cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as a contaminant of emerging concern in surface water: A transboundary review of their occurrences and toxicity effects.

Abstract Per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been recognized as contaminants of emerging concerns by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) due to their environmental impact. Several advisory guidelines were proposed worldwide aimed at limiting their occurrences in the aquatic environments, especially for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). This review paper aims to provide a holistic review in the emerging area of PFAS research by summarizing the spatiotemporal variations in PFAS concentrations in surface water systems globally, highlighting the possible trends of occurrences of PFAS, and presenting potential human health impacts as a result of PFAS exposure through surface water matrices. From the data analysis in this study, occurrences of PFOA and PFOS in many surface water matrices were observed to be several folds higher than the US EPA health advisory level of 70 ng/L for lifetime exposure from drinking water. Direct discharge and atmospheric deposition were identified as primary sources of PFAS in surface water and cryosphere, respectively. While global efforts focused on limiting usages of long-chain PFAS such as PFOS and PFOA, the practices of using short-chain PFAS such as perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) and PFAS alternatives increased substantially. These compounds are also potentially associated with adverse impacts on human health, animals and biota.
Who is Going to Build the Wall? A Building Trades Crisis in the U.S.A.

The context of this study was to examine factors contributing to significant workforce shortages in building trades in the United States. As it is, recruitment of qualified skilled trades workers is becoming increasingly difficult due to lack of a pipeline of prospective workers, and training programs. The study assumed a theoretical inquiry approach in order to address the following three main questions: 1) What is the scope of the workforce shortage in skilled and building trades in the US? 2) What factors are recognized as contributors to the building trades workforce shortage in the US? And, 3) What strategies can be implemented to reverse building trades workforce shortages in the US? Findings affirmed that the scope of workforce shortages in skilled and building (con- struction) trades in the US is very broad and the impact is rather deep. Factors con- tributing to the shortage include: declines in high school technical education programs, which have been replaced by career academies; misconception that higher education al- ways equal higher income, but the untold story is higher debt associated with pursuing higher education; and stricter immigration laws, which are forcing potential workers out of the US. The study concluded that in order to reverse currently declining workforce trends the following six strategies should be implemented: 1) Make it a national priority, thereby appropriating adequate resources to the effort. 2) Increase the number or women and African Americans in building trades. 3) Expand apprenticeship programs. An expan- sion of both government and corporate incentives are needed to stimulate an increase in apprenticeships. 4) Reintroduce building and skilled trades programs in secondary and postsecondary schools. Growth in the number of Career Academies, and participation in them has been encouraging, yet there are not enough of them to meet the need. 5) Re-examine guest-worker programs, which are currently cumbersome for employers to participate in, and do not allow for anywhere close to the number of workers needed to meet workforce needs. 6) Change marketing of building trades from menial to meaning- ful. Many young people simply do not know that they can make a comfortable living from a career in skilled trades. They have been taught that at least a bachelor’s degree is needed in order to have a successful career. This narrative has to be revised in order to create a pipeline of prospective skilled trades employees for the future.
Fortran 90 and the direct calculation of radiation view factors

The recent introduction of Fortran 90, along with constant increases in the speed of desktop personal computers, makes direct integration an extremely viable means of computing radiation view factors. Using the new intrinsic functions and simplified array operations which are part of the Fortran 90 standard, an algorithm based on discretization of the two surfaces can be implemented in fewer than a hundred lines of code and run in only a few seconds on a typical personal computer. The basics of such an algorithm for arbitrarily oriented flat parallelograms will be reviewed in this brief note.
Consumer Perceptions and Concerns about Food Contaminants

More consumers are concerned about microbiological hazards than any other area. Pesticide residues generate concern, especially among low income consumers with less formal education. Use of antibiotics and hormones in animal production is considered a serious hazard by fewer consumers. Consumer attitudes are influenced by media coverage. An increasing number of consumers expect food producers and retailers to assume a major role in providing safe food. A majority of consumers express interesting in purchasing irradiated food when specific benefits are described and the percentage increases when irradiation is more fully described. In actual market experiences, irradiated produce and poultry have been well received. Similarly, most consumers are positive toward biotechnology, with greatest support for environmental applications. The scientific community should use the media to reach the public with information identifying risks and protective trategies, including the use of new technology.
“Until You Are Able”: South Korean Multiculturalism and Hierarchy in My Little Hero

My Little Hero (2013) is the first popular Korean film to focus on an immigrant narrative that features a non-Korean or biracial Korean-White lead. In the story of a young Filipino-Korean boy's “Korean dream” to be accepted by his father/birth country and his reluctant and cynical teacher, the film reifies dominant Korean discourses of multiculturalism that are situated within local and global hierarchies. Locally, Korean multiculturalism looks down, requiring the non-White multiethnic other to integrate into dominant culture. Globally, it looks up to seek the paternal acceptance of the United States. In the film, multicultural discourses work to support the instrumental assimilation of the multiethnic other for the purposes of assimilating Korea within the ranks of “advanced” countries.
ATP catalyzes the sequestration of clathrin during enzymatic uncoating.

Abstract ATP facilitates the sequestration of displaced triskelions by uncoating protein. In so doing, ATP is not hydrolyzed; nor does the concentration of ATP affect the equilibrium of this binding. However, the rates of both the binding of uncoating protein to clathrin and of their dissociation are greatly accelerated by ATP. These properties suggest that ATP acts catalytically to speed the capture of displaced triskelions by uncoating protein, as well as stoichiometrically in its hydrolysis to drive the displacement of triskelions from cages. The nucleotide specificity of this "catalytic" site for ATP on the uncoating protein is much less strict than that of the distinct "hydrolytic" site that drives the ATP-dependent displacement of triskelions from cages.
Review of Experimental Results on Electroweak Penguin Decays of b Quark

Status of experimental measurements of b->s(d) gamma, b-> s l+l-, and b->s nu_bar nu is reviewed. Future prospects are discussed.
Mixed Realities --- Virtual Object Lessons

The question of how to design and implement efficient virtual classroom environments gains a new quality in the light of extensive digital education projects such as the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative. At the core of this consideration is not only the task of developing content for very different cultural settings but also the necessity to reflect the effects of learning processes that operate exclusively with digitally mediated content. This paper traces the design of the project Venture to the Interior , an interactive experience that presents selected objects from the collections of the Museum of Natural History in Berlin and reflects them as building blocks for the Enlightenment-idea of a building of knowledge. The project investigates the role of objects as a knowledge device and the possibilities for a translation of the didactic effects of experiential learning into virtual environments.
Influence of a solubility-enhancing agent (cyclodextrin) on NAPL-water partition coefficients, with implications for partitioning tracer tests

[1] The partitioning tracer test (PTT) is used to quantify subsurface nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) saturations (SN). The laboratory-measured NAPL-water partitioning coefficient (KNW) is required to calculate the SN. The complexing agent hydroxypropyl−β−cyclodextrin (HPCD) has been used to successfully remediate NAPL-contaminated sites. Residual concentrations of HPCD may remain in the groundwater during a postremediation PTT. This investigation examines the influence of HPCD on the trichlorethene NAPL-water partitioning coefficients of several alcohol tracers. Laboratory results indicate that aqueous HPCD concentrations of 2000 mg/L result in the reduction of KNW values by up to 33%. This effect can result in up to 33% error in the PTT-estimated SN. The effect decreases as the original KNW value of a tracer decreases. The relationship between KNW values and HPCD concentrations is nonlinear and yields curves characteristic of each tracer. Empirical relationships are offered to reproduce the characteristic curves based on tracer KNW values to allow estimates of corrected KNW values for an arbitrary tracer.
The Escherichia coli K-12 metJ193 allele contains a point mutation which alters the hydrophobic pocket responsible for in vitro binding of S-adenosylmethionine: effects on cell growth and induction of met regulon expression.

Abstract The metJ193 allele encodes one of two identified temperature-sensitive Escherichia coli K-12 met repressors. The nucleotide sequence of the metJ193 allele was determined. The point mutation was a T to A transversion at base 170 of the metJ193 open reading frame and resulted in the substitution of leucine by glutamine at the 56th amino acid residue of the MetJ193 protein. The mutational lesion altered the hydrophobic pocket responsible for in vitro binding of the corepressor S-adenosylmethionine by wild-type MetJ. MetJ193 protein formed at the permissive temperature (28 degrees C) allowed slow derepression of met regulon expression when cultures were shifted to the nonpermissive temperature (34 degrees C). When 28 degrees C cultures of strains bearing two metJ193 alleles were transferred from methionine-containing medium to minimal medium, derepression of met regulon expression did not occur quickly enough to avoid a lag in growth due to the methionine deprivation. The inability of the MetJ193 protein to easily accomplish transition between apo- and active-repressor conformations was also demonstrated by using a maxicell system to study expression of a plasmid-borne copy of the E. coli metF transcription unit. These results confirm the importance of the leucine 56 residue for the structure and function in vivo of the wild-type MetJ protein.
Resistance to anti-IgM-induced apoptosis in a WEHI-231 subline is due to insufficient production of ceramide

Abstract We describe the properties of a physiological cell death (PCD)-resistant subline of WEHI-231 generated from the PCD-susceptible WEHI-231.7 JM cell line maintained in our laboratory. The PCD-resistant WEHI-231.7 JMRE subline was uniquely resistant to anti-immunoglobulin (Ig)M-induced PCD but not to irradiation and etoposide. In these sublines, we compared the expression of genes implicated in regulating PCD. Northern analysis of c-myc, c-fos, egr-1, Fas, p53 and retinoblastoma revealed similar basal levels of expression in all sublines tested and comparable responses to anti-IgM treatment. Similarly, the expression of bcl-2, bcl-x, bax and IL-1 beta converting enzyme did not correlate with susceptibility to anti-IgM-induced PCD. Next, we systematically studied signal transduction events including: tyrosine phosphorylation, Ca++ flux, and ceramide production in the Jm and JMRE sublines. The tyrosine phosphorylation patterns and the Ca++ influx generated following sIgM engagement were very similar in the JM and JMRE sublines. In contrast, the generation of ceramide differed in the PCD-resistant and PCD-susceptible sublines. Ceramide is produced following cross-linking sIgM on WEHI-231.7 JM cells and causes PCD. Ceramide levels in anti-IgM-treated WEHI-231.7 JMRE cells are low and appear to be insufficient to induce PCD.
Study of the Residual Strain in Lap Joints

Both experiments and finite element analysis were carried out to study the residual strain (stress) in the riveted lap joint for a better understanding of the fatigue life of fuselage lap joints. A force-controlled riveting process was used to apply a constant load ramp to install the rivets. Strain variations on the joint surface were measured using microstrain gauges during the riveting process. Because neutrons are known to penetrate through many centimeters of aluminum alloys, neutron diffraction was used to provide a nondestructive technique to determine strains at certain depths in the joint. Parallel to the experimental testing, a two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element model was developed to simulate the riveting process. Both material and geometric nonlinearities, as well as nonlinear contact boundary conditions, were used in this numerical model. Comparisons between the numerical simulations and experimental results focused on the rivet driven head deformations and strain variations, and the results showed that the current two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element model using the proper boundary conditions can reliably be used to determine the residual strains (stresses) present in joints that were induced during the riveting process. Nomenclature C = material parameter D = rivet shank diameter Dmax = maximum rivet shank diameter after riveting d = spacing between lattice plane d0 = stress-free lattice spacing E = Young’s modulus m = material parameter r = distance to fastener hole centre e = normal strain etrue = true strain θ = diffracted neutrons’ angle λ = wavelength of the incident neutron beam ν = Poisson’s ratio σ = normal stress σtrue = true stress beyond the initial yield stress σy = initial yield stress
Experiential goods with network externalities effects: An empirical study of online rating system

Abstract This paper uses online users' reviews and sales information from May 2003 to March 2007 to study a new experiential product: online video game (or virtual world). The results suggest that, first of all, for a hedonic product such as an online video game, the availability of online review system could not fully transform experience attributes into search attributes. The empirical study confirms that negative word-of-mouth has more significant impact than positive reviews. The study empirically verifies that the existence of direct network externalities (i.e. a product's value increases when more consumers join the network) is crucial for a hedonic product. The size of the user base signals the quality of the game, and works like a search attribute for potential users. A large user base will reduce the negative impact from unfavorable reviews.
Electronic and steric effects in binding of deep cavitands.

A deep, self-folding cavitand responds to minor electronic differences between suitably sized adamantane guests. Binding constants range from <0.5 to 4000 M−1 for guests as similar as 1-bromoadamantane and 1-cyanoadamantane. The barriers to guest exchange also vary up to 3 kcal mol−1.
Domestic Violence: Issues for Health Care Providers☆☆☆★

Abstract [Tintinalli JE: Domestic violence: Issues for health care providers. Ann Emerg Med June 1996;27:761.]
Solving Nonstationary Infinite Horizon Dynamic Optimization Problems

Monotonicity of optimal solutions to finite horizon dynamic optimization problems is used to prove the existence of a forecast horizon, i.e., a long enough planning horizon that ensures that a first-period optimal action for the infinite horizon and the finite horizon problem agree, regardless of problem parameter changes in the tail. The existence of extremal monotone optimal solutions motivates a stopping rule that is ensured to detect the minimal forecast horizon to be used in a rolling horizon procedure to exactly solve the problem.
Characterization of the expression of the retinoid-related, testis-associated receptor (RTR) in trophoblasts.

Previous studies have provided evidence indicating that the nuclear orphan receptor RTR plays an important role during embryonic development and in spermatogenesis. In this study, we examine the expression of RTR in murine placenta and several human placental choriocarcinoma cell lines. Northern blot analysis showed high expression of RTR mRNA in placental tissue. In contrast to murine testis, which contains 7.4 and 2.3 kb transcripts, placental tissue expressed only the larger transcript. Examination of RTR expression in murine placental tissue by immunohistochemistry demonstrated the presence of RTR protein in the nuclei of giant trophoblasts and spongiotrophoblasts. RTR mRNA was also expressed in rat choriocarcinoma Rcho-1 cells and in the human placental choriocarcinoma cell lines BeWo, JAR, and JEG-3. In trophoblasts, RTR was co-expressed with the estrogen-related receptors ERR alpha and ERR beta. Giant trophoblast differentiation in Rcho-1 cells, characterized by induction of placental lactogen I (PL-I), was accompanied by a steady decrease in the expression of RTR mRNA and down-regulation of ERR beta expression while levels of ERR alpha mRNA did not change significantly. RTR was able to inhibit ERR alpha-mediated transactivation through the consensus RTR-response element (RTRE) likely by competing with ERR alpha for binding to the RTRE. These results suggest the possibility of cross-talk between RTR and ERR alpha receptor signalling pathways in trophoblasts.
Precision compensation for polarization anisotropies in metal reflectors

It is known that the reflection at a dielectric/metal boundary exhibits anisotropy at nonzero incidence angles. This is of concern for high-performance reflecting telescopes where the low F# can lead to a non-negligible polarization dependent amplitude and phase apodization. After calculating the phase apodization as a function of incidence angle, we describe an effective compensation technique using form birefringence.
Central pit craters on Ganymede

Central pit craters are common on Mars, Ganymede and Callisto, and thus are generally believed to require target volatiles in their formation. The purpose of this study is to identify the environmental conditions under which central pit craters form on Ganymede. We have conducted a study of 471 central pit craters with diameters between 5 and 150 km on Ganymede and compared the results to 1604 central pit craters on Mars (diameter range 5–160 km). Both floor and summit pits occur on Mars whereas floor pits dominate on Ganymede. Central peak craters are found in similar locations and diameter ranges as central pit craters on Mars and overlap in location and at diameters <60 km on Ganymede. Central pit craters show no regional variations on either Ganymede or Mars and are not concentrated on specific geologic units. Central pit craters show a range of preservation states, indicating that conditions favoring central pit formation have existed since crater-retaining surfaces have existed on Ganymede and Mars. Central pit craters on Ganymede are generally about three times larger than those on Mars, probably due to gravity scaling although target characteristics and resolution also may play a role. Central pits tend to be larger relative to their parent crater on Ganymede than on Mars, probably because of Ganymede’s purer ice crust. A transition to different characteristics occurs in Ganymede’s icy crust at depths of 4–7 km based on the larger pit-to-crater-diameter relationship for craters in the 70–130-km-diameter range and lack of central peaks in craters larger than 60-km-diameter. We use our results to constrain the proposed formation models for central pits on these two bodies. Our results are most consistent with the melt-drainage model for central pit formation.
Anti-receptor antibodies designed to elicit “internal image”-bearing anti-idiotypes: A possible aids vaccine

Two obstacles hinder the development of an AIDS vaccine: (1) the AIDS virus exhibits extensive amino acid heterogeneity between isolates and (2) antibodies elicited by virus during the course of natural infection are often non-neutralizing. A vaccine designed to induce anti-idiotypic antibodies against the virus' receptor on T-cells, T4, should, in principle, overcome these obstacles. Such antibody could contain an "internal image" of T4 and bind the receptor binding domain of the virus. Since this domain is both critical to function and, therefore, poorly susceptible to antigenic variation, anti-receptor anti-idiotypic antibodies may demonstrate broad, strain-independent crossreactivity and block viral adherence.
Effect of steam- and hot-water post-process pasteurization on microbial and physical property measures of fully cooked vacuum-packaged chicken breast strips

: The microbial inactivation was conducted using fully cooked chicken breast strips that were surface-inoculated with Listeria innocua (107 colony forming unit per gram product), vacuum packaged, and treated by steam or hot water at 88 °C for 10 to 35 min. The studies for physical properties were conducted using uninoculated products that were treated for 25 to 35 min. Both steam and hot water treatments were effective in inactivating L. innocua in the packaged products. No significant difference was found on the survivors of L. innocua between steam and hot water treatments. No significant difference was found on water activity and shear force among the treated and untreated products. However, significant difference was found on expressible and total moisture among treated and untreated products. This study showed that post process pasteurization with hot water or steam lowered microbial populations but affected the water purge from the products.
Toxic effects of ethanol: Possible role of acetaldehyde, tetrahydroisoquinolines, and tetrahydro-β-carbolines

Abstract Current evidence implicates acetaldehyde, the primary metabolite of ethanol, in the toxicological properties of this alcohol. The direct condensation between acetaldehyde and endogenous biogenic amines, or the alteration of biogenic amine metabolism by acetaldehyde, results in the biosynthesis of tetrahydroisoquinoline and tetrahydro-β-carboline alkaloids in vitro and in vivo. It has been proposed that these alkaloids, or their postulated biotransformation products, may play a role in mediating some of the autonomic and behavioral side effects of ethanol, and may underlie the biochemical mechanism of ethanol dependence. The experimental evidence for and against these hypotheses is reviewed with an outlook to the future.
Effective quality analysis for video streaming over wireless ad hoc network

Video encoding and streaming over wireless ad hoc network operates under severe conditions, such as time-varying channel characteristics with bursty errors, limit power for data transmission, and dynamic topology of the self-organized network, stringent time delay for packet delivery, etc. Due to the dynamic topology, complex mechanism, and time-varying nature of the wireless ad hoc network, the network system and the streaming service often exhibit unpredictable behaviors. The ultimate goal in the wireless video streaming service is to provide the end user with the best possible video presentation quality. The video streaming quality, often measured by the end-to-end picture distortion, is affected by the scene coding characteristics S of the input video, and the configuration of the network parameters N which includes bandwidth, transmission power, bit error ratio, delay, etc. This brings up the following important and challenging issue: given an input video with scene characteristics S and a network configuration N, what is the average video streaming quality the receiver could expect the system to provide. To address this issue, in this work, we examine the behaviors and constraints of the major components in the streaming system, and propose an across-layer framework to model, control, and optimize the end-to-end video streaming quality.
Residual carbon detection in ceramic substrates by a nuclear reaction technique

Abstract In high-performance microelectronic packaging technology, multilayer ceramic substrates are used as multiple chip carriers by most of the mainframe computer manufacturers. Depending on the processing steps employed in the technology, varying amounts of carbon may be left in the substrates, which can adversely affect their electrical and mechanical properties, even at parts-per-million (ppm) levels. Of various methods capable of detecting trace carbon in ceramic materials, we investigated the technique based on a nuclear reaction, namely, the (d, p) reaction for 12 C.
PARALLEL FFT ALGORITHMS ON NETWORK-ON-CHIPS

This paper presents parallel FFT algorithms with different degree of computation and communication overheads for multiprocessors in a Network-on-Chip (NoC) environment. Of the three parallel FFT algorithms presented in this paper, we propose two parallel FFT algorithms for a 2D NoC that can contain a variable number of processing elements (PEs) and one is a reference parallel FFT algorithm for comparison. A parallel FFT algorithm we propose increases performance by assigning well-balanced computation tasks to PEs. The execution times are reduced because the algorithm uses data locality well to avoid unnecessary data exchanges among PEs and removes the overall idle periods by2 a balanced task scheduling. An enhanced version of this algorithm is suggested in which communication traffic is reduced. In this algorithm, returning transformed data to an original PE after one computation stage before sending them to a next PE for the following stage is removed. Instead, we propose a method that enables to keep regularity of the data communication and computations with twiddle factors. According to the simulation result from our cycle-accurate SystemC NoC model with a parametrizable 2-D mesh architecture, and the analysis of the algorithms in time and complexity, our proposed algorithms are shown to outperform the reference parallel FFT algorithm and FFT implementations on TI Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) that have similar specifications to our simulation environment.
The wilting‐range in certain soils and the ultimate wilting‐point

In 1927 the authors initiated a study of rainfall-penetration and consumptive use of water in the Santa Ana River Valley of Southern California [see reference 1 at end of paper]. In connection with this study, a large number of soil-samples have been taken in areas of native vegetation to observe the depth of penetration of rain and to determine the moisture-content of the soil. In Southern California the major portion of the annual rainfall occurs during the winter months and little or no rain falls during the summer. In some years there are periods longer than nine months in which there is no effective rain. The Xerophytic native vegetation adapted to live through these long dry periods has extensive root-systems that draw on the moisture to great depths and extract the moisture-content of the soil to low values.
Multilineage involvement of Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is considered a clonal disease restricted to the lymphoid compartment. The Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) is found in a subset of ALL with poor prognosis. Here we present the largest series of Ph+ ALL analyzed for involvement of the myeloid compartment. For the first time at a single cell level the presence of Ph in lineages other than lymphoid is demonstrated. Granulocytes from nine patients diagnosed with BCR-ABL + ALL (eight Ph+, one Ph-) were purified using two layer density gradient separation. They were further identified by the morphology of DAPI-stained nuclei and studied for the presence of the Ph by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using a BCR-ABL dual-color probe. Ph was demonstrated in 30 to 93% of granulocytes in all patients. FISH identified major and minor BCR gene breakpoints (M-bcr and m-bcr). In one patient, with CD19+/34+/33-/2-/3-/7-/10- lymphoblasts, involvement of B cells (CD19+), T cells (CD3+), myeloid (CD13+), erythroid (glycophorin A+) cells was found by FISH following fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). The diagnosis of ALL as opposed to lymphoblastic transformation of CML was established based on clinical and laboratory data including Western blot results demonstrating the presence of p190/m-bcr in five of the nine cases studied. Results suggest that Ph+ ALL originates from a pluripotent stem cell.
Secreted type of amyloid precursor protein induces glial differentiation by stimulating the BMP/Smad signaling pathway

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases leading to dementia. Although cytotoxicity of amyloid β peptides has been intensively studied within pathophysiology of AD, the physiological function of amyloid precursor protein (APP) still remains unclarified. We have shown previously that secreted APPα (sAPPα) is associated with glial differentiation of neural stem cells. To elucidate specific mechanisms underlying sAPPα-induced gliogenesis, we examined the potential involvement of bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs). BMPs are one of the factors involved in glial differentiation of neural progenitor cells. When expressions of BMP-2, -4, and -7 were examined, upregulation of BMP-4 expression was solely observed as a result of treatment with sAPPα in a time and dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the treatment of sAPPα promoted phosphorylation of Smad1/5/8, a downstream signaling mediator of BMP receptors. Interestingly, N-terminal domain of APP (1-205) was sufficient to elevate BMP4 expression, resulting in an increase of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression and phosphorylation of Smad1/5/8. However, the application of APP neutralizing antibody and anti-BMP4 antibody significantly suppressed expression of BMP-4 as well as phosphorylation of Smad1/5/8. Thus, our results indicate that sAPPα-induced gliogenesis is in part mediated by the BMP-4 signaling pathway. We also observed upregulation of BMP-4 and phosphorylation of Smad1/5/8 in APP transgenic mice. It is imperative to unravel the mechanisms underlying the role of BMP-4 during APPα-induced glial differentiation in hope of providing novel prevention or treatment for AD.
Infrared and Raman spectra, ab initio calculations, conformational stability and vibrational assignment of 1-bromo-1-silacyclopentane

Abstract Infrared and Raman spectra (3500–60 cm −1 ) of gas and/or liquid and solid 1-bromo-1-silacyclopentane (c-C 4 H 8 SiBrH) have been recorded and the vibrational data indicate the presence of a single conformer with no symmetry which is consistent with the twisted form. Ab initio calculations with a variety of basis sets up to MP2(full)/6-311+G(2df,2pd) predict the envelope-axial and envelope-equatorial conformers to be saddle points with nearly the same energies but approximately 900 cm −1 (5.98 kJ/mol) lower in energy than the planar conformer. Density functional theory calculations by the B3LYP method predict slightly lower energies for the two envelope forms and considerably lower energy for the planar form compared to the MP2 predictions. By utilizing the MP2(full)/6-31G(d) calculations the force constants, frequencies, infrared intensities, band contours, Raman activities, and depolarization values have been obtained to support the vibrational assignment. Estimated r 0 structural parameters have been obtained from adjusted MP2(full)/6-311+G(d,p) calculations. These experimental and theoretical results are compared to the corresponding quantities of some other five-membered rings.
Reducing traffic injury: size of the problem and lack of research resources.

Worldwide, traffic deaths are 500,000 per year and growing. Four nations, China, India, Russia, and the United States of America, have reached levels of 45,000–50,000 traffic deaths per year, although the nature of the problem is quite different in fully motorized countries from what it is in motorizing countries. In motorizing countries the death rates per 10,000 motor vehicles are much higher than in motorized countries, and also the traffic stream is much more varied. Research for the reduction of traffic injuries is funded at a proportionately much lower level than that for heart disease, cancer, or AIDS. Part of the reason for this is the failure of governments to view and to treat the problem of traffic injuries as a public health problem, but rather to view it solely as a transport problem or as a police matter. A case is made for global mechanisms for the transfer of traffic injury reducing technology from fully motorized nations to motorizing nations.
On economies of scope in communication

A classic puzzle in the economic theory of the firm concerns the fundamental cause of decreasing returns to scale. If a plant producing product quantityX at costC can be replicated as often as desired, then the quantityrX need never cost more thanrC. Traditionally the firm is imagined to take its identity from a fixednon-replicable input, namely a ‘top manager’; as more plants or divisions are added, the communication and computation burden imposed on the top manager (who has information not possessed by the divisions) grows more than proportionately. Decreasing returns are experienced as the top manager hires more variable inputs to cope with the rising burden. Suppose it turns out, however, that when the divisions are assembled, and are given exactly the same totally independent tasks that they fulfilled when they were autonomous, then asaving can be achieved if they adopt a joint procedure for performing those tasks rather than replicating their previous separate procedures. Then the top manager's rising burden must be shown to be particularly onerous—otherwise there may actually beincreasing returns. We show that for a certain model of the information-processing procedure used by the separate divisions and by the firm, there may indeed be such an odd unexpected saving. The saving occurs with respect to the size of the language in which members of each division, or of the firm, communicate with one another, provided that language is finite. If instead the language is a continuum then the saving cannot occur, provided that the procedures used obey suitable ‘smoothness’ conditions. We show that the saving for the finite case can be ruled out in two ways: by requiring the procedures used to obey a regularity condition that is a crude analogue of the smoothness conditions we impose on the continuum procedures, or by insisting that the procedure used be a ‘deterministic’ protocol. Such a protocol prescribes a conversation among the participants, in which a participant has only one choice, whenever that participant has to make an announcement to the others. The results suggest that a variety of information-processing models will have to be studied before the traditional explanation for decreasing returns to scale is understood in a rigorous way.
Increased activity of bovine ADCC effector cells during acute Babesia bovis infection

Mononuclear effector cells from the peripheral blood of Babesia bovis-infected cattle responded during initial infection and destroyed Fc-bearing target cells. The activity of these cells was measured in an antibody-dependent, cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) assay utilizing chicken erythrocytes coated with bovine anti-chicken erythrocyte antibody as targets. The activity of these effector cells was enhanced during the parasitemic crisis and returned to normal levels of activity following the resolution of parasitemia. This suggests that ADCC mechanisms may be involved in resolution of infection of cattle with B. bovis.
Effect of interruption of bulbospinal pathways on lordosis, posture, and locomotion

The effect of interruption of descending bulbospinal projections arising from (i) the medial medullary reticular formation: nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis (NGC) and nucleus reticularis magnocellularis (NMC), (ii) nucleus raphe magnus, and (iii) nucleus subceruleus on the lordosis reflex, posture, and locomotion was examined. After interruption of descending NGC-NMC fibers, time-dependent deficits in lordosis were observed during the first two postoperative weeks with subsequent reflex recovery. A syndrome of postural and locomotor deficits occurred after NGC-NMC lesions. Postoperatively, postural reflexes were dominated by increased extensor tone which resulted in limb hyperextension. Specific time-dependent deficits in the control of extensor and flexor muscle groups involved in locomotion resulted in a motor syndrome that is detailed. After interruption of NMC fibers alone, no postural or locomotor deficits occurred and effects on lordosis were limited to the first few postoperative days. The NMC data suggested that the majority of the functional deficits seen after NGC plus NMC lesions were due to destruction of the NGC descending projections. Interruption of NSC bulbospinal fibers resulted in a significant depletion of spinal cord noradrenaline (NA) but not serotonin (5-HT). Functional deficits, when present, were limited to the first few postoperative days. Although interruption of descending NRM fibers resulted in a significant depletion of spinal cord 5-HT concentrations, greater depletions occurred in the NGC plus NMC group. No functional deficits were observed in the NRM group. These data suggest that interruption of NGC-NMC fibers destroyed the descending output from neurons which integrate the hormonal and sensory information necessary for lordosis.
What Is the Most Environmentally Beneficial Way to Treat Commercial Food Waste

Commercial food waste represents a relatively available high-quality feedstock for landfill diversion to biological treatment. A life-cycle assessment was performed for commercial food waste processed through aerobic composting systems of varying complexity, anaerobic digestion, and landfills with and without gas collection and energy recovery, as well as a bioreactor landfill. The functional unit was 1000 kg of food waste plus 550 kg of branches that are used as a bulking agent. For each alternative, global warming potential, NO(x) and SO(2) emissions, and total net energy use were determined. Anaerobic digestion was the most environmentally beneficial treatment option, leading to -395 kg net CO(2)e per functional unit. This result was driven by avoided electricity generation and soil carbon storage from use of the resulting soil amendment. The composting alternatives led to between -148 and -64 kg net CO(2)e, whereas the landfill alternatives led to the emission of -240 to 1100 kg CO(2)e. A traditional landfill with energy recovery was predicted to have lower emissions than any of the composting alternatives when a fertilizer offset was used. There is variation in the results based on uncertainty in the inputs, and the relative rankings of the alternatives are dependent on the soil amendment offset that is used. The use of compost to offset peat has greater emission offsets than the value of compost as a fertilizer.
Understanding Public Opinion in Debates over Biomedical Research: Looking beyond Political Partisanship to Focus on Beliefs about Science and Society

As social scientists have investigated the political and social factors influencing public opinion in science-related policy debates, there has been growing interest in the implications of this research for public communication and outreach. Given the level of political polarization in the United States, much of the focus has been on partisan differences in public opinion, the strategies employed by political leaders and advocates that promote those differences, and the counter-strategies for overcoming them. Yet this focus on partisan differences tends to overlook the processes by which core beliefs about science and society impact public opinion and how these schema are often activated by specific frames of reference embedded in media coverage and popular discourse. In this study, analyzing cross-sectional, nationally representative survey data collected between 2002 and 2010, we investigate the relative influence of political partisanship and science-related schema on Americans' support for embryonic stem cell research. In comparison to the influence of partisan identity, our findings suggest that generalized beliefs about science and society were more chronically accessible, less volatile in relation to media attention and focusing events, and an overall stronger influence on public opinion. Classifying respondents into four unique audience groups based on their beliefs about science and society, we additionally find that individuals within each of these groups split relatively evenly by partisanship but differ on other important dimensions. The implications for public engagement and future research on controversies related to biomedical science are discussed.
Poly(Ethylene Oxide)-Modified Poly(β-Amino Ester) Nanoparticles as a pH-Sensitive System for Tumor-Targeted Delivery of Hydrophobic Drugs: Part 2. In Vivo Distribution and Tumor Localization Studies

This study was carried out to determine the biodistribution profiles and tumor localization potential of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-modified poly(β-amino ester) (PbAE) as a novel, pH-sensitive biodegradable polymeric nanoparticulate system for tumor-targeted drug delivery. The biodistribution studies of PEO-modified PbAE and PEO-modified poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL), a non-pH-sensitive polymer, nanoparticle systems were carried out in normal mice using 111indium-oxine [111In] as a lipophilic radiolabel encapsulated within the polymeric matrix, and the distribution of the nanoparticles was studied in plasma and all the vital organs following intravenous administration. Solid tumors were developed on nude mice using human ovarian carcinoma xenograft (SKOV-3) and the change in concentrations of tritium [3H]-labeled paclitaxel encapsulated in polymeric nanoparticles was examined in blood, tumor mass, and liver. Study in normal mice with a gamma-emitting isotope [111In] provided a thorough biodistribution analysis of the PEO-modified nanoparticulate carrier systems, whereas 3H-paclitaxel was useful to understand the change in concentration and tumor localization of anticancer compound directly in major sites of distribution. Both PEO-PbAE and PEO-PCL nanoparticles showed long systemic circulating properties by virtue of surface modification with PEO-containing triblock block copolymer (Pluronic®) stabilizer. Although the PCL nanoparticles showed higher uptake by the reticuloendothelial system, the PbAE nanoparticles effectively delivered the encapsulated payload into the tumor mass. PEO-modified PbAE nanoparticles showed considerable passive tumor targeting potential in early stages of biodistribution via the enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) mechanism. This prompts a detailed biodistribution profiling of the nanocarrier for prolonged periods to provide conclusive evidence for superiority of the delivery system.
Isolation and Reduction of Sterically Encumbered Arylboron Dihalides: Novel Boranediyl Insertion into C−C σ-Bonds

The synthesis and subsequent reduction of the arylboron dihalides 2,6-Mes2C6H3BX2 (X = Cl (1); Br (2)) and 2,6-Trip2C6H3BBr2 (3) (Mes = 2,4,6-Me3C6H2- and Trip = 2,4,6-i-Pr3C6H2-) are described. Treatment of 2 with lithium metal in diethyl ether gave the novel lithium 9-borafluorenyl compounds 4 and 5 (see Scheme 1) in which the boranediyl intermediate has inserted into an o-Me-ring C−C σ-bond to form a borafluorenyl structure incorporating boron in a delocalized five-membered ring. Boranediyl insertion into C−C σ-bonds, as distinct from boranediyl induced rearrangements involving CC cleavage in delocalized aromatic substrates, is unknown. The main difference between the structures of these products is that 5 is dimerized as a consequence of the reduction in the number of solvating ethers. Reduction of 2 with KC8 led to the isolation of the 9-borafluorenyl “ate” compounds 6 and 7. These products also result from C−C bond insertion by boron as seen in 4 and 5. However, the delocalization is not observed ow...
The effect of orange juice on gastric acidity

Judging from some observations made in vitro it seems probable that one need not worry about giving orange juice to patients who have peptic ulcer. If the orange juice should remain in the stomach long enough to have any effect on the acidity of the gastric content, this effect almost certainly would have to be a lowering one because orange juice is considerably less acid than is even normal gastric juice.
Introduction of QWIP-based imagers in the Scandinavian armies

The Swedish Army is currently taking serial deliveries of a QWIP-based thermal imaging sight for anti-tank missiles. Two other applications of QWIP imagers are being evaluated for near time acquisition by the Swedish and Norwegian armies. This paper gives an overview of these programs and their background. Experience has been gained during field trials of these instruments, and highlights advantages and problems of this new technology and their solutions. One example is the low NETD of these imagers, which, while being a great advantage, also presents entirely new problems compared to older technologies. Reasons for the choice of QWIP technology for these programs are discussed. QWIP based thermal imagers are gaining ground in military applications and the Scandinavian countries are the early adopters