cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Use of Avidin as a Probe for the Distribution of Mitochondrial Carboxylases in Developing Chick Retina

During development, the inner chick retina progresses from an aerobic to an anaerobic metabolic basis because of the lack of a vascular system. To investigate this process further, we have examined the expression and distribution of mitochondrial carboxylases. Because these enzymes use covalently bound biotin as a co-enzyme, we were able to develop a new detection protocol for mitochondria using avidin as a probe for the biotin. Chemiluminescent detection of bound avidin-peroxidase was used to examine a developmental series of extracts of retinas that had been separated by electrophoresis and blotted to nitrocellulose. Avidin-peroxidase, visualized with the sensitive peroxidase substrate True Blue, permitted detection in epoxy-embedded tissue sections. In the extracts, specific bands of approximate molecular weights 130 and 70 kD were found, corresponding to biotinylated subunits of several mitochondrial carboxylases. During development, the intensity of the bands decreases, although at different rates. In tissue sections, 8-day embryonic retinas display reaction product throughout the tissue, with higher local concentrations in the vitread and sclerad regions. During further development, the reaction product becomes segregated into bands at the borders of the plexiform layers. As the photoreceptors mature, stain becomes concentrated in the developing ellipsoids and the sclerad ends of Muller cells.
Treatment with the MEK inhibitor U0126 induces decreased hyperpolarized pyruvate to lactate conversion in breast, but not prostate, cancer cells.

Alterations in cell metabolism are increasingly recognized as a hallmark of cancer and are being exploited for the development of diagnostic tools and targeted therapeutics. Recently, 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)-detectable hyperpolarized pyruvate to lactate conversion was validated in models as a noninvasive imaging method for the detection of tumors and treatment response, and successfully passed phase I clinical trials. To date, response to treatment was associated with a drop in hyperpolarized lactate production. Here, we monitored the effect of treatment with the MEK inhibitor U0126 in prostate and breast cancer cells. Following treatment we observed a 31% drop in flux of hyperpolarized 13C label in treated MCF-7 breast cancer cells compared to controls. In contrast and unexpectedly, flux increased to 167% in treated PC3 prostate cancer cells. To mechanistically explain these observations we investigated treatment-induced changes in the different factors known to affect pyruvate to lactate conversion. NADH levels remained unchanged whereas lactate dehydrogenase expression and activity as well as intracellular lactate increased in both cell lines, providing an explanation for the elevated hyperpolarized lactate observed in PC3 cells. The expression of MCT1, which mediates pyruvate transport, dropped in treated MCF-7 but not in PC3 cells. This identifies pyruvate transport as rate limiting in U0126-treated MCF-7 cells and explains the drop in hyperpolarized lactate observed in those cells following treatment. Our findings highlight the complexity of interactions between MEK and metabolism, and the need for mechanistic validation before hyperpolarized 13C MRS can be used for monitoring treatment-induced molecular responses.
BulkCompiler: high-performance sequential consistency through cooperative compiler and hardware support

A platform that supported Sequential Consistency (SC) for all codes --- not only the well-synchronized ones --- would simplify the task of programmers. Recently, several hardware architectures that support high-performance SC by committing groups of instructions at a time have been proposed. However, for a platform to support SC, it is insufficient that the hardware does; the compiler has to support SC as well. This paper presents the hardware-compiler interface, and the main compiler ideas for BulkCompiler, a simple compiler layer that works with the group-committing hardware to provide a whole-system high-performance SC platform. We introduce ISA primitives and software algorithms for BulkCompiler to drive instruction-group formation, and to transform code to exploit the groups. Our simulation results show that BulkCompiler not only enables a whole-system SC environment, but also one that actually outperforms a conventional platform that uses the more relaxed Java Memory Model by an average of 37%. The speedups come from code optimization inside software-assembled instruction groups.
Pressure drop measurements on cable-in-conduit conductors of various geometries

Measurements are made of the pressure drop on various cable-in-conduit conductors with different void fractions, number of strands, and flow areas. To carry out these measurements, supercritical helium is circulated through a loop containing several conductor sections instrumented with cold pressure transducers. A cold centrifugal pump is used to force the helium through the loop at flow rates of up to several grams per second. The modular design of the flow loop allows for relatively easy insertion of different test sections. Pressure drops, measured at different temperatures and mass flow rates, are correlated using classical friction factor analysis. Some variation in friction factor appears to result from temperature or helium property changes.
Apocalypticism in the Russian borderlands: Inochentie Levizor and his Moldovan followers∗

(1998). Apocalypticism in the Russian borderlands: Inochentie Levizor and his Moldovan followers. Religion, State and Society: Vol. 26, No. 3-4, pp. 251-263.
3.8 Angstrom Resolution Structure of Microtubule by Cryo-Em

Microtubules (MTs) are hollow tubes assembled from α/s tubulin heterodimers, which align in a polar head-to-tail manner. In living cells, the "plus-end" of MTs are highly dynamic and undergo rapid episodic switches between growth and shrinkage.The intrinsic dynamic property of MTs is carefully regulated by a large family of Microtubule Associated Proteins (MAPs). Of particular importance is a set of MAPs called plus-end tracking proteins (+TIPs), which selectively localize to the MT growing ends and mediate interactions with various cellular structures such as kinetochores and cell cortex.End-binding proteins (EBs) are the central hub of the +TIPs interaction networks. Previous studies (Surrey et al., 2011) showed that EBs and their yeast homologue Mal3 can recognize MTs at different nucleotide states, with high affinity for GTPγS MTs, which is believed to be a good mimic of the GTP-cap of MT.With the start-of-the-art technology of K2 direct detector (Gatan Inc) and improved helical-reconstruction programs, we determined the cryo-EM structure of EB-decorated GTPγS microtubule to 3.8 Angstrom resolution, which allowed us to de novo build a complete atomic model of microtubule at high level of accuracy. This model is a big step towards our detailed understanding of the two key questions in microtubule biology, i.e. the molecular mechanism of MT dynamic instability and MT +TIPs' end tracking behavior.
Length scale of secondary stresses in fracture and fatigue

In an attempt to provide a consistent framework for the analysis and treatment of secondary stresses associated with welding and thermal loading in the context of fracture mechanics, this paper starts with an effective stress characterization procedure by introducing a length-scale concept. With it, a traction-based stress separation procedure is then presented to provide a consistent characterization of stresses from various sources based on their length scale. Their relative contributions to fracture driving force are then quantified in terms of their characteristic length scales. Special attention is given to the implications of the length-scale argument on both analysis and treatment of welding residual stresses in fracture assessment. A series of examples is provided to demonstrate how the present developments can be applied for treating not only secondary stresses but also externally applied stresses, as well as their combined effects on the structural integrity of engineering components.
Using Sociotransformative Constructivism to Create Multicultural and Gender-Inclusive Classrooms: An Intervention Project for Teacher Professional Development.

Maxima was an intervention project that focused on assisting teachers to establish more inquiry-based, gender-inclusive, and culturally relevant learning environments. The authors grounded the proj...
Effect of Calcium on the Formation and Protectiveness of Iron Carbonate Layer in CO2 Corrosion

The effect of calcium (Ca2+) on the carbon dioxide (CO2) corrosion of mild steel was investigated in simulated saline aquifer environments (1 wt% sodium chloride [NaCl], 80°C, pH 6.6) with different concentrations of Ca2+ (10, 100, 1,000, and 10,000 ppm). Electrochemical methods (open-circuit potential [OCP]) and linear polarization resistance [LPR] measurements) were used to evaluate the corrosion behavior. Surface analysis techniques (scanning electron microscopy [SEM], energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy [EDS], and x-ray diffraction [XRD]) were used to characterize the morphology and identity the corrosion products. The results showed that with low concentrations of Ca2+ (10 ppm and 100 ppm), the corrosion rate decreased with time as a result of the formation of protective iron carbonate (FeCO3) and/or mixed carbonate (FexCayCO3) (x + y = 1). However, the presence of high concentrations of Ca2+ (1,000 ppm and 10,000 ppm) resulted in the change of corrosion product from protective FeCO3 to non-protecti...
Switched Antenna Circuit With Increased Information Bandwidth

An L-band microstrip patch antenna is directly modulated with fast-switching p-i-n diodes over a range of modulation frequencies well beyond the resonant bandwidth of the antenna. The experimental results, in both the time and frequency domains, show that by using this direct modulation technique, a narrowband patch antenna with a -10 -dB reflection coefficient bandwidth of 28 MHz successfully transmits a directly modulated signal with a bandwidth greater than 300 MHz.
Mutations affecting the cytoskeletal organization of syncytial Drosophila embryos

Cytoplasmic organization, nuclear migration, and nuclear division in the early syncytial Drosophila embryo are all modulated by the cytoskeleton. In an attempt to identify genes involved in cytoskeletal functions, we have examined a collection of maternal-effect lethal mutations induced by single P-element transposition for those that cause defects in nuclear movement, organization, or morphology during the syncytial embryonic divisions. We describe three mutations, grapes, scrambled, and nuclear-fallout, which define three previously uncharacterized genes. Females homozygous for these mutations produce embryos that exhibit extensive mitotic division errors only after the nuclei migrate to the surface. Analysis of the microfilament and microtubule organization in embryos derived from these newly identified mutations reveal disruptions in the cortical cytoskeleton. Each of the three mutations disrupts the actin-based pseudocleavage furrows and the cellularization furrows in a distinct fashion. In addition to identifying new genes involved in cytoskeletal organization, these mutations provide insights into cytoskeletal function during early Drosophila embryogenesis.
Interactive Logic Design on the World Wide Web

Recently, the University of South Florida Depatttnent of Computer Science and Engineering began a program to provide web-based instruction along with web-based laboratory work for a number of our basic computer engineering courses. The philosopy of this program is to provide a series of “electronic textbooks,” complete with interactive exercises. This program is actually part of a much larger program to create a comprehensive series of web-based Electrical Design Automation (EDA) tools. However, the educational portion of the program is important, and capable of standing on its own merit.
Abstract 47: Caveolin-1 is Critical for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Induced by Angiotensin II

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a significant cause of mortality for adults aged >60 years. Accumulating evidence suggests a role of angiotensin II (Ang II) in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) formation. However, the Ang II-sensitive proximal signaling events primarily responsible for AAA formation remain unclear. We recently reported that caveolin-1 (Cav1) enriched membrane microdomains in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) mediate a metalloprotease ADAM17-dependent EGF receptor (EGFR) transactivation, which is linked to vascular remodeling induced by Ang II. Given that ADAM17 expression is one of the key features in AAA, we have tested our hypothesis that Cav1, a major structural protein of caveolae, plays a critical role for development of AAA by Ang II via regulation of ADAM17. 8 week old male Cav1-/- and the control C57Bl/6 wild-type mice (WT) were co-infused with Ang II (1 μg/kg/min) and β-aminopropionitrile (BAPN: 150mg/kg/day) for 4 weeks to induce AAA. In WT with the co-infusion, 58% (14/24) were dead due to aortic rupture/dissection. All surviving WT with co-infusion had AAA with max diameter (mm) of 2.6±0.18 vs 0.93±0.09 with saline infusion (p
An Approach for Balancing Delay and Fuel Burn in Separation Assurance Automation

ight management computers. Fast-time simulations of current-day trac levels in two regional airspaces under nominal weather conditions are simulated to evaluate the benet of modifying a conict resolution algorithm to select resolution maneuvers based on minimum cost. The study employs the use of a parameter to represent the relative importance of fuel burn price to delay price. Additionally, the price of fuel burn and delay relative to one another is varied from the nominal in order to illustrate the dierences in the algorithmic behavior should the delay or fuel price increase. Results show the lowest total operational cost occurs when the relative importance of delay to fuel burn price is equally weighted. Overall, minimizing fuel burn when selecting resolutions based on cost results in a lower operational cost than minimizing delay. The sensitivity of total operational cost to resolution types is presented. Implications of these ndings for advanced separation assurance concepts are discussed.
Revision of the Two-Spotted Spider Mite (Acarina, Tetranychidae) Complex, Tetranychus Telarius (Linnaeus)

Nearly all previous taxonomic work on spider mites has been based upon morphologic characters. Even in the most recent and extensive revision of the group by Pritchard and Baker (1955), decisions concerning synonymy were largely made by observing resemblances in structure, since biological information was largely lacking.
Decreased breath excretion of redox active iron in COPD: a protective failure?

Recent observational and genetic studies have highlighted a potential role for disrupted iron homeostasis in stable and exacerbating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Thus iron deficiency that is not limited to anaemia [1] and single nucleotide polymorphism in the gene encoding iron regulatory protein-2 [2], a key regulatory factor involved in cellular iron turnover and control, have been identified in this population. Disrupted systemic iron homeostasis is likely to limit iron availability for metabolic purposes due to overriding effects on tissue storage rather than on mobilisation and limitation of uptake from the gut. A specific pro-oxidant pool of iron (free or loosely bound ions, which are redox active/catalytic for damaging oxidant production) is measurable in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) [3]. While iron is essential for life, particularly for aerobes, poor or altered iron handling results in adverse effects related to oxidant production, microbial virulence, altered redox signalling events and altered cellular fate, including remodelling. This study was therefore undertaken to gain insight into iron handling in lungs and airways, and the extent to which these processes may be altered in COPD. Studies were undertaken to measure this specific iron pool by the bleomycin method [4] utilising EBC samples collected as previously described [3] and obtained from normal healthy individuals, healthy smokers and patients with COPD (current and ex-smokers). Serum levels of hepcidin and interleukin (IL)-6, known regulators of iron homeostasis, were also measured. Decreased redox active iron in exhaled breath condensate from COPD smokers may indicate an excretion failure
A systematic review of orthopaedic manual therapy randomized clinical trials quality

Study Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Objectives: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in the orthopaedic manual therapy (OMT) literature from January 2010 to June 2014 in order to determine if the CONSORT checklist and Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB) assessment tools: (1) are reliable; (2) have improved the reporting and decreased the risk of bias in RCTs in the OMT literature; (3) differ based on journal impact factor (JIF); and (4) scores are associated with each other. Background: The CONSORT statement is used to improve the accuracy of reporting within RCTs. The Cochrane RoB tool was designed to assess the risk of bias within RCTs. To date, no evaluation of the quality of reporting and risk of bias in OMT RCTs has been published. Methods: Relevant RCTs were identified by a literature review from January 2010 to June 2014. The identified RCTs were assessed by two individual reviewers utilizing the 2010 CONSORT checklist and the RoB tool. Agreem...
Survey on microcystin pollution in source water and finished water in Xiamen

Objective To know microcystin(MC) pollution and distribution staus in source water and finished water in Xiamen.Methods A total of 161 samples were collected from the main source water(Beixi River,Bantou Reservoir,Tingxi Reservoir)and finished water(Gaodian Waterworks,Tianma Waterworks,Meishan Waterworks) in Xiamen from January 2009 to December2010. The contents of MC-RR,MC-LR in all samples were detected by high performance liquid chromatography. Results The detection rates of MC-RR and MC-LR in source water were 77.2%(71/92),54.3%(50/92),respectively; The detection value range were ND-0.840,ND-0.301 μg/L. The level of MC in Beixi source water showed a peak value(MC-RR,0.840 μg/L) from November to December, while showed a peak value(MC-LR,0.301 μg/L) from August to September in Bantou and Tingxi Reservoir. The detection rates of MC-RR and MC-LR in finished water were 85.5%(59/69),52.2%(36/69), respectively; The detection value ranges were ND-0.972, ND-0.288 μg/L, and there was no obvious seasonal pattern in finished water.Conclusion The MC contamination level is low in Xiamen source water and finished water and represented by MC-RR. The water treatment technology of waterworks should be improved in Xiamen to reduce MC residues.
Effect of environmental stress on the ability of Listeria monocytogenes Scott A to attach to food contact surfaces.

Attachment of Listeria monocytogenes Scott A to Buna-N rubber and stainless steel under different temperature and pH conditions at the time of cell growth or at the time of attachment was investigated. All experiments were conducted using sterile phosphate buffer to avoid cell growth during exposure to the test surfaces. Numbers of attached cells increased with increasing attachment temperature (10 to 45 degrees C) and exposure time for both test surfaces. Maximum levels of attached cells were obtained when cell growth occurred at 30 degrees C. Downward, but not upward, shifts in the cell suspension holding temperature prior to attachment to Buna-N rubber resulted in reduced adhered cell populations. Maximum levels of adhered cells to Buna-N rubber were not affected by adjustments of the attachment medium pH between 4 and 9. However, after short contact times (i.e., less than 30 min), levels of attached cells were lower when attachment occurred under alkaline conditions. Growth pH was also found to affect the levels of adhered cell populations to Buna-N rubber. L. monocytogenes Scott A attached to stainless steel at higher levels for all temperature and pH parameters evaluated in this study.
Headache and Facial Pain

Headache may be due to processes ranging from benign to life threatening. Red flags for dangerous underlying processes include thunderclap headaches, fixed neurologic symptoms, accompanying seizures, and change in headache character. Thunderclap headaches are sudden-onset, severe headaches, and are often produced by dangerous neurologic conditions such as subarachnoid hemorrhage, carotid artery dissection, pituitary apoplexy, and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome. Other serious causes of headaches include temporal arteritis, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, meningitis, intracranial masses, pseudotumor cerebri, and hypertensive encephalopathy. Migraine and tension headaches are the most common headache disorders and have a multitude of management options. Status migrainosus is defined as migraine headaches which last longer than 72 h, and requires specialized treatment, usually in a hospital setting. Other causes of headache include sinus disease, visual strain, and spontaneous intracranial hypotension. The trigeminal autonomic cephalgias include cluster headache and the paroxysmal hemicranias. Facial pain has a variety of etiologies including trigeminal neuralgia, glossopharyngeal neuralgia, temporomandibular joint disease, and atypical facial pain syndrome.
Fracture: Microscopic Aspects

Introduction In Chapter 7, we described the macroscopic aspects of the fracture behavior of materials. As with other characteristics, the microstructure of a material has a great influence on its fracture behavior. In what follows, we present a brief description of the microstructural aspects of crack nucleation and propagation, as well as the effect of the environment on the fracture behavior of different materials. Figure 8.1 shows, schematically, some important fracture modes in a variety of materials. These different modes will be analyzed in some detail in this chapter. Metals fail by two broad classes of mechanisms: ductile and brittle failure. Ductile failure occurs by (a) the nucleation, growth, and coalescence of voids, (b) continuous reduction in the metal's cross-sectional area until it is equal to zero, or (c) shearing along a plane of maximum shear. Ductile failure by void nucleation and growth usually starts at second-phase particles. If these particles are spread throughout the interiors of the grains, the fracture will be transgranular (or transcrystalline). If these voids are located preferentially at grain boundaries, fracture will occur in an intergranular (or intercrystalline) mode. The appearance of a ductile fracture, at high magnification (500× or higher) is of a surface with indentations, as if marked by an ice-cream scooper. This surface morphology is appropriately called dimpled . Rupture by total necking is very rare, because most metals contain second-phase particles that act as initiation sites for voids.
S100A12 and the S100/Calgranulins Emerging Biomarkers for Atherosclerosis and Possibly Therapeutic Targets

Atherosclerosis is mediated by local and systematic inflammation. The multiligand receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) has been studied in animals and humans and is an important mediator of inflammation and atherosclerosis. This review focuses on S100/calgranulin proteins (S100A8, S100A9, and S100A12) and their receptor RAGE in mediating vascular inflammation. Mice lack the gene for S100A12, which in humans is located on chromosome 3 between S100A8 and S100A9. Transgenic mice with smooth muscle cell–targeted expression of S100A12 demonstrate increased coronary and aortic calcification, as well as increased plaque vulnerability. Serum S100A12 has recently been shown to predict future cardiovascular events in a longitudinal population study, underscoring a role for S100A12 as a potential biomarker for coronary artery disease. Genetic ablation of S100A9 or RAGE in atherosclerosis-susceptible apolipoprotein E null mice results in reduced atherosclerosis. Importantly, S100A12 and the RAGE axis can be modified pharmacologically. For example, soluble RAGE reduces murine atherosclerosis and vascular inflammation. Additionally, a class of compounds currently in phase III clinical trials for multiple sclerosis and rheumatologic conditions, the quinoline-3-carboxamides, reduce atherosclerotic plaque burden and complexity in transgenic S100A12 apolipoprotein E null mice, but have not been tested with regards to human atherosclerosis. The RAGE axis is an important mediator for inflammation-induced atherosclerosis, and S100A12 has emerged as biomarker for human atherosclerosis. Decreasing inflammation by inhibiting S100/calgranulin-mediated activation of RAGE attenuates murine atherosclerosis, and future studies in patients with coronary artery disease are warranted to confirm S100/RAGE as therapeutic target for atherosclerosis.
Metals and Mitochondria in Neurodegeneration

Abstract Metal ions are key biologically active components critical to neuronal metabolism. Biometals function as cofactors in cell respiration, enzyme function, antioxidants, oxidative stress, and neuronal signaling in synapses. Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, dementia with Lewy bodies, Creutzfeldt–Jakob, spinocerebellar ataxia, spinal muscular atrophy, and motor neuron diseases are directly related to aging processes, but recent scientific evidence has further linked brain degeneration and neuronal death to altered levels of some biometals and mitochondrial abnormality. Development of neurodegenerative diseases rely on different factors with many layers of complexity, but with some common features including presence of protein aggregates in brain, biometals misbalance, and mitochondrial dysfunction in neurons. Here, we discuss data that support the interplay and complex implications of different biometals and role of mitochondrial dysfunctions in neurodegenerative processes.
Astrocytic expression of the RNA regulator HuR accentuates spinal cord injury in the acute phase

We recently showed that the RNA regulator, HuR, is translocated to the cytoplasm in astrocytes in the acute phase of spinal cord injury (SCI), consistent with its activation. HuR positively modulates expression of many pro-inflammatory factors, including IL-1β, TNF-α, and MMP-12, which are present at high levels in the early phase of SCI and exacerbate tissue damage. Knockdown of HuR in astrocytes blunts expression of these factors in an in vitro stretch injury model of CNS trauma. In this report, we further investigate the impact of HuR in early SCI using a mouse model in which human HuR is transgenically expressed in astrocytes. At 24h following a mid-thoracic contusion injury, transgenic HuR translocated to the cytoplasm of astrocytes, similar to endogenous HuR, and consistent with its activation. Compared to littermate controls, the transgenic mice showed a global increase in astrocyte activation at the level of injury and a concomitant increase in vascular permeability. There was a significant decrease in neuronal survival at this time interval, but no differences in white matter sparing. Long term behavioral assessments showed no difference in motor recovery. In summary, transgenic expression of HuR in astrocytes accentuated neuronal injury and other secondary features of SCI including increased vascular permeability and astrocyte activation. These findings underscore HuR as a potential therapeutic target in early SCI.
Austerity Blues: Fighting for the Soul of Public Higher Education By Michael Fabricant and Steve Brier

The review analyzes how the neoliberal agenda has affected public higher education and what we have done and must do to organize against the its erosion.
Autonomic specificity in emotion: The induction method matters

Abstract Research on the autonomic specificity of emotion has spanned decades, yet the findings of this research are still highly debated. Although many studies have explored the autonomic specificity of emotions, few have concurrently explored the influence by which the induction methods themselves have had in directing autonomic change. The current study was conducted to assess whether the methods for emotion elicitation could be meaningfully captured by multivariate pattern classification techniques that have been previously used to explore autonomic specificity of emotion. This aim was achieved by using three separate emotion-elicitation methods to elicit five separate emotions. A sample of 64 college-aged students watched film clips, read imagery scripts, and recalled personal memories for five emotion states. Using multivariate pattern classification analysis, the evidence from the current study lends further support for autonomic specificity of emotion, but also highlights the role that the specific induction technique contributes to autonomic changes that accompany emotions in the laboratory.
Using humour to increase effectiveness of shameful health issue advertising: testing the effects of health worry level

ABSTRACTCommunicating shame-inducing health issue information is a challenging task as the feelings of shame might elicit withdrawal and avoidance coping, leading to delay in health screening and treatment. With the cognitive and emotional buffering benefits, using humour as a message strategy might help increase approach coping. Real-world ad campaigns dealing with these health issues have been using humour as an advertising tool, and with the lack of humour effects research in health communication, this is a pending topic to pursue. Given that past studies have found health worry to be a significant contributing factor in health behaviours, the audience factor of the individual's general health worry level is investigated. Three experimental studies provide evidence to humour benefitting low health-worry-level individuals in lower shame contexts and high health-worry-level individuals in higher shame contexts. Theoretical and practical implications provide the significance of the findings.
Telomeres and telomerase in prostate cancer development and therapy

Aberrations in telomere biology are among the earliest events in prostate cancer tumorigenesis and continue during tumour progression. Substantial telomere shortening occurs in prostate cancer cells and high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia. Not all mechanisms of telomere shortening are understood, but oxidative stress from local inflammation might accelerate prostatic telomere loss. Critically short telomeres can drive the accumulation of tumour-promoting genomic alterations; however, continued telomere erosion is unsustainable and must be mitigated to ensure cancer cell survival and unlimited replication potential. Prostate cancers predominantly maintain telomeres by activating telomerase, but alternative mechanisms of telomere extension can occur in metastatic disease. Telomerase activity and telomere length assessment might be useful in prostate cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Telomere shortening in normal stromal cells has been associated with prostate cancer, whereas variable telomere lengths in prostate cancer cells and telomere shortening in cancer-associated stromal cells correlated with lethal disease. Single-agent telomerase-targeted treatments for solid cancers were ineffective in clinical trials but have not been investigated in prostate cancer and might be useful in combination with established regimens. Telomere-directed strategies have not been explored as extensively. Telomere deprotection strategies have the advantage of being effective in both telomerase-dependent and telomerase-independent cancers. Disruption of androgen receptor function in prostate cancer cells results in telomere dysfunction, indicating telomeres and telomerase as potential therapeutic targets in prostate cancer.
Reproduction of Viruses and Viral Constituents

In order to continue to exist, viruses must multiply. This they can do only in living cells, which provide the synthetic and energy-yielding mechanisms that viruses lack. The main features of virus reproduction (also called infectious process) are all known, although reams of information are still being published on detailed and esoteric aspects of the subject. There is only one major exception to this conclusion, the viroids, whose nature and mode of interaction with cells have yet to be clarified. Viroids will be treated in Sec. lA.
Influence of diabetes on the foreign body response to nitric oxide-releasing implants.

Abstract The foreign body response (FBR) to nitric oxide (NO)-releasing subcutaneous implants was compared between healthy and streptozotocin-induced diabetic swine by evaluating inflammation, collagen capsule formation, and angiogenesis. Steel wire substrates were first modified with polyurethane membranes capable of diverse NO-release kinetics (NO fluxes and release durations of 0.8–630.0 pmol cm−2 s−1 and 2–13 d, respectively). The NO-releasing materials were implanted in the subcutis for 3, 10, or 25 d for histological and immunohistochemical evaluation of the FBR. A delayed, more severe inflammatory response to control (i.e., non-NO-releasing) implants was observed in diabetic pigs relative to healthy swine. Regardless of the animal disease state, each NO-releasing implant tested elicited reduced inflammation compared to controls at both 3 and 10 d. However, only the NO-release materials capable of releasing low NO fluxes (0.8–3.3 pmol cm−2 s−1) for 7–13 d durations mitigated the inflammatory response at 25 d. Using immunohistochemical staining for the endothelial cell surface marker CD-31, we also observed poor blood vessel development at non-NO-releasing implants in diabetic swine. Relative to controls, NO-releasing implants with the longest NO-release duration (13 d) increased blood vessel densities by 47.1 and 70.4% in the healthy and diabetic pigs, respectively. In the healthy model, tissues surrounding the long NO-release materials contained sparse amounts of collagen, whereas implants with shorter NO-release durations (2, 3, and 7 d) were characterized with a dense collagen encapsulation layer, similar to controls. Collagen deposition in diabetic swine was inhibited, and unaffected by NO. These results emphasize several key differences in the FBR in the setting of acute onset diabetes. The observation that NO release counteracts the more severe FBR in diabetic swine while simultaneously promoting tissue integration may help guide the design of medical implants (e.g., glucose sensors) with improved performance for diabetes management.
GIS use by an urban local body as part of e-governance in India

Government organizations in the developing world have been at the forefront of ongoing reforms that have prompted their use of GIS and other information and communication technologies for urban gov...
Underwater acoustic communications using quasi-orthogonal chirps

We propose a quasi-orthogonal chirp waveform design technique for underwater acoustic communications and study the correlation performance of binary linear chirp waveforms under different bandwidth and time constraints. Specifically, we consider binary information symbols that are carried over optimized binary linear chirp waveforms and transmitted over an underwater acoustic multipath channel. We present receiver design considerations and derive a closed-form expression for the cross-correlation coefficient of binary linear chirp waveforms. The bit-error-rate (BER) performance of the proposed quasi-orthogonal chirp waveforms is evaluated through both simulations and experiments with in-house built software-defined underwater acoustic modems.
TDR and S-parameters performance requirements for fault isolation and serial data applications

In this paper, we define full suite of requirements for TDR rise time and S-parameter measurement bandwidth for fault isolation and serial data applications. First, we look at the resolution requirements for fault isolation, and analyze some myths and realities surrounding the resolution issue. Then, we analyze the requirements for rise time in various serial data standards, how to determine the right rise time for a standard, and how it translates into TDR rise time requirements. Finally, we look dynamic range and frequency content of serial data signals, look at how to determine the dynamic range requirements, and how the bandwidth should be determined. Together, these analyses provide a designer with a complete set of guidelines for selection of his time and frequency domain measurements.
CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE | Smoking Cessation

Smoking is a well established cause of chronic lung disease and is the leading preventable behavior contributing to patient morbidity and mortality. Smoking cessation has been shown to have a strong beneficial effect on the course of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Research has clearly established that physician advice regarding smoking cessation will significantly increase the likelihood that a patient will quit smoking. There are five steps recommended as a starting point for the clinician addressing smoking cessation. The 5 A's include ‘asking’ the patient about smoking, ‘advising’ cessation, ‘assessing’ readiness to quit, ‘assisting’ in the process, and ‘arranging’ follow-up. If the patient is unwilling to quit smoking, the 5 R's can be employed: emphasizing ‘relevance’ of cessation, identifying ‘risks’ of smoking, focusing on ‘rewards’, discussing ‘roadblocks’, and using ‘repetition’. Pharmacologic therapy is recommended for most patients seriously considering smoking cessation with few exceptions. Nicotine replacement therapy and bupropion are considered first-line agents. Combination therapy may be used in patients who are not successful in quitting while using single-drug therapy. Despite evidence that clinician advice to quit smoking increases abstinence rates, clinicians inconsistently intervene. System-based programs provide opportunities to further improve rates of smoking cessation.
Endovaskuläre Operationskontrolle mit Hilfe der Endoskopie

Unter den verschiedenen Moglichkeiten der intraoperativen Kontrolle nach gefasrekonstruktiven Eingriffen nimmt die endoskopische, endovaskulare Untersuchung noch eine Sonderstellung ein. Das am meisten praktizierte Kontrollverfahren ist die intraoperative Angiographie, neuerdings auch in DSA-Technik mit fahrbarer C-Bogeneinheit verfugbar. Sie erlaubt eine Beurteilung der Ausstrombahn, bei Bypasses auch die der Anastomosen und mit Einschrankungen auch der Einstrombahn. Durch die DSA-Technik ist weiterhin eine Bildnachbearbeitung mit Phasenoptimierungen moglich. Dem Vorteil der umfassenden statischen und dynamischen Dokumentation stehen als einzige Nachteile die Strahlenbelastung, die moglichen Nebenwirkungen des Kontrastmittels und der apparative Aufwand gegenuber. Weitere intraoperative Kontrollmoglichkeiten stellen die Ultraschalldopplersonographie, die elektromagnetische Flus- und Druckmessung zur Widerstandsbestimmung und neuerdings die endovaskulare Ultraschallsonde dar.
Medical business ethics education: guarding the patient-centered focus of medicine.

The Bander Center for Medical Business Ethics’ goals and programs. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
La febbre dello spazio

Jerrie Cobb afferro i pesanti strati di abbigliamento artico e li indosso sopra all’abito di lino color blu navy. In quell’umido pomeriggio di giugno del 1957, la temperatura sulla pista del campo di volo sfiorava gia i trentatre gradi centigradi. La timida e giovane pilota dalla voce sommessa, pero, non era tanto infastidita dal caldo, quanto piuttosto dai reporter che le si accalcavano attorno. Non le piaceva tutta quell’attenzione, cosI come non le piaceva dover rispondere a domande sul genere: “Perche ha bisogno di abiti caldi mentre cerca di stabilire un nuovo record di quota?” Faceva fatica a tradurre in parole quello che pensava, e si rendeva conto che i giornalisti avrebbero voluto trovarla piu degna d’essere citata. Le domande erano prevedibili. “Miss Cobb, non ha paura? Cercare di abbattere il primato mondiale...” “Quanto freddo puo arrivare a fare lassu?” “Perche una ragazza giovane e carina come lei prova il desiderio di trascorrere il proprio tempo in mezzo alla sporcizia, al sudiciume e al rumore degli aeroplani?” “E che ci dice dei ragazzi? Ha piu paura di un appuntamento che di volare a sei miglia d’altezza?” Dopo aver indugiato un istante, cerco pazientemente di spiegare perche nella sua vita il volo fosse piu importante di qualunque altra cosa. Era sempre difficile per lei far capire fino a che punto si sentisse appagata quando si ritrovava sola su un aereo.
Luther and the Anabaptists

Luther embarked upon his radical criticism of the Roman church with the conviction that the Word of God had been hampered and needed a path cleared for its free and unhindered course. Men had always tried to make themselves and their own inventions more important than the Word itself. So the Roman church had done. Over the centuries it had raised formidable blocks to the progress of the Word. In the first rank stood the blockade of Pelagianism: the Romans had developed the notion that a man could obtain salvation through the performance of good works. Another blockade of equal stature was that of institutionalism. The church had built itself into an authority so absolute that no secular or spiritual power could shake it. Thus the papacy, at the top of an imposing hierarchy of ecclesiastical power, reserved for itself the sole right to interpret Scripture and to summon councils in order to preserve its power. Through these human additions the Word of God was made to suffer. It needed to be released from human encumbrances. That is precisely what Luther set about to do.
When Do the Advantaged See the Disadvantages of Others? A Quasi-Experimental Study of National Service

Are there mechanisms by which the advantaged can see the perspectives of the disadvantaged? If advantaged individuals have prolonged engagement with disadvantaged populations and confront issues of inequality through national service, do they see the world more through the lens of the poor? We explore this question by examining Teach For America (TFA), as TFA is a prominent national service program that integrates top college graduates into low-income communities for two years and employs a selection model that allows for causal inference. A regression discontinuity approach, utilizing an original survey of over 32,000 TFA applicants and TFA’s selection data for the 2007–2015 application cycles, reveals that extended intergroup contact in a service context causes advantaged Americans to adopt beliefs that are closer to those of disadvantaged Americans. These findings have broad implications for our understanding of the impact of intergroup contact on perceptions of social justice and prejudice reduction.
Camera Auto-calibration for Planar Aerial Imagery, Supported by Camera Metadata

UAVs in both civil and defense aviation have found numerous application areas in the last decade which resulted in sophisticated systems that extracts high level information utilizing the visual data from UAVs. Camera auto-calibration is always the first step if the intrinsic parameters of the cameras are not available. However, this process is not trivial as the aerial imagery mostly contains planar scenes which constitute a degenerate condition for conventional methods. In this paper, we propose a hybrid approach which incorporates circular point and camera position constraints as a single optimization term to automatically calibrate the camera of the UAV on planar scenes. The experimental results show that our proposed hybrid method is more robust and accurate than the conventional counterparts.
PGC-1α, Sirtuins and PARPs in Huntington’s Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Conditions: NAD+ to Rule Them All

In this review, we summarize the available published information on the neuroprotective effects of increasing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) levels in Huntington's disease models. We discuss the rationale of potential therapeutic benefit of administering nicotinamide riboside (NR), a safe and effective NAD+ precursor. We discuss the agonistic effect on the Sirtuin1-PGC-1α-PPAR pathway as well as Sirtuin 3, which converge in improving mitochondrial function, decreasing ROS production and ameliorating bioenergetics deficits. Also, we discuss the potential synergistic effect of increasing NAD+ combined with PARPs inhibitors, as a clinical therapeutic option not only in HD, but other neurodegenerative conditions.
Subfornical organ insulin receptors tonically modulate cardiovascular and metabolic function

Insulin acts within the central nervous system through the insulin receptor to influence both metabolic and cardiovascular physiology. While a major focus has been placed on hypothalamic regions, p...
Biomedical word sense disambiguation with bidirectional long short-term memory and attention-based neural networks

In recent years, deep learning methods have been applied to many natural language processing tasks to achieve state-of-the-art performance. However, in the biomedical domain, they have not out-performed supervised word sense disambiguation (WSD) methods based on support vector machines or random forests, possibly due to inherent similarities of medical word senses. In this paper, we propose two deep-learning-based models for supervised WSD: a model based on bi-directional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) network, and an attention model based on self-attention architecture. Our result shows that the BiLSTM neural network model with a suitable upper layer structure performs even better than the existing state-of-the-art models on the MSH WSD dataset, while our attention model was 3 or 4 times faster than our BiLSTM model with good accuracy. In addition, we trained “universal” models in order to disambiguate all ambiguous words together. That is, we concatenate the embedding of the target ambiguous word to the max-pooled vector in the universal models, acting as a “hint”. The result shows that our universal BiLSTM neural network model yielded about 90 percent accuracy. Deep contextual models based on sequential information processing methods are able to capture the relative contextual information from pre-trained input word embeddings, in order to provide state-of-the-art results for supervised biomedical WSD tasks.
Sex Differences in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Epidemiology, Clinical Considerations, and Disease Pathogenesis

Abstract Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, multiorgan, systemic autoimmune disease that is more common in women than men and is typically diagnosed during reproductive age, necessitating sex-specific considerations in care. In women there is no substantive evidence to suggest that SLE reduces fertility, but subfertility may occur as a result of active disease, immunosuppressive drugs, and age-related declines in fertility related to delays in childbearing. Although pregnancy outcomes have improved, SLE still poses risks in pregnancy that contribute to poorer maternal and fetal outcomes. Cyclophosphamide, an important agent for the treatment of severe or life-threatening lupus, may adversely affect fertility, particularly with increases in dose and patient age. Fertility preservation techniques are therefore an important consideration for women and men before cytotoxic treatment. There is mixed evidence as to whether exogenous estrogen in the form of oral contraceptive pills or hormone replacement therapy may increase the risk for the development of SLE, but among women with SLE already diagnosed, combined oral contraceptive pills and hormone replacement therapy do not confer risk for severe flare and remain important in reproductive care. The higher incidence of SLE in women may nonetheless be attributable to effects of endogenous estrogen, as well as failures in X chromosome inactivation, increased Toll-like receptor gene products, and changes in microRNA function. A greater appreciation of the biological underpinnings and consequences of sex differences in SLE may lead to more targeted treatments and improved outcomes for patients with SLE.