cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The osmotic shift.

Water, the medium in which most cellular reactions take place, constitutes approximately 60% of the total weight in adults. This article discusses the complexities of shifts among the intravascular, interstitial, and intracellular compartments, and administration of hypotonic, isotonic, and hypertonic solutions.
Restricted cephalosporin use in teaching hospitals

The approaches of teaching hospitals toward limiting the number of cephalosporin drug products on formularies were studied in a mail survey. Pharmacy department directors of 128 teaching hospitals with 200 beds or more responded to teh survey. Forty-two of 128 (33%) hospitals had established formal restriction policies (FRPs) for cephalosporins (CS). Cephalexin and cephradine were the predominant formulary oral CS. Few hospitals had established "therapeutic equivalents" policies, yet the majority of hospitals had a single oral CS on the formulary. Cefazolin was the predominant injectable CS on all formularies; cefamandole and cefoxitin were the predominant restricted CS. In hospitals without restriction policies, these newer CS were on the formulary in 55% of the cases; in FRP hospitals, the figure was 15%. The occurrence of a single, formulary, unrestricted CS was much more likely in FRP hospitals (38%) than in hospitals with no restriction policy (NRP) (8%). FRP hospitals tended to have fewer unrestricted formulary CS. Eighty-three percent of FRP hospitals and 41% of NRP hospitals monitored CS use.
Evaluation of positive and negative predictors of seizure outcomes among patients with immune-mediated epilepsy: a meta-analysis

Background:The objective of this study was to analyze published literature on autoimmune epilepsy and assess predictors of seizure outcome.Methods:From PubMed and EMBASE databases, two reviewers in...
Three-Dimensional Modelling of the Terra Nova Bay Sea Floor (Ross Sea - Antarctica)

The importance of gathering data on the Antarctic coastline and its adjacent waters has been widely recognised by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM), the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). In particular, both for navigational safety and environmental monitoring, it is very desirable to increase hydrographic activity in those areas which have the most significant importance from a scientific or navigational point of view - such as in the continental shelf and continental slope areas of the western part of the Ross Sea. Quite apart from the safety of navigation requirements, knowledge of the seabed topography is necessary to study and understand the various phenomena taking place in the marine environment. For example, the movement of water masses and their mixing processes depend on the shape of the seabed and adjacent coastline. The sea area surrounding Antarctica is one of the least explored parts of the world’s oceans and the available bathymetric data is only sufficient to allow a very general analysis to be made. With the probable growth of tourism and fishing around Antarctica and with the increasing need to understand the effects on the world’s climate of Antarctic water patterns, it is necessary to consider powerful new techniques - such as threedimensional modelling of the sea floors - in order to build up more quickly an effective and reliable bathymetric data base of Antarctic waters.
Measuring Dependence in Marketing Channels: A Non-Perceptual Approach

The purpose of this research is to operationalize a theoretical model of channel dependence and empirically assess the value of the model.
Biocellular Regenerative Medicine: Use of Adipose-Derived Stem/Stromal Cells and It's Native Bioactive Matrix

"Using your own tissues to heal" represents a major health care paradigm change and is one of the most exciting minimally invasive options currently available. Biocellular regenerative therapies are rapidly improving in documentation and cellular analyses and are gaining good safety and efficacy profiles. Once considered purely experimental, they have entered into an accepted, translational period to clinical providers, backed by improving science supporting the basic hypotheses. It is a well-recognized and reported alternative to many traditional medical/surgical interventions.
The Ellipticine Derivative NSC 338258 Has Anti-Myeloma Activity.

We recently discovered that amplification and overexpression of the CKS1B gene, which regulates the ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27 Kip1 , is linked to a poor prognosis in myeloma. We used the COMPARE algorithm (NCI, Developmental Therapeutics Program) to identify correlations between the expression of CKS1B in the NCI 60 cell line panel and the GI50 of nearly 50,000 anticancer compounds. This analysis revealed a strong correlation between CKS1B expression and the anticancer activity of Ellipticine and multiple derivatives of it. Ellipticine (5,11-Dimethyl-6H-Pyrido[4,3]Carbazole, MW=246.3), an alkaloid isolated from Apocyanaceae , is a topoisomerase II poison that induces topoisomerase II-dependent DNA cleavages. Previous studies have shown that the anti-neoplastic mechanism of Ellipticine is to form covalent DNA adducts mediated by human cytochromes P450. We obtained Ellipticine and twelve other CKS1B -correlated antineoplastic compounds from the NCI-DTP. In vitro analyses were carried out with 12 myeloma cell lines. Cell viability was detected using CellTiter-Glo Luminescent Assay (Promega, Co.). We found that one of the Ellipticine derivatives, NSC 338258 (EPED3) showed significant cell kill activity not observed with Ellipticine or the other compounds in all cell lines tested. In a dose response analysis of cell kill using 0.2, 0.02, and 0.002 uM EPED3, 12 out of 12 myeloma cell lines showed at least 50% reduction in cell viability within 24 hrs at 0.2 uM compared to no treatment controls. By 48 hours essentially all cell growth was inhibited. Only weak to moderate cell kill was noted at 0.02 and 0.002 uM at all time points tested. We next tested the activity of the topoisomerase II inhibitor VP-16-213 at the same concentrations and time periods and found only modest reduction of cell viability at day 5 at 0.2uM. Essentially no effect on cell viability was observed at 0.02 and 0.002 uM at any of the time points tested. We next tested whether EPED3 had a comparable anti-myeloma activity as Adriamycin at the same concentrations. Twelve myeloma cell lines were exposed to EPED3, VP-16-213, and Adriamycin at 0.2mM for a total of 5 days. Results of the mean relative luminescence showed that EPED3 promoted an immediate cell proliferation arrest within the first 24 hours of culture, with almost complete cell kill within 3 days. The other drugs were less effective with Adriamycin inducing a > 90% reduction only after 4 days and VP-16 a > 70% reduction at day 5. These data suggests that EPED3 may represent a potential new therapeutic for myeloma. Studies are currently underway to test the efficacy of EPED3 in our in-vivo SCID-Hu mouse model of primary myeloma and results of these studies will be presented.
Angriff auf das Stromnetz

Computerviren haben bereits gezielt industrielle Steuerungssysteme infiziert. Als Nachstes konnte das Stromnetz in das Fadenkreuz von Saboteuren geraten.
Transcranial Doppler Identification of Neurologic Injury during Pediatric Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Therapy

Background We used transcranial Doppler to examine changes in cerebral blood flow velocity in children treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. We examined the association between those changes and radiologic, electroencephalographic, and clinical evidence of neurologic injury. Methods This was a retrospective review and prospective observational study of patients 18 years old and younger at a single university children's hospital. Transcranial Doppler studies were obtained every other day during the first 7 days of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and 1 additional study following decannulation, in conjunction with serial neurologic examinations, brain imaging, and 6- to 12-month follow-up. Results The study included 27 patients, the majority (26) receiving veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Transcranial Doppler velocities during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were significantly lower than published values for age-matched healthy and critically ill children across different cerebral arteries. Neonates younger than 10 days had higher velocities than expected. Blood flow velocity increased after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation decannulation and was comparable with age-matched critically ill children. There was no significant association between velocity measurements of individual arteries and acute neurologic injury as defined by either abnormal neurologic examination, seizures during admission, or poor pediatric cerebral performance category. However, case analysis identified several patients with regional and global increases in velocities that corresponded to neurologic injury including stroke and seizures. Conclusions Cerebral blood flow velocities during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation deviate from age-specific normal values in all major cerebral vessels and across different age groups. Global or regional elevations and asymmetries in flow velocity may suggest impending neurologic injury.
Observing the real time formation of phosphine-ligated gold clusters by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The early stages of reduction and nucleation of ligated gold clusters in solution are largely unknown due, in part, to high reaction rates and the inherent complexity of the process. This study demonstrates that the addition of a diphosphine ligand, 1-4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane (L4) to a methanolic solution of the gold precursor, chloro(triphenylphosphine)gold(I) (Au(PPh3)Cl), results in the initial formation of organometallic complexes of the type [Au(L4)x(L4O)y(PPh3)z]+. These initial complexes lower the rate of gold reduction so that the reaction can be directly monitored over time from 1 min to over an hour using on-line electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The results indicate that the formation of cationic Au8(L4)42+, Au9(L4)4H2+ and Au10(L4)52+ clusters occurs through specific reaction pathways that may be kinetically controlled by varying either the concentration of reducing agent or the extent of L4 oxidation. Comparison of selected ion chronograms indicates that Au2(L4)2H+ may be an intermediate in the formation of Au8(L4)42+ and Au10(L4)52+ while a variety of chlorinated clusters may be involved in the formation of Au9(L4)4H2+. Additionally, high resolution mass spectrometry enabled the identification of 53 new gold containing species produced under highly oxidative conditions. New intermediate species were identified which aid the understanding of how different size gold clusters may be stabilized during the growth process.
Psychometric properties of the Saint Louis University Mental Status Examination.

ABSTRACTThe Saint Louis University Mental Status (SLUMS) Examination is a brief screening measure for mild neurocognitive disorder developed for use with veterans. To date, there has been a paucity of research on its psychometric properties. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the SLUMS in a referred sample to a specialty clinic. Using a sample of 148 male veterans referred to a Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) Clinic for evaluation, the ability of the SLUMS to discriminate between MCI versus Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) or no diagnosis was compared to results from a more comprehensive neuropsychological battery. The SLUMS was significantly correlated with every neuropsychological measure (r = .25 to .46), except for Trails B (r = .14). Diagnostic discriminability was comparable to a typical, longer, neuropsychological battery for discriminating between MCI and no diagnosis, and between MCI and MDD. The study provides additional psychometric support for the SLUMS as a...
Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia with central nervous system involvement.

Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) is a rare, clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorder with an incidence of approximately 0.3 cases per 100,000 people in the United States [1]. Based on the 2016...
SMURF-seq for fast, multiplexed copy number profiling with long-read sequencers

We present SMURF-seq, a protocol to efficiently sequence short DNA molecules on a long-read sequencer by randomly ligating them to form long molecules. Applying SMURF-seq using Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION yields up to 30 countable fragments per read at present, which generates multiple copy number profiles in a single run at a reduced time and cost. More broadly, SMURF-seq expands the utility of long-read sequencers for read-counting applications, which do not benefit from increased read length.
Classroom Practices of Cooperating Teachers and Their Relationship to Collaboration Quality and Time: Perceptions of Student Teachers.

This study examined the complexities of the collaborative relationship between student teachers and cooperating teachers in secondary mathematics from the perspectives of the student teachers. Four...
Pregnant Women and Alcohol: Implications for Social Work:

Pregnant women who are moderate to heavy drinkers run a strong risk of impairing their offspring. Two syndromes affecting such children are described, social workers are urged to intervene during p...
Microcervical Foraminotomy: An Alternative Posterior Technique for Intractable Radicular Pain

Microcervical foraminotomy (MCF) is the term used by this author to specifically define a posterior microsurgical technique that has proven extremely successful for the resolution of intractable cervical radicular pain.1 The procedure was developed in 1972 and absolutely minimizes any degree of laminectomy or facet trauma while allowing for a thorough neurolysis and bony foraminal decompression along the posterior and inferior aspect of symptomatic cervical nerve roots. As many as six foramina have been treated at one sitting. The intervertebral disc, stabilizing bony structures, and any foraminal pathology anterior to the root are not disturbed during this operation. Although primarily indicated for the treatment of intractable pain and neurologic deficit of a radicular distribution, the operation has proven to be just as successful in those individuals with persistent radicular symptoms unresponsive to previous anterior cervical or laminectomy techniques.
Refugees: Geographical Aspects

The term ‘refugee’ is used to denote an individual who is forced to flee in search of safety, in contrast to someone who chooses of their own accord to relocate, i.e., a voluntary migrant. The condition of forced migration applies to more than 34 million of the estimated 100 million permanent migrants worldwide. Headquartered in Geneva, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is charged with refugee protection. According to its statute, UNHCR is competent to assist: ‘[Any person who] … owing to well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear or for reasons other than personal convenience, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence, is unable or, owing to such fear or for reasons other than personal convenience, is unwilling to return to it.’ International refugees, however, represent the smaller portion of the globe's displaced population. The 20 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) outrank the number of ‘classic’ refugees. Most IDPs are forced to move due to explicit forms of persecution or armed conflict, but others migrate because of natural or man-made disasters.
Expanding the Chemical Space of Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase-like Enzymes by Domain and Tailoring Enzyme Recombination

The potential of tailoring enzymes in combination with engineered hybrid nonribosomal peptide synthetase-like enzymes was explored and resulted in methylated and prenylated forms of novel natural products, highlighting the possibilities and limitations of this approach.
From Bakke to Fisher: African American Students in U.S. Higher Education over Forty Years

We consider how antiblack legal precedents constrain African American access and success in higher education. We employ critical race theory to assess status and trends for African American college, graduate, and professional students. Our forty-year analysis traces national patterns of African American student enrollment and degree completion at public, four-year institutions. Using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, we find that higher education remains a site of intense racial struggle for African American students. Across institutions we see various trends: the number of African American students at flagships has declined, more students enroll and complete degrees at black-serving institutions, and historically black colleges and universities are more racially diverse.
Clinical features and outcome of patients with poor-prognosis myelofibrosis based on platelet count <50 x 109/L: A single-center experience in 1100 myelofibrosis patients.

7068Background: Thrombocytopenia (platelets < 100x109/L) is an independent negative prognostic factor for overall survival (OS) in patients with myelofibrosis (MF) according to the dynamic internat...
All-Polymer Solar Cells: Impact of the Length of theBranched Alkyl Side Chains on the Polymer Acceptors on the InterchainPacking and Electronic Properties in Amorphous Blends

All-polymer solar cells are attracting increasing attention because polymer acceptors present specific advantages, especially over fullerene derivatives. The length of the branched alkyl side chain...
Teaching Generalized Communicative Behaviors within Interrupted Behavior Chain Contexts

Three students with severe disabilities were taught to request items or events within interrupted behavior chain contexts. The interrupted behavior chain strategy involved inserting a typical instructional trial into the midst of an ongoing predictable sequence of behaviors such as getting a jacket and going outside or obtaining and operating a simple toy. Additionally, generalization probes were conducted in a variety of nontraining settings to determine whether responses taught within interrupted routines would generalize to “out-of-routine” contexts in which the child requested items to begin, rather than to resume, an activity. The results demonstrated that for each of the three students the responses acquired within interrupted chains of behavior generalized to a variety of naturally occurring, out-of-routine contexts and are discussed in relation to teaching self-initiated communicative behaviors.
Quasi-static and dynamic response, and texture evolution of two overaged Al 7056 alloy plates in T761 and T721 tempers: Experiments and modeling

Abstract The thermo-mechanical behavior and texture evolution of two overaged Al 7056 alloy plates, in T761 and T721 tempers, are measured over a wide range of strain rates (10−4 – 3 × 103 s−1) and temperatures (22–300 °C) under uniaxial tension and compression along the thickness direction, i.e. normal to the plate surface. A detailed study of the initial microstructure reveals an increase in precipitate size and decrease in density of precipitates, as the alloy is aged from the T761 to T721 temper; which in turn affects the flow stress and strain hardening behavior. Differences in flow strength and strain hardening rate, as well as tension-compression asymmetry in the two tempers, are apparent at the lower temperatures (22 °C & 100 °C) and decrease significantly at the higher temperatures (200 °C & 300 °C). Furthermore, initial texture measurements show a strong texture gradient along the normal direction (ND) of the plate. This texture gradient affects the ultimate stress insignificantly. However, it does have a considerable effect on the failure strains of specimens taken from different locations through the thickness. A transition from shear fracture at and below 200 °C to cup and cone fracture mode above 200 °C is observed in tension. Both tempers exhibit a positive strain rate sensitivity (SRS) that is dependent on temperature and strain rate. A sharp decrease in flow stress is found at 300 °C. The Khan-Liu (KL) model is modified to correlate with the measured thermo-mechanical responses of the two tempers over the studied, wide range of strain rates and temperatures. There is a close correlation between simulated and observed results.
Superconducting properties of aligned crystalline grains of Y1Ba2Cu3O7- delta.

A new method has been used to produce uniaxially aligned small single crystals of Y/sub 1/Ba/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-//sub delta/. The superconducting critical current deduced from magnetization data is strongly field dependent and highly anisotropic. In the basal plane at T = 4.2 K we estimate that the critical current at zero field is in excess of 10/sup 7/ A/cm/sup 2/.
Cell Type-Specific Annotation and Fine Mapping of Variants Associated With Brain Disorders.

Common genetic variants confer susceptibility to a large number of complex brain disorders. Given that such variants predominantly localize in non-coding regions of the human genome, there is a significant challenge to predict and characterize their functional consequences. More importantly, most available computational methods, generally defined as context-free methods, output prediction scores regarding the functionality of genetic variants irrespective of the context, i.e., the tissue or cell-type affected by a disease, limiting the ability to predict the functional consequences of common variants on brain disorders. In this study, we introduce a comparative multi-step pipeline to investigate the relative effectiveness of context-specific and context-free approaches to prioritize disease causal variants. As an experimental case, we focused on schizophrenia (SCZ), a debilitating neuropsychiatric disease for which a large number of susceptibility variants is identified from genome-wide association studies. We tested over two dozen available methods and examined potential associations between the cell/tissue-specific mapping scores and open chromatin accessibility, and provided a prioritized map of SCZ risk loci for in vitro or in-vivo functional analysis. We found extensive differences between context-free and tissue-specific approaches and showed how they may play complementary roles. As a proof of concept, we found a few sets of genes, through a consensus mapping of both categories, including FURIN to be among the top hits. We showed that the genetic variants in this gene and related genes collectively dysregulate gene expression patterns in stem cell-derived neurons and characterize SCZ phenotypic manifestations, while genes which were not shared among highly prioritized candidates in both approaches did not demonstrate such characteristics. In conclusion, by combining context-free and tissue-specific predictions, our pipeline enables prioritization of the most likely disease-causal common variants in complex brain disorders.
Bioavailability and metabolism of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in pigs and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid-enriched pork: A review

Abstract Omega (ω)-3 fatty acids are important in mitigating the risk for cardiovascular diseases and may have long-term beneficial effects on the development of infants, immune system, and bone health, the prevention and mitigation of cancer and various mental illnesses, and others in humans. Unfortunately, the consumption of ω-3 fatty acids is inadequate in people, especially in the populations of most of the Western industrialized countries. Common foods such as meat products contain insufficient amount of ω-3 fatty acids, and pork is no exception. Pork has been the most widely consumed meat in the world, and it accounted for slightly more than 40% of the world meat consumption in 2018. Enriching pork with ω-3 fatty acids may be an effective way to increase the ω-3 fatty acid intake and may improve the ω-6 to ω-3 fatty acid ratio or ω-3 index in health-conscious consumers. Several plant oilseeds are high in α-linolenic acid, and supplementation of pig diets with oilseeds can generally enhance the content of ω-3 fatty acids, such as α-linolenic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid, in the tissues and organs of pigs. Unfortunately, the conversion of α-linolenic acid to docosahexaenoic acid seems to be inefficient in pigs because its pathway is tightly regulated in mammals, and further research will be necessary to overcome such a challenge. Nevertheless, pork can be enriched with ω-3 fatty acids by supplementation of pig diets with some plant oil seeds, such as flaxseed, without adverse effects on the quality or organoleptic characteristics of pork. Beneficial effects of ω-3 fatty acids on human health have been well documented over the years. Therefore, it is possible that the production of ω-3 FA-enriched pork may have a positive impact on the health and well-being of human beings. In this review, the focus was placed on the bioavailability and metabolism of omega-3 fatty acids and the efficiency of different dietary sources of ω-3 fatty acids in the production of ω-3 fatty acid-enriched pork.
Aortic Valve Leaflet Disruption: A Severe Complication of Impella 5.5

A 73-year-old male with a history of severe coronary artery disease and prior coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) presented with chest pain and elevated troponins. His workup revealed an ejection fraction of 15%, severe native coronary disease, as well as stenosis of his bypass grafts. He underwent a high-risk redo CABG with an Impella 5.5® (Abiomed, Danvers, MA) placement. The device was removed on postoperative day eight, at which time he went into cardiogenic shock from aortic valve leaflet injury. Given that he had no calcium deposits around the aortic valve annulus and severe aortic insufficiency, a multidisciplinary heart team decided he would be best served by a surgical aortic valve replacement. He was taken back to the operating room for a surgical aortic valve and intra-aortic balloon pump. His postoperative course was complicated by pneumonia, sepsis, and renal failure requiring continuous renal replacement therapy. He was discharged to a rehabilitation facility after 42 days. The following case encompasses the high morbidity risk of acute aortic valve insufficiency after Impella placement, never before documented in an Impella 5.5.
Do objects perform?: anthrolithic performance in Chaco Canyon

In this posthumanist performance essay, I consult Indigenous and Western ontologies to guide my fieldwork as a part of the Chaco Canyon landscape. In doing so, I test recent theories about object p...
Genotypic Diversity Reduces the Negative Effects of Increased Competition, Herbivory, and Tidal Inundation on the Productivity of Spartina alterniflora

Genotypic diversity has the potential to function in a similar manner to species diversity, particularly in ecosystems dominated by a single foundational plant, and may promote stability in the face of disturbance. However, it has primarily been documented only in terrestrial species or in seagrasses. We conducted three separate experiments in which we compared plant production between monocultures and polycultures of the widely distributed salt marsh macrophyte Spartina alterniflora, exposed to increased levels of stress from competition, herbivory, and tidal inundation (simulating the effects of sea-level rise). Increased levels of disturbance reduced aboveground growth of monocultures in all three experiments, but greater clonal diversity offset the negative effects of increased levels of all the stressors in polycultures. Our results contribute to a growing body of literature demonstrating that genotypic diversity of a foundational species can function analogously to species diversity. They also highlight the potential importance of high levels of genotypic diversity in this species in determining the response to anthropogenic disturbances and in management or restoration efforts.
Association between low testosterone and anaemia: Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

There is an androgen effect on haematopoiesis; however, the effect of low testosterone in anaemia has not been fully studied. In this study, we aim to explore the association of total serum testosterone, low testosterone (≤300 ng/dl), haemoglobin concentration and prevalence of anaemia in a nationally representative sample of men. We analysed data from the NHANES III database, and men between the age of 18-80 years of age were selected. We defined anaemia as haemoglobin ≤13.5 ng/dl and low serum testosterone as ≤300 ng/dl. After analysing 5,888 men, it was shown that those with anaemia had a higher prevalence of low serum testosterone (32.3%) compared to those without anaemia (24.1%) (p < .001), and in multivariable-adjusted analysis, it was shown that low testosterone was significantly associated with anaemia (OR = 1.44; 95% CI: 1.17-1.78; p = .001). Our findings suggest that men with low serum testosterone have a higher risk of anaemia, and there is a positive association between serum testosterone and serum Hb. Further prospective studies need to be performed to confirm our findings.
Herbs and spices at a relatively high culinary dosage improves 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure in adults at risk of cardiometabolic diseases: a randomized, crossover, controlled-feeding study.

Background Intake of a single meal containing herbs and spices attenuates postprandial lipemia, hyperglycemia, and oxidative stress, and improves endothelial function. There has been limited investigation of the effect of longer-term intake of mixed herbs and spices on risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases. Objectives The objective was to assess the effect of an average American diet containing herbs and spices at 0.5 (low-spice diet; LSD), 3.3 (moderate-spice diet; MSD), and 6.6 (high-spice diet; HSD) g · d-1 · 2100 kcal-1 on lipids and lipoproteins as well as other risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases in at-risk adults. Methods A 3-period, randomized, crossover, controlled-feeding study with 71 participants was conducted at the Pennsylvania State University. Each diet was consumed for 4 wk with a minimum 2-wk washout period. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and the end of each diet period. Results No between-diet effects were observed for LDL cholesterol, the primary outcome. Between-diet differences were observed for mean 24-h systolic (P = 0.02) and diastolic (P = 0.005) ambulatory blood pressure. The HSD lowered mean 24-h systolic blood pressure compared with the MSD (-1.9 mm Hg; 95% CI: -3.6, -0.2 mm Hg; P = 0.02); the difference between the HSD and LSD was not statistically significant (-1.6 mm Hg; 95% CI: -3.3, 0.04 mm Hg; P = 0.058). The HSD lowered mean 24-h diastolic blood pressure compared with the LSD (-1.5 mm Hg; 95% CI: -2.5, -0.4 mm Hg; P = 0.003). No differences were detected between the LSD and MSD. No between-diet effects were observed for clinic-measured blood pressure, markers of glycemia, or vascular function. Conclusions In the context of a suboptimal US-style diet, addition of a relatively high culinary dosage of mixed herbs and spices (6.6 g · d-1 · 2100 kcal-1) tended to improve 24-h blood pressure after 4 wk, compared with lower dosages (0.5 and 3.3 g · d-1 · 2100 kcal-1), in adults at elevated risk of cardiometabolic diseases.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03064932.
DSP-based digital control of a set of phase-shifted full-bridge DC-DC converters

This paper deals with digital control of phaseshifted full-bridge (PS-FB) dc-dc converter. Two methods are presented to implement the PS control of dc-dc converter and their pros and cons are explained. In order to obtain best utilization of the features of limited ePWM modules in DSP to control several PS-FB dc-dc converters, an approach of how to configure the ePWM modules is presented in details. The script of necessary configurations of ePWM modules in TMS320F28335 DSP as well as experimental results of gate signals to control four FB dc-dc converters are provided. Finally, four PS-FB dc-dc converters have been built and fully controlled with DSP. Obtained experimental results are illustrated to show the performance of presented approach.
Position tracking control of a switched reluctance motor using partial state feedback

In this paper, we design a position tracking controller for a switched reluctance (SR) motor driving a robotic load. A global exponential stability (GES) result for rotor position tracking error is obtained by utilizing the nonlinear model of the SR motor and an observed integrator backstepping procedure. The control only requires measurement of rotor position and motor winding current; however, exact model knowledge of the entire electromechanical dynamics is required. Simulation results are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.
Neutrophil Polarization Following Myocardial Infarction in Mice

Pro-inflammatory N1 and anti-inflammatory N2 neutrophil subtypes have recently been described in stroke. The objective of the current study was to investigate the temporal neutrophil polarization f...
Tumor volume threshold for achieving improved conformity in VMAT and Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma.

Abstract Background and purpose Recent advances in multileaf collimator field shaping technology and inverse planning software have resulted in highly conformal LINAC based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) plans with minimal dose to critical structures. This modeling study compares Gamma Knife (GK) and LINAC SRS for vestibular schwannoma (VS). Materials and methods 76 treatment plans from nineteen patients with VS were planned using GK forward planning and volumetric arc therapy (VMAT) inverse planning software. VMAT plans were generated with 1 coplanar, 3 and 5 non-coplanar arcs. Dose to normal structures and beam-on time (dose rate 600MU/min) were compared using Kruskal–Wallis and Dunn's post hoc test. Results Median tumor volume was 1.2cm 3 (range 0.1–4.8cm 3 ). A peripheral tumor dose of 12Gy was prescribed. Tumor coverage was >99.8%. VMAT plans had lower target D2% and mean dose, as well as decreased beam-on time, compared to GK plans ( p 0.5cm 3 ( p =0.002). Similar dose to cochlea, normal brain tissue and brainstem was observed. Conclusion VMAT should be considered as a safe, alternative modality to GK for VS SRS treatment, especially for tumors larger than 0.5cm 3 .
Identification of urbanization in Ghana based on a discrete approach to analyzing dense Landsat image stacks

In this paper a discrete classification approach to land cover and land use changes LCLUC identification based on stable training sites is tested on a nine-date, four year Landsat-7 ETM+ time sequence for a study area in Ghana that is prone to cloud cover. As an indication of urban expansion, change to Built cover was identified for over 70% of testing units when a spatial-temporal majority filter that ignored No Data values from clouds, cloud shadows and sensor effects was applied. Stable LCLU maps were generated and No Data effects should not limit the potential of the approach for longer-term retrospective analyses or monitoring of LCLUC in cloud prone regions.
Activation of innate and adaptive immunity by a TLR5 agonist to prevent and suppress liver metastasis (TUM7P.947)

Colorectal cancer (CRC) liver metastases are a major cause of mortality of CRC patients providing incentive to develop systemic therapies to prevent and treat this condition. We are exploring the use of a TLR5 agonist Entolimod™ (CBLB502) for immunotherapy against CRC liver metastases. Entolimod is a pharmacologically optimized Salmonella flagellin derivative that is at advanced stage of clinical development as a medical radiation countermeasure. We found that liver is the major primary Entolimod target organ. Entolimod rapidly triggers a TLR5-elicited response in hepatocytes that activates NF-kB and quickly mobilizes immunity to the liver. This includes short-term neutrophilic infiltrate and long-term NK cell accumulation that coordinate CD8 and CD4 T cell immunity against CRC liver metastases. As a result, Entolimod administration dramatically improved long-term survival in a mouse model that mimicked clinically occurring development of post-surgery liver metastases in CRC patients. Importantly, Entolimod induces durable, tumor-specific T cell memory. Unlike other TLR agonists, systemic administration of Entolimod does not induce septic shock-like syndrome due to lack of production of cytokine storm-inducing cytokines upon TLR5 activation. These safe and long-lasting TLR5-elicited changes within liver provide important groundwork for further clinical development of Entolimod, which is currently in clinical trials as a potential immunotherapy against CRC liver metastases.
Microbial degradation of taurine in fecal cultures from cats given commercial and purified diets.

Freshly passed feces were collected from cats (n = 5-7) given cooked and uncooked commercial canned-type diets, casein and soy protein containing purified diets and a commercial extruded diet. The feces were anaerobically cultured in medium containing either taurine, taurocholic acid or [2-3H]taurine for 24 h at 37 degrees C. Taurine degradation in cultures was greatest for cultures from cats receiving diets reputed to cause taurine depletion. Diaminopimelic acid in feces indicated that differences in taurine degradation rate among groups was associated with differences in bacterial numbers in feces. After 6 h of incubation, 60% of taurine remained. Nearly all the tritium on the labeled taurine was recovered as water. These results indicate that deconjugation and deamination are the initial steps in microbial catabolism of taurocholic acid and that enteric microbial growth may be a major determinant of dietary taurine requirement of cats.
Scanline algorithms in robot path planning

The problem of finding a path for a mobile robot in two dimensions among stationary obstacles using a free-space graph representation of the robot's workspace is examined. One problem with solutions of this type has been the time it takes to construct a graph from the image of the workspace. Two solutions are presented which seek to resolve this situation by constructing the graph representation 'on the fly' in a scanline fashion by processing the image one line at a time from top to bottom. Each method consists of three processes: one which breaks the obstacles in the image into pseudo-obstacles, another which analyzes the pseudo-obstacles and locates regions in the free space which represent nodes in the graph, and a third which completes the graph by locating similarities of the free space regions and uses them as edges. The modularity lends itself toward pipelined processing to reach the solution. Discussions are presented and results given of the graph construction process and the paths found on sample images as well as comparative times. >
BotTracer: Execution-Based Bot-Like Malware Detection

Bot-like malware has posed an immense threat to computer security. Bot detection is still a challenging task since bot developers are continuously adopting advanced techniques to make bots more stealthy. A typical bot exhibits three invariant features along its onset: (1) the startup of a bot is automatic without requiring any user actions; (2) a bot must establish a command and control channel with its botmaster; and (3) a bot will perform local or remote attacks sooner or later. These invariants indicate three indispensable phases (startup, preparation, and attack) for a bot attack. In this paper, we propose BotTracer to detect these three phases with the assistance of virtual machine techniques. To validate BotTracer, we implement a prototype of BotTracer based on VMware and Windows XP Professional. The results show that BotTracer has successfully detected all the bots in the experiments without any false negatives.
COMPARATIVE MORPHOLOGY OF THE CARPEL IN THE ROSACEAE VI. POMOIDEAE: ERIOBOTRYA, HETEROMELES, PHOTINIA, POURTHIAEA, RAPHIOLEPIS, STRANVAESIA

Haplopappus gracilis (Nutt.) Gray is an aneuploid species of Compositae of wide distribution in the southwestern U.S.A. and northern Mexico. Except for 2 types of supernumeraries, cytological samples from throughout its range have regularly shown 2 pairs of chromosomes. However, recent collections from a small area in south-central Arizona had 2n = 4, 2n = 5, and 2n = 6 in the same population. The 2n = 5 plants were hybrids between the 2n = 4 and 2n = 6 types. Both natural and artificial F1 hybrids show preferential disjunction from a trivalent and produce genetically balanced gametes with n = 2 and n = 3. In backerosses of the F1 to n = 2 plants, a 1:1 ratio of 2n = 4 and 2n = 5 plants was obtained. The possible mechanisms for the evolution of n = 2 from n = 3 and vice versa are discussed. Haplopappus gracilis is anl annual composite of wide distribution in arid, semi-arid, and somewhat more mesic habitats of the southwestern United 1 Received for publication December 24, 1964. This study has been supported by Grant G 20864 from the National Science Foundation. States and northern Mexico. Cytogenetic and morphological studies (Jackson, 1962) have demonstrated that H. gracilis (n = 2) evolved from the spatially more restricted H. ravenii (n = 4) by a series of unequal reciprocal translocations and loss This content downloaded from 157.55.39.211 on Fri, 24 Jun 2016 06:38:50 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Transforming growth factor-β2 is an autocrine growth inhibitory factor for the MOSER human colon carcinoma cell line

The MOSER human colon carcinoma cell line is significantly growth inhibited by exogenous transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta). The secretion of TGF-beta by these cells was examined to determine if endogenous TGF-beta might also regulate MOSER cell growth. MOSER cells secreted 11 ng TGF-beta/10(6) cells, 24% of which was in the active form. Blocking antibodies specific for TGF-beta 2 stimulated growth 1.4-fold, while TGF-beta 1 specific antibodies were without effect. Treatment of MOSER cells with the differentiation agent, N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), inhibited cell growth and resulted in an 8-fold increase in secreted TGF-beta (20% active). Only antibodies specific for TGF-beta 2 were able to reverse the growth inhibitory effect of DMF on these cells. Therefore, TGF-beta 2 acted as a negative autocrine inhibitory factor for MOSER cells and the growth inhibitory effects of DMF were mediated by the increased secretion of active TGF-beta 2.
An Algebraic Approach to the Quantization of Cosntrained Systems: Finite Dimensional Examples

From the point of view of canonical quantum gravity, it has become imperative to find a framework for quantization which provides a {\em general} prescription to find the physical inner product, and is flexible enough to accommodate non-canonical variables. In this dissertation I consider an algebraic formulation of the Dirac approach to the quantization of constrained systems, due to A. Ashtekar. The Dirac quantization program is augmented by a general principle to find the inner product on physical states. Essentially, the Hermiticity conditions on physical operators determine this inner product. I also clarify the role in quantum theory of possible algebraic identities between the elementary variables. I use this approach to quantize various finite dimensional systems. Some of these models test the new aspects of the algebraic framework. Others bear qualitative similarities to \gr, and may give some insight into the pitfalls lurking in \qg. In (spatially compact) general relativity, the Hamiltonian is constrained to vanish. I present various approaches one can take to obtain an interpretation of the quantum theory of such ``dynamically constrained'' systems. I apply some of these ideas to the Bianchi I cosmology, and analyze the issue of the initial singularity in quantum theory.
Prevalence of TMJ Signs and Symptoms in the Elderly

Investigations of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders have included assessment of the prevalence of signs such as joint clicking, limitation of jaw opening, and deviation of the mandible on function, and symptoms such as pain on function in patient and non-patient populations. The former (signs) might be viewed as the prevalence of TMJ “disease”, and the latter (symptom presentation) might be viewed as TMJ “illness behavior.” The majority of the reports profiling TMJ patients suggest that most are females (80%) in the 20–40 year age group. Reports of the relationship of TMJ signs and symptoms to age have provided inconsistent findings, i.e. signs and symptoms have been found to increase with age, to decrease with age, or to be unrelated to age. Many of the inconsistencies reflect differences in the populations studied and lack of standardized criteria for diagnosing mandibular function/dysfunction. This study assessed the prevalence of the signs and symptoms of TMJ disorders in community-dwelling, non-health care seeking participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, the intramural longitudinal aging study of the National Institute on Aging. The only age difference noted was in limitation of jaw opening among the older subjects.
Fighting fire with fire: brain stimulation for the treatment of epilepsy

Abstract Though the use of electricity in medicine has a long history, the advent of microprocessors, biocompatible materials, and high capacity batteries for energy storage has opened new frontiers in the treatment of CNS disorders. To date, central nervous stimulation has been used in the treatment of movement disorders, psychiatric disorders, pain, and seizures. Stimulation of the vagus nerve for control of seizures has become widely accepted, but rarely cures epilepsy. Stimulation of brain regions to terminate seizures is effective in animal models of seizures, and in ending experimentally induced after discharges in humans. Implantation of chronic stimulators to treat epilepsy has been attempted since 1972 with variable results. Progress in the field has been impeded by the multiplicity of stimulation sites chosen, poor understanding of network connectivity, and the rapid change in technological capabilities. We summarize the efforts thus far to treat epilepsy with chronic brain stimulation, attempt to provide a clear rational for current studies, and offer some potential future directions for this exciting new approach to treating brain dysfunction.
Nonverbal Greetings Effects of the Situation and Personality

We investigated the effects of various situational and personality variables on the display of nonverbal greetings. The sex of the greeting interactants, level of acquaintanceship, and the topic to be discussed were systematically varied in a number of role-played greeting situations. Observers then rated these role-played greetings in terms of intimacy and the type of greeting displayed. Greetings between role-played friends were judged more intimate than greetings between acquaintances. In addition, individuals who scored higher on standardized measures of nonverbal skills were more intimate overall in their greeting displays.