cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of four environmental toxicants on plasma Ca and estradiol 17β and hepatic P450 in laying hens

In a previous study, the authors found that administration of phenobarbital to laying hens was associated with an increase in content of liver cytochrome P450 and a reduction of estradiol (E2) in serum. Thus, the authors hypothesized that other xenobiotics such as environmental toxicants that affect P450 might also affect E2 in laying hens. In experiment 1, the authors examined the effect of four environmental pollutants, three of which induced different isoenzymes of P450 and one inhibitor, on circulating E2 and related reproductive functions. Aroclor 1254 (PCB), 20 mg/d; dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), 40 mg/d; or benzo[a]pyrene (BZ), 5 mg/d, was administered for 5 d. An inhibitor, lead acetate, was injected for 2 d. Controls received corn oil or sodium acetate. No significant difference was observed due to administration of lead. Treatment with PCB or DDT decreased the concentration of E2 and increased P450. Only PCB significantly decreased plasma total calcium and egg lay. Therefore in experiment 2, the authors determined the dose-response effect of PCB. The PCB was given orally at doses of 0, 5, 10, and 25 mg in corn oil for 5 d. The depression of concentrations of E2 was associated with the induction of P450 in a dose-dependentmore » manner. Egg production and plasma total calcium were reduced by the two highest doses, but eggshell thickness was not different from control in all regimens. Plasma E2 and plasma total calcium were negatively correlated with induction of P450. BZ is not a strong inducer of P450 and had no effect on E2 or reproduction, whereas DDT and PCB had a profound effect on P450 with consequent depression of circulating E2. These data indicate that the effects of environmental pollutants on reproduction in birds can be mediated through increased P450, thereby increasing the metabolism of steroid hormones and depressing concentration in circulation.« less
A polynomial fuzzy neural network for identification and control

This paper introduces a new neuro-fuzzy system, an effective optimization method through a genetic algorithm, a performance criterion for model selection, and a numerical example to illustrate the proposed modeling and control approach. The neuro-fuzzy system is based on the polynomial fuzzy neural network architecture. A new performance criterion is defined based on the Group Method of Data Handling; it minimizes the output error while preventing overfitting of the empirical data set. The neuro-fuzzy model is employed to provide optimum set points for low-level control activity.
Serial right ventricular thallium-201 imaging after exercise: Relation to anatomy of the right coronary artery

Abstract The relation of the appearance of the right ventricle on serium thallium-201 myocardial imaging to coronary artery anatomy was examined in 88 consecutive patients undergoing exercise thallium-201 testing and coronary angiography for the evaluation of chest pain. Transient defects in the right ventricle were found in 8 patients. All had high grade (≥ 90 %) stenosis of the proximal right coronary artery. Nonvisualization of right ventricular (RV) activity occurred in 10 patients. Nine of the 10 (90%) had significant (>- 50% stenosis) disease of the proximal right coronary artery and 7 (70%) had high grade stenosis. The right ventricle appeared normal in 70 patients. Twenty-nine (41 %) of these patients had significant proximal right coronary artery disease. Right ventricular appearance was not affected by the presence or absence of disease of the left anterior descending or left circumflex artery or by the appearance of the left ventricle. Thus, with serial RV thallium-201 myocardial imaging after exercise, we found that (1) RV transient defects suggest the presence of high grade proximal right coronary artery stenosis, (2) nonvisualization of RV activity also predicts significant proximal right coronary disease, and (3) the right ventricle frequently appears normal despite proximal right coronary artery disease and therefore this finding does not exclude such disease.
Design, integration and implementation of the DySER hardware accelerator into OpenSPARC

Accelerators and specialization in various forms are emerging as a way to increase processor performance. Examples include Navigo, Conservation-Cores, BERET, and DySER. While each of these employ different primitives and principles to achieve specialization, they share some common concerns with regards to implementation. Two of these concerns are: how to integrate them with a commercial processor and how to develop their compiler toolchain. This paper undertakes an implementation study of one design point: integration of DySER into OpenSPARC, a design we call OpenSPlySER. We report on our implementation exercise and quantitative results, and conclude with a set of our lessons learned. We demonstrate that DySER delivers on its goal of providing a non-intrusive accelerator design. OpenSPlySERruns on an Virtex-5 FPGA, boots unmodified Linux, and runs most of the SPECINT benchmarks with our compiler. Due to physical design constraints, speedups on full benchmarks are modest for the FPGA prototype. On targeted microbenchmarks, OpenSPlySER delivers up to a 31-fold speedup over the baseline OpenSPARC. We conclude with some lessons learned from this somewhat unique exercise of significantly modifying a commercial processor. To the best of our knowledge, this work is one of the most ambitious extensions of OpenSPARC.
Measuring pain at baseline and over time.

Abstract [Menegazzi J: Measuring pain at baseline and over time. Ann Emerg Med April 1996;27:433-435.]
Attentional activation of the visual thalamic reticular nucleus depends on ‘top-down’ inputs from the primary visual cortex via corticogeniculate pathways

This study is concerned with corticothalamic neural mechanisms underlying attentional phenomena. Previous results from this laboratory demonstrated that the visual sector of the GABAergic thalamic reticular nucleus is activated by attention in rats. Here it is demonstrated that Fos-detected activation of the visual reticular sector in rats, induced by attentive exploration of a novel-complex environment, is dependent on 'top-down' cortical inputs from the primary visual cortex, on the basis (a) that activation of the visual reticular sector is drastically diminished after ibotenate lesions mostly restricted to layer 6 of the primary visual cortex, which gives origin to the corticogeniculate pathway that innervates both the visual reticular sector and the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus; and (b) the lesions did not induce retrograde degeneration nor diminution of Fos label in the geniculate. The results are consistent with the previously proposed hypothesis that a focus of attention in V1 generates a column of increased thalamocortical transmission in LGN by means of monosynaptic glutamatergic corticogeniculate inputs, and decreased transmission of surrounding regions by disynaptic cortico-reticulo-geniculate (ultimately GABAergic) inputs. The results also suggest that attentional modulation of thalamocortical transmission is a main function of corticothalamic pathways to sensory relay nuclei.
Single-Phase Heat Transfer Enhancement Techniques in Microchannel and Minichannel Flows

The single-phase heat transfer enhancement techniques are well established for conventional channels and compact heat exchangers. The major techniques include flow transition, breakup of boundary layer, entrance region, vibration, electric fields, swirl flow, secondary flow and mixers. In the present paper, the applicability of these techniques for single-phase flows in microchannels and minichannels is evaluated. The microchannel and minichannel single-phase heat transfer enhancement devices will extend the applicability of single-phase cooling for critical applications, such as chip cooling, before more aggressive cooling techniques, such as flow boiling, are considered.
AGA Institute Technical Review on Acute Pancreatitis

Chris E. Forsmark,* John Baillie** *Division de Gastroenterologia, Hepatologia y Nutricion University of Florida Gainesville, Florida. **Seccion de Gastroenterologia. Wake Forest University School of Medicine Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Correspondencia: Chair, Clinical Practice and Economics Committee, AGA Institute National Office, c/o Membership Department, 4930 Del Ray Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. Fax: (301)654-5920.
Control of fiber manufacturing processes

A review of applications of lasers to measurement and control of optical fiber fabrication processes is given. The unique laser properties of high intensity and good coherence permit accurate measurement and control functions to be performed. Both preform and fiber drawing processes are discussed with the major emphasis being in the drawing operation where the applications are more mature.
Sodium–Calcium-Ion Exchange in Phosphatidyl Serine Monolayer

The effect of replacement of sodium chloride subphase solution with calcium chloride subphase solution and the effect of replacement of calcium chloride subphase solution with sodium chloride subphase solution were studied on monolayers of phosphatidyl serine. When the sodium chloride subphase was replaced with calcium chloride solution, the π-A curve shifted to almost the same position as the π-A plot of a film spread on calcium chloride without subphase replacement. This showed that almost all sodium ions had been replaced by calcium ions in the film. When the calcium chloride subphase was replaced by a sodium chloride solution, the film expanded somewhat, showing that some calcium ions had been replaced by sodium ions. This study gives evidence for the existence of cation exchange in phosphatidyl serine films, and sodium seems to be in competition with calcium for the negatively charged sites in the film. It is possible that this competition is concentration dependent.
High Rate of Recombination throughout the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Genome

The diploid nature of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) indicates that recombination serves a central function in virus replication and evolution. Previously, while examining the nature of obligatory primer strand transfers during reverse transcription, a high rate of recombination was observed at the ends of the viral genome within the viral long terminal repeats, prompting the following question: does recombination occur at a high rate throughout the genome? To address this question, two vectors based upon different strains of HIV-1 were utilized. The vectors were comprised predominantly of autologous HIV-1 sequence and were approximately the same size as the parental genome. The proviral progeny of heterodimeric virions were analyzed after a single cycle of replication, and the sequence heterogeneity between the two strains allowed direct examination of recombination crossovers. The results obtained indicate that HIV-1 undergoes approximately two to three recombination events per genome per replication cycle. These results imply that both HIV-1 RNAs are typically utilized during reverse transcription and that recombination is an important aspect of HIV-1 replication.
Proton NMR imaging of cerebral blood flow using H217O

Cerebral blood flow was quantitatively mapped by monitoring the cerebral washout of H2(17)O using rapid, single-shot proton NMR imaging. H2(17)O acts as a freely diffusible contrast agent for proton imaging via its scalar-coupled term, enhancing T2 relaxation. Measured values for CBF ranged from 29 to 106 ml/min/100 g over a range of arterial pCO2 between 23 and 81 Torr.
A rate-adaptive protocol for wireless data channels

We present a simple heuristic protocol for adaptively adjusting the rate of an error correcting code so as to match the time-varying error probabilities in a slowly fading channel. Channel state is estimated from the past error history. Analysis and simulations indicate excellent performance over a wide variety of channels.
Individual Differences in the Pursuit of Self‐Uniqueness Through Consumption

In this paper, we report an original study of the relationships between self-attributed need for uniqueness and several consumer dispositions. The results indicate that the self-attributed need for uniqueness is related to consumers' desires for scarce, innovative, and customized products and to consumers' preferences for unusual shopping venues, but not to consumers' susceptibilities to normative influence. Moreover, we find that these relationships are mediated by a latent variable reflecting individual differences in the tendency to pursue uniqueness through consumption. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed along with directions for future research.
Models of cooperation

Models serve many possible purposes. The very bestmodels provide insights that revolutionize a ﬁeld. Afamous case of this is W.D. Hamilton’s (1964) model ofinclusive ﬁtness, or kin selection. This model provoked achange in how social behaviour is studied with a newemphasis on genetic relatedness and kin discrimination(Hamilton, 1964). Hamilton’s derivation was neitherelegant nor all-inclusive, though subsequent work bothmade the derivation more transparent (e.g. Queller,1985, 1992a; Frank, 1998) and expanded the domain ofsocial selection (models cited in Lehmann & Keller,2006). But Hamilton’s powerful result – Hamilton’s rule –has continued to inspire researchers, and not justtheorists. Empirical work has ranged in topic fromaltruism (Hamilton, 1964, 1972) to social insect sexratios (Trivers & Hare, 1976) to siblicide (Mock & Parker,1997) and from microbes (Crespi, 2001) to humans(Alexander, 1979).The model of Lehmann & Keller (2006) will not berevolutionary in this way. Their goal is not to highlight anew principle. Nor is it extreme rigor – the model is builtfrom principles of optimality and inclusive ﬁtness ratherthanbeingbaseddirectlyongenefrequencies.Insteaditisan effort to systematize what we have learned about theforces of social evolution. In some ways their results arenot surprising. They put in relatedness, ﬁtness effects andrepeated interactions, and they get out kin selection,direct beneﬁts and reciprocity (with greenbeard effectstackedon asasortofafterthought).We agreethatthis isanice summary of important forces and that studies basedon these forces will continue to be important. However,we only partially agree with the authors’ main novelclaims: that this is a more comprehensive model thanmost and that the four forces that it deﬁnes aresufﬁcientlydistinct, important,and all-inclusivethat theyshould always be the touchstone for other modellers.On the point of comprehensiveness, we would arguethat there is at least one other model (Queller, 1985) thatis as comprehensive, and actually more so. The modelincludes all four of the forces in the Lehmann and Kellermodel, and then some. It shows that a behaviour isfavoured when c þ bcov
Using a Map of Measurement Noise to Improve UWB Indoor Position Tracking

Ultrawideband signals present new opportunities for indoor position tracking due to their ability to operate in non-line-of-sight conditions. However, walls and other normal indoor infrastructure cause a systemic spatial warp in the measurements. In this paper, we describe methods to manually build a map of the measurement noise and use it in a particle filter framework to improve measurement accuracy. We tested our methods in two facilities, collecting over 5.6 million measurements. Evidence shows that the measurement noise is multimodal, location dependent, stable over time, and locally similar. Using the map in a particle filter framework, we demonstrate an average improvement in measurement accuracy of 30%.
Distribution and Expression of Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase in Human Brain

Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are cytochrome P450 metabolites of arachidonic acid, which function in the brain to regulate cerebral blood flow and protect against ischemic brain injury. EETs are converted by soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) to the corresponding inactive diol metabolites. Previous animal studies have indicated that sEH gene deletion or treatment with sEH inhibitors results in increased levels of EETs and protection against stroke-induced brain damage. To begin elucidating the underlying mechanism for these effects, we sought to determine the distribution, expression, and activity of sEH in human brain samples obtained from patients with no neurological changes/pathologies. Immunohistochemical analyses showed the distribution of sEH mainly in the neuronal cell bodies, oligodendrocytes, and scattered astrocytes. Surprisingly, in the choroid plexus, sEH was found to be highly expressed in ependymal cells. Vascular localization of sEH was evident in several regions, where it was highly expressed in the smooth muscles of the arterioles. Western blot analysis and enzyme assays confirmed the presence of sEH in the normal brain. Our results indicate differential localization of sEH in the human brain, thus suggestive of an essential role for this enzyme in the central nervous system. This manuscript contains online supplemental material at http://www.jhc.org. Please visit this article online to view these materials.
Optimal Issuing Policies

Consider a stockpile consisting of n items where the ith item has a rating ri, i = 1,..., n. An item with rating r, if kept in stockpile until time t and then released to the field, will have a field life of rdt. Thus it is assumed that for any t, the field life for issuance at time t is proportional to the time 0 field life. Items are to be issued one by one from the stockpile to the field until the stockpile is depleted. The ith issued item is placed in the field immediately upon the death in the field of the i-1st issued item. Conditions for LIFO and FIFO optimality are obtained.
Comprehensive ESD co-design with high-speed and high-frequency ICs in 28nm CMOS: Characterization, behavioral modeling, extraction and circuit evaluation

This paper reports a comprehensive electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit co-design and analysis approach for high-frequency and high-speed ICs. Implemented in a 28nm CMOS, the ESD co-design flow includes ESD device optimization and characterization, ESD behavioral modeling, parasitic ESD parameter extraction and ESD circuit evaluation for up to 40Gbps I/O circuits. This practical ESD co-design technique can be applied to high-performance, high-frequency and high-speed ICs.
Mycoplasma pneumoniae Vaccine: Antigenicity of Buffered Antigens in Volunteers

The antigenicity of experimental Mycoplasma pneumoniae vaccines prepared from antigen grown in a medium buffered with N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N′-2′-ethanesulfonic acid was tested in young, adult males. Formalin-inactivated antigens from a high-passage strain and a low-passage strain at various dilutions (12 to 123 μg of N/ml) were injected intramuscularly in 1-ml doses. Antibody responses were tested by the metabolic inhibition (MI) technique. Sixty-five to 86% of the volunteers in all vaccine groups responded with fourfold or greater MI antibody rises, but only nine (39%) of 23 antibody-free subjects converted compared to 53 (88%) of 60 of those with pre-existing antibody. A booster vaccination did not increase the number of converters or enhance the geometric mean titers. The antigen concentrations of vaccines with 24 or more μg of N/ml appeared to be above the threshold needed for maximal antibody responses in the dose range tested. MI antibody rises could not be detected in sputa and nasal washings obtained from a small group of vaccinees. The results of this study suggest that the new vaccines offer little or no improvement in antigenicity in man over earlier inactivated vaccines.
The Solid-Rod Torsion Test for the Determination of Unidirectional Composite Shear Properties1:

The primary requirements of a desirable shear test method include the ability to introduce a well-defined state of stress in the specimen, capability of determining both shear modulus and shear str...
The Truth about Double Adenomas: Incidence, Localization, and Intraoperative Parathyroid Hormone

Background Double adenoma is reported in 3% to 12% of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. The aim of this study was to determine the true incidence of double adenoma and analyze the use of localization studies and intraoperative parathyroid hormone (IOTPH) assay in these cases. Study Design We conducted a retrospective review of a series of consecutive parathyroid surgical operations from 2010 to 2013. According to the surgical findings, the series was divided into single-gland disease (SGD), double-gland disease (DGD), and multi-gland disease (MGD, more than 2 glands). The sensitivity of ultrasound, technetium 99m-sestamibi, and 4-dimensional CT to correctly lateralize each gland in the DGD group was calculated. Results of the IOPTH assay and how they impacted the extent of surgery were analyzed. Results Three hundred and forty-seven patients had SGD (69%), 68 patients had DGD (13.5%), and 86 had MGD (17%). In the DGD group, sensitivity of ultrasound, technetium 99m-sestamibi, and 4-dimensional CT to lateralize each adenoma was 42%, 34.5%, and 64%, respectively. Initially, 27 patients (40%) with DGD had been planned for a focal exploration. The conversion to bilateral neck exploration was due to the IOPTH assay in 18 cases (two-thirds of the initially planned focal explorations). At 6-month follow-up, all DGD patients were normocalcemic. Conclusions Localization studies in DGD can be misleading by reporting SGD. Four-dimensional CT seems to have the highest sensitivity. In focal explorations, the excision of all hyperfunctioning parathyroid tissue should be verified by IOPTH measurement.
Wild Naked Ladies: Shifting Paradigms

How do we speak about teaching gender through Hispanic texts in a world riveted by images, in the context of seemingly instant access to globalized mass media? How do we approach the issue of gender in a “post-feminist” era marked by discussions on “undoing gender” and post-humanist notions? Following Patti Lather’s (1991, 2001) seminal pedagogical strategy that consists of focusing on an event from different ideological standpoints so that students may become aware of the implications of each paradigm, this chapter offers a variety of feminist approaches to analyze Maria Victoria Menis’s (2008) Camara oscura [Camera Obscura], and Albertina Carri’s (2008) La rabia [Anger], underscoring the pedagogical implications of each standpoint (pp. 159–161).
Phytohormone balance and stress-related cellular responses are involved in the transition from bud to shoot growth in leafy spurge

Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) is an herbaceous weed that maintains a perennial growth pattern through seasonal production of abundant underground adventitious buds (UABs) on the crown and lateral roots. During the normal growing season, differentiation of bud to shoot growth is inhibited by physiological factors external to the affected structure; a phenomenon referred to as paradormancy. Initiation of shoot growth from paradormant UABs can be accomplished through removal of the aerial shoots (hereafter referred to as paradormancy release). In this study, phytohormone abundance and the transcriptomes of paradormant UABs vs. shoot-induced growth at 6, 24, and 72 h after paradormancy release were compared based on hormone profiling and RNA-seq analyses. Results indicated that auxin, abscisic acid (ABA), and flavonoid signaling were involved in maintaining paradormancy in UABs of leafy spurge. However, auxin, ABA, and flavonoid levels/signals decreased by 6 h after paradormancy release, in conjunction with increase in gibberellic acid (GA), cytokinin, jasmonic acid (JA), ethylene, and brassinosteroid (BR) levels/signals. Twenty four h after paradormancy release, auxin and ABA levels/signals increased, in conjunction with increase in GA levels/signals. Major cellular changes were also identified in UABs at 24 h, since both principal component and Venn diagram analysis of transcriptomes clearly set the 24 h shoot-induced growth apart from other time groups. In addition, increase in auxin and ABA levels/signals and the down-regulation of 40 over-represented AraCyc pathways indicated that stress-derived cellular responses may be involved in the activation of stress-induced re-orientation required for initiation of shoot growth. Seventy two h after paradormancy release, auxin, cytokinin, and GA levels/signals were increased, whereas ABA, JA, and ethylene levels/signals were decreased. Combined results were consistent with different phytohormone signals acting in concert to direct cellular changes involved in bud differentiation and shoot growth. In addition, shifts in balance of these phytohormones at different time points and stress-related cellular responses after paradormancy release appear to be critical factors driving transition of bud to shoot growth.
Transformative Learning, Enactivism, and Affectivity

Education theorists have emphasized that transformative learning is not simply a matter of students gaining access to new knowledge and information, but instead centers upon personal transformation: it alters students’ perspectives, interpretations, and responses. How should learning that brings about this sort of self-transformation be understood from the perspectives of philosophy of mind and cognitive science? Jack Mezirow has described transformative learning primarily in terms of critical reflection, meta-cognitive reasoning, and the questioning of assumptions and beliefs. And within mainstream philosophy of mind, there has been a long-standing assumption that cognition and thought are brain-based, computational, disembodied processes that occur separately from emotion and affect. According to this view, selftransformation might be construed as the forging of new neural connections and the development of new cognitive “programs.” However, I will argue that the literature on embodiment and enactivism that has emerged in recent years offers us a different and more productive way to conceptualize the intended effects of transformative learning. From the standpoint of enactivism, the experience of transformative learning is thoroughly bound up with the cognitive shifts that it involves, and it also involves significant changes to the neurobiological dynamics of the living body. Moreover, personal transformation is not simply something that happens to subjects, but rather a process in which they are actively and dynamically engaged. In addition, this enactivist approach emphasizes that the learning process is fully embodied and fundamentally affective. From a phenomenological perspective, personal transformation can be understood as a pronounced alteration in cognitive-affective orientation; and from a neurobiological perspective, the development of new habits of mind can be understood as the formation of highly integrated patterns of bodily engagement and response. The upshot is that it is not just subjects’ brains that are altered over the course of transformative learning, but also their overall bodily and affective attunement to their surroundings.
In Support of the Use of Significance Tests and of Unplanned Pairwise Multiple Comparisons

Previous reviews have criticized the use of significance tests in general and of unplanned pairwise multiple comparisons in particular. In this paper, it is argued that these tests are nonetheless useful. Significance tests compare treatment variation to error variation, which complements interval estimation. Unplanned pairwise multiple comparisons play a unique and valid role in separating treatment means. These tests are in no way invalidated by the previous authors' examples of misuse, nor wholly replaceable by the methods that they suggest as alternatives, which often have different purposes. Additional research questions are suggested.
Developing a viable alternative to Medicare's physician payment strategy.

Since 1992 Medicare has reimbursed physicians on a fee-for-service basis that weights physician services according to the effort and expense of providing those services and converts the weights to dollars using a conversion factor. In 1997 Congress replaced an existing spending constraint with the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) to reduce reimbursements if overall physician spending exceeded the growth in the economy. Congress, however, has routinely overridden the SGR because of concerns that reduced payments to physicians would limit patients’ access to care. Under continued pressure to override scheduled fee reductions or eliminate the SGR altogether, Congress is now considering legislation that would reimburse physicians to improve quality and lower costs—two things that the current system does not do. This article reviews several promising models, including patient-centered medical homes, accountable care organizations, and various payment bundling pilots, that could offer lessons for a larger reform o...
P2-03-03: An Insulin-Like Growth Factor I (IGF-I)-Induced Gene, Solute Carrier Family 7 Member 11 (SLC7A11)/xCT, Mediates IGF-I-Induced Biological Behaviors in Breast Cancer Cells.

Our laboratory studied the gene expression profiles of a series of T47D variant cell lines with differential insulin receptor substrate (IRS) adaptor protein expression to develop predictive IGF-I pathway biomarkers. We identified an IGF-I-induced gene, SLC7A11 (or xCT), which is specifically regulated through IRS-1. xCT encodes the cystine/glutamate transporter subunit of the heterodimeric amino acid transport system xc- which is a major plasma membrane transporter for the cellular uptake of cystine in exchange for intracellular glutamate. xCT is involved in the regulations of proliferation, metastasis, and drug resistance in various cancers. However, to date, the linkage between xCT and the IGF-I signaling pathway has not been described. To study the role for xCT in mediating IGF-I-induced biology in breast cancer cell lines, we examined xCT mRNA expression upon IGF-I stimulation in two breast cancer cell lines; the MCF-7 (IRS-1 activated) and MDA-MB-231 (IRS-2 activated) cells. Significant increased xCT expression was observed only in MCF-7 cells after IGF-I treatment. Immunoblots showed that xCT protein expression was elevated after IGF-I treatment and induced glutamate/cystine exchange in MCF-7 cells. shRNA was used to downregulate xCT in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. In MCF-7, IGF-I-stimulated cell monolayer growth was suppressed by xCT shRNA or by the xCT inhibitor sulfasalazine (SASP). In MDA-MB-231 cells, xCT downregulation did not affect IGF-mediated Boyden chamber migration. Thus, IGF-I induction of cellular xCT levels is associated with cell growth in the IRS-1 activated MCF-7 cells, while MDA-MB-231 cells were not affected by downregulation of this gene. Therefore, our data imply that xCT may mediate IGF-I induced biological functions in breast cancer cell lines through an IRS-1 dependent pathway. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-03-03.
Analysis on Notifiable Infectious Diseases of Class A and B in Sihui City from 2005 to 2012

Objective To Understand the epidemiological trend of notifiable infectious diseases of Class A and B in Sihui city from 2005 to 2012,so as to provide scientific basis for formulating control and prevention measures.Methods The data of reported notifiable infectious diseases of Class A and B in Sihui city from 2005 to 2012 were statistically analyzed by descriptive epidemiological method.Results The reported incidence of notifiable infectious diseases of Class A and B in Sihui city from 2005 to 2012 ranged from 247.94 per 10 million to 378.63 per 10 million,with the average annual incidence rate of 307.94/10 million.The average annual mortality rate was 1.67/10 million.The top five diseases with high average incidence rate were hepatitis B,tuberculosis,gonorrhea,syphilis,and hepatitis C,which accounted for 90.81% of the total reported cases.The blood and sexually transmitted diseases remained the highest incidence rate during the eight years,accounting for 60.08% of the total reported cases.The respiratory infectious disease was the second,accounting for 34.97%.The incidence of HIV infection increased year by year.Conclusions The surveillance,prevention and control of blood and sexually transmitted diseases and respiratory infectious disease should be strengthened in Sihui city.
Targeted therapy: a sea change in the treatment of cancer.

I see a time in the not too distant future when we’ll define tumors this way. What will our subspecialties be? Rather than a breast clinic or a lung clinic, will we perhaps be attending a “HER2 clinic” or an “mTOR clinic” instead?
Purification and characterization of a wound-induced ω-hydroxyfatty acid:NADP oxidoreductase from potato tuber disks (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Abstract ω-Hydroxyfatty acid dehydrogenase (ω-hydroxyfatty acid:NADP oxidoreductase) catalyzes the reaction ω-hydroxyfatty acid + NADP ⇌ ω-oxofatty acid + NADPH +H + . In wound-healing potato tuber disks, the ω-oxofatty acid generated by this enzyme is further oxidized to the corresponding dicarboxylic acid by a separate enzyme, ω-oxofatty acid dehydrogenase. ω-Hydroxy acid dehydrogenase, but not ω-oxo acid dehydrogenase, was found to be induced by wounding potato tubers. ω-Hydroxy acid dehydrogenase has been purified 600-fold to near homogeneity from wound-healing potato tuber disks by a combination of gel filtration, anion-exchange, and hydroxylapatite chromatography followed by NADP-Sepharose affinity chromatography, in about 1% yield. The molecular weight and Stokes radius of this enzyme as determined by gel exclusion chromatography are 60,000 and 31 A, respectively. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis gave a molecular weight of 31,000, indicating that the deydrogenase is a dimer with subunits of similar molecular weight. The pH optima for the reaction in the forward and reverse directions are 9.5 and 8.5, respectively, and V in the forward and reverse directions are 140 and 3200 nmol/min/mg, respectively. Apparent K m values for NADP, 16-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid, NADPH, and 16-oxohexadecanoic acid are 100, 20, 5, and 7 μ m respectively. The equilibrium constant of the reaction at pH 9.5 and 30 °C is 1.4 × 10 −9 m . The enzyme preparation did not show any stereospecificity for hydride transfer from NADPH to 16-oxohexadecanoic acid.
The use of volunteers in mass screening for high blood pressure.

This paper describes the effectiveness of an incentive-based approach to screening for hypertension by comparing it to two more typical on-site screenings. In the “bounty system,” adolescents were trained and certified in blood pressure assessment to enable them to conduct door-to-door blood pressure screenings. The youths received incentives for various phases of their training and the screenings. The two other screenings were conducted in a worksite and a public “community” setting. It was evident that incentives played a major role in recruiting adolescents to volunteer as screeners. The final results, however, revealed that this contact did not result in an increase in the number of persons screened as had been predicted. This was due in part to the reluctance of residents to admit teenagers into their homes and related problems.
The Other Half of Informed Consent: Transplant Education Practices in Dialysis Centers.

A patient with ESRD has two treatment options: chronic dialysis or kidney transplantation (KT). In order to give informed consent, a patient must understand the risks and benefits of both the proposed treatment and any alternative treatments. As such, all dialysis patients without any absolute,
Vitamin A Supplementation Increases the Uptake of Chylomicron Retinyl Esters into the Brain of Neonatal Rats Raised under Vitamin A–Marginal Conditions

BACKGROUND The most rapid phase of brain development occurs during the neonatal period. Vitamin A (VA; retinol) is critical for many aspects of this process, including neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory formation. However, the metabolism of retinol in the neonatal brain has not been extensively explored. OBJECTIVE We examined the uptake of VA into the brain in neonatal rats raised under VA-marginal conditions (control group) and assessed the effect of VA supplementation on the uptake of VA into the brain. METHODS Sprague-Dawley neonatal rats (n = 104) nursed by mothers fed a VA-marginal diet were randomly assigned and treated on postnatal day 4 with an oral dose of either VA (6 μg retinyl palmitate/g body weight) or canola oil as the control, both of which contained 1.8 μCi [(3)H]retinol. Pups (n = 4/group at a time) were killed at 13 sampling times from 30 min to 24 d after dosing. The uptake of total retinol, chylomicron-associated retinyl esters (REs), and retinol bound to retinol-binding protein (RBP) was estimated with the use of WinSAAM version 3.0.8. RESULTS Total retinol mass in the brain was closely dependent on its mass in plasma over time (r = 0.91; P < 0.001). The uptake of retinol into the brain involved both postprandial chylomicrons and RBP, with RBP delivering most of the retinol in the control group [0.27 nmol/d (RBP) compared with 0.01 nmol/d (chylomicrons)]. VA supplementation increased the fractional uptake of chylomicron REs from 0.3% to 1.2% of plasma pool/d, decreased that of RBP retinol from 0.5% to 0.2% of plasma pool/d, and increased the transfer rate of chylomicron REs from nearly zero to 0.7 nmol/d, causing a day-long elevation in the brain mass of total retinol. CONCLUSION Postprandial chylomicrons may be a primary mechanism for delivering a recently ingested large dose of VA to the brain of neonatal rats raised under VA-marginal conditions.
Modeling the Form and Appearance of Fishes

To achieve realistic computer animation, our artificial fish model must capture the form and appearance of real fishes with adequate fidelity. In this chapter we design texture mapped, 3D geometric display models with which to “envelope” the biomechanical fish model described in Chapter 4, thus constructing different artificial fishes. We begin with color photographs of real fishes and build free-form geometric models of several different species using nonuniform rational B-spline (nurbs) surfaces. We develop a new interactive tool for segmenting portions of the fish images to be used as texture maps that are subsequently rendered onto the geometric display surfaces. Finally, we describe how this geometric display model is coupled to the dynamic model of the fish to appropriately actuate and deform the display model. We also describe the visualization of the pectoral fin motion in the display model.
Products, Pathways, and Kinetics for the Fast Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Soy Protein Isolate

We conducted nonisothermal fast hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of soy protein isolate (SPI) for batch holding times of 10–300 s and at temperatures up to 500 °C. The SPI solids rapidly formed water-soluble products, some of which subsequently formed biocrude. The highest biocrude yields (38–40 wt %) were obtained within 45–120 s, at which times the reactor temperatures had reached 375–435 °C. The highest recovery of nitrogen in the aqueous-phase products (80% of that present in SPI) occurred prior to formation of high biocrude yields. Ammonia formation was significant when the hydrothermal reaction medium reached supercritical conditions; over 50% of the atomic N appeared as ammonia under such conditions. We deduced the reaction pathways and developed a kinetic model from the experimental data. The reaction network includes two types of aqueous-phase products formed during HTL of protein. The first type arises directly from the SPI and the second arise from biocrude. The model accurately correlated the p...
Platform for designing and managing resilient and extensible CPS: WiP abstract

Extensible Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are loosely connected, multi-domain platforms that "virtualize" their resources to provide an open platform capable of hosting different cyber-physical applications. These cyber-physical platforms are extensible since resources and applications can be added or removed at any time. However, realizing such platform requires resolving challenges emanating from different properties; for this paper, we focus on resilience. Resilience is important for extensible CPS to make sure that extensibility of a system doesn't result in failures and anomalies.
Negative pressure ventilation decreases lung function decline, acute exacerbations and hospitalizations in COPD patients with desaturation during 6 minute walk test

Negative pressure ventilation (NPV) may decrease ventilation/perfusion mismatching, leading to a reduction in breathing work. Desaturation during 6 minute walk test (6MWT) may serve as predictors of long-term mortality in COPD. Our study studies the long-term effects of hospital-based exercise training and NPV support in COPD patients with desaturation during 6MWT. We enrolled 98 COPD patients. The NPV-exercise group (n=49) received NVP support and upper limb training once every week in hospital, and the control group (n=49) had no hospital training program. We measured FEV1, and 6 minute walk distance (6MWD) at the beginning, and every 3-6 moths for 4 years. Desaturation was defined as a fall in oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry (SpO2) ≥10% or SpO2 FEV1 in NPV-exercise group remained stable throughout 4-year period. Decline of FEV1 in control group [1.0 L, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.9 to 1.1 L, n=49] was lower at 1 years (0.9 L, 95% CI 0.8 to 1.0), 2 years (0.9 L, 95% CI 0.8-1.0, n=48), 3 years (0.9 L, 95% CI 0.8-1.0, n=47) and 4 years (0.8 L, 95% CI 0.7 to 1.0 L, n=42, p In COPD with desaturation during 6MWT, additional therapy with hospital-based exercise training and NPV support was associated with improvement of exacerbations and hospitalizations, and preserved lung function during a 4-year period.
Have you heard the rumour mill

One does not normally associate the high-brow world of particle physics with rumours and gossip-mongering. However, the tight academic job market has led to several websites that provide rumours of forthcoming job openings, along with details of who was shortlisted, who was offered the job and who was hired. These sites, known as rumour mills, have spread from the original site that focused on particle physics in the US and Canada to cover the UK, Austria, Germany, Greece, New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland. There are also sites that deal with nuclear theory and astrophysics. Hopeful applicants can monitor the progress of each job search by seeing when shortlists are compiled and eventually when offers are made and accepted or declined.
Early Versus Delayed Motion After Rotator Cuff Repair: A Systematic Review of Overlapping Meta-analyses:

Background:Previous meta-analyses have been conducted to compare outcomes of early versus delayed motion after rotator cuff repair.Purpose:To conduct a systematic review of overlapping meta-analyse...
Insights from Teacher Leavers: Push and Pull in Career Development.

AbstractThis article examines the career pathways of US teacher leavers, individuals who have voluntarily left classroom teaching prior to retirement. Based on the perspective that teachers construct their own career pathways through an ongoing negotiation among intrinsic and extrinsic factors, this research captures the experiences of 24 teacher leavers from geographically diverse regions of the United States. Using life history interviews, this study inquires into individuals’ experiences before, during, and after classroom teaching. Unexpectedly, only one of the 24 individuals initially intended to enter teaching. Data also indicate that teachers’ career pathways were shaped by dynamics pushing and pulling their careers into and out of the classroom. These life history interviews suggest that teachers were pushed and pulled into teaching, pushed and pulled out of teaching, and pushed and pulled around their passions. The trajectories of these teacher leavers, who have now moved into fields as diverse a...
Evaluation of metrics of susceptibility to cascading blackouts

In this paper, we evaluate the usefulness of metrics that assess susceptibility to cascading blackouts. The metrics are computed using a matrix of Line Outage Distribution Factors (LODF, or DFAX matrix). The metrics are compared for several base cases with different load levels of the Western Interconnection (WI). A case corresponding to the September 8, 2011 pre-blackout state is used to compute these metrics and relate them to the origin of the cascading blackout. The correlation between the proposed metrics is determined to check redundancy. The analysis is also used to find vulnerable and critical hot spots in the power system.
Enhanced glass transition temperature of low molecular weight poly(methyl methacrylate) by initiator fragments located at chain ends

Abstract We discovered important effects of chemically distinct initiator fragments incorporated at chain ends on the glass transition temperature (Tg) of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Polymers of various molecular weight (MW) were synthesized via free radical polymerization (FRP) using 2,2’-azobis(2-methylpropionitrile) (AIBN) and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as initiator. All samples have identical triad distribution with ∼58% syndiotactic content. The Tg values of ∼3 kg/mol PMMA possessing AIBN and BPO initiator fragments are 11–13 K higher than that of an anionic PMMA standard of similar MW. The elevated Tg values in low MW PMMA synthesized by FRP are attributed to attractive interactions arising from polar chain ends. The Tg-MW dependence becomes weaker at the lowest MWs examined in PMMA samples synthesized by FRP (with AIBN or BPO as initiator) and by anionic polymerization. The methodology of incorporating polar chain ends to increase the Tg of low MW polymers provides new avenues for material design.
Pilot Study of Personalized Video Visit Summaries for Patients With Cancer.

PurposeThe treatment of cancer is complex, which can overwhelm patients and lead to poor comprehension and recall of the specifics of the cancer stage, prognosis, and treatment plan. We hypothesized that an oncologist can feasibly record and deliver a custom video summary of the consultation that covers the diagnosis, recommended testing, treatment plan, and follow-up in < 5 minutes. The video summary allows the patient to review and share the most important part of a cancer consultation with family and caregivers.MethodsAt the conclusion of the office visit, oncologists recorded the most important points of the consultation, including the diagnosis and management plan as a short video summary. Patients were then e-mailed a link to a secure Website to view and share the video. Patients and invited guests were asked to respond to an optional survey of 15 multiple-choice and four open-ended questions after viewing the video online.ResultsThree physicians recorded and sent 58 video visit summaries to patient...