cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Potential Immunology, Transcriptomics and Epigenomic Prediction Tools of the Future to Improve tuberculosis Control

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) continues to be a global scourge with 10.4 million cases of TB and 1.7 million deaths each year. The burgeoning molecular biology is both clarifying Mtb-induced pathology, but also raising new questions with many major challenges remaining: Immune correlates of protection are still to be clarified. Clinical biomarkers that predict disease progression are needed. Non-sputum quantitative means to monitor treatment efficacy are needed. Herein, we briefly review the spectrum of Mtb infection and pathology and then discuss how novel studies in immunology, transcriptomics and epigenomics could be translated into clinical care.
Design strategies for engineering soluto-inertial suspension interactions.

Soluto-inertial (SI) suspension interactions allow colloidal particles to be driven large distances over sustained periods of time. These interactions involve soluto-inertial ``beacons'' that establish and maintain solute fluxes over long times by slowly absorbing or emitting solutes in response to changes in the surrounding solution. Suspended particles then migrate in response to solute fluxes via diffusiophoresis (DP). Beacon materials must be chosen to maintain these solute fluxes, with range and duration in mind. Here we present a general strategy to facilitate qualitative design and quantitative prediction of SI interactions for a given beacon-solute pair. Specifically, we look at two classes of SI beacons: those that partition solute and those that associate with solute. We identify the design parameters for these systems to construct a parameter space map, calculate characteristic timescales over which SI fluxes persist, and generate approximate analytical expressions for solute concentration profiles. Further, we use these expressions to predict the DP velocity of colloids interacting with beacons, noting qualitative differences between beacon sources that release solute and beacon sinks that absorb solute. Proof-of-principle experiments of beacon sources and sinks, of partitioning, and associating types highlight the basic findings. More broadly, the conceptual approach outlined here can be adapted to treat SI interactions mediated by other materials such as dissolving solids, gases, evaporating liquids, ion-exchange resins, and others.
Targeted next-generation sequencing of 565 neuro-oncology patients at UCLA: A single-institution experience.

Background Targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) is frequently obtained at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for clinical characterization of CNS tumors. In this study, we describe the diagnostic reliability of the Foundation Medicine (FM) targeted NGS platform and its ability to explore and identify tumor characteristics of prognostic significance in gliomas. Methods Neuro-oncology patients seen at UCLA who have received FM testing between August 2012 and March 2019 were included in this study, and all mutations from FM test reports were recorded. Initial tumor diagnoses and diagnostic markers found via standard clinical methods were obtained from pathology reports. With overall and progression-free survival data, elastic net regularized Cox regression and Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine whether any mutations of unknown significance detected by FM could predict patient outcome in glioblastoma (GBM). Results Six hundred and three samples tested by FM from 565 distinct patients were identified. Concordance of diagnostic markers was high between standard clinical testing methods and FM. Oligodendroglial markers detected via FM were highly correlated with 1p19q codeletion in IDH mutated gliomas. FM testing of multiple tumor samples from the same patient demonstrated temporal and spatial mutational heterogeneity. Mutations in BCORL1, ERBB4, and PALB2, which are mutations of unknown significance in GBM, were shown to be statistically significant in predicting patient outcome. Conclusions In our large cohort, we found that targeted NGS can both reliably and efficiently detect important diagnostic markers in CNS tumors.
From a trickle to a potential torrent: crime and crime prevention as cascade phenomena

This article reviews Braithwaite’s recent work Crime as a Cascade Phenomenon and offers insights into its potential to transform criminological theory and practice. In his article Braithwaite argue...
From Trials to Election Promises: The Politics of Basic Income in India

Despite its present marginality, basic income is increasingly part of India’s policy discourse. Even though India is still a developing country, various factors produce the political impetus for bringing various versions of basic income guarantee proposals on the agenda. They include (1) the dynamics of competitive democracy, (2) activist civil society organizations and government economists, (3) the increasing administrative capacity of the state, (4) previous experience with basic income trials, the economic insecurity of a rural peasantry facing the vagaries of world market food prices and a lack of manufacturing job options, (5) the inefficiencies of the present welfare state, and (6) concerns about extreme income and wealth inequality.
Progress in research on enterovirus 71 pathogenesis

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is one of the major pathogenesis to cause hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) . EV71 is also one of the pathogeneses in enteroviruses, which can cause nervous system related disease such as aseptic meningitis, encephalitis and poliomyelitis-like paralysis. Since the late 1990s, there has been many epidemic activities throughout the Asia-Pacific region caused by EV71 and many reports about the infant neurotoxicity infections and deaths cases, and it has been paid great attention. Therefore, it is very important for the prevention and treatment of this disease to expound the pathogenesis of the diseases caused by EV71. This article focuses on the relations between virus structural proteins, non-structural proteins, virus binding proteins, receptors and signal regulating factors. It is helpful for further understanding about the pathogenesis and providing a new thinking to prepare the effective vaccines and drugs. Key words: Enterovirus infections; Hand, foot and mouth disease; Pathogenesis
Evaluation of covalent binding of flutamide and its risk assessment using 19F-NMR.

The formation of reactive metabolites (RMs) is a problem in drug development that sometimes results in severe hepatotoxicity. As detecting RMs themselves is difficult, a covalent binding assay usin...
MUSLIM AMERICAN DOUBLE CONSCIOUSNESS

This article engages in a theoretical discussion and application of Du Boisian double consciousness to understand the formation of the Muslim American self. Du Boisian double consciousness, and its three elements (the Veil, Twoness, and Second Sight) are used to understand phenomenological processes of Muslim American self-formation as being situated within and conditioned by structural contexts of racialization. By drawing on critical scholarship that highlights the operation of the Muslim racial project in contemporary U.S. contexts, I show how double consciousness emerges through the Othering of Muslim Americans at the macro, meso, and micro levels of society, which then defines them as outside of the U.S. national imaginary, and denies them their equal civic status as citizens of the state. By utilizing double consciousness to understand the Muslim American self as it is embedded in racialized U.S. contexts, this article fills a crucial gap in the literature by theoretically expanding on racialized processes of Muslim American identity formation in the racialized contexts of the United States.
Electrokinetics of Polar Liquids in Contact with Nonpolar Surfaces

Zeta potentials of several polar protic (water, ethylene glycol, and formamide) as well as polar aprotic (dimethyl sulfoxide) liquids were measured in contact with three nonpolar surfaces using closed-cell electroosmosis. The test surfaces were chemisorbed monolayers of alkyl siloxanes, fluoroalkyl siloxanes, and polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS) grafted on glass slides. All these liquids exhibited substantial electrokinetics in contact with the nonpolar surfaces with these observations: the electrokinetic effect on the fluorocarbon-coated surface is the strongest and on a PDMS grafted surface, the effect is the weakest. Even though these hygroscopic liquids contain small amounts of water, the current models of charging based on the adsorption of hydroxide ions at the interface or the dissociation of pre-existing functionalities (e.g., silanol groups) appear to be insufficient to account for the various facets of the experimental observations. The results illustrate how ubiquitous the phenomenon of electrokine...
Deep-gKnock: Nonlinear group-feature selection with deep neural networks.

Abstract Feature selection is central to contemporary high-dimensional data analysis. Group structure among features arises naturally in various scientific problems. Many methods have been proposed to incorporate the group structure information into feature selection. However, these methods are normally restricted to a linear regression setting. To relax the linear constraint, we design a new Deep Neural Network (DNN) architecture and integrating it with the recently proposed knockoff technique to perform nonlinear group-feature selection with controlled group-wise False Discovery Rate (gFDR). Experimental results on high-dimensional synthetic data demonstrate that our method achieves the highest power and accurate gFDR control compared with state-of-the-art methods. The performance of Deep-gKnock is especially superior in the following five situations: (1) nonlinearity relationship; (2) dimension p greater than sample size n ; (3) high between-group correlation; (4) high within-group correlation; (5) large number of associated groups. And Deep-gKnock is also demonstrated to be robust to the misspecification of the feature distribution and the change of network architecture. Moreover, Deep-gKnock achieves scientifically meaningful group-feature selection results for cutting-edge real world datasets.
Graph Theory in Brain Networks

Recent developments in graph theoretic analysis of complex networks have led to deeper understanding of brain networks. Many complex networks show similar macroscopic behaviors despite differences in the microscopic details. Probably two most often observed characteristics of complex networks are scale-free and small-world properties. In this paper, we will explore whether brain networks follow scale-free and small-worldness among other graph theory properties.
Dynamics of domain boundaries at metal–organic interfaces

Domain boundaries are a determining factor in the performance of organic electronic devices since they can trap mobile charge carriers. We point out the possibility of time-dependent motion of these boundaries and suggest that their thermal fluctuations can be a source of dynamic disorder in organic films. In particular, we study the C8-BTBT monolayer films with several different domain boundaries. After characterizing the crystallography and diversity of structures in the first layer of C8-BTBT on Au(111), we focus on quantifying the domain boundary fluctuations in the saturated monolayer. We find that the mean squared displacement of the boundary position grows linearly with time at early times but tends to saturate after about 7 s. This behavior is ascribed to confined diffusion of the interface position based on fits and numerical integration of a Langevin equation for the interface motion.
Perovskite Na-ion conductors developed from analogous Li3xLa2/3−xTiO3 (LLTO): chemo-mechanical and defect engineering

Na-ion conducting solid electrolytes can enable both the enhanced safety profile of all-solid-state-batteries and the transition to an earth-abundant charge-carrier for large-scale stationary storage. In this work, we developed new perovskite-structured Na-ion conductors from the analogous fast Li-ion conducting Li3xLa2/3−xTiO3 (LLTO), testing strategies of chemo-mechanical and defect engineering. NaxLa2/3−1/3xZrO3 (NLZ) and NaxLa1/3−1/3xBa0.5ZrO3 (NLBZ) were prepared using a modified Pechini method with varying initial stoichiometries and sintering temperatures. With the substitution of larger framework cations Zr4+ and Ba2+ on B- and A-sites respectively, NLZ and NLBZ both had larger lattice parameters compared to LLTO, in order to accommodate and potentially enhance the transport of larger Na ions. Additionally, we sought to introduce Na vacancies through (a) sub-stoichiometric Na : La ratios, (b) Na loss during sintering, and (c) donor doping with Nb. AC impedance spectroscopy and DC polarization experiments were performed on both Na0.5La0.5ZrO3 and Na0.25La0.25Ba0.5ZrO3 in controlled gas environments (variable oxygen partial pressure, humidity) at elevated temperatures to quantify the contributions of various possible charge carriers (sodium ions, holes, electrons, oxygen ions, protons). Our results showed that the lattice-enlarged NLZ and NLBZ exhibited ∼19× (conventional sintering)/49× (spark plasma sintering) and ∼7× higher Na-ion conductivities, respectively, compared to unexpanded Na0.42La0.525TiO3. Moreover, the Na-ion conductivity of Na0.5La0.5ZrO3 is comparable with that of NaNbO3, despite having half the carrier concentration. Additionally, more than 96% of the total conductivity in dry conditions was contributed by sodium ions for both compositions, with negligible electronic conductivity and little oxygen ion conductivity. We also identified factors that limited Na-ion transport: NLZ and NLBZ were both challenging to densify using conventional sintering without the loss of Na because of its volatility. With spark plasma sintering, higher density can be achieved. In addition, the NLZ perovskite phase appeared unable to accommodate significant Na deficiency, whereas NLBZ allowed some. Density functional theory calculations supported a thermodynamic limitation to creation of Na-deficient NLZ in favor of a pyrochlore-type phase. Humid environments generated different behavior: in Na0.25La0.25Ba0.5ZrO3, incorporated protons raised total conductivity, whereas in Na0.5La0.5ZrO3, they lowered total conductivity. Ultimately, this systematic approach revealed both effective approaches and limitations to achieving super-ionic Na-ion conductivity, which may eventually be overcome through alternative processing routes.
Impacts of Incarceration on Health Focusing on Minority Males: Considerations for COVID-19 and Future Pandemics

Long-standing health and social inequalities associated with minorities have increased their risk for infection, hospitalization, and death related to COVID-19. This disparity is further exacerbate...
Acquaintance and the mind–body problem

In this paper I will lay the groundwork for an account of acquaintance and discuss the consequences of the account for the metaphysics of mind. Acquaintance is a unique epistemological relation that relates a person to her own phenomenally conscious states and processes directly, incorrigibly, and in a way that seems to reveal their essence. When one is aware of a phenomenal state in the process of having it, something essential about it is revealed, directly and incorrigibly – namely, what it is like to have it. Such an epistemic relation has struck many philosophers as deeply mysterious. One of the aims of this paper is to dispel some of the mystery by providing an account of direct phenomenal concepts. These are the concepts deployed when a person is acquainted with her own conscious states in introspection, e.g., when I think to myself “I have felt this in my shoulder before” upon noticing a familiar feeling as I throw a frisbee. For reasons that will become clear I call my proposal “the quotational account of direct phenomenal
Analytic Families of Banach Spaces and Some of their Uses

Publisher Summary This chapter describes analytic families of Banach spaces and the interpolation of operators. The construction of analytic families of Banach Spaces is also discussed in the chapter. The chapter presents some examples of analytic families of Banach Spaces. It concludes with a discussion of some relations with the real method of interpolation.
Short-range and long-range forces between hydrophilic surfaces and biopolymers in aqueous solutions

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an understanding of the various interaction forces between hydrophilic surfaces and biopolymers in aqueous solutions. The Surface Forces Apparatus (SFA) allows measuring various interaction forces between surfaces as a function of their separation in aqueous solutions. These forces also determine the dynamic properties of these structures such as their non-equilibrium and time-dependent interactions, their shape fluctuations, molecular exchange processes, and rheology. In addition, the optical technique used allows one to directly visualize various interfacial phenomena (such as slow structural rearrangements) that may be occurring during an interaction. In this way, complex colloidal interactions—such as typically occur in gels, polyelectrolyte solutions and biocolloidal systems—may be studied at the molecular level both in space and time. This chapter describes how such interactions can be measured and visualized. Following this, it provides a review of the various types of forces that can arise, sometimes simultaneously, between complex biomolecules and surfaces in aqueous solutions. These include van der Waals, ionic, electrostatic, structural, hydration, hydrophobic, polymer-mediated, thermal fluctuation and bio-specific interactions. Finally, the chapter presents some specific examples of how of these forces arise.
Multiple myeloma as a form of leukemia.

The conventional points in the differential diagnosis between myeloma and leukemia have been discussed. Evidence has been brought to show that these points of distinction cannot be regarded as being of fundamental nature. Instances are abstracted where cases of multiple myeloma show the various characteristics of leukemia and vice versa. 1. Leukemic features in myeloma have been shown in: a. diffuse infiltration in multiple myeloma without circumscribed tumor formation and without any gross bone destruction; b. extraskeletal visceral myelomatous spread involving the kidney, spleen, lymph nodes, etc.; c. invasion of peripheral blood in myeloma—occasional myeloma cells (corresponding to the aleukemic forms of leukemia) may frequently be found in concentrated smears, even though they may be missed on routine examination; however, massive invasion of peripheral blood is rare; d. increased uric acid content of the blood and elevated basal metabolism, characteristic of leukemia, frequently seen also in myeloma; e. occurrence of myeloma in youth; f. symptomatology of multiple myeloma at times not referable to the osseous system. 2. Myeloma features in leukemia have been shown in: a. skeletal involvement in leukemia; b. very rare medullary forms of leukemia (without visceral involvement); c. occurrence of Bence-Jones proteinuria or d. hyperproteinemia with hyperglobulinemia in rare cases of leukemia; e. instances when the symptomatology of leukemia was referable to the osseous system. 3. Coexistence of multiple myeloma and leukemia is reviewed from the literature, and a case is reported of extensive mixed lymphocytic and plasma cell infiltration. In conclusion, the difference between myeloma and leukemia, as far as the listed conventional distinguishing features are concerned, is merely one of incidence: what is rare in one disease, is common in the other, and vice versa. Multiple myeloma is in all probability a leukemia of plasma cells.
Does the First Amendment's Freedom of the Press Clause Place the Institutional Media Above the Law of Classified Secrets?

Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, contending that Section 798 of the Espionage Act, prohibiting the publication of classified information regarding U.S. communications capabilities, can constitutionally be applied to the media, for several reasons: 1) A majority of the Justices in the Pentagon Papers case recognized that prior restraints on publication of highly sensitive, classified information regarding ongoing military and communications operations would be permissible; 2) The prospect of post-publication liability for violating the Espionage Act was also recognized by a majority of the Justices; and 3) The Freedom of Press Clause of the First Amendment is equally applicable to citizens and the institutional media.
Decibel levels and noise generators on four medical/surgical nursing units.

Aims and objectives. The study was designed to determine daytime decibel levels on the hospital’s four medical/surgical nursing units, daytime decibel levels in patient rooms in corresponding nursing units, whether the nursing unit noise levels differed and to identify what generated noise on those units. Background. Nurses are responsible for components of patients’ physical environments, particularly those that promote patient safety and well-being. Numerous studies have linked hospital noise to negative physiological outcomes for both patients and staff. However, decisions related to managing patient acoustic environments continue to rely on nursing judgment, rather than objective evidence. Design. Non-human subject, observational/descriptive design. Method. Using noise dosimeters, weekday day shift decibel levels were measured on four nursing units, sequentially. Measures were made continuously over 12 hours, in three patient rooms and over five minutes every 45 minutes, at the corresponding nurses’ station. Noise generators were documented at the nurses’ station. Results. Nursing units had average measured sound levels of 62·2, 63·3, 61·7 and 64·6 decibels, respectively, and were not significantly different from one another (p = 0·07). Nurses’ designation of ‘quiet’, ‘typical’ and ‘noisy’ patient rooms was not consistently confirmed by the measured decibel levels. The range of minimum to maximum decibel levels was significantly greater in patient rooms than the nurses’ station (54·4 versus 27·7 decibels, p < 0·01), and on average, more than 12 noise generators were identified during any one-five-minute study period. Conclusions. Patient care areas in today’s hospitals are as noisy as a busy office. Nursing judgment is not sufficient to make informed decisions directed towards controlling inpatients’ acoustic environment. Standards applied across studies to measure and characterise acoustic environments are urgently needed. Relevance to clinical practice. Objective measures, not nursing judgment alone, are required to assess acoustic environments and to direct interventions that improve them.
Powerful Students, Powerful Words: Writing and Learning in a Poetry Workshop.

AbstractA poetry workshop can present opportunities tointegrate students’ knowledge and perspectives inclassroom contexts, encouraging the use of languagefor expression, communication, learning and evenempowerment. This paper describes how adolescentstudents respond to a poetry workshop in an Englishclassroom centred on teaching writing that is based ontheir knowledge from their various life experiencesand understanding of events beyond the classroom.Informed by New Literacy Studies and third spacetheories, ethnographic methods of participant observa-tion were used to document an eighth-grade urbanpublic school classroom where a community memberimplemented a weekly programme using music lyricsand poetry for an entire school year. Findings illustratehow the poetry workshop encouraged students tocontribute to the classroom learning context andengage critically with ideas that were relevant to theirlives. Collaborating with a community member andtapping in to the powerful ways of using language tocommunicate led to important learning opportunitiesfor students in this classroom. Poetic devices such asrhyme, rhythm, metaphor and wordplay enhancedand supported students’ own language practices;students used these sophisticated writing strategiesas they worked to convey their ideas, experiences andopinions.Key words: poetry, writing, New Literacy Studies,Urban Education, third space theory, adolescents
POLLEN LONGEVITY AND STIGMA PRE‐EMPTION IN CLARKIA

The ability of pollen to effect seed set decreases with age when stored at room temperature or on the plant, but not when stored at 5 C. Seed set declines rapidly with pollen stored 10 days or more at room temperature. Seed set declines rapidly with pollen stored 4 days or more on the plant. The degree of pollen germination on the stigma and the number of pollen tubes in the style correlate positively with seed set. Pollen germination on the stigma and pollen tube growth in the style are strongly correlated with seed set for pollen stored at room temperature, but not, or only weakly, correlated for pollen stored at 5 C. In the latter case, seed sets are lower than expected, indicating a possible viability reduction associated with a post-pollination function. Inviable pollen grains temporarily interfere with normal pollen germination on the stigma. Essentially no seeds are produced when inviable pollen, immediately followed by viable pollen, is placed on a fresh stigma. However 27 to 65 seeds are produced when inviable pollen, followed in 1 to 6 days by viable pollen, is placed on fresh stigmas. New stigma surface is exposed at the center as expanding stigma surfaces carry the interfering inviable pollen toward the edge of
Development of the Competitive Work Environment Scale: A Multidimensional Climate Construct

Recent research suggests that competitive work environments may influence individual’s attitudes, behaviors, stress, and performance. Unfortunately, adequate measures of competitive environments ar...
Defects and interfaces in heterostructures

Abstract Defects and interfaces play an important role in determining the physical properties of semiconductor heterostructures. Defects such as dislocations are generated above a critical thickness to relax the strained epitaxial layers. Various theories of critical thickness will be evaluated and comparisons made with experimental results. The nature of defects and mechanisms of their formation are discussed for Ge/Si and GaAs/Si heterostructures. The atomic structure of dislocations and interfaces can be determined by careful comparisons of calculated and experimental high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images. The physical properties of dislocations and interfaces are critically determined by their atomic structures. The residual interfacial stresses affect the segregation behavior and consequently affect the dopant concentration and profile. The analysis of these effects is presented.
"Supernodes" in Packet Radio Networks Employing Code Division Multiple Access

CDMA provides new ways of allocating network resources to network nodes so as to match nonuniform traffic requirements. The enhancement of a node's throughput as a result of equipping it with several receivers, several transmitters or both is studied for the slotted ALOHA access scheme. It is also shown that funneling all of a node's inbound traffic via two of its neighbors can increase that node's inbound throughput put by up to 36% without any additional hardware and with simple and robust protocol support.
Greatest ‘HITS’: A new tool for tracking impacts at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Evaluators of scientific research programs have several tools to document and analyze products of scientific research, but few tools exist for exploring and capturing the impacts of such research. Understanding impacts is beneficial because it fosters a greater sense of accountability and stewardship for federal research dollars. This article presents the High Impacts Tracking System (HITS), a new approach to documenting research impacts that is in development at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). HITS is designed to help identify scientific advances in the NIEHS research portfolio as they emerge, and provide a robust data structure to capture those advances. We have downloaded previously un-searchable data from the central NIH grants database and developed a robust coding schema to help us track research products (going beyond publication counts to the content of publications) as well as research impacts. We describe the coding schema and key system features as well as several development challenges, including data integration, development of a final data structure from three separate ontologies, and ways to develop consensus about codes among program staff.
Computation of algebraic properties of elementary particle reactions using a digital computer

A large number of calculations in high-energy elementary particle physics involve the manipulation of complicated algebraic expressions containing both tensor and noncommutative matrix quantities. Many of these calculations take several months to complete, although the operations involved follow straightforward rules. In this paper a program is described, which has been developed in LISP for solving such problems. The manner in which these problems are encountered is outlined, and their representation in the computer discussed. At present, about six months of human work takes less than fifteen minutes on an IBM 7090. Limitations of the present system and future plans are also outlined.
Curved surfaces and coherence for non-penetrating rigid body simulation

A formulation for the contact forces between curved surfaces in resting (non-colliding) contact is presented. In contrast to previous formulations, constraints on the allowable tangential movement between contacting surfaces are not required. Surfaces are restricted to be twice-differentiable surfaces without boundary. Only finitely many contact points between surfaces are allowed; however, the surfaces need not be convex. The formulation yields the contact forces between curved surfaces and polyhedra as well. Algorithms for performing collision detection during simulation on bodies composed of both polyhedra and strictly convex curved surfaces are also presented. The collision detection algorithms exploit the geometric coherence between successive time steps of the simulation to achieve efficient running times.
Culture in the Classroom: Developing Teacher Proficiency in Delivering a Culturally-grounded Prevention Curriculum

The authors describe the training model used to develop proficiency in teaching a culturally-grounded prevention curriculum. Teachers believed it vital to discuss substance use and considered culture and ethnicity central to students’ lives, although few had experience teaching prevention curricula. Training effects were evaluated using three datasets. Analyses showed that training should emphasize teaching adult learners; encompass culture from many perspectives; address the teaching of prevention curricula, and emphasize fidelity as imperative. Trainers found the embedded focus on culture in keepin’ it REAL essential to success. Teachers learned that a prevention curriculum can be instructionally engaging while theory-driven and academically rigorous.
Peptidoglycan Recognition Proteins Protect Mice from Experimental Colitis by Promoting Normal Gut Flora and Preventing Induction of Interferon-γ

There are multiple mechanisms that protect the intestine from an excessive inflammatory response to intestinal microorganisms. We report here that all four mammalian peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs or Pglyrps) protect the host from colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). Pglyrp1(-/-), Pglyrp2(-/-), Pglyrp3(-/-), and Pglyrp4(-/-) mice are all more sensitive than wild-type mice to DSS-induced colitis due to a more inflammatory gut microflora, higher production of interferon-gamma, higher expression of interferon-inducible genes, and an increased number of NK cells in the colon upon initial exposure to DSS, which leads to severe hyperplasia of the lamina propria, loss of epithelial cells, and ulceration in the colon. Thus, during experimental colitis, PGRPs protect the colon of wild-type mice from an early inflammatory response and the loss of the barrier function of intestinal epithelium by promoting normal bacterial flora and by preventing damaging production of interferon-gamma by NK cells in response to injury.
Pore fluid geochemistry from the Mount Elbert gas hydrate stratigraphic test well, Alaska North Slope

Abstract The BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well was drilled and cored from 606.5 to 760.1 m on the North Slope of Alaska, to evaluate the occurrence, distribution and formation of gas hydrate in sediments below the base of the ice-bearing permafrost. Both the dissolved chloride and the isotopic composition of the water co-vary in the gas hydrate-bearing zones, consistent with gas hydrate dissociation during core recovery, and they provide independent indicators to constrain the zone of gas hydrate occurrence. Analyses of chloride and water isotope data indicate that an observed increase in salinity towards the top of the cored section reflects the presence of residual fluids from ion exclusion during ice formation at the base of the permafrost layer. These salinity changes are the main factor controlling major and minor ion distributions in the Mount Elbert Well. The resulting background chloride can be simulated with a one-dimensional diffusion model, and the results suggest that the ion exclusion at the top of the cored section reflects deepening of the permafrost layer following the last glaciation (∼100 kyr), consistent with published thermal models. Gas hydrate saturation values estimated from dissolved chloride agree with estimates based on logging data when the gas hydrate occupies more than 20% of the pore space; the correlation is less robust at lower saturation values. The highest gas hydrate concentrations at the Mount Elbert Well are clearly associated with coarse-grained sedimentary sections, as expected from theoretical calculations and field observations in marine and other arctic sediment cores.
SU-E-J-77: A Comparison of Deformable Image Registration Algorithms as They Apply to 4DCT Lung Images

Purpose: To evaluate four intensity‐based deformable image registration (DIR) algorithms as they apply to 4DCT lung images. Methods: The four algorithms evaluated were one‐and two‐way optical flow, and one‐and two‐way Demons. All algorithms were coded in‐house using MATLAB. 4DCT datasets of ten patients were selected randomly from clinic for the study. Each code was used to register the end‐of‐exhalation (50% phase) image to all other nine phases. This was repeated for all ten patients. The relative performance of each algorithm was evaluated by calculating the sum of square difference (SSD) of all pixels between the moving and reference images, during each iteration of registration. Elapsed registration duration (in CPU time) was recorded as well. Results: In general, the Demons algorithm operated much quicker than the optical flow codes. The two‐way algorithms were often better than the one‐way algorithms, in terms of SSD. Two‐way algorithms produced the best final SSD in 83% of registrations. Thus, our results suggest that the optimal choice is the two‐way Demons algorithm. The two‐way optical flow algorithm also performed reasonably well for small deformations, but took at least twice the time compared to the two‐way Demons. In terms of the final registrations, all algorithms resulted in visually reasonable image registrations. Therefore, the differences were in the duration of registration and SSD. Conclusion: The two‐way Demons algorithm proved to be the best quantitative method for performing DIR on 4DCT of lung anatomy. All two‐way algorithms were generally slower than the one‐way algorithms, but their accuracy increased in terms of SSD. Therefore, we suggest using the two‐way Demons for 4D planning of lung cancer radiotherapy.
On the isolation of a human salivary glycoprotein

Abstract A salivary glycoprotein has been isolated from stimulated mixed human saliva. The isolation procedure involves selective deproteinization of the salivary secretion by chloroform and sodium xylene sulphonate, followed by gel filtration through Sephadex G-100. The preparation was shown to be homogeneous by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at pH 9.4, and by ultracentrifugation at pH 7.4, with a sedimentation velocity of 2.26 S. Agar immunodiffusion analysis provided additional evidence on the purity of the isolated component and proved the submaxillary-sublingual gland as its source of secretion.
Effect of cold work and heat-treatment on the mechanical properties of a wire drawn metastable stainless steel

Tensile strengths in excess of 600×103 psi were obtained in a Type 18-8 stainless steel using relatively simple thermomechanical treatments involving cold working after solution annealing and intermittent heat-treatments. The strength developed strongly depended on the hardness and amount of martensite formed as well as the maintenance of high work-hardening rates at large deformation strains. For a given level of cold work, martensite is shown to transform more rapidly using material annealed in the carbide precipitation temperature range as this tends to increase theMd temperature. The volume fraction martensite formed by wire drawing is shown to be related to the square of the deformation strain. Also shown are the effects of annealing temperature and cold work on the elastic modulus.
Risk in Benefit‐Cost Analysis

In recent years, benefit-cost analysis has been increasingly applied to large societal decision problems (such as developing a fast breeder energy economy) which involve both risks to society and analysis of very long-term consequences possibly extending over many human generations. This paper examines the philosophical underpinnings of the technique which is a special case of utilitarianism, and compares implications of the technique to those arising from alternative ethical systems in analyzing questions of public safety. Ethical systems which emphasize the good of the whole, such as utilitarianism, are shown to differ sharply in decision outcomes from those which emphasize the rights of the individual, such as libertarianism. It is suggested that benefit-cost analysis should be broadened to include alternative weightings of benefits and costs consistent with a variety of ethical views.
THERMODYNAMICS OF SOLVENT EXTRACTION

ABSTRACT The fundamental thermodynamic characteristics of aqueous electrolyte solutions and organic solutions which affect solvent extraction are summarized and the influence of metal complexation and hydration on the distribution ratios is discussed. The thermodynamics of extraction systems, including synergistic systems, is reviewed. The influence of structural aspects of the complexing extractant agents on these thermodynamic parameters is also reviewed.
Infectivity of a glucan synthesis-defective mutant of Streptococcus gordonii (Challis) in a rat endocarditis model

Streptococcus gordonii, a member of the human indigenous oral microflora, colonizes smooth tooth surfaces and contributes to dental plaque formation. Although it is not recognized as being a cariogenic pathogen, it may cause endocarditis following invasion of the bloodstream. Using allelic exchange mutagenesis, we have constructed a mutant of S. gordonii (Challis) which is defective in its single functional glucosyltransferase gene and, hence, is unable to synthesize glucan exopolymers from sucrose. When examined in a rat endocarditis model, the sucrose-grown mutant did not differ significantly from S. gordonii wild-type, suggesting that glucan polymers did not contribute to infectivity. This result was in striking contrast to that previously observed with a polymer-defective S. mutans mutant.
Promoting preterm infant development: NICU toolkit (Focus on the brain (DVD, parts 1 and 2, 50 min each), No matter how small (DVD, 39 min), and Focus on the brain, professional resources guide (CD-ROM))

Promoting preterm infant development: NICU toolkit (Focus on the brain (DVD, parts 1 and 2, 50 min each), No matter how small (DVD, 39 min), and Focus on the brain, professional resources guide (CD-ROM))
The Growth of Estuarine Resources ( Zostera marina , Mercenaria mercenaria , Crassostrea virginica , Argopecten irradians , Cyprinodon variegatus ) in Response to Nutrient Loading and Enhanced Suspension Feeding by Adult Shellfish

While many coastal ecosystems previously supported high densities of seagrass and abundant bivalves, the impacts of overfishing, eutrophication, harmful algal blooms, and habitat loss have collectively contributed to the decline of these important resources. Despite improvements in wastewater treatment in some watersheds and subsequent reduced nutrient loading to neighboring estuaries, seagrass and bivalve populations in these locations have generally not recovered. We performed three mesocosm experiments to simultaneously examine the contrasting effects of nutrient loading and historic suspension-feeding bivalve densities on the growth of eelgrass (Zostera marina), juvenile bivalves (northern quahogs, Mercenaria mercenaria; eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica; and bay scallops, Argopecten irradians), and juvenile planktivorous fish (sheepshead minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus). High nutrient loading rates led to significantly higher phytoplankton (chlorophyll a) levels in all experiments, significantly increased growth of juvenile bivalves relative to controls with lower nutrient loading rates in two experiments, and significantly reduced the growth of eelgrass in one experiment. The filtration provided by adult suspension feeders (M. mercenaria and C. virginica) significantly decreased phytoplankton levels in all experiments, significantly increased light penetration and the growth of eelgrass in one experiment, and significantly decreased the growth of juvenile bivalves and fish in two experiments, all relative to controls with no filtration from adult suspension feeders. These results demonstrate that an appropriate level of nutrient loading can have a positive effect on some estuarine resources and that bivalve filtration can mediate the effects of nutrient loading to the benefit or detriment of different estuarine resources. Future ecosystem-based approaches will need to simultaneously account for anthropogenic nutrient loading and bivalve restoration to successfully manage estuarine resources.
Nuclear Pores Set the Speed Limit for Mitosis

The spindle assembly checkpoint prevents separation of sister chromatids until each kinetochore is attached to the mitotic spindle. Rodriguez-Bravo et al. report that the nuclear pore complex scaffolds spindle assembly checkpoint signaling in interphase, providing a store of inhibitory signals that limits the speed of the subsequent mitosis.
Toward a priori selection of ellipsometry angles and wavelengths using a high performance semantic database

Abstract Modern ellipsometers only barely resemble those of only a decade ago. In situ measurements are commonly spectroscopic and ex situ investigations frequently add an additional variable, incidence angle. In either case, the number of measurements for an analysis can be 10 000 or more. Experience in a recent international round robin experiment showed no particular agreement in the selection of angles and wavelengths. Selecting a fewer number of `good' angles of incidence and wavelengths is important because at the same time it would reduce the measurement time, reduce computational load and improve the solutions. Currently we choose to say `good' points have high `resolution' (a change in the desired parameter results in a measurable change in measured parameters) and a solvable `condition' (the inverse Hessian matrix is well conditioned for variably damped least squares). In this work, values of resolution and condition are simulated for approximately 1000 points in wavelength–angle space for a large number of sample configurations and materials (over 10 000). These results are stored in a high performance semantic database which can be more than a Gigabyte. Three-dimensional images of the data and movies over thickness, for example, can be pulled from the database in real time allowing selection of incidence angles and wavelengths for an analysis.
SU-GG-T-394: Efficient Mass Deployment of ROIS Client Computers

Purpose: To develop an efficient method of deploying 31 new client PCs obtained as part of a Radiation Oncology Information System (ROIS) upgrade. The major challenges were 1) reconciling the Windows domain environment required by the ROIS, with the Novell environment required for institutional (hospital‐wide) applications, 2) getting all departmental, institutional, and extra‐institutional client applications to work properly under normal user privileges, and 3) the short weekend timeframe of the upgrade. Method and Materials: The 31 Dell GX755 clients were preinstalled with a standard setup from the hospital IT department, including Windows XP, Novell Client, and hospital‐wide applications. Deployment of the clients during the ROIS upgrade occurred in 2 groups. In Group 1, Windows domain membership and ROIS client applications were manually installed at each client. For Group 2, a single model client received the Group 1 installation, followed by exhaustive client testing. After fixing the various non‐ROIS client applications that were discovered to be incompatible with the ROIS setup, the “perfected” model client was cloned via Microsoft Sysprep and Knoppix Linux to the other Group 2 clients. Results: Group 1 clients were deployed during the ROIS upgrade weekend; however, nonfunctional hospital applications were subsequently discovered, requiring individual patching. Group 2 clients were deployed one week after the upgrade weekend, but all client software worked properly from the start. Conclusion: The Group 2 method of “perfect then clone” is the preferable solution for mass deployments as it automates numerous tasks that would otherwise require repeating on every client. Post‐upgrade, this method is undoubtedly superior as it provides an optimal method for restoring a disabled client. However, it requires that all troubleshooting occur “up front” before cloning, which, with proper planning, support, and expertise, should be possible to accomplish within the time‐pressured ROIS upgrade weekend.
Symmetry in court and country dance

Abstract Court and Country (Contra-) Dances constitute highly formalized and organized patterns in time and space. Although the floor patterns of these dances at any given time can be analyzed in terms of reflection and rotation symmetries, their transformations as the dances proceed are not so easily classified, as the dancers must disturb mirror symmetry in order not to pass through each other. Certain rhythms are analyzed, and a reason for medieval preference for triple time rather than quadruple time is advanced. The distinction between configurations of even and of odd numbers of dancers or couples is demonstrated, as is the symbolic value of the symmetry of some renaissance court dances. The structural differences between traditional English and Scottish Country Dances are presented in the light of historical relations between the two countries.