cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cervical neoplasia and repeated positivity of human papillomavirus infection in human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive and -seronegative women.

Increased risk for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women may be explained by repeated positivity of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection facilitated by HIV infection and related immunosuppression. As part of a longitudinal study with semiannual examinations, 268 women in Baltimore, Maryland (of whom 184 were HIV+), provided 1,426 cervicovaginal lavage specimens tested for HPV DNA by a polymerase chain reaction-based assay between 1992 and 1998. HPV positivity and time to HPV clearance according to HIV serostatus and CD4 + cell count were compared using models for correlated binary data and survival analysis. Of the 187 participants who had at least one positive measurement, the probability of subsequent HPV positivity among HIV- women and HIV+ women with CD4 + >200 and <200 cells/μl was 47.5%, 78.7%, and 92.9% (p < 0.001). Within-women HPV results were correlated (i.e., clustered) in each group (p < 0.01). Compared with HIV- participants, the relative incidence of HPV clearance was 0.29 and 0.10 among HIV+ women with CD4 + ≥200 and <200 cells/μl (p < 0.001). At the end of follow-up, 11 women had biopsy-confirmed CIN. The association of HIV and CIN (p = 0.014) was fully explained by repeated HPV positivity induced by HIV infection (p = 0.648). Reversal of immunosuppression following potent antiretroviral therapy must be expected to have a dramatic impact on HIV-related CIN.
Abstract A96: The role of the proto-oncogene AGR2 in endocrine resistant breast cancer.

Tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), is used as a first line treatment for estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer. Though most ER-positive breast cancers initially respond to tamoxifen, the development of resistance impedes durable responses to this intervention. Further, predicting which tumors are most likely to develop resistance remains a challenge. In part, this is due to the complexity of the mechanisms underlying resistance and the difficulty in translating insights from studies of tamoxifen pharmacology in vitro to the clinical setting. However, the results of most studies support the idea that resistance represents a change that enables cells to recognize tamoxifen as an agonist instead of an antagonist. Thus, identifying biomarkers downstream of the ER pathway that read on the relative agonist/antagonist activity of tamoxifen would likely improve the clinical utility of tamoxifen and other endocrine therapies in breast cancer. Recent work by our lab and other groups has identified AGR2 as an ER target gene whose expression is induced by both 17β-estradiol (E2) and 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4OHT). AGR2 is a proto-oncogene whose elevated expression is associated with increased cell proliferation, migration and invasion in breast cancer. Additionally, in the clinical setting, AGR2 has been identified as playing an important role in tamoxifen resistance. In a cell line established within our lab from a human xenograft model of tamoxifen resistance (TamR), AGR2 is significantly overexpressed compared to the parental MCF7 cell line. Knockdown of AGR2 expression in the TamR cell line resulted in a dramatic inhibition of E2 induced cell growth and migratory potential, attesting to its importance in the pathobiology of advanced cancers. When overexpressed in the MCF7 cell line, AGR2 was secreted and induced migratory potential in the MCF7 and TamR breast cancer cell lines in vitro. Additionally, overexpressed AGR2 significantly increased tumor growth in vivo. In both the MCF7 and TamR cellular models of breast cancer, AGR2 expression is required for ER expression. However, in the TamR cell line, AGR2 expression is no longer controlled by ER, suggesting that under selective pressure, the TamR cell line has acquired an alternative mechanism to upregulate AGR2 expression. Additional work is currently underway to further understand the mechanism of AGR2 regulation as breast cancers progress to a tamoxifen resistant state. This work is supported by a DOD Breast Cancer Postdoctoral Fellowship BC103843 (TMW) and a National Institutes of Health Grant R37 DK048807 (DPM). Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):A96. Citation Format: Tricia M. Wright, Suzanne E. Wardell, Erik R. Nelson, Donald P. McDonnell. The role of the proto-oncogene AGR2 in endocrine resistant breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2013 Oct 19-23; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr A96.
Composition of particles associated with embolic signals on transcranial doppler untrasonography.

The composition of particulate emboli associated with detectable signals on transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography has previously been studied in vitro. The purpose of this investigation was to study the composition of particles associated with similar signals in patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy. We studied carotid endarterectomy specimens from four consecutive patients with internal carotid artery origin, symptomatic, severe, stenosis, and preoperative TCD showing signals that were unidirectional from the baseline, occurred throughout the cardiac cycle, lasted 25–100 ms, had intensities exceeding that of surrounding blood by at least 12 dB, and were associated with a characteristic chirping sound. In all patients, signals with the preceding characteristics were detected in the sup-raclinoid internal carotid artery distal to the symptomatic, cervical stenosis. In Cases 1, 3, and 4, no signals were detected in the contralateral, asymptomatic supraclinoid internal carotid artery, and signals resolved after surgery. Examination of the endarterectomy specimens showed intraluminal thrombi composed of fibrin and platelets in all cases. Our findings suggest that TCD signals with the preceding characteristics may correspond to platelet and fibrin particles originating at stenotic lesions of the cervical internal carotid artery.
Hypoxia-specific cytotoxins in cancer therapy

Hypoxic-specific cytotoxins are a new, and as yet clinically untested, mode of treatment of solid tumors. If they can be given at high enough concentrations and sufficiently often, they should prove extremely effective both in combination with standard radiotherapy and also with certain chemotherapeutic drugs. It is likely that their optimum use with turn hypoxic cells in solid tumors from a therapeutic disadvantage to an advantage. In this report, we review the rationale for the use of hypoxia-specific cytotoxins, including both the theoretical basis for combining them with fractionated radiation and the preclinical results that have been obtained to date combining these agents with fractionated radiation. We also discuss the three major classes of bioreductive drugs, including the quinones (mitomycin C, porfiromycin, and E09), nitroaromatic compounds (including RB6145 and various deoxyribonucleic acid [DNA] targeted aromatics), and finally the N-oxides of which tirapazamine is the lead compound. We also briefly discuss new approaches to bioreductive drug development. The best ways to use these agents are also covered. These include using them in combination with radiation, in combination with chemotherapy, and in combination with agents that increase tumor hypoxia. Finally, the importance of the selection of patients for clinical trials is illustrated by showing how dramatically the number of patients in a clinical trial has to increase to obtain statistical significance for a procedure targeted towards hypoxic cells if some of the patients in the trials have well-oxygenated tumors.
Comparison of Direct Normal Irradiance Derived from Silicon and Thermopile Global Hemispherical Radiation Detectors

Concentrating solar applications utilize direct normal irradiance (DNI) radiation, a measurement rarely available. The solar concentrator industry has begun to deploy numerous measurement stations to prospect for suitable system deployment sites. Rotating shadowband radiometers (RSR) using silicon photodiodes as detectors are typically deployed. This paper compares direct beam estimates from RSR to a total hemispherical measuring radiometer (SPN1) multiple fast thermopiles. These detectors simultaneously measure total and diffuse radiation from which DNI can be computed. Both the SPN1 and RSR-derived DNI are compared to DNI measured with thermopile pyrheliometers. Our comparison shows that the SPN1 radiometer DNI estimated uncertainty is somewhat greater than, and on the same order as, the RSR DNI estimates for DNI magnitudes useful to concentrator technologies.
The developmental expression profile of PAX2 in the murine prostate.

BACKGROUND Nine transcription factors comprise the PAX gene family that regulate organogenesis. The urogenital system of PAX2 null male mice fails to develop properly. PAX2 is overexpressed in PC3 cells. Therefore, PAX2 is implicated in both prostate organogenesis and cancer. However, the expression pattern/profile of PAX2 in the prostate is unknown. METHODS PAX2/5/8 expression was surveyed in E16.5 male urogenital sinus (UGS) by RT-PCR. Prostate samples from 10 developmental stages in C3H male mice were used in quantitative reverse-transcript PCR (Q-PCR) and Western blotting (WB). RT-PCR and WB measured PAX2 expression in prostatic lobes or UGS layers, to identify local-regional expression patterns. Cytoplasmic versus nuclear expression was examined by WB. A castration series in adult C3H male mice and R1881 treatment in serum-free LNCaP cells examined androgen control of PAX2. RESULTS PAX2 mRNA levels are higher in early developmental stages as compared to postpubertal prostates. RT-PCR and/or WB indicated a dorsal epithelial–nuclear localization of PAX2. PAX2 mRNA and protein increase postcastration. R1881 decreases expression of PAX2 mRNA in LNCaP cells as compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS The expression profile of PAX2 indicates that it may regulate early, androgen-independent stages of murine prostate development, particularly for dorsally derived prostate glands. PAX2 expression appears to be associated with a dorsally localized epithelial cell population that is castration insensitive and retains proliferative and differentiative potential. Such a population of cells may represent a subset of stem-like cells having some characteristics in common with castrate-resistant prostate cancer cells. Prostate 70: 654–665, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Siwalik synopsis: A long stratigraphic sequence for the Later Cenozoic of South Asia

Abstract The Tertiary sediments of northern Pakistan are an exceptional record of terrestrial sedimentation and represent most of Neogene time. Foremost is the Siwalik Group of the Potwar Plateau, for which multiple, superposed fossil levels span ∼18–6 Ma. Well-developed magnetostratigraphic control provides secure dating so that Siwalik fossil horizons may be interpolated into a time scale with resolution to 100,000 years. We describe the geographic setting of the Potwar, give an overview of the temporal distribution of faunas, and discuss changes in paleohabitat and paleoecology with coinciding faunal change, as seen from the Siwalik viewpoint. The long Siwalik biostratigraphy of many successive assemblages with its resolved time scale may be compared directly with other well-dated sequences. Immigrant arrival and timing of faunal change may be traced. The basins of the Iberian Peninsula show somewhat different timing of introduction of hipparionine horses, and faunal turnover in the Siwaliks clearly precedes the Vallesian crisis in Spain. In contrast to the increasingly seasonal precipitation of the late Miocene Potwar, the paleohabitat of coeval North China appears to have been moist and equable, with high diversity faunas. Continued development and comparison of resolved Neogene records allow increasing resolution of the patterns of faunal change on regional to global levels.
Maternal Smoking and Childhood Hyperactivity

A longitudinal, prospective, birth cohort design was used in an investigation of the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and hyperactivity in 8-year-old children followed at the University Hospital of Oulu, Finland.
Lung adenocarcinoma: a new bipolar masquerader

A 43-year-old woman, known to have bipolar disorder, presented with 4 months history of change in behaviour and functional status in addition to memory problem. Lately she started to have constant headache, fatigue and multiple episodes of postural syncope. This was associated with nausea, vomiting and weight loss. Her family doctor attributed her symptoms to bipolar disease without seeking further tests. She has a history of 30-pack-year tobacco smoking. Physical examination was remarkable for lethargy, flat affect, in addition …
Assessment of the mosquito-pathogenic fungus Culicinomyces clavosporus as a black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) pathogen.

Culicinomyces clavosporus , a highly virulent pathogen of mosquito larvae, was evaluated in the laboratory as a candidate for the biological control of black flies. Larvae of the black fly Simulium vittatum were not significantly affected by exposure to the Knight isolate of the fungus, even when exposed to more than 30 times the conidial concentration causing 100% mosquito ( Aedes aegypti ) mortality. These results, which are not in agreement with earlier studies, suggest that not all C. clavosporus isolates are black fly pathogens.
Testis Mass and Subadult Plumage in Black-Headed Grosbeaks

Like males of approximately 30 other species of North American passerines, male Black-headed Grosbeaks (Pheucticus melanocephalus) do not attain complete definitive alternate plumage until their second breeding season. I collected yearling and adult male Black-headed Grosbeaks in the Rio Grande valley in central New Mexico to test the hypothesis that delayed plumage maturation in Black-headed Grosbeaks is one manifestation of a general, hormonally-mediated developmental pattern. I compared the mass of testes to the degree of plumage maturation in eleven yearling males and found a significant positive correlation. Moreover, the mean testis mass of yearling males was significantly lower than the mean testis mass of older males. In contrast, I found no significant relationship between plumage brightness and testis mass among seven adult males in definitive alternate plumage. These observations support the idea that delayed plumage maturation in Black-headed Grosbeaks is part of a general delay in investment in first-year reproduction.
Increased fetal myocardial sensitivity to insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism during ovine fetal growth restriction:

Unlike other visceral organs, myocardial weight is maintained in relation to fetal body weight in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) fetal sheep despite hypoinsulinemia and global nutrient restriction. We designed experiments in fetal sheep with placental insufficiency and restricted growth to determine basal and insulin-stimulated myocardial glucose and oxygen metabolism and test the hypothesis that myocardial insulin sensitivity would be increased in the IUGR heart. IUGR was induced by maternal hyperthermia during gestation. Control (C) and IUGR fetal myocardial metabolism were measured at baseline and under acute hyperinsulinemic/euglycemic clamp conditions at 128-132 days gestation using fluorescent microspheres to determine myocardial blood flow. Fetal body and heart weights were reduced by 33% (P = 0.008) and 30% (P = 0.027), respectively. Heart weight to body weight ratios were not different. Basal left ventricular (LV) myocardial blood flow per gram of LV tissue was maintained in IUGR fetuses compared to controls. Insulin increased LV myocardial blood flow by ∼38% (P < 0.01), but insulin-stimulated LV myocardial blood flow in IUGR fetuses was 73% greater than controls. Similar to previous reports testing acute hypoxia, LV blood flow was inversely related to arterial oxygen concentration (r(2 )= 0.71) in both control and IUGR animals. Basal LV myocardial glucose delivery and uptake rates were not different between IUGR and control fetuses. Insulin increased LV myocardial glucose delivery (by 40%) and uptake (by 78%) (P < 0.01), but to a greater extent in the IUGR fetuses compared to controls. During basal and hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp conditions LV myocardial oxygen delivery, oxygen uptake, and oxygen extraction efficiency were not different between groups. These novel results demonstrate that the fetal heart exposed to nutrient and oxygen deprivation from placental insufficiency appears to maintain myocardial energy supply in the IUGR condition via increased glucose uptake and metabolic response to insulin, which support myocardial function and growth.
Automatic Biochemical Analyzers' Electrical Safety Control

Electrical safety control is the first issues to be considered when analysing the product design of automatic biochemical analyzers.In order to make sure the product is safe and effective,we should take more attention to the following six areas of electrical safety control:type design,voltage and energy constraints,shell and shields,protective isolation,Ground Protection and electrolyte strength,assessment of product design.
Issue in reliability design for solid rocket motor

A new method is proposed to control the product reliability based on the analysis of primary reliability design defects,using event stream analysis technique as a substitute for reliability.The method considers that main events any product can be decomposed into a series of events,every event can be divided into four elements,i.e.stress(L),structure(G),strain(B) and transfer(D).Each element can provide some operation control indicators which can be measured.When each operation control indicator meets design requirement,it is able to control the product failure.An event stream analysis technique of the solid rocket engine reliability design is proposed based on the view.First,various events which occur in the product operation are analyzed step by step according to the order sequence of events.Each event is extended using the structure of LGBD.Then,monitoring measurement parameters of each element are analyzed and design parameters of each element are controlled.At last,a complete operation control indicator system and reliability test program is determined.A new approach for reliability design which uses event stream model instead of reliability model is proposed.
Catalan Numbers and Trees

The Catalan numbers excel at counting a variety of types of trees. (The Appendix of this book contains a brief introduction to the subject of trees for those who are interested.)
Microevolution and Macroevolution in Behavior

The dichotomy between micro- and macroevolution of morphology has been a subject of debate and extensive study, but studies that consider the relationship between the micro- and macroevolution of behavior are relatively recent. The development of fields like behavior genetics and phylogenetics over the past 30 years has given behavioral biologists a better understanding of how these two evolutionary concepts are interrelated and necessary to understand behavioral diversity. Here we present current views of these evolutionary processes and recent behavioral studies that address the central questions in both micro- and macroevolution. We suggest two courses of research that can help reveal how major shifts in behavioral patterns may result from small genetic changes within populations or species.
SPECT/CT bone scintigraphy to evaluate low back pain in young athletes: common and uncommon etiologies

Low back pain of various etiologies is a common clinical presentation in young athletes. In this article, we discuss the utility of SPECT/CT bone scintigraphy for the evaluation of low back pain in young athletes. The spectrum of lower spine lesions caused by sports injuries and identifiable on bone scan is presented along with strategies to avoid unnecessary irradiation of young patients. Also covered are pitfalls in diagnosis due to referred-pain phenomenon and normal skeletal variants specific to this age group.
Notch signaling promotes nephrogenesis by downregulating Six2

During nephrogenesis, multipotent mesenchymal nephron progenitors develop into distinct epithelial segments. Each nephron segment has distinct cell types and physiological function. In the current model of kidney development, Notch signaling promotes the formation of proximal tubules and represses the formation of distal tubules. Here, we present a novel role of Notch in nephrogenesis. We show in mice that differentiation of nephron progenitors requires downregulation of Six2, a transcription factor required for progenitor maintenance, and that Notch signaling is necessary and sufficient for Six2 downregulation. Furthermore, we find that nephron progenitors lacking Notch signaling fail to differentiate into any nephron segments, not just proximal tubules. Our results demonstrate how cell fates of progenitors are regulated by a transcription factor governing progenitor status and by a differentiation signal in nephrogenesis.
Z-Plasty for Scar Contracture

Z-plasty is a versatile reconstructive technique used to improve the functional and aesthetic properties of scars. In addition to release wound contractures, Z-plasties are useful for primarily closing tissue defects. Z-plasties are based on tissue flaps that are marked preoperatively and raised intraoperatively to create a new central limb scar with relieved skin tension. Certain preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative details, as described below, must be heeded to in order to prevent complications and successfully perform this procedure. Variations within this procedure exist in order to tailor to the specific needs of the reconstructive surgeon and the surrounding anatomy.
Two novel candidate genes identified in adults from the Newfoundland population with addictive tendencies towards food.

Abstract Food addiction (FA) is a distinguished clinical feature affecting about 5% adults of the general population in Canada. FA contributes to obesity, however, the underlying genes in FA are largely unknown. The aim of the current study was to search for FA candidate genes using an exome sequencing followed by a verification study using the most significantly associated identified genes. From a total of 752 adults, 24 subjects were selected including 8 obese with high and 8 obese with low/zero FA clinical symptom score (FAO, NFO), and 8 healthy controls with normal BMI and low/zero FA symptom score (Ctrl). Exome sequencing was completed in all three groups. The top 100 SNPs identified were categorized into 5 subgroups based on gene functions: addiction (Ad), psychological disorders, energy metabolism and obesity, and cancer, unknown function or with other diseases. In the verification study, the top 19 SNPs in the Addiction subgroup were genotyped in the entire 752 subjects using Sequenom iPLEX Gold genotyping technology. Comparison of NFO with Ctrl, and FAO with NFO, Ctrl and the combined group of NFO + Ctrl revealed 19 SNPs associated with Ad genes including, TIRAP, MMADHC, ERAP1, NTM, MYPN, GRID1, ITPR2, GPSM1, ZCCHC14, TNN, PPARD, CACNA1C, SIM1, and DRD2. Genetic association analysis was performed. The major allele A of rs2511521 located in DRD2 (OR = 3.1(95% CI 1.1–8.2)) and the minor allele T of rs625413 located in TIRAP (OR = 2.5(95% CI 1.1–5.8)) in NFO subjects significantly associated with increased risk of food addiction. Using a combination of exome sequencing method and a candidate gene association approach two new FA candidate genes are identified. Further study on the rest of the genes in the other four categories will be warranted.
Lessons learned from an EPIC course: Mobile Application Development for Mobile Health (Abstract Only)

Learning one domain knowledge is good for undergraduate students to face existing job market, but it might not be enough for the future career challenges. At Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT), we are promoting Externally-collaborative, Project-based, Interdisciplinary Curricula (EPIC) learning that provides opportunities to work on interdisciplinary projects for the students. In this talk, I would like to share experience of designing and teaching an EPIC course by applying mobile application development to biomedical domain for creating a mobile health system at WIT. The students from two different departments, Computer Science and Networking and Biomedical Engineering, learn together and work collaboratively on a final project. The lessons learned from this process include: (1) How to find appropriate disciplines to make a course? (2) How to design a syllabus for students with different backgrounds? (3) How to design lectures and laboratory assignments for the collaboration? (4) How to guide students to work on the project collaboratively? etc. At the end of the talk, I will conclude my experience with suggestions and describe the future work in this direction.
Structure, Function, and Regulation of Desmosomes

Desmosomes are adhesive intercellular junctions that mechanically integrate adjacent cells by coupling adhesive interactions mediated by desmosomal cadherins to the intermediate filament cytoskeletal network. Desmosomal cadherins are connected to intermediate filaments by densely clustered cytoplasmic plaque proteins comprising members of the armadillo gene family, including plakoglobin and plakophilins, and members of the plakin family of cytolinkers, such as desmoplakin. The importance of desmosomes in tissue integrity is highlighted by human diseases caused by mutations in desmosomal genes, autoantibody attack of desmosomal cadherins, and bacterial toxins that selectively target desmosomal cadherins. In addition to reviewing the well-known roles of desmosomal proteins in tissue integrity, this chapter also highlights the growing appreciation for how desmosomal proteins are integrated with cell signaling pathways to contribute to vertebrate tissue organization and differentiation.
RELIGION, CIVIC VALUES, AND EQUAL CITIZENSHIP IN THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC POLITY

Whether religious and other voluntary associations should reflect public values is a subject of controversy. Corey Brettschneider argues that the state should assert its own values of free and equal citizenship, deliberately attempting to transform the beliefs of illiberal groups through court decisions and through selective withdrawal of tax exemptions. I argue, however, that as long as individuals and groups comply with the law, it is not the business of the state to change their beliefs. Moreover, public authority itself does not always exemplify his preferred values. Second, although I oppose direct funding for organizations that oppose public values, determining which organizations espouse the “right” values accords too much power to public authority. Moreover, many associations evolve over time. Finally, the true threat lies in practices that voluntary associations may seek to impose on the larger community.
Datenschutz beim Datenaustausch zu Strafverfolgungszwecken

Die Grundrechte der Betroffenen stellen eine Grenze fur Umsetzungsmasnahmen zum Grundsatz der Verfugbarkeit dar. Insbesondere trifft dies auf das Recht des Einzelnen auf Schutz seiner personenbezogenen Daten zu, welches auch bereits im Haager Programm im Rahmen der Einfuhrung des Verfugbarkeitsprinzips genannt wird. Dort werden „Hauptbedingungen“ aufgestellt, die bei der Umsetzung des Verfugbarkeitsgrundsatzes „streng einzuhalten“ sind.
Digestion in sea urchins

This chapter gives insight knowledge of digestion in sea urchins in order to understand their feeding and nutritional ecology. Information on digestion also provides guidelines in the development of prepared feeds for aquaculture. Almost all studies on digestive enzymes in sea urchins concern carbohydrates. Sea urchins have carbohydrases that are broadly appropriate for their herbivorous diet. It is also estimated that bacteria could be involved in digestion in sea urchins. This chapter also explains the general anatomy and histology of the gut of sea urchins that consists of a pharynx, esophagus, stomach, intestine and rectum. The chapter also gives a walkthrough over the Gut transit time that is affected by the structure of the sea urchin gut. The type of gut affects gut transit time and digestion. The guts of sea urchins are certainly not batch reactors; they are more similar to the continuous-flow, stirred-tank reactor in which a continuous flow of material and a mixing of material occurs.
Indirect Impacts of Climate Change that Affect Agricultural Production: Soil Erosion

Land degradation poses an increasing threat to agricultural production. Under natural conditions, topsoil in the aggregate is renewed at a rate approximately equal to the rate at which degradation occurs. However, much agricultural land degrades at faster than “tolerable rates.” (1976) estimate that more than one-third of cropland topsoil in the USA has been lost in the last 200 years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that combined water and wind erosion from cultivated cropland averages approximately 14 tonnes (t)/ha/yr and considers tolerable rates of soil loss on the vast majority of this land to be between 9 and 11 t/ha/yr (USDA, 1994). The majority of the world’s agricultural soils are probably eroding at a faster pace than soils in the USA.
Superficial Dorsal Horn Neurons in the Rat Responsive to Visceral and Cutaneous Inputs

The superficial dorsal horn is widely acknowledged as important to the processing of nociceptive information. As documented in this volume, fine afferent nerve fibers terminate in laminae I and IIo and second order spinal neurons upon which many of these afferents terminate transmit the received message supraspinally. Our current understanding of spinal nociceptive transmission arises primarily from investigations of afferent fibers arising from cutaneous structures. Relatively less is known about afferents arising from deeper structures, particularly viscera. Investigations of visceral afferent projections to the spinal cord describe terminals in the superficial dorsal horn (Cervero and Connell, 1984; DeGroat, 1986) and spinal units in the superficial dorsal horn respond to electrical stimulation of visceral afferents (Blair et al., 1981; Takahashi and Yokota, 1983; Cervero and Tattersall, 1987). In the present study in the rat, colorectal distension was used as a natural visceral stimulus to examine the response characteristics and convergent cutaneous receptive fields of neurons in the thoracolumbar spinal cord.
Gevrey and Analytic Hypoellipticity

In these lectures we study sharp (non-isotropic) Gevrey (and analytic) hypoellipticity for partial differential operators P which are constructed as variable coefficient quadratic polynomials in real vector fields satisfying the Hormander condition and which satisfy a maximal estimate. We also present some new sharp results obtained jointly with A. Bove.
State cigarette taxes and health expenditures: Evidence from dynamic spatial lag panel models

This study explores the relationship between state cigarette taxes and state expenditures on health and hospitals. We address two major sources of endogeneity from (i) the relationship between tax rates and expenditure decisions and (ii) spatial dependence in expenditure policies by using tobacco production as an instrument for cigarette tax rates and through a dynamic spatial Durbin model. We estimate the cigarette tax rate expenditure elasticity to be 0.03 (SR) and 0.87 (LR) for state health spending and 0.05 (SR) and 0.79 (LR) for state hospital spending. Increases in cigarette taxes did not reduce state spending on health over this period. Este estudio examina la relacion entre los impuestos estatales sobre los cigarrillos y los gastos estatales en salud y hospitales. Se abordan dos fuentes principales de endogeneidad, procedente de (i) la relacion entre los tipos impositivos y las decisiones de gasto y (ii) la dependencia espacial en las politicas de gasto debidas al uso de la produccion de tabaco como instrumento para los tipos impositivos de los cigarrillos y a traves de un modelo de Durbin espacial dinamico. Se estimo que la elasticidad del gasto de la tasa impositiva sobre los cigarrillos es de 0,03 (SR) y 0,87 (LR) para el gasto estatal en salud y de 0,05 (SR) y 0,79 (LR) para el gasto estatal en hospitales. Los aumentos en los impuestos sobre los cigarrillos no redujeron el gasto estatal en salud durante este periodo. 本稿では、州の紙巻たばこ税と保健衛生および病院にかかる州支出の関連性を調査する。我々は、動的な空間ダービンモデルにより、1)税率と支出決定の関連性、2)タバコ製品を紙巻きタバコの税率の手段として使用する支出政策における空間依存性からの内生性の二つの主要な源を検討した。我々は、紙巻たばこ税の支出弾力性を、州の保健衛生費については0.03(SR)および0.87(LR)、州の病院にかかる支出については0.05(SR)および0.79(LR)と推定した。この期間では、紙巻たばこ税の増税による州の医療費の減少はなかった。
Comparing Rate and Mechanism of Ethane Hydrogenolysis on Transition-Metal Catalysts

The effects of metal catalyst identity on the ethane hydrogenolysis rates and mechanism were examined using density functional theory (DFT) for Group 8–11 metals (Ru, Os, Rh, Ir, Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu, Ag...
2504: Defining peripheral B cell tolerance in pemphigus vulgaris

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a potentially fatal blistering disease caused by autoantibodies to the keratinocyte adhesion protein desmoglein 3. Several other autoimmune diseases have defective B cell tolerance checkpoints, resulting in the accumulation of self-reactive and polyreactive B cells. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The present work aims to determine whether PV patients develop normal tolerance to self-antigens other than desmoglein 3, as a potential “first hit” in the development of autoimmunity. We use FACS to isolate single B cells at 4 developmental stages from 8 PV patients. We perform single-cell RT-PCR to amplify each B cell receptor, produce monoclonal antibodies, and screen these for autoreactivity using ELISA/IF to several self-antigens. At each B cell stage, we compare the frequencies of self-reactive and polyreactive B cells to those found in healthy controls. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We anticipate similar frequencies between PV patients and controls, suggesting that the B cell repertoire in PV patients develops normally at early checkpoints. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: The absence of generalized reactivity would distinguish PV from other autoimmune diseases and would show that PV arises from a specific break in tolerance to a single self-antigen (desmoglein 3) during late B cell maturation. Such a result would further support PV as an ideal candidate for targeted immunotherapy.
Fatigue crack propagation rates in woven and nonwoven fiber glass laminates

The characteristics of fatigue crack propagation are described for fiber glass laminates containing woven fabric, woven roving, chopped fiber mat, and unidirectional ply reinforcement. The mode of crack propagation is shown to be a stepwise, ligament by ligament advance of the crack front. The rate of crack propagation is predicted to vary exponentially with the stress intensity factor by an approximate theory based on the fracture toughness, unnotched fatigue life curve, and microstructural characteristics. Good agreement is demonstrated between theory and experiment for each material. The crack growth rate data are normalized to a single relationship for all woven reinforcements, and to a second relationship for nonwoven reinforcements.
Evaluation Scale for a Teaching Aid in Modern Mathematics.

Now associate professor and chairman of the department of education at Wagner College, Staten Island, New York, Norbert Leeseherg was previously teaching principal and principal of St. John's Lutheran School, Staten Island. His doctorate from New York University is in administration and supervision. From 1958 to 1967 he was testing director for forty-four schools in the Atlantic District, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
Report from the Editor (2019)

Report presented at the meeting of the Executive Council of the Latin American Studies Association in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 22, 2019.
Topic modeling and technology forecasting for assessing the commercial viability of healthcare innovations

Abstract Developing technologies for a transfer from science to market is a key element of research-intensive organizations such as innovation management centers that work closely with inventors to commercialize their technological innovations. To advance the commercial viability of technological innovations, this paper proposes a framework that integrates topic modeling, survival analysis, and judgment of subject matter experts to forecast promising technologies using patents as data resources. Regarding the commercial viability of identified technologies, our empirical analysis focuses on patents and licensing data from a prominent innovation management center over a 20-year period. We are able to identify technologies that are statistically significant for predicting the likelihood and the time until a patent is commercialized, and suggest a way to assess their scope of technological impact. Our results contribute to the understanding of promising healthcare technologies and help R&D managers to develop the knowledge they need to advocate technologies in support of commercial returns.
1 – Thyroid disorders

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses thyroid disorders. The thyroid gland secretes its principal hormones, thyroxine (T4) and tri-iodothyionine (T3) into the circulation where they are associated with two proteins that bind them specifically. T3 is the metabolically active form of thyroid hormone. Both T4 and T3 are largely bound to plasma proteins. It is the free hormone that is metabolically active. Changes in the concentration of the serum binding protein will lead to parallel changes in the serum values of total thyroid hormones, but the free thyroid hormone values remain constant. Hypothyroidism is the clinical condition resulting from decreased circulating concentrations of free (unbound) thyroid hormones. Hypothyroidism is commonly caused by primary thyroid failure when serum thyrotrophin concentration is high because of a lack of negative feedback at the pituitary level by thyroid hormones. It can also be secondary to pituitary failure of thyrotrophin secretion when serum thyrotrophin values are usually low or just within the normal range. Hyperthyroidism is the clinical condition resulting from increased circulating serum concentrations of free thyroid hormones. Symptoms include weight loss, heat intolerance, tachycardia, and lid retraction. The main causes of hyperthyroidism are Graves' disease, toxic multinodular goitre, toxic nodule, painless thyroiditis, and trophoblastic thyroid stimulating hormone syndrome, but the condition can be induced by over-treatment with thyroid hormones.
Corporate social responsibility authenticity from the perspective of restaurant consumers

While authenticity and personal values are considered critical components in the brand development process, little research has investigated their roles in the corporate social responsibility (CSR)...
Operator Sliding and Decentralized Optimization

In this chapter, we will further explore the structure properties for solving optimization problems. We will identify potential bottlenecks for solving these problems and develop new techniques that can skip expensive operations from time to time. More specifically, we first consider a class of composite optimization problems whose objective function is given by the summation of a general smooth and nonsmooth component, and present the gradient sliding (GS) algorithm, which can skip the computation of the gradient for the smooth component from time to time. We then discuss an accelerated gradient sliding (AGS) method for minimizing the summation of two smooth convex functions with different Lipschitz constants and show that the AGS method can skip the gradient computation for one of these smooth components without slowing down the overall optimal rate of convergence. The AGS method can further improve the complexity for solving an important class of bilinear saddle point problems. In addition, we present a new class of decentralized first-order methods for nonsmooth and stochastic optimization problems defined over multiagent networks. These methods can skip the inter-node communications while agents solve the primal subproblems iteratively through linearizations of their local objective functions.
Enabling Direct Messaging from LoRa to ZigBee in the 2.4 GHz Band for Industrial Wireless Networks

IEEE 802.15.4-based wireless sensor-actuator networks (WSANs) have been quickly adopted by process industries in recent years because of their significant role in improving industrial efficiency and reducing operating cost. Battery-powered wireless modules can be used to easily and inexpensively retrofit existing sensors and actuators in industrial facilities without running cabling for communication and power. Wireless-enabled sensors, actuators, and controllers form a low-power multi-hop mesh network to exchange sensing data and control commands. Today, industrial WSANs are becoming tremendously larger and more complex than before. A large and complex mesh network is hard to manage and inelastic to change once the network is deployed. Besides, flooding-based time synchronization and information dissemination introduce significant communication overhead to the network. More importantly, the deliveries of urgent and critical information such as emergency alarms suffer long delay, because those messages must go through the hop-by-hop transport. A promising solution to overcome those limitations is to enable the direct messaging from a long-range radio to an IEEE 802.15.4 radio. Then messages can be delivered to all field devices in a single-hop fashion. This paper presents our study on enabling the cross-technology communication (CTC) from LoRa to ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4) using the energy emission of the LoRa radio in the 2.4 GHz band as the carrier to deliver information. Experimental results show that our CTC approach provides reliable communication from LoRa to ZigBee with the throughput of up to 576.80bps and the bit error rate (BER) of up to 5.23% in the 2.4 GHz band.
Disulfide bond cross-linked dimer in acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo californica

Abstract Acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo californica electric tissue occurs in membrane, and is purified, as a mixture of monomer and dimer. Dimer is cross-linked by disulfide bonds involving one of the four polypeptide components of receptor, namely the one of apparent molecular weight of 64,000.
A four-week high fat diet does not alter plasma glucose or metabolic physiology in wild-caught mourning doves (Zenaida macroura).

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the metabolic effects of a four-week 60% high-fat (HF) diet on mourning doves. Plasma glucose concentrations are, on average, 1.5–2 times higher in birds than in mammals of similar body mass, but birds have innate mechanisms that protect them from high blood glucose-associated pathologies normally developed in mammals. Elucidating these mechanisms may help develop therapeutics for treatment of human diabetes-related complications. A high fat (HF) diet is commonly used in rodents to investigate metabolic disease. We hypothesized that this diet in doves would elevate plasma glucose and alter metabolic physiology compared to the control (CON) diet. Following the four-week long diets, doves were euthanized, and we collected blood, liver, pectoralis muscles, and kidney samples. Contrary to the rodent-models, HF-fed birds did not have increased plasma glucose concentrations relative to CON-fed birds. Metabolomic analyses revealed no group differences in plasma, liver, pectoralis muscle, or kidney metabolites (FDR q-value>0.05 for all). Principal component analysis score plots of metabolites showed no separation between groups, and pathway analyses revealed no significantly altered metabolic pathways between groups (191 pathways across tissues, FDR q-value>0.05). Body mass, plasma uric acid, glucose, and insulin as well as liver and pectoralis muscle glycogen and triglycerides did not differ between groups (p > 0.05 for all). In conclusion, a four-week long high fat diet did not alter plasma glucose concentrations or metabolic physiology in mourning doves, indicating that these birds have mechanisms that allow them to avoid high fat diet-induced pathologies seen in mammals.
Use of Untargeted Metabolomics to Explore the Air Pollution-Related Disease Continuum

The purpose of this review is to summarize the application of untargeted metabolomics to identify the perturbation of metabolites or metabolic pathways associated with air pollutant exposures. Twenty-three studies were included in this review, in adults, children, or pregnant women. The most commonly measured air pollutant is particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm. Size-fractioned particles, particle chemical species, gas pollutants, or organic compounds were also investigated. The reviewed studies used a wide range of air pollution measurement techniques and metabolomics analyses. Identified metabolites were primarily related to oxidative stress and inflammatory responses, and a few were related to the alterations of steroid metabolic pathways. The observed metabolic perturbations can differ by disease status, sex, and age. Air pollution-related metabolic changes were also associated with health outcomes in some studies. Our review shows that air pollutant exposures are associated with metabolic pathways primarily related to oxidative stress, inflammation, as assessed through untargeted metabolomics in 23 studies. More metabolomic studies with larger sample sizes are needed to identify air pollution components most responsible for adverse health effects, elaborate on mechanisms for subpopulation susceptibility, and link air pollution exposure to specific adverse health effects.
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? Probing the Law of Crime Concentration

Running head: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? Objective To address three outstanding empirical questions related to the “law of crime concentration” (Weisburd 2015): (1) Is the spatial concentration of crime stable over time? (2) How large is the random component in the spatial concentration of crime? (3) Does the spatial concentration of crime depend on the operational definition of crime hot spots? Methods The data are annual counts of violent and property crimes in St. Louis between 2000 and 2014. Temporal stability in the spatial inequality of crime is measured by computing the fraction of crimes that occur in the 5% of street segments with the highest crime frequencies each year. Temporal stability in the spatial mobility of crime is measured by computing the number of years each street segment appears in the top 5% of street segments. Poisson simulations are used to estimate the fraction of crimes that would appear in the top 5% of street segments on the basis of chance alone. The impact of the definition of crime hot spots on the spatial concentration of crime is evaluated by comparing results from analyses that include and exclude crime-free street segments from the crime distributions. Results The concentration of crime is highly unequal and stable over time. The specific street segments with the highest crime frequencies, however, change over time. Nontrivial fractions of street segments appear among the 5% with the highest crime frequencies on the basis of chance. Spatial concentration in crime is reduced when crime-free street segments are excluded from the crime distributions. Conclusions The law of crime concentration is not a measurement artifact. Its substantive significance, however, should be assessed in future longitudinal research that replicates the current study across diverse social settings.