cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Zagzebski, Authority, and Faith

Epistemic Authority is a mature work of a leading epistemologist and philosopher of religion (and metaphysician, too, but that character doesn’t feature in this story). It is a work primarily in epistemology with applications to religious epistemology. There are obvious applications of the notion of epistemic authority to philosophy of religion. For, on the face of it, the notion of some kind of ‘epistemic authority’ may serve as a conceptual anchor for our understanding of faith. Indeed, there is ample historical precedent for this. Faith, says Locke, is ‘the assent to any proposition ... upon the credit of the proposer, as coming from God, in some extraordinary way of communication’. 1 In later Lockeans, ‘credit’ is often rendered ‘authority’, and the terms were used synonymously at the time of his writing. 2 One of the beauties of Locke’s view is its reductionism, that is, it’s parsimony, which is a species of elegance and therefore beauty. Zagzebski’s notion is more high-octane than Locke’s. In this essay I will do four things. In Section 1 I will describe two kinds or notions of authority or at least two usages of the word ‘authority’. In Section 2 I will describe Zagzebski’s use of one of these notions, the non-Lockean one, to ground the reasonableness of religious belief. In Section 3 I will give four arguments against her view. In section 4 I will reply to her critique of Locke. The upshot, in my view, is that though we learn much (very much indeed) from Epistemic Authority (about both testimony in general and religious testimony in particular among many other things), a more Lockean approach to the nature of faith is still preferable.
Risk Analysis of Autonomous Vehicles in Mixed Traffic Streams

The introduction of autonomous vehicles in the surface transportation system could improve traffic safety and reduce traffic congestion and negative environmental effects. Although the continuous evolution in computing, sensing, and communication technologies can improve the performance of autonomous vehicles, the new combination of autonomous automotive and electronic communication technologies will pre-sent new challenges, such as interaction with other nonautonomous vehicles, which must be addressed before implementation. The objective of this study was to identify the risks associated with the failure of an autonomous vehicle in mixed traffic streams. To identify the risks, the autonomous vehicle system was first disassembled into vehicular components and transportation infrastructure components, and then a fault tree model was developed for each system. The failure probabilities of each component were estimated by reviewing the published literature and publicly available data sources. This analysis r...
The Classification of Organizational Forms: Theory and application to the field of higher education

How organizations are classified and evaluated has become a central theme in organization studies. Despite the abundance of recent theory and empirical analysis on the topic, far less attention has...
Integrating two-temperature and classical heat accumulation models to predict femtosecond laser processing of silicon

A robust, computationally efficient modeling method describing multi-pulse femtosecond laser-material interaction is required to determine the optimal laser parameters to control and differentiate non-thermal ablation and heat accumulation processes for surface structuring and laser welding applications. We establish a three-dimensional, two-temperature model (TTM) and a heat-accumulation model based on classical heat generation and conduction equations to evaluate their efficacy and efficiency in simulating non-thermal ablation and heat accumulation during multi-pulse femtosecond laser processing of silicon. Only the TTM is capable of accurately predicting the laser fluences required to achieve non-thermal ablation, which is experimentally validated. Both the TTM and the classical heat accumulation model can predict heat accumulation. The TTM can accurately predict heat accumulation, but requires lengthy simulation times on the order of several hours. The classical heat accumulation model consistently predicts heat accumulation with the TTM and is time efficient, but is case specific to interaction parameters, requiring input of an experimentally-determined absorption coefficient. For the first time to our knowledge, an integrated modeling method is devised to accurately and efficiently simulate laser-processing-induced heat accumulation by using the TTM to determine an absorption coefficient to feed back to the heat accumulation model to extend it to the general case. This integrated modeling method enables the accurate prediction of heat accumulation with simulation times on the order of a minute per pulse, defining a path to determine laser parameters to control heat accumulation for specific processing applications.
In (partial) defence of offensive art: Whitehouse as Freirean codification

AbstractArguments over the value of ‘extreme music’ (metal, power electronics, noise, etc.) and the use of highly controversial imagery within these genres have existed since its inception. Detract...
Constructive Set Theories

There are two obvious approaches to constructive set theory: (i) Carefully add some set variables to a simpler theory, cautiously add some axioms about them, and try to explain the constructive meaning of the theory, (ii) Start with classical set theory, throw out the law of the excluded middle and any axioms which imply it, and see what is left over. We shall begin with the second approach; the first approach will be followed in Chap. X.
A Constitutional Door Ajar: Applying the Ex Parte Young Doctrine to Declaratory Judgment Actions Seeking State Patent Invalidity

In 2007 alone, universities generated $2 billion in income by licensing their patents. As arms of the state, state universities license with sovereign immunity - state-owned patents are protected from judgments declaring them invalid. This Note proposes that this advantage can be removed by the application of the Ex parte Young doctrine. The author unpacks the doctrine element by element and shows that there are no obstacles to its application to declaratory judgment suits alleging the invalidity of state patents. First, the author explains that the doctrine’s remedial prong would be satisfied because universities create a justifiable controversy as to the validity of their patents when they offer licenses and because neither the Seminole Tribe detailed remedial scheme exception nor the Coeur d’Alene submerged lands exception applies. Second, the author illustrates that the doctrine’s constitutional sovereign immunity prong would be satisfied because patent invalidity is a violation of federal law, and a declaration of patent invalidity is prospective relief. The author offers insight into why the issue has not yet been considered by the Federal Circuit, focusing on the incentives of both the universities and their potential licensees. Finally, the author recommends that the Federal Circuit, en banc, conclude that the Ex parte Young doctrine is available for declarations of state patent invalidity because it is doctrinally sound and justified by policy.
Forest Tree Metabolism: Carbon Dynamics

Forest tree productivity, as reflected in the mass of carbon present, represents a dynamic balance between carbon fixed via photosynthesis and stored, and carbon lost to respiration, abscission, fine and woody root turnover, herbivory, infection, exudation, volatilization, and leaching. A comprehensive appreciation of air pollutant impact on tree metabolism will be realized only when we fully understand contaminant influence on carbon uptake, fixation, and allocation. Research on pollutant relationships with photosynthesis of agricultural and woody plants has been well developed for approximately 20 years. Fortunately recent research efforts have begun to explore stress and pollutant relationships with allocation (Lechowicz, 1987, Lorio and Sommers, 1986).
Progesterone Receptor Interaction in the 5’-Flanking Regulatory Region of the Ovalbumin Gene

Highly purified hen oviduct progesterone receptor A subunit has been found to interact preferentially with the 5’-flanking region of the chicken ovalbumin gene. Saturation kinetics showed that 2-fold less receptor was required for half-maximal binding to ovalbumin gene flanking sequences than to plasmid pBR322 sequences. Studies of selective binding were facilitated by a preferential adsorption assay involving gel electrophoretic analysis of [32P]DNA restriction fragments eluted from receptor-DNA complexes isolated on nitrocellulose filters. Approximately 10-fold difference in binding was observed at 37°C for a 1.7 Kb ovalbumin DNA insert compared to binding of receptor to a 3.6 Kb plasmid pBR322 fragment. Selective receptor A binding was dramatically reduced when assayed at 4°C. In addition to temperature dependence, preferential binding required the presence of glycerol or dimethyl sulfoxide during binding. Divalent cations and ionic strength had no apparent effect on the relative sequence selectivity but did alter the total DNA binding observed. Binding data from a variety of different restriction digests suggest receptor A interacts between −135 and −249 bp (upstream) from the start of ovalbumin transcription. Preferential binding to a DNA fragment containing the sequence −16 to −247 compared to an adjacent upstream fragment or plasmid DNA fragment confirm this assignment. This binding site lies within the regulatory sequence required for progesterone induction of a transfected fusion gene in primary chicken oviduct cells.
Role of Thymosin and the Neuroendocrine System in the Regulation of Immunity

A central role for the thymus in host defense has been documented by studies correlating either surgical or genetic absence of this gland with immunodeficiency. Consequently, thymic immunity has become synonymous with cellular immunity, a component of host defense that interfaces with both phagocytic and immunoglobulin producing cells.
Multiple single-tooth implant restorations in the posterior jaws: maintenance of marginal bone levels with reference to the implant-abutment microgap.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to measure marginal bone loss from the implant-abutment microgap to the bone crest between multiple freestanding implants functionally loaded for up to 7.5 years in the posterior jaws. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients consecutively treated for the replacement of missing posterior teeth were included in the study. Using the implant-abutment interface, which was placed level with the crestal bone as a reference point, standardized follow-up radiographs were obtained to evaluate marginal bone loss. Results were subject to statistical analysis using the Wilcoxon rank sum test and the Wilcoxon signed rank test at the 95% confidence level. Additionally, soft tissue and prosthetic complications were recorded. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-three implants in 54 patients were evaluated. Implants were in function for a mean of 37 months (range, 21 to 91 months). One implant failed, for a survival rate of 99.4%. Overall mean marginal bone loss was 0.65 mm (range, 0.0 to 4.8 mm). For the 80 maxillary and 93 mandibular implants, mean marginal bone loss was 0.56 mm and 0.70 mm, respectively. The frequency of bone loss > or = 1.0 mm was 25.0% in the maxilla and 36.0% in the mandible; 23.1% of maxillary implants and 16.7% of mandibular implants demonstrated no bone loss. No significant differences were observed between men and women or between smokers and nonsmokers. The difference between mesial and distal bone levels was statistically significant (P < .001), with respective means of 0.53 mm and 0.76 mm. Recorded prosthetic complications included cementation failure (17.7%), porcelain fracture (7.2%), and abutment screw loosening (2.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Multiple single-tooth implants placed in the posterior jaws perform extremely well. Furthermore, it is possible to retain bone close to the implant-abutment microgap with certain implant designs.
Social Origins of Cortical Face Areas

Recently acquired fMRI data from human and macaque infants provide novel insights into the origins of cortical networks specialized for perceiving faces. Data from both species converge: cortical regions responding preferentially to faces are present and spatially organized early in infancy, although fully selective face areas emerge much later. What explains the earliest cortical responses to faces? We review two proposed mechanisms: proto-organization for simple shapes in visual cortex, and an innate subcortical schematic face template. In addition, we propose a third mechanism: infants choose to look at faces to engage in positively valenced, contingent social interactions. Activity in medial prefrontal cortex during social interactions may, directly or indirectly, guide the organization of cortical face areas.
Chemoimmunotherapy combination after PD-1 inhibitor failure to improve clinical outcomes in metastatic melanoma patients.

138Background: Clinical management of metastatic melanoma (MM) after PD-1 blockade failure remains challenging and lacks a standard of care. Chemo-immunotherapy (CIT) combinations have demonstrated...
Concurrent internal hernia and intussusception after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

A 32-year-old woman with medical history significant for open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass performed 11 years prior presented to an urgent care with sudden severe epigastric pain associated with nausea and vomiting. She was profoundly hypothermic (91°F) and bradycardic (40 bpm) but maintained normal blood pressure. Laboratory values were grossly within normal limits except for an elevated lactic acid (2.99 mmol/L). Rewarming protocol, broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics (piperacillin–tazobactam and vancomycin) and intravenous fluid resuscitation were initiated at this time. CT of the abdomen with intravenous and oral contrast demonstrated intussusception at the site of the jejunojejunal anastomosis with severe oedema of the mesentery and focally dilated bowel consistent with a high-grade obstruction due to an internal hernia (figure 1A). The …
Susceptibility of Eurasian Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris L., to the aggressive North American mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins

Abstract Introductions of alien forest insects can exert substantial ecological and economic impacts on natural forest systems. The mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, an aggressive bark beetle native to western North America, kills mature pines at outbreak levels and is currently expanding its geographic, altitudinal and host ranges across the continent. Its oligophagous feeding behavior and its ability to kill novel hosts in newly invaded areas of Alberta, Canada suggest that this insect could threaten pine forests in other regions of the world. Little is known of the susceptibility of Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris L., to mountain pine beetle. Scots pine is a potential novel host common to forests across Eurasia and introduced to North America. Laboratory studies indicate the insects can colonize and reproduce in harvested logs of the host. We measured outcomes of an outbreak by mountain pine beetle in mixed stands of mature Scots pine and ponderosa pine, P. ponderosa Dougl. ex. Laws. var. scopulorum Engelm., a historical host for the insect, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, U.S.A. We conducted a retrospective assessment of beetle attack and tree mortality of 165 trees (54 Scots pine and 111 ponderosa pine) of similar size and proximity that experienced high beetle pressure for three to four years ending in 2015. Our results show that mountain pine beetle can detect and attack live trees of Scots pine. Notably, we found that nearly 90% of Scots pines showed signs of attack, while no evidence of attack was found on the historical host in mixed stands. However, we found that Scots pines received half the attack density and demonstrated fifteen fold less likelihood of mortality in one year’s time relative to ponderosa pine in nearby stands. These results are important for assessing the potential for mountain pine beetle to kill trees in Eurasia and North America in Scots pine stands.
Kinematic Synthesis of Spatial 3-RPS Parallel Manipulators

This paper presents the design of spatial 3-RPS parallel manipulators from dimensional synthesis point of view. Since a spatial 3-RPS manipulator has only 3 degrees of freedom, its end effector cannot be positioned arbitrarily in space. It is shown that at most six positions and orientations of the moving platform can be prescribed at will and, given six prescribed positions, there are at most ten RPS chains that can be used to construct up to 120 manipulators. Further, solution methods for fewer than six prescribed positions are also described.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Architecture Models for Coordination of Unmanned Air and Ground Vehicles Conducting Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief

This paper presents a model-based systems engineering methodology for employing architecture in system analysis (MBSE MEASA) for the cooperation of cross-domain unmanned vehicles conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR). The comprehensive framework developed in this paper uses Systems Modeling Language (SysML), which supports the assessment of system requirements for systems engineering. The research develops architecture to analyze collaborative cross-domain unmanned systems performance. The architecture models focus on the interaction between UAVs and UGVs and use the relationship of system architecture products and model-based systems engineering analysis to quantify system performance. This methodology will also identify those design features which are most impactful to mission effectiveness. The MBSE MEASA incorporates the iterative process of systems engineering in determining the optimal solution for the architecture products. This research will demonstrate the usefulness of model-based systems engineering analysis in the design of UAV-UGV cooperation while conducting a mission scenario. The result of this research will be a validated and executable system architecture for cross-domain unmanned vehicle cooperation. The architecture will serve as the conceptual template to guide future research and development of unmanned vehicles.
Decreased working memory capacity among individuals with a mood disorder who have increased metabolic burden

Abstract Background Individuals with mood disorders experience a higher rate of obesity than the general population, putting them at risk for poorer outcomes. The relationship between obesity and a core feature of the mood disorders, neurocognition, is less understood. We examined the interaction of obesity as indexed by body mass index (BMI) and working memory performance in a large sample of individuals with bipolar disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and healthy controls (HC). Methods Participants with BD (n = 133), MDD (n = 78), and HC (n = 113) (age range 18–40) completed a spatial working memory (SWM) task that included three-graded increases in the number of target locations. Participants were subdivided by BMI classification into six diagnostic-BMI (BMI groups: Normal Weight, Overweight/Obese) subgroups. Performance on the task was indexed by number of errors within each difficulty level. Results The number of errors, across all groups, increased with task difficulty. There was an interaction between errors and diagnostic-BMI group. Post-hoc analyses indicated that while the Normal Weight-BD group did not differ in performance from the other groups, the Overweight/Obese-BD group performed significantly worse than HC groups. Limitations Metabolic effects of psychotropic medications due to the naturalistic nature of the study, younger age of the MDD sample, and utilizing self-reported indicators of obesity may limit generalizability. Conclusions Individuals with BD with increased metabolic burden exhibit increased working memory errors than non-psychiatric controls who also have increased metabolic burden. Future work could address prevention and amelioration of such difficulties to reduce associated functional morbidity.
One-Session Mindfulness versus Concentrative Meditation: The Effects of Stress Anticipation

Background: Mindfulness meditation (MM) is often readily applied in university settings as a practical means to reduce stress associated with academic and environmental uncertainties. Little is kno...
Solvent‐based paint and varnish removers: a focused toxicologic review of existing and alternative constituents

Paint and varnish removers constitute a major potential source of organic solvent exposure to contractors and home improvement enthusiasts. Unfortunately, the leading paint remover formulations have traditionally contained, as major ingredients, chemicals classified as probable human carcinogens (eg, methylene chloride) or reproductive toxicants (eg, N-methylpyrrolidone). In addition, because of its unique toxicology (ie, hepatic conversion to carbon monoxide compounding generic solvent narcosis and arrythmogenesis), high volatility, and rigorous requirements for personal protective equipment, methylene chloride exposures from paint removers have been linked to numerous deaths involving both occupational and consumer usage. The aim of this review is to summarize the known toxicology of solvent-based paint remover constituents (including those found in substitute formulations) in order to provide health risk information to regulators, chemical formulators, and end-users of this class of products, and to highlight any data gaps that may exist.
Thomas Aquinas on God and Evil, by Brian Davies

Thomas Aquinas on God and Evil, by Brian Davies. Oxford University Press, 2011. xi + 172 pp. Pb., $36.95. ISBN: 0199790906
Detection of minimal residual disease in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia by multi-parameter flow cytometry

Objective To establish a flow cytometric measurement of detecting minimal residual disease(MRD) according to the leukemia-associated immunophenotypes in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL) and to explore the significance of MRD detection in ALL children for a individualized treatment. Methods A variety of four-color fluorescent antibody combinations were used to investigate the children's normal bone marrow. The normal bone marrow pattern at two-parameter plots was established to identify the residual tumor cells, seventy-five bone marrow samples from newly diagnosed ALL children were analyzed with four-color cytometry to determined the optimal combinations which can clearly distinguish the tumor cells from normal cells. The bone marrow samples were monitored with the combination panel in 60 patients at the end of induction therapy and follow-up treatment. Cytomorphology test, PCR amplification of 29 fusion genes as well as IgG and TCR gene rearrangements were performed simultaneously. Results Sixty-nine cases (92.0%) could be identified for effective antibody combinations to monitor MRD by four-color cytometry. Fusion genes or IgG and T cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangements can be detected in 21 cases (28.0%) to monitor MRD by PCR. No MRD can be detected in 25 bone marrow samples at the end of induction therapy and follow-up treatment. Four-color cytometry could detect as low as 0.021%-4.130% residual leukemia cells. Conclusion MRD can be monitored by flow cytometry which is faster than PCR, and the sensitivity is superior to morphology method. Key words: Precursor cell lymphoblastic leukemia-lymphoma; Neoplasm; residual; Flow cytometry
Effect of probiotics and gut microbiota on anti-cancer drugs: Mechanistic perspectives.

Bacteria present in probiotics, particularly the common Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium microbes, have been found to induce anti-cancer action by enhancing cancer cell apoptosis and protecting against oxidative stress. Probiotics supplements also decrease the cancer-producing microorganism Fusobacterium. Studies have demonstrated that gut microbiota modifies the effect of chemo/radiation therapy. Gut microbes not only enhance the action of chemotherapy drugs but also reduce the side effects of these medications. Additionally, gut microbes reduce immunotherapy toxicity, in particular, the presence of Bacteroidetes or Bifidobacterium decreases the development of colitis by ipilimumab therapy. Probiotics supplements containing Bifidobacterium also reduce chemotherapy-induced mucositis and radiation-induced diarrhea. This review focused on elucidating the mechanism behind the anti-cancer action of Bifidobacterium species. Available studies have revealed Bifidobacterium species decrease cancer cell proliferation via the inhibition of growth factor signaling as well as inducing mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis. Moreover, Bifidobacterium species reduce the adverse effects of chemo/immuno/radiation therapy by inhibiting proinflammatory cytokines. Further clinical studies are needed to identify the powerful and suitable Bifidobacterium strain for the development of adjuvant therapy to support chemo/immuno/radiation therapy.
Three dimensional flow motions in the viscous sublayer

Abstract We employ novel digital Fresnel reflection holography to capture the 3D flows within the viscous sublayer of a smooth-wall turbulent channel flow at Reτ=400. The measurements reveal unsteady and diverse flow patterns in the sublayer including nearly uniform high and low speed flows and strong small-scale (on the order of viscous wall units) spanwise meandering motions. The probability density functions (PDFs) of wall shear stresses show a clear discrepancy in high stress range with those from direct numerical simulation (DNS), which is attributed to the unresolved streamwise and spanwise motions by DNS. Moreover, the PDF of Lagrangian particle accelerations yields a stretched exponential shape like that in homogenous isotropic turbulence, indicating strong intermittency in the sublayer. We find a significant fraction of high accelerations is associated with the small-scale meandering motions. Our study helps explain the effect of sublayer-scale roughness on reducing drag and flow separation reported in the literature.
Subset sums, completeness and colorings

We develop novel techniques which allow us to prove a diverse range of results relating to subset sums and complete sequences of positive integers, including solutions to several longstanding open problems. These include: solutions to the three problems of Burr and Erd\H{o}s on Ramsey complete sequences, for which Erd\H{o}s later offered a combined total of \$350; analogous results for the new notion of density complete sequences; the solution to a conjecture of Alon and Erd\H{o}s on the minimum number of colors needed to color the positive integers less than $n$ so that $n$ cannot be written as a monochromatic sum; the exact determination of an extremal function introduced by Erd\H{o}s and Graham on sets of integers avoiding a given subset sum; and, answering a question reiterated by several authors, a homogeneous strengthening of a seminal result of Szemer\'edi and Vu on long arithmetic progressions in subset sums.
International Beef Packing in the Age of Empire: LEMCO in South West Africa, 1906–c.1940

From 1906, the Liebig’s Extract of Meat Company (LEMCO), parent of the Oxo and Fray Bentos brands, entered colonial Namibia as an export-oriented ranching and beef-processing enterprise, purchasing...
Forcing with Δ perfect trees and minimal Δ-degrees

This paper is a sequel to [3] and it contains, among other things, proofs of the results announced in the last section of that paper. In §1, we use the general method of [3] together with reflection arguments to study the properties of forcing with Δ perfect trees, for certain Spector pointclasses Γ, obtaining as a main result the existence of a continuum of minimal Δ-degrees for such Γ's, under determinacy hypotheses. In particular, using PD, we prove the existence of continuum many minimal Δ^(1)_(2n+1)-degrees, for all n.^(2) Following an idea of Leo Harrington, we extend these results in §2 to show the existence of minimal strict upper bounds for sequences of Δ-degrees which are not too far apart. As a corollary, it is computed that the length of the natural hierarchy of Δ^(1)_(2n+1)-degrees is equal to ω when n ≥ 1. (By results of Sacks and Richter the length of the natural hierarchy of Δ^(1)_(1)-degrees is known to be equal to the first recursively inaccessible ordinal.)
Design and performance analysis of a proxy-based indirect routing scheme in ad hoc wireless networks

The majority of existing ad hoc network routing protocols has a tendency to use the shortest single path from a source to a destination. However, in constantly changing topologies such as those in mobile ad hoc wireless networks, the shortest single path is not only unreliable for reachability but also unsuitable for traffic load equilibrium. In order to improve routing performance and make optimum use of the limited resources, the congestion must first be relieved as much as possible and the routing path be made available at all times. In this paper, we propose a novel scheme, called the Applicative Indirect Routing (AIR), to control network traffic congestion and refine route availability by coping with unreliable links quickly. The proposed scheme, acting as a proactive routing protocol, utilizes additional information about the neighbors shared by the sender and the receiver to find an alternative for the original path with unreliable links. The additional bandwidth usage in AIR to obtain the information about shared neighbors (defined as proxy candidates) is so minimal that the bandwidth availability for user data traffic is not significantly affected. Extensive simulation experiments show that compared with a conventional proactive protocol, namely Destination-Sequenced Distance Vector (DSDV), the AIR scheme leads to a much improved system performance in terms of packet delivery ratio, average end-to-end packet delay, and network reliability. We further show that, in terms of packet delivery ratio, AIR is also a competitive protocol compared with such reactive protocols as Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector (AODV) and Dynamic Source Routing (DSR).
Growth factor localization in choroidal neovascular membranes of age-related macular degeneration.

Purpose. Because several polypeptide growth factors are known to influence capillary endothelial cell mitogenesis, the authors investigated the presence of some of these molecules in choroidal neovascular membranes (CNVMs) removed surgically from human subjects with age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). Methods. The authors performed immunoelectron microscopic studies on surgically removed submacular CNVMs from nine subjects with ARMD and from one subject with ARMD whose eye was studied after death. These were compared with retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) and choroidal tissue from eight normal subjects whose eyes were received after death and one received after massive trauma. Results. RPE cells from the CNVMs were strongly immunoreactive for acidic and basic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF and bFGF) and for transforming growth factor @ (TGF/3). Some of the immunoreactivity was intracytoplasmic, but most was intralysosomal. In addition, some choriocapillary endothelial cells located close to the RPE layer in these CNVMs were immunopositive for bFGF and for FGF receptor. Reaction product for these two substances was located at regular intervals along the endothelial plasma membrane on both the anteluminal and the luminal side of the cells, suggesting a physiological reaction between the growth factor and its receptor. Choriocapillary endothelial cells deeper within the stroma were unreactive to bFGF and FGF receptor antibodies. There was little immunoreactivity for the growth factors in RPE or choriocapillary endothelial cells from normal eyes. The aFGF and bFGF immunoreactivity was highly specific because aFGF positivity was abolished when the antibody was incubated with 10~ 6 M aFGF but not a with the same concentration of bFGF, whereas bFGF immunoreactivity was abolished by incubation of the antibody with bFGF but not with aFGF. RPE cells from normal eyes and from eyes affected by ARMD showed strong cytoplasmic immunoreactivity to antibodies for cytoplasmic retinaldehyde-binding protein and superoxide dismutase and weak reactivity to antibodies for vimentin. Conclusions. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that one or both FGFs are causally related to the development of choroidal neovascularization. The authors have reported similar observations in experimental choroidal neovascularization in pigmented rats after red krypton laser photocoagulation. TGF/? may serve to modulate the effects of these mitogens. The authors suggest that growth factor production is induced in RPE cells after physical or chemical damage. Because of the damage to these cells, FGF molecules can be released from the cells despite the absence of a "signal sequence" in the DNA coding for FGF production. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1994;35:3178-3188.
Aldehyde and aldose reductases from human placenta. Heterogeneous expression of multiple enzyme forms.

Aldehyde reductase (ALR1) and aldose reductase (ALR2) were purified from human placenta by a rapid and efficient scheme that included rapid extraction of both reductases from 100,000 x g supernatant material with Red Sepharose followed by purification by chromatofocusing on Pharmacia PBE 94 and then chromatography on a hydroxylapatite high performance liquid chromatography column. Expression of ALR1 and ALR2 in placenta is variable with ALR1/ALR2 ratios ranging from 1:4 to 4:1. ALR1 and ALR2 are immunochemically distinct. ALR1 shows broad specificity for aldehydes but does not efficiently catalyze the reduction of glucose due to poor binding (Km = 2.5 M). ALR1 exhibits substrate inhibition with many substrates. ALR2 also shows broad specificity for aldehydes. Although glucose is a poor substrate for ALR2 compared with other substrates, the affinity of ALR2 for glucose (Km = 70 mM) suggests that glucose can be a substrate under hyperglycemic conditions. ALR2 shows normal hyperbolic kinetics with most substrates except with glyceraldehyde, which exhibits substrate activation. Treatment of ALR2 with dithiothreitol converted it into a form that exhibited hyperbolic kinetics with glyceraldehyde. Dithiothreitol treatment of ALR2 did not alter its properties toward other substrates or affect its inhibition by aldose reductase inhibitors such as sorbinil (2,4-dihydro-6-fluorospiro-[4H-1-benzopyran-4,4'-imidazolidine]-2' ,5'- dione), tolrestat (N-[[6-methoxy-5-(trifluoromethyl)-1-naphthalenyl]thioxomethyl]-N- methylglycine), or statil (3-[(4-bromo-2-fluorophenyl)methyl]-3,4-dihydro-4-oxo-1-phthalazineac etic acid).
Using Cross-Lingual Projections to Generate Semantic Role Labeled Annotated Corpus for Urdu - A Resource Poor Language

In this paper we explore the possibility of using cross lingual projections that help to automatically induce role-semantic annotations in the PropBank paradigm for Urdu, a resource poor language. This technique provides annotation projections based on word alignments. It is relatively inexpensive and has the potential to reduce human effort involved in creating semantic role resources. The projection model exploits lexical as well as syntactic information on an English-Urdu parallel corpus. We show that our method generates reasonably good annotations with an accuracy of 92% on short structured sentences. Using the automatically generated annotated corpus, we conduct preliminary experiments to create a semantic role labeler for Urdu. The results of the labeler though modest, are promising and indicate the potential of our technique to generate large scale annotations for Urdu.
Partial inhibition of Na+/K+-ATPase by ouabain induces the Ca2+-dependent expressions of early-response genes in cardiac myocytes.

Exposure of neonatal rat cardiac myocytes to ouabain concentrations that caused partial inhibition of Na+/K+-ATPase but no loss of viability, increased c-fos and c-jun mRNAs and the transcription factor AP-1. The increased mRNAs were proportional to the extent of inhibition of Na+/K+-ATPase and the resulting rise in steady state intracellular Ca2+ concentration. The rapid and sustained increase of c-fos mRNA was shown to be due to increased transcriptional rate. Induction of c-fos by ouabain was prevented when either extracellular or intracellular Ca2+ was lowered and was attenuated by pretreatment of myocytes with a phorbol ester under conditions known to down-regulate protein kinase C. Exposure to ouabain for 24-48 h also increased total transcriptional activity and protein content of myocytes. The findings suggest that the same signal responsible for the positive inotropic action of ouabain, i.e. net influx of Ca2+ caused by partial inhibition of Na+/K+-ATPase, also initiates the rapid protein kinase C-dependent inductions of the early-response genes, the subsequent regulations of other cardiac genes by the resulting transcription factors, and stimulation of myocyte growth. Whether these hitherto unrecognized effects of cardiac glycosides are obtained in the intact heart and their relevance to the therapeutic uses of these drugs remain to be determined.
Molecular analysis of the Doppia transposable element of maize.

Doppia (Dop) transposable elements were first identified from element termini found in the upstream portions of certain alleles of the pl1 and r1 loci of maize. At the r1 locus, these Dop end sequences are present in a region called σ, which functions as the promoter for the S genes of the R-r haplotype, and which is required for efficient epigenetic modification of the S genes during paramutation. In order to better understand the significance of the Dop element sequences at R-r, and to investigate the Dop-encoded products that might regulate r1 genes in this haplotype, we have cloned a more complete Dop element, Dop4. The Dop4 element can encode two proteins that have strong sequence similarity to the TnpA and TnpD proteins of the well characterized maize transposable element En/Spm. The DOPA protein, which is similar to TnpA of En/Spm, is shown to bind to short, subterminal repeat motifs located in the Dop element ends. Like TnpA, DOPA promotes intermolecular associations between DNA molecules. In contrast to the activity of TnpA, which is a transcriptional repressor of En/Spm, DOPA activates expression of reporter genes driven by either the Dop promoter or σ in transient expression assays.
Abstract B29: Differential effects of BRD4 inhibition on uveal melanoma cells with Gnaq/11 mutations

Uveal melanoma (UM) represents the most common intraocular malignancy, and there are no effective treatments for this aggressive disease. Nearly 80% of UM is characterized by oncogenic mutations in G protein subunits Gnaq and Gna11, and 70% have extra copies of the oncogene MYC. Chromatin regulators have become attractive targets for cancer therapy. In particular, the BET-bromodomain inhibitor JQ1 has shown selective inhibition of c-Myc expression, followed by the suppression of c-Myc-dependent target genes. Treatments of UM cell lines with JQ1 showed that the Gnaq/Gna11 mutant cells were the most sensitive to BET inhibition with induction of cell death, while the cells without the mutations underwent cell cycle arrest in G1. Microarray analysis of UM cells revealed that several genes were differentially regulated by JQ1 treatment in Gnaq/11 mutant cells, with the downregulation of c-Myc, of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, and DNA repair proteins Rad51 and Brca1. While depletion of each of these genes did not affect cell viability, the concomitant silencing of Rad51 and Bcl-2 represented the minimal requirement to mimic the apoptotic effects of JQ1. As opposed to hematopoietic cancer cell lines, c-Myc depletion did not seem to play a major role in inhibiting the growth of these cells. Furthermore, the treatment with JQ1 resulted in significant antitumor activity in a mouse xenograft model of uveal melanoma with Gnaq mutation. Our results suggest the potential therapeutic use of BET bromodomain inhibitors for treating uveal melanoma with Gnaq/Gna11 mutations. Citation Format: Grazia Ambrosini. Differential effects of BRD4 inhibition on uveal melanoma cells with Gnaq/11 mutations. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Melanoma: From Biology to Therapy; Sep 20-23, 2014; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(14 Suppl):Abstract nr B29.
Propagation of elastic waves through inhomogeneous, anisotropic materials

The determination of elastic constants is vital for any in-depth study of material perfor­ mances. One of the more frequently used methods for elastic constant determination in­ volves ultrasonic velocity measurements. Although this method is convenient in isotropic materials, it involves more complicated procedures for anisotropic materials. In this study, a measurement method is introduced that does not require cutting samples for velocity mea­ surements in different directions. This method utilizes the acousto-ultrasonic technique and deduces the elastic constants from the time of flight of obliquely reflected echoes which are received by another transducer placed on the same surface. Analytical and numerical analy­ ses are described which reveal the sensitivity of the results to different kinds of measurement errors. It is reported that systematic errors are most detrimental to the extraction of elastic constants, and appropriate steps are demonstrated which reduce this kind of error. This method is experimentally tested on three unidirectional graphite/epoxy composites, and the results show good agreement with nominal values of elastic constants obtained by cutting one of the tested samples.
Cnest and Cscope: Tools for the literate programming environment

The authors describe two tools for the literate programming language Cweb: Cnest and Cscope. Cweb is a Web programming environment for the programming language C using the typesetting program T/sub E/X. An overview of Web is given. Cnest and Cscope operate within the EMACS editing environment and provide support both for the program developer and for the maintenance programmer. Their implementations are discussed in detail. >
Expression of bcl-2 in Enteric Neurons in Normal Human Bowel and Hirschsprung Disease

Abstract Objective.—The bcl-2 protein has the functional role of blocking apoptosis, ie, programmed cell death. This protein is widely expressed in the developing central and peripheral nervous systems. The purpose of this study was to map bcl-2 expression in the human enteric nervous system, as this has not previously been done. Methods.—Rectal specimens were obtained at autopsy of 13 fetuses at 13 to 31 weeks of gestation. Normal colon was also obtained from 5 children and 2 adults, and, in addition, ganglionic and aganglionic bowel resected in 11 patients with Hirschsprung disease was examined. Specimens were fixed in formalin, embedded in paraffin, and analyzed with immunohistochemical methods, using antibodies raised against bcl-2 and neuron-specific enolase (NSE). Results.—The bcl-2 protein was expressed in myenteric and submucous ganglion cells in fetuses, children, and adults. Nerve fibers of the enteric plexuses that were bcl-2 immunoreactive were few compared with the number of NSE-immunoreactiv...
Loss of biodiversity and hydrologic function in seasonal wetlands persists over 10 years of livestock grazing removal

Ecological restoration provides a means to increase biodiversity in ecosystems degraded by natural and human-induced changes. In some systems, disturbances such as grazing can be key factors in the successful restoration of biodiversity and ecological function, but few studies have addressed this experimentally, especially over long time periods and at landscape scales. In this study, we excluded livestock grazing from plots within a grassland landscape containing vernal pools in the Central Valley of California for 10 years and compared vernal pool hydrology and plant community composition with areas grazed under an historic regime. In all 10 years, the relative cover of native plant species remained between 5 and 20% higher in the grazed versus ungrazed plots. This effect was particularly prominent on the pool edges, though evidence of invasion into the pool basins was evident later in the study. Native species richness was lower in the ungrazed plots with 10–20% fewer native species found in ungrazed versus grazed plots in all years except the first year of treatment. Ungrazed pools held water for a shorter period of time than pools grazed under an historic regime. By the ninth year of the study, ungrazed pools took up to 2 weeks longer to fill and dried down 1–2 weeks sooner at the end of the rainy season compared to grazed pools. The results of this study confirm that livestock grazing plays a key role in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function in vernal pools.
Multilinear Regression Equations for Predicting Lateral Spread Displacement from Soil Type and Cone Penetration Test Data

AbstractIn the 1990s, Bartlett and Youd introduced empirical equations for predicting horizontal displacement from liquefaction-induced lateral spreading; these equations have become popular in engineering practice. The equations were developed by multilinear regression (MLR) of lateral spreading case history data compiled by these researchers. In 2002, these equations were revised and updated to include additional case history data. The regressions indicated that the amount of horizontal displacement is statistically related to the topography, earthquake magnitude, and distance from the seismic energy source. It is also related to the thickness, fines content, and mean grain size of the saturated, granular sediments with corrected standard penetration test blow count values less than 15. This paper proposes to modify the MLR empirical equations by replacing the fines content and mean grain size factors with soil description factors. Such modification allows investigators performing preliminary evaluation...
Registration of Strong-Rps1k Soybean Germplasm Line

Strong-Rpslk (Reg. No. GP-359, PI 644025) soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] germplasm line was developed jointly by the USDA-ARS and The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) at Wooster, OH. It was released because it carried the Rps1k gene for race specific resistance to Phytophthora root and stem rot (caused by Phytophthora sojae Kaufmann & Gerdemann) in the semidwarf background of cultivar Strong. Strong, which has the Rps1a gene, is well known for its adaptation to high yield environments where excessive vegetative growth and early lodging limit the yield potential of taller indeterminate soybean cultivars. Strong-Rpslk was developed by backcrossing the Rps1k gene from cultivar Sprite 87 into Strong. Seeds from the BC 5 F 2:3 plants homozygous for the Rps1 k gene were bulked to make Strong-Rpslk. It was evaluated for agronomic performance in local and regional tests. Performance of Strong-Rpslk was comparable to that of Strong. The Rps1 k gene provides resistance against a wider range the P. sojae populations that are present in the North-Central U.S. soybean-growing region than does the Rps1a gene. Thus, Strong-Rps1k may be useful for breeders and researchers interested in developing new germplasm with resistance to Phytophthora root and stem rot with specific adaptation to high-yielding environments.
Synthesis and characterization of phenolic hydroxyl terminated phenylquinoxaline oligomers

Preparation d'oligomeres de la phenylquinoxaline termines par des groupements phenoliques et de masse moleculaire controlable et previsible, par polycondensation de la biphenyletetraamine avec l'hydroxy-4 benzile et le bis-phenylglyoxyl-1,4 benzene. Determination de la masse molaire des oligomeres par RMN proton. Influence de la nature du groupe terminal sur la solubilite des oligomeres dans les solvants chlores; les oligomeres peuvent subir un allongement de la chaine important par reaction avec des chlorures de diacyle