradigm forContinuous Media Servers

A number of studies have focused on the design of continuous media, CM, (e.g., video and audio) servers to support the real-time delivery of CM objects. These systems have been deployed in local environments such as hotels, hospitals and cruise ships to support media-on-demand applications. They typically stream CM objects to the clients with the objective of minimizing the buffer space required at the client site. This objective can now be relaxed due to the availability of inexpensive storage devices at the client side. Therefore, we propose a Super-streaming paradigm that can utilize the client side resources in order to improve the utilization of the CM server. To support super-streaming, we propose a technique to enable the CM servers to deliver CM objects at a rate higher than their display bandwidth requirement. We also propose alternative admission control policies to downgrade super-streams in favor of regular streams when the resources are scarce. We demonstrate the superiority of our paradigm over streaming with both analytical and simulation models. Moreover, new distributed applications such as distant-learning, digital libraries, and home entertainment require the delivery of CM objects to geographically disbursed clients. For quality purposes, recently many studies proposed dedicated distributed architectures to support these types of applications. We extend our super-streaming paradigm to be applicable in such distributed architectures. We propose a sophisticated resource management policy to support super-streaming in the presence of multiple servers, network links and clients. Due to the complexity involved in modeling these architectures, we only evaluate the performance of super-streaming by a simulation study.
New multi‐fluid MHD model of comet 26P/Grigg‐Skjellerup: Extrapolation to comet 67P/Churyumov‐Gerasimenko

[1] The Multi-fluid MHD simulator CASIM3D models the atmosphere of comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup as it was seen by the Giotto spacecraft during its flyby of the comet in July 1992. CASIM3D integrates the major chemical reactions and physical interactions to compute self-consistently over an adaptive Cartesian mesh the dynamics of ions, electrons, and neutrals within the coma. Using this model, we derived water ion velocity and density profiles and magnetic field strength along the Giotto path that are in good agreement with the recorded observations. This model is also extrapolated to the case of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for its perihelion passage of 2015 to provide a preliminary assessment of the structure of the coma of this comet. We show that the inner boundary layers are just few dozen kilometers large. This could provide an additional constraint to the orbit of the spacecraft Rosetta to maximize the science return of the mission.
Terms and Concepts of Objects of Study

Administrative – Concerning the object of an epidemiological study, the quality of having to do with care providers’ (professional) behavior rather than truths about Nature. (Cf. ‘Health services research’ in sect. II – 2.)
Spinifex People as Cold War Moderns

Aboriginal Australian contemporary artists create works that express indigenous traditions as well as the unprecedented conditions of global modernity. This is especially true for the founders of the Spinifex Arts Project, a collective established in 1997 to create so-called “government paintings”: the large-scale canvases produced as documents of land tenure used in negotiations with the government of Western Australia to reclaim expropriated desert homelands. British and Australian nuclear testing in the 1950s displaced the Anangu juta pila nguru, now known to us as the Spinifex people, from their nomadic lifeworld. Exodus and the subsequent struggle to regain lost homelands through paintings created as corroborating evidence for native title claims make Spinifex canvases not simply expressions of Tjukurpa, or “Dreamings,” but also artifacts of the atomic age and its impact on a culture seemingly far from the front lines of cold war conflict.
Allelic and Nonallelic Genes Controlling Host Specificity in a Bacteriophage.

Preliminary crosses ( HERSHEY and ROTMAN 1948, and unpublished) between pairs of independently arising host-range mutants of the same virus, however, have failed to yield recombinants, even when the two mutants were clearly different. LURIA (personal communication) has had the same experience with host-range mutants of the related phage T2L. If the results with the two kinds of mutant are to be given a consistent interpretation, it has to be assumed that different host-range mutations, unlike the r mutations, tend to occur at a single genetic locus. This assumption is not implausible, inasmuch as the host-range character can be readily combined with the r character in the appropriate genetic crosses (HERSHEY and ROTMAN 1949). Nevertheless, we felt that the genetic interpretation could be greatly strengthened by establishing one authentic example of multiple allelism in the virus. This we have done, by three independent means. The demonstration is all the more convincing because one mutant was found that proved to be carrying a mutation in a second locus controlling host specificity. M ETH ODs The technique of crossing viral mutants has been modified slightly since last described (HERSHEY and ROTMAN 1949). The bacteria are now grown in nutrient broth, suspended in buffered saline, admixed with virus, and diluted in broth after allowing five minutes for adsorption to occur. Adsorption in the absence of nutrient is physiologically equivalent to simultaneous adsorption of the added virus particles ( BENZER et al. 1950), and the effects we observe are understandable on the assumption that this causes a more
Opioid growth factor receptor (OGFR) expression is downregulated with progression of triple negative breast cancer

Purpose: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive form of breast cancer that accounts for approximately 15% of the newly diagnosed cancers worldwide, and disproportionately affects younger women and women of color. Although many forms of breast cancer are successfully treated, new therapies are needed for TNBC. A novel regulatory system, the opioid growth factor (OGF) – opioid growth factor receptor (OGFr) axis, plays a determining role in neoplasia. OGF is an endogenous peptide that binds specifically to OGFr to inhibit cell replication. As some human cancers grow, OGFr expression is diminished, thus limiting the therapeutic efficacy of OGF. The OGF-OGFr axis is present in human TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231 and OGF inhibits cell replication in a dosage-related, receptor-mediated manner. Methods: The present study investigated whether OGFr protein expression in human breast cancer cell lines grown in vitro or transplanted into nude mice, changed with the stage of proliferation or size of tumor using western blotting, semi-quantitative immunohistochemistry, and DNA synthesis techniques. Results: Comparison of log and confluent TNBC cultures revealed that OGF expression was significantly decreased in confluent cultures relative to levels in log-phase cells. Western blot analyses confirmed that OGFr was reduced in confluent TNBC and MCF-7 breast cancer cells in comparison to corresponding log-phase cells. Moreover, BrdU labeling was reduced in confluent cells. Small ( 1000 mm 3 ) TNBC tumors grown in nude mice were processed for semiquantitative measurement of OGF and OGFr. The expression of both peptide and receptor in large tumors was downregulated relative to small tumors. Conclusion : The reduced expression of the inhibitory peptide and receptor diminishes the efficacy of the OGF-OGFr axis as a biotherapy. These data suggest that the OGF-OGFr pathway is altered with cancer progression and one or more elements of this regulatory pathway may serve as biomarkers for TNBC growth.
Desalination by natural freezing

Abstract This paper presents a technique for desalination by natural freezing that can be used in relatively warm climates with ambient temperatures above freezing. The reasons for the freezing of water are discussed and theoretical calculations are given to predict the time required to reach the freezing temperature. Experimental results are given which show that the technique works. The melted ice water from a single freezing without a wash step has three to six times less salt than the feed. Possible suitable locations, a preliminary economic analysis, and methods of increasing the product purity by washing the ice are discussed.
Separation of a Multicomponent Mixture of Proteins by Potential Barrier Chromatography (PBC)

Abstract Potential barrier chromatography (PBC) is a high performance liquid chroma-tographic method which uses an isocratic elution procedure and exploits the high sensitivity of the interaction potentials (between the proteins and the packing) to small differences in their physicochemical properties (isoelectric point, hydrophobicity, molecular size, etc.). Theinteraction potential is a result of the van der Waals attraction and double-layer, Born, and hydration repulsions. While a sufficiently strong van der Waals attraction has the tendency to generate a deep adsorption energy well, the double-layer repulsion prevents the occurrence of such a deep well; however, the latter repulsion together with the van der Waals attraction also generates a potential barrier to adsorption. Separation is feasible when the above-mentioned interaction potentials between adsorbent and adsorbates produce surmountable energy barriers to adsorption as well as moderately deep adsorption energy wells. The interaction potentia...
INHIBITION OF THE ATPase ACTIVITY OF P‐GLYCOPROTEIN BY PORPHYRIN PHOTOSENSITIZATION OF MULTIDRUG‐RESISTANT CELLS in vitro

The effectiveness of photodynamic therapy against P-glycoprotein ATPase activity in multidrug-resistant cells was studied. Chinese hamster ovary AUXB1 (drug-sensitive) and CR1R12 (multidrug-resistant) cell lines were compared with respect to uptake of 14C-polyhematoporphyrin and porphyrin photosensitization. Phototoxicity of Photofrin was similar in both cell lines, and no major differences in uptake or efflux of 14C-polyhematoporphyrin were observed. Porphyrin photosensitization in vitro of CR1R12 cells or isolated plasma membranes from these cells caused inhibition of P-glycoprotein ATPase activity. Application of porphyrin photosensitization at a sublethal level to CR1R12 cells resulted in a small but significant increase in adriamycin-induced cytotoxicity. The hydrophobic "picket-fence" porphyrin, meso-tetrakis-(o-propionamidophenyl)porphyrin, alpha,alpha,alpha,beta-isomer, was more inhibitory toward P-glycoprotein ATPase activity than the two less hydrophobic porphyrins tetraphenylporphine tetrasulfonate and Photofrin.
Neutron-emission spectra and superdeformation in light nuclei.

Evidence is presented for the occurrence of superdeformation in $\mathrm{sd}$-shell nuclei. Neutron-proton coincidence spectra from the $^{16}\mathrm{O}$ + $^{12}\mathrm{C}$ reaction at ${E}_{\mathrm{c}.\mathrm{m}.}=24$ MeV were measured. The neutron evaporation spectrum at low energies directly reflects the large deformation of the emitting system, extending to states above the yrast line. The strong energy dependence of the effect implies that the compound nucleus undergoes a rapid change from nearly spherical to superdeformed shapes over a narrow range of excitation energy. The transition to a fissioning system should be observable.
Glucocorticoid inhibition of fibroblast contraction of collagen gels

When skin fibroblasts are grown in culture on collagen gels, the collagen gels contract. We have studied the effects of various steroids on the contraction process. Cortisol, beta-estradiol and dexamethasone inhibited fibroblast-mediated gel contraction at low (10(-8) to 10(-9) M) concentrations whereas dihydrotestosterone was without effect. These effects were time and concentration dependent and could be reversed if the steroids were removed. This system may be useful for assaying the activities of various steroids in terms of their activities and modulating effects on connective tissue.
Fuzzy arithmetic with requisite constraints

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to show that the standard fuzzy arithmetic does not take into account known constraints when applied to states of linguistic variables. These constraints, referred to as requisite constraints, represent additional information. When they are ignored, as in the standard fuzzy arithmetic, the obtained results exhibit, in general, information deficiency. It is thus important, as argued in the paper, to revise fuzzy arithmetic to take relevant requisite constraints into account. Some typical requisite constraints are overviewed, with a more extensive examination of the requisite equality constraint (crisp or fuzzy).
Non-partial wave treatment of reactive and non-reactive scattering Coupled integral equation formalism.

Coupled integral equations are derived for the full scattering amplitudes for both reactive and nonreactive channels. The equations do not involve any partial wave expansion and are obtained using channel operators for reactive and nonreactive collisions. These coupled integral equations are similar in nature to equations derived for purely nonreactive collisions of structureless particles. Using numerical quadrature techniques, these equations may be reduced to simultaneous algebraic equations which may then be solved.
Textural Changes and Functional Properties of Cod Mince Proteins as Affected by Kidney Tissue and Cryoprotectants

The addition of cryoprotectants, e.g., a mixture of sucrose and sorbitol or polydextrose (PDT) with sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP), to improve the texture and water retention properties of cod mince with kidney tissue (modified mince) was studied at -14°c. Kidney tissue provided trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) demethylase to accelerate dimethylamine (DMA) and formaldehyde formation. Expressible moisture (EM), water uptake ability (WUA), protein solubility, cook loss, DMA production, and textural profile analysis were determined to detect changes in modified mince during frozen storage. Modified mince with SHMP and sucrose/sorbitol or PDT at -14°C had improved EM, WUA, and cook loss and was more tender.
Mitochondrial Heredity: A Determinant in the Toxic Response of Maize to the Insecticide Methomyl

Mitochondria isolated from etiolated Texas male-sterile (TMS) cytoplasm maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings were adversely affected by methomyl (Lannate, 90 wettable powder), while those isolated from normal-fertile seedlings were not. In a manner analogous to that reported for Bipolaris (Helminthosporium) maydis (race T) toxin, experiments with TMS mitochondria showed that 1 to 3 millimolar methomyl inhibited the state 4 oxidation rate of combined malate and pyruvate while stimulating that of succinate or exogenous reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. Similar concentrations of methomyl effected an inhibition of phosphorylation, an increase in the percentage of transmittance of light through mitochondrial suspensions, and a decrease in the density of the mitochondrial matrix. Methomyl (15 millimolar) had little effect on the physiological activity or ultrastructure of isolated normal-fertile mitochondria. These observations provide the opportunity to specifically assess the homogeneity, or lack of it, of a cytoplasmic heritable characteristic in a widely divergent group of higher plants.
Poly(acrylic acid) coating induced 2-line ferrihydrite nanoparticle transport in saturated porous media

Iron oxide and iron nanoparticles (NPs) have been used effectively for environmental remediation, but are limited in their applications by strong retention in groundwater-saturated porous media. For example, delivery of NPs to large groundwater reservoirs would require large numbers of injection wells. To address this problem, we have explored polymer coatings as a surface engineering strategy to enhance transport of oxide nanoparticles in porous media. We report here on our studies of 2-line ferrihydrite NPs and the influence of poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) polymer coatings on the colloidal stability and transport in natural sand-packed column tests simulating flow in groundwater-saturated porous media. Measurements were also made of zeta potential, hydrodynamic diameter, and polymer adsorption and desorption properties. The coated NPs have a diameter range of 30–500 nm. We found that NP transport was improved by PAA coating and that the transport properties could be tuned by adjusting the polymer concentration. Our results demonstrate that a high stability of oxide particles and improved transport can be achieved in groundwater-saturated porous media by introducing negatively charged polyelectrolytes and optimizing polymer concentrations.
Acquisition of the same/different concept by an African Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus): Learning with respect to categories of color, shape, and material

An African Grey parrot, previously taught to use vocal English labels to discriminate more than 80 different objects and to respond to questions concerning categorical concepts of color and shape, was trained and tested on relational concepts ofsame anddifferent. The subject, Alex, replied with the correct English categorical label (“color,” “shape,” or “mah-mah” [matter]) when asked “What’s same?” or “What’s different?” about pairs of objects that varied with respect to any combination of attributes. His accuracy was 69.7%–76.6% for pairs of familiar objects not used in training and 82.3%–85% for pairs involving objects whose combinations of colors, shapes, and materials were unfamiliar. Additional trials demonstrated that his responses were based upon the question being posed as well as the attributes of the objects. These findings are discussed in terms of his comprehension of the categories of color, shape, and material and as evidence of his competence in an exceptional (non-species-specific) communication code.
Similarities in the behavior and molecular deficits in the frontal cortex between the neurotensin receptor subtype 1 knockout mice and chronic phencyclidine-treated mice: Relevance to schizophrenia

Much evidence suggests that targeting the neurotensin (NT) system may provide a novel and promising treatment for schizophrenia. Our recent work shows that: NTS1 knockout (NTS1(-/-)) mice may provide a potential animal model for studying schizophrenia by investigating the effect of deletion NTS1 receptor on amphetamine-induced hyperactivity and neurochemical changes. The data indicate a hyper-dopaminergic state similar to the excessive striatal DA activity reported in schizophrenia. The present study was done to determine if NTS1(-/-) mice also have similar changes in behavior, in prefrontal neurotransmitters, and in protein expression, as observed in wild type (WT) mice treated with the psychotomimetic phencylclidine (PCP), an animal model for schizophrenia. Our results showed many similarities between untreated NTS1(-/-) mice and WT mice chronically treated with PCP (as compared with untreated WT mice): 1) lower PCP-induced locomotor activity; 2) similar avolition-like behavior in forced-swim test and tail suspension test; 3) lower prefrontal glutamate levels; 4) less PCP-induced dopamine release in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC); and 5) down-regulation of mRNA and protein for DA D(1), DA D(2), and NMDAR2A in mPFC. Therefore, these data strengthen the hypothesis that the NTS1(-/-) mouse is an animal model of schizophrenia, particularly for the dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex. In addition, after chronic PCP administration, the DA D(1) receptor was up-regulated in NTS1(-/-) mice, results which suggest a possible interaction of NTS1/DA D(1) in mPFC contributing to chronic PCP-induced schizophrenia-like signs.
Automated fluorometric determination of free and total tryptophan in plasma.

Abstract We have developed a sensitive automated fluorometric method based upon the manual procedure of Denckla and Dewey [(1967) J. Lab. Clin. Med. 69 , 160–169] for determining both free and total tryptophan in plasma. Free tryptophan is measured in a series of increasingly diluted aliquots of a sample of plasma after tryptophan bound to albumin is removed by continuous-flow dialysis. Free and total tryptophan are then derived from Scatchard plots of the data. The method can be used for nutritional assessments, clinical investigation of behavioral disorders in which serotonin is implicated in the pathogenesis, and studies on tryptophan transport and metabolism.
Vitamin D, calcium, and retinol intake, and pancreatic cancer in a population-based case–control study in the San Francisco Bay area

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate a complex association among intake of dietary vitamin D, calcium, and retinol, and pancreatic cancer risk.
IDENTIFICATION OF A NOVEL ALTERNATIVELY SPLICED AGRIN MRNA THAT IS PREFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED IN NON-NEURONAL CELLS

A novel agrin isoform was identified based on the isolation of an agrin cDNA from E9 chick brain that lacked 21 base pairs (bp) in the NH2-terminal encoding region of the agrin mRNA. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of E9 chick brain mRNA confirmed the existence of this agrin isoform in brain, although the novel splice variant represents a minor fraction of agrin mRNA in brain. However, upon analysis of chick brain astrocyte mRNA, smooth muscle mRNA, and cardiac muscle mRNA by RT-PCR, we show that this novel agrin isoform is the predominant agrin isoform in these non-neuronal cell populations. We extended our analyses to examine the expression of this agrin mRNA isoform during chick development and show that the agrin mRNA lacking this 21-bp exon is up-regulated with brain development, consistent with the increase in glial number during brain development, while the agrin isoform that does not undergo splicing and thus contains the 21-bp exon is down-regulated in brain development. Because the 21-bp exon is inserted in the region of chick agrin which encodes the putative signal sequence of agrin, with the signal peptidase site immediately preceding the putative first amino acid of the mature protein being deleted as a result of splicing, these data raise the interesting possibility that the presence or absence of this alternatively spliced exon may differentially regulate processing of the agrin protein in neuronal and non-neuronal cells, respectively.
Comparison of aluminum thermal-death-time disks with a pilot-scale pasteurizer on the thermal inactivation of Escherichia coli K12 in apple cider.

Abstract This study was conducted to compare thermal inactivation kinetics obtained using a pilot-scale pasteurizer and a bench-scale processing system. Pilot-scale pasteurizers are useful for product development, but comparisons on thermal inactivation kinetics with smaller scale systems are lacking. Using an Armfield pilot-scale pasteurizer and aluminum thermal-death-time (TDT) disks, the D-values and z-values of Escherichia coli K12 in apple cider were determined in the temperature range of 54–62 °C. Come-up times to 58 °C were also measured and were 35 and 61 s for the TDT disks and pasteurizer, respectively. The D-values from the TDT disks were 9.66, 4.01, 1.44 and 0.44 min at temperatures of 54, 56, 58, and 60 °C, respectively. The D-values from the pasteurizer were 3.48, 1.22, 0.10 and 0.05 min at temperatures of 56, 58, 60, and 62 °C, respectively. The z-values from the TDT disks and the pasteurizer were 4.68 and 3.60 °C, respectively. There was no significant (P > 0.05) difference in the D-values of the TDT disks and pasteurizer at 56 and 58 °C, while there was a significant (P
Rectifying pitfalls in the performance evaluation of flash solid-state drives

Abstract Today’s data storage systems are increasingly adopting flash-based solid-state drives (SSD), in which new data is written out-of-place. The space occupied by invalidated data is reclaimed by means of a garbage-collection process. This involves additional write operations that result in write amplification, which negatively affects the performance, endurance, and lifetime of SSDs. Several garbage-collection schemes have been proposed in the literature and corresponding models have been developed for assessing their efficiency. We demonstrate that some of these publications arrive at conflicting results. We establish that the discrepancies identified are due to pitfalls in the modeling and analysis of some of the basic garbage-collection schemes. We effectively resolve these discrepancies by rectifying the pitfalls and developing proper analytical models that yield accurate results. We obtain new results for the circular scheme that are subsequently used to develop a new accurate model for the windowed greedy garbage-collection scheme. Results of theoretical and practical importance are analytically derived and experimentally confirmed. They demonstrate that, as the window size decreases, the write amplification increases, illustrating the tradeoff between computation time and write amplification. The results also show that, under certain conditions, the write amplification of the simple circular scheme can be similar to that of the optimum, albeit more complex greedy garbage-collection scheme. In this case, the write amplification for the windowed greedy scheme is essentially found to be independent of the window size.
Synthesis and Activity of Tumor-Homing Peptide iRGD and Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Valproic Acid Conjugate

Abstract In this Letter, we present a concise strategy to prepare a conjugate of the tumor homing peptide iRGD and histone deacetylase inhibitor valproic acid, VPA–GFLG-iRGD. The conjugate VPA–GFLG-iRGD and a mixture of VPA and GFLG-iRGD have shown similar cytotoxicity against DU-145 prostate cancer cells. However, the treatment of DU-145 cells with conjugate VPA–GFLG-iRGD resulted in a decreased percentage of cells in the G2 phase, whereas the exposure of a mixture of VPA and GFLG-iRGD led to an increased percentage of cells in the G2 phase. We also found that GFLG-iRGD possessed cytotoxicity at the tested concentrations.
Lipoid pneumonia: A challenging diagnosis

Lipoid pneumonia is a rare medical condition, and is usually classified into two groups, ie, exogenous or endogenous, depending on the source of lipids found in the lungs. Exogenous lipoid pneumonia may result from the aspiration of food and lipids. Although most cases are asymptomatic, common symptoms include cough, dyspnea, chest pain, pleural effusions, fever, and hemoptysis. Radiologically, lipoid pneumonia can manifest as consolidations, pulmonary nodules, or soft-tissue densities. These presentations involve a wide differential diagnosis, including lung cancer. Other rare causes of fatty pulmonary lesions include hamartomas, lipomas, and liposarcomas. The avoidance of further exposures and the use of corticosteroids, antibiotics, and lavage comprise the mainstays of treatment. The exclusion of mycobacterial infections is important during diagnosis, in view of their known association. Generally, acute presentations run a benign course, if promptly treated. Chronic cases are more persistent and difficult to treat. Although the radiologic and pathologic diagnosis is fairly reliable, more research is needed to clarify the optimal treatment and expected outcomes. We report on a 54-year-old man presenting with progressively worsening cough, hemoptysis, and dyspnea over a few weeks. The patient underwent multiple computed tomographies of the chest and bronchoscopies. All failed to diagnose lipoid pneumonia. The diagnosis was finally established using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Most of the paraffinoma was resected during this surgery. He was treated with antibiotics and steroids, and discharged from the hospital in stable condition.
Nonlinear aerodynamics of aircraft in high-angle-of-attack maneuvers

A nonlinear aerodynamic moment system is formulated for arbitary motions of aircraft at high angles of attack. The total moment is shown to be compounded of the contributions from three simple motions. The basic motion is coning, where the nose of the aircraft describes a circle around the velocity vector, while the remaining motions are oscillatory perturbations carried out in the presence of coning. A re-examination of the assumptions underlying the formulation enables a characterization of aerodynamic phenomena whose effects can and cannot be treated within the scope of the formulation. Recommendations are made as to the most appropriate types of wind-tunnel tests that could be undertaken in fulfillment of the formulation's requirements.
Melatonin in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas).

Abstract A melatonin radioimmunoassay was validated for the green sea turtle. A pronounced diurnal rhythm of melatonin content was evident in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In immature turtles, CSF melatonin levels paralleled those in serum but were always significantly lower. Despite the close anatomical juxtaposition of the sea turtle's large pineal gland to the brain, our data suggest that the primary route of secretion into the CSF is through the peripheral vasculature via the choroid plexus. Light exposure reduced serum melatonin titers. Adult females that were either mating or nesting exhibited the lowest serum melatonin levels we measured for this species.
Quality of life and symptom severity for individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome: findings from a randomized clinical trial.

Objective Chronic fatigue syndrome is a profoundly disabling condition characterized by severe, unrelenting fatigue and a number of other physical and cognitive symptoms. Currently, there is no cure or widely accepted treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome, and few rehabilitation programs exist to address quality of life issues in chronic fatigue syndrome. In the present randomized clinical trial, the effects of an integrative, consumer-driven rehabilitation program on quality of life and symptom severity for individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome were examined. Method Forty-seven participants were randomly assigned to either an immediate program group (n = 23) or a delayed program control group (n = 24) and assessed with the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Symptom Rating Scale and the Quality of Life Index before the program, after program participants completed the group phase, and after program participants completed the one-on-one phase. It was hypothesized that the program would lead to improvements in quality of life and an overall reduction in symptom severity. Results Linear growth models were estimated comparing program and control conditions over time using random-effects regression analyses. Significant condition by time interactions were observed for the main outcomes of symptom severity and overall quality of life. Effect sizes for these interactions involving symptom severity (Cohen's d = 0.71) and overall quality of life (Cohen's d = .66) were moderate. Conclusions Findings indicate that consumer driven programs such as this one can have a positive impact on symptom severity and quality of life over time for individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome.
Legendre expansion of the Debye interaction

The Legendre expansion of the Debye interaction has been derived in a form that is suited to evaluate two-electron matrix elements between Slater type orbitals using a Gauss-Laguerre quadrature algorithm. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010
Near-nanostructured WC-18 Pct Co coatings with low amounts of non-WC carbide phase: Part I. Synthesis and characterization

Near-nanostructured WC-18 pct Co coatings, with low amounts of non-WC carbide phases, have been synthesized using high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) thermal spraying under spraying conditions of varying fuel chemistry, fuel-oxygen ratio, and powder particle size. The results show that the temperature the particles experience during spraying depends on the preceding parameters. Compared to available published results on WC-Co system coatings, nanostructured WC-18 pct Co coatings, synthesized in these experiments, contain very low amounts of non-WC carbide phase (less than 10 pct vol). This is comparable to that of the conventional WC-12 pct Co coating, prepared in the present study for comparison purposes. Regardless of whether the binder phase in the agglomerated feedstock powder particles melt or not, the WC particles do not appear to experience significant growth as a result of the spraying. The size of WC particles remains in the 200 to 500 nm range, consistent with that present in the feedstock powder. The as-received near-nanostructured WC-18 pct Co feedstock powder exhibits morphological characteristics that lead to low amounts of non-WC carbide phases in the coatings. The microstructure and phase constitution of the coatings depend on particle size of the feedstock powder and flame characteristics of the fuels during spraying. A higher particle temperature causes more decomposition of the WC phase but reduces porosity in the coatings, this occurs with higher flame temperature and smaller particle sizes. Propylene fuel produces less decomposition of the WC phase despite the higher flame temperature and, thus, provides the best combination of dense coating with low amount of non-WC phase.
Amphiphile disruption of pathogen attachment at the hematite (α-Fe2O3)-water interface.

Prior studies have indicated that the subsurface transport of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts is diminished in sediments containing iron oxides and that inner-sphere complexation of oocyst surficial carboxylate plays a role in the retardation. However, the impacts of natural organic matter (NOM) remain poorly understood. In this study, we used a model anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), as a surrogate for amphiphilic NOM components to examine the impacts of amphiphilic components on oocyst adhesion mechanisms. We employed in situ attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy to determine the effects of SDS on the molecular bonds that mediate interactions between oocyst surficial biomolecules and hematite (α-Fe2O3) surface functional groups over a wide range of solution pH. The results show that the presence of SDS significantly diminishes Fe−carboxylate complexation, as indicated by progressive decreases in intensity of asymmetric and symmetric stretching vib...
Human nonspecific suppressive lymphokines

Since the term "lymphokine" first appeared in print over 20 years ago, a tremendous number of these soluble mediators of the immune system have been described. Within the past few years, many human nonspecific suppressive lymphokines have been identified. This review discusses the historical basis of immunologic suppression and suppressor factors. Later reports describing suppressive human lymphokines are then grouped into four categories: primarily stimulatory lymphokines that also mediate certain suppressive activities, suppressive lymphokines produced during altered states of immunity, suppressive Iymphokines produced by exogenously stimulated lymphocytes, and suppressive lymphokines produced by unstimulated lymphocytes. Recent work I have been involved in focusing on the human suppressive lymphokine soluble suppressor factor (SSF) is also discussed.
1,4‐DIPHENYLBUTADIYNE, A NEW NON‐PHOTODYNAMIC PHOTOTOXIC COMPOUND

— 1,4-Diphenylbutadiyne (DPB), the first member of a new chemical class of phototoxic compounds, was found to be active against E. coli (strain B) under nitrogen but not in the presence of air. It was also phototoxic against both Candida utilis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae aerobically, and against the latter anerobically. The maximum activity against C. utilis occurred at 360 nm, and the uv light was definitely required in the phototoxic act. Circular dichroism spectroscopy disclosed that DPB underwent photoreaction with DNA. This technique, as well as melting temperature profiles, hyperchromicity studies, and the elution profile from hydroxyapatite chromatography indicated that no cross-linking to double strands had occurred, and that DPB behaved as a monofunctional reagent, interacting only with single strands of DNA photochemically. Finally, 2,5-diphenylthiophene was synthesized from DPB but was not phototoxic.
NO2 continuum in aurora

The chemiluminescent association of O and NO to form NO2 gives a continuum emission. A continuum is known to be present in the auroral zone. The results of a number of measurements of this continuum emission are reported. They were made by rocket-borne instrumentation which penetrated auroral forms of various intensities. The NO densities are of the order of 1000 to 4000 million per cu cm at 110 km. This represents an enhancement at this altitude by over an order of magnitude from mid-latitudes.
Force and membrane compliance measurements using laser interferometry and optical trapping

The development of the single beam gradient force optical trap has improved the experimental capabilities available to cell biologists for noninvasive micromanipulation and mechanical measurement on living cells. Laser traps can be used not only to optically manipulate particles including bacteria, yeast cells, and intracellular organelles ranging in size from 25 nm to 25 micrometers with fine control of position (10 nm) but also to measure small (0.1 pN) forces in biological systems. For a given particle, trapping forces are linearly related to the laser power so that a relatively simple way of measuring force is to trap a particle at high power and gradually reduce it until the particle just escapes from the trap. The `escape' power, which is usually calibrated against the viscous drag of the aqueous medium at varying laser power levels, is a measure of the force.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Small steps, big changes

LIFESTYLE Obesity continues to be a public health challenge with long-term consequences. James Hill suggests an alternative way of thinking about weight